MILTON — Riding horses isn’t just a physical activity.
Rustic Trail Stable instructors shared this concept Saturday during their Ride With Your Mind seminar.
RTS owner Julie Catone said Ride With Your Mind refers to the “different ways to use the body to influence the best movement with the horse.”
Take Dressage — Saturday’s focus with instructor Stephanie Mosely — for example. It resembles ballet, with the horse’s high-stepping movements, but the style was the “ancient art of training war horses,” Catone said. “All designed as battlefield war maneuvers.”
People unfamiliar with riding tend to think of kicking and slapping reins as the means of direction. However, she said in ancient times riders needed to direct their steeds in battle while using their hands for other purposes, like wielding weapons or flags.
Similarly, Ride With Your Mind concepts teach riders to use their core muscles and thighs to direct a horse’s movements, Catone said.
It “is about bringing awareness to the rider on how to use their body to more effectively communicate with the horse,” Mosely said.
In addition to dressage, Catone said her school teaches hunter, jumping, western and ranch lessons.
On the back of a mare named San Roque Car, Kelly Waldner, of Destin, said she came to the seminar for a “tune up” in her riding education.
Mosely directed Waldner using a headset radio, and reminded her student to keep her elbows and shoulders down, and told her to pay attention to what she’s doing when her horse feels comfortable.
“It’s hard work,” Mosely said. “You have to be an athlete, not a passenger.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Horseback riders brush up on dressage during Milton clinic