What Horse Riding Means to Me

I have always wanted to ride horses, and a couple years ago my parents let me take horseback riding lessons at a place close to my home. I started with the basics and worked my way up. I started with jumping and it was fun but wasn’t my thing so I rode different horses and tried different things and finally, I started riding Lil G who was a dressage horse.

So I started learning dressage, which is a form of horseback riding where a horse and rider have to work together to execute difficult moves, on Lil G. I liked it a lot and wanted to keep doing it. Then I rode Benchmark Aamparo, (“Benchmark” for the stable she was born at and “Aamparo” meaning “protection”) a thoroughbred dressage mare. It was a lot of fun. Aamparo’s owner is going off to college, so Aamparo needed someone to lease her so she would get ridden.

Now I ride whenever I can. It helps relieve stress, and it is a lot of fun. I am being coached by different people and taking what I can from them. I am learning a lot, and I also have a lot of freedom to do what I think is best for Aamparo and me. I will be competing soon, and I am very excited and nervous.