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Around The World

When 9/11 happened, all of that changed. Being in NY and losing clients and friends really made me re-evaluate my life and what was important to me. One of the first things that came to mind was how much I loved riding and I really had to question why I had ever given it up. Living in New York made it challenging to begin again as there are very few places that offer riding. I found one in Brooklyn that looked commutable and affordable. I booked a lesson shortly there after. My first impression when I walked into the stable and took a deep breath was "I"m home." I haven"t stopped riding since. As my signature on NR says, "I think that who I am when I"m with a horse is the best part of me." I really believe that I"m a better person when I ride and that it carries over into my non-horsy life.

I don"t own my own horse. I did part-lease a school horse at my previous barn. Florida was the barn bully. He was a notorious biter and a genuinely nasty beast. In fact, when his first owner bought him, he bit her shoulder & dragged her across the barn with his teeth. She then turned around and sold him to the school. He really wasn"t meant to be a school horse but the barn owner could never turn a way a horse in trouble.

Despite all of the dire warnings I received about him, for some reason I just clicked with him. Through New Rider and my own research, I found out how to handle him correctly. I noticed that when he went to nip, he would immediately jerk his head back. He also was incredibly territorial when he was in his stall and would lunge or bite if someone entered it. The combination of aggression and fear made me think that in some point in his past, he had been hit or disciplined severely. So I made a conscious decision that I would NEVER raise my hands to him or discipline him physically. Instead, any time he would start to act inappropriately, I would give him a loud "AAAAP" noise and turn my shoulders squarely toward him and stand up tall. It worked like a charm and he would immediately back down.

In the 16 months I worked with him at the barn, he never bit me & I never had to raise my hand to him. We got to the point that I would trust him to nibble on my hair and ears while I was grooming him and not worry that he would bite me. In turn, he would allow me to fumble around in his stall while I was learning to saddle and bridle him without ever being aggressive towards me. I would like to think that the time I spent working with him both on the ground and under saddle will benefit him in the future. He certainly taught me a lot about horses and about dealing with them appropriately and correctly. He also taught me to be aware of all the cues a horse is giving and to really investigate the roots of a behavior before you tackle the behavior itself. Most importantly, he taught me not to overlook any horse because sometimes the truly special ones are right in front of you.

I live in New York City. Over 8 million people live in the New York area. Obviously space is at a premium here and there are very few stables in the New York area. There are two stables in the immediate metro area. They offer trail rides in Central Park (NY) and Prospect Park (Brooklyn). They also offer lessons however there are no indoor training facilities.

When I rode in Brooklyn, lessons were held in small rings in the middle of Prospect Park. This left you at the mercy of passer-bys, unleashed dogs and other events being held in the park. My most memorable event occurred when my lesson was being held while the Barnum and Bailey circus was in town. While riding to the ring, we passed by the circus grounds. That particular day, the tigers were outside sunning themselves and roaring to one another. Needless to say, it made for an interesting ride!

The other extreme challenge was that in order to get to the park, you had to cross a four-lane highway. The highway is used by cars, trucks and metro busses. This led to some extremely difficult moments. At one point, Florida and I cantered sideways through the circle past an oncoming tractor-trailer. While I"m sure it entertained the passer-bys, it was a bit too much excitement for me.

Another problem is the weather. New York State law prohibits lessons when the weather drops below 20 F or gets above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Since there was only 1 tiny indoor ring that meant that lessons were frequently cancelled during the summer and winter months. This made is difficult to get any continuity.

These challenges made it impossible for me to really advance in my riding. The barn simply couldn"t offer the facilities to train someone who is interested in competing and jumping. As a result, I began looking into commuting to a barn outside of the city. My trainer and I have since moved to a hunter/jumper stable in New Jersey. Despite it being only 18 miles from New York City, the commute is a challenging one. As I"m a city resident, I don"t have a car. I take a commuter train to a bus and then walk " a mile to get to the stable. It takes me approximately 90 minutes to get there. Due to the length of the commute, I can only go once a week.

However the stable offers incredible facilities including an Olympic-sized, heated indoor arena (heaven!), an outdoor jump course and horses of incredible caliber. Therefore, while the quantity of my lessons has decreased, the quality has definitely increased.

The most common breeds in the Northeastern US are TBs and QHs. Warmbloods are fairly common in dressage barns as well. My experience riding has always been with TB or TB crosses. I have a strong interest in trying an Irish Sport Horse however they are not common around here. There really is a toss-up between equestrian sports here. You see a large amount of hunter jumpers but there is also a large dressage following. Barns tend to be split down discipline lines (i.e., you will usually see only h/j barns or dressage barns). At the moment, I am at a h/j barn and that is my chosen discipline.

I don"t have a horse at the moment. I do ride at a barn that is probably 70% school horses (all of whom are for sale) and 30% boarding. Full board is approximately $800 a month at stables in the metro area. Most of these include limited turnout. When turnout exists, horses are usually turned out on their own in the rings. As this is a major metropolitan area, there are very few "horse properties" in the area. The majority of owners stable their horses full-time. DIY Livery is not a concept that exists here in NY. Lessons vary in price but I pay approximately $80 USD for a 1-hour private lesson. Costs vary from $50 to $120 an hour for private lessons so I pay the average amount. Types of equipment: depends on discipline I suppose. Most of the horses are ridden in snaffles, saddles and saddle pads. Boots are used for jumping & to provide needed support. Blankets are used inside (keeps the chill off). Horses are stabled every night.

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