Winter Sports?
Posted: Saturday, January 07, 2012
by Dianne Lehmann
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Okay, here's the deal. Horseback riding is really an all season sport. And don't let's debate the sport issue. Well, okay, maybe we'll look at that a bit. I just can't seem to help myself sometimes. There are those that say riding is not a sport and that neither the horses nor the riders are athletes. I say they are wrong.
Riding a horse may not always be amusing or entertaining, but it certainly is strenuous. I'm not talking about sitting on a horse's back in a dude string where the horse you are sitting on pretty much mindlessly follows the horse in front of him. I'm talking about dressage and barrel racing and pole bending and the like. And just because those expert dressage riders make it look effortless, doesn't mean that it is. I'm worn out after 45 minutes of practicing canter departs from the walk and the trot. Trotting tight circles and holding your horse to them is tough work. I and the horse I ride are usually hot and sweaty by the time we have finished. And that's even when the temperature is hovering around the 55 to 60 degree mark.
So for me, because it is currently winter and horseback riding is a sport, I'm going to say that it qualifies as a winter sport and I am fulfilling my assignment as a member of the Story Tellers group by writing about it (though Jack will have the final word on that). Of course, how much you partake of the sport depends on the conditions where you live. Right now, here, they are optimal. The ground has dried out and the sun is shining and the temperatures are reasonable. There are a hearty few who ride no matter what (a couple of years ago I did ride in a show in February in the freezing rain but that's another story), but seriously, a couple of weeks ago the daytime temperature never made it to freezing (the wind chill took it close to the teens) and I just didn't have the stamina to strip off all my extra layers down to just thin and tight riding breeches and get on the back of a horse.
Thursday was a hoot. The temperature was close to 60 degrees. The sun was bright. The birds were singing and the dog was chasing us mercilessly around the arena. There are three dogs that live at the ranch. Two are older (a German Shepherd and wolf/husky hybrid) and they leave the horses alone. But there is a young German Shepherd who just has to chase me and the horse I ride whenever we trot or canter. Apparently the walk isn't all that interesting or fun.
I'd been told to take a crop with me and smack the dog with it when he started chasing us. But the horse I ride, I'll call him "Lucifer," hates crops. I explained to Lucifer that it wasn't for him, but he really didn't believe me. That made a little trouble later.
So, Lucifer and I got all warmed up. The dog, I'll call him "Shepp," was lying in wait. I asked for the trot and Shepp flashed up to us and started running right at Lucifer's heels. We stopped moving, I tried to hit Shepp with the crop but he was too far away from me, so I simply brandished at him. Shepp made a "What?" expression at me and sat down in the dirt. Lucifer and I moved off again and picked up the trot and there was Shepp, right on our heels. I brandished the crop some more, which really seemed to upset Lucifer, to no avail. Finally, I slid down off of Lucifer, and because I didn't want to take the time to tie his reins up in the throatlatch so he wouldn't trip on them if he moved, I kept the reins in my left hand, the crop in my right and took off after the darn dog. I was told to hit him with the crop to get the message across … if I could catch him.
We chased him all over. Lucifer seemed to think it was fun to chase the dog for once and went with me almost right at my shoulder, matching my every move as if we'd practiced it a hundred times. We were a team.
There are some very large mounds of dirt outside the arena because they are building a jumping area and finally, Shepp went up one side of one and down the other and turned and faced us. Lucifer and I stopped on the other side of the mound and we all stared at each other. Shepp seemed to be saying, "What theheck is the matter with you?" Lucifer seemed to be laughing inside. I was just out of breath.
So I got back up on Lucifer. I should point out, that I normally do not use a crop and I'm really not very good with one. I think that shortly after my butt hit the saddle and before I could get my right foot into the stirrup, I must have touched Lucifer on his side with the crop. He took off like a bolt of lightning. His head was up, his ears were pricked and he was going hell bent for leather. When he gets like that, he's hard to stop.
