Should we be Able to Ride by Ourselves?

I've owned and ridden Western horses my whole life. I have a barn, and will have an extra stall when I sell my Welsh stallion. So my friend Sam has been asking her mom to lease a horse for a long time....Sam took lessons as a kid and wants to get back into it more than anything. So I told her how awesome if would be if she could board at my place....and her mom finally agreed that if Sam comes up with enough money for tack, she can lease a horse. She's so excited. My mom agreed it was a definite possibility, so Sam and I are discussing things and such related to how she should go about looking for a horse to lease. And we said it would be awesome that we could ride together on the 1000 acres behind my property....and my mom put her foot down and said we can't ride without my mom walking behind us since it's parkland I ride in and technically not our property...And Sam and I think we're old enough to ride by ourselves. We're both 13 years old, and have experience with horses. I ride Western and am more experienced, but she had experience with riding in lessons when she was like 7-9 years old. We both have cell phones we could use to call our parents if necessary....Do you think we should be allowed to ride by ourselves? Because for me to ride right now, I have to wait for my mom to be ready and make sure she has no plans and such. And that means I barely get to ride. I'm getting about 1 ride every 1 or 2 weeks now because she's busy with one thing or another.

So what's your take on the situation? If Sam (who rides English) gets to board at my place, should we be able to ride by ourselves so we can ride a lot more often? And where I ride is 7 acres of my woods and pastures, and then a few hundred of a farmer's fields (the farmer gave my family permission to ride along the edge a long time ago) , and then behind that there's a few hundred acres of park-owned meadows we've never seen anyone other than my family in. My mom doesn't think it's safe because it's not our property, and even though it's perfectly safe and allowed for me to ride there, she still insists on coming. Which means, again, that I don't get to ride nearly as much as I'd liek to.

Just give me your take on the situation. Thanks!

this is a tough one for me.
when i was your age i would have felt just the same. But now i am older, and have a little girl. and i know i would most likely not be ok, with her riding alone and in open space. i think for me, it would be the more open space thing. what if there's a cyote or something. i would be more comfortable if it were in an arena also.
they say horse back riding is 6 times more dangerous than auto racing, she has a reason to be concerned. maybe you and your mom could get on a schedule, and make certain times, horse back riding times?

I fail to see what your mother could do but pick up the pieces if something happened but the fact is that she pays the bills and what she says goes.

I rode by myself when I was your age. Heck, I still ride by myself,because I have no one to ride with. I always have my phone on me though, and always let someone know where I am going to be riding.

In the end though,you have to listen to your parents. Some are just more strict than others. Maybe you can talk to her to see if she is willing to make a riding schedule that yall can stick too?

I bet your mom would probably get really tired of following you sooner or later and let you guys go a few times by yourself. Don't push it and let her go.

By yourself is not the best, but with a friend might be better. Plus, if your mom follows you and see how responsible and careful you are, she may eventually let you and your friend ride without her.

I agree with thunderhooves. If you show your mom that you can be responsible and careful she'll most likely let you go on your own once she feels comfortable (which will be sooner the more responsible and careful you are, haha).

Good luck! You are both very lucky to even be able to ride in the open at all. =) I had never gone on a trail ride until 3 years ago (out of the 9-10 years I've been riding). O.o And that was just because there were no trails around and no trail safe horses.

This is 100% true. I'd also like to add that she probably feels that her supervision will prevent accidents (unlikely). I know my mom felt like that when I was 13. She probably still does. The trick is to convince her that this is not true, and that having a riding companion, a helmet, and cell phone is the next best thing.

I would be riding with a friend--if my friend Sam boards at my barn I would ride with her. I see what you mean, though

My avatar has a pic of one of the fields I ride in, so yea, it's pretty open