Horses, with their unsurpassed beauty, immeasurable strength and elegance, remain humble enough to carry a man upon their back. Most likely, there is something special about the outside look of horses that is good for the inside of a man. Possibly, this emotional impression what spellbinds people to admire these charming animals. Barbra Schulte, an author and a horse trainer, said: “Horses reflect our emotions, while at the same time they seem to know how to give us exactly what we need to soothe our pain”.
Whether they are around humans or other animals, horses are amazingly communicative to show different emotions and thrive in social situations. With these abilities, horses have become one of a few mammals that can form a lifelong, mutually deep emotional connection with humans, so they become domesticated. As the saying goes, “The riders’ hands are not to control the horse, but to feel the horses’ thoughts”.
Horses’ instincts can be used to human advantage for creating a bond between people and horses. These techniques are part of the art of horse training and riding. Nowadays, horses are mostly regarded companion animals kept for the pleasure of riding rather than used for work like transportation, for instance. Many people are practising horse riding as a hobby while some are enjoying it as a recreational activity. Among those, who are riding horses as a hobby and enjoying the fun of it, is Amna bint Nasser al Sharji.
Once upon a time in the late 1990s, Amna, an 8-year- old girl, was being escorted by her mother to a stable, where she could experience horse riding for the first time. That was the start of drilling the passion and courage into Amna’s character. In fact, that was the turning point on which Amna was a horsewoman in the making while growing up to saddle a horse.
At that time, Amna was very thrilled to experience horse riding, but simultaneously she was scared to ride on horseback. Amna’s fear was a struggle blocking her way to reach the racetrack. However, she took it as a challenge to overcome this fear, which then turned into a passion as soon as she reached her goal. This was a motive behind Amna’s letting go of her fear to ride a pony. Amna’s mother was a key reason to push her to start this sport and experience its thrill.
Rebecca Carroll, an American writer, editor and radio producer, was totally right when she said, “A pony is a childhood dream. A horse is an adult treasure”.
Amna reflected this as she picked up the passion and courage when first started riding a pony and 10 months back she got a horse as a birthday gift from her mother. Amna’s mother is a horse rider, coach and an international certified judge, who got fascinated by horses in the early 1990s during her visit to Egypt and experienced the first ride on a horseback by the pyramids.
“Since my mother started riding in relatively old age, she once said, “My kids will achieve what I couldn’t do in this field. Thus, I am currently pursuing that”, Amna remarked.
Throughout the past uncontinuous 21 years of experiencing horse riding, I learned that controlling and caring for an animal much larger than yourself can have a profound effect on your personality in terms of emotional connection rather than physical strength. As they say, there is no secret so close as that between a rider and a horse”, commented Amna.
People who spend time riding horses on a daily basis are, according to numerous surveys, more often in a good mood and smiling and so is Amna indeed.
“Horse riding is a time-consuming sport as I spend at least 2-3 hours a day (5-6 days a week). However, such an exciting sport worth sacrificing time as no hour spent in the saddle is wasted” she explained.
Commenting on her participation, Amna remarked that she took part in various horse shows and competitions. The Royal Cavalry’s Annual Horse Race, local horse show jumping competitions organised by Oman Equestrian Federation and local private schools, Sheikha Fatma competition for ladies in UAE in 2015 are to name a few of her participations.
“Currently, I am working on honing my talent to be able to compete internationally”, she added.
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