Help! I Need Your Opinion!

I am a rider right know but I am thinking of quitting. I am a horrable rider, my pony is young an green, I am scarred half to death about jumping, I love dressage, and I love horses. I don't know what to do!!! HELP ME!!

Well, I don't know how old you are, but why would you get a green horse if you're inexperienced?

Get a "school" or lesson horse, one thats dead broke and that you could shoot a gun off of and it wouldn't blink. Then get a trainer for yourself and take some lessons.

I do have a extreamly experianced trainer. But I got Madeira on my old riding instuctors judgement. Now that I look back I did not even get to see madeira exept on a video when I got her. I am 12 and I have been riding for 7 years.

I agree, sounds like your not a terrible rider, just over matched. Sell your pony buy a more experienced horse, if you love dressage and are scared of jumping, don't jump any more, just do dressage. There is no reason to ride a style you don't enjoy or a horse your not matched for. Don't quit. Just make some major changes.

But my mom and dad love Madeira, I don't know how they will take this. I love Madeira but I think you are right Sophie19.

You shouldnt quit just because you dont like jumping! Stick to whats fun. I bought a greeny when I had only been riding a year! I questioned myself alot, but I loved him so much, plus I relized that I like a bit of a challenge it creats goals. If you really feel that uccomfortable on your greenie than you should consider selling it, but think about it for a while, think on the positive side. Riding has its ups and downs, one day your laughing your head off the next day your crying! Whatever you do dont give up riding completely!

I like jumping it is just that I am to scarred too. I don't mind tiny cross-rails but I am too scarred to jump anything higher than that. Madeira loves jumping and has tons of potintiel but I am to scarred to reach it.

Perhaps you could send her to a trainer for six months or so and in the meantime you could take some dressage lessons, so half a year later she's a better horse and your a better rider and ta-dah everything works just a little bit better.

The more you jump those tiny cross rails the more comfortable you will get. I bet you could eventually jump much higher if you just didn't pressure yourself to much.

Stick to cross rails, there may come a day when you feel confident enough to go higher. Dont go higher than you feel confident. I dont think your horse will mind too much! I dint canter my horse for almost a year when I got him, because a)I didnt know how to canter yet, b) I was still crinkling out his problems at walk/trot, c) he has a tendency to leap into the canter out of excitment, he loves to canter! I dont think your horse will loose its ability/will to jump higher jumps if anything sticking to small jumps might make it an even more controlled jumper.