What kind of a rider?

[Foxaunt]

Hello all, does anyone genuinely not know what riding level they are at, like me? I would count myself as an experienced non-competing amateur, but thats probably code for "been riding for a long time, still no good at it".

Having lessons on my old horses I could tell that I was progressing nicely and working to a decent amateur standard; I'm having a bit of an identity crisis though now riding my green horse after a long riding break, everythings a bit "meh" and messy, I know I have to make allowances for 'baby horse + out-of-practise rider', but there are some days I just think "dear god, am I really a beginner again?" and begin to feel really anxious of how I'm being percieved by others (slippery slope, I know i shouldn't worry so much about what others think!).

I am having lessons with a couple of instructors, they help me in various areas; for instance, one is helping me with my dressage schooling, we are doing very very fundamental work and building slowly so we build up nicely from a good foundation. It's hard to gauge how much is my anxiety around it, and how much is genuinely that I'll probably always be a novice amateur at best.

I do teach her different things at home/by myself, like leg yeild, travers/renvers, spanish walk, turn on the forehand, but just because we find it fun and it's different from our lesson work. If i mention it in the lesson I am met with a very polite "I don't think you're ready for that yet" which then makes me feel a bit worse, like I'm pretending to be better than i am by teaching her this. I understand that there are somethings you simply can't do until you build up the correct muscles/carriage/impulsion.

I want to take her to dressage this year, even intro level, but I just feel like people might be like "what is she doing at a competition?!" and i close the entry form down. I just feel a bit sad/lost about it.

 

[Double_choc_lab]

In 60 years of riding I've never worried about what " level of riding" I'm at. Are you and your horse happy doing what your doing? Are you causing her any pain or injuring yourself? Why not ask your instructor if they think you're capable of entering a dressage competition. If you can walk and trot, and it certainly sounds like it, then enter an Intro . Choose a low level unaffiliated copetition and you'll be surprised how supportive folk can be. Then you could at least see how you ride compared with others if you do want to judge by "levels".
Riding is primarily fun - so enjoy.

 

[milliepops]

Just going from what you've written here it doesn't sound like you've got the right instructor for you, tbh.

unless the rider is sat sideways off the horse and the horse doesn't understand any basics then teaching a horse to leg yield is entirely reasonable and very useful too! To have your efforts shut down like that seems a bit... blinkered.

and heading off to do an intro test is a really achievable aim. no one would be looking down at you for doing that. those tests are for exactly your kind of situation - a green horse, a rusty rider, it sounds perfectly suitable.

I would say you need someone who is a bit more encouraging tbh so you don't talk yourself down into a hole.

 

[mossycup]

Firstly, enter the competitions, your horse - you decide what you do.

I think that's pretty rude of your instructor actually - a better way for her to approach it would have been, ok, let's try some lateral work and see how we get on - a baby leg yield isn't going to break anyone.

 

[paddi22]

there is no point trying to figure out what kind of a rider you are. there is a sliding scale from someone who has had their first lesson right through to people like Carl Hester and Michael Jung at the top of the scale. everyone else sits in a grey area along the scale, and everyone floats along there. there is no point trying to fix a point where you are, it will always change and with a green horse you have years of having to be an effective rider (which feels ugly) rather than a polished rider. that can be really tough as you have steps forward and back as they struggle with stuff. but you are always learning and progressing.

go and do a competition and just have fun. it sounds harsh but nobody really cares how you do at a show, everyone is just worried about themselves. try an online dressage competition league and you will have an easy way of seeing where you sit dressage wise.

 

[Kat]

I think you need a new instructor, one who wants to see you succeed.

Don't worry about what level you are at, it doesn't really matter. You can't just describe where you are if you need to. Novice/intermediate/advanced are meaningless, and beginner or experienced just refers to how long you have been at it, not to how good you are!

If say an instructor or riding centre wants to know you can be more descriptive. Rusty returning rider who can do xxxxx or used to xxxxx but needs to build back up for example.

 

[Dyllymoo]

Find a new instructor who is willing to help you progress.

And for the record I think of myself as a rubbish rider verging on unconfident novice (best off on a hobby horse!!).

 

[stormox]

I dont think you should worry about how 'good' a rider you are.
Its more what sort of horse do you suit! ie I am better on a horse that needs sensitivity and tact, I love TBs. But I wouldnt suit manouvering an 18hh tank of a cob no matter how quiet.
Some very strong, dominant riders dont suit mares, a gelding might accept being 'told' better whereas a mare you might have to meet halfway....

 

[Annagain]

You could be describing me here! I've had Charlie 9 months having had Archie and Monty for 15 years before that. They're both 25 and retired now. Archie had foot problems so only really hacked but Monty and I did a fair bit - dressage (unaffiliated) to elementary, a bit of eventing at 80 and one attempt at 90 - complete with vomit in the XC warm-up and a decision that once was lovely but I didn't need to do it again! Over the last year or two, Monty was slowing down, then it took me a while to find Charlie so I'm feeling very rusty. He's a sweetheart but very green in the school although he's starting to come on the flat. The thing for me is I've completely lost my bottle jumping. I'm fine in trot but can't bring myself to canter at a fence. I think the main thing is I'm scared of getting it wrong and screwing Charlie up as he's only 6 (well, nearly 7 now). A & M were that much older so I wasn't so concerned about teaching them bad habits.

