My fitness journey began when I got my first horse in high school. Up until then, I rode a few times a week. When I got my first horse, I started riding five to six times a week, jumping bigger jumps, and going to horse shows! I soon realized that in order to ride better, …
Tag: horse show
Just an Update on Life and Horses
I have been pretty quiet on here lately! Life has been a little crazy. Cabin construction is underway. Farm spring cleaning and mowing has been keeping me pretty busy. Then of course there's work, running my fitness business, and riding! Also, there have been some things that I just haven't wanted to post about. But …
Typical Chance
My trainer and I decided, spur of the moment, on Wednesday that we would take Chance to a small, local show this weekend. For the first time in I don't even know how long, I really didn't have that hint of anxiety about it in the days leading up to it. I was pretty relaxed …
We Don’t Need to be Rich
I hate when people tell me that I had better marry well in order to keep up my riding. I hate when people act like it is impossible to ride without a fancy horse, and a massive horse show budget.
Missing Distances
I once had a trainer who would say, "if you know you are going to miss, make it look like you did it on purpose." I have found that advice to be very valuable throughout my riding career because, well, sometimes I just don't see anything. Or sometimes I see a long spot; or a deep spot. Not …
Love It As An Art
"Think of riding as a science, but love it as an art." - George Morris There are many technical details to think about while on a horse, especially in the hunter ring. Creating a good ride often involves breaking down and analyzing each detail about the course and how the horse will react to it. However, …
Always Something
I have had a lot of trouble with Chance this summer. I have not posted about it because I have been trying to find a way to resolve it. I have had a lot of struggles with this horse over the past few years, and I thought we were past much of it. It all …
Hunter Land
"Ambition. It's either in people or it isn't. That's the first quality of a good rider" - George Morris In the world of equestrian sports, the hunter discipline gets a lot of flack for being "unfair," "political," or "too subjective." I know many people who have said they started competing in the jumpers because of …
Riding a Slug
Chance has been so lazy the past couple of weeks. My usual wild child of a horse has been a slug! Today, I had to borrow a crop from the lady I was riding with to wake him enough to jump. On the bright side, I was able to jump a jump off of a …
Keep Going
Today, a little more than halfway through by run I was hot, sweaty, tired, and I wanted desperately to stop. "Why did I sign up for a half marathon this year?" I asked myself. "Maybe I will just back out, I can't do this," I thought. Then something happened. I kept going. Sometimes the moment …
Laurel Ashton Equestrian 