As you have got older how has your riding changed?

S

shadowboy

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 May 2006
Messages
4,754
Visit site
When i was younger i rode anything- for some time i rode for a dealer- and i had an amazing sticky seat. If i did somehow manage to fall off i used to get back on and carry on. I have always had a very quiet seat and legs.... but when younger i wasnt very sensitve with my hands. Now i have quieter hands. My seat and legs are still very quiet but ive lost my velcro bum... oh and that fearlessness.. how about you all? have you improved over the years?
 
Iv defo lost the fearlessness...I think thats something to do with being a child I thought I was invincible on a pony!! Now Im much more wary
smile.gif
 
I don't do galloping (except in quite controlled circumstances), I don't do jumping any more - I have far too many responsibilities to take any chances - oh and I am quite broken now, compared to 30 years ago or so.
 
I've got better in terms of being able to stay in the saddle; I do believe I am a much better rider now than when I was younger. Experience I guess!
smile.gif
That said, my self-preservation has kicked in; I doubt I will ever jump again now.
 
I didn't have lessons as a child but learnt through experience. So I probably looked awful but tended to stay on board. I now have lessons and know how I should be riding and usually manage to look 'correct' but in moments of crisis I revert to gripping with the knees and am not too proud to grab the mane if it will keep me in the saddle!
 
My riding improved because I bought my own horse so I would say im better now than I was when I was younger plus my horse has been a loon in the past although he is broken at the moment.I always had to ride all the naughty horses at the stables when I was a teenager everyone else got the pretty showy ones.I bet you are all in your twenties or early thirties talking about when you were younger ha wait til you get to my age .I bet I am fitter now then in my thirties or twenties and Im so missing riding every day.I had to improve my seat or eat dirt!!!!!!!!!!!!!Im always asked if I have velcro pants.
 
Well, for the first 4 or 5 years when i learned to ride, I was a nervous wreck, hated riding different horses and thought 2ft was massive! Then I got a crazy loan pony and learnt so much! Now i'm pretty confident, I'll ride literally anything (i'm always the one at the yard that's asked to ride other people's horses, especially the "tricky" ones!) and I jump 1m as my normal, everyday height! Definately more confident, and competent. But then i'm only 16... no doubt i'll lose that confidence in a few years!

x
 
I definitely lost a lot of velcro from my bum too!
mad.gif
And a lot of fearlesness as well but I am not too bad yet
smirk.gif

However, I do avoid horses with serious behavioural problems whereas 10 years ago I would ride anything, the worse the better.

My riding on the flat improved that's for sure, over the fences I got a bit rusty due to lack of decent practise. Will get there but I have no inclination to ride crazy fellows anymore
grin.gif
 
Much more careful since i got older and i had my daughter ,used to jump anything and any height. I got to admit that i can be a bit of a wimp now
I did have a break from riding when i fell pregnant until she was 19 months..but i am now more and less a happy hacker
 
Well I have never been into jumping, tearing about at break neck speeds anyway...was always happiest traversing around the countryside for hours at my pace and going where I liked! So not much has changed really, I still like to do my own thing and pootle about the countryside on my own with horsey. If anything I have a better seat than I did because I have had to adapt to my somewhat argumentative, sharp Welshie! And I think I have learn't a bit more nerve, again through having to deal with a sharper horse, rather than steadier types like I had at home!
 
My riding's improved but I'm not as confident. I used to get on anything but not anymore! I would love to have the confidence and ride like I do now - think as you get older you think more about what could happen, which makes you think twice.
smile.gif
 
I have learnt to stay on better because I don't bounce as well anymore!
Jokes aside, I think (or I would like to think) that I've become more responsive to the horse and more sensitive as to what they are experiencing too. I don't just leap on and expect it to do whatever I want anymore, and have learnt that if it doesn't do exactly what I want it is probably more to do with me than the horse!
 
I think the most noticeable difference is my lack of nerve, I used to love jumping, belting about etc. I used to ride out racers and sit on most things.
I never liked bucking but would deal with anything else, now I dislike spookers and buckers and nappers and hate jumping.
I do still enjoy the odd blast but only on a horse i know and in company I trust.

I enjoy the precision and control of dressage the the 'different' type of power.

Riding other peeps horses since mines been out on loan has made me miss/appreciate my girlie even more!
 
It hurts more when I fall off! I used to bounce better.

I lost some bravery in jumping but the more I do the more it comes back.

I can no longer vault on
frown.gif
But I have started riding bareback now and again and I'm trying to get it back...

My flatwork is SO much better. Flatwork didn't really exist for me except when forced to at PC Rallies... normally just bombed about, jumping and PC games lol.
 
I used to be fearless but now I am nervous. I don't jump much these days as I find it so difficult to find the right horse to give me that confidence to do it. I used to be very into SJ and eventing when I was younger, now I am obsessed by dressage!
On the plus side, I am starting to actually ride instead of be a passenger. I have some horrific photos of my first lessons on my first pony, I had an awful position and all I did was trot aimlessly around in a circle all the time, doing nothing! I went to ride a friend's horse for the first time yesterday and I now have some pictures (on the other end of the scale to my ones of about seven years ago) of me riding actually quite nicely, getting my friend's horse working properly ad actually USING my legs
grin.gif

So although I have also lost the invincible attitude that we all (mostly) seem to have when we are young, I am much happier as I am now as I am a much more effective rider.
laugh.gif
 
Agree with Flicker, I have much more empathy with my horse now and I also think more about subtle changes to influence my horse. Unfortunately my body doesn't always respond in the way I want it to!! Still jumping and hunting (occasionally!) in my 50's though, but nothing too large!!
 
