There I was: sitting on the horse, all alone, without any guidance. “What happens next?” “What if I can’t keep my balance?” “What if he throws me off?” These were some of the thoughts going through my head. I took a minute to calm myself down, and told myself that it is really not that scary. After all, there is no way out anymore. As I became calmer, I realized that it is not scary AT ALL and I had full control over the horse. Griffith Horse Rentals helped me get over my fear of riding horses. Two of my friends and I were looking for a fun activity and since I had never ridden a horse before, I suggested that we go horseback riding. When I was about ten years old, my mom took me to a horseback riding place in Armenia but I was too scared to actually get on the horse and did not take the chance. Ever since that day, I have wanted to overcome my fear. So, we decided a date and time and went to Griffith Horse Rentals in Glendale.
As we arrived, the first thing we noticed was the horrible smell, but we were still excited. We didn’t wait too long before they brought out the horses. They were so beautiful that we had a hard time deciding which ones to choose. One of the black ones stood out to me a little bit more than the others, so I chose to go with that one.
"After all, there is no way out anymore..."
As we sat on the horses, I got frightened at first. I felt this rush of adrenaline going through my body. I took a minute to tell myself, “ I can do it, it’s all in my mind!” and slowly calmed myself back down. I was suddenly not scared at all and it felt great. There was one worker riding with us to give us some guidance. She showed us how to make the horse go in different directions and how to control the speed. My horse seemed to always want to be in the front and the other horses were following his steps. My friends and I were a little surprised by my horse’s behavior, but the worker told us that it’s how horses operate. When they ride in a group, one of them becomes the dominant one and the rest follow. Once I learned that, I liked my horse even more. My friends started teasing me and saying that the horse is exactly like me in terms of wanting to be a leader.
We rode for about an hour and took a lot of pictures throughout. It was a really cool experience and, by the end of the ride, I was not scared one bit, and instead wanted to go as fast as possible. I will definitely go again and enjoy the experience.
Griffith Horse Rentals is a great place to go for horseback riding. The hours are Monday - Friday, 8am-5pm. For riders 7 years old and above, it’s $30 cash/$33 card per hour for up to 3 miles. For riders under 7 years old and their families, it’s $25 per rider for 20 minutes for 0.5 miles. They also have an option for riders who are above 200 pounds to ride a larger horse. They do not have a website, but provide more information at (818) 840-8401.