Who is your favourite riding horse?

[stolensilver]

I think all of us at some time in our riding lives have been lucky enough to have had an exceptional horse. Not always exceptionally athletic or exceptionally talented but they were outstandingly willing and trainable and sound and made their way up the levels because of their rideability rather than their huge paces. Could you share with me what their breeding was? Which stallions are siring these wonderfully trainable horses?

My favourite riding horse is an Irish Draught Sports Horse by O'Sullivan RID and out of a Topstar xx mare. She's cleared 5' hedges with ease and does PSG dressage and is the most willing, hardworking horse I've ever met. :)

So who is your favourite horse and how are they bred?

[NoDQhere]

My favorite riding horse is our stallion Meisterwind. He competed to GP yet was always safe for any rider. I could head out on the trails with him and know he would never spook or put a foot wrong. Plus he was comfortable. He has BIG gaits but always adjusted himself to the ability of the rider. If a person was afraid he wouldn't do more than a jog. All in all a very fun guy to ride. He changed many peoples minds about Trakehhners and Stallions :yes:
Not surprising, his offspring are the same.

[Beasmom]

My favorite riding horse is the one I have right now. He was imported as a jumper, suffered a back injury and was offered for sale (at a deep discount) to a non-jumping home. I've spent the last year rehabbing him from the injury, and through it all, he's been the sweetest guy. He loves trail riding, enjoys trailing my BO's cows around their field, and is showing lots of aptitude for dressage. He's a big ol' puppy dog!

He's by For Feeling, who was by For Pleasure. His mother is Wiebke, by Werther.

[TheBrightSide06]

I have two and they are my favorites for two different reasons.
Kobie: he is my new horse, a 7 year old irish sport and I love him! He is very athletic, very talented, and loves to learn new things! He is an eventer and a jumper, but dressage is very important to both of us. He is my little baby (17hh) and enjoys loving on you! He is soooo much fun to ride!

Bentley" He is my first horse/pony and my best friend. He is a 22 year old 14.3hh Morgan and he is amazing. He cant jump anymore but he taught me so much in the worlds of eventing, jumpers, and dressage. Dressage is his forte and he is incredible! We only competed to Training level but at home we schooled Shoulder in, half passes at the trot and canter, pirouettes, Travers, and even piaffe. He is the best pony ever and I wouldn't give him away for ANYTHING!!

[Ambrey]

After a rough start, I'm totally enamored with my big Draftx! He is such a volunteer, he totally loves a good game of "let's guess the aid!" He always lets me know when I'm getting it wrong, too.

[MagicRoseFarm]

My favorite is our stallion Beste Gold. He is recovering from a major breeding injury but is once again sound , and I am hopeful to ride and compete him again.( If you wanna discuss heartbreak, I have the market cornered on that)
I had never competed recognized anything, always started the youngsters,and selling them. It has been an incredible experience to finally ( in my late 40's ) be able to further my own riding and learn
(the winning at DAD and the regional titles were fun too!- but I have to give him most of the credit for those).

Before his injury we were solid second level, and he had nurtured me to get there, forgiving my mistakes, and reinforcing each step. We scored into the 70% at first level and freestyles. In between I could even put my 12 year old novice niece on him and he would babysit her W/T/C at home. and allow others to get a great feel of riding forward and into the bridle, without their mistakes affecting his training. He is by far the most incredible, selfless, intelligent, kind horse I have ever been around. Even if he cannot get back to competition, he thrills on work, so I look forward to having more fun with him. I am very grateful that I have offspring with daddy's aptitude and attitude capable of allowing me to continue my own riding education.

[Frogs Leap]

I have two, the first is my old mare, Stella, she is by Branco, out of a TB mare. She is now retired at 18 due to an injury. While I was riding her she taught me so many things, most of which I REALLY did not want to learn! LOL, you know, things like patience, humility, tact, how to really listen to your horse. She would work all day if you ASK, but tell her anything and wow were you in for a battle! Riding her for several years set me up very well to ride the lovely horses that I have now.

May Wonder is my other favorite. She is by May Sherif, out of an Asferg Cyclo mare (very old Danish Oldenburg stallion). She has expanded on the lessons that Stella taught me, but with 100 times the talent. She is sweet, wonderful to handle, and a ton of fun to just play with. I really love the one to one relationship that I have with her. She has been incredibly tolerant of my mistakes while learning. She also always gives if you just ask, but again, tell her something, and things may not go your way! The first year that I had her I could often imagine her rolling her eyes at me and saying, "You know, we could do this just fine if you would only get out of my way!" LOL

Lucky for me I have others in the barn that are similarly bred and look forward to working with them when they are old enough.

