We do not teach a riding discipline. We teach a riding freedom. We ride with a loose rein and control our horses primarily with leg cues. Our riding posture is not designed to look pretty in a show ring. Instead, it is designed to be comfortable to the horse and the rider as we navigate through the woods and swamps of Tidewater. We do not sit erect as if in a military parade. We go for the posture of a tired old cowboy with tuberculosis who chain smokes Camels.
Emma started riding with us this weekend. She spent Saturday and Sunday afternoon riding through the muck, galloping up hills, and gaiting smoothly down the trails. On Saturday she cruised along on our wild Corolla stallion, Manteo. On Sunday she rode Porter, another wild Corolla.
She has ridden in a formal English style previously so it will take her a while to learn to ride in a manner that will make her look like "a total slob." Her horse and her spine will love her journey into slobdom.
2 comments:
Say "relaxation"--slobdom makes me think of mud... :)I am happy we have a new person to ride with and am looking forward to getting to know her better.
--Emily
;D (hah hah haaaahhh!!)(you guys are awesome)
As one who grew up in 4-H, with some very canny leaders who knew the fine art of dressage and three phase eventing, and as one who is now arthritic enough to contemplate turning the mustang/Arab cross I have in for a gaited horse (oh, wait, island ponies are gaited sometimes!), I appreciate your approach to horsemanship. We have, for too long, been motivated by the artificial demands of the showring. Horses carry us on the Journey; the physical one and the spiritual one... they teach us about and connect us to the real world. Which has little to do with looking like a perfect robot aboard your horse.
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