First horseback riding lesson
” Written by: Elisha
For the equestrian inside you, the place to go is Reveal Equestrian in San Juan Capistrano.
Last month, I got the chance to catch up with Jenna and take my first horseback riding lesson with her. It was my first time getting onto a horse, and it was exhilarating to say the least. Horseback riding is an incredible sport – the creatures are so majestic, and the riders are so disciplined. It takes a lot of commitment to get to the level of training that most of these ladies are at, but the team is dedicated and committed to your success.
Getting To Reveal Equestrian
The Reveal Equestrian team trains at Sycamore Trails in San Juan Capistrano, towards the southern part of Orange County. The facility hosts several equestrian groups, and the community there is close-knit.
To find the stables, you’ll first enter the parking lot across from Saddleback Valley Christian School. You will drive past the Shea building on the right-hand side and keep going until the end of the parking lot.
Before Your Ride
Meeting Your Instructor
After a few minutes of admiring the other riders on their horses, you will meet your instructor and get started with your lesson. My instructor was Jenna Reveal-Bourcier herself! Your first lesson will start out differently than it would if it was your 10th lesson. When it’s your first lesson, your instructor will give you some extra time get comfortable with your horse and learn a few rules about working with horses.
With a quick introduction to the equestrian school, we got to jump right in.
Meeting Your Horse
At this point in the lesson, you’ll meet your best friend for the day. Reveal Equestrian has a few lesson horses that are great for both first-timers (like me) and also more advanced riders. I got to meet a beautiful horse named Annie, who weighs in at just over 1100 pounds. While she was an incredibly majestic and gentle creature, it was not lost on me at that moment that Annie could probably squish me. This is why it’s important that you pay attention and listen to your instructor. Horses can get startled – if they get spooked, they can cause injuries on themselves and any person around. The horses at Reveal Equestrian are some of the sweetest and well-mannered horses around, but it is important to be respectful and cautious regardless.
You will meet your lesson horse at his or her stable. Jenna instructed me to make sure that Annie saw me and made eye contact with me before I walked into the stable. This is all part of establishing a bond with your horse and making sure that he or she is comfortable with you. After meeting Annie and establishing eye contact, we walked out of the stable and I lead her over to the grooming stable. Pro tip: be firm when leading your horse to the grooming stable! Horses are very strong creatures, so it can take a little bit of strength on your part to firmly lead them towards where you are going.
Grooming Your Horse
This is where the real bonding happens! Grooming your horse is a necessary step, not only to make sure that she looks her best but also because it is an essential bonding activity for you two. By putting time and care into grooming your horse, you will both develop a sense of familiarity and trust with each other. But here is where it comes in handy to know some general rules about working with horses: do not stand directly behind your horse, and do not go under him or her. As long as you remember those two things, you are good to go.
The grooming routine starts off with brushing the dirt off of your horse’s body. With Jenna’s guidance, I held the brush and swept it across Annie’s body in the direction of her fur – firmly enough and with a “flick of the wrist” to make sure that the dust came off. You’ll want to brush from the head towards the tail for best results, and be sure to cover the whole body (including under the belly and all over the legs).
For me and Annie, the second step was to brush her mane, which is the hair that runs from the top of the horse’s head all the way down her neck. According to Jenna, horses can’t feel the hair on their mane – so you can be as firm as you need to be to get all the knots, grass, and dust out.
The last step in the grooming routine is to brush the tail. This is where it’s important to remember not to stand directly behind the horse! Keep yourself slightly off to the side, while still in a position to access the tail. I was able to stand next to Annie’s right hind leg while working on brushing through her tail. As opposed to the mane hair, you will want to be gentler with tail hair since it takes much longer to grow out. For this part, you can use horse-hair conditioner to help you brush out the knots gently. While brushing, be mindful of the tailbone!
You will probably spend a good 10-15 minutes on the grooming process alone – and this is great for bonding with your horse! After we finished grooming, Jenna and I moved onto the next step.
The Ride
Setting Up For The Ride
At this point, I was so sure that I was going to finally get onto the horse! Jenna reminded me that there was one more very important step that we had to complete before that – tacking up the horse. The term “tack” refers to the equipment that we use on a horse when we are riding. For English-style riding, this includes the saddle, girths, stirrup leathers, and more.
After getting all of the equipment safely onto Annie, we were ready to go.
Mounting, Walking & Trotting
After grooming and tacking up my horse, I led Annie out of the stables and towards a mounting station. In one swift motion, I swung my leg over and sat down in the saddle. With that, I had successfully mounted the horse.
Once I was on the horse, our ride began. Jenna made sure that I had my feet in the correct position and directed me to use my legs to guide the horse, while using the reins to steer.
During the lesson, Annie and I went over walking and trotting. The trot was a more complex technique than I thought it would be –professional equestrians make it look so easy! But with a little extra practice, I was able to eventually get the technique down.
At the end of the ride, the time came to dismount. Dismounting doesn’t need to take place at a station – you simply swing your leg back over and plant your feet into the ground.
After the Ride
The last, and most important step. Once you lead your horse back into the stable and dismount, you have to clean up! After our ride, I took Annie back to the grooming stable and brushed her, the same way I did before the ride. Since there was a lot more dust and debris in her mane and tail after the ride, I brushed through them again.
Overall, my first equestrian lesson with Jenna went extremely well. I loved getting to meet everyone and see all of the horses in action. Not to mention, riding a horse for the first time ever was an incredible experience. She assured me that with enough practice and dedication, anyone could eventually learn and even compete in sports like show jumping and dressage.
The equestrian community is very close-knit in San Juan Capistrano – and Orange County as a whole – so it was wonderful to get a sneak peek into this world. For other students who are interested in trying out their first horseback riding lesson, you can sign up for your first lesson here! I highly recommend it!
