Horseback riding is rarely talked about outside of the equestrian world. Most people don’t believe it is a sport, but it is a very intense sport that you have to dedicate a lot of time and energy into. There are a lot of issues within the horse world and it is a very privileged sport, but here are my seven pros and cons of horseback riding as a sport. First the pros:
1. Teaches you discipline
I have been horseback riding since the age of six, and it has taught me so many life lessons. It has taught me how to take care of a living animal. It has taught me how to schedule my time so I can make it out to the barn when I could. You learn how to deal with your emotions and to not let yourself get too worked up if you mess up, which is a good life lesson to learn at any age.
2. It is very therapeutic
Whenever you are on a horse, all of your worries and stressors go away. All you are focusing on is what you need to do at that moment. It teaches you to focus on every second and one mistake can result in an injury or fall. Taking care of such large animals with so much compassion is therapeutic in itself and teaches you compassion and care for all beings. It is as therapuetic as you make it, if you want to put an insane amount of pressure on yourself, it is harder to fully enjoy. If you realize you aren’t going to be perfect all the time and you’re going to make mistakes, it is going to be way more enjoyable.
3. Equestrian are apart of a very close and friendly community
Equestrians are a rare breed, I have met very few outside of my barn and show circuit, but when you meet one, they are always friendly and you almost instantly become friends. There is always something to talk about and they can relate to most of the things you have been to- riding wise.
4. It is very rewarding
After you have a good lesson or good show you feel amazing and you feel like all of the work you have done has finally paid off. It is really hard to have a good jumping round, especially since we are so overly critical of ourselves, so when you feel like you had a good round it is one of the best feelings.
Now for the cons:
6. Very time consuming
As an equestrian you have to have a lot of time in your schedule to go out and lesson or hack your horse, and the commute to get there for me was about to hours there and back with traffic. There is even more time you have to carve out for shows on the weekend that can last the whole day. It is worth the time and commitment, but you do need to schedule in advance and be a decent planner.
7. It is a very expensive and privileged sport/hobby
Depending on the horse you buy or lease, this can be a money-sucking sport. According to Lessons.com they can range from $55-85 for 30 minutes to an hour. That 3 times a week adds up. If you are in a competitive show circuit, the price for your horse probably starts at $80,000 and can go up to $250,000. A lot of kids are just given their horses and never have to work for anything so they just assume everything in life will be handed to them the same. Another issue is that these expensive horses are usually almost perfect so the people who have the money are basically buying their blue ribbon, while the kids who can’t necessarily afford it but work really hard, rarely win.
8. There is very little diversity
It is rare for you to go to a horseshow and see a person or color riding, or anyone who isn’t white. Mostly all trainers are white, there is very little diversity. All of the grooms (people who get our horses ready for us) are Mexican. So the only diverse people are the workers.
Overall
There are a lot of pros and cons to horseback riding and you have to make sure you are mentally prepared and you have the time in your schedule for it. You are responsible for taking care of a big animal and keeping it in shape. Look for my article next week on the relation of wealth to this sport, where I will talk about how the rich get richer but in terms of horseback riding. We are all aware of the term, “the rich get richer, the poorer get poorer.” This also relates to horseback riding and how the rich keep on winning, while the poor never move up.
The Woke Equestrian 
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