Some people like to have a lie-in on a Sunday. Other people like to eat a roast dinner. Some look forward to watching Songs of Praise. Not me – I avoid the latter at all costs. Nothing will make me sink into a Sunday night depression quite like the theme music to Songs of Praise/ Antiques Roadshow/ Heartbeat.
Instead I like to spend my Sundays sat on a horse. And then watching some horses. And then betting on some horses. And then eating a burger as big as my head (which is abnormally large, for anyone interested – that’s why I have so much hair).
First up, my horse riding lesson. This was my fifth lesson and, to be honest, I’ve reached a bit of a frustrating point where I’m not really progressing particularly quickly. I grasped all the different movements and trotting in the first lesson, but the gap from trotting and cantering seems to be difficult to crack. Not helped by the fact that there are lots of different levels of ability in my group – I have a suspicion that if I was to tackle cantering for a full hour, I would be fine. But because some people have only just started, it’s just not possible. It’s not their fault, or the instructors fault, it’s just one of those things. Fingers crossed I will feel like I am making progress soon though.
But there is nothing like watching professionals to inspire you.
Me and my parents spent the afternoon at the races in Stratford upon Avon and had a fantastic time. My personal highlight was a obvious betting veteran comparing notes with me, shaking my hand after our joint win and then asking for my tips on the final race.
In case this man ever reads this: I really hope you ignored my ‘tip’ for the last race. Apologies if you listened. Oops.
I did actually manage to win some money, despite my best efforts to lose and drag complete strangers down with me (a miracle in itself, as I never bet more than £4 and always each way).
All in all a great day. Now I’m home, with my tiny little racehorse on my lap. A perfect end to a perfect day.
Don’t lose heart with your riding, Emily. I learned to ride as an adult and you’re bang on the money when you say the gap between learning to trot and learning to canter is pretty massive. It’s incredibly hard to do, but the key is to relax. I used to think about having a tipple before my riding lessons to do just that, but never dared. I wouldn’t profess now to be anything but an average rider, with a hit and miss canter, but as you build your confidence (and the horse senses this), it will get easier. My riding school weren’t able to offer group lessons, but I think there are some real advantages to these over individual lessons, steering for one – much easier to concentrate on the canter transition and your seat when your horse is blindly following the one in front. If you really want to get a feel for the motion, think about throwing in a few lunge lessons to practise asking for canter. All the fun, but hands-free, so to speak. Bliss! Good luck!!!
Thanks so much – I felt much better after reading this! I’m so glad it’s not just me that is finding the transition difficult – I have cantered a couple of times, but I don’t feel particularly in control. I’m sure this is something that will come with practice though, fingers crossed! Despite that though, I am loving it – just sitting on a horse and walking around a bit is brilliant, so anything other than that is a bonus! Thanks again
x
You’re definitely coming right along… it took me most of a semester to get a good solid seat with the canter. To be working transition from trot to canter is doing rather well in such a short time. Do you think you will continue your lessons?
Thanks Kat! I’m definitely going to carry on – I love it. Hoping to improve enough to go on treks. I’ve changed my lesson slightly – going to have a private lesson next to try and crack cantering. It’s so addictive! Do you still ride?