The added pressure for me is I'm chair of my riding club so I often feel like people are watching and expect me to be really good. I felt it a bit with Monty but I feel it even more popping an 18" cross pole in trot with people watching! Recently, I've shrugged that off and realised I can be an example in another way - which is to embrace the go ahead and have fun and don't care what others think approach. I'm in my early 40s and Charlie is 6 so potentially, we have 20 years together. If it takes us 2 to get to where I was with M or even 3, that's fine, in fact I don't really care if we get there at all, I just want to enjoy the journey with Charlie. If it's in the slow lane, so be it. The second I embraced this I felt a huge pressure lift off my shoulders.

 

[j1ffy]

I feel like you have an old instructor of mine - any time I wanted to do anything that she hadn't suggested, she would say that I / the horse wasn't ready for it yet, she wanted a perfect 20m circle in all paces before she'd consider allowing us to do lateral work. It was quite a confidence knock and frustration at the time. I now realise that more experienced instructors will tend to introduce lateral work earlier as a means of increasing suppleness, and likely it was the instructor's lack of confidence and experience that was the issue.

It sounds like you are a very competent rider and trainer for your horse. As others have said, there's really no point working out where you sit on a very broad, deep and varied scale. I'm sure from reading your OP that you can go and do an intro - I recommend giving it a go, having a lovely day out with your horse (regardless of result) and reporting back here with a smile!

 

[smolmaus]

Yeah I also think this sounds like an instructor problem. "I don't think you're ready for that yet" is such a discouraging thing to say to anyone. Teaching a baby some basics in isolation to keep her brain going isn't the same as forcing her into movements she isn't ready for at a competition. Wires are getting crossed somewhere or that's just a bad match for you maybe.

Recently, I've shrugged that off and realised I can be an example in another way - which is to embrace the go ahead and have fun and don't care what others think approach. I'm in my early 40s and Charlie is 6 so potentially, we have 20 years together. If it takes us 2 to get to where I was with M or even 3, that's fine, in fact I don't really care if we get there at all, I just want to enjoy the journey with Charlie. If it's in the slow lane, so be it. The second I embraced this I felt a huge pressure lift off my shoulders.

I love this attitude.

I have more bad habits than good ones at this point in my riding if I'm honest but I did get one comment from an instructor (after she had just taken me off the horse completely to try and get it through to me where my flipping lower leg should be lol) that I always say yes to anything asked of me. I'll give anything a good go. She probably only meant it to make me feel better after a very frustrating lesson, and tbh I don't think she's the right instructor for me either, but I have taken that to heart. If I can make that as true as possible for as long as possible the rest will work itself out however it works out.

 

[LegOn]

I'm the kind of rider that works very hard to be mediocre!!!

Ah here, if you waited until everything was perfect and 'ready to compete' you would never even sit on the horse - its like waiting for good weather, never gonna happen! But every try is the next step to getting it, so why not just out out and try and smile and enjoy it!

I'm definitely another one who is 'who cares what age me or the horse is - he aint going anywhere' if it takes us 10 years to do what we want, then so be it! Who CARES!! And WHY would I care what anyone else thinks!!!

 

[Widgeon]

Just going from what you've written here it doesn't sound like you've got the right instructor for you, tbh.
unless the rider is sat sideways off the horse and the horse doesn't understand any basics then teaching a horse to leg yield is entirely reasonable and very useful too! To have your efforts shut down like that seems a bit... blinkered.

This was absolutely my first thought too, your instructor should be encouraging you, not making you doubt yourself. I'd find a new instructor I think....the whole point of teacing and learning is to be stretched. I think this sounds like a problem with your instructor, not you. You sound perfectly competent to me!

 

[Leandy]

Out of interest, what does your instructor have you doing in your lessons?

 

[scruffyponies]

I'm sure there are loads of us. Been riding years, and don't compete. I'm sure I ride like a fairly well balanced, sticky bag of potatoes.
On the other hand, my ponies are mostly home-broke, and can be ridden safely in just about any situation. If I get a new one, it is always because someone else daren't ride it (yes FTGH's are still out there, even now)... and after a short while it will be as good as the rest.

Sometimes I think about getting lessons, but time is short, as is money, and I don't enjoy riding 20m circles.

 

[stormox]

I'm sure there are loads of us. Been riding years, and don't compete. I'm sure I ride like a fairly well balanced, sticky bag of potatoes.
On the other hand, my ponies are mostly home-broke, and can be ridden safely in just about any situation. If I get a new one, it is always because someone else daren't ride it (yes FTGH's are still out there, even now)... and after a short while it will be as good as the rest.

Sometimes I think about getting lessons, but time is short, as is money, and I don't enjoy riding 20m circles.

FTGH?

 

[scruffyponies]

FTGH?

Free To a Good Home

 

[Foxaunt]

Thank you all so kindly, as always the H&H forum is full of frank and friendly comments, both of which are immensely helpful. I will continue with my other instructor more regularly, who is harder to get a hold of but happy to do remote sessions, which suits me fine.

I'm happy (and indeed grateful,) to have the odd lesson with the original instructor when they are at the yard, (a very well-respected person in the local riding community who has a wealth of knowledge and experience) but feel like I will stand up for my horse a bit more; and as above it's money and time spent, to not much benefit for us personally but who knows, if I stood up for us a bit more, instructor might even change her mind. For reference, with original instructor, we are 3 months in and last lesson we started cantering. With remote instructor, we were doing turn on the forehands in 10 minutes of our first session.

I love the mentality of getting on regardless of labels, I too will adopt a "if it takes us 5 years to do a "proper" trot, or a square halt, who cares" attitude; it's not our job to be pro's, my mare certainly wont lose any sleep over it.

About to enter my first test, wish me luck!

(Just seen also that Beechwood EC are hosting a SDU test, might be more our speed!)