There is a theory among riders that the right pair of sunglasses adds at least ten kilometres per hour to any gallop. Scientists have never confirmed it. After watching this clip, we are not sure they need to.
The rider appears in full summer mode: dark glasses, relaxed posture, hair flying in the wind. Underneath her is a glossy dark horse that seems to have exactly one setting today, and that setting is forward. The landscape opens up, green hills, a long fence, a wide sky, and the two of them simply go.
What makes horse riding videos so satisfying is the sound and the rhythm. Hooves drumming on the ground, the creak of the saddle, the wind in the microphone. For a few seconds you feel like you are sitting up there yourself, knees bent, heart racing, trying very hard to look as cool as she does.
And then comes the water. Galloping through a stream is one of those things every rider dreams about. Water spraying in every direction, the horse lifting its legs high, the sun catching thousands of droplets in the air. It looks like a perfume advert, minus the slow motion and the dramatic music.
The sunglasses, of course, stay perfectly in place. That is the real skill here. We have all lost a pair of sunglasses on a gentle walk through a park. She keeps hers on during a full gallop through a river. Respect.
Somewhere in the background another rider is enjoying the same afternoon on a lighter horse, and we suspect the two of them are already planning the next ride. Maybe a longer route, maybe a picnic, maybe even more water to splash through.
For everyone who has never been on a horse, clips like this are a gentle invitation. You do not have to start with a gallop through a river. A walk is fine. A trot is brave. The sunglasses are optional, but apparently they help.
So here is the big question: do sunglasses make you ride faster, or do they just make you look faster? Riders, we would love to hear your scientific opinion.
Don’t stop, friend, keep surfing!
