Saturday, March 30, 2013

From the Beginning

I've never written out my riding journey from the beginning - in fact, I haven't even really thought about it before. Now is as good a time as ever, I suppose! 

Well, I guess I should start from the way beginning. Horseback riding is in my veins, there's no question about it. My great aunt has been riding all her life. She and my grandfather grew up in CA back in the mid-1940s. I pretty much grew up on their stories of riding through the CA countryside. My great aunt continued riding as a teenager, and went to boarding school at Madeira, which is right by my house. She even rode in the WIHS, I believe. Another lady on my grandfather's side lives out in WA, and has a horse farm. She has a couple Arabians, and does jumping.

My relative Robin's (I have no clue how we're related, but I love her to death so hopefully that makes up for it) daughter also grew up in Great Falls and kept her horse at Madeira. I pretty much grew up on those stories as well. My mom rode for three years as a preteen, but stopped when her friend did. 

First pony ride as a two year old
Naturally, as a little girl I dreamed of having a pony. I took my first pony ride when I was two at a family reunion. I was totally hooked and threw a huge tantrum when I had to get off. Considering I was two, I have no recollection of this other than photographic evidence. Apparently I didn't talk much about wanting to ride horses ever after that, but I always loved pony rides and the carousel. 

I first started riding in second grade, so 2005-2006. My mom had signed me up for a months' worth of lessons at a barn near our house on a whim one day. After the first lesson, I was basically addicted. Except for one small detail - the fact that I was terrified of horses. I can laugh at this now, but at the time it was legit. I kid you not, I was totally scared of horses. I mean, I still rode, but my progress was minimal, and I was petrified of them on the ground. In any case, I continued lessons after the one month was up. I had the most amazing instructor ever, Miss Sarah. I have no clue how she put up with me, but I'm so beyond blessed that she did, or I wouldn't be here today. Our story is a funny one, because she actually almost adopted Gambler from the rescue when he was a yearling. She ended up getting a filly instead, but I think it's a really interesting twist of fate. We're still in on and off contact, which is super awesome. 

So, obviously I continued lessons or I wouldn't be writing this blog today. :D For some strange reason, I stuck to it. I started my lessons off on this fiesty little mare named Cinnamon. She was young and slightly weird, but I liked riding her. I also occasionally rode Miss Sarah's big TB, Guy. Just walking over poles and such, and trotting on the lunge line. Miss Sarah's rule was that I couldn't trot off the lunge line unless I could trot on the lunge line without hands! It scared the living crap out of me. But somehow, I did it, one day in March. I then started doing some teeny jumps, but they were probably like six inches. xD 

Miss Sarah got married and pregnant I guess in the middle of my third grade year. I think, I may be a full year ahead of schedule. :D I did a camp with her that summer, and it was a blast. By this point, we had a new mare named Harmony. She was the cutest little appaloosa mare ever. I rode her a lot, because at this point I suppose I had outgrown Cinnamon. Unfortunately, the same summer I did camp, Miss Sarah stopped teaching because of her pregnancy. 

I was crushed. I'm sure she thought I was just this nooby little girl who had no place in the saddle, but honestly, I idolized her. I aspired to "ride like Miss Sarah". I wanted to grow up and "teach riding like Miss Sarah". She was great. And so patient with me! 

After that, I had a couple of different riding instructors. First was Kathleen - talkative and annoying. I fell off of Harmony my first lesson with her, and I was terrified. I wouldn't go in that corner of the ring, nothing. It totally set my riding back. After her, I had Amanda, who I really liked. By this point, we had a new barn manager and a bunch of new horses. Guy had gone to his new leaser near where Miss Sarah had moved to, and we'd always had a bunch of empty stalls. Dylan, Max, Dante and Song are the horses I remember. There had been some boarders for a while, including horses named Connie and Chico. Dang, I have a good memory! 

Anyhow, I started taking group lessons with Amanda. At this point, we're about halfway through my fourth grade year. My whole family had moved and I was no longer homeschooled. We were living in a small apartment and eventually the drive became too much, so I stopped riding towards the end of my fourth grade year. 

I didn't ride again until the end of fifth grade, so the beginning of 2010. Starting in September of 2009, I had a chronic headache, which lasted until that March. We attributed it to Lymes Disease.

My second summer at WPS, riding Hydi
I started riding again in March 2010 at a barn in Maryland. The first couple of months, I hated it. With a burning passion. I was in a class way too easy for me, and I remember coming home after my first lesson crying because I had been on a really old horse. After a couple of months, I moved to a different class and was way happier. I took lessons throughout the summer and advanced a ton. When I first started, I hardly knew how to canter, but I had a different teacher that summer, and got cantering down to a T. I continued riding through my sixth grade year, and got more involved at the barn. 

Starting that spring, I started staying after my lessons to help with barn chores and the other lessons. I quickly became friends with the stable hands - who were teenagers - and had a blast. A few other girls from my class started staying as well. My favorite part of all was feeding the horses, probably even more then the times I would get extra rides in the classes if they weren't full.


Hunter, the horse that changed everything
Seventh grade year was hell for me. I moved schools, and had a bunch of crap going on outside of school. The barn was my safe haven. December of 2011, I met the horse that turned my life around. Unfortunately, I only got to ride him temporarily. In a 12-year-old cloud of red anger, I lashed out and ended up screwing up my relationships with most of the people at the barn. 

The school I was at for seventh grade required we do a two week internship in February, so I chose Eagle Hill. I spent most of my two weeks picking stalls, feeding and observing training, but got to ride the last two days. I formed a great relationship with the owner of the farm, and went out there occasionally over the summer. 

Things at the lesson barn I was at continued to go downhill, however. I had been planning on switching barns anyway, because I was being majorly held back by only being allowed to do flat work. I did a two week summer camp at the barn after seventh grade, and then ended up switching barns. 
Riding Elvis in Iowa... he was a tad excited about the barrels!

There were a few weeks between after I left Wheaton and started riding at Rock Creek. I actually went out to Iowa to spend a week with my best friend. She has a bunch of horses, but rides Western. It was a totally new ball game for me, but super awesome. I not only was able to then apply my Western riding to some of the horses at the rescue, but also learned a lot about backyard horse ownership. 
One of my first lessons at Rock Creek

After I got back from Iowa, I started riding at Rock Creek. I had super rocking flat work at this point, but was way behind on jumping. For the remaining month of the summer, I took private lessons twice a week to get caught up on jumping. 


In the fall, my riding really took off. I started taking group lessons at Rock Creek, and going to the horse rescue every Saturday. I hung out at the barn every Friday afternoon for a few hours before my lesson, and until closing. Group lessons really made me face my fear of jumping and kick it to the curb. At the rescue, things were awesome. I met the guy who I can pretty much attribute everything about horse training I know to, and I also met Garfunkel who I started working with.


Odessa, one of my favorite mares of all time







I was in horsey heaven at this point! I started riding and doing training at Eagle Hill, and continued to advance at Rock Creek. I made forever friends at both farms, all of whom I still hold dear to my heart.




Minutes after buying Gambler 



I bought Garfunkel in May of 2012, so stopped riding at Rock Creek. I first took him to a little barn at a ladies house, where he was until July. I spent this time rehabbing him and getting him ready to start under saddle work. He got a suspensory injury the last week of June, so I moved him down to King George for two months. Stall rest for one, and then riding training the next. It was so awesome to train my own horse! 

September 2nd, I moved Gambler to the barn I am at now. It has provided me with many amazing riding opportunities, such as exercising horses for my barn owner, who rides Prix St. George dressage. 
And here we are today! Er, well, a few weeks ago! :3 





And, well, that's my story! 

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