Good riding.
Built from the basics.

Choose a horse and environment suited to your experience, with an instructor’s help. Wear a correctly fitted, securely fastened riding hat and proper riding footwear with a small heel. Check current hat requirements with the riding centre or event; have a new hat professionally fitted.

Before mounting, ask an experienced person to check the girth, stirrups, bridle and condition of straps and stitching. Tack must fit the horse as well as be secure. A routine check is not a substitute for a qualified saddle fitter.

Jo’s reminder to the rider: “If you’re in pain, stop.” Tell your instructor rather than trying to push through it.

Listen to the horse

Repeated tail swishing, head tossing, reluctance during tacking up or an unexpected change in behaviour can indicate discomfort. No single sign proves pain, but do not dismiss a pattern as “naughtiness”. Pause, tell your instructor and seek veterinary advice if pain or lameness is suspected.

Read: BHS equipment & tack guidance; World Horse Welfare [1–4]

Rhythm is a regular pattern of footfalls; tempo is how quickly the beats repeat. Ground speed also changes with stride length.

In a normal walk, you hear four beats. Trot has two beats as diagonal pairs move together, with suspension between them. A normal canter has three beats and a suspension phase; the leading foreleg lands last. Gallop is a different, normally four-beat gait.

A “working schooling canter”

That is Jo’s phrase in the outdoor lesson: an ordinary schooling canter while Adam finds his balance, before moving into a light seat. It describes this exercise, not a request for speed or a formal collected canter.

What to notice

With Jo’s help, listen for an unhurried, regular pattern on a straight line and through a suitably large turn. If the horse rushes or loses balance, return to easier work. A new or persistent irregularity needs assessment rather than being ridden through.

Read: British Dressage scales of training [7]

Choose one achievable aim with your instructor: perhaps a balanced turn in walk or a clear walk–halt transition. Break a new task into manageable steps, reward progress and keep repetition limited. Change one difficulty at a time.

Look along the route you intend to ride, keep yourself centred and use your instructor’s guidance to organise the whole horse through the turn. Steering is not simply pulling one rein. Work on generous curves appropriate to the horse’s balance, fitness and stage of training.

“Just trust the process, but take your time.” Jo’s encouragement during the light-seat work: focus on your task without rushing the next step.

Progress is individual

Agree a suitable warm-up, workload, breaks and cool-down with Jo. Finish or simplify before fatigue or worry undermines the work. After a lesson, record what improved, what felt difficult and one question for next time.

There is no fixed timetable from beginner to canter, jumping or the gallops. Progress depends on horse and rider readiness, supervision and the environment — your next step should be agreed with your instructor.

Read: ISES shaping and learning principles [8]