Ashley's Equestrian Pin Fever

All About Riding

One of the few great things about riding (besides all the free manure) is getting to wear cool horse clothing. So I'm often stopped by complete strangers wanting to know about getting started in equestrian sports. I try to give them the benefit of our 8 years in the sport.

Q. MY CHILD WANTS TO RIDE, WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?
A. Get them involved in something less expensive, like playing the commodities market or yacht racing.

Q. IS RIDING EXPENSIVE?
A. Depends on whether you enjoy other things in life, like eating or having shelter over your head that isn't a stable. To learn more about how little money you're going to have & download those bankruptcy forms you will eventually need, click on the "Kiss Your Money Goodbye" icon

Q. SHOULD I RIDE ENGLISH OR WESTERN?
A. Depends on whether you were influenced by Bonanza or National Velvet when you were little.

WESTERN has that Garth Brooks appeal. You get to ride in BIG handtooled leather saddles, melt down the family silver service to accessorize it & ride in sequined clothes that look like they were designed by Dennis Rodman.

ENGLISH has that "old money" appeal & is probably somethng that would appeal to Martha Stewart (especially the free manure part). You get to ride in neatly tailored clothing (translation=custom made & expensive), ride in saddles priced more than your first car & ride on horses who have a better lineage than you do. To learn more about English riding, click on the discipline below.

OTHER DISCIPLINES range from Vaulting (combines gymnastics w/riding, as if either one alone isn't dangerous enough), Driving (from western chuck wagons to the elegant 4-In-Hand) to Trail Riding. Endurance has become increasingly popular, involving riding long distances over various terrains. Oddly this has been an area dominated by women, probably former soccer moms, though without the cell phones. For those who inherited family money & want to blow it REALLY fast, there's Polo.