Pammy Hutton on battling nerves and fighting for riding schools
Another year passes, and the prospects for riding schools have never looked so bleak. With costs exploding upwards, there’s little hope – and no help – on the horizon.
My worst moment of the last month was when a proprietor asked me, with tears welling up in her eyes: “How can we keep our riding school open?”
Actually, I lie. An even more disheartening moment came when I repeated that question to another proprietor of a large, successful centre. This person informed me their accountant had suggested a 7% rise in lesson prices in January.
We put our prices up in August, I retorted, but couldn’t do so again, as nearly 20% in six months was a hike too far for clients. Yet the suggestion that this is the only way to stay open highlights the complexity of this dilemma.
While there’s breath in my body, I will fight to keep our riding school, The Talland School of Equitation, open. But I’m hating the Government that told me they’re making it better for working people – I now have to work even harder to afford to employ staff.
Some countries recognise the value of their riding schools and support them. Which British equestrian governing bodies will lobby Parliament for us?
Riding schools supply the equestrian industry’s future customers and professional talent. Many also host competitions. The current crisis means dressage venues are suffering. Riders complain that entry fees are going up, but we cannot expect these centres to run at a loss.
Of course, the whole horse sector is feeling the financial pain of soaring overheads. But compared with livery and competition yards, riding schools face the heaviest insurance burden alongside the requirement – and cost – to be publicly licensed.
All we can do is work dawn to dusk, seven days a week, and try to find time to enjoy our horses.
Meanwhile, another pressing issue looms: judges’ upgrading now happens online – without live horses. Does this explain some of the marking disparity more often being seen between judges?
A whole horse on a typical computer screen is the size of a pot of Tipp-Ex. How can you see details such as muscles working at that scale? A two-dimensional digital image and a three-dimensional, in-person view are incomparable.
Finding confidence
Shifting from the perspective of judges to riders, let’s address something that isn’t discussed enough: being nervous – or downright frightened – on a horse. Often, it’s not even acknowledged by those who experience it. Yet it happens to the best, including international riders across all equestrian sports.
Some days, I tense up if the wind blows, a horse snorts, a dog runs out or a shadow prompts a spook. I’ve always had bouts of being terrified, and not just now I’m older and have ailments. Such was my nervousness at a junior eventing European Championship that I threw up while travelling cross-country.
Over the years, sports psychologists have come and gone – mind over matter has sometimes worked, sometimes failed.
The best way for me to face my fears has been to own it and deal with it – and to not be afraid to talk about it to sensible people. A vague “you have this” response doesn’t do it for me, but we are all different.
Rider frighteners come in many guises. Am I good enough? Is my horse good enough? Have you seen that flower decoration waving in the wind? Everyone else in the class is better than me. My horse is too fresh, too lazy, above the bit, behind the bit, and so on.
There is brilliant help out there, and I’m not saying don’t seek help. But ultimately, it’s up to each one of us to grab our fears by the scruff of the neck and, in the words of the great trainer Henk van Bergen, “do it”.
Anyway, that’s my New Year’s resolution for 2025. Last year, I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed riding and competing. As the age of 73 beckons, this lady is not for turning – or giving up!
● What’s your best advice for overcoming nerves in the saddle? Write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and country, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine
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