Astounding Words

For over 30 years I have owned one of the world’s largest horseback riding vacation companies and about two thirds of our clients are women. They tend to establish rapport with horses easily. At our Wyoming dude ranch the majority of wranglers are women because they care for and are effective with the horses and our guests. Our wranglers have devoted much of their lives to studying and working with horses. Many hold degrees from the British Horse Society or similar institutions. The personal enrichment from horseback riding vacations rests largely upon the relationship between horse and rider, and it is often life changing for the guest.

Activities related to horses are those at which women excel in ways that no one has yet been able to fully explain. You may attribute their successes in part to their anatomical and psychological difference from men. Women possess obvious advantages for being able to spend long periods in the saddle and they tend to be more nurturing than men. This is certainly not everything.

After 70 years of riding and close association with all kinds of riders, I am convinced that the reason for feminine preeminence in equine sports is their ability to relate to horses in ways that cultivate trust and willingness in the horse. This creates a working partnership where the whole is far more powerful than the sum of the parts.

As a rule, men are driven to try to dominate and intimidate the horse rather than seek a mutually beneficial and enjoyable relationship. In short, some treat their horses as if they were insensate machines, like trucks or tractors. This is unfortunate for both parties.

Many of the outfitters we work with around the world are women. Women also frequently lead rides at our ranch, too. From Namibia to Italy, women lead rides and do a first rate job. Nevertheless, most Western dude ranches still follow the male model of Marlboro hats, heavy hands, coiled ropes and jingling spurs. Often, these ranches offer more the trappings of the Western experience with barbecues, hay rides, square dances and sing-alongs rather than riding in the full equestrian sense.

Women have come into their own with horses throughout the world. Whatever it is that makes women and horses such a good match, it is a delight to witness and I celebrate this partnership.