United States Eventing Association

Sarah Montague was like any horse crazy young girl – riding every chance she got and dreaming of riding any time she was not on horse back, but the “real world” got in the way. After college Montague got a job in a big city and riding had to go on the back burner. A decade later Montague found herself with the means to own her own horse again, and she returned to the horse craziness of her childhood.

Does this story sound familiar?

There are so many adults that come back to riding after their careers and family have settled down – these adults have become known as “re-riders”.

Montague wrote The Adult Rider to be a guide for adults that need knowledge on how to get back in the saddle or even start their equestrian careers for the first time.

Montague has methodically organized the book to help adult riders make decisions about what kind of riding they want to do, where to find it, and how to do it safely.

The first part of The Adult Rider is titled “Choosing a Path: The Disciplines.” In this section Montague outlines the major disciplines of both English and Western riding and explains the pros and cons of each sport for the adult rider. She also gives useful suggestions on what you will need and how to get involved with the unique disciplines.

Part Two: “Choosing to Learn” gives adult riders advice on how to be the best student possible and therefore get the most for their time on horseback. Within this section, Professional competitors and instructors of varied disciplines give their advice on how to be a good student. In a question and answer session with Montague the professionals answer her questions about how to be the best student possible and what they need to do to benefit from the instructors. Each professional has a different opinion, but they are all beneficial to the adult rider.

The third section “Choosing Safety” includes important information on how to be a safe adult rider. The chapter, “Young Hearts, Older Bones” gives advice on how to become fit enough to safely ride and how riding can be beneficial for the older person. After learning how to become a safe rider, Montague explains how to choose a safe horse when you feel like it is time for the adult rider to make the big plunge into horse ownership.

Montague concludes the book with the incorporation of horses into every aspect of the adult rider’s life including: fun with the family, horses on holiday, beyond lessons, and the horse culture.

Overall, Montague has written an informative book that directly caters to the niche of adult riders and “re-riders”. It is nice to know that there is a book for the novice rider that is not just aimed at the child.

“What's not to love?” writes Montague in the eventing section. “You and your horse get to prove you're the all-around athletes you always knew you were, and instead of having to choose among the various disciplines, you get to combine three of the most rewarding and challenging. And in some ways, eventing is the ideal form for a mature mind; it takes a great deal of time and patience to train up a good event horse, but that patience is amply rewarded by pleasure both refined and bold.”

You can purchase the book at Amazon.com