When I was 12 [Archive] - Chronicle Forums

Blugal

Feb. 10, 2004, 10:01 PM

When I was 12 I was lucky enough to be "retraining" an abused Arab that a friend lent me for the summer. I hadn't ridden at all for 3 years (although had ridden extensively from ages 3-8).

I thought that the girls who were allowed to canter unsupervised on trail rides and who bragged of jumping up to 3'6" (although I later discovered this was a mighty exaggeration) were uber-cool.

I remember the early days of the "retraining" project, when I was trotting faster and faster, getting ready to canter, into the corner, and yelling out to the instructor, "what do I do with my legs?" http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif (Obviously hadn't grasped the concept of riding from your legs yet).

I fell off at the local horse show while I was riding him bareback with a halter and letting him eat the grass - the rope wasn't long enough http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

And I thought that the "super-fancy" horses at the local show were really in the top echelon of the world's horses - wow, to be able to afford a $15,000 horse. You'd have to be a millionaire http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

Blugal

Anything easy has its cost. -Barenaked Ladies

sigh

Feb. 10, 2004, 10:29 PM

When I was 12....

I stopped riding my favorite school horse as much when he stopped doing jumping lessons (at 30 http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif) This was after I did my first lesson-horse show on him - I rode him in all three classes and won all three. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

I went to a 3 week summer camp at Stonleigh Burnham and fell in love with this big chestnut gelding named Rocky. (I don't know why, I couldn't really ride him. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_confused.gif I guess its the 12 year old http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/yes.gif)

I came home and my favorite school horse had a stroke that fall and was put down. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif I miss him soo much!

And then I got my first horse the day before I turned 13. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif A lot happened when I was 12!

dqtastic

Feb. 10, 2004, 10:32 PM

When I was twelve my friend and I had ponies...and we would play "jousting" in the field in front of our farm.
Our joust consisted of standing at opposite ends of the field, and then charging our ponies at eachother (really a jarring trot--these were serious ponies). At the middle, we would whip eachother with our dressage whips...and often fall off in fits of laughter. Our ponies would turn their backs to us and graze.

Pirateer

Feb. 10, 2004, 10:44 PM

When I was 12....I sat in my closet with the Thesaurus and came up with show names for the horses I would someday have.

I still don't have one of my own, but MAN has that list grown impressively.

(890 names, to be exact. It's on Microsoft Access. I'm high end, baby.)

Rebecca and Merritt's Crew (Cruiser)
http://www.bluffparkfarm.com
http://community.webshots.com/user/pirateer

Grasshopper

Feb. 10, 2004, 11:51 PM

When I was 12...

I had a paper route to pay for riding lessons.

I'd whisper to the school pony (Blaze) that we'd canter out of that ring and across the fields...

I moved from the riding lesson package at the nearby ranch to half-leasing an ancient, spunky pony, and thought I was on top of the world. I fell off him the first time I rode outside the ring, because I didn't know how to get to the bottom of the long hill I walked him up!

And, Pirateer, I also had a huge list (700?) of horse names in a "horse journal" I kept--still have it somewhere. I'd also copy whole chapters from books, on everything from common health problems of the horse to beet pulp/linseed recipes! http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/winkgrin.gif

Drakaina16

Feb. 11, 2004, 12:55 AM

When I was twelve, I had only been taking lessons for a year, and had a wonderful instructor. If only I'd known the crappy instruction that lay ahead and could have done something about it. Live and learn, right?

Danya

Perch

Feb. 11, 2004, 03:30 AM

When I was 12, I wanted a horse desperately. We lived in town and had a large back yard, I was convinced that my parents were being cruel because they wouldn't let me have one in the back yard.

However, my best friend lived on a farm and had 3 horses (Buckskin, King, and Lightening). They were never ridden, 2 were huge, mean, wild things. The 3rd (Lightening) was a half-dead little gray thing (of course he was the one I would ride). She hated riding, so I would have to beg her ! I will always remember her advice (remember we're 12) when we would venture into the pasture to catch these horses (they were in pasture with several cows). She would say "If a cow chases you hug a tree, if the horses chase you run like hell". I would walk through that pasture plastered to her side reciting in my mind and shaking like a leaf "If a cow chases you hug a tree, if a horse chases you run like hell"!!
Now at 40, I've decided to take lessons, for the first time, with my daughter (10). On the first trip to the barn, I sat in the car and said to myself "If a cow chases you hug a tree, if a horse chases you run like hell" !! I hadn't thought of that in years and it really gave me a good laugh !

flaxenmane

Feb. 11, 2004, 03:57 AM

When I was 8, my parents told me we were moving, which made me very upset because I didn't want to leave my friends. So I said I wasn't going. http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/no.gif

Then they told me that there was a stable around the corner from the new house and that I could take lessons there. End of story, I packed my bags!

I had my very first riding lesson there on a fat Chestnut shetland pony named Little Trooper. I was so small that they had to roll my stirrup leathers TWICE! http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/yes.gif

Them were the days!!!

Libish

Feb. 11, 2004, 06:44 AM

When I was 12 I was taking riding lessons and when I got my first dog that year, a little schnazuer mix, and I turned her into my pony. I set up jumps in the back yard. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

I wanted a horse so bad and begged my parents for one, but, looking back now I understand they couldn't have afforded it.

One day, in an effort to make me feel better, my mom tells me that the riding instructor didn't own her first horse until she was 40 years old. Well, to my 12 year old brain I was crushed b/c that meant I was going to have to wait until I was 40 (which was FOREVER to me). Well, I'm proud to say I turned 30 this year and got my first horse - 10 years ahead of schedule. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

Here's a pic of my bedroom wall from then - wall to wall pics of horses. This was in 1985 and that's a friend holding my new puppy (that dog is still with me, she'll be 19 this year!)

http://www.geocities.com/mattandelizabeth@sbcglobal.net/horses.html

Remi and me

Feb. 11, 2004, 06:54 AM

When I was 12 my daddy gave into my constant pleading and bought me a 3year old appaloose ($350) who was barely broke, had hair missing from where a pulling collar had been around his neck, and was.. Ahem a little unattractive. I thought he was the most beautiful horse in the world and I knew we were going to jump the moon together. The barn where I ahd been taking lessons (Old Mill Farm) would not allow him on the property and I was agast when he was referred to as "the Beast of Brookville" and "the lumber king" (ok - so he would climb up panel fences and jump down...) I loffed him!

Vermont - where winter riders are real riders.

Kels

Feb. 11, 2004, 07:10 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by June:
Before I was 12, I was allowed up to my grandfather's bedroom where he was recovering from a stroke. He scared me...I walked over to the window and looking out on his farm, asked him if he was going to die. I heard his voice say,"I don't know; why?" I said, "If you die, would you let me have this farm? I love it so."
I remember him laughing so hard the adults outside the room rushed in.

My grandmother bought my first horse when I was in the eigth grade. She facilitated a process encouraged by my mother.

Such loving, loving memories...
prayers continue, June

"The world's greatest achievements often happen on the edge of chaos"
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I used to ask my grandmother if I could have her jewelry when she died. Not very nice of a 5 year old, but I didn't know better!!!

When I was TWELVE, I could have only dreamed of having my own horse. Mom was not having it, so I rode in lessons once a week. My friend and I dreamed up ways I could have my own horse- she had like 10 at her house. I decided I would just get a mini because I couldn't afford a full-sized horse! I would teach it to drive and it'd be good enough for me http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif Then I decided I would lease her brother's hose Lilly from them. That didn't work out too well, either. We sat and made lists of all the supplies I'd need, and ways I could make money. Oh the days when dreaming was bliss because I didn't know the realities!!!

I went to school with 3 or 4 girls with horses, and boy was I jealous. I started riding when I was like 8 at a woman my mom knew's backyard farm...I rode a stubborn little pony who rode me into fences and did whatever he could to not work, but he taught me tons.