[Phyxius]

My favorite is my stallion, a Percheron. He's incredibly fun to ride in the dressage ring, over fences, and on trail rides. He's willing to do most anything and is just a fun ride too.

My next favorite has got to be an Andalusian stallion I used to ride. Short and round he was as baroque as could be and extremely talented and well trained.

[IrishDeclan]

My favorite horse of all time was my first real competition horse. His name was Tregeare Boy (Conker for short). Conker was a 16.3 hand English TB/Dutch Warmblood cross who was imported from England in the early 90's. He was by a stallion named Melford Ben. Over in England he evented through the Advanced level before he was imported to the states by a lady who competed him through Intermediate. The lady then decided to focus on dressage and she sold him on to a young rider who competed him through Preliminary. He was 15 when we bought him, and for the next four years he was the ultimate Training level packer for me. Conker was always very consistent in the dressage and we never had a single cross country jumping penalty. He taught me so much and allowed me to grow as a rider. He was very forgiving when I made mistakes and ALWAYS took care of me. At this point I was ready to move up, but we felt it wasn't fair to ask him to continue to event at that level. So.... he was passed on to my Mom who at the time was a very timid rider. He taught her the joys of dressage and also took her to her one and only event where they came home with a ribbon in the Beginner Novice division. As the years went by, he developed some soundness issues and was eventually turned into a lovely pasture ornament. I think that it takes a very special horse to successfully compete at the Advanced level with a pro, take an adult amateur around safely at the Intermediate level, give a young rider solid Preliminary level experience, pack a teenager around Training level, and then trot around a Beginner Novice course with a very timid rider. Unfortunately we lost Conker last year to colic at the grand old age of 27. He was worth his weight in gold and was loved by our family and many others. Here are some pics:

http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg282/jjakes7018/Blast%20From%20The%20Past/Picture.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg282/jjakes7018/Blast%20From%20The%20Past/Scan0004.jpg
http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg282/jjakes7018/Blast%20From%20The%20Past/Scan0005.jpg

[Tasker]

My absolute, hands down, no debatin' favorite is my boy Waldaire. http://www.paardenfokken.nl/pedigree.php?horseid=303181

He always tries to do what I ask when undersaddle and has taught me the true meaning of 'feel'. Wally is fun to jump or school through the Grand Prix - as long as he is the center of my universe for an hour each day and he is the first horse that I ride...well, his life makes sense & is good. Oh and don't forget the carrots! :lol: He has the absolute BEST canter I have ever been lucky enough to sit on (although there is a 2004 that comes very close), his trot is smooth IMHO and his walk is like a panther's. His work ethic is beyond impeccable - I ask and he just says, 'is this good enough?' It has been an honor to have him in my life for the last 5 years. The judges have consistently rewarded his good gaits with lots of scores in the high 60's & 70's (he got an 81% with Dana) over the years.

Sadly, he had a breeding accident in 2005 and the surgical & recovery process really impacted his competition career. It was really tough to choose between having a stallion who could breed or continuing to march up & down the centerline...in the end I chose the breeding shed as his babies are a breeders dream come true and he owes me nothing in the show ring. His babies are little 'Wally clones' in that they may look a bit like their mothers, they ride like he does! :)

As he is aging I cringe when the little signs of his mortality begin to creep in. While he is still sound & fit, there are a few signs that he won't be here forever. In 06, my dearest wish came true when our little Again & Again mare gave birth to a colt that is literally a Wally in minature - identical markings, same proportions and expression but a with a bit better movement and his grandsire's jump. Oz is now licensed for breeding but he is going to be an riding stallion before he goes to the breeding shed. At a whooping 15.2 he should top out around 16 hands, so my big fellow is shrunk down in a younger and smaller package for the future. His personality is so close to Wally's it is spooky...but it is also reassuring to know my big guy will be with me in his babies for many years to come. It makes everyone who knows him laugh when you hear, 'Oz! Stop giving me that look! It didn't work for your father and it's not going to work for you!' :lol:

I'll stop rambling...it is far too obvious that I am besotted! :D

Photos are L-R

Wally
Wizard (Oz) 2006
Wakanda (Wendy) 2005
Wolfgang (Puck) 2008
Wichita Rose (Rosie) 2007

[stolensilver]

What fabulous stories! I'm feeling all choked up here reading about the generosity and kindness of these wonderful horses. :) Please keep them coming.

