even afraid, tell your instructor about it so that she can make sure to select the right horse for you and first improve your confidence before proceeding to the flying changes.

    Dear fellow instructor, we must at all times be reminded of our times on a horse when we were not at all sure that the ride would be a positive experience and we would not take an early dismount. I remember many years ago I went down with my horse because it stuck a front leg through the poles of a jump and lost its landing gear. I wound up under him, yet besides some scrapes, pulls, and bruises I was fine. I was entered in an event the following week on another horse. Practicing all that week I could not find my spot on any of the jumps and finally asked a friend to please work my horse for me because I was beginning to make him insecure. I scratched the show, worked on my confidence, and enjoyed many cross country rides after that. Since I have had many years of great fun on horseback, I did not become afraid, yet my jumping did temporarily change from confident to insecure.

    How much more difficult must it be for a person who does not have a huge inventory of positive experiences to overcome a fear that, in the professional’s thinking, is irrational but very real to that person! Here is where we can prove that we feel really passionate about our work. We must be patient, reassuring to such a student, and careful in the selection of the horse and the environment we work in. A fearful student will teach us to listen, to move forward at her pace, not ours. Sincerely working with such a student in this manner will allow her to learn faster because the trust she gains in you will override her fear, and thus you have removed that learning blocker. Please be aware that the fear is not gone. It has only been replaced by the student’s trust in your judgment, so stay patient and do not betray that trust by becoming ambitious again. Once this student then has created in her mind a large number of positive experiences, she will learn to also trust her own ability to deal with difficult situations and become a confident rider asking for more challenging workouts when she feels ready.

    As an instructor, I have no problem helping the fearful student overcoming her problem because she does not choose to feel that way. The student with an attitude, however, is a different matter. Negative thinking, like fear, is a learning blocker but it also carries with it the root of unfairness towards the horse. If you feel like someone has done you wrong, go and run, beat the heck out of the pavement until you feel better, and then ride your horse.

    Have you been to a sports shoe store lately? Imelda Marcos could have a field day in there. There are hundreds of types, for every sport, every taste, every color, with lights or bells. They will make you run faster, jump higher, and make you poorer. Seeing this collection of sportswear you would think that we are the most running, jumping, and overall athletic nation on this planet. Looking at the results of the last Olympic Games seems to confirm that notion. The fact, however, is that a small percentage of our population is the most talented, best coached, and best organized group of athletes in the world. The rest of us only wear the shoes and proudly display them with our feet on the table in front of the TV set. That young person may not even have walked a mile that day. You may wonder how that affects our riding. Since most of us do not stress our body through exercise to where it hurts, we do not know about our muscles and their function. How often during a day are we confronted