I would like to join too!! I am recent re-rider after 16 or so years. So far I have had about 10 lessons and hope to half lease my first horse next month!! I had ridden hunters in the past (teens/early 20s) and I am now trying my hand at dressage and LOVE it!! I stuggle is wanting to improve faster!! :yes:
OP thanks for starting this thread!
[QUOTE=spacytracy;5865647]
Add to my struggles a chronic illness (crohn’s) and that takes up alot of time too. I even had the chance to ride today and instead stayed home and watched TV because I was sick. Boo to that.[/QUOTE]
I have Crohn’s too spacytracy! Diagnosed with it when I was 28 years old.
It’s funny, there are times when it doesn’t affect me at all, and other times when it really drains my energy. But I have a hard time stepping back when I need to and admitting that I sometimes need to stay home and rest.
Couple of things that have worked for me: get in shape and get out and do stuff.
I work full time, long commute, family that whines a lot when I am not around.
But I love to ride. And I force myself to work out (mostly running) every work morning…up at 5:15 and out the door before I can find an excuse. After awhile it becomes easy. Take the weekends off.
And I try to do one thing off farm every month. Clinic, competition, trail ride. I find if I have something on the calendar I get more focused and committed to ride 4 to 5 times a week. I am the only one who rides my horse so he counts on me for the fitness. Truly, riding just once or twice a week is going not enough to make any progress.
I also feel that the more experiences you can have together the more you will become in tune to your horse.
As the other posters said…patience. I have always felt it takes a full year to really feel connected to a new horse.
[QUOTE=woodrwo;5867363]
Truly, riding just once or twice a week is going not enough to make any progress.[/QUOTE]
I have to take issue with this statement. I lesson twice a week with my trainer (sometimes I can sneak in 3 if work isn’t insane and it’s not getting dark at 5:30 pm). While our progress has been slower than I’d ideally like, we are making progress. Would I make faster progress if I could routinely ride 3 or 4 times a week, absolutely. But to say no progress is possible taking 2 lessons a week is not accurate in my experience.
ETA: I do agree that if I ever wanted to advance beyond a certain level, twice a week wouldn’t be enough to get me there. But I have no plans to ever show higher than 2’6" (I don’t have the guts for it anymore, since at 40, I just don’t bounce like I used to), so I doubt I need to worry about running into that training wall.
I sure hope riding once or twice makes SOME sort of difference, because its all I’ve got sometimes!
If I could find the time during the day to ride/exercise, believe me, I would! But I can’t exactly wake a 3 year old up at the crack of dawn so I can exercise! There ARE some things I can do, videos at home, that kind of thing.
Tarheel, I’m sorry about you having Crohn’s too. It sucks sometimes. I’m with you, I can go months with no flares and then it totally knocks me on my ass. I have big issues with obstructions - for awhile there, I was in the hospital every 3 weeks or so until finally they found the location and I had a resection. I was fine for awhile but started having symptoms again. Neverending battle, I suppose. For the most part, I deal with it just fine, but MAN, it really tires you out sometimes.
Video!
I just got some videos put up of my second show in nine years-my second time to ever show jumpers! In case you guys want to watch 
My boy takes care of me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkroTQeRmYA
^^Level 2^^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4vBGRKcskI
^^Level 1^^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTXOxalGfUw
^^I used .5 as our warmup^^
At our one previous show, we had only done the .5, so this was awesome in my mind
Find myself a re-rider a little bit lost.
H/J rider age 7 to 16. Returned to riding in college when IHSA started! :winkgrin:.
Seriously rode and showed in my 20’s, giving it up for family in my 30’s.
Can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught rides for the past 25years.
I am very lucky that I haven’t been held back by arthritis, etc. Gave up coffee, tea, sodas & aches & pains have disappeared.
Finally back to owning my own, really looking forward to getting into riding shape. He’s only parked 10 minutes away, and sadly last week his vet exam proved him to have serious back issues so we are really limited. :no: Can’t ride him at all until I find a saddle that fits perfectly, so going through that now. He is a retired OTTB that I owned an interest in, and won’t let him go. Besides, the couple of times we briefly went on trails, he loved it.
Just find myself in a “casual” barn - but not anywhere near as easy-going as they suggested. Lots of moodiness and glares from the BO, so it quickly stopped being a joy to go see him. :no:
You do sometimes think at this age it will be so easy & so much fun to return to. Not always! (But still love it - it is my passion!)
A hunting pace! Hunting is the one thing I’ve always wanted to do - especially considering the solid hunt course I learned on as a kid! Not with this guy sadly, but I’ll do it if I have to wait 'til I’m 80! 
Hey OP! I am with you 100% – and looks like there’s a lot of us out there. I rode a bit as a kid, then did not get back into it until my later 30s. Have the full time job that includes travel, the family, the pets, and one mare that I own and a pony that we borrow from a friend. My daughter rides the pony, my son shares the mare with me.
I find the stress of juggling job, family, kid’s sports schedules, my flagging memory, and my passion (riding) overwhelming at times, so decided to blog about it. Like I needed one more thing to do! LOL However, it’s therapeutic for me, somewhat like journaling about the frustrations of not progressing as fast as I want, the annoyance of the added pounds and lack of elasticity or “bounce” one acquires in middle age, the financial burden of trying to afford one’s passion in the face of those who may not be able to understand why you spend so much money on yourself…
Meh, the list goes on. Anywhoooo, I find my blogging helps. And I treasure the support from those that comment on my posts, as well as those who comment here on COTH.
Re-riders, UNITE!
