Personal Narrative: SJ Ranch Riding Camp

Horses are trained by Heidi’s interns in basic dressage and jumping, very different from their past of galloping counter clockwise around a racetrack.

Seven nights ago I arrived at Red Dillon’s homestead. Before sleeping that night I dined on a bowl of red chili and a cup of coffee while Red Dillon went over the agreement, he made with the agent from the reservation. After Red finished reviewing the agreement he urged me to have some more food to prepare for tomorrow's bronc riding lesson. That next day I only managed to ride two horses and before being thrown five times, but I learned how to ride with skill. Each horse has a pattern and I can gauge their pattern to find my timing and rhythm to control the broncs. By the end of the week I managed to ride two horses in succession to a complete standstill and I felt accomplished, although Red immediately set up the corral after

Leading the horse to the adjoining pasture, Jackson buttoned his coat, put on his gloves, pulled his stocking hat over his ears and put his cowboy hat over the top Since it was March and there was still a good bit of snow on the ground, he didn’t intend to go far, it was too cold for that. All he wanted was to get the feel of the horse and see how well he responded to him as a rider. For his first ride, he already had quite the audience on the other side of the fence. He mounted the horse and had quite the audience on the other side of the fence for his first ride. Taking the reins, he mounted his horse and queued him into a walk using his voice and legs. Once they were going he put the horse through his paces, first at a trot and then a full

“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” -Winston Churchill. Horses not only inspire their riders, but also the spectators. The art of equestrian is generally disregarded as a competitive sport. Being a rider not only takes raw talent but also devotion, skill, concentration, knowledge, and strength. With a variety of riding styles, it’s difficult to express which one is superior to the others. There is tension between the horsemen with different riding styles; each believe their accomplishments take more skill. Western Pleasure riding and English Hunter Jumpers are two distinctive techniques with diverse characteristics, but

SPC Montes’ has filled an important role of being a side – walker during lessons, providing physical and verbal support of ensuring safe horse handling during class. He provided training to the new oncoming volunteers on the “do’s and don’ts” of the property.

There is a trail down the road in Delaware where I enjoy taking my dog for a walk. It is a beautiful, five-mile loop traversing cornfields, thick patches of forest, steep hills and flowing streams; a wonderful place to escape the hustle and bustle of the suburban lifestyle and spend some time amongst the peacefulness of nature. It is not a complete escape, however, for I am not the only person that knows of the trail- it seems to also be a favorite of horseback riders. Often times I will encounter a rider or two at some point during my walk and, without fail, I will be in awe of the size and majesty of the horse. What an incredible, gentle beast it is. Standing next to a horse, you cannot help but gawk at the bulging, toned muscles and long, agile legs. It is truly an athlete with a rare combination of strength and speed. Yet, they are gentle and kind and have therefore been joined at the hip with humans; today, nearly all horses have been domesticated. So I find myself

During the summer before my Freshman year I went to hell and back, and by hell I mean Philmont scout ranch. Just a little background, Philmont scout ranch is 140,117 thousand acres of big rugged, dry, mountainous terrain. I knew what I was getting into, Ever since I joined boy scouts Philmont was regarded as the ultimate scouting experience, so of course i was pressured into that. Eventually summer rolled around and before I knew it I was on a train to New Mexico.

Would you go to Jewish Cowboy Camp? You would need to learn how to be a cowboy, eat weird food, and in addition of this while knowing absolutely nobody? I would. Jewish Cowboy Camp is in Elbert, Colorado. It is this isolated ranch in the middle of nowhere. This is the shirt that I got from the camp. It shows that I'm very outgoing because for most people going to Jewish Cowboy Camp sounds outlandish and crazy.

The thundering sound of hooves echoes in my ears as my horse comes barreling down the hill toward me. My whistle had caused him to go crashing through the tall grass and Queen Ann’s Lace in search of me once again. Coming to a sliding stop in front of me, I gently stroke his muzzle. Letting my hands glide over his fuzzy neck and into his jet black mane, I grab ahold and throw myself onto his strong back. We go running through the pasture, scattering wild rabbits and sending sparrows a flight. I watch them fly overhead, their brown wings leading them to rest in the big oak tree that my horse and I come to a halt underneath.

This paper will inform the parents, educators, and American society of the benefits of therapeutic horseback riding for people who have cognitive challenges or loss of limbs and other functions. Therapy can happen on the horse as well as off, depending on the condition of the rider. Not all therapy has to be done on a horse. It can be done on the ground as well, by padding the horse, brushing the horse, leading the horse. Knowing you can conquer being around and taking care of a big horse gives those with challenges a sense of satisfaction and self confidence. Therapeutic horseback riding is wonderful for young people as well as older people with disabilities. Even if they cannot sit up straight, therapy can make it so that any individual can

It was a warm mid-september day and I was preparing to go horseback riding for the very first time. I was celebrating my bestfriend’s birthday with her family and a couple other friends. On the ride over you could feel the jitters in the air and the excitement to try something new. We arrived to Bobby’s Ranch in Westford MA and settled on petting some of the other animals. It was all very bizarre, almost movie-like. We joked around about rookie mistakes and wondered how many of us were going to fall under it’s trap. The ride was scheduled to be an hour long, through the woods and in an orderly fashion. I got on top of a platform and was instructed on how to get up on the saddle and how to use the reins to guide the horse. The birthday girl

I took a deep breath as I walked my horse into the Greeley Stampede Arena. I told myself just to "relax." I loped a circle around the arena to make sure that my horse was warmed up and ready to go. He was ready but I was starting to get nervous. I stopped in front of the roping box to put my piggin' string in my mouth. I looked at my calf in the chute to make sure that it was number 33, which was one of the best calves out of the whole set. It was, and I was ready to ride into the box and rope my calf, or attempt to rope my calf. I began to get more nervous, more nervous than I ever had been at a rodeo.

Standing full of strength, it was obvious this steed was itching to run as if he just became a wild mustang. His poise made it clear that he wanted to run with every ounce of his strength, a sense of adventure stirs in my mind, taking in the aroma of freshly cut grass, he lets out a raging loud whinny, for a split second time stops. Once, his movement begins again, it becomes formless but rapid creating a calming yet mighty rhythm I am oh so familiar with. Shuffling forth slowly, my legs, clutch tighter, goose bumps appear resembling stars in the night, while beneath the saddle generates thundering hooves used such as wings, galloping at full speed with no worries in our mind. As the crisp breeze touches my face I know my spirit becomes free,

Everyone has a certain level of confidence in certain things that they do. Someone may be confident in school, but not in some other aspects of their life. That of course, goes both ways, whereas someone might be really confident in an extracurricular of theirs, but not school. There are three different confidence levels of horse riders. In the first level, you’re still very timid, and often ask for help to make sure you’re doing things correctly. In the second confidence level, you’re more independent, and only ask questions when you need to troubleshoot. The third level of confidence, you’re the one giving advice to others. Today I will be explaining how you can find these different riders in any warm up arena.

And we did. The warming up went pretty well, no horses getting scared, everything was going the way it was supposed to. We continued riding, occasionally hearing “Change your leg”, or “Do more transitions, and don’t just stay riding in circles”. I liked the lesson, but I was waiting for the words. For something I always look forward when I horse ride. Until it happened. We heard our teacher say: