What ‘type’ of rider/riding style do you think you are?

"Highly educated, but you sit like a cowboy" - said by someone who really knows their stuff. I'm pretty relaxed, and I like my horses relaxed, swingy, very supple/bendy and really quick off the leg.
Ironically, Alf and I clash in the school. He likes to go his preferred way, i would prefer him to go another way - and neither of us really want to back down. We both like doing the twiddly stuff, so have given up working on the basics, and just have a quick whizz through the party tricks after hacking, if the fancy takes us.
 
Anyone who is a decent rider would get a decent tune out of Rose, a really good rider would get a very good tune out of her but she will question them as she's quite opinionated How she goes is not really a reflection of me as a rider as she is quite independent, not particularly generous and will give the rider what she thinks she can get away with. As a rider, I lack confidence as well as natural ability so it's always a journey. I find more confidence, ask more, have a bit of a discussion and get more, gain a bit more confidence, ask more, have a bit more of a discussion and get more and so on. I love to see Rose being ridden by a real pro it's so inspirational, she's really quite talented whilst still being able to be ridden by a rider like me. TBH I think you could put a very inexperienced rider on her and as long as they didn't hang onto her, she'd probably plod round quite happily in La La Land and they would think she was very easy. She's not!
 
It's odd, but of all our neds it's the Dizzy On who I think I of most, probably because of mine she was around longest.

Not many other people rode her as they weren't keen on riding a snake on a rollercoaster and we just got into the habit of nobody else on her. D1 rode a bit and could get a good tune though the Dizz would look for me. A friend at the time rode and she went beautifully; given that she was a flashy chestnut with flaxen mane and tail DWB, when ridden by someone with the skills she looked stunning. That rider probably thought she was too held in and her back end not engaged enough and she'd have been right: I spent a lot of time being scared and useless so it was rare I felt all that power uphill and balanced, though it was an incredible feeling when I got it right. Towards the end though she was a horse that most competent (and not harsh riders) could've taken for a hack pretty much anywhere and enjoyed themselves.
 
I think I have pretty good feel and I enjoy taking either unconventional horses or distinctively average horses and seeing what I can do with them.
As a teenager I was very good with the sharp and extremely hot ones and I seemed to have a knack of keeping them very chilled. I still enjoy my horses on the hot side, but I have less time for anything too sharp now. Millie is about as sharp as I would want to go now, to be honest.
 
I'm always told that mine is a light and sensitive ride - he was broken to move off the leg and respond to seat movement. He plants if heavy handed riders get on him - had a horrible experience where my YO (who is quite a heavy handed rider) wanted to try him and completely rubbed him up the wrong way, to the point that he completely planted and had a breakdown. He's never done it since, and I learnt a valuable lesson!
 
I don't think I want to analyse how I'm riding at the moment - lazy, broken and too many years since I had someone shout at me about my position - but back in the day when I knew how to ride and my body was more supple and did what it was told.....

I found that I could always tell whether a regular rider of a horse was right or left handed (I'm left) as all the right handed horses were much stiffer to the left. An advantage when they've been sent to me for schooling!
I would say that I'm more interested in getting the hindquarters engaged than in getting an outline.... and surprise, surprise the latter follows the former with very little effort from the rider.
My "style" would be to get the horse lighter in front, stronger behind, and with as little input from me as possible. My training "things" would be lateral work and transitions.

I was an eventer with a side line in dressage and showing, if that makes any difference.
 
My Welshie I ride on the buckle, pretty much no real aids and just use my voice.
I can take up contact and he will respond to a light squeeze of the rein or a light squeeze with the leg but I am such a nervous nelly that I am more relaxed just sat back letting him hold his head at his knees and just plodding along.

Anybody else sits on him and they don't like it...he is like a little bomb and a few have ended up eating dirt.
This is due to his own nervousness, he needs to trust and bond with a rider before he is happy to let them on him. He will then ride like a donkey or go for a bomb about if you want.

He could actually be amazing with the right rider.
My partner has no fear so can hop on tackless with a headcollar and go for a gallop about and be safe.

Our TB can also be ridden on the buckle but my god you have to give him some leg. He's just too lazy to want to up his pace to more than a walk so it is hard going to even get a few strides of trot and you have to really keep your leg on for it.
 
I'm usually v effective but not always pretty when being effective so says the lovely sj coach and also the semi retired stressage coach.
One says I've ridden too many re-schoolers and hunted, as he could see I came taller, deeper and lower leg tends to creep forward on upwards transitions, basically a safety position in case of burying into a fence or dropping shoulder etc.... ho hum.

That said, my current mount is sharper than a butcher's knife so I need to keep legs on for her, but I'm still asked to escort others out as I apparently come across as v laid back but gung ho, a v odd mix! I think its because I've seen it all before.....
 
My Welsh x Arab was once ridden by a very experienced rider who said that he was "unspoilt". Which, considering he was my first horse that I've ever brought on myself, I was very pleased with.
 
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