I then moved to my current trainer's barn when I was 11, and rode a 34 year old saddlebred who was just TOO cool. He just passed on this year- we all miss him a LOT. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif He was an old man.

-Kelsey-

deltawave

Feb. 11, 2004, 07:11 AM

When I was 12, I had just started taking lessons at the hunt stables near me. Cleaned 10 stalls 3 days a week for the privilege of a weekly group lesson and occasional hack, and felt SO lucky! http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/lol.gif Went on my first hunt that winter. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

---------------------------------------------
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TakeChargeLady

Feb. 11, 2004, 07:12 AM

When I was 12 I switched back to riding English after riding western for a few years, cause I wanted to start jumping. I was riding a stubborn, lazy Quarter Horse named Checkers in my lessons, and I just loved him, cause he was just sooooo cute! http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif I still loved him, even after he dumped me twice in one lesson http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/lol.gif

When I was 12, I was dreaming about one day having a horse of my own. 12 years later, I'm still waiting for that dream to come true http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/sadsmile.gif

Later http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif ~~Caren (KY)~~

http://community.webshots.com/user/takechargelady

wonky

Feb. 11, 2004, 07:58 AM

When I was 12 I wanted a horse. I loved him. I needed him. He was an Australian brumby named Sampson and he was $80. No-one in my world had $80. He went away. He was big and bay.
I was 26 before I got a nasty little Arab mare and through trials and tribulations finally got to show other peoples nicer horses. A divorce left me with just the foal of the nasty mare ,who I still have, but she is not my soul mate horse. I hoped she would grow but she is smaller than Mom. I ride and show her but I still felt like I didn't have MY horse.I'm now 45.
Last year my horsey friend lay in the hospital dying. My dear non-horsey new spouse sent me to a premier breeding facility with his blessings to find my horse, as life is very short you see.
I thought I wanted a chestnut mare. A stunning black is what I wanted perhaps. A lovely 4 yr old started well.
And there he was. Just a foal. I looked into his little face and he was MY horse. A genetic masterpiece. A fuzzy package full of life and hope. He is big and bay.

OnyxThePony

Feb. 11, 2004, 08:12 AM

When I was 12, I had graduated from once a week lessons at a crappy stable.
My dream horse was any sweet decent blood bay gelding.
I rode at Oak Hill Farm outside London, Ontario. I bet millions of people went through that stable.. it was pretty..well.. I won't say it. But what most people didn't even know, was that Renne had actually ridden with the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, and he gave wonderful private lessons besides those 20 to a group nose to tail up downers.
I knew enough NOT to be a hopeless romantic (how sad!!) about horses.
But I still dreamed of the elusive black horse with white mane and tail, and the white horse with black mane and tail http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

sittin on the dock of the bay...

HelloAgain

Feb. 11, 2004, 08:39 AM

When I was 12 I got my first pair of tall boots at Kauffman's in NYC. I can still remember walking on their old wood-planked floor and smelling the delicious smell of clean leather and tack.

Proud Member: Bull-snap Haters Clique, Michigan Clique, and Appaloosa Clique!

lawndart

Feb. 11, 2004, 09:08 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by OnyxThePony:
,But I still dreamed of the elusive black horse with white mane and tail, and the white horse with black mane and tail http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh my, me too!! http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/yes.gif I still have a soft spot for Buckskins, Bays and Paliminos. I did not get a riding lesson or a horse until I got married. But at age 12 I was the kid sitting at the end of her driveway all weekend (with a horse book) just waiting for the local hunt to go by. I only got to talk/pet/drool for a couple of minutes as they had to go, but I lived for those minutes.

I will always remember the kind woman on the tall Chestnut gelding that made sure she always stopped to let me pet her horse, and answered every question, no matter how dumb they must have seemed to her. I try to do the same whenever I see a kid showing interest in my horse. Gotta pass it on.

OLD FRIENDS FARM-Equine Retirement-We LOVE Seniors!!http://www.sphosting.com/oldfriends/farm.html

Holly Jeanne

Feb. 11, 2004, 09:20 AM

When I was 12, I attended a three week summer riding camp (2 weeks of day camp at 11). That was all the lessons I'd had. I wanted a big, white horse (I know better now) and spent all my time in school daydreaming about it (my grades showed it) Daddy let me take a few riding lessons at a local farm. When I was 13, Dad told me that I could either buy myself a horse or go back to riding camp but I had to improve my grades. I bought a big, white horse that I now realize was on the verge of starving. He cost me $175. Well, actually $125, they threw in the saddle for $50. I didn't quite have that much in my savings account so my little sister threw in a few bucks. Fortunately, Mom and Dad paid expenses and boy were they surprised and that was boarding at a very rought self care barn! However, I made the honor roll the next term so they lived with it. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif Tony ended up taking both my sister and myself to the state fair 4-h show and being the darling of the neighborhood.

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” Goethe

Sakura

Feb. 11, 2004, 09:27 AM

When I was 12 I knew the black stallion was the horse for me...because I had one, and today (many years later) I still have one (although not the same one). We lived in Nigeria and just about everything was a stallion. He was a "Black Beauty" look alike with the star and one white sock, his name was Diablo (but we called him Dobbs). My dad bought him for me to the tune of about $400. He was an ex-polo pony. Dobbs was very well natured with his human companions, but typically aggressive toward the other stallions. Man, the other barn brats and I lived in breeches and rubber boots! Those were the days!

"They [Germans of future generations] will honor Herr Hitler as a genius, as a brave man, a matchless organizer and much more."-Mahatma Gandhi, in an Indian newspaper, June 22, 1940

[This message was edited by SummitTB on Feb. 11, 2004 at 02:38 PM.]

Sunnie

Feb. 11, 2004, 09:52 AM

When I was 8, I got my first pony. Sunnie was fat, gray, and had a huge neck. I, too, wanted a black stallion. I had announced that to my father when I was 3, and he told me that maybe when we moved to Tallahassee (we were about to leave Miami) I could get one. Four years later, 7-year-old me told my father that I supposed he hadn't really meant what he said. He had no idea how good a 3-year-old's memory can be. So, I ended up with riding lessons and eventually a pony. That pony is 23 this year, and while I still own her, her current job is to be leased by one little girl after another. They learn how to ride with her, and then move on to buying her own horse. But as long as she is rideable, I think she has found her path in life.

Tisha2

Feb. 11, 2004, 10:49 AM

When I was 12, I had been "working" at a trail riding place for about 4 years, and had apparently proven my devotion to horses to my parents. So, when I was 12, I got an english saddle for Christmas - my parents had bought it off of a distant cousin who was also into horses. No horse, just a saddle. But that did start the great horse hunt of 1981. My Dad bought me my first horse - who was also 12 - in February.

**Patch wearing member of the Mighty Thoroughbred Clique**

ErinB

Feb. 11, 2004, 11:14 AM

I wanted a big palomino saddlebred/QH mare named Sunshiny Day, Sunshine for short. And we were going to learn how to piaffe together.

I also thought it was perfectly all right to ride around in skintight teal breeches. Thanks, Libertyville Saddle Shop. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif

~Erin B #1/sillypiggy.com (http://www.sillypiggy.com)/journal (http://www.livejournal.com/~sillypiggy)
"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it." -Winston Churchill

CAH

Feb. 11, 2004, 11:25 AM

When I was 12....

Warmblood? Never heard of them. You need a Thoroughbred to be competitive in the hunter world.

I would "jump" into an outside course as my first fence and then jump eight "natural" fences.

Breeches had zippers on the side (what year did velcro become the norm?). Canary yellow was popular.

If I say anymore I will really date myself...

Vandy

Feb. 11, 2004, 11:38 AM

Wow I thought I was the only one who dreamed of a black horse with a white mane and tail, apparently this is quite a popular fantasy!

When I was 12 I was still a year away from getting regular lessons and my first horse.

