How good a rider do you think you are??? (Silly post!)

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On a scale of 1 to ten, 10 being John whitaker types, 1 being very novice and 5 being average - what ever that is!!!
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I'll start off, I think I'm a about 6, but live in an area where there are a lot of bad riders, so on a country level scale might be a 4 or a 5.

so what do you think you are??
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Not even sure what average means..average amongst a group of jockeys for example is quite different to average amongst happy hackers.

I am as good as I need to be, but could be better and am always learning, sorry, can't set a grade on that
 
I don't know.

I was told about three years ago by a BHSI that I couldnt ride for toffee and she wouldnt allow me near one of her horses on a hack. So from then on I kind of resigned myself as being crap. I ride if I have to, but don't choose to. But saying that, i guess i can't be THAT bad, I've successfully broken two ponies which are both now doing fab as kid's ponies, one is even doing pony club.

I'm fine schooling and hacking alone, I get nice results and a calm ponio, but get me infront of anyone and I'm like a beginner, all flapping and upsetting the horse. I guess it's stage fright lol. I never used to have this problem lol.
 
you sound like my mum, shes fab on her own horse but put her on anything else and she freaks out a bit, take her to view a horse and OMG a cross pole is waaayy too much and a canter is being brave!
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Hmm, about a 6 maybe? Thats considering a average rider to be a pleasure rider that mainly does happy hacking and small local shows.
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I think it is awful that a BHSI told you that you weren't a good rider!! Being that negative is very rarely going to help anyone and in the majority of cases will only demotivate people.

It sounds like s/he is the one that is awful at what they do. The horses you ride are probably a much better judge of how good a rider you are!

(End rant about bad teaching)
 
I've always been told I'm a competent, quiet and effective rider. I've always been able to get a decent result out of pretty much anything I ride. HOWEVER, that was then!!!lol. These days, I'm your classic mother that took time out to bring up the kids and now happy hacks every now and again. I can still ride well enough but I would have to think twice about getting on anything other than my big fat round safe cobbie's...Self preservation set in the minute I gave birth!!!
 
I've ridden for years but I think I'm pretty dire! About a 4 I guess, I'll have a go, but I'm very clumsy by nature and I think I look all unbalanced/flappy, and I've never been to a show.
 
this sounds big headed but a 7 or 8 ! i broke my last pony in and at our dressage we did very respectanly, i have had a fair bit if experience on different teams and at shows.

Haz
 
for stickablity i'll given myself 7 or 8 or even 9 don't do fall off - it hurts
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, (good hunting training), but for style i'm defo around 6-7, but i ride for fun and is not my day job
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so to improve takes along time compares with professional riders and i do need to improve and it's nice to see improvement aswelll
 
I reckon I'm a fairly rubbish rider. Yes, I can sit on top of relatively easy to ride horses and ponies, point them at a fence and kick, get them in an outline providing that they're the type to drop their nose for anyone plus sit on the bolshy ones and stay on for bucks. Other than that though, there's not much I can do; I'm certainly an abysmal failure when it comes to getting horses who aren't pushbutton working correctly in an outline, if a horse bangs the brakes on and won't jump I'm certainly not good enough to make them and if a horse b*ggers off out hacking, I can stay on and try and stop them but couldn't prevent it in the first place...

I think that sums my riding up actually - I can ask nicely and see if I get a response and I'm rediculously pleased when the equine in question decides to humour me but if said pony decides it's not in the mood, there's absolutely nothing I can do about it. I can't make a horse do anything, I can only ask and hope for the best...
 
I think i am a pretty average rider really. I will get on most horses if they are playing up a bit but a bit wary of horses compared to ponies. I compete at local level, mainly do showing, cross country, bit of pony club (not very much now), show jumping (but not so much now) and really starting to get into this eventing lark. I used to be very nervous when i was lil but i'm very confident on my own horse, i ride my sisters horse a lot now (she's at uni) but decided i don't like show jumping her (all she had done when we got her was bsja :/) as i can't get her to go as i like in the j/off. I am very self conscience of my riding and hate competing in front of people i know, especially with something unfamailiar like dressage.
 
