Any other equestrians?

[Writer Cath]

I was just wondering if there wer any other riders around? I've been riding for about ten years now, formerly competitive (number one in my division one year, yeah!) but mostly just for fun and exercise these days.

Anyway, here's a picture of one of my old horses - Johnny Be Good (RIP) and I. I'm about fourteen or fifteen when this was taken. This shot is a few years old now, but it's stil one of my favourites, a shot I think I actually look nice in.

This is my first time trying an attachment, so I hope it works.

[AirHostess]

I love riding! I used to ride loads when younger and had a pony on loan at one point. What a nice piccy :)

[Barefootgirl]

Yes ! I haven't done much since I had my daughter (but planning to re-start this year), but I used to ride a lot. I didn't compete much once I grew out of Pony Club games and gymkhanas, but i've done some cross-country and hunter trials (never placed high, but always had fun!), some very basic dressage and a bit of polo, which I absolutely adore and if i was rich, I'd play LOTS. I'm not a particularly skilful rider but i can stick on and steer at speed, and I seem to be good at connecting ball and stick, which is all that really matters in low-goal polo ! The feeling as you connect with that little white ball, give it a good satisfying thwack and tear down the field after it is indescribable, but its the best feeling in the world.

I've never had my own horse, sadly, always ridden other people's for them.

Johnny Be Good looks like a smashing horse. What breed is he? What disciplines did you compete in?

[Lace Neil Singer]

I rode for over 10 years; started at 9, sadly had to give up at the age of 22 cuz I started to work weekends and couldn't go any more. I have gone on riding holidays since then, my dream holiday would be to stay at a dude ranch. I always rode at a riding school; the first one sadly was shut down, so I went to a new one and stayed there. My fave horses are listed here:

1st riding school.

1. Dougal. Learned to ride on him, he was a bright bay with 4 white socks and a white face. Absolute darling, I loved him lots.

2. Black Beauty. Lovely black mare I rode for a while; she sadly died of colic. I was devastated. :(

3. Tammy. Chestnut with flaxen mane and tail, one white sock. Rode her after Black Beauty died for a while until I switched to Russet. She was a bit of a pest, had no withers so her saddle sometimes slipped round unless you pulled the girth really tight; she'd puff herself out so you had to tighten it twice.

4. Russet. Bright chestnut with white stripe. Used to bite, cuz his last owner teased him with food, but he eventually was trained out of it.

2nd riding school.

1. Ebony. Black mare, was a bit of a bitch but I liked her a lot. She used to lay her ears back and make faces at people, so some people were scared of her. She had a really bony back, but a very smooth canter. She had this disgusting habit of holding water in her mouth after you gave her a drink, then spitting it out all down your legs.

2. Tuska. Palomino, with a white stripe and 2 white socks. He was perfect, had a hogged mane and was a great jumper.

3. Echo. Brown mare, a bit chunky but otherwise alright. She had a furry back so bareback was heaven on her. She bucked, but I was able to stay on so I rode her until she was cured of it.

4. Bill. Was a bit of a shock, cuz after Echo I went back to Ebony for a bit, then on to Bill. Bill was very different from Ebony; needed holding in rather than lots of impulsion, but was very nice to ride. Had weird habit of pacing rather than trotting; also tended to swing sharply to the left or right after jumping so you had to be prepared. Also, loved being in front and would bite the bum of any horse put in front of him.

5. Rolo. Chunky chestnut, with a very bouncy trot. He was a part livery, and I was one of the few riding school people to be allowed to ride him. I rode him whenever Bill wasn't available.

Holidays

Rode a lot of different horses on holidays, but had 2 alltime favourites.

1. Quest. Chestnut with a star and 3 white socks. Needed a lot of impulsion but he was lovely and a great jumper.

2. Snowball. Skewbald, mostly white all over cept for one small chestnut patch on his back, and a chestnut head with a white stripe. He was very fast, a bit stubborn at times when jumping, so you had to keep giving him plenty of leg, but once I'd meshed with him I was fine.

[AirHostess]

My old pony Spice was young and naughty! I used to take her out and she would be really frisky. She also hated buses and one day she reared up :eek:

[MystyGlyttyr]

Horses are the devil. (Sidenote: Mysty be terrified of horses.)

I rode my friend's horse "Lil' Bit" one time. Samantha got up front and I got on behind her, and after about two minutes, she said "Mysty, could you maybe loosen up a bit? I think you're fracturing my liver." She actually had some mild bruising from where I had my arms around her in a total death grip.

Lil' Bit later went nuts in her pasture and came charging towards a couple of Samantha's little cousins who were standing in the field and watching...I wound up vaulting the fence and jumping in front of them and that spooked the horse enough to veer her away. I've been a bit wary of horses ever since.

