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HORSE RIDING BOOKS

For ages, books have been the most common form of scholastic education.  Although now we find ourselves in a changing environment, where the memory card is far more popular than the library card, do not let the joys of a good book and the value of that quiet time in your mind escape you.

If you have the passion of loving horses, horsemanship, horse people, horse stories and horse lore, then take the time to explore the written word.  Yes, videos are great.  But, what your mind can create is often more colorful, meaningful and indelible.

For those of you who are looking for books that will assist your riding experience and improve your skills, you will be amazed to know that there are a abundance of books in every riding discipline!

Now let’s see…. horse racing, hunting, jumping, eventing, polo, trail, endurance, vaulting, driving, showing, reining, cutting, pole bending, barrel racing.

The good news for you studious types is that some of the most successful, most revered riders and trainers in the different riding disciplines are coaxed into writing a book (or books) about their techniques and methods that set them apart from the pack.

There are many good, even great riders out there.  But, very few that make it to the very tip top of their industry.  The opportunity to learn from them is otherwise not attainable

Let’s take an example, Jim Wofford, rider extraordinaire and a dear friend of mine, has recently published his latest book, 101 Tips On Eventing. He has had an incredibly successful riding career, joining the USA Eventing Team in 1965 and remaining a member until 1985.

He trained under Bert de Nemethy and Jack Le Goff, two of the most respected trainers of USET horses.  To just mention a few more highlights, Jim was on the 1968 and 1972 Olympic teams, and named to the Olympic team in 1980.  He garnered two Team Silver medals, and one individual Silver medal. In addition to that he won Bronze individual and Team medals in the 1970 and 1978 World Championships.

Jim won the U.S. National Championships, on 5 different horses in 5 different years, an amazing feat!  He is thought of as one of the most outstanding Eventing competitors in the history of the sport.

After that illustrious career, Jimmy was sought after to coach riders as they strived to attain the same level of achievement.

Since starting his coaching career, he has had at least one student on every U.S. Olympic, World Championship, and Pan-American team.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, all four members of the U.S. Bronze medal team learned under him during their careers. At the 2002 World Equestrian Games, three out of four members of the Gold Medal team were his former students as well.  Named the USOC Developmental Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999, he also coached the Canadian Team for the 2002 World Championships, the 2003 Pan American Championships, and the 2004 Olympics.

Now, how are you as a rider ever going to have access to someone who has as much knowledge to offer?  Because Jim only takes on a handful of students and teaches only select clinics each year, books and videos are the only venue for most of us!

Good for all of us that Jim has written several books about his expertise.

His first book is entitled TRAINING THE 3-DAY EVENT HORSE AND RIDER, which was received with phenomenal success.  In fact, the demand was so high, it went into a second publication.

His second book is GYMNASTICS: SYSTEMATIC TRAINING OF THE JUMPING HORSE.  Both books are extremely popular among those riders dedicated to this endeavor.  Besides the three books already mentioned, Jim wrote TAKE A GOOD LOOK AROUND, about his ruminations during the Olympics and his reflections about his life with horses in general. If I know, Jim, it is entertaining and enlightening!

Besides my friend, Jim, many other top competitors have put the pen onto their expertise.  Let’s take Jane Savoie.  Jane has coached at three Olympic Games. She coached the Canadian 3-Day Event Team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

In preparation for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, she coached many riders on the United States, Canadian and Belgium Olympic teams.  One of those riders helped earn the team Bronze medal for the United States Dressage Team.

Again, in 2004, Jane coached the Canadian Three Day Event team to the Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Besides her ability to teach riding techniques from a physical standpoint, Jane spends a great deal of time, dealing with the psychological side of riding, overcoming fears, gaining self confidence, allowing yourself to achieve your personal best and becoming the most effective rider you can be.

If you are a Dressage rider, Jane’s books and videos will bring you her expertise that you may not ever have access to otherwise.  I highly suggest that you look at her publications.

Jim and Jane do as great job writing as they do riding!  (Not all trainers have that ability.)

Visit this blog often and learn about the latest riding books, written by the best coaches available out there, that  the top riders are finding crucial to their on-going journey to achieve their highest level of horsemanship.

Good horse riding books can fill in the gaps as you learn the psychological aspects of riding and winning.  There are also some great equestrian book courses that you can purchase that let you advance at your own rate.

The internet is great, but books still hold the key to some of the best ways to learn!

Well... I hope this gives you a good idea about the kind of information you can find in Horse riding books.

My Best Regards,

Lisa Blackstone

American Horse Association

www.AHAHelpDesk.com/support