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Riders have more access than ever to information, competition, and opportunity. Cricket Stone is clear about one thing: experience still takes time. Talent and ambition matter, but they can’t replace years spent developing judgment.
Stone emphasized that feel develops gradually, through repetition and exposure. It’s not something riders acquire quickly, no matter how much instruction they receive.
After four decades in the horse industry, she has seen how tempting it can be to search for shortcuts. Riders want clear answers and fast progress. But horsemanship, she explained, doesn’t unfold on a compressed timeline. Skills like timing, feel, and decision-making are learned through doing and through seeing the same situations enough times to recognize them.
Judgment Develops Through Experience
Stone stressed that while education is essential, experience plays an equally important role in shaping judgment. Riders can learn theory and rules, but understanding how to apply them comes from time in the saddle.
“You have to see a lot,” she said. “You have to make mistakes and learn from them.”
That process, she explained, can’t be rushed. Riders who move quickly through levels without encountering challenges often struggle later, when something unexpected happens. Without a range of experiences to draw from, they may not know how to adjust.
Stone noted that experienced riders often appear calm under pressure not because they have better instincts, but because they recognize situations they’ve encountered before.
Exposure Builds Understanding
Throughout the conversation, Stone returned to the value of exposure like riding different horses, working through problems, and seeing a wide range of scenarios.
“Every horse teaches you something different,” she said. “And you don’t always know what that lesson is going to be at the time.”
Those lessons accumulate over years. A difficult ride, a mistake, or a situation that didn’t go as planned often becomes a reference point later. When a similar issue arises, the rider has context and options. This kind of understanding doesn’t come from success alone. It comes from navigating uncertainty and learning how to respond when things don’t feel perfect.
The Risk of Moving Too Quickly
Stone acknowledged that the modern sport can make it easy to advance quickly. Riders may have access to quality horses, frequent competition, and strong instruction. But access, she cautioned, isn’t the same as readiness.
“Just because the opportunity is there doesn’t mean it’s the right time,” she said.
When riders advance without enough experience beneath them, challenges tend to surface later—often in higher-pressure situations. Stone sees this not as a failure of ability, but as a mismatch between development and expectation.
Experience, she explained, gives riders more options when things don’t go according to plan.
One reason experience is so difficult to accelerate, Stone noted, is that it requires room for error. Riders need opportunities to make mistakes and learn how to recover from them.
“You learn more from fixing something than from everything going right,” she said.
Stone believes riders who are shielded from mistakes early on often struggle later, when the stakes are higher. Experience teaches riders how to problem-solve, not just how to execute.
Stewarding Reinforces Perspective
Stone connected this belief to her work as a steward. From that role, she observes patterns across barns, levels, and programs.
She noted that experience often shows in how riders respond under pressure. Those with broader backgrounds tend to recognize early signs of trouble and adjust before issues escalate.
Their decisions, she explained, are informed by memory as much as instruction.
Stone doesn’t suggest that riders stop striving or learning. Instead, she encourages patience with the process itself. Horsemanship, she believes, is one of the few disciplines where time remains the most reliable teacher.
“There’s no shortcut for experience,” she said. “You earn it.”
In a sport that often emphasizes speed and results, Stone’s perspective is a reminder that depth matters. Riders who last and horses who thrive are usually guided by people who have taken the time to learn, reflect, and grow.
Experience, in the end, isn’t about how fast someone gets there. It’s about what they’ve learned along the way.
To hear more from Cricket Stone on stewarding, horsemanship, and long-term rider education, listen to her full episode of The Plaidcast and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
