Don't worry - sometimes horses freak out when being saddled.
Usually, the first time you saddle up a horse, you should have them in a roundpen, that way if they do freak out they can't get away from you. But the horse is not hurt and you will get there eventually.
All horses react differently...
Because all riding, whether it is a hack or jumping 5' takes practice and hard work. Your comparing running 500 in the olympics to jogging, just because one is harder, doesn't mean the other isn't a sport. Riding is hard work, and I only pleasure and trail ride, you would have no idea how long...