Seahorsefarmtobe

Feb. 11, 2004, 11:56 AM

When I was twelve I augmented my twice weekly riding lessons by riding my Aunt's shetland pony (Tony the pony, naturally)...he was solid white, very rotund and mean as hell! My feet almost touched the ground while I was on his back, but I rode him nonetheless...bareback...
when I was 13 my paretns bought my first horse for $700 - a registered appaloosa w/ NO SPOTS. He was drugged when we went to try him (unbeknowst to us that people would drug a horse so he would sell!), brought him home and found out he was barely broke, terrified of men and out of control...so we found a trainer...he eventually schooled 4', but he wouldn't trailer w/ out being drugged, so we never showed...had him until he died @29 years.

LongLeaf

Feb. 11, 2004, 12:24 PM

When I was 12, we lived in Jamaica and I was allowed 2 hourly lesson per week on an EVIL off the Jamaican track TB named Tudor. He would jump the moon but had a very ill temper and now 22 years later, I still have a scar on my stomach from where he bit me. Anyway, every waking moment that I wasn't riding, I was dreaming of riding. Back in the days before MTV and Nintendo, kids actually went outside to play. I was no different. I set up a "cross country course" in my back yard that consisted of lawn chairs, baby pool, trash cans, brooms propped up between two stumps - you name it - and I "jumped" for hours. I must have been in great shape! I certainly couldn't do that now http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif. My dream horse was a dark brown Anglo-Arab with 4 white socks and a big wide blaze. His name was going to be Tic Tacheron. Don't ask me why or how I remember this! Oh to be young again! I didn't get my first horse until I bought my own at age 24.

*Next*Star*To*Shine*

Feb. 11, 2004, 01:03 PM

When I was 12, I was part-boarding a crazy arab mare (who I thought at the time was the most attractive and talented horse in the world http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif). After awing at the Budweiser clydsdales at the Royal, a friend and I had this plan to buy some miniature horses, keep them in her backyard (she lived in the country), make a mini Budweiser cart replica and drive our Budweiser "clydsdales" around her neighbourhood. We made also up songs, mine was the chicken nugget song (which was quite popular among us and even had moves to it).

At 12, my dream horse was a 16h chestnut, Dutch warmblood mare who I would call Barbie Girl (after that song by Aqua). That name isn't at the top of my list any more lol.

Grab a chance and you won't be sorry for what might have been.

Giddy-up

Feb. 11, 2004, 01:16 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by AlphaMare:
I set up a "cross country course" in my back yard that consisted of lawn chairs, baby pool, trash cans, brooms propped up between two stumps - you name it - and I "jumped" for hours. I must have been in great shape!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Me too!! My fitness level must of been thru the roof! http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/lol.gif No way could that occur now.

When I was 12:
I had the luxury of having my pony at home. Galloping around the field edge while pretending to be Alec on the Black Stallion was the norm. Sledding with the horses (meaning holding their tails while they pulled us around the pasture when turned out--how did we NOT get a hoof to the face??) & riding in the snow. Riding bareback and playing Cowboys & Indians and using the barn cats as my "cattle" to herd.

I do remember going in to some suburb of the city for a Pet Parade that summer. We took the one pony, braided him up & stuck a plume in his forlock for the "circus" theme (he was 11.1, pinto & adorable). Everytime the parade would halt, kids would rush from both sides of the street to that pony!! Luckily, he took it all in stride & loved it, but I remember being most shocked when so many of them kept saying how they never had seen a horse up close, let alone EVER touched one. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_eek.gif Needless to say that pony got lots of pets & pictures that day with all the "city" kids. The magic of ponies/horses.... http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

"...but now the gloves are coming off and it's going to get ghetto." Robby Johnson

Black n Blue

Feb. 11, 2004, 01:57 PM

When I was 12 after riding for 5 years, I leased my first horse, a 10 year old QH, a complete high-strung loon. But I loved her to death and cried for a week straight when she left the day after my lease ended.

---------
Manure Happens.

Seahorsefarmtobe

Feb. 11, 2004, 02:19 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Giddy-up:
Riding bareback and playing Cowboys & Indians and using the barn cats as my "cattle" to herd.

TOO FUNNY!

last laugh

Feb. 11, 2004, 02:24 PM

When I was 12 my Dad and I had been taking lessons for 2 years, and wanted a horse so bad it hurt. My Dad took me to the feedlot near our farm and bought me a working cutting horse for $500 named Bob. I am sure he never knew what was coming. I quickly made him into my first event horse. He was wonderful! He took me safely through all of my firsts; first show, first event, first novice level event, Pony Club ratings through C2.

Ahh.... to be 12.

FrittSkritt

Feb. 11, 2004, 02:28 PM

When I was 12, I started riding lessons shortly after school started that fall. I remember asking my mom, "I really want to take riding lessons." If she only knew what she was getting herself into... http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/winkgrin.gif

-KC (formerly known as PoloPony257)

* * * * * * * * * * *
"They can make me do it, but they can't make me do it with dignity." -Calvin and Hobbes

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MyShadeOfPink

Feb. 11, 2004, 03:33 PM

When I was 12 I had my own horse. I let anyone ride that wanted because I thought I was so lucky I should share with the world.

Jennie
"all these lines fall short of what i had in mind
a failed attempt to capsulize a feeling
so i just try fail and try and try again"
See my albulm Updated 11/11 (http://community.webshots.com/user/myshadeofpink)

flypony74

Feb. 11, 2004, 03:41 PM

When I was 12, I bought a weanling with my own money, to train her myself (after riding for 3 years). By some miracle, we both turned out just fine and have had a blast for the past 17+ years. At the time, it was probably the least sensible purchase I could have made, but she turned out to be the horse of a lifetime.

I finally set up a photo album...take a look!
http://community.webshots.com/user/flypony74

Drummerboy

Feb. 11, 2004, 03:58 PM

When I was 12 my Mom wanted me to marry Steve Cauthen when I grew up!!
(my,have I just dated myself!)

Barn Dirt

Feb. 11, 2004, 04:02 PM

When I was 12, I had the "world's greatest pony". Saved from an auction for $250, he's been a chuck wagon pony at the Calgary Stampede, and broke western just a few weeks earlier. He was fat, and incredibly, um..... gassy? I rode him bareback through the paddocks until I fell off and bruised a rib, then decided that a saddle worked fine for the two of us. I rode him around the farm, and he repeatedly tried to roll over on me, or kill any cat he saw. I had him for 2 months. I don't miss that pony, but I still see him at his new home every once in a while, rubbing people off on trees and all http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

He was evil. But he was mine, so he must have been the best pony ever http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

*Life is too short to ride a bad horse or dance with ugly men.
Proud member of MQRUs. Spare a talent for an old ex-leper, sir?*

Auburn

Feb. 11, 2004, 04:03 PM

When I was 12, I had to give up ballet lessons.

My Mom said that we could not afford a horse, ballet lessons and piano lessons. She wanted me to play the piano and I wanted to dance and ride. So, I had to quit ballet, but I quit taking piano lessons, too. Drummer Boy, I kept.

Now, I dance with my horse. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif AUBURN

haffieluv

Feb. 11, 2004, 04:03 PM

When I was 12... I free leased a 13.3H pony named Buttercup back in the 70's. I had the best time riding her everywhere, no saddle and just a bridle. I rode her on the street, on all the trails alone and on the high school grounds. I remember galloping across the soccer field, Buttercup stopping short to eat some grass, and me flying over her head to fall flat on my back with the wind knocked out of me. I lived on that pony after school http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Last night a friend and I went to look at a barn and something kept nagging at the back of my mind while we were there. So I called the lady today and asked her if her house was originaly green and asked if she had had a pony named Buttercup that she had leased out. She did!! It was my little Buttercup's house. She's long gone now, but talking with the lady made me blubber like an idiot as a flood of memories came back. It was so nice to talk with the owner again about that special pony that stole my heart... 30 years later http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif I'm still tearful now as I write this, but it's good kind of sad.

relocatedTXjumpr

Feb. 11, 2004, 05:07 PM

When I was 12, I had been riding for 6 years and had gotten my first pony at age 9...Rita, who is still teaching lessons back in TX. I thought I was the BEST rider in the world and idolized Margie Goldstein...still do of course. I had visions of competeing in Madison Square Garden on my 12.1 hand pony!
I think The Black Stallion mini series had started about that time, and I watched that show EVERY chance I could!
I set up jumping courses in the back yard and had my bedroom floor covered with my Breyer barn.
Everything centered around horses. I would clean my tack at home out in the drive way, so others could see that I rode horses. I talked about it non-stop. I had out-grown my pony and was riding other horses too....I always informed my mother that I had been chosen to ride this horse because he was difficult to ride...ya right!

