1. How old were you when you first started riding? Really riding? I probably started steering a bit on my own around 4. That's when my mom commenced the great Pony Hunting Expedition and we acquired Shandar, the chronically fuzzy.
2. First horse ridden? That would be Cricket, I think.
3. First horse trotted on? Shan? Can't remember!
4. First horse cantered on? Either Shan, or one of a family friend's. She had a herd of horses that the grandkids all lived on in the summer.
5. First Horse fallen off of? Probably Shan.
6. Most recent horse fallen off? Sunny. We were working on nice easy lope circles on a really windy day - my hat flew off, hit him in the butt and he spooked. He was headed for the fence and a big rock. I was going to come off anyway, so I baled while I still had a choice of landing pads.
7. Most terrifying fall? Borrowed drill team horse rearing over on top of me. Also the most expensive fall I've ever had.
8. First horse jumped with? Hmmm - I think it was a whippy little Appy-Arab cross when I was taking lessons in College. Fame. But it might have been one of the others.
9. First horse who ran away with you? Shan. Probably. He never ran away very fast, though. He just steered where HE wanted to go, which was usually back to the barn. My first real panicky runaway horse? Pennie -she has one bad eye, and a dog in a yard we were passing on her bad side stood up and headed toward us. He wasn't threatening, she just hadn't seen him until then. She spun around and headed the other way at a dead run faster than you can say "jack rabbit." A quarter mile later I got her slowed down and we went back and took a good look at the dog. Once she knew what it was, no problem.
10. First horse that scared the crap out of you? As in I think I'm gonna die? Yeah... that would be the silly little bugger that tried to jump sideways off a 15' river embankment to get down to where the other two riders already were. Silly twit. Don't know what his name was. We slid sideways 4 or 5 ' down the hill before I got him pointed in the right direction.
11. First horse shown? Does leadline count? Either "Fat Sally" or "Trigger" two QHs belonging to a family that showed. On my own? Shan, I think.
12. First horse to win a class with? I got a ribbon in leadline.... I don't remember if I ever came in first in 4-H with Shan or not. Sunny and I took home Grand Champion Half-Arab Gelding at the South Dakota State Fair a couple years ago....
13. Do you/have you taken lessons? Yep. English. The only way I could ride at college was to take lessons, since I didn't have the extra 15K a year it would have cost to transport a horse out east & board it. It was a lot of fun, although jumping scared the heck out of me!
14. First horse you ever rode bareback? I couldn't saddle Shan by myself, so we spent most of our time bareback. And riding with friends we almost never bothered with saddles. In fact, one year at the 4-H show the judge commented that the best riding he'd seen all day was in the bareback equitation class - otherwise we were all pretty uncoordinated! :)
15. First horse trail ridden with? Formal trail ride with organization & everything? Borrowed 3-year-old palamino gelding named Pal out in the Badlands after I moved to SD. Informally? Shan - our whole riding experience was pretty much one big trail excursion.
16. Current Barn name? J's farm name is Flaming Star Arabians. It's part of Sunny's registered name, as well.
17. Do you ride English or western? Mostly western, although I started using the English saddle with Sunny last year because he's more comfortable in it.
18. First Horse to place at a show with? Shan.
19. Ever been to horse camp? I helped out for a couple of summers with a Girl Scout riding camp - it was a lot of fun.
20. Ever been to a riding clinic? Only as an observer.
21. Ridden sidesaddle? Nope.
22. First horse leased? I've never leased a horse. Borrowed a bunch, and ridden other peoples a lot, but I've never leased one.
23. Last Horse Leased? See above.
24. Highest ribbon in a show? Champion with Sunny. Oh yeah, and we also took the blue in Liberty. He was a star - lol!
25. Ever been to an 'A' rated show? Only as part of the audience. Maybe someday - if I ever win the lottery. It's a bit $$$ and a bit too intense. I have more fun fooling around.
26. Ever competed in pony games/relay races? Yes.
27. Ever fallen off at a show? Not to date, but I expect it's only a matter of time.
28. Do you ride Hunter/Jumpers? I'd like to - well, the jumper part still scares me, but....
29. Have you ever barrel raced? Yes - but only at playdays & 4-H events. Nothing serious.
30. Ever done pole bending? Yes
31. Favorite gait? Depends - I really love that BIG traveling extended trot that feels like you're floating, but it depends on the horse.
32. Ever cantered bareback? Oh yeah!
33. Have you ever done dressage? Nope, but I'd love to learn.34. Have you ever evented? No. Fun to watch, terrifying to think about doing.
35. Have you ever mucked a stall? Yep.
36. Ever been bucked off? Yes
37. Ever been on a horse that reared? Yes - and it's not an experience I'd appreciate repeating, either.
38. Horses or ponies? Both - I've been around good ones & bad ones of each. Someday I'd really like to have a Welsh pony again. Shan was a doll.
39. Do you wear a helmet? Jumping or taking lessons, and occasionally when I'm working with one I know may launch me. But as a regular thing - no.
40. What's the highest you've jumped? 3' give or take.
41. Have you ever ridden at night? Yes - moonlight on snow is almost like daylight. It's beautiful.
42. Do you watch horsey television shows? I prefer horse TV non-fiction (RFD, etc) - movies & TV shows with horse themes annoy me.
43. Have you ever been seriously hurt/injured from a fall? Seriously? I've never broken anything major. Seperated a couple of ribs, and my back has been messed up a couple of times (at least according to the guy who read the x-rays), but nothing that's kept me on the ground for longer than a week or two. Knock on wood.
44. Most falls in one lesson? Never more than once per ride, I don't think....
45. Do you ride in an arena/ring? Not on a regular basis. The closest arena requires hauling, and since I'm currently sans-trailer....
46. Have you ever been trampled by a horse? Yes.
47. Have you ever been bitten? Yes.
48. Ever had your foot stepped on by a horse? You're kidding, right?
49: Favorite riding moment? First time I loped bareback on Sunny is right up there, but any good day riding is a favorite moment.
50. Most fun horse you've ridden? I can't name just one - when it's going well, I just plain enjoy the horse I'm riding, and how does it get better than that! But if I have to pick on, probably Shan, because I spent so much time doing all sorts of things on him, and I was too young to know how rare being that relaxed & carefree was.
3 comments:
I love this horsey quiz! And I like the pictures you added to your answers!
I love everyone's response to the "have you ever been stepped on" question. LOL-If you have ever spent any amount of time around horses, you are going to have been stepped on-heehehee.
Stephanie is right-those of us that grew up with horses all have such similar experiences. It's wonderful!!
Loved the pictures too. I soo have to start scanning some of my old pictures.
Common experiences is part of what makes this fun, isn't it? My mom's been cleaning out cabinets and sending old pictures - funny to see how small Shan looks. He always seemed to big!
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