This!
I am 51. Started lessoning somewhat seriously at 40. It’s been slow going (but maybe that’s just me…) but I show pretty seriously now in hunters and Eq. Ok, teeny fences, but still. It’s been a BLAST!
You will need: the right horse, patience and a sense of humor.
Good luck!
Although I have been riding since I was a teen, I had not taken a lesson in 30+ years - started taking dressage lessons a few years ago, sold my trail mare, bought a TB and just this past spring started jumping - we’ve been jumping 2’6",and the occassional 2’9" at home. I turned 55 this past March - it can be done!
I am learning to jump at 55
I have been taking riding lessons for about three years and I am not a quick study. I am jumping cross rails and very low straight rails. I do not learn as quickly as my young classmates, but, if you don’t work off a time table, and you build a solid foundation, jumping can be exhilarating. Take your time and have fun.
Funny!! That’s exactly what my trainer said to us last week!!
I did not ride as a kid and probably had 30 days total lifetime of lessons prior to starting riding almost 4 years ago, 1st yr: monthly lessons, 2nd year: weekly lessons in dressage. But 2 years ago at age 36 I started learning to jump. I took twice a week jump lessons up until 2 months ago ($ made me cut back). I started showing locally last year and have continued this spring/summer. I stopped doing dressage last year. I LOVE jumping (hunters). I just moved up to 2’3" this summer, and showing my first non-green rider class at 2’ next weekend 
I plan to do a 2’3" show in October.
Get the right horse and the right trainer. Makes all the difference.
Our hunt master is in her mid 70s and we have MANY members in the 50-70 range. Most of them ride first flight.
If you’re healthy and decent shape, I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to learn to jump!
Go for it. The exhilaration from jumping is worth every ache. When I started, friends told me of a couple who started in their 60s to event with gusto and success!! I learned to ride in my late 40’s and first jumped in my 50’s. Your fitness is key! Good that you are in shape. My riding success is correlated with my fitness – that’s what I have found matters most. Stiffness and slower learning speed are the other big factors that are harder to ‘improve.’ :lol:
Have a blast!
[QUOTE=shadowanne;7153581]
Get the right horse and the right trainer. Makes all the difference.[/QUOTE]
Funny that’s exactly what my trainer said to us last week!
[QUOTE=Justa Bob;7153619]
Go for it. The exhilaration from jumping is worth every ache. When I started, friends told me of a couple who started in their 60s to event with gusto and success!! I learned to ride in my late 40’s and first jumped in my 50’s. Your fitness is key! Good that you are in shape. My riding success is correlated with my fitness – that’s what I have found matters most. Stiffness and slower learning speed are the other big factors that are harder to ‘improve.’ :lol:
Have a blast![/QUOTE]
That’s why no matter how much I freakn hate running, I’m sticking with it. Nothing improves my endurance and fitness better than running
[QUOTE=Faye;7151836]
I’ve been coming back to riding for only 2 months, but it’s the best thing ever! Last week we were working on a trotting pole “course” - practicing to look up and look where I’m going, and I was in heaven!!! I trot over the poles confidently in two points pretending that I’m actually jumping, how silly was that :lol:[/QUOTE]
That’s hardly silly since GM recommends it.
It’s very doable. Go for it!
I was 40 before I ever got on a horse. You can most definitely learn to jump.
My advice is to have realistic expectations. It will take you much longer to learn than it takes the kids, so don’t feel bad when their jumping 3’6" after a couple of years and you’re still doing 2’ or 2’6". Kids are fearless and elastic. As an adult, you’ll have to fight your body and your brain - you’ll over think things and be more anxious than the kids, and your body won’t do some of the things you want it to do. Concentrate not on the height of the jump but on improving your horsemanship and your riding basics, and you’ll find jumping exciting and challenging and addicting. Also, find a horse who is a good teacher, one who knows his job, can find his own distances and doesn’t lose confidence or get cranky when you make a mistake. You want it to be a fun experience, not scary, so keep it simple with a schoolmaster who will help you learn a solid jumping position and teach you to make decisions on course.
Take it slow and have fun. Focus on the basics. Don’t overface yourself and keep it fun. Go for it!
[QUOTE=Rose2011;7153720]
I was 40 before I ever got on a horse. You can most definitely learn to jump.
My advice is to have realistic expectations. It will take you much longer to learn than it takes the kids, so don’t feel bad when their jumping 3’6" after a couple of years and you’re still doing 2’ or 2’6". Kids are fearless and elastic. As an adult, you’ll have to fight your body and your brain - you’ll over think things and be more anxious than the kids, and your body won’t do some of the things you want it to do. Concentrate not on the height of the jump but on improving your horsemanship and your riding basics, and you’ll find jumping exciting and challenging and addicting. Also, find a horse who is a good teacher, one who knows his job, can find his own distances and doesn’t lose confidence or get cranky when you make a mistake. You want it to be a fun experience, not scary, so keep it simple with a schoolmaster who will help you learn a solid jumping position and teach you to make decisions on course.
Take it slow and have fun. Focus on the basics. Don’t overface yourself and keep it fun. Go for it![/QUOTE]
This is such good advice, thank you!!! I must find a hrse that can find the distance coz he ait gonna send on me. I have no sense 
Definitely! DH had never been around horses before we met. Took his first lesson at 38. Did his first jumper show (.75, .85 & .95) just before his 41st b’day. Go for it!
My mom started lessons when she was 40 and we rode together for 20 years. those are some of my favorite memories of my childhood, and I wish she hadn’t quit, because I really enjoyed riding with her. Of course, now I have a babysitter when I go to horseshows, so I can’t complain too much!
She did say that she had to quit comparing herself to the kids at the barn because it was MUCH slower going. But she found a fantastic group of ladies at our barn and they had their “old geezers” clique that she had tons and tons of fun with. A couple of the women were moms to the other kids, and I remember we used to get so embarrassed at shows when they would have too much wine and act like idiots. Now I get it and I can’t wait to embarrass my daughter in the same way :lol:
But back to the point of the post…my mom is not the least bit athletically inclined, and wasn’t ever willing to work out beyond riding, and she did just fine. I have to imagine that it would be easier for someone already in somewhat decent shape with the drive to improve.
How about 65!!! At the barn I was at when I was in my 20’s, a lady pulled into the driveway and said she had just retired from teaching and wanted to learn to ride. She did, and went on to show on a local level over 2’6" courses with very good results. Her horse “Chuck” was just about one-third her age and they went around very nicely.
I haven’t read the other replies.
8 years ago I sold my upper-level event horse (who was 15 years old and ready for an easier life) to a 63 year old woman who wanted to learn how to jump. She had started riding 20 years earlier, enjoying western trail riding.
Not only did she learn how to jump - she built cross-country fences on her property and enjoyed that horse to the maximum.
She found me at a A-show recently. I thought she was spectating… nope! She is now 71 years old and showing in the 2’3" hunters on the A circuit.
Fr the OP - let us know how it goes!
I will definitely keep you all posted. My goal right now is to have a secure seat so tht I will set myself up to success
All the people I know who rode for the first time when they were adults were never very good. Still I don’t think you should let age keep you from being the best you can be. Some friends were just discussing this subject recently and they all felt that adults who didn’t learn as kids never were very successful.
I started at 48 – and learned to jump when I was 49. I did not have the horse to jump more than 2’6" and honestly I did not have the ambition to make that happen. I enjoy my small jumps and I do envision the possibility of jumping something bigger with the right horse…
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