Ah...to be 12 again and have no fear!

B & B Sport Horses at Second Chance Farms

Member of the Paint Hunter Clique

http://community.webshots.com/user/ga_jumpr
Dont put the cart before the horse, unless he knows how to push it of course. ~~ Pat Green

Lin

Feb. 11, 2004, 05:14 PM

When I was 12 i also found out that you should lean forward to go under a tree branch - not backwards http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

TacticalHonor

Feb. 11, 2004, 05:42 PM

When I was 12...

I had just lost the cuuuuute welsh pony I was leasing to Colon Cancer, 2 weeks after my first show with him http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif . I vowed to never ride again, to preserve his memory.

That lasted long http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/sadsmile.gif
I miss my Ethan.

~* Proud Member of the Blonde Riders / Mighty Thoroughbred / BabyGreen Support Group Cliques *~

diffuse01

Feb. 11, 2004, 05:50 PM

when i was 12.. which was only almost 5yrs. ago my friends and i used to, what we called, 'gallop on all fours', or all fours for short (people STILL ask me and my friends to do it, just so they can have a good laugh.. i'm proud to say i can still clear a 2' fence haha).. we'd set up courses in the house, in the backyard, at the barn, anywhere we could, and jump them on our hands and feet.. i don't really know how else to explain it haha.. some of my friends looked like monkey's doing it, but me and my other friend, andi, looked like 'naturals', as our parents said.
and these were SERIOUS courses.. anywhere from 2'6-3', and i cleared them all at probably around 4ft tall haha. that's when i was in really good shape, because we'd have training sessions where we would 'work' for 30min straight, trotting, cantering and jumping around the house.. talk about cardio workout!i also 'cantered' the mile (on 2 feet http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_cool.gif).. i swear it is less tiring haha.
we also did flying changes, dressage, and acted like wild horses on all fours too.. me and andi actually entered a big 4-h competition and performed to music! we won 1st place http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

i also got my first pony around age 8-9, and sold him right when i was turning 13. i rode him in a tiny little 12in saddle, it was so cute. he was a little 13.1hh, paint cross pony named napoleon, or nappy for short. he was such a jerk sometimes, for about the first year i owned him i was afraid to canter b/c he'd put his head down and buck, and i'd almost fall off. he's still giving lessons at my old barn now, at age 16.. i have pics of him on the 2 sites in my sig http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif.

i also had breyers all over my room, i would get mad b/c i had pet rats and when i'd let them out they'd knock down all the fences & horses! i had 87 breyers.. i still remember that number for some reason.. prolly b/c i still have them all in my attic.

-kady-
-my webshots album (http://community.webshots.com/user/diffuse01)-
-diffusion, my pet site (http://www.diffuse01.cjb.net)-

biggreymare

Feb. 11, 2004, 07:33 PM

When I was 12 I was running barrels, pole bending and (gasp) goat tying in the State Champs. I never thought twice about wearing a helmet, until my 1st concusion which also included memory loss http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/dead.gif. I also wanted wanted to jump sooooo bad, but my mom wouldnt let me she said it was "too dangerous". That idea didn't last too long..LOL..along came a little sport called Eventing http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/winkgrin.gif

Member of the: Adult Pony Rider, Grey Mare, GA, and Klutz Cliques

DQT

Feb. 11, 2004, 07:40 PM

When I was 12, I brought my 4 year old paint (my first horse) to an inter-pony club dressage rally and the D.C almost had a heart attack. It is against the rules to bring 4 year olds, and it was very unorthodox for a 12 year old to be riding a 4 year old. He was an absolute saint though, didn't do a thing wrong. And we even won!

JR/YR Dressage
Member of the TEEN CLIQUE

Mary in Area 1

Feb. 11, 2004, 07:47 PM

When I was 12, I prayed every night for my own horse. For every birthday and Christmas, I asked for my own horse. I never got one. I don't know why. My cousin got one, and then another one. I still hate her.

Pretty soon I didn't speak to my dad anymore. That lasted basically through high school, until he had his first heart attack.

When I got married, I told my husband that someday I had to have a horse. I bought my first horse 10 years ago, when I was 34.

"I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with someone who is unarmed."--Pogo

HFbellefille

Feb. 11, 2004, 07:53 PM

When I turned 12, I had just gotten my first horse 13 days before my birthday. He was a five year old Thoroughbred that I adored. My mom found him in the local paper's classified ads. I think I probably fell off of him 30 times that year.

I had no qualms about wearing jeans to the barn one night and wearing the same ones to school the next day, horse smell and all.

I had grown out of wanting to be a jockey, and decided I wanted to be a farrier.

~*Kate*~
Tufts Equestrian Team "We'll Ride Anything"

wickedfawn

Feb. 11, 2004, 07:56 PM

When I was 12 I was sure I would make it to the olympics in 4 years riding my little quarter horse mare. In my young mind I was sure we would win the gold. I mentioned this to my mother a few weeks ago and found out that that was her dream too.

ishmael

Feb. 11, 2004, 08:27 PM

When I was 12, I had the greatest pony ever--a western pleasure quarter horse that I "taught" to jump at a horse show (never jumped a thing on Friday, and on Saturday she won the 3' class!) I didn't know what I was doing: no trainer, no experience, no fear...

One of the dumbest things I did: one of my friends bet me that Precious (my mare) wouldn't jump over him lying under the fence at the 4H State Fair. Boy, did we prove him wrong!

flaxenmane

Feb. 12, 2004, 04:45 AM

Wow I love this thread! I've remembered a few more tidbits ...

yes, we also did the backyard course on foot thing -- a group of girls pretending to be horses and we would do our Eq class and jump and give each other ribbons http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

I wanted a horse so bad that I used to pretend my little Yorkshire Terrier was a horse -- I "crosstied" him in the backyard so I could groom him! He hated it of course ...

Then I would set up my Breyer horses in the yard -- "on pasture" -- and take photos of them!

At my first real horse show, I was still so short and small that I had about 3 feet in extra stirrup leather, and my Mom had to borrow some funny coat from a neighbor's kid for my show coat (which was his CHURCH jacket http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif -- how embarrassing!

I was fearless and they used to put tiny me on these insane horses off the track -- ignorance was bliss on my part. Like Mary, I'd wanted a horse MY WHOLE LIFE, and finally could afford some backyard cheap little mare ten years ago and my dream came true!!! She went on to become Novice Horse of the Year, and we did tons of Training events even though she was TINY like me! http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

Dreams do come true!!!

gully's pilot

Feb. 12, 2004, 04:46 AM

When I was 12, I was still doing what I had done every morning since I was 6 or so, though by then I knew it wouldn't happen--look out the bathroom window first thing in case there was a horse in the backyard. I was clumsy and asthmatic and no good at anything physical, but I KNEW I could ride a horse well, if only I ever had the chance....went to a great college with a super barn and wonderful instructors...bought a cheapie racetrack mare as soon as I graduated...and now I live on a farm and my kids both got ponies the year they were five. And I event! What a life!

fivebyfive

Feb. 12, 2004, 05:37 AM

When I was 12 I had been riding for a year (so much for the month of lessons my parents had bought me for my 11th birthday!). I had learned to jump tiny fences. I wanted a horse so badly that I wrote it on my christmas lists, my birthday lists, and even the grocery lists.

