Confidence

I still remember the first time I rode a pony.  I was eighteen years old!  Her name was Taylor, and she was famous for a trot so comfortable, anyone could sit it.

Taylor

But what struck me most about the experience wasn't her trot - it was the immediate confidence boost I got just by being on a smaller equine.  I had always been a nervous rider, and I thought it was just the way I was and would always be.  But on Taylor and then Venice, I was a new woman, gleefully laughing when my horse bucked instead of curling into the fetal position, bravely riding when it was windy outside, and happily doing anything asked of me in class.  I felt invincible.

This article from Denny Emerson sums that all up for me.  Find your "steady Eddie," find your pony, and watch your whole riding life change.  From the article:

Standing in a starting gate, or unleashing an attacking “crotch rocket” when the starter says “GO”, takes confidence, and Jack Le Goff used to say that “confidence comes from success.”

And riders gather success (or failure) over time, and that success or failure will be largely dependent upon whether the rider had the right horse for the job, and whether the job itself was something within the bounds of what the pair could handle.

Too tough a horse, or too tough a challenge, in the learning stages, and confidence can crumple. Once confidence is lost, it`s harder to regain than not losing it in the first place.

So, be smart—-about the horse you ride, and the challenges you tackle.

Build UP, don`t tear DOWN.

I'm not saying I couldn't ride a full-sized horse back then, or even now, but ponies, and Connor in particular, give me a level of confidence that makes the craziest things seem less scary, and it's made such a big difference.