When one says “beginner” rider, most instructors envision a young rider, approximately age 8 to 16. But what do you do when your beginner rider is getting on a horse for the first time in her 45 or even 60 years?

Working with young beginners, I’ve found that they are much more bold, lack fear and lack an awareness of the potential danger horses hold than adult beginner riders. Young riders are always asking when they can move on, go at a faster gait or jump. Sometimes the challenge with these young riders is helping them to understand how to stay safe and to recognize the fact that horses are capable of being dangerous while, at the same time, not scaring them into fearing horses.

In contrast, the adult rider has more concerns for personal safety. Diane, a 64-year-old rider, who rode when she was 10 and then started again in her 60s, explained it this way:

“The adorable 10-year-old at our barn was so concerned about falling off for the first time because she thought ‘it would hurt.’ When she finally did fall off, she was so excited that ‘it didn’t hurt.’” Diane laughed. “For me, I’m concerned I’ll fall off and get hurt…seriously injured.”

According to Marie, a riding instructor specializing in all levels of hunt and balanced seat riders, “Adults bring with them a world of experience and knowledge; whereas children are naive to the potential dangers of horses.”

She explains that several of her adult riders have joked that they “don’t bounce like they used to.”

Marie noted that regarding the training of beginners, she spends much more time on the basics with adults. “Adults have spent years of training their bodies to do things a certain way every day of their lives,” she said. “For adults, I spend more time retraining their muscles and posture. Then I can go into working on training for the horse.”

This retraining of muscles and posture can be extensive as more mature riders tend to be stiff, their potential fear or nervousness further exacerbating the condition. Young riders are often more easily malleable.

Because of this, Marie sometimes finds more mental resistance from adult riders as they try to get their bodies to do new things. However, the same mental focus brings the adult rider more determination, as they see no issue putting in the time necessary to accomplish the task. Children often tend more to be looking for a quicker return on their investment and lack the discipline it takes to understand the theory.

“With adult riders, you have a better chance of explaining theory of riding, how to work with your horse instead of fighting them. This does not mean that young riders can’t do this,” she explains. “It just means that adult riders have more experiences to draw on that help them to see riding issues, theory and learning in a different way.”

Marie adds that these life experiences are invaluable when explaining movement and other aspects of the horse.

“Once someone knows how to drive a car, there are so many more analogies their instructors can draw on because adults have more of a sense of cause and effect.”

Like Marie, I enjoy working with both adult and junior riders. Both bring their own sets of issues and rewards. I can’t help but grin watching a young child learning to post on a pony or feel my heart in my throat when they’re about to take their first cross rail. But the adult rider brings the ability to have greater dialog with her instructor, and I'm always inspired by their determination to work through their fear.