Still don't have one of my very own, but have a friend who is nice enough to let me share hers http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

The boyfriend does know that we are getting a horse. House, car, horse. That's how it works!

**I laugh in the face of danger! -- Then I hide until it goes away.**
Proud Member of the 'OPH' Clique
http://community.webshots.com/user/evntrgrrl

sketcher

Feb. 12, 2004, 05:43 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Lisi:
When I was twelve a girl at my class teased me because my blue sweater was COVERED in white horse hairs. It was actually kind of funny at the time, because I hadn't noticed when I put on the sweater.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

When I was twelve, a girl in school used to pick on me because I used to wear my barn sneakers to school and they smelled very horsie.

I beat her up.

gully's pilot

Feb. 12, 2004, 06:13 AM

Sketcher--good for you!

sketcher

Feb. 12, 2004, 06:31 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by sketcher:
I beat her up.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It was my first in a long line of suspensions starting the first week of seventh grade. Thank god for horses!

FlightCheck

Feb. 12, 2004, 07:00 AM

When I was 12.......

A nice farmer whose kids were gone told me I could ride the old horse in the field whenever I wanted.

So I did - no bridle, saddle, saddle pad, helmet, http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_eek.gif or anything - just kick and go wherever the horse went.

Until the day my mother(a nurse) drove to work a different way, and caught me. http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/uhoh.gif

Giddy-up

Feb. 12, 2004, 07:18 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by seahorsefarms:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Giddy-up:
Riding bareback and playing Cowboys & Indians and using the barn cats as my "cattle" to herd.

TOO FUNNY!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, well the "kitty cattle" got their revenge by turning on my "fearless mustang" when they had enough of Cowboy Round-up thus causing the pony to spin & run and me to usually land on my head or butt. Which my mom had no sympathy as she said I brought it on myself by chasing them in the first place. But you know what--you're 12 so you get up, brush yourself off, shag the pony down & try again another day! http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/lol.gif http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/yes.gif

I do say though that sometimes a cat will wander thru the ring & I find myself resisting the urge to "herd" it as I doubt my TB jumper would be as tolerant as those ponies were!

"...but now the gloves are coming off and it's going to get ghetto." Robby Johnson

Celebrity

Feb. 12, 2004, 07:32 AM

When I was 12... besides my best friend and I competing in jumper classes in my back yard (we are the horses....) we planned out the "Mini Olympics".. I actually just found all the work we had done about 4 months ago.. It was a 3 day show held at the barn we used to ride at. Dressage, Jumping, and Cross Country.. each on separate days.. we had judges picked out, money allotted towards ribbons, trophies, etc.. We had all the courses mapped out (there were 3 levels, beginner, intermediate, and advanced) hehehe.. I look at it now and MAN we have some interested courses that I don't think would even be ALLOWED..But at the time it was a good idea.. This was back in 1994.. and we had money to pay our 3 judges $400 each.. but only if all participants would pay a rounded $100 even could we afford everything.. plus the extra money was going to be put into making the barn better (to our standards of course!) haha.. I don;t even know where we would have got half the jumps.. the barn didnt have any brushes, coops, liverpools, etc.. But we "had" to have them... needless to say, our Mini Olympics never happened.. but I still think it would be fun! http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

Holsteiner Clique!!
http://home.cogeco.ca/~patm/NOVA2.htm

hosses4me

Feb. 12, 2004, 08:31 AM

When I was 12...I remember riding 12 hours a day in the summer...from 8 to 8. I rode my pony over to the local ranch, and rode a horse (or two) from there all day and then rode my pony back at dusk. I was already too big for the pony (could have rollerskated!) but I'd gotten him free (guess what, Dad!) and I loved him dearly. My non-horsey parents said I could keep him if I did all the care and boarded another horse to pay for him. I think they thought I'd lose interest fast. 15 years later I'm still boarding, and now have 4 horses, but not the 12 hour days to enjoy them http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/no.gif

Sandbarhorse

Feb. 12, 2004, 09:28 AM

What an awesome thread you've started, Lin!!

I have really enjoyed reading all the posts and relaizing that I am NOT a freak, for jumping courses in the woods, galloping and jumping on my hands and feet, having my walls plastered with horse poster and having a ton of breyer horses. http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/lol.gif

12 was a great year for me. I got my first horse, who was 5 and green, but who taught me so much. I fell off, my friends fell off, I did dumb things, but had a great time. We even made it to a few shows, despite having no trainer.

I would ride my big red horse and pretend he was Flame and that we were about to beat the black stallion (of course http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/winkgrin.gif). The fact that he could actually beat all the neighborhood horses may have encouraged this. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

I kept him until he died 2 years ago. He was part of my family and I was so lucky to get all the knowledge and memories from our time together. http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/sadsmile.gif

I still miss him, but now have our 2 greenies who are his, in human terms, 1/2 niece and nephew, so the dream lives on!! http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_cool.gif http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/yes.gif

ishmael

Feb. 12, 2004, 01:23 PM

I taught my 2 cats to drive--I made shoelace halters and everything, "hitching" them together and long-lining them all over the house. Poor (very tolerant) critters.

Coreene

Feb. 12, 2004, 01:37 PM

When I was 12, I met Major. Next to Willem, he was the best horse I ever had or knew. They were so similar, it was eerie how much Willem would remind me of him. I will never forget him.

Shucks, amazing how 30 years later you can post about a favorite horse and still cry.

War Admiral

Feb. 12, 2004, 01:45 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Shucks, amazing how 30 years later you can post about a favorite horse and still cry.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Isn't it though... http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/sadsmile.gif

______________

"Those who use horses just for the business are crass, classless horsemen."
--George Morris

Kat the Horse

Feb. 12, 2004, 01:58 PM

When I was 12 years old I was in full-blown "Horse Heat" having spent nearly the whole of my life absolutely captivated by everything horses. I drew horses on every surface and frequently on my school papers. I played with the cheap model horses (we couldn't afford Breyers). My very first purchase with money I'd saved myself was a black stick horse from the local IGA. NO birthday, or Christmas went by but what I didn't ask for a real, live horse of my very own--all in vain.

When I was 7 my grandparents free-leased a little (11hh) Shetland mare for the summer months for me to ride who taught me how to sit every gait, no matter how bouncy. She LOVED to gallop, and I used to gallop her hellbent through the front yard, along the side of the house, and out to the back yard and her little barn every night--in the pitch-black country night. I can still feel the hair rising on the back of my neck from the cool air rushing past and the feeling of being totally safe on her back. She hated everybody else, and hated her bridle most of all--which is why I mostly rode her 'naked'--only my hands clutching her mane close to her ears to guide her with. Of course, I seldom rode her anywhere but in the yard--she'd have run off for sure if I'd ever been so foolish to try!

At age 12 I began exercising horses for a horse trader who kept his horses at the stockyards in the little town we lived in. I rode some of the rankest, meanest, brain-damaged goods you can imagine--and totally without a fear in the world. This guy said I was a 'natural' because I could get a horse to do anything--even behave, though I was about 3 feet tall and weighed less than 80 pounds. I guess it was because I NEVER met a horse that I could not LOVE beyond ugliness, lack of training and manners, vices, or just plain lack of sociability. What an innocent I was! I never fell off, never got badly hurt, and did this for two years, until the horsetrader ticked off the town leaders with his smelly freeloading ways. I cried the day this terrible man packed up all his horses and left town. I'd never been paid, but I'd loved the work!

In my 15th summer I'd saved two years of lunch money--that's 35 cents a day--and gave it to my grandparents to pay for a 10 year old Quarterpony named Toby, who was owned by a family who had all outgrown him. Toby was 13hh, a tri-color pinto, who had spent the last two years keeping cows company. He'd done 4-H, and some kids' games, hated being alone, and was always happy to see me. He was boarded in a tiny pasture about 200 feet from my grandparents, but spent his entire summer in the backyard, with me.

