A good rider is part of the horse; he or she enhances the horse’s movement instead of getting in the way. Passenger Lessons are how you learn to be a good rider and passenger, much like you learn to respond in a car when someone else is driving.
Have you noticed how you lean to maintain balance as the car turns, and how you adjust backward or flow forward as the car brakes or accelerates?.
The Passenger Lesson surrenders your sense of control when riding (harder for some than others!) and teaches you to “flow with the go” of your horse… to go and slow, to zig and zag, not a moment too soon or too late. Until you’ve done this, you can’t imagine how much you can be out of synch on a day to day basis!
“To this day, the difficult horse that led me to Pat is fine until I get out of harmony with him. If I have any resistance in me, it upsets him. But if I do what he does (ride in harmony with him), it works like a charm. When he braces, I do. When he goes fast, I do too. It helps him become calm. And then when I am calm and confident and ask him to do what I want him to do… it works like you can’t believe. If I’m being a passenger, I should do everything my horse does – go fast, go slow, don’t be afraid. But most people (including me) brace against what’s likely to happen and this upsets the horse!”
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