by Kathy Farrokhzad

You might have liked horses all your life.

Or you might have had an awakening not too long ago that is urging you to explore horseback riding for the first time.

You can't tear your eyes away from the sight of glowing coats and rippling muscles.

You get excited every time you drive by horses in a field.

Contrary to your friends, you even like the smell of a barn!

And now, you know you are ready to take the first steps on the long road of becoming an equestrian. You've booked riding lessons at a local barn and you are convinced that you are ready to tackle the learning curve that lays ahead. Before you begin, here are nine tips to smooth the way into your new adventures!

1. Be prepared to be a beginner - for a long time!

Once you step into that stirrup for the first time, forget all about instant gratification. Instead, get all pumped up for the accomplishment of doing something for the long term.

Don't worry if your fingers fumble when putting on the bridle. Have no worry when the horse gives you a knowing look out of the corner of his eye: "This one is a beginner!" Just take the plunge into new feels, new learning curves and new coordination. It's all about the joys (and challenges) of being on the path.

2. Every horse has something to teach you.

Read more: 9 Things You Need to Know if You Want to Ride Horses

by Jessica Roberts

As the owner of a boarding farm, I am often the one who is setting up courses. When you’re putting a course together, a lot of variables are taken into consideration, such as the ring size and the number of jumps you have. Now that we’ve covered the basic guidelines for setting up a typical hunter course, we’re going take the hunter course that we built last time, adjust it a bit, and use it to build some “equitation” courses that can be practiced at home. Many times, I’ve seen smaller horse shows have a basic hunter course and use it, or slightly modify it to also be used for equitation classes.

Most shows will include at least two of the following parts to be built into an equitation course:
• Bending line
• Narrow jump
• Roll back turn
• End fence
• Long approach to a single
• Combination

Here, I’ll walk you through these different pieces:
A bending line is just that – it’s a set of two fences that are setup up so that the path between them has a bend in it. One can either “step out” and ride an outside track to add a stride – or they can “stay in” and ride an inside track for a more direct path. A lot of times the inside track has the rider jumping one or both of the fences at an angle to help with the direct line.

A narrow jump is a jump that is shorter than normal from side to side. The normal width of a jumps is 10 to 12 feet, but a narrow jump is 6 to 8 feet. Sometimes it’s all called a “skinny”.

Read more: How to Design an Equitation Course

Geoffrey Hesslink was launched into the spotlight when he topped the 2014 Platinum Performance/USEF Talent Search Finals East on Peacock Ridge LLC’s Canny Windsor Z. He impressed the judges throughout all phases of the competition and earned top scores during the testing where the competitors had to switch mounts.

It was Geoffrey’s first national title and a fantastic way to close out his junior riding career. Even now as Geoffrey has continued on to become a budding young professional, the win remains close to Geoffrey’s heart.

“My biggest accomplishment up to this point is when I won the 2014 USEF Platinum Performance Talent Search Finals. This holds a special place in my heart because winning an equitation final was my ultimate junior career dream,” he said. “I worked tirelessly day in and day out for years to accomplish this goal and when it finally all paid off it really felt like the ultimate dream come true.”

Since then, Geoffrey has clinched some other admirable titles such as earning the 2016 Hallway Feeds Leading Professional Rider Award, being the WCHR regional Developing Professional Champion and Reserve Champion at Capital Challenge, being USHJA year-end regional National Hunter Derby Champion for Zone 5 and overall Reserve Champion in the National Hunter Derbies.

Read more: Up & Coming Young Professional: Geoffrey Hesslink

by Eric Mitchell

Show horse trainer Stevee Keller didn't realize a casual conversation about Thoroughbred pedigrees she favored would lead to her owning her first stallion and a rising star in the world of three-day eventing.

Keller had been talking with Adrian Gonzalez, with Checkmate Thoroughbreds, who she attends sales with in California. Gonzalez asked her if she had a preference for particular bloodlines.

"I told him the one that is really up-and-coming are with The Pamplemousse babies," Keller recalled Jan. 31, referring to the grade 3-winning son of Kafwain who was standing at Rancho San Miguel. "I have, like, four that are on their way to becoming two-star, three-star, almost up to Olympic level, three-day eventing horses. Adrian just laughed."

It so happened that Gonzalez handles the sale consignments for Rancho San Miguel's young horses and knew the farm wanted to find a new home for the big gray 12-year-old horse.

Read more: Career in Three-Day Eventing for The Pamplemousse