I was a solitary person--despite having 4 sisters and a brother, none of which could be bothered with horses. So I and Toby alone investigated all the back-country roads and byways of rural Kansas, sometimes being gone for the entire day. I read to Toby, I told Toby my secrets--he was my entire life for two glorious years. Then something terrible happened and my grandparent sent him off with a 'nice man who will keep him as a pet' and we all know what that means. I didn't know until I was all grown up--15 years later--that he'd probably ended up as Alpo.

My parents moved to a bigger city--and horses became just something that I read about (name the book, I've read it) or constantly drew (along with cats) and my walls were festooned with posters and pictures. I did not 'march to the beat' of any drum as much as move to the hoofbeats in my head. I saw horses everywhere in my imagination. I once drew a life-sized horse on my bedroom wall, just so I'd have one there, to pet and talk. (My parents were not pleased--we rented our home!)

I took riding lessons several times as an adult for 6-8 months at a time, just to keep a connection with that which I love. I was never able to keep at it because of personal circumstances and family needs.

Three years ago I started 'collecting' the classic Arabs off Ebay--I have EVERY Classic Arabian Family set made--including the rare European-issued-only set. Then it was the Running Mare and Foal sets. I customized two foals to match the mares who do NOT have matching foals. I picked up all the Shetland ponies--then the babies. The Haflinger mold, including the overpriced Christmas Pony.

I finally realized it was time to get a REAL horse. I now work at a barn on the weekends--not for pay--but because I can ride one of the owner's horses as compensation. Actually, it's as much so I can 'play' with the horses--12 horses! To be 12 again!

SquishTheBunny

Feb. 12, 2004, 03:52 PM

When i was 12...

Arabs were my favourite horses.

I thought "Thoroughbreds" were purebreed horses.

I thought "Standardbreds" were average horses.

I thought show-bows were cool!!!

"There was a point to this story, but it has temporarily escaped the chronicler's mind."
- Douglas Adams

alabama

Feb. 12, 2004, 04:31 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by dancing lawn:
When I was in grade 2, in Toronto, (in 1963) I told my teacher that I was going to be a farmer when I grew up, and I was going to have all kinds of horses. I was right!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
When I was five, I told my mother I was never going to get married - I was just going to have affairs. She quit letting me watch soap operas with her! LOL! But apparantly I knew what I was saying - I'm 38 (today!) and still very single.

Edited to add:

When I was 12, I was going through having my (mine and my sister's) four horses put down for brucellosis. It wasn't a great time for us. I was out of horses after that until I graduated from college, but I always missed them.

[This message was edited by alabama on Feb. 12, 2004 at 08:02 PM.]

KathyR

Feb. 12, 2004, 04:58 PM

When I was 12, just a few years ago, http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif my sister and I would set up jumps in the back yard, and jump our very willing dog over them. Anyone else remember riding in the snow and making peace symbols in it? OK, I am REALLY aging myself here. http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/lol.gif

Older but Better, as in wine.

barbarachloejosie

Feb. 12, 2004, 05:29 PM

These are great little stories, you guys. Kat the Horse, I particularly loved your devotion to horses as a little girl and hope you get your long awaited STANDARDBRED soon.

Barbara and Daisy

Standardbred Clique

Due's Mom

Feb. 12, 2004, 05:31 PM

I had to think on this one

When I was 12, the retired cavalry officer ( he was a peer of Gordon Wright and they seemed to have a feud going on) that I rode with took me with the show rider to Des Moines. He had me ride this hot, black TB named Derby Day in a 13 & under Eq class. There was like 50 in the class and I got blocked in pretty bad when they asked for a canter. I stopped myhorse and then did a canter depart after it cleared around me.

Much to my surprise, I won the class and the judge was Mrs Powers and she came up and told me how well I handled that situation. It was my first rated blue ribbon

Empty Pocket

Feb. 12, 2004, 05:34 PM

Horses were my salvation....I was not even remotely popular and had no friends at school. When I was 12 all that I thought of was horses...I drew them everywhere, talked about them all the time, and read everything I could about them. I wanted one really bad, but there wasn't the money so I had to be happy with only weekly lessons. I vowed to get a job as soon as I could to buy my own horse - I wanted a black TB....and when I was 17 I got her! She is still my best friend.

Nauset

Feb. 12, 2004, 05:49 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by diffuse01:
when i was 12.. which was only almost 5yrs. ago my friends and i used to, what we called, 'gallop on all fours', or all fours for short (people STILL ask me and my friends to do it, just so they can have a good laugh.. i'm proud to say i can still clear a 2' fence haha).. we'd set up courses in the house, in the backyard, at the barn, anywhere we could, and jump them on our hands and feet.. i don't really know how else to explain it haha.. some of my friends looked like monkey's doing it, but me and my other friend, andi, looked like 'naturals', as our parents said.
and these were SERIOUS courses.. anywhere from 2'6-3', and i cleared them all at probably around 4ft tall haha. that's when i was in really good shape, because we'd have training sessions where we would 'work' for 30min straight, trotting, cantering and jumping around the house.. talk about cardio workout!i also 'cantered' the mile (on 2 feet http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_cool.gif).. i swear it is less tiring haha.
we also did flying changes, dressage, and acted like wild horses on all fours too.. me and andi actually entered a big 4-h competition and performed to music! we won 1st place http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

i also got my first pony around age 8-9, and sold him right when i was turning 13. i rode him in a tiny little 12in saddle, it was so cute. he was a little 13.1hh, paint cross pony named napoleon, or nappy for short. he was such a jerk sometimes, for about the first year i owned him i was afraid to canter b/c he'd put his head down and buck, and i'd almost fall off. he's still giving lessons at my old barn now, at age 16.. i have pics of him on the 2 sites in my sig http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif.

i also had breyers all over my room, i would get mad b/c i had pet rats and when i'd let them out they'd knock down all the fences & horses! i had 87 breyers.. i still remember that number for some reason.. prolly b/c i still have them all in my attic.

-kady-
-http://community.webshots.com/user/diffuse01-
-http://www.diffuse01.cjb.net-<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Oh My God, I can't believe what I'm reading, I can do that too!!!!! I've done it since I was about four (I CAN'T believe this!!!) I'd make courses out of kitchen stools, TV Trays, anything. What makes the best jumps though are wrapping paper rolls! http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/lol.gif I had a friend who could do it too but not nearly as smoothly as I can. We used to set up gymnastics and go through them too. My family used to watch me and think it was hilarious that I can canter around (with the correct foot placement, on the correct leads) and jump a course (and land on my hands, everyone else who tried could only land 4 feet at once). The highest I've cleared is my 3' dog gate. OMG I can't believe someone else in the world shares my extrmely odd talent. I've called it "galloping" since I started, the name stuck. All my friends that I've been friends with for a while say, "Show soandso how you gallop!!!" LOL http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/lol.gif I do admit, I still do it now and then, but only when no one's around.
Wow... I am so in awe that someone else can "gallop" http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/lol.gif.

Proud Member of the BLONDE Clique!
http://community.webshots.com/user/samtb056

tosca4711

Feb. 12, 2004, 06:17 PM

When I was 12 years old, I had been riding for 4 years.

I didn't have a horse, but I used to canter to school (on foot).

The other kids at school thought I was weird because I was so horse crazy.

I was really good at neighing.

It used to make my father really nervous when I jumped over the coffee table.

I thought the best name in the world for a horse was Starlight.

I got my first horse when I was 13. She was my best friend and got me through some rough times at school.

My father wasn't horsey before I started riding, but he got hooked on horses because of me. He never took up riding, but he loves to be around horses. My mother always hated my riding, and was always after me to quit.

I still ride, and I have a horse. I think they are good for your mental health.

