Equestrian Quotes

“Why do you like show jumping?"
"... Beauty and excitement. The elements of trust, talent, training, love, and danger make show jumping a thrilling and aesthetic experience. It's really the ultimate test of two nervous systems--the kinetic transfer of the rider's muscle to the horse's muscle enables them to clear those jumps. And there's nothing like it--horse and rider forming an arc of beauty, efficiency, and power, like a double helix."
"DNA,"
"Yes, DNA, the code to life.”
― Ainslie Sheridan

“take a deep breath. Keep your body fully in the present and your mind in the recent future. Don't let the past get in your way.”
― Linda Kohanov, The Tao of Equus: A Woman's Journey of Healing and Transformation through the Way of the Horse

“Over time, this unspoken attration continued to blossom, refusing to dwindle or fade, though they had little opportunity to foster or nourish it. Slowly and patiently, Robert's sheer persistence in the chase had revealed his heart, and Charlotte came to realize the nameless thing between them was love.”
― Emery Lee, The Highest Stakes

“If I've learned anything over the years, it's that horses do listen to you. They may not have a clue what you're saying, but they know the tone in which you say it. I'll sing to horses so hooked on their own nerves they're ready to climb into the sky, and sometimes it's one of the only things that keep them on the ground.”
― Mara Dabrishus, Stay the Distance

“Son of a beast tried to bite me when I turned my back to the billets!"...
Nostrils flaring and ears pinned, the grey repeated the offense.
"He wants another go at it. Be a sport ol' man!" Robert chortled. The indignant Scotsman threw the reins in his face, tromping off to collect the major's horse.
"I wonder was it reward or punishment Winthrop had in mind in allowing you to keep that brute?" Drake innocently inquired.
"He only eats Scotsman," Robert quipped.”
― Emery Lee, The Highest Stakes

“Marta Jolicoeur: We all learned how to ride from George and had wonderful riding careers but more than that, George taught us how to be successful in life...George had us all sized up. He used to tell me that I'm a worrier and he was right! I used to get rally nervous in the ring when I was about fifteen, and he made me go around the ring, reciting out loud, 'I know I'm going to see a distance. It might be a little short or a little long, but I know I'm going to see something.' I would have to say it loud over and over again on course...”
― George H. Morris, Unrelenting: The Real Story: Horses, Bright Lights, and My Pursuit of Excellence

“And I learned this long ago, that sweet freedom can be found in the middle of a meadow, upon the back of a faithful mare. Careless and wild we both shall be, on our ride across familiar fields, with steps that blend into the earth below.”
― Erin Forbes

“Katie Prudent: One of the greatest things about those times was that everything he [George Morris] taught us in the equitation had form with meaningful function. Your straight back was for strength, and your heels were your anchor. Everything he taught us made so much sense and that knowledge translated from equitation to the jumpers.”
― George H. Morris, Unrelenting: The Real Story: Horses, Bright Lights, and My Pursuit of Excellence

“Before you start your full day of watching Equestrian Square Dancing, Soccer Balling, Hoop Dreaming, Cricket Batting, Rugby Punching, Volleyball Chopping, Skateboard Falling, Martial Arts Bowing, Bicycle Peddlers, and College Football Hecklers, maybe we have time to learn something
Scientifically.”
― James Hauenstein

“Riding is the step-by-step seduction of the horse.”
― Jean-Claude Racinet

“It has been years since I've ridden a horse, and in all of human history, how many have graced the back of such a terrible prize as this? I fear disgracing this king of horses more than I do the coming violence.”
― Pierce Brown, Dark Age

“With my heart thumping, I froze up. I didn't dance. I was born with two left feet and they only worked together in the saddle. "Come on," Casey urged and grabbed my hand. "I wore my steel-toe boots. You can stand on my feet for all I care.”
― Brittney Joy, Showdown

“We can compare a life without a goal to an equestrian on an obstinate horse: much movement but little headway”
― Sunday Adelaja

“I have to be more than a passenger this time, I have to be a rider." - Flying Change”
― G.G. Collins, Flying Change

“Once, while at my uncle’s farm my father took me for a ride on my uncle’s buckboard. Not knowing any better, my father took the bridle off of the horse to give him a break. It seemed reasonable to me, but any farmer will tell you that’s not what he should have done. Thinking that he was free and then realizing that he wasn’t, the horse bolted, dragging the wagon down a path and then through a stone quarry where the buckboard was reduced to kindling wood. After my uncle found out what had happened, things were not quite the same for some time to come. Fortunately, the horse survived with only a few scratches but the buckboard was beyond repair and poor Pop never lived down this occurrence. I guess that he wasn’t much of an equestrian either.”
― Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One"

“Training horses, heck riding horses, isn't easy. Failing is part of the process. It's how you brush yourself off and get back in the saddle that counts the most. There's beauty in the breakdown. Everything is about balance.”
― Carly Kade, Show Pen Promise

“We will never have to tell our horse that we are sad, happy, confident, angry, or relaxed. He already knows – long before we do.”
― Marjike de Jong

“I can make a General in five minutes, but a good horse is hard to replace.”
― Abraham Lincoln

“Robbie said he never saw a horse take so easily to a rider, but Annis wasn't surprised. Bits always understood what she wanted, from a slow walk to a trot, from a canter to a gallop. He was as eager as she for their more daring rides, the ones they made when no one could see them. He loved to run, and they both loved jumping. He sailed effortlessly over fallen trees, mane and tail rippling. He popped over rows of shrubs as easily as a leaping deer, making Annis feel as if she could fly.”
― Louisa Morgan, The Age of Witches

“Steve Milne, with his extensive experience, owns and trains at Forward Thinking Farm.”
― Steve Milne Equestrian

“Someday you will find yourself laughing at a joke when you thought you would never be happy again. You will find yourself smiling and admiring the beauty of the mountains, when the world once felt so cruel and unforgiving. And maybe when trotting on the back of a horse, you will hear your heart beating, I'm still here. I'm still here.”
― Emily Swisher, STABLE: A Therapist and the Healing Nature of Horses

“Perhaps it is the remnants of our primitive nature, when man first observed the wild horse herds and recognized a reciprocal need that could only be met through one another. The unspoken language of Equus has mystically united horse and human for eons, but for some of us, it is a music we cannot ignore.”
― Emily Swisher, STABLE: A Therapist and the Healing Nature of Horses

“You know what they say about why girls love horses?"
Iris knew exactly where he was headed; she had always hated this joke.
Jonathan looked wearily at him. "Careful, Bill, this is my daughter we're talking about."
She hated this rejoinder too. It was a scummy way to talk about any young girl, the ones with fathers and without.
"All right, Allegra excluded. But Iris know what I'm talking about. The friction...?"
The heat radiating off Iris's blotchy chest sent a waft of the perfume up to her flaring nostrils. "People who think riding horses gives women orgasms don't know how to do either thing right.”
― Francesca Serritella, Full Bloom