Everyone that comes to me for riding lessons, wants to be a โgood rider.โ However, I don't think they always understand what a โgood riderโ is.
It's not the ability to stay on a horse running really fast or jumping really high. It's not the ability to force the horse to do what you want either. Instead, a good rider is a rider that prioritizes their horse's well-being over their own ego.
A beginner rider that has never trotted a horse before can be a good rider just by doing what's right by the horse.
There are many riders that can jump very high and ride very fast but they are not good riders. They do not do what is in the best interest of the horse.
There are also riders that can jump very high, and ride very fast but the well-being of their horse always comes first. These are good riders with great moments.
All riders fight a never-ending war with ego and the desire to be a truly good rider. Every moment of every day that you are with your horse you must make the choice to be a good rider. It is not something that is suddenly achieved, it is an everyday choice.
Here is a list from a very good rider and horsemen that guides me in deciding who is trustworthy enough to work with my horses.
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ '๐๐จ๐จ๐' ๐๐ข๐๐๐ซ:
๐) ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ; ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
๐) ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐'๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐
๐) ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ง'๐ญ ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐จ
๐) ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ๐ง'๐ญ ๐ญ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐จ๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐
๐) ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐๐ก ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฌ๐ค๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ
๐) ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ-๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐ฒ
and here is her article for additional information on the qualities of a โgoodโ rider.
