Horseback Riding

Horseback riding is a sport. But not only do you have to maintain yourself and your horse as you would any other athlete, you need to prepare to care for a horse as you would any other pet. Except this pet is 15x the weight of your dog and about 15x the cost! The first thing you'll need to is learn about horsemanship and caring for your horse.

If you're young (or if you're a parent getting your child into horseback riding), consider joining a chapter of the United States Pony Club. Check out www.ponyclub.org/ Pony Club teaches great mounted skills (Pony Club is geared toward English riding, so you'll learn dressage, jumping, cross country, and even polocrosse, gymkhana/mounted games!), but is really valuable for teaching basic veterinary care, every day horsemanship, safety, and conventions in horse management.

You don't even need your own horse to join, as many clubs can provide lesson horses or team you up with another horse and rider pair to share riding and responsibilities. Meetings are on weekends with the option of attending competitions (in Dressage, Jumping, Eventing, Games, Polocrosse, and even Quiz - an unmounted competition where kids get points for answering questions about riding and horse care) as well as Ratings (there are 7 ratings or levels that a member can achieve ranging from brand new beginner to near expert level). Check out the website for more info, but I can assure you that Pony Club is a great way to learn everything you need to know about horses and horse care.