My neighbor's 13 yr. old neice has been invited to
ride a multi-day, 3 50's, on an experienced horse, however, this girl has not
ever done any high mileage rides. She is a very good rider, has had her own
horse for a couple of years now, does jumping & is taking dressage lesson.
Her mom thinks she is ready for the challenge , however, her mom has never
ridden. I made my junior (11 at the time) go on 20-35 mile rides at least
once a week for a few months before our first 50, and she was still challenged
by it. I KNOW she could not have gotten on the next day and done another 50,
although maybe now she could.
What do you think the minimum preparation would be
for this girl? I say minimum only because I think they might completely
discount any advice if the recommendation is too high. It would be
great for yound rider to be prepared & be successful at her first
attempt.
It's possible that the rider who invited this girl
to do the rides is setting up a program for her, but my neighbor didn't know of
any. So, if you are that rider and haven't set up a program for her, now's the
time!
