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We all learn at different speeds. Some folks enter riding with good all around athletic ability and balance and fearlessness. Others love horses but do no other high skill high risk sports. And it can be rather stunning how fast really atheltic young men can progress compared to middle aged women.
The horse also has a lot to do with it. If you had the perfect horse you could just be a passenger.
But also realize that just getting over one vertical rail is nowhere as complex as riding a course.
Aldo never never base any life decisions on anything you see on social media. How do you know this post is telling the truth? Lots of kids just flat out lie online.
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100% Agree! I always say that once you meet your heart horse you could move up heights at twice your speed if needed. Example that amazing stallion I rode XD Poor boy had to deal with my poor riding while we cruised the 1.30 course just because we seemed to understand each other and honestly he was an amazing horse that had done the 1.40 with his rider.
I guess she could be lying, the girl is 20 from my understanding, but my sister swears she does 1.30 official courses and I saw a couple posts on her insta that said as such. Who knows though. My trainer has always said that height shouldn’t matter, its about how good you navigate them and how often you win (he’s an older man who likes to compete and have his riders compete)
Well, for myself in Canada, I double check any social media self promotion by looking up the person on our national database of recognized competitions. It’s a good reality check. There’s similar in the USA but you might need to be a USEF member.
Oh yeah, just checked and she’s competed here in Mexico a couple times and she has done the 1.20 and 1.30, more often the 1.20. I mean it seems crazy to me but I’m not sure if she just rides that good or maybe she might have ridden secretly XD but that seems like a stretch.
But is it possible? I mean isn’t it dangerous?
I don’t know. Is she staying on? Does she have good form? What do you think of her seat, stability, form, etc? What kind of ride does she give her horses? Does she find her distances, does she have a good release over fences? If she has a steady seat and good release then she’s safe enough.
From how you describe her it’s unlikely she went from zero to competing in one year at age 20. It’s possible she rode as a child or in a different discipline.
Is it common for Americans to compete in Mexico? It’s not something I hear about on Coth.
The bigger question is, is this person pushing your buttons and making you dissatisfied with yourself? Is that why you want us to condemn it as dangerous?
It is certainly pretty much unheard of for someone to progress this fast. So one of two things must be the case.
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She is a supremely talented freak of nature with the cash to access top horses.
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She is lying, either about her previous experience or her achievements.
It would be interesting to know which it is, but neither you nor I have any way of verifying that. But whichever it is, it’s got no relation to your own journey.
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I don’t really know XD I only really saw a brief show of hers and she seemed comfortable and I personally think she looked quiet good and she didn’t seem to bother the horse and they matched really nicely. She’s also originally from Mexico! Her trainer also rides at my stable when he comes here to compete so maybe that’s why she competes here as well.
I was simply curious about whether it was dangerous or not to climb heights so quickly, she’s also my sisters close friend so I know her as well (by as well I mean I’ve talked to her like once but she seems like a sweet girl and my sister adores her) and I briefly worried she was a bit over her head (saw her videos and worry disappeared lol) since I’ve heard a lot of people tell me not to want to ‘eat the world in one go’. I also heard sometimes climbing so quickly can lead to missing bases so I was curious to see if it was common for people to do it.
It is unusual for someone to go from beginner to competitor in one year. I would not waste time being envious of this unusual situation. Obviously you know way more about her situation than any of us and are better placed to know if it’s really all true.
Every 20 year old rider has holes in their riding.
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I had no idea that’s how that came across. I am so sorry,I was just genuinely curious if other people advanced as fast and if it was common. I’ll delete it
Personally I couldn’t see any though, maybe I’m too new at this which is why but I didn’t even see her leg move at all and her seat and hands looked good as well.
unusual but not impossible
When my daughter had her summer riding program she took one inner city girl in six months from never touching a horse to be high point youth at a Class A showing against forty plus other kids, most having shown for many years.
The horse was a proven competitor who knew the ring.
Admittedly this was all done on flat work, but really it was the Horse who was the winner.
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Dolly, I know you are new here. I just wanted to point out that it’s considered rude on COTH to delete the first question and heading of a post. People chime in and give serious answers and then the thread is basically made useless for everyone else and our effort is wasted.
Your original question is a very good and interesting one, and a topic lots of experienced people would have comments about and less experienced riders be very curious about. How long does it take to ride to competition standards? It’s a huge question. And it is unusual and a bit disconcerting to see someone progress that fast. I was mostly just trying to caution you to not start being too self critical comparing this girl’s progress to your own.
We haven’t seen her ride and you have, so we can’t say one way or the other that she is riding dangerously. If she had a sports background, or gymnastics or dance, she might bring exceptional balance and agility to riding and progress much faster than most of the rest of us.
I just meant to say that it’s so unusual that you should not be taking it as a model or possibility for your own progress.
Also honestly sometimes naturally athletic beginners are fearless in general and fearless on horseback, while us more experienced folk who know what can go wrong get more cautious and anxious.
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