He jinked to the side once when something caught his eye and gave him a startle. The pause was just long enough for me to find the right side stirrup. Then he was off again. When we came to a clear spot, I pulled fairly hard around on the left rein and we performed a good one-rein ho. But he didn't whoa immediately because he was so het up by that point. I had to pull his nose practically onto the toe of my left boot and we made several very tight circles before he finally calmed and stopped. I held the crop out where he could see it, made sure I had his attention, and, with a great deal of disgust, threw it as far away from us as I could manage.
We walked relatively calmly back to the arena and started to work again. I had to get down one more time and Lucifer and I chased Shepp around a bit and finally he decided that it was best not to mess with the crazy lady and her horse and went and laid under a juniper next to the older German Shepherd who had wisely simply watched all the proceedings.
We had a great session after that. We had wonderful canter departs from the trot and the walk. We practiced voltes (very tight circles). We walked diagonals on loose reins. I dropped the reins and used only my legs to direct him. We practiced whoas from the walk, trot and canter. We did it all. We were both sweaty and smiling when we were done.
Back at the stalls, Lucifer got a good rub down and drying off and lots of carrots … all the other horses got carrots too. It's hard to ignore their nickering.
You can have your skiing and snowboarding, hockey and snow golf … although, I do enjoy ice skating. In the end, I'd much rather spend some time with a horse.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Dianne:
Anyone who tells you riding a horse is not a sport is an imbecile and has never spent a second on a horse. They are not remote control cars. The horse and rider have to become as one and that takes work. Thanks for writing this. As for riding in the winter, I do that on my bike and I often feel like the little brother in "Christmas Story" because I am so bundled up it is hard to move. So, go girl, and ride on!Hi George.
It's nice to hear from you again!
Actually, I get more resistance to the assertion that we and our horses are athletes. But there are some that refuse to allow that it is a sport.
I do "bundle up" the top half of me and that sometimes makes it difficult. But you can't keep a good seat if you have anything between you and the saddle but your breeches. I've tried it and you just slide all over inside of your extra sweat pants. I can't imagine riding a bike all bundled up!
Thanks for reading and for leaving a comment!
Hugs,
Dianne
Hi Dianne there is no argument that horse riding is not a sport, we have show jumping, cross country trials, horse racing, and polo, all of which require a horse to compete. So whether you jump hurdles or not, or use a stick to hit a ball whilst out riding on Lucifer, you are indeed what I call a sportswoman...end of.
Keep well
KacyHi Kacy.
Thanks for the endorsement! :) Some days I feel like an athlete and some days I do not. When I do, those are the days we've ridden so long and so hard that when my feet hit the ground, I'm not certain my knees will hold me up. Usually, on those occasions, Lucifer is hot and sweaty and grateful for a good rub down and massage. :) After all, he actually did most of the work!
Thanks for reading and for commenting too!
Hugs,
Dianne
Great story. Glad I finally found my way over to read it. I'll always agree and consider it a fact that horsebackriding is a sport. It's work, hard work. When you're going through your dressage training of yourself and your horse, it's the two of you partnering up to work as one and for anyone not aware of the work that goes into training and riding, trust me when I say it's work. The whole trick to dressage is that the movements of horse and rider and the signals to the horse from the rider should be seemless, that is invisible to the audience. It should be brilliantly performed, as flawlessly and fluently as possible. It is both a sport AND an art, i you ask me.
Your telling is terrific. Enjoyable and a fine read!Hi Heidi.
Wow! You went on a reading spree last night!
YOU know just how much work riding a horse can be. But I never really thought about it as art. I like the idea. I have seen some freestyles to music that were just beautiful though. And I keep teasing my two friends that we need to work on a pas de trois, but my riding skills aren't really up to it yet. I'd be like the "star" on Dancing with the Stars, where the professional does all the hard work and the star just tries to look good. :)
Hugs,
DianneDon't think you're skills aren't there yet. You have to plan it, work up to it and do it. The three of you should get together and start. Work together and practice and it won't take long. It would be such an accomplishment - go for it lady!
I did catch up on some of my reading. I'm still not all caught up on what I want to read. Several articles as I go along.
You get on Dancing with the Stars, I will be one of your staunchest supporters, promise!
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