When do you feel you were at the peak of your ability?

sheep

sheep

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Having been out of riding regularly (excluding summers) since I went to uni, I can't help but feel I'm not as good as I once was.

Before I went to uni I used to regularly ride what was considered a somewhat 'difficult' mare. I got on with her really well and she taught me a lot (she was really nicely school actually, just a bit too clever). I thoroughly enjoyed riding her (even if nobody else did) and miss feeling like a competent rider!

So for me I feel like I was at my best with her- sadly she was PTS a few months ago due to various issues with joints and I believe she also had navicular. Now I'm planning on having regular lessons (abroad atm) and hoping to regain some of the confidence I used to have.. would've thought nothing of popping 1.30m on the silly mare, now 80cm looks massive!

Anyone else had similar experiences?
 
I'm 50 now and think I was at my best in my early 20's. Ironically this was a time when I didn't have a horse of my own so could afford regular high quality lessons and I really benefitted from them. Once I got into having horses about all the time the lessons had to take a back seat, add in some injuries and falls and I have been on a steady decline ever since
 
5 years ago...end of summer 2006.

I was jumping Catembi (in avatar) & we did a 1 m 15 & then 2 NCs a week apart & he jumped absolutely out of his skin. I was hoping to move onto Fox shortly. We were also picking up the odd BD point.

Then he got ill from protein losing enteropathy & died 6 months later.

I was hoping to do the same with Adrian, who turned out (after 18 months of research, 2nd opinions, 3rd opinions, trying every alternative therapy under the sun) to have EPSM, & now I have Trev the ex racer. He has learnt to jump but I can't sj as he can't cope with the warm-up. He scored 70.4% in his last dr test & has been coming on a storm in lessons, but I have now sold the lorry & given up lessons & competing as I may need the money for solicitors. (Divorced & trying to keep the house.)

I always aimed to get to adv dr & fox sj, but I'm 40 & now wonder if my peak was just that & will never be matched again. :-(
 
I think I was the best I have ever been when I sold my first horse and used to take riding lessons before I found my new one. I chose this very run down riding school that I would never recommend to any novice rider that would bring out these fairly difficult but forward going horses and take you over their home made XC course for an hour and a half. Without realising it, I think I learnt alot, plus I was viewing horses at the time so had learnt to ride various types.
A couple of years later I worked in a riding school teaching and exercising all the ponies. Again I think it was learning to ride 'anything' that really helped my ability.
I do however feel like I'm in a permanent down time.
There is always something that stops me working my way up, whether it me my injury, my lack of money, horse injury, lack of surface to ride on etc. I realise that is all part of having a horse but year after year it really takes it toll, so in the back of my mind I really hope I haven't reached my peak yet!!!!

x
 
I learn't to ride as an adult so didn't have the younger years to lose so to speak
I honestly think I am now riding better than ever :D Although I ache more lol
 
I'm not there yet - I'm 28 been riding since I was 5 ! I am hoping me and my youngster will get there together ! Incoming learning curve :-)
 
I sort of feel I'm at it now. I'm 42, I rode from age 3 but was always a get thrown on and hold on rider!! Lol!! I grew up hacking and galloping horses bareback across fields, and didn't have my own pony until I was 14 and she was a insane arab x given to me by a bloke at the yard because no one else would ride her!! :rolleyes:

I stopped riding from 17 until I was 30 (life got in the way sadly) and when I returned to it at 30 I'd lost my reckless edge. I had lessons for 4 years then took a beautiful huge 16.3hh heavy cob on loan who gave me my confidence back for hacking! I would go for miles and we'd ride through anything, he even had a firework set off next to his head and he just stood and watched the pretty colours!! I loved him so much but sadly his owner had to sell and I couldn't afford the money she wanted for him. So I moved to rural Wales got Kane 7 years ago and he tested everything I'd known about horses!! Long story short, I started jumping at 40 because I realised he loved it so I wanted to learn for him. And recently it's all just started to fit, I'm still only at 90cm courses but we last weekend won our first mini-pairs XC comp against 30 other pairs and I feel I'm a much better rider than I've ever been!

He's certainly not a novice ride and he tests me a lot but I'm now totally confident in my abilities to deal with him...so much so I'm tentitively looking at buying another youngster to bring on to take my XC more serious with.

I often look to the older Event riders (Mary King esp) and think we'll she's 50 so I've got a way to go before I hang up my chaps and take up knitting. It's one of the things I love about horses, it's not age dependent.
 
In my teens I would ride anything and jump anything, then life took over and I rode but didn't compete on a regular basis. Now in my fifties with my 15.2 homebred young horse I am starting to compete again, and having jumped 4ft square oxers on him this summer I have absolutely no qualms at all about SJ, XC or hunting.
 
In my teens and early 20's!! Now I just think "what if....!" and having a a baby makes it worse as I find I think if I injure myself then what?! Also having the horses at home I'v got no back up for help with my two! Don't get me wrong, just getting on is a risk, one's an exracer but I definitely don't whizz around xc like I used to, more of a happy hacker (as much as you can be on a sharp tb!!). As confident as I am on them, I would say due to my circumstances I'm not as confident as I once was, so don't take unneccessary risks like I used to, so therefore probably don't appear to be as good a rider as I once was (the crash dummy!!) and don't grasp the opportunities of improving my skills as there seems no point as I don't compete anymore! I just ride in the privacy of my own yard at home, with no audience!! That's not saying, that one day I may decide it's my turn again!! Well that's what I hope anyway!!
 
Hehe I enjoyed reading these! I'm hoping to surpass my former 'peak' - I guess it was more of a peak in confidence combined with a decent horse - and do some new things, be braver and go for it while I still can!
 
Was the best I've been in my mid-teens when I didn't need bravepants and before I lost my confidence. Would happily jump well over a metre without thinking about it, and was doing really well in DR with my Cleveland Bay (had him schooling Medium at home) as well as reschooling my lovely cob driving mare to saddle.

Then took an 8 year break to go to uni/establish career and forgot everything when I got the Knobber. Have never found where I left all that confidence I used to have :p

However I'm starting to feel like I'm remembering how to ride now... had a brill lesson last night and felt like I'm really getting somewhere. Whilst my confidence may never be what it was when I was 10 years ago, I think technically I have the potential to be better. Knobber may never make a medium horse (though who knows, maybe he'll surprise me!) but if I can get him to elementary I think it'll be nearly more of an acheivement than having the CB working at medium, as CB was much more of a DR 'natural' :)
 
I'd probably gage mine as competitive side and when I was 14/15/16 I was jumping Fox's and bigger BSJA and also having weekly lessons so that when I have proof I was doing well. Th cross over onto Horse didn't go well for me (parents divorce my dad selling farm etc) and a few years later I sold the horse and had a break of about 8 years. And now I'm hoping that the horse I have now and will be affiliating in the next month or so, will also be up to Fox level in maybe a year I'm also having fortnightly lessons with a great trainer so hopefully I can feel 'that good' again soon.

My husband is a naturally gifted sportsman and is great at rugby and my children love to watch him so I'm really looking forward to them seeing Mummy be good at something so they can be proud of me too :p
 
I'm in my 50's now; I'd say the peak was around 35 before various injuries and just life in general started to get in the way. I've never really stopped riding completely, but I am slowly realising that I used to be a better rider and am now not able to do things that once were easy. It also hurts more when I fall off.
 
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