# Rider from birth or by choice??



## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

I was just wondering who was a horse rider from birth or early childhood and who made the choice later in life. Please share and I would love to see pictures of everyone's first horses (if you have pix).

I was a rider by birth. My Dad was a horse trainer so I was up on horses from the time that I was an infant. This is the earliest pic I could find. I was 5 months old.  (sorry, really crappy pic. 25 year old polariod)










Here is my first "horse" Olen. LOL (That's me on the right)









Then I graduated to my _real_ horse Buck (finally got some pix scanned).


















*Please share yours!!*


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## Jillyann (Mar 31, 2009)

I guess im kind of in the middle. I am a rider by choice, but thats only because my parents didnt have horses when i was growing up. But i knew it was in my blood the day i first rode.
I dont have picture from _that _far back, but i have this one...
This horse was the first horse i ever got bucked off of. and it was actually the day the picture was taken. I believe i was 9 or 10. This geldings name was Snap








Im the little girl hehe.

This was my first horse..








Dakota. She was AMAZING! here she was 20yrs. and She was a QHx
She was also the first horse i ever cantered on!  never forget that day.

I dont have any other pictures of back in the day. otherwise i would share them!


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Very cool. Dakota is gorgeous especially for 20 year old (in her case maybe it should be 20 years young, huh?). It is amazing how quickly after you start riding that you find a horse willing to buck you off. LOL. Olen was the first to ever buck me off. Right in the middle of a gravel road too, though not very far to fall.


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## Jillyann (Mar 31, 2009)

Yes, you could definitely say that Dakota was 20 years young! She still had fire in her too. She was an awesome English pleasure horse. As well as western pleasure. In the picture of me and the appy, Snap, you can see how small i was and how tall he was. (not sure of his HH) but it was a nice fall right into a pricker bush! OUCH!! He go bit by a horse fly right on his rear end. Go figure! lol

That gravel road must have hurt bad!! =(


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

No not really. Olen only stands about 34 inches tall so it was just a short fall.


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## Jillyann (Mar 31, 2009)

OH WOW! hahah. You could have stepped off him. LOL I bet he was cute!


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## Qtswede (Apr 16, 2009)

I was/am from birth ... though mom & dad were not really big on taking tons of pics unless it was a vacation or holiday, so not much in the lines of very early pics... My first horse that I rode alone though, was an older Appaloosa named Cochise. Pic was taken around 1982 I was nearly 4 in this pic- when a family member came up from Texas for a baptism.








After that, Cochise came down with some illness and in 1985, I got a horse more my size - Princess was a shetland/welsh mix that hated everyone but me, and sucked blueberries off the branch, and chapstick out of the tube. LOL. Looking for a pic of her.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

Aw, Cochise is adorable. You look like you were made to sit up there.


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## Qtswede (Apr 16, 2009)

Thank you! He was a doll. Only appy I ever _really_ loved. Because of him, I have a real soft spot for black leopards..Have been looking for one like him ever since too Lol!


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## IheartPheobe (Feb 15, 2009)

Choice.. ridden since I was seven. =] 
Sadly, I have no pics.
xD


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## BackInTheSaddleAgain (Apr 20, 2009)

By choice once I started High School. My parents had nothing to do with horses other that attending a couple of my shows.


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## MIEventer (Feb 15, 2009)

I have pictures, lots of pictures - but they are all in my parents photo albulm back home.

I was a rider by choice. The story is that when I was a wee one, we were camping. Some young ladies had horses at the camp site and I guess they let me sit on one of their horses. My Mom said I was hooked since that day. My first word was horse. Mom and Dad would tell me that whenever they drove past farms or pastures with horses in them, I would point and attempt to say horse in my own form of babble.

Then I got older, and older - and wanted a horse. I wanted a horse so bad, but my parents wouldn't allow me to. They compensated my passion for horses with My Little Ponies *The origionals* and all the Barbie Horses - Midnight, Dallas....and of course the Cabbage Patch Kids Ponies. 

Then in grade 4, I remember my Birthday - my Grandma had a big surprise for me after schoo.. OOOOH all day I thought for sure I was going to go home and find a pony in the yard........unrealistic - instead, my Grandma drove me out to a friend of hers, who gave riding lessons. 

I knew nothing about anything, heck I didn't even know I was riding English for pete's sake - I just knew I was on a horse!

I still wanted my own horse. Boy was I horse crazy! My parents did whatever they could to distract me from wanting a horse - Guitar Lessons. Ballet. Tap Dancing. Baton Twirling. Bowling. 

