When you're constantly jumping the same old fences for months on end, there comes a time when deriving new courses around the arena just doesn't cut it. You want to mix it up; and if you're just crazy enough, you're going to want to mix it up bareback.
Now, I've never personally understood the allure of riding bareback. I get the poetry of (dare I use the same phrase two posts in a row?) going au naturale. In theory, the less standing in the way of you and your horse the better. But in practice? To a rider accustomed to saddles, the process is jarring, and sometimes painful. Something akin to sitting on the wing of an airplane that's making its way through turbulence.
So what, pray tell, are we doing next week? I have only two words: Bareback. Relays.
No, you did not read that wrong. We, the hunter/jumpers-in-training, are going to break into teams and attempt all sorts of humiliating relays on horses without pommels or stirrups to help us catch our balance. It's going to be two hours of non-stop mounting and dismounting, speedy transitions, and sharp turns - plus a race to the finish line. I, for one, can promise you that I'm going to fall off. At least once. Maybe more.
And in preparation for the Day of Ultimate Humiliation, I'm training how? Not by going to the gym or jogging in the park. Oh, no. I am going to be spending the next few days on Wii Fit, playing balance games and exercising my leg and core muscles. And I'm going to pick up those Crazy 8 Calf Exercises my gymnist friend swears by.
Six days and counting. Lets see how this goes.