[DarthRetard]

I used to love ponies, then one smashed my jaguar.....:lol:

[Writer Cath]

Johnny Be Good looks like a smashing horse. What breed is he? What disciplines did you compete in?

He was a thoroughbred, used to be a race horse - I've always been tempted to track down his racing records and see how he did. He was a dark bay with a black mane and tail and a white spade-shaped mark between his eyes.

But the greatest thing about Johnny was that, man he had a sense of humour. He had this tendency to swing his head from side to side whenever he had free time. That included when I was trying to pull his mane. He knocked me off the stool so many times. Also whenever we were riding and he was relaxed, he'd stick his tongue out. We'd be trotting along and his tongue would be flapping out the side of his mouth :lol: . Usually that's a sign of discomfort or aggression, but not with him. He was a dressage horse and he was so well known in the circle that most judges didn't even notice the tongue thing.

Here's my favourite story about him: From the moment I stepped into the stable to the moment I went to the car, I had my helmet on. Not only is it safe, but I would forget if I didn't do it. After my lesson, Johnny was in his stall drinking his water and my riding instructor looked over at me and said, "Writer Cath, why do you always leave your helmet on?"

Out of the blue, Johnny's head swings to the side, catching me right in the face. It knocked my helmet a good three feet away. Had I not been wearing it, I'd have been, at least, knocked out.

Even though he'd never done that before, I just smiled and said "That's why." And he never did it again.

I've been to quite a few stables in my day, but I'll get around to listing all my rides if anyone's interested.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I would be. :) Johnny sounds a bit like Bill. I love quirky horses.

[Writer Cath]

I would be. :) Johnny sounds a bit like Bill. I love quirky horses.

Oh he was. My friend and I were discussing what our horses would wear if they could have clothes and my first answer for Johnny was "Lime green leisure suit." He was a definitely a character.

Okay, Who's Gonna Ride your Wild Horses just came on, I'm taking that as a sign.

Here are the horses I rode and will attempt to keep them in chronological order, but no guarantee.

1. Bailey: Basically a big yellow school bus. She wasn't a fat horse, but she had a huge frame, nobody knew why. She was an old mare that everyone started on. Bit lazy, but super comfortable sitting trot. Nice horsey.

2. Miller: Another school horse, a shade of red. Crotchety old guy at 29 years old, but still reliable.

3. Royal: New school horse, nice personality, but eventually kicked her stall so much she caused herself permanent damage :(

4. Sinden: Another old school horse, a grey. Was definitely a grandfatherly type, but I only rode him twice.

5. Sunny: Really pretty black horse, short but powerfully built. He had a great personality, he'd lick your hand all day if you let him, a very affiable sort. He was still being trained and often tried to jump over trotting poles, which scared the hell out of me, because I never learned to jump.

6. Johnny Be Good: Forgot to mention, just about the smoothest canter ever, even at just under sixteen hands. Makes me wish I'd been a better rider at the time so I could have appreciated it.

7. Opal: Tall black mare, really sweet, friendly personality. She was another who would lick your hand for days. Her owner lived quite far away and rarely came out. The horse was badly out of shape, so basically it was my job to train her. I didn't pay room and board and basically came out every day to help her build up muscle tone and stamina. The first time I rode her, she used to buck and thrash, until we started using a different (re: actually fit) saddle on her. She was a really sweet horse, very eager to try for you and just a lovely personality all around. I really liked her.

8. Gordie Johnson: From the moment he first stuck his head out of the trailer, I knew I wanted to ride him. He was this beautiful chestnut with this radiant orange hair. He needed a lot of TLC though, since he was changing disciplines, going from Hunter/Jumper to dressage. Sometimes when I tried to lead him, he'd jerk his head up, used to do a number on my shoulder. Poor thing was petrified of cantering; I'm talking head up, eyes wide, sweating after doing half a circle. He made leaps ad bounds, but he was not cut out to be a school horse. I left the barn under bad circumstances and didn't get to say a proper goodbye :( . Despite these flaws and the problems we had, Gordie was a really sweet horse and I hope he's doing well.

9. Gaylord: Didn't ride him too long. He was thirty-two but moved like he was half that age. Very nice temperment. Can't believe I nearly forgot to mention him.

10. Pride: This was my third barn. He was a black horse, about 15"2 hands. Nice personality but lazy as all hell. We had to get him going damn near at a gallop just so he'd settle into a regular trot. This barn had no kick boards, so he once rammed me kneecap first into a two-by-four going at a full run :cry: Nice horse but dumb as a post. With his personality, he'd have made a much better western horse, a very nice lope indeed.

