The
Centerline
www.azdressage.org
Vol. 18, Issue 7
July 2018
Arizona Dressage Association
Yes, I Still Take Lessons So, every once in a while as I’m heading to and from the barn someone, my boyfriend, coworker, a friend, will ask me, “Why are you still taking lessons?” and I feel compelled to answer back simply, “because it’s what I do.” But I know this won’t be enough of an answer for them and will then lead to additional questions like “don’t you already know how to ride?”, and “haven’t you been riding since you were ten?” I wonder if I should risk their eyes glazing over as I attempt to tell these non-horsey people just exactly why I get up before the crack of dawn to get on my horse and have someone else tell me what I already know how to do (at least in theory). I wonder if I can even explain it. This question has been asked of me so often recently that it has made me really think about why I, why we all, do still take lessons and why it seems like such a foreign concept to most everyone else on the planet. I guess when I look at from an outsider’s point of view riding is just a hobby like any other hobby. My boyfriend’s hobby is mountain biking. He learned to ride a bike when he was a boy and now he rides his mountain bike. He doesn’t take lessons, he doesn't need to; he already knows how to ride his bike. Similarly, my sister plays piano. She took lessons to learn when we were younger, but now as an adult, she just plays whenever and whatever she wants to. No lessons needed. All this thinking prompted me to make a list of the many reasons why I still take lessons. I love a good list almost as much as I love taking lessons! So here it goes… • I have been taking lessons since I was ten (affirmative answer to above asked question), therefore I must continue to take lessons. I mean who knows what could happen if I stop – the world might end! • A good lesson can get me through the whole rest of the week. I daydream about how great my ride was when I should be working. I replay the lesson over and over in my head. I make plans for how I’m going to replicate this same ride during next week’s lesson. I mean I got a clean flying change this week so next week a line of tempis should be no problem, right? Continued on page 3