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Student turns childhood passion into college major with horseback riding

July 23, 2014

Photo by Beth Waldon | The State News

DeWitt continued her riding lessons on Tuesday afternoons under the training of Nottingham Equestrian Center Owner Cheryl Connell-Marsh.

Connell-Marsh has been riding since 1970, and has owned Nottingham Equestrian Center since 1987.

Nottingham offers private and group lessons for children and adults.

Connell-Marsh said she has taught children as young as 5, and adults well into their 80s.

“It helps develop strength, develop suppleness (and) stamina, so it’s a very good aerobic exercise,” Connell-Marsh said. “People don’t usually realize how much aerobic exercise is involved with horses. A lot of times I hear people say, ‘Oh, the horse does all the work,’ well they don’t.”

During her lesson, DeWitt practiced dressage, a competitive equestrian sport which is a style of riding that calms the horse down and allows them to be more attentive to their rider. DeWitt rode with rescue horse, Bummer, whom she has been riding with for more than three years.

“Getting used to a new horse is different at first,” DeWitt said. “It’s just a lot of getting to know each other and reading their emotions and them picking up on you and what you do, so it takes a lot of getting used to.”

Connell-Marsh said DeWitt does it all at Nottingham — from feeding and grooming the horses, to helping prepare the horses for a lesson, to stacking hay.

In addition to DeWitt’s extra hand around the stables, Connell-Marsh receives help from other riders, including 14-year-old East Lansing resident Abby Seal.

Seal has been riding at Nottingham for almost seven years and has competed in multiple horse shows. Her favorite part about horseback riding is getting to know the horses and meeting new people.

For prospective riders, Seal recommends following instructions and respecting the horse.

“Listen to your instructor, they’ve got good advice,” she said. “And just really love your horse, give them treats and they’ll love you back.”

Seal’s goal is to become a better rider and to someday get a horse of her own.

Horseback riding can be a fun hobby, but it’s not always a walk in the park. Connell-Marsh and DeWitt face challenges all the time.

“For me, I’m a bit of a perfectionist,” DeWitt said. “So if I don’t get something right the first time, I tend to get a little frustrated about it and they (the horses) pick up on every single emotion that you have.”

When training riders, Connell-Marsh said the hardest part is helping someone get over their initial fear of working with a big animal.

Connell-Marsh added that in some cases, riders will have had accidents with horses in the past, and they come to Nottingham to regain their confidence.

“That’s a really hard thing to work with because you’re working so much with the rider’s emotions and anxieties, you’re not just working with them physically or mentally,” Connell-Marsh said.

Several riders, including DeWitt, find horseback riding to be worth the challenge.

DeWitt said the most rewarding part about horseback riding is “just when you finally get something down and there’s harmony between you and the horse.” she said.

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