HORSE RIDING GAMES ” Strengthening Motivation
Horse riding games are now being used by many instructors to motivate their students to engage more in learning. Motivation increases when the student riders play a game because games foster play. Play builds up motivation, which supports the learning process by providing incentive. With incentives, students are encouraged to engage in learning.
When the students are having fun with their lessons, they become more eager to learn. Therefore, incorporating horse riding games is vital to horse riding lessons. With motivation, they gain knowledge easier and faster.
Below are examples of horse riding games.
Musical Horses
The game musical horses is very much like musical chairs, only that instead of chairs ground poles are used. The ground poles will be placed such that they are parallel to each other and about 8 feet apart. The poles should look like a parking lot but for horses not for cars. The number of spaces between poles should be one less than the number of riders.
Step 1. Music will be played and the riders with their horses will do a discipline. They will be asked to walk, trot, canter, halt, half circle, reverse or circle.
Step 2. When the music stops, the riders will go to one of the ground pole parking lots while continuously walking or trotting or cantering, etc.
Surely there will be one rider that will not get a space since the ground pole parking lots are one less than the riders. That rider will be eliminated and the number of spaces and the riders will be equal, so one pole must be removed. This will make the spaces between poles one less than the rider again. The last rider to get the one last space will be the winner.
Mounting and Dismounting Game
There will be two riders in this game, who will work as a team. For each team there will be an older rider who can mount from the ground and a little rider with mounting blocks. The younger riders with their mounting blocks will go to the center of the arena. They will keep an eye on their older team mate, who will do the commands.
When the instructor says “halt”, the older rider will stop on the rail. They will dismount while the young riders run from the center to their partners. The older riders will get the little riders on safely and then the younger riders will race back to the mounting block. The last team to get to the mounting block will be out.
The younger riders will then be the one to do what the instructor will command. When the instructor says halt, the older riders will go to the younger riders to help the younger riders dismount. Then the younger riders will go back to the mounting block while the older riders mount. The older riders will ride with no stirrups or in jockey style in little kids stirrups.
The winner will be the last team left.
Horse riding games have rules that create artificial conflicts. Playing these games also creates in the riders the common goals that only one team or one person can only have. So, strategic ability is developed. Another advantage of horse riding games is that they promote interaction between riders.