My kids have been learning to ride. This is not the first year that they have ridden but it is the first year they became riders…at least by some standards. Have you ever heard that your not a real rider until you have fallen off? That is what they said when I was growing up anyway.
I wondered why but I think I now know. I think it gives you a reason to go on. Falling off can make you feel defeated or at least challenged. I asked Joshua (my middle son, 11 years old) what he thought when he fell. He said, “I was scared when I was in mid-air and it hurt when I landed because I was galloping (bareback).”
I asked him what made him get back on and he said he likes riding horses. I asked him if he had heard “your not a real rider until you have fallen off” before he fell and he said he had heard it but “I thought it was nonsense.” After falling he found comfort in the saying.
So, have you fallen off? Here is another thing I have added. Are you a Cowboy (fallen off when riding in a saddle) or an Indian (fallen off while riding bareback) or both (that’s me! anyone up to naming this?)
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Heres a great video of A young Boy & his Pony.
http://youtu.be/aUaP0t5IUnM
Hmm… Naming when you have fallen off both bareback and with a saddle???
Well that’s me too, my riding coach always said your not a real rider until you have fallen off 7 times! lol
I think I will name this one “Coocoo for cocoa puffs!”, the expression my sister and I use when someone is REALLY REALLY crazy! – But… you know… in a good way! 😉
there are those who have fallen and those who will fall….end of story LOL
As a 54 year-old relearning my riding skills, I am doing everything possible NOT to fall off! Takes to long to heal at this point:)
I think the fall off’s are counted in your lifetime if that helps….I know I don’t like to hit the ground now either!
I have to agree with the both of you on hitting the ground as we get older. I often wonder though before hitting the ground that moment just after you found the nice soft spot to land if the horse dosn’t accually give a little chuck and I told you if you do that one more time I’m gonna dump you. LOL
Hey Stacy, I lived in Montana as a little girl and I remember being told by someone at the stable we kept horses at “Your not a cowboy till you have hit the ground 100 times”. If I am not a cowboy/girl I am very close….. LOL