So What’s Your Story

This fun little quiz was on Brown Eyed Cowgirl's blog a couple of days ago...Feel free to play along!

1. How old were you when you first started riding? My first time on a horse, I was three. Consistent riding did not happen until I was eight when Borr came into my life.

2. First horse ridden? A friend of my mother owned a gorgeous Clydesdale cross. She would put me in front of her to ride him.

3. First horse trotted on? The same horse as above.

4. First horse cantered on? My first horse, a Polish Arabian, named Sky High Mr. Borr.

5. First Horse fallen off of? That would be Borr as well. It happened quite often the first year I had him.

6. Most recent horse fallen off? IRS, two summers ago. She picked up the wrong lead, so I put her on a small circle to encourage her to switch, which she didn't and I realized she was going to lose it and I was adamant she was going to switch, so I got my feet out of the stirrups and tried to help her, and instead she fell on me. Then she just laid on my leg, like she knew once I got up we were going to do it again. It took a few minutes to get her off my leg. She finally did get the lead. We were both fine.

7. Most terrifying fall? Nine years ago when I blew my knee out. Not really terrifying, more like an "oh shit" moment.

8. First horse jumped with? Borr

9. First horse that ran away with you? Borr

10. First horse that scared the crap out of you? Borr. Are you beginning to see a pattern here? We had a whole lot of scare the crap out me moments, but I would not have traded that horse for the world.

11. First horse shown? BarBNite Trouble (Glory). She was a beautiful bay Quarter horse mare who my Dad bought for me when I was 11. We found out soon after that she had done lower level eventing. So of course I had to try that out.

12. First horse to win a class with? Glory. It was a Hunter Hack class.

13. Do you/have you taken lessons? Yes. I never had taken a formal lesson though until I was in my twenties. Prior to that, my thoughts were, as long as the horse stayed between me and the ground, all was good.

14. First horse you ever rode bareback? Borr

15. First horse trail ridden with? Borr

16. Current Barn name? SkyBar Farm. I came up with that when I was twelve. It uses the first three letters of my first two horses' names. Sky High Mr. Borr and BarBNite Trouble. It has been my farm name ever since.

17. Do you ride English or western? I only rode English for years and then began riding Western later. Now I rode both.

18. First Horse to place at a show with? Glory

19. Ever been to horse camp? No

20. Ever been to a riding clinic? Several.

21. Ridden sidesaddle? No, but I give anyone who has a lot of credit.

22. First horse leased? Never leased one for myself. I have leased a few of my horses to people. I leased Avalon to a fellow boarder when I was pregnant with Zared.

23. Last Horse Leased? Same as above.

24. Highest ribbon in a show? Champion. Glory, then Avalon and several since.

25. Ever been to an 'A' rated show? Yes. Some Arabian shows and Hunter/Jumper shows, years ago. Looking to go to a few this year.

26. Ever competed in pony games/relay races? No, but they always sounded fun.

27. Ever fallen off at a show? Not technically. It was in a warm-up ring the night before the show and a friend asked me to jump her horse. She neglected to tell me the mare had never jumped before. She tried to duck the jump and I pushed her straight, she got over the jump (not pretty) and promptly began bucking. I bailed.

28. Do you ride Hunter/Jumpers? Yes

29. Have you ever barrel raced? Yes

30. Ever done pole bending? Yes

31. Favorite gait? Depends on the horse. I loved to canter Borr and Avalon. They were just so smooth. Malarky has a fantastic jog, but an equally nice canter. Same with IRS. Romey has a nice jog, but the canter is finally getting better. (Only took four years) So I guess it just depends on the horse I'm riding.

32. Ever cantered bareback? Yes. Used to a lot as a kid.

33. Have you ever done dressage? Yes.

34. Have you ever evented? Yes. I used to love it. Had my kids though and lost my guts so to speak.

35. Have you ever mucked a stall? I am a stall technician professional!

36. Ever been bucked off? Yes, a few times.

37. Ever been on a horse that reared? Yes. Dummy me trained Borr to do it on command. He learned to do it fairly easily, and then would do it to get out of stuff.

38. Horses or ponies? Horses. My daughter has had a few ponies that have been invaluable to her learning, but I will always prefer horses.

39. Do you wear a helmet? Not regularly, but I do when I show, or when I'm on a horse I think might give me trouble.

40. What's the highest you've jumped? 4+ feet.

41. Have you ever ridden at night? Yes. We have done some moonlight trail rides.

42. Do you watch horsey television shows? Not really. Movies though, like Seabiscut, Hidalgo, The Black Stallion, Phar Lap etc…

43. Have you ever been seriously hurt/injured from a fall? Yes, when I blew my knee out nine years ago. Ten months of living on the couch.

44. Most falls in one lesson? Never had a fall in a lesson. Came close a time or two.

45. Do you ride in an arena/ring? Yes. I have an indoor and an outdoor. I used to only ride on trail, but as I get older I do a lot more in the arena.

46. Have you ever been trampled by a horse? A few times.

47. Have you ever been bitten? Yes

48. Ever had your foot stepped on by a horse? A few times, with the mashed toes to prove it.

49: Favorite riding moment? Oh this is tough. I have had a lot. With Borr, it would have been trying to reenact the scene from the movie, The Man from Snowy River, where the horse and rider leap off the side of a mountain and go running down. With Glory, it would have been our second Cross country course. She sailed through it and was just a dream. Avalon, it would have been on a ride in Missouri and we were doing tempe changes through a field of flowers. Malarky, the first time we went into a pleasure class and for the backup he stretched hi whole body back, but never picked up a foot. The judge came up to me and was laughing, and said that was the nicest back he had ever seen without it ever being a back. So many more I could go on about.

50. Most fun horse you've ridden? Hands down, Avalon. I had him for almost twenty years. He was just enough of a challenge to keep life interesting. He could do things that some people only dream about doing. He always was ready to go for a ride. He could go from babysitting my kids to turning a barrel. He was probably the best trained horse I ever had.

Okay, so not the most interesting life, but it's been fun thus far. I think this was more an ode to my shortcomings and accidents. LOL I continue to strive to improve though