How fast is fast enough? (m)

[imabrit_us]

. . . or, put another way, how much progress is enough?

I've been riding for a little over a year now. I had a four-month setback when I came off out on a hack (horse went sideways and then bolted, I fell of and got knocked out/concussion) . . . totally dented my confidence and left me making no progress at all. I now have my confidence back . . . can walk, trot and canter (although steering is a little dodgy in canter). I have reasonable "feel" . . . I'm able to assess how the horse is going and come up with strategies to improve. I can ride fairly accurate transitions, do pole work, improve straightness, get a nice square halt.

Spooks and (small) bucks don't bother me any more . . . I'm confident out hacking (HUGE accomplishment) and I'm ready to start jumping.

I've really lengthened my leg and I think my overall position is quite good. I've certainly progressed from the "beginniner" horses and get more out of those I ride . . . I do feel sometimes like the YO can be a bit too conservative in who she gives me to ride . . . but I'd rather she did that than overhorsed me :)

I know my hands need improving (I tend to "fix" my wrists and/or bury my hands). My seat could do w/ deepening (would help my canter) and I have a tendency to hollow my back, especially going into an upwards transition.

But I feel like I've been on the "verge" of a real breakthrough for ages but I can't seem to get over the hump. I want to be cantering accurate shapes and circles and be as confident/capable in canter as I am (now) in trot. I listen to all these hotshot young riders who canter in their fourth lesson and feel like such a snail . . . with the amount of experience/riding time I've had, where SHOULD I be (I ride twice a week . . . an hour each time . . . mostly schooling, some hacking)?

N

[helenc]

Everybody progresses at a different pace. You've had a huge setback early on in your riding career & have done very well to get back to being confident so quickly. Just because people are cantering on their fourth lesson, it doesn't mean to say that they are good riders & I bet that they haven't had the problems that you have had. IMO, it's better to take these things slowly & get a good grounding on position & feel rather than learning to canter early on & not really having a stable enough position or understanding to do it well. It sounds to me like you have a very sensible instructor who is not pushing you too far out of your comfort zone but is progressing your riding in a positive way. The last thing you need is to be pushed too quickly & have another confidence knock so soon after you have got things sorted.

You have said yourself that you aren't completely secure whilst cantering so maybe that is something you need to concentrate on. It takes time, patience & practice to master the paces and I feel sure that it won't take you long to realise that canter is just another pace that you can do well.

Have you spoken to your instructor about this at all? I'd be inclined to say how you feel & what you would like to work towards and see what he/she says. I'm pretty sure that they will be thinking along the same lines as you.

Good Luck

[DavidH]

Interesting question.

1) Don't be fooled by the 'Hot Shot' riders. There is a vast difference to cantering around a school, hanging on for dear life and cantering under control, in balance and with a good position.
Young new riders often feel they are better than they are, older new riders are often too hard on themselves and don't give credit where credit is due.

2) Progress is a very individual thing. Some strive for perfection and this takes and eternity. Others are happy just not falling off.

Progress should not be measured lesson by lesson or week by week. If, at the end of each month you can say you have improved in some aspect then this should be enough.

Riding often goes in small changes followed by a light bulb experience which produces a major step change. As you improve this step cahnges get further and further apart.
It is very easy to imrove 50% when starting from a base of 0. Much more difficult when you have reached a better level where you will be refining what you know rather than learning major new elements.

Make sure you acknowledge your achievements and set realistic goals and time frames in light of what is already learned.

[cvb]

so thats what - around 100 hours of riding ? with not all actual "teaching" time (though the hacking will count as practice and confidence time ;) )

Just looking at the language you're using I don't think you're doing too badly !! Awareness is a BIG issue - all those "hot shot" canter-on-the-fourth-ride people will probably still take equally long, or longer, to acquire the kind of "feel" you are describing.

[PromiseMe]

I think youve gotten very good responses so far!


I totally agree with what DavidH has said.


Originally posted by imabrit_us
.
I listen to all these hotshot young riders who canter in their fourth lesson and feel like such a snail . . . with the amount of experience/riding time I've had, where SHOULD I be (I ride twice a week . . . an hour each time . . . mostly schooling, some hacking)?

N

I feel the EXACT same way. With all these riders who canter on their FOURTH lesson or something really makes me WONDER. I doubt that many are so super-talented.... it really makes me quesiton the competence of the instructor. Im reading all these stories about riders who cant even steer yet and they are already cantering. I mean, what are you trying to get yourself into? And what IS your rush?
At the barn where i ride, after 8 lessons, you are BEGINNING to trot.

And where I ride....you are allowed to start jumping at trot if you can canter competently! ;)
And it sounds like you can.
Talk to your coach about it if you feel youre ready! Or let your coach come to you, im sure your coach will start you over jumps when he/she feels that youre ready. Or maybe let him/her know that you would be interested in jumping one day...

And believe me, if anyone should feel like a snail, its me ;)
My instructors are VERY concerned about the well being and safety of the rider and will not let you move on until you prove that you are capable of moving on.

[kedwards]

It sounds to me like you are doing great. The fact that you have a good sense of your goals, awareness of the areas where you need to improve, and the ability to articulate these things, suggests that you are coming along very well indeed.

Don't be fooled into measuring progress by things like how quickly someone canters. There too many variables and facets when it comes to developing as a rider to measure progress by such simple standards.

I would advise keeping a lesson journal. Write down your short-term and long-term goals, as well as what you've worked on during the week. Sometimes looking back can be an excellent reminder of how far you've come.

[Skib]

You have had some excellent advice. But no one has mentioned the way the British Horse Society affects the expectations of new riders in the UK. The lack of guidance and mentoring for beginners like you and me in some of the best riding schools is astounding. So it's inevitable that we rely on the BHS. I went to a BHS school where one was not allowed to join a group lesson nor to hack out unless one could canter a 20 m. circle. So cantering a 20m. circle became a goal to the exclusion of all else, much like passing the driving test. You say it is your goal and it was mine too. It cast a blight over learning to ride.
Like you, I got the impression that some students (usually men), are allowed to canter early so as to achieve their goal as soon as possible. Such students bring credit to a school, whereas I did not. But have you talked to any of the fast track students? It was much later that men twice confided in me uninvited (I am old enough to be their mother) that they had been scared out cantering, or much preferred the trot. How sad.

When you start to ride as an adult it is very hard to judge your own progress. Allowing for your time off, you sound much as I was after nine months and equally frustrated.
I considered two possibilities. One was to accelerate the cantering process by arranging an intensive course of private lessons from an expert. I mean two or three sessions every day for at least a couple of weeks. British TV has shown you can train a jumper or polo player in a month and, if you have the money and time, you don't have to be on TV to learn to ride that way.

The other was to sit back, enjoy riding and let time take its course. Rather than do more of the same, I broadened my education. I went to two other schools, saw different ways of doing things, rode some different horses, discovered how horses learn, had other interesting teachers.

The second stage of learning anything is often the least rewarding because you don't make such visible progress. But to cheer you on, after two years, the misery was over. I could tell when I was learning nothing from a teacher and it was time to move on. I understood my physical problems as a rider. One knows enough to choose one's own goals and to spend one's money wisely, so one is no longer cross with oneself for failing or worried by a school.