I've lost my fearlessness too.

But I am actually riding now. I've refined everything I do and am more into perfection.

I used to be able to jump on anything without any thought, now, after having my daughter, I consider danger, my confidence is a bit battered but I like the fact that I'm more into detail.
 
i think i have changed a fair bit
when i was younger i didnt seem to have the fear and would ride anything
i used to ride our welsh section D stallion
I broke in 4 of our horses
and i used to ride bareback and stay on with a sticky bum

well now, 12yrs or so later age 26, i wouldnt jump on a stallion in a hurry, dont know that i would ever break in another horse and i dont tend to ride bareback,feels fairly insecure!!

i think alot more now about riding in general and my riding, i feel i am more aware of my seat and try my best to make it a good seat for both my sake and my horses, i think my seat was naturally good when i was young but it seems to take more work now
grin.gif
 
I think the worse thing you can do as a rider is to have a long break. I had a couple of years off horses due to babies and developed a self preservation thing!! I'd never had it before. I'm fine once I'm on but can often think of a million reasons why not to bother.
My friends have a 'problem' horse atm and I'm itching to get on and bring him round for them so they don't have to sell him or spend a fortune on someone 'rebreaking' him...
tongue.gif
 
I started to ride at age 7 and am now 51 - I used to have a good seat, quiet hands and be much more supple. I now find I tend to move more 'of a piece' - if I move my lower legs back my body tips forward! Think that's just age and stiffness.
But thank goodness I still have a velcro bum because my youngster has a cracking buck!

Like asti_pussyinboots, I think more about my riding now - I'm more in tune with my horses and can anticipate better.
 
I think my need to improve is alot stronger than it used to be....I used to jump/hack and didn'tcare but now that I'm not on my own land (or parents) I find myself constantly competing against other people and thinking that I'm a rubbish rider!

So I guess I've become less confident but I know deep down I'm not a bad rider....
 
I was never brave anyway, and didn't get my first horse until I was 28. I'm still happy to go for a blast, but I think more about where I will do it, and who with, probably because my nastiest falls have always been in company, and often at speed but not necessarily my fault. Was always scared of jumping, so no change there!

Have never broken in a horse, rode a few that had just been backed though whilst under tuition (guess H&S doesn't allow that anymore) and am wondering if I will have the courage to ride our homebred yearling in a few years time - I think not!
 
I've changed over different stages of my life.

When I was little, I rode my ponies and didn't really think or care about what I did, I just had a great time.

When I was in my teens, I still rode my ponies but much further distances and did far more exciting things on them like going off to the beach and for all day picnics and hacking to shows which were 10 miles away and then competing in almost every single class. I'd jump absolutely anything and everything.

When I was in my 20's I rode for a living. I had a blast! Rode lots of troubled horses, mended them and competed them. Had lots of near-misses due to the nature of most of the horses I rode. Never fell off though, how I have no idea.

When I was in my early 30's I was starting to take a more laid back approach. I retired my old nightmare mare and started to bring on my homebred. I broke him western and he rekindled my love of western riding.

When I was in my 30's I bought my fabulous XC horse and stepped back up a notch again. I had an absolute blast with him! This had me back into competition-mode which was great for me. I rode any course, would jump any jump and loved bombing around on him for miles around XC courses. I still rode my western horse on days off though.

Now in my 40's, mostly I play with my youngsters. I back them, bring them on and eventually, a couple of years later, I sell them onto (hopefully) forever homes. I hardly ever ride anything over 5 years old anymore; all of mine are younger than this and I LOVE riding my youngsters. I am not particularly interested in riding old well trained horses anymore, I like to be the first to experience all their learning that I teach them. I can't be bothered with nutters any longer - I've found my breed (QH) and I'll stick with them for the rest of my life now.

My actual riding has changed a little but not a whole lot, mainly because I have changed my discipline. I've always been a very light handed rider, that's still the same. I used to have a great velcobum, well it's still there. When I ride English once in a while, it all comes back to me immediately but I have to say it is not my favourite form of riding now - I am a converted western rider now. I don't throw caution to the wind right now, but I know fine well that if I bought myself another superb XC horse, I would in a shot!
laugh.gif
 
I think my riding has got a bit worse TBH but more confident if that makes sense. I always feel rubbish at dressage (and am rubbish at it) which I think makes me feel such a crap rider sometimes! When I was younger I didnt care so much, but now doing BE stuff everybody is so good
frown.gif
!
 
I dont jump anymore. Yet rolling back to my teens thats basically all i did
smile.gif
I completly lost my bottle at around 17 years old for no apparent reason.

I wont ride anything anymore. I worked on a yard that took in horses for reschooling for a while and i always worked with the rearers... No way would i sit on those things for the money i was on anymore!

My position has improved and im much more aware of the dressage side of things. It fascinates me where as in my teens i found it boring as hell
tongue.gif


I also made a switch at about 18 and started having lessons with a few classical trainers and thats changed my outlook on riding completly - definitly for the better imo!
 
As I've got older I've bought better horses and am confident with how I ride the current one. However I'm also happy to take a step back and let my 15 yo daughter do more exciting stuff with him, eg xc next weekend. I enjoy seeing her develop as rider rather than thinking 'I should be doing this'. Maybe its a cop out, but I do most of the work.
grin.gif
 
I can stick on better now
grin.gif

But riding in general has gotten worse as rarely have lessons and on different horses allll the time.

Jumping has completely gone to pot
 
Oh good Im not the only mature !!!!! rider with a youngster thought I was mad mine used to rear too until he went over backwards with me onboard.It did cure him but wouldnt recommend it.You would think at our age we should know better-no chance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top