What is a Quirky Rider? Find Out if it is You!
What is the purpose of your riding? Find out if you are a quirky rider too.
The quirky horse rider is the person who rides to develop themselves and not to prove themselves. The quirky rider sees their relationship with their horse as an evolution of who they are and uses the lessons learnt in the saddle to better understand themselves, their relationships and their purpose at a soul level. They apply the lessons they learn from the horses to their everyday life and see each trial and tribulation with their horse as a way to develop their strength of character and better define their ethos and purpose.
The quirky rider accepts every challenge faced with faith and determination to see it through and understand that no matter the result, they are where they need to be at this very moment in time. They whole heartedly love their horse and understand that their behaviour is an expression of their personality that is not to be squashed and dominated but encouraged to flourish and grow.
The quirky rider understands that there is a deeper meaning to be understood in their relationship with their horse and their horses actions. They take the time to reflect what their horse is trying to communicate in its actions and how best to integrate their riding goals with their horses personality.
The moment I became a quirky rider
This moment is burnt into my memory forever. For a while I was embarrassed about my actions, but I vowed from here on out I would always be the voice for my horse and not let anyone pressure me into doing anything to my horse that I thought would be disrespectful or that would offend them.
At the time I had a good relationship with my instructor, I had learnt so much from her and she was the person who built up my skills to be an instructor and a EA competent competitor. I respected her advice and took her word as gospel. At the time I was riding a stallion who wasn't always the most well behaved but had a heart of gold, a beautiful nature and mostly tried his heart out, occasionally deciding that the arena was terrifying and not concentrating on anything other than spooking for the length of the arena. She taught me to be a strong and heavy handed rider, she taught me that was what I needed to be to ride a stallion. Something deep inside me knew this was wrong, but I respected her judgement and worked as she asked me. When I look back now I know what was lacking was not my strength as a rider but my communication skills. He wasn't trying to be naughty, he just didn't know what I wanted, I didn't really understand what I wanted. As our lessons went on, more and more I pretended to be doing what she asking me without trying to do it because it felt so wrong. One of our lessons I vividly remember being taught to run him into the wall of the arena to get counter flexion. I let her push me to keep running him into the wall until he yielded off my outside leg. Bless him he figured it out, through no help from me he learnt to yield off my outside leg so as not to be run into the wall. I have to make mention that this is also one of the gentler instructors I've had in my riding career. I have definitely been pushed by instructors to do a lot worse to my horses.
One day, mid lesson, I can't remember what we were bullying him into, there were so many things we bullied him into, but this was the day I stopped and said to my instructor there had to be a better way. She told me I was unteachable and walked out. I was in shock, I had just lost my mentor, my coach and my inspiration. It all fell down around me but I knew in my heart I had done the right thing for me and the right thing for my horse. This was the day I vowed to always stand up and be my horses voice because he could not. This was the day I vowed to understand his behaviour instead of bullying him into what was expected of him to perform like a circus animal. This was the day I said I would find a better way whether someone was able to show me the way or not and so I started to listen to my horse. I discovered that when I wasn't trying to bully him into submission he was actually a very good teacher. He knew better than any instructor what was in his best interest, what made his body feel good when it worked and what didn't and I let him tell me when he didn't understand what I wanted. Sure our competition quality suffered temporarily but only because I went back to square one and decided to relearn the whole training process as taught by the horse. I loved this little dude, he opened my heart and my mind to a better way of training and he is the foundation for how I ride today. I'm still a working progress and each horse teaches me something new, but I always allow myself to be the voice of a misunderstood horse first and a trainer second.
Are you a quirky rider? Join our mailing list for more training tips
Are you a Quirky Rider?
What is the purpose of your riding? Find out if you are a quirky rider too.
The quirky horse rider is the person who rides to develop themselves and not to prove themselves. The quirky rider sees their relationship with their horse as an evolution of who they are and uses the lessons learnt in the saddle to better understand themselves, their relationships and their purpose at a soul level. They apply the lessons they learn from the horses to their everyday life and see each trial and tribulation with their horse as a way to develop their strength of character and better define their ethos and purpose.
The quirky rider accepts every challenge faced with faith and determination to see it through and understand that no matter the result, they are where they need to be at this very moment in time. They whole heartedly love their horse and understand that their behaviour is an expression of their personality that is not to be squashed and dominated but encouraged to flourish and grow.
The quirky rider understands that there is a deeper meaning to be understood in their relationship with their horse and their horses actions. They take the time to reflect what their horse is trying to communicate in its actions and how best to integrate their riding goals with their horses personality.
The moment I became a quirky rider
This moment is burnt into my memory forever. For a while I was embarrassed about my actions, but I vowed from here on out I would always be the voice for my horse and not let anyone pressure me into doing anything to my horse that I thought would be disrespectful or that would offend them.