11. Camille (Pronounced Cam-ei): My last ride. I only rode her in the summers. When I was riding her she was starting to get trained, learning the canter. A nice palomino, got some cool spots to her.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Sounds like you've ridden a lot of great horses. :) As for injuries, the worst I ever had was when I was riding Tammy and this other horse kicked me on the shin, trying to kick her. This horse didn't like Tammy for some reason; sadly he chose to kick her where my leg was... ow. X_x

My friend and I were discussing what our horses would wear if they could have clothes and my first answer for Johnny was "Lime green leisure suit."
Bill would wear biker leathers, I'm sure of it. XD

[Writer Cath]

We can't forget the assorted foot steppings and nips for attention :)

[KaeZoo]

Both my family and my wife's family are horse owners, but we aren't right now because we don't have the land for it. My wife still rides as much as she can when we visit our respective parents. I haven't ridden much in a while.

My parents own registered Quarter Horses and Paints, a couple Tennessee Walkers and have recently picked up a pair of Belgians. My wife's parents are mostly Morgan people.

[Luna]

I don't know much about horse although I love them. I volunteer at a place that opened down the road from me on weekends if I'm off. It's western-only. They seem to prefer to only let me ride one of 3 horses, all 3 who are stubborn and don't like to move when I'm on them. I think it's a pecking order thing, once you're there for years - then you choose which horse you want to ride after they close.

I'm good at the sitting trot. I'm absolutely terrible at the lope. Except when I’m going really fast - which freaked out the owner a few weeks ago. She doesn't understand how I can't keep my seat going slower, but when I let Moe (the paint I was riding) take off - I flowed naturally. He he. Once all the ice thaws and we can go back out through the woods to the fields again, she wants to ride alongside me and see how I do. We've been just practicing in the ring and it's hard to get a good speed up in such a small space with 5 other horse and riders in there.

I really wanted to go today - but I have so much stuff to do that I can't. Haven't gone down in a couple of weeks. They closed early two Sundays ago b/c no one wants to ride in sub zero weather, so they did the lessons and we went home. I haven't ridden for maybe a month now and I miss it terribly.

Spring come soon please!!!

[DesignFox]

Yes, yes, yes! I loooove horses! I ride English. I started with the Girl Scouts- they sent me to the horse farm in the summer as a councilor for the kids. I learned basic horse care and management, and how to teach young kids to stay on and steer....very basic riding. I also would get to ride with the kids occasionally. I did that for about five years.

My senior year of college, I got involved with a barn as a working student. I would muck stalls, feed, turn-out and groom in exchange for lessons. Now that I have to work a "real" paying job, I no longer do the working student thing. For awhile I just paid for lessons, but for over a year now I have been leasing a horse named Sidley!

He's a roan quarter horse, but people sometimes confuse him for an appy. He's a school horse now, but he used to be the owner's primary show horse. He is schooled in cross-country, dressage and show jumping. He is fantastic on the trails. He's a bit lazy, and quite a bit grumpy usually. The only time he pricks up his ears and looks cute is when he's getting a horsie cookie. :lol: I love him. I tell people, "I'm grumpy, he's grumpy...we get along."

What would Sidley wear? My instructor and I think he'd wear a dirty wifebeater and be shaking a cane at the kids who come on his lawn. I often refer to him as my "grumpy old man."

I wish I didn't have to work so much, I'd love to go back to riding 6 days a week.

Other of my favorite horses have been-

Roxie- Cute little quarter horse mare. Nice reddish coat. She is very patient and calm- the first horse I ever rode at my current stable. She does get fast when she is excited, though!

Lenard- A big belgian draft I rode at the Girl Scout's stable. He was a sweet heart for the most part. Once he bit my shoulder, and once he dragged me around while he was grazing...but otherwise, he'd just lick my hand or let me pet him forever. He was calm and patient, a bit lazy of a ride, smooth gaited. He was a vaulting horse, too. It was awesome to ride him no hands, or do flips off his back. He'd also let you jump up on him from behind or the side...very cool horse.

Ranger- Another Girl Scout horse. He was once a wild mustang. VERY bouncy trot...but he was also calm and patient. Loved to be pet and eat treats from your hand. He was a great guy. A dark dark bay...almost black...he had the longest mane and tail. This is the horse I chose to put my brother on the first time he ever rode.

I'll limit my list of great horses to those guys. They have probably been my all time favorites (other than Sid of course). I've known and rode so many different horses I could take all day talking about it. I love them :D And each horse I've dealt with has had great personality. My parents used to say they couldn't decipher if I was talking about other people or the horses.