Something I see a LOT. A character has never been on a horse before & expresses some nervousness to ride. An experienced rider character helps them up, spouts something instructional, then half a moment later encourages a run. So then the new rider is on a cantering or galloping horse, essentially going 'woooo! so fun!'. Or even sighing like 'ahh so relaxing'. I took riding lessons for a year or two & have never even been on a cantering horse. Am I just missing something or is this unrealistic?
Hi anon! Thanks for the ask. I agree with your instincts on this one... A first-time rider is unlikely to have a good experience at a canter or gallop.
I will say that it’s not impossible! If a person has good natural balance and is hard to scare, they might find their first ride on a horse—at speed—thrilling. But generally speaking, the faster a horse goes, the more finesse is required from the rider to keep the horse under control. A first-time rider might be able to hang on while their running horse follows another ridden horse (which horses are likely to do—when one starts running the other(s) will tend to follow unless their own rider tells them otherwise) without a disaster, but guiding the running horse themselves is not very realistic.