Horseback Riding Essay

Horseback riding is an intensive sport that allows a physical and mental connection between person and horse. Horseback riding offers a variety of benefits such as a physical workout, an emotional break, and rigorous cognitive reasoning. Being on a horse allows a connection with the animal and with peers; also it can boost self-esteem and self-efficacy. When taking horseback riding lessons from a trained instructor, an individual can learn to ride with the goal of competition, leisure, or to discover a special bond with an animal. Lessons can be taught to any person at any stage of life, whether they are a beginner, an intermediate, or an advanced rider; there is always more to learn.
We chose to interview and observe Ramona, a teenage girl

Ramona enjoys being part of a group lesson because she is able to have social interaction with her peers that share her same interests. Similar to the journal article about Equine-assisted activities effect on social support, Ramona believes that riding brings her out of her comfort zone and allows her to socialize, especially in a group setting. Specifically, “equine-assisted activities may contribute to the development of social skills, mainly for adolescents” (Hauge et al., 2014). Ramona likes having Kim as an instructor because she feels as though Kim never has bad days, she is always excited to teach, and she is always consistent in how she teaches. Kim is very knowledgeable about horses and she has been an instructor for many years. Ramona appreciates how Kim knows exactly the right way to fix every problem, and does it in a way everyone can understand. When one student is having a difficulty performing an action, she diverts her attention to the whole group and addresses it for everyone. Though Ramona appreciates group lessons, she finds it a bit difficult more to learn, since Kim’s instruction is not always focuses one-on-one with Ramona, which the benefits and experience a private lesson could provide. The group setting is also challenging to her performance as a rider and environment, because she has to have the spatial awareness to understand how close she is to the other riders.