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Horse Riding: Regretful Splurge or Lifelong Passion?
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So, true, it’s a splurge to take up the sport. Yet, here’s one equestrian telling you to take it up. Why? Why get into horse riding? What makes this sport so enticing?
The Proximity to Nature
If you’ve never ridden a horse, you’ve probably seen somebody do it. Watching from afar, the whole process is sleek and silent, and you’d imagine it to be that way for the horse and rider too. In reality, riding a horse has the visual and aural impact of a thunderstorm – a heavy combination of bumps like crashing waves, rasp grunts and neighs, clouds of smoky dust blown up by rhythmic thudding. There is no experience quite like it; when a human comes into such close contact with a living and breathing beast twice its size, taming, communicating, working together… it’s easily the best lesson nature could offer.Activates Dormant Muscles
When riding, your heels should be down, chin, up, shoulders this way, hips the other, your arms down but always relaxed. As you lock into that initially awkward, unnatural position, your inner thighs, pelvic muscles, and core receive an intense workout, all at the same time. While an experienced rider looks totally relaxed and at ease, I would argue that equestrian sport demands more from the athlete – motor skills, coordination, endurance, and muscular strength – than many other sports.A Philosophical Journey?
It’s a strangely hypnotic experience to be perched on a 1-meter pedestal, towering over bushes and sometimes even trees, rocked by the rhythms of a four-hooved stroll. I say hypnotic because many have dozed off on horseback and even fallen off on occasion. But even for those who are wide awake, the swaying and rocking motion lends itself to reflection, and you find yourself musing over up fond memories and deep thoughts, as you slowly retreat into yourself, forgetting about other things for a moment.Equality! (to Some Extent)
Men are still overrepresented in governing bodies and positions of authority that relate to equestrian sports, and the philosophies and traditions of the sports are still largely rooted in a male perspective. But in theory, equestrian sport respects gender equality. It’s currently one of only two Olympic categories in which men and women compete directly against each other, and according to the same rules (sailing is the second sport).In the sporting world, where most female athletes make a fraction of the salary of their male counterparts, where women are underestimated, undervalued, where women teams are under-funded and under-marketed, mixed-sex sports like horseriding opens up a new road.If you’re intrigued and would like to know more, call up any equestrian club, the most professional (and most expensive) option available being Equules International Riding Club, but other clubs such as the Red Knight Equestrian Club being equally as good and a bit more affordable, an excellent option for beginners.Red Knight Equestrian Club: 84595908
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Photos: Unsplash. Lauren Zhou
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