Riding Atreyu

My horse, Atreyu, isn't really crazy. I like to tell people he is because it's convenient way to describe his personality. But he isn't psychotic or dangerous as he may appear, it's just part of his personality, who he is. He gets extremely excited by the notion of jumping or galloping, sometimes so much so that he works himself up into a frenzy. This is all a part of his breeding (Morgan and Saddlebred blood) and his past training to be a high spirited, animated, fancy cart horse. He can pull carts quite well, just as he can lift his little pony legs in the perfect, snappy motion so desired by cart horse trainers. But what Atreyu is best at is jumping. He lives to jump. Circle, run, jump, turn, look for the next fence. Oxer, liverpool, triple-bar, combination. In fact, there is nothing he loves on this planet more than throwing himself over various objects as fast as he can. At first glance it may appear that my job is simply to hold on and point him to the next fence, but riding, especially riding Atreyu, is much more complicated. I train, guide, direct, and focus his energy. Using subtle movements of my hands and legs, shifts in my weight, soft vocal cues and my own energy, I tune into him. I understand him and his mood and quirks. I accept him fully for who he is and I work with his personality rather than against it. I control his speed, pace, rhythm, gait, bend, the way he holds his body, the amount of strides to a fence, and how he holds himself over a jump all at the same time. Riding Atreyu is about trusting him and expecting the same trust in return.