Re: Does Dance Help You Ride Better

Date: Wed, 04 Jun 2003 13:20:48 GMT
Newsgroups: rec.equestrian
Size: 1,647 bytes

On Sun, 1 Jun 2003 20:06:27 -0500 (CDT), email-address-deleted (Leann)
wrote:
>I have a question for anyone that wants to reply. I need to know if
>ballet dancing will help a child with riding the English discipline.
>
>Yep, I have a reason for asking and it is because the daughter doesn't
>think it will and I say she is wrong. LOL!
>
>I think it has already helped her tremendously in riding and in real
>life poise. Do any of the other riders also do this to help their seat?
>Gotta provide proof cuz the kiddo thinks I'm full of beans. Thanks!!!
>
>Leann
I can't speak for dance, but I have been majorly impressed with my
son's girlfriends balance and speed of learning to ride. She was a
gymnast in high school and built a lot of balance and body control.
That ability was easily translated to riding.
My own experience when I began to take lessons and ride seriously was
that I had been a sailor and had windsurfed quite a bit for several
years. Windsurfing is all about balance and building reflexes,
especially when you get to the point where you are sailing sinker
boards in lotsa wind and waves. If you take the time to think about a
move, and don't have the move trained almost to the point of reflex,
you are in the water.
I found lots fo parallells between sailboarding and riding when I
first started. Not only the balance I had developed but the process
of learning how to learn a physical sport transferred well to riding.
I think that anybody who has trained their body to respond to a sport
that requires balance, agility and trained reflexes will find it
easier to learn to ride. Golfers need not apply. <eg>
Tim