03/30/2022
TRAIL RIDERS
I had a conversation with a fellow involved in the thoroughbred racing industry who asked me what sort of people and horses came to my clinics. When I told him, it was beyond him to understand why anyone would own a horse that was not racing or being trained for racing. In previous years I have met people who believed the same thing about horses who were not working as dressage horses, or cow horses, or polo horses, etc.
So I decided to re-post this essay that I wrote about 5 years ago. I hope you enjoy it. I believe it is still relevant.
________________________
I’ve got a bone to pick and it might surprise you to know it is with b-l-o-o-d-y trail riders. I have ridden many thousands of kilometres up and down the eastern half of Australia over many years – sometimes camping in the bush for many months at a time. Plus I get a lot of trail riders coming to my clinics. So I have enough experience and ammunition to make a legitimate complaint.
In fact, I have 2 complaints. The first is easy and I can deal with it in one short paragraph, but the second deserves a rant.
Okay. First up, about half of those that mainly do trail riding describe themselves as “pleasure riders”. Stop it. We are all pleasure riders! I hope we all ride for pleasure – even professional horse people. Being a good horse person is hard and dangerous work, so if you don’t love it, the other rewards (financial, accolades, ribbons) are certainly not enough for me to make it worthwhile. Gaining pleasure from what we do should supercede every other reason for riding horses. So trail riders should stop trying to appropriate the term “pleasure rider.” It’s a term that should apply to every rider of every persuasion.
Now the second and more important reason I am cranky at trail riders is their attitude.
Whenever I meet a new student at a clinic I ask them what do they do with their horse. I would say 4 out of 5 of the trail people say something like, “Oh not much. I just trail ride” or “I just like to potter around on the trail” or “We are not serious. We just like to ride out in the bush.”
They describe trail riding as if they have to apologize for it. It’s as if there is some sort of shame to being a trail rider and they are the second-class citizens of the horse world.
Well, I’m going to tell you those trail riders are not second-class horse people. They are the WARRIOR CLASS of the horse world.
I have come across plenty of people who have had long and highly successful competition careers that wish they had a horse they could safely ride on a trail. They practice their exercises in the safe confines of a riding facility where the most startling and unpredictable thing that can happen is that the horse gets its tiptoes wet in a puddle after a storm or it has to cope with a judge placing a rosette on its bridle. Heaven forbid those precious gold-plated ponies with their diamante browbands would have any sort of challenge that would cause their makeup to run.
Now of course I am having a bit of a laugh making fun of precious show horses, but my problem is not with show horses and their owners. My problem is with the apologetic attitude of trail riders.
I realize that some in the horse world look down on trail riding as not being “real” riding. But that is no excuse for the average trail rider to be hiding in the corner hoping nobody will make fun of their mixed breed pony with the unbraided mane and gone-wild ear fuzz.
To train a good trail horse is proof of a person’s skill as a horseman or woman.
Creek crossings, steep descents, swampy ground, branches whacking their face, the stench of decaying carcasses, inconsiderate car drivers, and bike riders are the things of nightmares for many horses trained in other disciplines. But for a good trail horse and their rider with a spine made of tungsten they are nothing more than another point of interest on their sightseeing tour.
To be able to calm a horse that is losing its manure on a trail is a badge of honour that is worth more than any blue ribbon. When on the other side of every new turn in the trail lies in waiting a horse-eating emu, it is the experienced trail rider that will see them to safety. When behind every bush hides the shadow of the grim reaper ready to unleash mayhem and death, it is the trail rider that will slay death. How many horses that only know the soft feel of a sand arena on their feet can hold their panic in check when the tentacles of an errant blackberry runner grabs their leg and attempts to drag them into the belly of hell?
I realize there are plenty of horses that are skilled in multi-disciplines and are proficient in arena work as well as trail riding. But so many horses live a life confined to just one particular chosen discipline. I believe all horses should be riding horses before they are ever trained for a specialty. That means they should be good trail horses. That means they should be good with traffic, opening gates, crossing bridges and water, mounting from either side. That means they should remain emotionless when their rider removes a jacket or another horse trots up beside them.
Nobody should ever apologize for being “just” a trail rider. Stand proud. Be the best you can be at what you do and you will never have to feel second-class to any other horse person. Remember you are the WARRIOR CLASS.