At the time I had a good relationship with my instructor, I had learnt so much from her and she was the person who built up my skills to be an instructor and a EA competent competitor. I respected her advice and took her word as gospel. At the time I was riding a stallion who wasn't always the most well behaved but had a heart of gold, a beautiful nature and mostly tried his heart out, occasionally deciding that the arena was terrifying and not concentrating on anything other than spooking for the length of the arena. She taught me to be a strong and heavy handed rider, she taught me that was what I needed to be to ride a stallion. Something deep inside me knew this was wrong, but I respected her judgement and worked as she asked me. When I look back now I know what was lacking was not my strength as a rider but my communication skills. He wasn't trying to be naughty, he just didn't know what I wanted, I didn't really understand what I wanted. As our lessons went on, more and more I pretended to be doing what she asking me without trying to do it because it felt so wrong. One of our lessons I vividly remember being taught to run him into the wall of the arena to get counter flexion. I let her push me to keep running him into the wall until he yielded off my outside leg. Bless him he figured it out, through no help from me he learnt to yield off my outside leg so as not to be run into the wall. I have to make mention that this is also one of the gentler instructors I've had in my riding career. I have definitely been pushed by instructors to do a lot worse to my horses.
One day, mid lesson, I can't remember what we were bullying him into, there were so many things we bullied him into, but this was the day I stopped and said to my instructor there had to be a better way. She told me I was unteachable and walked out. I was in shock, I had just lost my mentor, my coach and my inspiration. It all fell down around me but I knew in my heart I had done the right thing for me and the right thing for my horse. This was the day I vowed to always stand up and be my horses voice because he could not. This was the day I vowed to understand his behaviour instead of bullying him into what was expected of him to perform like a circus animal. This was the day I said I would find a better way whether someone was able to show me the way or not and so I started to listen to my horse. I discovered that when I wasn't trying to bully him into submission he was actually a very good teacher. He knew better than any instructor what was in his best interest, what made his body feel good when it worked and what didn't and I let him tell me when he didn't understand what I wanted. Sure our competition quality suffered temporarily but only because I went back to square one and decided to relearn the whole training process as taught by the horse. I loved this little dude, he opened my heart and my mind to a better way of training and he is the foundation for how I ride today. I'm still a working progress and each horse teaches me something new, but I always allow myself to be the voice of a misunderstood horse first and a trainer second.
Are you a quirky rider? Join our mailing list for more training tips
The art of riding
The magic behind riding is what makes riding great.
As with any discipline there is a science to riding and an art. The science is the biomechanical and psychological result of our training techniques and style. The art is the emotion and intuition we evoke in ourselves and others when we ride. It is the way the movement of the bodies in unison inspires the watcher and the way it can touch something deep inside and evoke emotion.
A true artist needs an imagination and a belief that anything is possible. They can take a lump of clay and through their imagination of what that lump of clay can be they can transform it into anything from a vase, to a bowl, to toys and figurines, to pot plants. It is what inspires a wood worker to craft furniture and toys and a painter to transform a blank canvas into a vision.
As a horse rider you need to be able to see a horse and transform it through your imagination of what could be and discipline conditioning into an athlete, a dancer and a gymnast. You use your imagination of what could be possible to inspire your horse to work with dynamic flow and lose itself in the art of movement. We use our innate ability to manipulate and shape energy and through applying our movement to the horses movement we can transform it into artistic expression of our bodies flow of energy vibrating in harmony.
Tips to becoming an artistic rider
Pre-visualisation
Take the time each year, each month, each week, each training session to stretch what you think is possible. Our experiences create self limiting beliefs of what is possible and over time we stretch our goals less and only define realistic, achievable goals to avoid disappointment. But an artist is not confined to reality, they are the day dreamers that believe anything is possible. Stretch what you believe is possible to achieve the impossible.
Create room for magic
We like to create rules and structure so that life is easier to understand. When we define the rules of the game we limit the possibilities of the outcome. If for example, you've had a couple rides leaving you feel flat and unhappy and come into your next ride feeling the same way and expecting the same result, you will not be creating an environment or possibility for a successful ride. Magic and possibility need space. They need room to be brought into reality. Come into your training sessions without judgement, without preconceptions, without constraints of what is possible and allow movement to flow through you and your horse.
Inspiration
Inspired action requires inspired thought. If you are just punching out the training sessions and finding no joy in the dance take the time to find fresh inspiration. The will power to stick to a regime is draining but inspiration is empowering and energising. Take time to remember why you started riding in the first place and let your heart sing with the joy of doing something you love.
Flow of movement
The way that figures and movement flow into each other is an art. It can help to listen to some music when you ride that has a similar rhythm to your horses. Let each movement, each transition, each stride, each aid flow into the next and the next and the next to become a graceful expression of your relationship with your horse.
Let go of your ego
Our ego stops us from believing in magic, it stops us from being our selves for fear of judgement, it protects us in social situations from losing our identity and sense of self to other peoples choices. In the process of our ego protecting us, we don't feel safe to be who we are truly meant to be. If you are to lose yourself to the movement you have to first be able to let go of our ego.
Being an artist is about flow and feel and being an artistic rider is using the flow of movement of the 2 bodies integrating into a harmonic rhythm. Being an artist means to lose yourself in the rhythm and flow of your heart, allowing that song to inspire movement and flow through and energise you. Where 1 + 1 = 3. Where the horse and rider combination brings inspiration to the hearts of others and allows them to believe in magic. Because a good rider is magic in motion.
Looking for more specific content?
Have a question you are seeking answers to? Send us a message and we will create a blog!