'Natural' riders

[SillyMare]

The reason I was thinking about this is because I was chatting to one girl (who is a fantastic rider) about another girl. Her comment was 'she works so hard, but she struggles because she just isn't a natural rider'.

So that led me to thinking....

Is there any such thing as a natural rider? Some people are certainly more athletic than others, but riding is so much more than that, can you be a 'natural'.

Also, if there is such a thing as a 'natural', can you ever be a really good rider if you are not one? Does hard work and training compensate?

And, if natural riders do exists, and if you can never really be good unless you are one, how do you know?

I don't think I am a natural - have always relied on hard work (but then, as I said above, how do you know if you are or not?), should I give up my Badminton dream now?

 

[the watcher]

Nope, not a natural, no balance, wrong body shape and as a result of several bad falls now not sufficiently athletic to make up for all those deficiencies.
My son, on the other hand, drives me nuts..although not fearless will get on pretty much anything and stick like glue. My proudest moment was watching him galloping around Kirtlington on a 15.2 polo pony with double reins and polo stick - he was 10, and it was the first time he had ever ridden something bigger than his 14hh pony. But as is the way with natural talent, he doesn't realise how blessed he is and most of the time now cannot be bothered about riding except to hack out

 

[BBs]

Good questions SM

Personally I think there are 3 types of rider.....

The ones who can get on a horse and get a tune without looking like they are doing very much.

There are the ones that work bloody hard, and strive for perfection, but are constantly critising themselves which, is what holds them back from being the above rider.

...and there are the ones that ride, who have no natural feel but because they believe in themselves 100% and their positions arent anything to write home about, 95% of them ride around Badminton!

 

[allijudd]

im not a "natural" rider or so i have been told many times in the past...but i have had determination to ride and to conquer fears...its something i enjoy so that makes the hard work worth it!

if you enjoy it..then being a "natural rider" shouldnt make any difference to you what so ever...make it a goal to get better and GO TO BADMINTON!

 

[burtie]

I don't think it is as clear cut as 'you're a natural or not'. However some people obviously pick up riding much easier and quicker and need less lessons that others. And i do think that the vats majority of us will never be truley amazing riders however hard we want to be, at the top level natural talent does play a major part. Equally some poeple will never progress beyond basic Novice however hard they try.

Luckily the vast majority of us are somewhere in between and can all make decent riders eventually!

 

[Sarah1]

I think that 'natural' riders do exist but I don't think a new rider would ever get on a horse and just ride - they do have to learn.
I think the natural riders just find it easier - take my youngest niece for instance, she's had ponies all her life and is an excellent rider and you would expect her to be good. The thing is that she looks like she was born on a horse and has the most fantastic 'feel' - she can get on any horse and instantly make it go better and she's only 16!!!!!!
I think it's people like her who are the 'natural' riders but other people can become excellent riders too it just takes more hard work! I think there are also people who have a 'natural' seat but maybe have to work on leg position!
I wouldn't give up on any of your dreams - you can make them happen!!!!
The thing is you don't think you're a 'natural' but I'm sure to someone else you probably would appear to be - you always think you're worse than you are, human nature!!!!!!!
Oooh, don't forget about us when you're a famous Eventer and winning Badminton, will you!!!!!!?!!!

 

[SillyMare]

[ QUOTE ]
...and there are the ones that ride, who have no natural feel but because they believe in themselves 100% and their positions arent anything to write home about, 95% of them ride around Badminton!

[/ QUOTE ]

I could live with being one of those!!

Badders 2010 here we come.... (now I just need to convince the Ginger Assasin about that).

 

[BBs]

Yeah we could live with being one of them! but we arent one of them!

We need to believe in ourselves! you and I are the middle one! we think too much

 

[marmite]

I wouldnt say i am a natural rider i was trotting by my second lesson without holding the saddle but i was very young and had no fear.

I have worked hard to get to the standard i am now and im still not happy with it,i have an amazing electric bottom i can giddy up the most quiet horse in the world but then i can calm down a complete nut case.

I wouldnt even know what catagory i fit into i would love to go to a higher level of riding money and time permitting.
I ride alot of the other livery horses at our yard as they know ill get on without any fear and i seem to always stick on while they have a ''to do'' icipitents seen me sit some quite explosive stuff and said ''god do you ever fall off'' so in that respect i suppose ive got a natural balance.


well on that note now i have jinxed myself im going to go fall off now lol

 

[vivhewe]

[ QUOTE ]
There are the ones that work bloody hard, and strive for perfection, but are constantly critising themselves which, is what holds them back from being the above rider.

[/ QUOTE ]

Gah! That describes me perfectly! When I have lessons I'm constantly told to stop criticising myself, but I see it as better than being the category where I believe in myself but don't have a natural feel! I only think I've done well when I've cleared a course without any refusals, got all my strides right, all my turns perfect and it's been over something higher than 2'6"

So it isn't often than I do well!

