Get Out of the Arena and Ride

When I learned to ride – long, long ago – I had a few lessons in a field (there was no formal arena at the stables I went to). I wore welly boots, borrowed a hat, and wore ordinary trousers and t-shirts, although I did also have a bodywarmer that I loved and thought looked amazing.

While having my lessons, I got told how to sit and how to hold the reins. How to go forwards and how to stop. During one of these sessions, the instructor tucked a whip down the back of my t-shirt and into the waistband of my trousers to make me sit up straight!

Then, after a couple of weeks, I was taken out on a hack. Admittedly, I had someone riding and leading me, but I was out on the roads and the country tracks, riding through woodland and fields. This, really, is where my riding experience began. After another couple of weeks, I was off lead rein and riding “independently” (I use the word loosely, as control was yet to be developed!).

My first jump was a bolt

My first canter and my first jump were on the same day. The pony I was on got startled by a tractor, bolted, jumped a ditch, and galloped full pelt across a stubble field. We stopped only because there was a huge stack of straw bales, which the pony decided was a safe place to seek refuge. It was all somewhat Thelwellian, but I stayed on, the others came to find me, and then we rode back to the yard as though nothing had happened.

My second jump, some time later, was when the path was completely blocked by a fallen oak branch; I remember the gnarly bark so vividly! There was no way around it because the path had flint walls on both sides (now slightly broken by a branch…) so the plucky ride leader decided that there was no option but over. No drama, just pragmatism. She went first, and the rest of us followed. Or rather, the ponies did, and we just stayed on-board!

Was this beautiful, skilled riding? Absolutely not. Would it stand up to the scrutiny of today’s health and safety, risk assessments, and insurance claims? Well, that would be a resounding no.

The lessons the arena can’t teach

However, through these escapades and the several following years of riding out in the open, did I learn the foundational skills that an arena alone can’t teach? Yes, ad infinitum.

Did I develop:

• Balance and feel, learning to stay centred when a pony loses its footing or tackles an incline? Yes.
• Horse sense and how to read the horses and ponies, individually and as a group? Yes.
• Instinct with a deep understanding of knowing when to push and when to back off? Yes.
• The ability to be ready for anything and to read the terrain, the horizon and the skies? Yes.

So by now, you might be wondering what point I’m trying to make. My point is that getting out of the arena and riding in the open is an excellent way to develop and fine-tune skills. It’s also fun!

Hacking supports schooling

When riding out, horses are generally more forwards, so you can focus on developing your seat and leg aids more easily. Going up and down inclines, or even if a horse slightly loses its footing, helps riders to develop truer balance. If you want to work on your canter, doing it in the open, without having to prepare for a bend every few strides, is an excellent way of developing rhythm and stamina.

Do I think riding out addresses everything? No, definitely not. There is a huge amount to be said for the discipline of schooling in an arena, and the regimented approach to precision and accuracy defined by boundary fencing and markers.

However, once riders are established “enough”, hacking provides ample opportunities for classic schooling work:

• You can practice movements like leg yield, turn on the forehand, shoulder in, and quarters in.
• Extend and collect paces over varying distances.
• Perform circles around natural obstacles such as shrubs or trees.
• And as for changing canter leads, nothing focuses the mind more than the fast approaching right-angled corner of the field as you’re cantering along the headland!

Of course, there is always the option to simply enjoy the scenery and let your horse relax, too – but that isn’t all that hacks are good for. Hacking out is also brilliant for horses as it helps them to become more confident, develop proprioception, and to relax and work more fluidly, but I talk about this more in a separate blog about the value of hacking

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My advice to established and aspiring riders is this: get out of the arena and ride. And have fun!