Useless, doesn't help that I was once a decent rider , could hop on anything and get it going sweetly in and outline even fresh off the track horses.

Then I had the kids and time and physical changes have taken their toll. So now I'm one of the dodgy housewife dressave diva wannabees. Utterly depressing. Overweight, dodgy chair seat, grip with my knees (where in the world did that come from) too strong a left hand not still enough right hand, fail miserably to keep my heels down softly and my legs draped round the horse side. No core strength what so ever (thanks to c section ok it was nearly 10 years ago now but before it I had a girl 6 pack, sniff sniff). Oh and I'm short.

I know I could get back to where I was but I'd need to be able to school lots of horses for 4/5 hours a day like I used to and that's just no ever going to happen.

Ah well Atty puts a smile on my face so that'll do for now.
 
Id say about a 6. Im improving all the time. Yet when i ride bigger horses (my pony is only 13.3) i feel like i cant get a tune for toffee and that makes me doubt my ability! Ive ridden alsorts of types of horses, eventers racehorses etc and ive not fallen off alot so thats quite good in my book. I was always told im better than i think i am!
 
id say average-i hack/hunt/school and do smalli/ish jumping( 3ft max or when very brave 3ft3) had a bad fall as a kid jumping and dont think ive ever really beaten my nerves. have to soon as im doing my BHS stages in sep!! i also do local showing and when brave jumping, plan to do dressage soon too. im very brave on my own and a little more aware on others that i dont know-since i had my son i seem to be less confident!!!
 
I was fairly average, poss 4, however like many others have said mother hood takes its toll on your nerves and physique and I probably only ride 2 x a week nowadays. I would like to improve howevr when you have horses you spend so much time working to pay for them and working at looking after them, there is just not enough time to actualy do much of the good stuff. Also physicaly I know what I should be doing, its just convincing my body to do it!
 
I don't know really, depends what 'average' is. I've been riding for 13 years and ridden many different horses/ponies and naughty/young ones. I've competed up to Disco but I think that's more down to my honest naglet than my riding. I think I'm a crap XC rider. So overall probably average-ish but still have a lot to learn.
 
No, it's a good point. If / when I go to a new riding school, it's hard to describe how well or badly I ride.

But you cant boil it down to a single number.... riding has too many dimensions.... eg I like to think my flatwork is good, but I dont much care for jumping and I dont compete. I like to hack but dont enjoy roadwork.
 
Below average; 3-4

Ridden all my life (24 now) and did have a good seat and balance but it's all gone to pot after some time off, weight gain (1.5st!) and loss of muscles/strength!

I wouldn't say I even "ride" the horses; I just sit on and stay on!

Really depressing because even though I don't have a lot of competition experience I was a pretty decent rider. I worked on a cattle station in Oz in 2003 and rode/backed all sorts of ferals and was riding around 12hrs a day. I could sit on anything and stuck a few bucks and attempts to dust me and it really made a "rider" out of me but I just didn't keep it up!

Here's hoping I'll get more hours on the clock when my new horse arrives and that will get me fitter and leaner (read: too poor to eat
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) so I'm aiming for a 5! lol
 
I'd say I'm about a 2 - still very novicey but can stay on! My confidence has come on leaps and bounds since I bought my horse and I'm happy to hack out but not experienced in terms of competing. The people at my yard say I'm not as bad as I think!
 
i think im about a 9 in the bravery/stickability stakes, meaning il ride anything and stay on it whatever it does,
about a 6 on my own horse, who iv trained from been unable to hack out or do a circle in the arena to been able to hack out on busy roads, have any traffic pass him and do a decent prelim test..... working on the jumping now tho.
a definate 4 on my friends super dooper pony- she does dressage and i find him difficult to ride as hes 'properly' trained.
i think im good enough for what i do but am always learning!!
 
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