In This Chapter
Games on horseback are a great
way to break up the strict regimen of riding lessons while still helping you
develop good riding skills. They’re fun, too, for both riders and horses!
Remember
The games in this chapter are all suitable for beginning riders and should be played under the supervision of a riding instructor. Safety’s a primary concern while playing horseback games, so all participants should wear an approved equestrian safety helmet. See Chapter Safety First: Protecting Yourself around Horses for more information on riding helmets and general safety.
If you’re taking group lessons,
ask your instructor to make some of these games a part of your lesson program.
If you’re taking private lessons, see whether your instructor can put together
a play day for his or her students. Any number of riders can play — from 2 to
20!
Simon Says
In the arena, Simon Says helps
riders stretch their legs and develop their balance. This game also increases
your confidence in the saddle by proving that you can do more than just sit
there without falling off!
Simon Says on horseback is very
much like Simon Says on the ground. Riders have their horses walk in single
file along the rail. The instructor periodically calls out different gaits or
asks for certain maneuvers, such as circle, reverse direction, or stop.
(Part III has details on riding maneuvers and gaits, such as
Ride-a-Buck
The popular horseback game
Ride-a-Buck is often performed bareback (see Chapter Even
More Riding Styles and Activities for info about this
riding discipline). It teaches riders good balance at the various gaits.
Riders start at one end of the
arena lined up single file. The instructor puts a dollar bill under each
rider’s leg, elbow, seat, or calf with half of the dollar bill sticking out.
Riders then perform different gaits and maneuvers based on what the instructor
calls out. The last rider with the dollar bill still in place is the winner.
Treasures on the Trail
This version of a treasure hunt
conducted on horseback takes place on the trail. Riders develop their balance,
mounting and dismounting skills, and proficiency in starting and stopping their
horses.
The riders break up into teams
(to be determined by your instructor; teams of two usually work best), and each
rider receives a list of items he or she can find on trails adjacent to the
stable. Items can include ordinary objects such as twigs, a certain type of
flower, or a specific kind of tree bark. Sticking together for safety, team
members collect the items within a given time limit. Whichever team returns to
the stable first with the most items from the list wins.
Magazine Race
The Magazine Race is an arena
relay to see who can best follow directions while also quickly mounting and
dismounting. Teams can be as large as your instructor wants, although the number
of riders should be even on both teams.
The instructor places a pile of
magazines on the ground at the end of the arena. Riders line up at the other
end. The instructor gives a page number to each rider, along with directions on
how to hold the paper (in your teeth, between the horse and your left calf,
under your seat, and so on) and which gait to use.
When the game begins, the first
rider for each team rides to the end of the arena, dismounts, tears out the
correct page number, climbs back in the saddle, and carries the paper back to
the line as instructed. If the rider drops the paper, he or she must get off
the horse and retrieve it. The first team to have all its riders finish the
task is the winning team.
Ride and Tie
A fun activity for instructors
and students alike is Ride and Tie. Although Ride and Tie is a recognized sport
governed nationally by the Ride and Tie Association, the event is also a fun
activity that trainers can organize for their students. It helps beginning
riders practice mounting and dismounting quickly as well as develop skills in
safely tying their horses (see Chapter Working
from the Ground, Saddling, and Bridling for more information about tying).
Traditional Ride and Tie events
consist of a three-member team: two humans and a horse. All three start on a
trail at the same time, with the horse and one mounted team member going on
ahead. The trail should be well marked and include obstacles along the way that
are suitable for tying a horse to. When the rider reaches a point where she can
safely tie the horse, she stops, secures the horse to a bush or tree, and then
continues on foot. The team member who began the event on foot finds the tied
horse, mounts up, and continues on past the other team member. He eventually
stops, ties the horse, and goes on while the horse waits for the person on foot
to catch up and mount. This relay continues until all three team members cross
the finish line. The winning team finishes in the shortest amount of time.
