The Horse Whisperer

by Ariel Cooper

‘OK, get your canter, turn between these two jumps and go over the cross rail. Once you’re over, ride straight for the corner,” said my instructor Christine. I sighed and then gulped. Desi and I had just gone through an extensive warm-up over cavalletis (ground poles) and we were both exhausted. It was only my fourth horseback riding lesson since coming back from sleep away camp and I hadn’t jumped in months. The thought of jumping again scared me a little, but it also thrilled me.

Silently, I shortened my reins. Desi tensed beneath me anticipating my command. I squeezed the reins lightly, reminding Desi that I was in charge and he couldn’t do anything unless I told him to. Once the chestnut

gelding calmed down, I asked him to canter by squeezing his sides with my legs. The horse bounded forward and I relaxed into his smooth strides.

I could see the jump now and I was scared, but I slid my hands forward and let the horse run. After a few long seconds, I felt Desi’s front hooves leave the ground. In that moment all of my worries over school and the pressures of my busy schedule melted away. It was just Desi and I flying over a fence together. In that small fraction of time, we were one.

I’ve loved horses for as long as I can remember. For many young girls, horses are just a phase like Barbie and Polly Pocket. But not for me. By the time I was nine, I managed to convince my mother to let me have riding lessons. I’ve been riding horses ever since. The older I got the more my love for horses increased and for a long time I have wanted to enter competitions or own my own horse. Unfortunately, those things still remain just out of reach.

Horseback riding is a secular sport and the few Jews who are involved are not observant. The competitive aspects of horseback riding require a lot of time, time that a yeshiva student (like me) just doesn’t have. With a 4:40 p.m. dismissal I don’t have the time to spend two hours at my stable and complete my mountain of homework.

In addition, many competitions are held on Saturdays. Even if there is no competition, a horse still needs to be trained to maintain its fitness level. Since this qualifies as work for both horse and rider it would be impossible for an observant Jew to ride on a Saturday. Even if a non-Jew rode the horse, the horse would still be working. Shabbat is supposed to be a day of rest for animals and humans.

Time is not the only thing holding me back. Horseback riding is one of the most expensive sports around. Horses can cost as much as $1 million, sometimes even more. A horse owner also has to pay for a vet, farrier, saddle, bridle, blanket, brushes and more. This is why most riding stables provide lessons on horses that can be rented by non-horse owners. Even so lessons at my stable are still very expensive and cost thousands of dollars for just 10 lessons.

Then there’s the exorbitant price of equipment. I own a helmet, two pairs of heavy jodhpurs, two pairs of light-weight jodhpurs, riding boots, a pair of half chaps, two pairs of gloves, a whip and spurs. My helmet cost around $80 when I bought it — and it was one of the cheapest ones in the store.

The bond that can form between horse and rider fascinates me. Bonds between humans and animals are unique in that there are no words, no negative emotions, just unconditional love and mutual understanding. The main reason that I want to own a horse is to see what it would feel like to ride a horse that I’ve bonded with. Of course, forming a bond with a horse requires the time that I very much lack. Even though I ride Desi often, he belongs to Old Westbury Equestrian Center.

Despite these challenges, I have managed to find other opportunities to spend time with my favorite animal. For example, I participate in the Equestrian Club at school. It takes place once a week after school for six weeks in the fall and then six weeks in the spring. There is even transportation from school to the stable and back. Thanks to this club, I have the opportunity to ride twice a week instead of just once. Riding with the Equestrian Club allows me to relax and have fun after school and gives me the chance to prepare for my more intense riding lesson later in the week at my regular stable.
When I was looking for an interesting way to fulfill my school’s community service obligations I decided to volunteer at Horseability, an organization that helps mentally and physically disabled children and adults ride horses. Many of the horses in the program were competition horses that their owners no longer wanted. At Horseability I can get involved in most of the horse care and I learn new things every time I visit such as how to put on a horse’s blanket.

No one ever said that being a Jew is easy, but I wouldn’t dream of giving up my religion — even for horses. Horseback riding has taught me that I don’t have to make sacrifices to pursue my dreams. Just because I don’t own a horse now doesn’t mean that I will never get the chance to own one in the future. In the meantime, I have managed to take advantage of every horsey opportunity that I have come across, whether it’s regular riding lessons or attending a horseback riding day camp over the summer.
Someday, I hope to make horseback riding more accessible for Jews by opening the first horseback riding sleep away camp with kosher food, Shabbat services and no riding on Saturdays. It may be a long shot but as Theodore Herzl said, “If you will it, it is not a dream.”

I still ask my parents for a horse, but I have long since accepted the fact that I am not going to get one. Sometimes while I’m riding I gaze at my surroundings — the bright green pastures, spotless arenas, sparkling horses and spacious stables — and pretend that it all belongs to me. Then I realize how lucky I am to be seeing this, how lucky I am that my parents support my expensive hobby as best as they can, and I feel grateful.

Sure, I’m not an Olympic rider, I don’t own a horse and I don’t spend half of my days at a riding stable, but I still ride. I still spend time with horses. And sometimes, that is enough.

Ariel Cooper is a sophomore at North Shore Hebrew Academy in Great Neck, L.I.

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Westchester’s Jewish Community Relations Organization