Why Riding Matters

Many books have been written on riding and teaching, but no written word can role-model the enthusiasm and commitment necessary to make a good riding teacher.  Even with a good teacher role model, teachers have to draw on their personal commitment, their personal belief that riding is important!

In today’s world of global warming marked by treacherous national disasters, hectic lifestyles, and  a faltering stock market and dollar, the question must be asked: Why is riding important? I continually struggle with that question, and now believe I have something of an answer. It is: if one really cares in one arena of life, one can develop habits of caring that transfer to other arenas. This has the potential to help bring about some of the changes that are so badly needed on this planet.

The quality of apathy that has so persistently eroded our enthusiasm for life and stubbornly penetrates our psyches, must be met with a head-on assault. Riding teachers can lead the charge! Actually, any sport coach can help students care. And the coach must always care as much or more than the student, without losing sight of the big picture, which is, healthy growth of the individual.

I mean, really, how important is it that one wins at a horse show, a basketball game, a football game? In the broader scope of life, how significant are these things? Not very, perhaps. Yet, research has shown (Boy’s Adrift) that belonging to a sports team is very beneficial to the life of a young man. I believe that belonging to a stable and a community of horse people, as well as being part of a group committed to doing the right thing for their animal and caring about how they do it, provides similar benefits for men and women. Thus, the desire to win can be part of boosting students’ skills and enhancing their caring.

When a riding teacher cares enough about the well-being of the horse and the skill development of the rider to be determined that the rider has success with the horse, she reveals and role-models her commitment, her caring. When she clarifies that it is very important the horse is well ridden, the rider sees her aids as important. When she believes that the student can do it and persistently corrects mistakes, rather than saying “good” when it’s not good, the student understands that a high standard is being set, and raises the bar for her.

In the final analysis, riding helps people become more caring citizens by providing opportunities for students to practice caring and commitment in the hope that the rider takes those qualities everywhere she goes.