"Often times when people are talking to me about horses and thinking about whether or not they want to ride horses, they are trying to figure out which equestrian discipline is best for them. It's really a two part answer to this question.

First you need to decide if you want to ride English or Western. English, you have a flatter saddle and there is no horn. Western is a much bigger, bulkier saddle and you have a horn to hold onto. A lot of people really like to start with Western and get a little more comfortable and secure and then move to English.

The one thing that I tell people, the most important thing, is that you can interact with horses in whatever way makes you happy but you also want to make sure your horse is happy. Maybe you just want to go trail riding, maybe you want to graze with your horse out in a giant field of grass and that is what makes you happy or maybe you want to absolutely move to the top levels of your sport and be one of the top elite competitors and go to the Olympics.

At the very base, start taking some lessons figure out what you enjoy, figure out what your horse enjoys. Find professional to help you decide where you want to go, and go out and have fun."

- Jessica Heidemann