Horseback Riding Games: 4 Great Horseback Riding Games!

Are you a riding instructor looking for fun riding games to play with your students after the lesson? Well, here are some great ideas to help you teach driving skills while having fun together.

1. Boot Set: With 6 riders, place 12 boots on the rail at one end of the ring. Riders can be in teams or individually: if divided into teams, riders line up at the far end of the ring and jog or gallop (depending on their ability) to the end where the boots are placed. They pick up the boot and travel to the center of the arena where a manure bucket is placed. They should drop the boot into the bucket and continue to the end of the ring where they started, tagging the next person who then does the same. The first team to complete the boot move is the winner. If the rider loses the hub, dismount, lift the trunk, remount and re-enter. (If they are small or too young, you can skip that part!

The rider learns not to direct the horse directly to the boot he wants. Rather, they learn to climb along the railing and pick it up. If the horse is facing the boot, the rider cannot bend over to pick it up. They also learn not to rush to the bucket quickly and throw the boot. Rather, they learn to approach the cube on the way and drop it carefully. It really teaches a lot of patience, planning, and direction!

2. Musical Horses: This is a horse riding game that works just like musical chairs! Place the ground posts parallel to each other, about 8 feet apart, in the center of the arena creating horse parking lots, for lack of a better description! Children ride on the railing to the beat of the music and must do what they are asked to do: walk, trot, gallop, stop, semicircle, backtrack, circle. When the music stops, the cyclists should continue in the same direction but quickly reach the parking lot of a dirt pole. Because you have created less parking than passengers, one passenger is left outside and must exit. Then you remove a pole and start the music again, and again until there is a winner. Kids love it!

3. Red green light: the children travel in a straight line from one end of the ring to the other and listen to the commands. “Red light” means walking your horse. “Green light” means trotting your horse. If the rider makes a mistake, he must go back 5 steps. The first rider to cross the finish line is the winner. This develops eye contact and body language skills while promoting control and calm with the horse.

4. Assembly and disassembly game: I play this horse riding game with 4 older riders who can ride from the ground and 4 little riders with mounting blocks. An older rider is paired with a younger rider. The youngest riders are in the center ring glued to the mounting block and keep an eye on their teammate. Orders are requested from passengers on the rail. When the instructor says “stop,” the older rider stops at the rail and dismounts while the younger rider runs from the center toward his horse and partner. The older rider has to get the little one up safely and then run back to the mounting block. The last person on that team is out. Now the little riders initiate their driving orders. The stop is requested and the older rider runs towards the little rider who is dismounting. The older rider mounts and the younger rider runs back to the mounting block. It’s pretty fun by now, as the older riders are riding without stirrups or jockey style with little kid stirrups – teams are yelling at each other and it’s pretty crazy! This continues until there is one team left!

For more information on horse games, visit Horseback Riding Videos.