Confidence or Competence
Confidence or Competence
One of the yards where I used to work, had a long and involved insurance form to fill out before we could let clients ride. I was always interested in one particular answer and would read it before going out to teach them.After the usual Name, Address, Age etc, it asked, what is your riding experience? And gave a list, from which you had to pick one answer.I have never ridden.I have ridden at walk.I have walked, trotted and tried / can rise to trot.I have cantered.I can canter, could complete a simple dressage test and jump.I could ride any horse in any circumstances.It amazed me, the number of people who would tick the last option. If they did, I would ask them about it. And, tell them that I’d never tick that box…“But, you’re the instructor?” they’d say.
And I’d answer that I would be happy to ride most horses in most circumstances, but certainly not all. A bucking bronco in a rodeo? Uh, no. A racehorse in the Grand National? No thanks. A “show horse” tight in rolkur and stressed about his upcoming dressage test? No, just no. So, any horse in any situation? No.Confidence vs competence is a question that comes up at times and should come up a lot more. As a kid, we were taught to ride without stirrups, bareback, backwards, and some of the ponies we got thrown onto… Well, they were interesting. But, we leant how to ride through most situations on a variety of horses. We got more confident, and wham bam, a pony would ditch us, and we’d come back to earth, literally.Roll on a few years, and I had a couple of difficult ponies in my yard. It started to become more and more challenging to find riders for these ponies. Parents would much rather pay for readymade, easier ponies for their little twinkle to get on, and win on from day one, than for them to possibly have falls and challenges with a tricky pony.When teaching in certain countries now, health and safety rears its (often ugly, in my opinion) head. In some places, we can still do no stirrups etc, but in many places’ things have to be ultra-safe. And yes, kids should be safe. I always insist on them wearing helmets, body protectors are mandatory in some yards, ponies should be appropriate to the level of rider, comfortable and safe tack, etc,. But, it’s important that riders develop competence and an understanding of where they are at, as fast as their confidence grows.And so, ponies who need a better rider, and a rider who thinks, are often redundant because no suitable rider exists. And we are seeing more and more over bitted, gadget-ed up, draw reined in horses, because the riders simply can’t cope. Their expectation of their ability far outweighs their reality. Watch show jumping videos from 20 years ago – most horses were in snaffles, cavesson nosebands, maybe a martingale. Some didn’t even have boots. The riders were truly competent – they were masters at the craft. Now, with the ridiculous amount of bitting up, nosebands, gadgets? Many are confident, not competent.So, why bother? Does it make a difference?
Oh yes. At another yard where I worked, we instructors didn’t have anything to do with taking bookings. We would just get the message of a rider / pair / group of riders coming in, ages, weights and experience – beginner, intermediate or advanced. We had, in the yard, a variety of horses to choose from, some very simple and safe for beginners, some who would be a little bit faster or more challenging and some nice, educated horses for experienced riders, who we just couldn’t put novices onto. And, do you know the number of people who would book as advanced, and just their approach to the horses would tell us that they were beginners. “How much experience do you actually have?” I asked more than once. Ah, I rode my grandpa’s horses around the farm 20 years ago – I know what I’m doing, and I want to go fast. Most of the time we’d sigh, return the horse we had ready and get a quieter one out. Occasionally we’d stick with the horse who was ready, if the client was rude and belligerent about their riding ability. Didn’t happen often, but generally didn’t end well.An extreme example of this was a rider a while ago. I vaguely knew them, had met a couple of times over the years. I heard through the grapevine that they’d been killed in a riding accident. On talking to the trainer where it happened, she said that the horse was actually really nice, but too much for him. He’d bought the horse because it was big, flashy, extravagant and the dealer / agent had told him he looked great on it. If he’d had a slightly steadier horse, chances are that it wouldn’t have happened. And the horse now is going well for a new owner who has more experience. A tragedy that wouldn’t have happened if the rider’s competence had grown in tune with his confidence.Closer to home, a friend and I booked a beach ride about a year ago. When we arrived, she told the guide that yes, she was very experienced, had ridden her whole life, had horses (all of which is true), while I told him, yes, I can ride a bit. She looked at me with raised eyebrows. As I had anticipated, I got an awesome little horse who tootled along on a long rein, allowing me to sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery, while she got a hot little youngster who spooked and pranced his way along, keeping her with her hands full. Who had the best ride?So, next time that you’re off to ride an unknown horse, or are looking to buy a horse, ask yourself first, am I more confident, or more competent? I know which one I’d rather…