About

What Teresa can teach you at Nativity Riding Academy:

After learning basics about the mind of the horse as a herd prey animal in a leading lesson on the ground, you will learn safe mounting techniques as your trainer holds your mount by the bit.
As part of the standard lesson curriculum in the weeks to follow, you will learn what it means to ride defensively (but not fearfully) through repetition sets on a lunge line to gain your seat at first. Practice sets or repeated exercises to reinforce cerebellar learning (kinesthetics/ coordination) for your individual parts of your body that must often move independent of one another unnaturally to move biomechanically naturally with the locomotion of your mount.
As your lessons progress, you will develop a seat independent of your hands. In other words, your hip will flex rhythmically to your mount’s trot but you will learn to keep steady hands that will hold reins without affecting or leaning on the horse’s bit in his mouth (at the other end of your reins. This among much more toward developing suppleness in other joints in response to your horse’s natural movements directed assertively but lightly by you in a methodically reactive timing that only comes with feel after so many hours on each mount variably with your level of training and time on new horses or with introduction to new activities.
Only now can you truly know how handle reins respectfully and be safe enough to properly steer an intermediate schooling mount at a walk and develop a relationship to your mount outside our trainer’s direct physical contact at the bit.
Only now can you truly appreciate the difference between sitting on a hack mount – who instinctively follows a guide mounted on a lead horse who he is already most obedient toward because he trusts and knows him/her more- and becoming the “alpha of your mount’s herd to to speak and gaining his trust on your own. Not as easy as you ever would’ve originally thought. And certainly not as rewarding and deeply mutually unified in movement and heart without that transformative learning time in earning ecah individual true equine friendship.
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About Baraat Wedding Traditions

The “baraat” is the name of the actual procession that takes place of the finely, traditionally and formally dressed Sikh bridegroom. The groom is in Sherwani embroidered jacket reaching down to his kneesover tightly fitted pants. This is accessorized with red “Chuni” scarf, possible garland and with Mojri- embroidered shoes. And don’t forget the “saafa”, turban on his head and kirpan sword in his hand. He is mounted on a white horse and his family (aka the “baraatis” or “barat”) who are on foot dance and sing with the dhol (bass drum and more) toward the entrance of his ceremony which is also the site of the milni, or the meeting of the bride’s parents with them ritually. This proceeds the entrance of the couple to be wed to the mandat, or covered tent symbolizing their new house together.
The groom’s mount, or the “ghodi” is also decorated traditioanlly to match the groom, typically, reg and gold. The ghori drape over his back exndinmg down to the horse’s knee level and is placed under the saddle is embroidered on fine material draping down both sides of the horse. In more conservative tradition, the tail and horse’s head are also covered with matching material. Before baraat starts, grrom’s family often photograph the placement of the lehenga tassle gifts on the mane from the groom’s female siblings.