Horseback Riding in Singapore

As most of you know, my favorite pastime in the world is riding a horse. Lucky for me, this has become Megan's favorite hobby as well. Currently, Anna likes it only when the horse or pony is cooperative (which isn't very often in Singapore), but I have great hopes for her.

One reason I liked living in Kansas so much was that for the first time since college, I was again privileged to own a horse and be able to spend time with them. I read somewhere that Kansas has the most horses per person of any state in the nation and I believe it. Manhattan, KS hosted the K-State Equestrian team, the K-State Large Animal Veterinary Hospital, and numerous stables at which to board. Megan was taking lessons from Ashley Foster, the K-State coach and loving every minute of learning how to jump. Thanks to Grandpa Gale, we acquired a horse trailer, and Megan and I (and sometimes Anna) enjoyed using it to attend local horse shows, sometimes with our horse, Nina, and sometimes with Megan's favorite K-State jumping horse, Reba. I had found myself living in horse country and loving it!

Of course, all great things must come to an end. So, when my dear husband told me about his offer to work in Singapore, I was less than a little enthusiastic because this would definitely put a dent in our horseback riding. He assured me that there were "riding clubs" in Singapore and that he would check them out on his house hunting trip. Given all of the other advantages to moving abroad, I could hardly refuse for this reason alone. So we are now members of the Singapore Polo Club, one of two riding clubs on the island and spend the majority of our weekends there as both girls take 2 lessons per weekend.

Here are some of the key differences between riding here in Singapore compared to Kansas:

1. Have to join a private club, similar to a country club, to even take lessons. Several thousand dollar membership fee just to join plus a monthly fee of about USD$100. This is before paying for the lessons themselves, which range from about $40-$60 USD, depending on class size and instructor. All of this is just to take some lessons. In Kansas, we paid $20-30 per lesson.

In Kansas, we were also able to own a horse, which is never cheap, but in Singapore it really isn't even in the realm of possibility.

2. Club does offer numerous amenities not found in Kansas barns, such as swimming pool, restaurant, clean bathrooms, work out facility, but as we already belong to the American Club, this is something I'd rather not have to pay for.

3. In the U.S., when taking a riding lesson, in my experience, this always includes grooming and tacking up your horse. This is just part of the learning experience. In Singapore, they employee at least a dozen or more "syces" or grooms to do this for you. You arrive 5 minutes before your lesson and hop on the horse. If you are lucky, they will let you rinse off your horse at the end of your lesson, but insist on helping you remove the tack. And there is absolutely no way they would ever let you use your own saddle! As a result, there are lots of riders there who do not know anything about handling a horse on the ground.

4. In the U.S., horses generally get some turn-out time in a paddock or pasture. This is good for their mental health to be able to stretch their legs and get out of the confinement of their stalls. In Singapore, due to the lack of land, the horses do not get any turn-out and remain in their stalls except during their lessons. As a result, most of them (especially the ponies) are extremely naughty and it is a typical for them to be bucking and spooking during the lessons. Both of the girls have fallen off at least 4 or 5 times now. Megan had to go to the emergency room once for a slight concussion. I experienced this for the first time myself yesterday when I was thrown off into a wall by a particulary obnoxious mare named Mimo. I am definitely missing my trustworthy and sweet horse, Nina, whom I would regularly ride bareback in Kansas.

5. And probably the most important difference, at least to Megan, is the teaching style. Megan's instructor in Kansas, Ashley, is one of the most positive and enthusiastic people I have ever met and a great role model for my girls to be around. I have never heard Ashley say anything negative to anyone. She is always a cheerleader, always smiling and boosting her students' self-confidence, and making riding fun. To contrast, Megan's instructor here in Singapore, could not be more polar opposite. While very knowledgeable and competent in his skill, he prefers to belittle and insult his students and to teach by intimidation. If they can't perform to his liking, sometimes he'll just make them get off in the middle of class and walk the horse on foot. He sees nothing wrong with spooking a student's pony on purpose (this is how Megan ended up in the emergency room). The standards he sets for his students are very high. Compliments are rarely given by him and truly treasured if received. Basically they need to "toughen up" to ride with him. And Megan has definitely toughened up but also shed many tears as a result of this new approach. I have seen her riding improve immensely. And how could it not when riding bucking ponies twice a week? But I am saddened that riding can no longer be such a fun and positive experience for my daughter. (Thankfully Anna takes from a different instructor who is great with the little ones).

6. There are also lots of little differences to numerous to list. For example, red ribbons are given for first place and blue for second. In one arena you pass "left to left" (polo player style) and "right to right" in the other arena. This switching back and forth confuses me no end. Halters are called "head collars," braids are called "plaits" and "bubbles", to change leads is to "change the rein," etc.

7. And last but not least, no one rides western in Singapore. I'm not sure they've even heard of it. Nor are there any quarter horses or paint horses. (Or for that matter even any country music on the radio.) So, I am now taking dressage lessons in order to keep riding and perhaps learn something new.