Here in New England, summer is winding down, and the best riding season is quickly closing in on us. After an unseasonably hot summer, I’m very excited to get as much riding in as possible with Nemo. Each season has its perks, but I must admit, fall is my absolute season to spend at the barn and in the saddle. Here are some of the things I’m most excited about this fall.

Trail Rides
As much as I love schooling Nemo in the ring and working on our flatwork, there’s something about getting out on the trails that makes my day. I find it’s a great way to change things up and keep both Nemo and I fresh and excited to ride. Nemo can be a nervous horse at times, and it’s always so much fun to see his reaction to the new and changing scenery. Being a goal-driven rider, I love trying new things, and helping him relax when we come across obstacles or things on the trail that might make him jittery. It’s always fun to see the progress that he makes with each ride, especially when he goes from being nervous around new encounters, to perking his ears up eagerly and curiously, with confidence instead.

Hunter Paces
Being a jumper rider at heart, these are my absolute favorite. I’m also lucky in that Nemo’s favorite thing to do is gallop and jump as well. Here in New England, we’re very lucky to have lots of opportunities to attend hunter paces. I have a great group of barn friends that loves to attend these, and we always have so much fun galloping across fields and jumping obstacles. What I love most about hunter paces, is that as a rider, you can make them as relaxed, or as competitive as you’d like. I tend to fall right in the middle, and use these experiences to help build Nemo’s confidence, and see new things in a relaxed setting that we both enjoy. I find it’s impossible not to smile and laugh with each hunter pace experience, and it’s always so much fun having the room to ride the long strides of Nemo’s Morgan road trot on a beautiful day.

Beach Riding
Here at SmartPak, we’re so lucky to be very close to the ocean. I grew up in Central MA, so I had always had a riding bucket list goal of riding on the beach. I love that I now can! Each fall, beaches are available for use by local riders, and my barn loves to load up the horses for beach adventures. Again, this is always an exciting opportunity to experience new things with Nemo and help him to be a well-rounded horse. I love galloping along the beach and encouraging Nemo to step into the waves. I can’t wait to bring him to his first beach ride this fall.

Slowing down and enjoying the ride
Another great thing about fall is being able to take a step back, slow down, and really focus on all the things I love about riding and spending time with Nemo. This is the time where, as a rider, I look at the goals I made at the beginning of the year and see what progress we’ve made. I also like to make new goals for Nemo and I ask well. This fall, my goal is to work toward building Nemo’s confidence, improving his ground work, and truly helping him to relax around new things that may be scary to him. My goal as a rider is to spend more time with him out of the saddle as well, whether it’s reading a book with him in his paddock, working on ground work, or just quietly hanging out with him in his stall. He loves attention and company, and I can’t wait to spend more time with him.

What are your favorite things about riding about in the fall?