 

[Beanyowner]

I think some people are natural riders in respect that they find horses much easier to deal with full stop...its usually the same people who have common sense when it comes to what to do with horses on the ground!!

There was a girl at college who loved horses and had all the patience in the world but she just could seem to improve her balance when riding...she was what I think of as not a natural rider but she enjoyed it which is what matters I think. I personally think it comes down to 'feel'...if you can't feel what a horse is doing or almost predict what it is going to do you will always struggle slightly as this is not something that can be taught...sometimes the penny drops after a while and someone who before found horse riding difficult can then suddenly grasp it a bit more.

 

[susan_w]

It's like "seeing a stride". Some people just never get it and others just do it instinctively.

You can be a natural rider, but you can also cultivate riding ability. It's just harder for the non-natural rider.

 

[Rupert2006]

I have been told I am a 'natural' rider - but I am not sure what that means really. It seemed to always result in me always being put on the nutter horse at the riding school and being told to gallop it around while everyone watched with baited breath! Never fell off (and hopefully won't *touch wood*!!) but back then I had no fear.

These days I am a little more apprehensive but I always feel better on the back of a horse as I have more of an idea about what it is thinking.

 

[vicijp]

I think there are definetly natural riders, but that doesnt necessarily mean that they are better.
My brother has been riding about 18 months, started raceriding about 6 months ago. Hell ride any horse, jump anything. He will settle horses that 'good riders' who have been riding years struggle with. However because he never did any sj/xc etc he does have a lot to learn before he can educate a poor jumper properly. However he accepts this and is always striving to better himself, its the natural riders that dont that will never be as good as a try hard.
Another lad I know is probably one of the best riders ive ever seen. He sits very quietly, good hands. The worst breakers would never make him bat an eyelid. However this has made him very lazy, if a horse wants to take off he lets it bowl. He has turned a few nice but fizzy rides into bolters because of this.
I think riding is very similar to horses in general. There is a certain amount of natural talent involved in any sphere. I am a great believer in that there is no such thing as a bad jumper, simply a horse that hasnt been taught properly. However a horse with natural talent is always going to have the advantage. I guess that goes right through the sport, not just racing.

 

[Sarah1]

I think a big part of being a 'natural' is how you interact with horses, as others have said.
I have 2 nieces, one is a very textbook rider, very quiet, very competant, an excellent rider with nerves of steel and a sticky bum - she rides with her head.
The other (the one I described in previous reply) has a natural affinity with animals in general and every pony she's ever owned would have jumped over the moon for her if she'd asked, they always try for her and she seems to talk their language - she rides with her heart.
I think that is the difference - a good rider will ride with their head, a natural rider will ride with their heart!

 

[Beanyowner]

Baileydoo...I do agree that riders start off riding with their head and their heart but this gets confused by some instructors. I hate to mention the BHS...again...but I think the BHS try to force you to ride with your head a bit too much...trying to stick you in a certain position and doing things a certain way no matter what the horse is doing or whether it is actually working for that particular horse or not.

 

[severnmiles]

Definately think there are natural riders!!

 

[hayliana]

if there are natural riders, would you say they're more from an older school of horsemanship? perhaps developing from childhoods of riding without saddles?!

 

[Sarah1]

Yeah, I agree about the instructors! Some are very good and really help others just end up stiffling (sp?) the rider!
That's the point about my nieces though - neither have had regular lessons for years and years (they have had them as they got older for a few months), how I described them is how they've ridden from being 3 and 5 years old!!!!!!!

 

[Sarah1]

Yep def.! My niece's aren't old enough to be from the old school of horsemanship but they certainly have improved by riding without saddles etc! I remember the youngest being better without a saddle than with at one point!!!!!!

 

[PapaFrita]

VERY good question! I think that as with any other discipline (sporting or otherwise) that some people are just more talented than others. Some DO have an instinctive 'feel' for riding, but I think that what really counts is hard work, determination, and (a bit harder to get) self-belief.
I don't think anyone gets to the top without it

Course talent helps

Personally, I think that I've got a bit of 'feel' but the rest is hard work

 

[Tia]

Very good question. As an owner of a trail riding place, I can categorically say that, yes, some people are naturals! Some people can get on a horse once and they just get it, whilst others can ride for decades and never get it.

There seems to be no rhyme nor reason as to why some people are totally in harmony on a horse and others looks like a struggling bag of potatoes. I have young kids, older folks, male and females come on trail rides and none can be stereotyped.....they either have it......or they don't!

 

[4whitesocks]

Hmmm

I think there are two types of natural riders like otehr people - those who are naturally in tune with a horse and those who are 'physical' natural - blessed with good balance and co-ordination etc. (these are the types that are usually godo at other sports too)

the 'mecca' is someone who is the combination of the two (IMO!!)

Me.....I'm a happy hacker with as much natural balance as a sack of spuds but god I love it so who cares!!!

