Okay, so I have a question. My daughter rode a 4 year old in hunt pleasure and they did very well in OKC. I have been told that many 16 year olds would not be able to ride her horse because of his age, his action, and etc. When I asked my daughter about equitation she said , “I can’t win because I cannot follow equitation and ride him well”. Her explanation is #1, she has to move her hands to stear him, #2, she can’t concentrate on her posture because she has to concetrate on him and etc. This doesn’t include the fact that he’s too young to do patterns. What is the point to equitation if a trainer or any other rider cannot use it to train a horse? Shouldn’t there be some merit to being able to jump on a green horse, ride him, get the right leads, keep him from spooking, keep his head in position and etc.? Are we judging a rider’s ability to do patterns in equitation or their ability to ride?
