History

The principles of Western Riding can be traced back to nearly 400 years BC where Xenophon, the ancient Greek soldier and historian widely accepted as being the founder of modern horsemanship, wrote that balance, weight control and transfer, gentleness and patience are the keys to a well trained and supple horse. His philosophies have been maintained and evolved through the practicalities of use and when the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in the Americas in the early 1500's they brought with them cattle-working and warfare practices that form the basis of Western Riding today.

With the American cowboys required to work long hours in the saddle, their riding style and equipment needed to accommodate the need to rope and steer herds of cattle whilst often riding at speed over rough terrain. In order for them to lasso a cow with the lariat in one hand the horse needed to be controlled with the other hand and hence the horses were taught to neck rein. This skill of getting the horse to change direction simply by means of the light pressure of the rein on the horse's neck is indicative of the way Western Riding follows the philosophies of Xenophon.

Western Riding in essence is a way to ride horses with control, precision and responsiveness by means of light pressure and weight transfer. It is a style of riding that is very easy to learn the basics but which requires tremendous skill and dedication to master at its highest level.

You can acquire this skill. Simply go to the contact us page.