This thread is wonderful. We all share so much. Horses and/or riding saved a lot of us.

tosca4711

Feb. 12, 2004, 06:33 PM

A quote came to mind when I was reading this thread. It's from Henry V, and I think it describes us.

"...this happy breed, this band of brothers..."

Tosca

HungarianHippo

Feb. 12, 2004, 07:13 PM

Can I just say how much fun it has been readig this, to know I'm not a freak?

When I was 5-7, I'd walk 2 miles through neighborhoods and woods to get to this house where the people had horses. I'd stand at their fenceline for hours just watching them, and then go home. Abraham the swaybacked buckskin was "mine". (can anyone imagine letting their 5 year old walk two miles anywhere these days??! Sad thing is, I don't think the world is any more or less dangerous, it's just that we're more afraid of it)
when I was twelve, I had my first horse named Irish Whiskey (a free qh/tb x) whom I loved to death.

I wrote names of my future horses all up and down the margins of my school notebooks. I thought Scarborough was the prettiest name a horse could ever have.

I had gone through every horse book in every library in the county.

I had a best friend, and we were practicing our tandem bareback routine (the rear rider facing backwards, then switching positions without ever falling off). And we were quizzing each other on our 4H Horse Bowl questions. I can still visualize the illustration where the horse was grazing on a green field of D's (for vitamin D) and the A's were streaming down from the sun. She died two years ago but I still talk to her now and then. How I miss her.

PinkPony

Feb. 12, 2004, 09:23 PM

This was way before 12, I was smart because I know a pony would never grow up to be a horse. But I did think a mare was "fixed". And I thought if you bred a black horse to a white horse you'd get a b&w paint. I was so dumb when I was little!!

tatertot

Feb. 13, 2004, 06:08 AM

When I was about 5, my mom bought me a cowbay outfit ( it was red and black) and it was the only thing I would wear so she had to wash it every night, I wanted to be a cowboy - and oh yeah be able to pee standing up like my brother. ( kids are weird ) I also got a $500 pony when I was 13.

Proud member of the "chicken Jumper clique"

dressager

Feb. 13, 2004, 08:07 AM

I'm going to get e-shot for saying this. When I was twelve I had my own mare and had for a year. I also got my second horse and half leased another mare for the summer.

Dressager (http://www.geocities.com/lubenkafarm)
You don't throw a whole life away just because its a little banged up - Tom Smith A Better America (http://join.johnedwards2004.com/join/fundraising/poly7825-73501)

Lin

Feb. 13, 2004, 08:11 AM

I love all these stories -- I've been horse crazy as long as I can remember and its great to know there are all these kindred spirits roaming around.

And I have so many to thank - the neighbours that let me hang around and groom their horses and even occasionally ride, my Mom who found the money for riding lessons and to partboard a horse, and all the wonderful, tolerant horses - who taught me the most and didn't hold my clumsiness against me.

Holly Jeanne

Feb. 13, 2004, 08:17 AM

So, do I win the award for the cheapest (free horses don't count) first horse? $125 (less saddle) and I paid for most of it myself at 12. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Ok, raise your hands, how many of your parents were convinced you would grow out of this "stage" you were going through. http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/winkgrin.gif

Alabama: My mother told me that if I didn't learn to cook, I would never get married. I told her that I would never get married in that case and I haven't. Ironically, I did eventually learn to cook but I still don't like doing it and I was a restaraunt manager for a while. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

I bought a farm a few years ago. When my father first came to visit (and help me move), he commented that we really needed a place like that when I was growing up.

“Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” Goethe

Owley

Feb. 13, 2004, 08:47 AM

When I was 12...
All clydesdale's were named Dobbin - come to think of it.. they still are. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

My only-lame-in-the-ring pony would only walk on the trail, until the barn would come back into view to which she would run back to at lightspeed. I would laugh all the way... Until the day she forgot to stop & we ran "smack" into the side of the barn. I was waiting for her, she was waiting for me... http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/lol.gif

Stress is when you wake up screaming, and then you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet.

Feb. 13, 2004, 09:05 AM

When I was 12 (7 years ago) I got my first horse for my birthday. He was a huge 8 yr old TB who had been a very successul show jumper. Needless to say, it was not a match made in heaven for me, a timid little 12 year old who had just graduated from cross rails. Before that, I had leased a Connemara pony for two years who I ADORED but my legs just grew too long for him.

We gave the TB an early retirement since there was no way that he was going to work out for me (what was my trainer THINKING??). He is now fat and happy, enjoying a life of leisure at a private boarding facility . . .

rosijet

Feb. 13, 2004, 09:05 AM

As far back as I can remember, even way before 12, when we were driving somewhere, if I saw a horse, I would plaster my face against the car window and stare with wide, loving eyes - my intent gaze never leaving that horse as we passed by. Then I'd sit back down with a huge, satisfied grin.

Once I learned how to ride a bike, I would pretend I was a jockey and riding in the Kentucky Derby. My white 10 speed was named White Lightning and, of course, we always came from 100 yards behind to win! http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif Except for the year that Genuine Risk won the Derby. My bike HAD to be renamed after her that year!

I had a friend with a horse and a pony at her house. I would've given my right arm to be her! Her family decided to sell the pony for $50. I had $75 in my savings account! Mom and dad said that we couldn't keep Silver the pony in the backyard. I didn't understand. We had a little shed for him and the yard was pretty big for suburbia. I don't think I spoke to either one of them for two weeks after that big disappointment!

My faithful and patient Alaskan Malamute was my horsey substitute. I would set up the picnic table and benches, garbage cans and anything else laying around as a course. That sweet dog would just jump over everthing I ran her up to. My mom finally decided I wasn't going to outgrow my horsey obsession and bought me a $250 yearling when I was 13.

My two year old niece is showing signs of the same genetic flaw. I told my brother to save his money NOW! http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_razz.gif

"Crazy is just another point of view" Sonia Dada

Feb. 13, 2004, 09:16 AM

When I was 12, I had never ridden a horse before but had pictures everywhere and dreamed of it. Then my best friend took me to her brother's farm - I had never even been to a farm. They had a solid chestnut Appaloosa named Sugar - we both hopped on her - no saddle, no halter, no bridle - nothing. We had a blast and she took such good care of us she didn't even spook at a snake. However she did slip in the mud and of course we both came off and laughed like crazy and got right back on. It was heaven - when I got home it was all I talked about for weeks and I spent years begging for a horse of my own. As a matter of fact two years later my dad was in Texas on business and called home and asked what do you want from Texas without pause I said a horse! I did very little riding until the age of 38 - started taking lessons and have now purchased my first horse. And yep - he is a loud colored Appaloosa!

War Admiral

Feb. 13, 2004, 09:19 AM

When I was 12 I was transitioning from Saddlebreds/saddle seat to hunters and an OTTB. He was a son of War Admiral, with all that that implies, so you may rest assured I was still hitting the ground REGULARLY at least once a day! Seriously, when I got up to 26 falls in a 30-day period I gave up and stopped counting... http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif

He turned out to be a fabu horse though, and I still miss him. http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/sadsmile.gif

______________

"Those who use horses just for the business are crass, classless horsemen."
--George Morris

Vandy

Feb. 13, 2004, 09:20 AM

When I was 12, I had recently retired my stick-horse. By the way, I got VERY angry when anyone referred to "Ashley" as a stick-horse - she was a "purebred Arabian"!

I also made a harness for my dog and taught him to "drive".

My best friend had just gotten a pony, and she let me ride him sometimes - but only on a lunge line. Once, when we were cantering on the lunge, Robbie the pony took a bad step, and I went flying off. I got the wind knocked out of me, and when I opened my eyes, I saw my friend running toward me with tears streaming down her face, presumably to help me up. She ran right past me crying, "Are you okay, Robbie?" We had a good laugh over that a few years later http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

[This message was edited by Vandy on Feb. 13, 2004 at 12:38 PM.]

nrg

Feb. 13, 2004, 11:20 AM

When I was 12 I used to go through catalogs and circle of all the various horsey paraphenelia I would need when I finally got my own horse.

