Footnote Farm

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Riding in Your 60s, 70s… and Beyond

There is a particular look people give you when you tell them you still ride. It’s subtle, but it’s there. A slight tilt of the head. A small pause before they answer. “Oh… that’s wonderful,” they say, with that careful tone people use when they’re trying to be encouraging but also quietly calculating your age. Wonderful. As if riding past sixty is some charming hobby like knitting or watercolor, rather than the deeply physical, deeply emotional, occasionally humbling pursuit it has always been.

Let me tell you something honestly. You are not too old to ride. You are simply too wise to ride the way you did at twenty-five. And that is not a limitation — it is an evolution.

When I was younger, falling off was practically part of the curriculum. You bounced. You brushed the dirt off. You got back on before anyone could form an opinion. Your body forgave you in ways you didn’t even notice. In your thirties, you might evaluate the dirt before remounting. In your forties, you checked alignment. By your fifties, you checked your insurance. And somewhere in your sixties, you realize that falling off is no longer a casual inconvenience; it’s a negotiation with gravity that carries consequences.

That awareness changes how you ride — and, quite frankly, it makes you better.

In your twenties, you ride to prove something. You want to prove you’re brave, talented, competitive, and capable. There’s an edge to it. A drive. In your sixties and seventies, that edge softens into something far more powerful: intention. You no longer need to win arguments with your horse. You want to understand them. You don’t need to demonstrate toughness. You want harmony. That shift from proving to partnering is subtle, but READ ON - On the Ranch With LInda https://members.happyhorsehappylife.com/posts/on-the-ranch-with-linda-riding-in-your-60s-70s…-and-beyond

Thank you Lisa Schultz for hosting a great working equitation clinic this weekend conducted by André Ganc Classical Riding

Whether or not you are interested in Working Equitation competition the Ease of Handling Obstacles serve as a fantastic way to create purpose to your ride.
Riding with purpose is not only provides immediate feedback for rhythm, straightness, balance, impulsion BUT most importantly reduces stress for both rider and horse AND allows for FUN and opportunities to reinforce your horse for the behaviours you are striving to achieve.