Your Rules for Riding

My barn-owner partner chased her non-riding husband out of the barn the other night when I had to work late and couldn’t be there to help with chores. She told him he was sweeping in the wrong direction and that she and I had a system that he was disrupting. This is just one of her many rules that I just follow along with for my own peace of mind, as it is her barn.

Dennis M. Johnston My grandsons, Wylie and Wyatt Blake, competed in the Eugene Pony Club year-end summer show in June at the Oregon Horse Center in Eugene, Oregon. In my opinion, the grand entry is often the most dangerous event because you just never know what might happen. That proved true this year when a whipping flag frightened a pony enough to cause a runaway and a near disaster.

My youngest grandson, Wyatt, had just turned 7. The runaway pony started to come straight for him and his smaller mount just before the rider got the situation under control. Later that day Wyatt told me, “Grandma, I was thinking about what you taught me, and I was going to save my life and get the heck out of the way!”

It’s true: I’d repeated myself several times to both boys. Keep your eyes open; pay attention to what’s going on around you; and when you see danger, save yourself and get out of the way.

Tami Hansey Editor’s note: In the July 2018 issue, editor-in-chief Jennifer Paulson asked about the rules that govern your horse life. Here are a few reader responses.