Although sanctioned Ride and Tie
events run anywhere from 20 to 40 miles, a fun event organized for students can
be as short or as long as the instructor or trainer wants it to be. Instructors
can get rules for Ride and Tie from the Ride and Tie Association at www.rideandtie.org.
Red Light, Green Light
A version of the popular kids’
game, Red Light, Green Light on horseback helps riders figure out how to stop
and start their horses effectively and move them in a straight line.
A group of riders lines up at one
end of the arena at the start line, and at the other end, the instructor draws
a finish line in the dirt or uses cones to mark it. The instructor faces the
riders and says “green light” to get them going. A few seconds later, the
instructor says “red light.” All riders have to stop within a three-second
count of hearing this command. If the rider doesn’t stop in time,
Follow the Leader
Follow the Leader, which uses
obstacles placed throughout an arena, enforces basic riding skills. Riders
practice steering the horse and controlling the horse’s speed.
The instructor picks a leader in
the group, and this rider then leads the way through the obstacles, which can
include barrels, poles, straw bales, cones, and logs. All the other riders have
to follow the lead of the horse in front of them. Whoever follows the pattern
best (according to your instructor) becomes the new leader after a period of
time. Riders play this game for entertainment value; Follow the Leader doesn’t
have a specified winner.
Boot Bucket Race
Instructors can hold the Boot
Bucket Race in an arena with just four buckets and several pairs of boots. This
game is great for beginning Western riders because it teaches them to neck rein
their horses (cue using rein pressure on a horse’s neck), an essential skill in
Western riding. It also helps riders figure out how to keep their horses at a
steady gait and how to mount and dismount quickly.
A finish line cuts the arena in
half crosswise. One half becomes the play area, where the boots and buckets are
set up. The instructor lines up several pairs of old riding boots on the fence
posts at one end of the arena. She then places two buckets on each side of
the arena, one toward the end of the arena, by the boots, and the other near
the finish line the width of a horse from the rail.
The horses and riders wait on the
other half of the arena. Riders are divided up equally into two teams, and the
instructor indicates where the finish line is. The riders line up single file,
with each team on one side of the arena. The team on the right will use the two
buckets on the right side of the arena, and the team on the left will use the
two buckets on the left.
The instructor calls a gait (walk
or trot), and the race begins. One at a time, a rider from each team goes to
the end of the arena where the boots are located and, with the non-rein hand,
picks up a boot and carries it to one of his team’s buckets (switching the boot
to the rein hand is allowed) and drops it in. If the rider misses, he has to
dismount, pick up the boot, get back on the horse, and try it again.
As soon as the rider successfully
gets the boot into the bucket, he crosses the finish line, tags the next rider,
and goes back to the end of the line of his team’s riders. Then another rider
from the team goes through the same process. Teams receive one point for each
boot that makes it into a bucket. Whichever team has the most points when the
last boot gets placed into a bucket is the winner.
Egg ’n’ Spoon Carry
The object of the Egg ’n’ Spoon Carry,
which helps reinforce a rider’s balance and skill with the hands, is to perform
various maneuvers on horseback while holding a hard-boiled egg on a spoon. This
game is ideal for Western riders because the reins go in one hand and the spoon
and egg go in the other.
Riders go around the arena
performing the gaits and maneuvers that the instructor calls out. The winner is
the last rider to be holding an egg.
Around the World
Around the World is challenging
to beginning riders, but it’s great at building confidence and trust in the
horse. It works best for English riders.
With the instructor holding the
reins of the horse, one at a time, each rider must drop the reins, take her
feet out of the stirrups, and swing her right leg over the front of the horse so
both legs are on the horse’s left side. The rider then swings the left leg over
the rump of the horse so she’s sitting on the horse backwards. The rider then
swings the right leg over the rump so both legs are on the horse’s right side.
Finally, the rider swings the left leg over the horse’s neck so she’s sitting
on the horse properly again. The time ends when the rider’s feet are back in
the stirrups.
The instructor times each student
with a stopwatch as she performs the maneuver. The student who performs it the
fastest is the winner.
by Audrey Pavia with Shannon Sand
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