How I did it: I started taking lessons when I was 6, but then I quit for a while. When I turned 9, I started taking lessons again with the same instructor, and I still felt kind of discouraged, like I wouldn't be able to be any better, so I quit again. I started going to summer camp when I was 11 and while I was there, I started riding everyday. When I was riding there, I felt like I could learn to do anything on a horse, and I even won a barral race! I also met the best horse in the world. I went to that camp again the next summer and I rode every single day. On the second day of camp, they moved me up a level. It made me feel fantastic! We did a huge show at the end of camp. It was so much fun and exciting. While we were practicing a few weeks before, I got bucked off a horse. The instructor did the most important thing possible when you get bucked off or when you fall of a horse. 10 minutes later, we put the saddle on the slowest and oldest horse there and she walked me around on the lead rope. I learned that it's really true that if you fall of a horse, you have to get right back on.

Lessons & tips: If you don't think that you can achieve much with your current instructor, find a new one that you think can really help you achieve your goals.

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Jan 17, 2009, 02:58PM PST | 1 comment | 1 cheer