Yippee!!! School Stuff!!!

I just talked to my mom a moment ago, and she said that during the school year, if I wanted to, I could do some things as extra-curricular activities. Such as getting art lessons, and either just being able to go out and ride at the stables, or taking lessons (though, these stables give HORRID lessons, they just don't know how to teach).

I'm so happy!

YAY! Good for you!!! But it's unlucky that your local stables don't teach well. Can you ride anywhere else?

That's great :) I was never one for organised hobbies while I was at school, but in my first year at uni I took up latin and ballroom dancing, and now I have riding too. I find that something a little bit athletic - or, rather, where you have to concentrate on what your body's doing - is amazing for destressing. When you can't stop yourself from thinking, thinking, thinking, doing something physical is the perfect way to give your brain a rest!

Oooo!!!! That's really cool!!! But I would definitely look into finding another nearby riding stable instead of just settling for whatever is closet because if they don't teach well, it will ruin your riding experience!!

There is only one public stable (a few people own their own horses here and there in the villages), and they do have certified instructors, but they teach basics, like HOW to ride, rather than the techniques and stuff with riding. So that I'll probably have to learn on my own.

There is another stable in a nearby town, but the trip would be an hour both ways... and I KNOW my parents aren't too willing to do that, and bus fares are climbing really expensive.

I could still do lessons, but pretty much, you ride around in circles, without even changing direction. It's not exactly the best way to learn. So I'd probably just end up choosing a horse to ride each time, and then just arrive, tack him/her up, and ride.

The stable is primarily for harness race horses, so that's one reason why lesson horses really are kind of scarce, and lessons are kind of bad.

Even still... I'm really exited! Only a couple more weeks before I can begin!

If the instructors have some sort of certification, surely they're able to teach more than getting on and going?

Go along and ask them. Make a list of the kind of things you'd particularly like to work on and ask them if they'd be able to do that with you.

The thing is... in this country (Serbia) just because you're "certified" for something, doesn't mean you can do it. Hey... I could be a "certified" ballerina instructor. Doesn't mean I know one thing about being a ballerina.

If you pay a lot of money, they will teach you about the few things that they know about... but for the most part, they teach people how to ride horses safely, and then let them go on trail rides. They don't teach people how to compete, how to do certain things.

Not at this stable. This stable is the only stable in our town, and though it's nice, it's a racing stable. There's a huge track, and everything. They do have horses for other purposes, but even those are endurance horses, which don't call for extremely talented riders. I know how to ride, and if I want to learn something new, I CAN ask for a bit of help, but for the most part, I'll have to practice on my own.

And I'm perfectly fine with that.

Well, it's a shame there aren't instructors in your field available! But you could try just getting someone with a vague idea of what's going on to come out and watch you - even if you learn the methods from books and the internet and so on, having someone on the ground can really help you put them into practice.

Yeah... I'm sure I can find somebody. If this girl who used to ride there still goes, maybe we could do some stuff together. :)