Taking lessons can be fun. I rode when I was younger mainly because my parents owned thoroughbred race horses and they bought the meanest Shetland Pony I've ever seen. I was way too big for the pony but I had to ride it until it got tired of trying to knock me off. I got a pretty good seat from that. I never took a lesson until I was in my forties.
When we moved to Phoenix there was a mountain preserve right across the street from our apartment building next to a hotel and golf course. In fact, the golf course crossed the street and was also behind our building (we got a golf ball through a window every once in a while).
Anyway, the hotel also owned a trail ride outfit that took people out through the mountain preserve. There were a few workers there that were just riders but the two guys that ran it were old-time wranglers. One of them used to supply horses to the movies down at Old Tucson Studio. The other taught dressage and roped. They were both older than dirt, broken, mangled, and wirey. We went for a few trial rides and then broached the idea of private rides. They liked the idea so we would go over twice a week and take private rides, just the two old wranglers, my wife and me. That morphed into a third day in a round pen improving our riding. They loved to give me salty horses. One of them was so bad I had to ride with one leg up half the time because it would try to ram my legs into the round pen rails. Had to move quick to avoid a really sore leg.
Over time we became good friends and got to chose what horses we rode. I always picked Kelly. She was a pretty old horse but she had we real power in her back legs and they never let 'dudes' ride Kelly, in fact most of the staff would not ride her. They all thought she was mean. I guess she was always trying to bite them. We clicked. She never gave me any guff and she was really good on mountain trials.
I guess I should get to the point before this becomes a novelette. I owned a half-Arab half-Quarter Horse named Sky. He was salty, very salty. He was also a great horse.
His official name was Sky Dazzler as he came from some pretty high-brow stock, but he was nuts. He loved to sidestep, was terrified of water and didn't seem to trust anyone but me. The vets and farriers couldn't get near him if I wasn't there to calm him.
I could stick to the seat real well and stay with a horse no matter what it pulled but I didn't really know how to communicate with a horse that had been dressage trained. I'd move one way or another and Sky would go into side-steps or some pattern. He thought I was given him directions when I was just adjusting my rear in the saddle.
When we rented a horse property to bring our horses on property there was a stable a few blocks away that we boarded our horses at until we got the stalls and pens put up. The woman that ran the stable was a dressage rider. I started taking lessons with her to at least understand what I was telling my horse. Eventually I got a quieter seat and my rides with Sky became a little less intense. He was still nuts though.
I don't ride anymore and doubt I ever will again.
