first time going up the gallops on a racer: UNREAL

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FinalFurlong

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3 months ago i was trotting around an arena on a 14.2hh cob, never sat on a TB in my life before. Yesterday i was on a 4 year old charging up the gallops, finally making it out of a trot on a racehorse, yes im pleased!!

Out of pure pot luck managed to get myself helping out at a racing yard on Saturday mornings (im in sixth form) started of mucking out the stables, then progressed on walking around the yard, then trotting and walking round the village where the stables is and yesterday i finally got to go on the gallops :D

i guess i must have done something right! the horse (who i always rode anyway) was the laziest racehorse known to man until you got him on the gallops then you see why he wins races, i did think the trainer was joking (which he does often) when he said id be going on the gallops but turns out he wasn't! it was fabulous, had full instructions from the trainer, head lass in front of me and off we went. I got told i did brilliant for my first shot just to get my backside up higher in the air next week (which i shall do!)

i was going to ride a 2 year old (a sweetie but can be very spooky as ive rode her before and does not know the meaning of the pace walk) who would be fine on the gallops but very spooky beforehand, yes i ended up falling off! we where supposed to be trotting, she was sideways cantering and jumping (it was my fault if id have held onto my neckstrap i wouldn't have slid off) a bird flew up and woosh she has a panic attack, hadn't got enough balance in the tiny saddles and i slid off the side (it was a very pathetic fall i must admit) so i got up and saw her pissing off into the distance :o it took a while to catch her then i had to lead her through the village with witty comments from fellow villagers :o oh well it had to happen at some point!

just glad it wasn't on the previous horse when going twice as fast otherwise it would have been a bit more painful (not hurt in the slightest though, was a very smooth landing and wasn't far down she was only tiny)

christ what an essay!!
 
There is nothing quite like galloping a racehorse :D

As to your position - think of it like a martini glass:

Foot flat ___
Lower leg straight up l
Knee bent - this absorbs the gallop strides so don't lock them <
Thigh at an angle /
Bum poked out - yes literally! >
Back horizontal -------
Hands back towards knees

So kind of:

o--->
..\ /
...<
.._l


That's the theory anywho!

It is also much, much easier to stay on a spook at higher speed as they don't go sideways as sharply as they do at a slower pace.

Good luck for your next shot and long may it continue!
 
it did feel fantastic! especially compared to my old cob, the horse was so smooth it was like flying up the gallops, i couldn't hear the head girl in front all i could hear was the horses breathing and the wind, it just seemed the flash by i looked through his ears up the hill then to the side and it just flashed by, he was such a good boy looked after me all the way up i gave him a big hug at the end of it, he felt like a huge ferrari or something it was just unreal, now the thought of doing that four times every weekend :D
 
EKW said:
There is nothing quite like galloping a racehorse :D

As to your position - think of it like a martini glass:

Foot flat ___
Lower leg straight up l
Knee bent - this absorbs the gallop strides so don't lock them <
Thigh at an angle /
Bum poked out - yes literally! >
Back horizontal -------
Hands back towards knees

So kind of:

o--->
..\ /
...<
.._l


That's the theory anywho!

It is also much, much easier to stay on a spook at higher speed as they don't go sideways as sharply as they do at a slower pace.

Good luck for your next shot and long may it continue!
Click to expand...

Thank you thats a really good way of putting it! will take all that on board :)
 
There is nothing like galloping a racehorse. The power is immense. Wait til you get to ride on a work day - that will take your breath away!
 
I'm jealous! when I was 16 worked in Newmarket taking 3 horses a day out the gallows on a fit tb are just incredible you can't beat it and 18 years on I'd so love to do it again! did have a blast in Majorca last year proper galloping on beaches but still not the thrill of a tb on Newmarket heath!
 
Ok..not a word I use often but I am very jealous...lucky you. I have a friend who used to work at a racing stable and I asked her about it and she said she spent most of her time terrified. Take care and well done.
 
Wow, lucky you (going on the gallops, not the fall! lol) Have galloped ex racers frequently & the speed is awesome but never one in training on the gallops themselves, must be awesome! Stay safe & enjoy! :D :D :D
 
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