Why Do We Ride | Friendship, Love & Compassion

By: Ambassador Elizabeth Noelk

As an avid adult amateur equestrian, I spend most my weekends and early mornings (or evenings) at the barn. I can spend an average of twelve hours a day at the barn. But it isn’t spent riding or just hanging out. Those twelve hours encompass both riding and caring for the horses. Mostly caring for them.

We are riding and tending to the actual horse for about a total of two hours. For there are a lot of chores that come with riding and/or owning horses. There’s feeding them (at least two times a day), making sure they have clean water in both their paddocks and stalls, and of course cleaning stalls. The actual list of items that can be done is endless.

So let’s do the math. You probably ride your horse for an average of one hour. You will probably spend anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes tacking up and preparing for your ride, then afterwards roughly 30 minutes to an hour washing and caring for the horse after the ride. So, you end up spending just as much time if not more tending to the horse rather than riding it.

The looming question that people continuously ask is, “Why do we like riding?” We spend more time and money caring for these giant animals than actually enjoying the benefits of riding and competing.

Here’s the question to my AdultAmmyStrong community. Think to yourself - Why do you love riding?

Try to describe your passion for horses in a sentence or a few words.

​For me? Friendship. Love. Compassion.