To ask the next person who says horse riders just sit there

[TheQueenOfDiamonds]

To come and 'just sit there' on my horse?
Seriously, It's annoying me now, Not only on here, My other half says it, And countless people on FB have said it.

So, I am making an offer, I am entirely serious, to anyone who believes this shit, feel free to come and 'just sit there' on my horse. Since Olympic riders apparently do naff all to get where they are, I expect to be hacking out at the very least by next week, On a well mannered, calm horse.

I will provide all equipment and facilities.

AIBU to expect these people to put their money where their mouth is and prove how easy it apparently is to ride a horse?

yanbu, can i come and have a ride anyway?

Can I get a free go on your horse if I pretend to believe that horse riders just sit there? :)

No thanks , horses are big and scary !

It would take one look at me and chuck me off .

I don't think many people think that do they? very thick people maybe

Haha, yes, come and sit on mine if you dare! 17.2hh of opinionated warm blood, and will throw you off if you annoy him too much,

YANBU, I want all takers to demonstrate a flying change, seeing as dressage is so simple and all.

I was having exactly the same discussion with DH earlier today, who claimed the showjumping looked "easy, the horse does it all".

I'm not sure he'd even know which end of the horse was the front, so we can safely discount his opinion.......

YANBU. They are also welcome to my aching muscles from 'just sitting there' while trying to be half-way competent. Then see what they think.

Well....... it does look like the riders just sit there. But I do know that it actually takes a lot of muscle control in the thigh and butt area and timing is crucial. But I'm sure there is a lot more to it.

Explain it properly for me (flutters eyelashes ) as the only time I've been on a horse was at a summer fayre when I was 7 and I don't know any horsey people.

Yup. Its obviously sooooo easy to get 1 1/2 ton of horse to do these things in a beautiful, effortless manner.

I find doing that in the prelim tests hard enough

Scary, too expensive, boring and I like my bones intact.

YANBU. One of my best friends trains showjumpers and I thinks she's incredibly brave, not to say talented to get several hundred lbs of extremely lively horse to run, jump, turn where and when she wants with no steering wheel and no brakes!!!!!

YANBU-I've had people on fb saying exactly the same, and that equestrian sports shouldn't be in the Olympics, very annoying when it's people who clearly have no idea.

yanbu!

"I don't think many people think that do they?"

After the last Olympics the Australians pointed out that most of the gold medals we won were in sitting down sports - riding, cycling, sailing, rowing, canoing.

I have ridden a horse once - never again! And rowing, canoing, sailing ans cycling are bloody hard work.

Does anybody think that these Olympics have turned a whole load of people who know naff all about sport into self proclaimed experts?
OP ynbu,I would love to see some of these people who have said it on your horse.

@Bunbaker... at least we win medals doing something. Australia has been, not to put too fine a point on it, piss-poor at this Olympics.

To be fair, to the truly ignorant like myself, it looks like just sitting there.
Compared to rowing, tennis or gymnastics it does 'look' pretty unskilled.

I don't think anyone is being intentionally nasty, it just doesn't seem that impressive.

It's just ignorance. Im sure it requires huge skill, I'll need some lessons just to be sure

...and the 100m is just putting one foot in front of the other, right?

And rifle shooting is just pulling a trigger....

Can I have a go on your horse? Riders just sit there blah blah... See I said it!

YANBU! That said, I would love to see what would happen if the likes of me got on some of the top show jumpers, or eventers, and tried to get round the Olympic courses. I'd love to try that out, and see what happened!! I suspect it would not end well, but would be an interesting experiment!

Blimey - I used to ride (never at any sort of serious level) and at the end of an hour's worth of heavy dressage I was always sweatier than the horse.

My DSis runs a livery yard and rides Advanced, she certainly does look as if she's sitting there doing nothing - until she dismounts and you get up close and see how tired she is.

DP thinks eventing is 'not a proper sport' unlike beach volleyball

Nbee - The point of dressage is to look like you are just sitting there, because communications between you and your mount have to be extremely subtle. You use the tiniest movement possible to ask the horse to do something basically.

If you could see what they were doing, They wouldn't be in the olympics lol!

Hopkin and netbook You're welcome to haha. He's 15.3hh of complete arse though lmao.