by Madelaina, age 12

Horse riders; there are many types out there, but what type gives you a rider that is a breeze to teach and shows the best potential? This is a guide to horse riders.

Horse riders come in four forms:

THE NATURAL RIDER. This is the easiest type of rider to teach. A natural means doing something as if you are born to do it. Natural riders have great potential, generally pick things up really fast, and click with horses right from the start. Others might need time to gain.

THE TIME AND PRACTICE RIDER. This type of rider is more complicated. Some riders love horses and horse riding, but they don’t have the attributes to excel at it. However, horse riding lessons help a lot, and throughout time and practice, this kind of rider will catch up.

THE NATURAL MEETS THE TIME AND PRACTICE RIDER. I think this type of rider is more common. The rider shows potential and flows well when riding like a natural to a standard that is more or less acceptable but requires more time and practice to better his or her skills.

THE HORSE CRAZY RIDER. This is the one you’ve all been waiting for. This rider, no matter how natural or not, is 100% horse crazy. He or she talks and breathes horses and is not afraid to show their love. In my opinion, this type of rider will shine above all others in the end.

And why do I think horse crazy riders are better than the rest?

I tell all of my friends when they tell me they failed at drawing or writing that they shouldn’t worry. The result of their picture or story isn’t important. What really matters is the amount of fun and heart they put into it. If you love what you’re doing, no matter how badly it turns out, your effort and heart will always show. You don’t need to be a championship rider to show your passion for horse riding. Even if you knock down all the jumps in a course you can still depict how much you love horse riding.

Loving what you do helps you most in improving, because passion is stronger than skill.