The stallions in this thread sound perfect to sire what 99% of us want to ride. They are certainly the sort of stallion that I'm going to use on my mare of a lifetime next year. :)

[FriesianX]

I've been lucky to have two "once in a lifetime" horses. The first was a Friesian/Morgan cross - I went out looking for a WB, but with trepidation because I'd been riding everyone else's WBs and while they were athletic and capable, they were so "distant". Well, through a total whim, I went and looked a a 2 year old Friesian/Morgan cross and just fell in love - fab walk and canter, cutest personality. He turned out to be SUCH a great horse. Great mind, fabulous, charismatic, beautiful horse to look at, his canter was to die for... He had a MAJOR ego - it was all about HIM. And a performer - he cleaned up in the show ring. I loaned him to a few Junior riders because of his great mind - he took one to Reserve State Championship rides twice in a row, he filled in last minute for one who was selected to go to a invite-only 3 day clinic, and he took one to her first 2nd level ribbon. And he died when he was 6 :no:

I thought I'd never have such a horse again. Ever... I went looking - again, looked at horses, tried horses. Gave up on riding for a year. Catch rode a few horses, played around with a few horses, but I was always comparing them to Titan. And no one measured up:no:

Then, a few years ago, a friend called me out of the blue and asked if I wanted to lease her stallion for a while - he'd been sitting around doing nothing. It was a stallion I'd known since he was 4, and I'd always admired him. Everytime I visited her (other side of the State), I'd ride him or play with him. Although I swore I'd never own a stallion, he was so SWEET. And that was the beginning of my SECOND once-in-a-lifetime horse. I went and picked him up that weekend, and we never looked back. And she sold him to me a year later :D

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my boy. He has the best mind - he's a retraining project, for sure, had done very little dressage, but he had done a bit of everything. And he's so WILLING, has the best work ethic, and smart, and so tuned in to people. We took him back to the basics, and he's progressed so quickly - it has been 2.5 years, and we went from inconsistent 2nd level work, to ready to show PSG, and schooling much of the GP work in that short time! And he's so BEAUTIFUL too, not that I'm biased on anything :lol:

As a retraining project, of course, everything is a bit trickier - but he's got such character, such interest in pleasing, and he can move too! Typical stallion, he'd prefer to be first, and of course, MUST be most admired - his male ego is always worn on his sleeve. His feelings are hurt if he isn't reassured all the time of how special he is.

And he's so darn sturdy - he's been ridden through deep river sand, hard rocks, trails, asphalt, just about everywhere barefoot most of his life. He is low maintenance, and just so darn CUTE!

[exvet]

I too have been lucky enough to have had more than one Horse of a Lifetime. My first was an Arab who I turned down after a prepurchase exam. I had seen and known him for most of his 8 years, never knew him to be lame, but the xrays of one hock weren't clean with mild changes. I flew all over the country looking at small warmbloods and arab x warmblood crosses but kept coming back to him, comparing all to him. I decided to take a chance and go ahead and buy him. We had many struggles as he was very athletic but also typical in wanting to please so badly he anticipated everything. In the end though despite advancing DJD he helped me earn all my scores for my bronze (competed through third level), taught my children how to ride and more importantly how to show - have fun and be safe. He was also my husband's trail riding mount for many years due to his calm, sensible albeit somewhat opinionated nature. We lost him a couple of years ago to laminitis. He was only 17. He was by Bey Leige (by Bey Shah) out of a Khemosabi daughter. He will always hold a special place in the hearts of my entire family. My daughter was at a clinic with me yesterday and she grabbed my arm and pointed, stating, "Look he has an eye and face just like BK." Honestly just thinking about him still brings tears to my eyes.

I had several horses at the time that I lost my arab gelding and did not feel the same about my other horses; but, one in particular I asked to step up to the plate. He did and more so. I bought him as a 2 year old with the idea that he would be a resale project. At 10 he's getting ready to compete Prix St. George. He has not been easy but has always been there for me, giving his all, never really refusing anything (though always adding his opinion) and often delivering more than I expected. He has taken me places I never thought I'd be given the opportunity to participate in or enjoy. Like my arab gelding this guy has had to be a jack of all trades - kids riding him, husband using for trail riding, as well as competition mount. There will always be a home/place here for him. He is a welsh cob by Nescliffe Sunrise out of Nocturn's Supreme Honour.

I have 2 others, both welsh cobs, who, one or the other, could possibly could become the center of my life once my daughter takes over the reins on my 10 year old welsh cob. I can't say that they have earned the rank of Horse of a Lifetime yet but I am feeling very, very lucky.