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I used to ride. Started riding lessons as a child and rode into adulthood. When I graduated high school I bought myself an APHA gelding. He was a black tobiano. I had him for years and then had to re-home him after my oldest daughter was born. I haven't ridden since. I still miss him and hope one day to be able to ride again.

@Wingedeagle hopefully! @efalater oh no!

It takes no more skill to ride the big horses than the ponies and anyone who has been around both will tell you the ponies are far more onery.

I ride! I started in 2009 and in 2015 after graduating from high school, I went to college and got my associates degree in Equine Studies with a Riding Instruction focus and also got Equine Massage Therapy certified! I currently own an almost 21 year old leopard Appaloosa mare named Angel (she has a facebook page if you wanna check her out! Angel The Appaloosa). These are photos from this past October at the American Horseman Challenge Association Nationals Competition! I am really hoping to qualify again this year if I can afford it (which I already know I can't but I am gonna try). This is gonna be Angel's last heavily competitive year before I semi-retire her to just leisure/trail riding and small local practice shows once a month in the summers. I really do hope we can do it again but we will need approximately 4-5 thousand dollars (total for summer qualifying shows and Nationals) to make it work :(

I love reading all of these and 100% agreed that ponies can be way more difficult and ornery than full sized horses sometimes!

I started riding when I was 6 or 7 and showed Arabs all through highschool, but sadly had to sell my horse when I went to college. In college I joined the polo team and upon graduating fell back into my roots and leased two different Arabs, but honestly that type of showing just wasn't as much fun to me anymore.

I just recently moved out to Utah and started taking reining lessons which has been a ton of fun for me and I'm really enjoying learning a new style of riding. I'm hoping to lease and potentially show again this summer! :)

I grew up with horses, but I moved to a city about the same time I became a mom, and just never got back in the saddle.

I love reading these stories!

I started riding with a sweet neighbor lady when I was about 15, and got my first “barn rat” position when I was 18. Kind of bounced around a little bit after that, even dabbled in Arabs. But since I didn’t really grow up in it, or have “formal” lessons, I eventually made the decision to go ahead and get my Associates degree in Equine Science; luckily the community college had one of the best 2-year programs in North Texas at the time. This allowed me to make connections, figure out what I didn’t know, and get a little bit of experience in the show pen. I worked throughout: did Appaloosas for about 6 months, went back to Arabs for a little while, and then eventually landed working for one of my professors and her husband in reining. I spent about 3 years loping for them, while also working for a Western Pleasure trainer with Paints. I’ve made it out to a few local shows on horses I’ve done the majority of the work on, and it didn’t end in catastrophe so I am pleased. I now have recently switched over to full time with the Paint trainer and the plan is to work out a show lease on one of his horses so that I can get back into the show pen again.

My two main projects are:
Cupcake, a little bay mare with puppy-dog personality on the ground and “I don’t need your opinion” mood in the saddle. She has an extended trot that is just perfect for the ranch riding. I am close with her because she’s the first one that I’ve done most of the work on.

Wyatt, a big black and white tobiano that was so quirky he had to be sent off to a cowhorse trainer to get some wet saddle blankets for the first couple months under saddle. He’s still quirky, but after riding him for the past year-ish, he’s my good one. He could really go either way, extend everything and do the ranch stuff, or let him stay slow and do the western pleasure.

And of course there’s a couple two year olds and a pair of threes right now.

I have been riding since I was about nine or ten. I currently ride a bay ottb gelding named Wesson at a lesson barn, doing hunter jumpers and dressage. I also ride a poa gelding occasionally and an Arabian gelding, but I only ride once a week.

Thoroughbreds are my favorite breed, too.

I used to ride a lot when I was younger. Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity in years due to not having space for a horse where we live right now and not knowing anyone with horses. Hopefully one day...

I used to ride and miss it a lot. When I visit my sibling Fireflake maybe I can ride their horse.