She certainly never made it easy and in many ways she was the wrong type of horse for me. I thought I was a reasonably good rider, but really, I knew little after riding only school horses. Ever heard the saying “green + green = black and blue, ” well it holds true in our case!
I have come off this mare more times than I can count. She was a green TB X Clyde cross that I decided would be my next big hunter (you can laugh). She was tall, gangly, unbalanced and jumped inverted. She tried to kick me every time I put a wrap, polo or boot on her. She was frisky and bucked me off at every opportunity. She did not have leads. She was everything a hunter is not. She was also the best thing that could have happened to me. She taught me patience and perseverance. She taught me how to sit a buck. I learned that riding is not always easy. She taught me how to find a distance (because if I did not, she was not jumping!). She taught me that some horses just want to be a horse. I learned how to be a horsewoman. And that some judges just will not like us, but that does not mean that I rode badly or have a bad horse. And most of all she made me a better rider.
This mare became my Children’s Hunter on the A circuit and later my Ammie Owner Hunter. We made it to the National Hunter Derbies and EVEN placed with top riders.
But more importantly she taught me the joy of hacking and galloping through fields (even if she bucked me off a few times). We went on trail rides for Breast Cancer and even tried eventing. We rode into town, over bridges and past baseball fields. She allowed little kids to run over and see us. She gave my friend’s step-dad the joy of riding again after cancer and a stroke. We just had fun when I needed it most. She has never been easy, but she has also made me a better rider. She is my once in a lifetime horse.
Somehow we made it to the show ring and even looked good:
The important parts:
Have you ever had that special horse?