I spent hours sitting outside the neighbors pasture, hoping she would let me at least brush one of her two horses (she had tow horses and never ever rode, which I though was terribly unfair!!) http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

Noodle

Feb. 13, 2004, 12:06 PM

When I was 12 I was the geekiest kid you ever saw. I got teased at school because of my "I <3 Horses" shirts, I wore big nerdy glasses, I listened to Paula Abdul, and I couldn't ride worth a damn. (I started riding at 10.) Luckily, 8 years has done good things for me, I'm not a total geek anymore...I don't think... http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif

Won2Keep

Feb. 13, 2004, 12:46 PM

When I was 12, I started to shoot up in height and become way too tall for my 12.2 pony, but that didn't stop me from showing him. Oh jeez, I am really about to date myself, but I remember sitting on a hill at the LaSalle College Horse Show and listening to the bells ring for the Bicenntenial. I had just won the outside course class and was pretty happy even though in the back of my mind I knew I was way too tall and would have to give up Jimmy soon. Instead of giving him up, I just quit riding for three years.

Tom King

Feb. 13, 2004, 12:57 PM

I had owned my first pony for three years then. I traded a double-barreled shotgun for him that I was only allowed to carry and was too afraid to shoot.

horsesrlife65

Feb. 13, 2004, 02:33 PM

When I was 12 (5, almost 6 years ago) I had been riding for just over a year. I was still just a lesson kid who came out every Saturday morning to ride and hang out for a while.

I was riding a cute little buckskin horse named Amigo who had a white stripe and a heart of gold.

When I was 12, I was still working on "mastering" jumping a crossrail.

I would run as fast as my legs could carry me from the car to the barns - I couldn't wait to see the horses!

When I was 12, I was just learning about horses and horse care (although I'm sure I thought I knew quite a bit more than I actually did!)

I met what were my 2 best friends from the stable - Kaycee and Sarah. We would, on occassion, be "jockies" and ride around with our stirrups entirely too short.

We would spend forever just standing with our horses, watching them graze.

I was in awe of all the "fancy" horses and jumped at the chance to have even the slighest bit of interaction with them.

And then when I was 13, I would go on trails rides (and get lost http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif) and "race" my friends down the lane.

I pretty much ran the lesson barn (which, looking back, is a semi-scary thought!) and would do anything for the horses.

Ah - to be 12 again! http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif Actually, it was fun while it lasted, but I'm much more knowledgeable and capable now then I was back then. I think that, while I've always been somewhat of an "old soul", I had a little too much freedom at times ... but honestly, I wouldn't trade any of the horse experiences (both good and bad) that I've had for the world.

alabama

Feb. 13, 2004, 02:47 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by Holly Jeanne:
My mother told me that if I didn't learn to cook, I would never get married. I told her that I would never get married in that case and I haven't. Ironically, I did eventually learn to cook but I still don't like doing it and I was a restaraunt manager for a while. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/lol.gif Well, I can and do love to cook but I think I'm too set in my ways to get married. BUT if anything was going to turn me off cooking, it would probably be managing a restaurant. I bartended at a Ruby Tues. for about three years and smelling food the whole workshift just about put me off food altogether. http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif Did you ever end up getting married?

Tollriffic

Feb. 13, 2004, 07:06 PM

When I was 12 (about a 1 1/2 year ago)My horse had just come off a series of injuries that had kept me from riding him for months and we had just gone to our first show back together.

**Proud Member of the Teen Clique**
Go back under your bridge you evil troll!You have no powers here!

regalace

Feb. 13, 2004, 09:10 PM

Wait, you have to learn to cook to be married?! I thought the purpose of marriage was to have someone to cook for you. You know, "Honey, I'm going to be at the barn till late, could you fix supper?" Maybe that's why I'm still single. Or it could be because all my clothes smell like horse, and the last guy was allergic.

On topic--when I was 12, I'd had my first horse (Ace) for about a year and was doing all the 4-H stuff. I think I was just getting into English riding. I told my instructor I didn't want to do dressage, I just wanted to jump. I'm now an eventer and love both!

The hooves of the horses! Oh witching and sweet is the music earth steals from the iron-shod feet. Will Ogilvie

Giddy-up

Feb. 14, 2004, 09:43 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by regalace:
Wait, you have to learn to cook to be married?! I thought the purpose of marriage was to have someone to cook for you.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Cooking = Marriage?? http://chronicleforums.com/images/custom_smilies/sigh.gif Hmm...perhaps that's my problem. I am a "microwaver" or "fast-fooder", not a "cooker".

But I can make a really great beet pulp or bran mash! Chopped carrots, sprinkles of sweet feed. Does that count?? http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

"...but now the gloves are coming off and it's going to get ghetto." Robby Johnson

terra

Feb. 14, 2004, 03:45 PM

Hmm, like Holly Jeanne I was told that no one would marry me could I not cook. Worse, a professor told me, when I started my PhD, that no one would marry an "overly" educated woman.

When I was 12, I thought that all ponies stood outside pharmacies while their tween owners read 16 magazine.

I also thought that a dropped-and-circling private part meant that everyone within 15 feet had to quickly move away as if a bomb were to explode. Still don't know from where that idea arose.

Roxy SM

Feb. 14, 2004, 04:44 PM

When I was 12 (4 yrs. ago) I leased my trainers horse Keynote. He was a 16.2hh bay w/ some face and leg markings Trakehner/Hanoverian 18 y/o gelding. He had that perfect hunter neck that never moved and was drop dead gorgeous. We showed in the Children's Hunters at the A's and won and placed quite often. When people see the pic of me showing him in the Children's Hunters at the Hampton Classic (jumping with his knees to his eyeballs) they always say stuff like, "What a hunk!" In August of that year I got my first horse Alaska who had been bought by my trainer from Canada. He was at the barn in June and I would go and watch my trainer jump him like 4'-4'6" and thought he was the greatest horse in the world. I never rode him and then he went to Florida because someone was leasing him and considering buying him. I was so upset when he left. Then in August my trainer decided he would be the perfect horse for me so she told the people we wanted him back. When she told me Alaska was mine I didn't believe her because I never imagined I would ever get such an awesome horse. I had for almost 3 yrs. (we had to put him down because of a tumor) and he took me from the Itty Bitty Jumpers to the Low Junior Jumpers, winning every step of the way.12 was definitely a good year for me!

*Roxy~Henry~Alaska~Kismet~Keynote*

Kryswyn

Feb. 14, 2004, 05:55 PM

When I was 12 I rode the neighbor's Foundation built buckskin QH daily. They had moved in the year before and had no time for him. I'd talked them into believing I knew what I was doing ("Well Mr Windecker, I've been riding since I was three and this past summer I attended Rawhide Ranch so I can ride Western AND English". OMG I can't believe he bought it!) and by the time I turned 12 I was taking complete care of Dusty and the shetland they'd gotten him as a companion (Hoover, named after the vacuum NOT the President! LOL). My 12th summer was the best as Dusty and I would go for hours on the trails by ourselves or with my taller friend on Hoover (somewhere there is a picture of Elise on Hoover and roller skates WOULD have been a good idea! http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif ) She kept getting bucked off him. About 15 years later we realized he couldn't have been more than 2 that summer! Oops - the things you can do when you don't know better and have no fear!

I never knew the Windeckers were planning to move, so I never knew they were planning to sell Dusty. Until I recieve Dusty for Christmas shortly after turning 13! ($350 horse for those keeping track http://chronicleforums.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif)

Ann Yohai of Old Mill Farm 'vetted' him for us as I started taking lessons there that fall. I was too naive to know what was going on. I really thought my parents just wanted to know what kind of horse Dusty was and what he could do... Ah to be 12 again - and have someone paying my bills! muhahahahahaha

~Kryswyn~
"Always look on the bright side of life, de doo, de doo de doo de doo"