I have been riding for 33 years, and during this time I have always taken lessons. Am I a sucky rider that just doesn't get it? Do I have difficulty retaining what I learn? Maybe I'm just not very coordinated. Actually, I think I do ok. That said, there are always new things to learn, and new ways to get from point A to point B. Just about the time that I think I've figured it out, I get on a new horse that needs a different way of doing things, or a horse I ride all the time presents me with new
directions I need to go with their training. And that's just it. If all horses were the same, and if all horses stayed the same, we could just get on and go, train 'em up and move on.
Then there are the physical challenges for us riders. After all these years, I have little bad habits that still need to be kept in check. If I go unsupervised for too long, my right hand goes funny, I start looking down, and I collapse my shoulders. Lately, I'm noticing that my core is weak (Kenny!). My weak core affects my ability to go with my little eventing horse when she gets exhuberant and springs over her jumps with more power than necessary. At the very least I need a ground person to remind me of these things when I lose the proprioception to detect them. I guess where I'm going with this is that at any stage of riding, we all have things that we are forever working on. As soon as we solve one aspect, there are new challenges to tackle, and excitement comes with success. We're all in this together! I take lessons to keep my skills up, to quench my thirst for continuous learning, and for inspiration that I can pass along to my students.
(Originally published February 2014)