 

[GDB]

Yep, Kt (Argie_Spew) is a natural rider. She first sat on a pony at 2 and it was obvious by 3 that she was a complete natural. When we bought Dolly she just seemed to know how to ride the advanced moves... odd ....

Hx

 

[Peanot]

[ QUOTE ]


Personally I think there are 3 types of rider.....



There are the ones that work bloody hard, and strive for perfection, but are constantly critising themselves which, is what holds them back from being the above rider.



[/ QUOTE ]

I am the above although I am getting through this as a friend of mine is the latter, she is so confident and has started winning BN and has qualifed for the regional finals and last week she got 2nd in the Discovery, and she isn`t a great rider but she is confident. Up til last year it`d be me being the confident one always in the ribbons then an accident over a spread lost my confidence and the horses. We have built it back up and have just re-registered. We went out 2 weeks ago and jumped the 90cm amateur and the BN and had clear and 4 in each class. Then I went and rode round a BN and it went a bit to pot and knocked my confidence to go into the Discovery. I am worried that after the accident she is more careful and keeps putting in 1/2 strides, and it worries me if I get her wrong into a fence and it goes wrong, then it is my fault and I may be making her worse. I have had a lesson with a sj this week and he made me feel better by saying that I am being too hard on myself and that when I jumped in the lesson, I lengthened and shortened when I needed to and that he couldn`t see the problem. Typical. Then he asked me to jump a course of 5 fences and this is when it all went to pot and we got 2 fences with the 1/2 strides!
It is just a case of believing in yourself and your horse.

 

[SillyMare]

Seeing a stride is a funny one - the harder I try the less I can do it! I watched John Whittaker jump a few weeks ago and he must see them so far out he manages to adjust his horse almost invisiblyand meets fence perfectly without loosing rhythm.

Is that natural talent, or is it because he has worked very hard at it for years and years?

(probably both in his case - but how much can one aspect make up for lack of the other)

 

[BBs]

I watched a load of top SJers on sunday and 99.9% of the time they got it right! its frustrating as they are doing it over 1.50m and Im struggling at 1.10

Watching Richard just flying around perfectly - okay got a bit deep to the last but it was bloody 1.60m

He looks totally natural when he rides, but apparently he isnt, and has had to work jolly hard. His canter was his downfall (as my trainer used to teach him) and said his canter must have improved hugely since he last saw him ride!

You really have to believe in yourself and the horse! and if you are going to train hard, make sure you are training right! theres no point training really hard if you are training wrong!

 

[Peanot]

I have got a big hang up about seeing strides. At home, I can do it and in the practice area. This though I can do when I have a nice rhythmic slow canter and when I concentrate. I have found that when we have got a nice forward canter in the class, it is better all round as we seem to get it right most of the time, but I don`t have time to check for a stride so I don`t even bother looking, just ride her forward being careful to keep her between hand and leg and we get the odd shorter stride but not a 1/2 uncomfortable stride.
I was having a lesson recently and I explained what was happening and he told me that top riders like the Whitakers for eg, and others that do it a lot, ride probably 4-6 horses in the same class probably 2 a week. Then it is only obvious that their eye is very experienced and so they can see a stride 5,6,7,8 strides away and so all the altering can be done nowhere near the fence and they hit it right every time. So he told me that I have to go out and do it and I will get better every time. He said that he can guarantee that if he hasn`t been out for a while, it will take him 2-3 shows to get it right and even then it is doubtful that we will get it right every time. He told me that if we manage to get it right 29 times out of 30, then that is good. Even the top get it wrong sometimes.

 

[Peanot]

I have got a big hang up about seeing strides. At home, I can do it and in the practice area. This though I can do when I have a nice rhythmic slow canter and when I concentrate. I have found that when we have got a nice forward canter in the class, it is better all round as we seem to get it right most of the time, but I don`t have time to check for a stride so I don`t even bother looking, just ride her forward being careful to keep her between hand and leg and we get the odd shorter stride but not a 1/2 uncomfortable stride.
I was having a lesson recently and I explained what was happening and he told me that top riders like the Whitakers for eg, and others that do it a lot, ride probably 4-6 horses in the same class probably 2 a week. Then it is only obvious that their eye is very experienced and so they can see a stride 5,6,7,8 strides away and so all the altering can be done nowhere near the fence and they hit it right every time. So he told me that I have to go out and do it and I will get better every time. He said that he can guarantee that if he hasn`t been out for a while, it will take him 2-3 shows to get it right and even then it is doubtful that we will get it right every time. He told me that if we manage to get it right 29 times out of 30, then that is good. If you think about it, when watching other competitors while waiting to go in or between classes, there are lots of riders that get it wrong at least once in the round. Even the top get it wrong sometimes.

 

[Weezy]

And BBs you are the first option and I love it as much as it infuriates me LOL!!!