Cedar Creek, that looked like loads of fun.
I just changed my work hours to 11-7:30 so that I can ride my guy at home in the mornings. He’s a perpetually green 10 year old due to my just not having the time/place/footing for good rides.
On a school horse I’m Ms. Confident. On my own greenie, I’m Ms. Weenie.
My biggest frustration is not being able to find a trainer who will come to me and also ride my horse once a week. I need to start taking him places to get him over the sillies, but there are very few places where I can take him that other people don’t get annoyed about that ‘bratty horse who shouldn’t be in public’.
CVPeg, there’s absolutely no reason to wait until you’re 80 to hunt. Just stop by the Hunting forum and read through any of the threads about the CotH hunting expeditions. The folks in VA were very welcoming to me, taking me under their respective wings and teaching me about this wonderful sport. And Hunter’s Rest has made hunt horses available for you to learn on.
You can check out photos of our recent outing here:
http://www.klmimages.com/odh_20112_2
Photos 51-62 are of our third field, who follow, watch and learn
[QUOTE=Dewey;5868408]
Cedar Creek, that looked like loads of fun.[/QUOTE]
Thanks!!! It definitelty was! I just love him. 
[QUOTE=Hinderella;5868476]
CVPeg, there’s absolutely no reason to wait until you’re 80 to hunt. Just stop by the Hunting forum and read through any of the threads about the CotH hunting expeditions. The folks in VA were very welcoming to me, taking me under their respective wings and teaching me about this wonderful sport. And Hunter’s Rest has made hunt horses available for you to learn on.
You can check out photos of our recent outing here:
http://www.klmimages.com/odh_20112_2
Photos 51-62 are of our third field, who follow, watch and learn[/QUOTE]
OMG, OMG, OMG!!! Those pictures are great – I want to go so bad! I’ve seen some of the threads about the COTH excursions to Hunter’s Rest in VA. I just mentioned to my trainer (who is also my BO and friend) that we should plan on going next year. I would definitely be third field!
TarheelJD, you should absolutely try it. You can p.m. Hunter’s Rest for more information. I hope to return again in the spring.
The third field experience is marvelous. Hunter’s Rest is the third field master, and brings us her years of hunt experience, along with intimate knowledge of the fixtures hunted. While first and second fields offer the joys of speed and jumping, third field has provided me, at least, with incomparable opportunities to see the hounds work, to sight the fox, and to learn about the art of hunting. For me, it’s like no other experience, and it’s foxhunting to which I aspire.
Well Hinderella, after today’s hunter pace experience, I am going to need some more practice, I think.
The first 2/3 of the hunter pace was great – the most fun I’ve had on horseback, actually. But about 70% of the way in, some of the faster groups caught up to us and were flying by, and my boy got to feeling really good, and wanted to go faster with them. I should have just let him run out his energy, but I tried to “keep it under control,” which just resulted in a miserable ending to the ride – a battle of wills that made both of us unhappy.
I need to get my courage up to just let him go in those situations, but I am still dealing with some anxiety from my broken collar bone last summer. Whenever he feels a little strong out in the field like that, I still get nervous. But I’m definitely getting better. Six months ago, there is no way I would have been able to have so much fun on the first 2/3 of the ride today.
So, one of my big goals is to do third flight at Hunter’s Rest – maybe by next fall I’ll be able to handle it!
Just got back from a show. Had two wins and two seconds, and I showed in the Level 3’s for the first time. I did one round without any stirrups at all-thankfully, I made it around without falling off. Not saying it was PRETTY, but we had the fastest time and only had one rail down. LOL. We placed second in that…but 3’6" was FUN
Small, but very positive update: I shortened my stirrups by one hole. What a difference a hole makes! It was so much easier to keep my leg back and in place; post got much smaller and softer as a result!
Tarheel, or anyone else who’d want to try hunting, the best part of riding at Hunter’s Rest is that you DO NOT have to worry about adjusting or controlling your horse…youcan be mounted on one of her made hunt horses and enjoy the experience.
Personally, I’m not at all sure that my pony will ever be the right horse for me to hunt. She’s a wonderful little mare, brave and fast and sure footed. But in her pony mind the very best ride is one in which we go fat & jump stuff! That’s perfect for a first field horse, but I’m very definitely a second or third field sort of rider, and I’m not sure I’d be up to the task of controlling her.
To that end, I hope to take a series of dressage lessons over the winter and add another tool to my riding arsenal.
The dark of winter will drastically cut into my riding time, but I’ll do what I can to maintain my skills and train for spring.
Hi all! Glad to see some new faces and hear about everyone’s recent rides!
Tarheel, sorry you had a bad ending to your ride. At least you have some stuff to chew on, and you know how to plan better and relax for the next one. My strategy in those situations is booze.
I was away this weekend, but my 2 horses were used in an IHSA show this weekend and I was told they were both great! Even my greenie was used in a class and apparently did very well and the girl placed on him. So sad I missed it but we had a committment.
[QUOTE=Hinderella;5868476]
CVPeg, there’s absolutely no reason to wait until you’re 80 to hunt. Just stop by the Hunting forum and read through any of the threads about the CotH hunting expeditions. The folks in VA were very welcoming to me, taking me under their respective wings and teaching me about this wonderful sport. And Hunter’s Rest has made hunt horses available for you to learn on.
You can check out photos of our recent outing here:
http://www.klmimages.com/odh_20112_2
Photos 51-62 are of our third field, who follow, watch and learn[/QUOTE]
That looks like my cuppa tea!!:yes:
Will do some thread reading this weekend, and start planning. Thanks!
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