Free Horse Crazy by Susan Kiernan-Lewis

good for
developing that all-important seat, although less good for
impressing any members of the opposite sex, is to walk your horse
in a circle while you perch over him, your rear end out of the
saddle, your hips thrust forward--as if frozen in mid-post.
    This position is called "two-point". It's
used when you're in a mad gallop and you want your horse to go even
faster, or when jumping an object, or possibly when trying to
unsnag your scarf from a tree. As it requires much inner-thigh
tensing and knee-gripping to avoid toppling back into the
saddle--or over the pommel--it's an excellent way to build up your
riding muscles. Chances are, you'll never work them in any other
activity other than riding, so if you can't ride for long every
day, this is a good exercise to help you get your "riding
legs."
    Once you've mastered the rudiments, and maybe
that's only in so far that you're not afraid in spite of your
inexperience, you can begin enjoying the reason people ride in the
first place.
    That reason can be as simple as being out on
a crisp Autumn day in the middle of the country, your friends with
you, your dogs frolicking happily below you and the feel of your
horse under you: alert and relaxed.
    Some of the best conversations you can have
happen when you're walking quietly on horseback with only the sound
of rustling leaves as background music. If you have a gentle horse,
and often (but not always) this means old and decrepit, you can
enjoy these treasured trail rides right off the bat.
    In many cases, however, as a horse tends to
get strong or a little more willful when he's away from the barn
and out of the ring, it takes a more experienced rider to
successfully maneuver him around bushes that may attack him and
creeks that threaten to gobble him up.
    After twenty years of driving cars, it can be
hard to adjust to steering something that has a mind of its
own.
    After years of inattentive, preoccupied
turning and stopping in your Toyota, you're put in a situation
where the fundamentals are the same, but your Toyota now has an
opinion about which direction you go.
    It's easy for the green rider to glide into
feeling that the horse is simply a lumpy, less responsive Toyota.
This feeling, I feel compelled to add, is a dangerous one.
    As much pleasure as riding is--even in its
dullest moments--there is the downside and unfortunately, with
riding, that's meant quite literally.
    Falling hurts and falling is bad and falling
is definitely to be avoided.
    And falling is unavoidable.
    Unless you're going to only trot and then
only in the ring, and canter only briefly, and then only once in a
great while, sooner or later, you will probably experience that
truly sinking feeling of sliding off your horse unexpectedly.
    If it's a bad fall: over your horse's head at
a canter or as he slams to a halt--and it happens--then you'll
probably have just enough time to pray you don't land funny. If
it's a normal fall, you'll still know you're going off, but you'll
probably only end up with the wind knocked out of you.
    In either case, it's terrifying and
unnerving. There can be few things braver than remounting your
horse, with hands trembling so bad you can barely grip the cantle,
after you've just been dumped. Yet, girls not eight years old in
front of hundreds of people at horse shows all over the world do it
regularly.
    After their pony has balked sharply enough to
unseat them, or after they've momentarily lost control of the beast
to land themselves in the azalea bushes, these girls have to signal
that they're okay, stand up, straighten their little jackets and
march back over to that damned pony and not only get back on him,
but, in many cases, finish the course--knowing they've blown their
chance at placing.
    It's an act of bravery and only someone who
rides knows quite the extent of it.
    When you get to the point where you've taken
a few minor spills and can actually accept that it's a part of
riding and don't let it stand in the way of