Life Lessons From Horses
When was the last time you got to see the world from the back of a magnificent 1200 pound animal? At camp, you could do this every day by signing up for horseback riding! Boys can choose to sign up for trail rides or ring lessons every day (or even both!), and all levels are welcome. For some boys, camp is the first place they learn to ride!
Even though this is Teddy’s fourth summer, he just rode at the barn for the first time last year during Cabin Adventures, and realized he really enjoyed it. This summer he’s been signing up for horseback riding as much as he can, and on this day he was doing trail rides 4th and 5th period. “My favorite horse is definitely Chico,” he said.
Brothers Walt and Alex are fifth year campers, who enjoy coming to the barn together. While the trail rides were heading out, they were staying in the barn to work on their horsemanship and would be joining a ring lesson afterwards. Mare was teaching footfalls and gaits, while Alex taught how to fit tack on a horse. Diana even brought up some apples from the Dining Hall to share with the horses as a treat.
We ride english style at Falling Creek, and our horseback staff instruct in the ring, on the trail, or learning “ground skills” and horsemanship knowledge. To earn their “Scout,” the first level, boys demonstrate that they can do things like control their horse at a walk, post at a walk, correctly lead a horse, adjust their stirrups, and properly groom a horse.
If they keep at it, campers can work up to “Warrior,” the fifth level. As Warriors, they have to demonstrate skills like a good seated trot, consistently get the correct canter leads, jump a 2’ vertical, jump a course of at least 6 jumps, know basic equine first aid, know 24 parts of a horse, know how to properly fit tack, and assist an instructor during a lesson. Working on progressions isn’t a requirement however, and some campers just enjoy being at the barn to be around the horses.
“My favorite part of horseback is the ring lessons because I like to go fast,” Levi said. “I also like how soft horses’ noses are. HT has the softest nose in the barn.” “My favorite is probably caring for the horses,” Walt said. “I just really like animals.” Lachlan’s goal was to become a Warrior, but even said that he mainly just loves being around horses.
In the upper ring, Liv and Ella were teaching a trot lesson to Lachlan, Hudson, Alex, and Walt, surrounded by panoramic mountain views. Liv is from northern England where she has been riding since she could walk, and has previous teaching experience. Ella is new to riding, bringing fresh perspective and ability to explain techniques to riders in an approachable way. Both are great instructors, bringing their unique perspectives to the lessons they teach.
It was sunny and hot in the ring, but Liv was patiently giving tips to each rider, gently reminding how to stay present and focused while riding. “Hands down, heels low, shoulders back - These are not just one time things, we’ve got to work on them constantly,” Liv reminded. She was a good teacher, showing the boys how horseback riding is not just fun, but can be an exercise in discipline to become better riders and communicators with the horses.
When the boys trotted on the correct diagonal she would praise them, and when they didn’t get something the first time she would encourage them to try it again. When Hudson’s horse Pharaoh refused the trot poles and started cantering instead, she asked him to try it again. On such a hot day, it would have been easy to just shrug it off and say, “good enough.” But Hudson and Pharoah repeated the exercise until they did it! “Well done for finishing strong and not giving up!” Liv praised. It was a good reminder to persevere in all things and to “get back on the horse” until you have it right.
Often what the boys learn during their barn lessons are more than horse riding skills. I asked our barn head Mare what the main things are that she hopes campers learn during their time at the barn. “Patience, how to work hard, and how to work together,” she said. “You have to work together with your horse, and work with the other riders in the ring and communicate.” She also said it was important to learn that “not everything comes easy, and hard work pays off. A lot of our progressions are challenging enough that if you don’t get it right, you come back the next day until you pass it off. You can realize it’s ok to fail and try again.”
Horses teach us that time and patience can help you accomplish great things - riding horses can be intimidating or scary at first, but offers great rewards as you build trust, skill, communication and confidence.