Finding Your Own Path to Progress with Your Horse

Progress is one of those words we throw around in riding and life.

But what does it actually mean — and how do we know if we’re making it?

Mahuta Gold (Garry) at Puhinui 3 Day International Horse Trials Dec 2024 - Making my dreams come true!

Progress…

What does progress look like for you?

What does progress look like for your horse? 

What does or is progress for both, together?

What does progress look like in the rest of your life?

Progress will never look the same for everyone. Our experiences shape how we respond, our interpretations won’t always match, and our paths are unique. Yes, you might recognise yourself in someone else’s story, or empathise with their struggles and triumphs — but your version of progress will always belong to you and your horse.

What is Progress?

• development towards an improved or more advanced condition.

• the process of gradually improving or getting nearer to achieving or completing an objective, aspiration or goal.

For you, progress could be that your horse stands quietly and calmly at the mounting block, or being able to lead them calmly from or to the paddock, or it could be jumping a specific height that you aspire to jump or going on a hack or riding a cross-country course where you feel confident in your ability and that of your horse.

Progress has been described in many ways. Frederick Douglass reminded us that “if there is no struggle, there is no progress,” pointing to the effort and resilience it demands. 

And historian Henry Steele Commager added, “change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change.”

Taken together, they remind us that progress is rarely straightforward. It asks us to wrestle with challenges, accept that each step forward carries weight, and recognise that true progress depends on our willingness to embrace change. In the saddle, that might mean sitting the trot without gripping, finding the right canter lead, or regaining your confidence after a fall.

When it comes to improving your riding and training, progress will look different for every partnership. If you ride multiple horses, you’ll know that no two respond the same — and neither do you.

Can you honestly say you ride exactly the same way with each horse? Should you?Probably not. Real progress comes when we adapt to the needs of the horse in front of us.

Know your starting place - with your horse

Not what a previous owner did, or what’s written in a sale advert. Yes, it’s helpful to know your horse’s background and potential, but remember: your horse doesn’t dream of dressage or eventing. Their real needs are simple — forage, freedom, friends, and shelter. 

Your horse’s past may shape them, but your progress starts with where you are together, right now.

Know your own starting place - as a rider

• What is your current ability and experience?

• How broad is that experience?

• How willing are you to adapt to what the horse needs?

• How much depth does your confidence have?
  
  If your riding life were a book, how many chapters would it have so far?

  However many there are, you can always write more.

Progress is not linear

What does this mean?

It means that improvement or development doesn't always happen in a straight, predictable line. Instead of steadily moving from one point to the next, there can be periods of rapid growth, plateaus, setbacks, or even regressions before moving forward again.

In both riding and life, progress often looks more like a winding path—two steps forward, one step back, a pause, then a leap ahead—than a straight line. Accepting this helps us stay patient, compassionate, and committed, even when things don’t unfold as quickly or neatly as we hoped.

Maybe you nail your canter transitions one week, only to find them sticky the next — that’s part of the winding path.

Before you get frustrated by what feels like a lack of progress, take a breath and come back to your starting place. Notice the small shifts, the little improvements, the quiet moments of connection.

Progress isn’t about ticking boxes — it’s about recognising the small shifts in yourself, your horse, and your partnership.

If you’ve found value in my rambling today, feel free to leave me a message and maybe contribute to my next coffee.