Then I entered High School - and it was all High School Sports - Soccer, Field Hockey, Basketball, Volleyball - - - - but I still loved horses. 

They wouldn't pay for anything to do with horses, so I had to do it all on my own. I joined Pony Club, took lessons, compeated all by myself. I had to find my own means to ride and compete - by then, my parents gave up and started to work with me, instead of against me. lol.

I wish I were born into a family who had as much passion for Eventing as I did and do, think of where I'd be now.


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## Iluvjunior (Feb 15, 2009)

My family all hates horses i've loved horses for as long as i can remember in a photo album theres a pic of me as a 1 year old in my dads arms reaching out to touch a horse my mom blames him lol! my parents have only seen me ride about 3 times all together so its just me


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## Whipple (Feb 2, 2009)

I am a rider by choice, but I find my story very similiar to MIEventers. I have loved horses for as long as I can remember. My dad told me he had horses growing up but since we lived in the city I never did have my own. I didn't even think to ask. I had a multitude of other animals, and my first dog that I paid for at 11. So i was distracted. But I still had the barbie horses.
My ex had a few horses and once in awhile we would visit them. At that point I knew what I had been missing. I ended up having to go two years without riding at all. Then finally a friend took me trail riding. And that led to now. I'm hooked. Wild horses couldn't......just sec. They so could. Hehe.


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

Definitely by birth:

Me and Mom on the horse that would later become my best friend and 4-H horse:











Gramps got me a pony but realized ponies weren't for me:











So he moved me right up to Duke the first horse I was ever on:











Gramps didn't let us ride in saddles. His father had taught him to ride bareback and it made him one of the best riders I've ever seen still to this day. So he taught us that way. For 4-H practice and shows he'd put the saddle on and work with us on how to sit correctly but it was always bareback. I'm glad he did, sure created excellent balance.

I even did all my medieval swordfighting on horseback, bareback:


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## Whipple (Feb 2, 2009)

I love that medieval pic! I want to leanr bareback, but I don't really have a choice. When I get my own horse, I plan on riding bareback most of the time.


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

I'm biased, but there seems to be more of a connection with the horse when you ride bareback then with a saddle. Although someone that has mostly ridden in saddles may differ in that opinion. It's really the best form of riding.


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

That is so true. I first started riding by myself bareback when I was about 7 but my parents wouldn't let me off the property like that until I was a teenager. When I was in high school, I rode more bareback than I did with a saddle and had wonderful balance. Now most of that has gone away from not doing it every day and now my butt is so round that I have trouble sitting the trot bareback without hanging on to the mane. I love the feel bareback because you can feel even the slightest twitch of a muscle that you would completely miss in a saddle.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

I grew up in a city and my mother hated horses (still does). My father's family were all horsepeople and every chance I got to visit my grandmother and be around horses, I did. When I was finally of driving age, it became easier to get to anyplace that I could ride. 

It wasn't until I was married and had children that I could buy my first horse. That was in ~1982 I think. I've been with horses ever since. Although I bought ponies for my kids, no one, wife included, ever took to them. (There was a time about 5 years ago that I sold my horses but that only lasted about 2 years - I missed them way too much.)

Although I was trained English, I switched to Western ~20 years ago - I've always been a cowboy at heart.


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## Qtswede (Apr 16, 2009)

yeah, I think most of the people I know that rode since they were very small rode bareback first... Mom really only put me on a saddle when company was over - mostly because we would double up sometimes, and the older kids/adults that rode with me didnt know how... I didn't know how to tie a lariat until I was 12. Most of my horses as a kid were ridden with bail twine tied to their halters as well.... ah, the good old days


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

LOL! Yep, I used bailing twine as reins a lot! That does bring back memories!


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## Maizie (Jun 21, 2009)

i was put on a pony at 3 but had to stop riding because my dad fell out with the owner  but i got to go riding again when i was 11 i have been riding for four years solid now the bay is bracken she was my first pony but i out grew her  and the piebald is maizie my little (well big) superstar i love her to bits and cant wait to do some fancy dress shows on her!


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## rottenweiler (Apr 16, 2009)

I'd say rider by 'choice' since I wasn't raised around horses. I don't remember what got my started on asking for a 'pony' for christmas every year but in middle school I met a teacher that had horses and did lessons. I got a pt weekend job cleaning stalls and turning the horses in and out, started taking lessons with her, and the rest is history. I moved from working at that barn to taking lessons at another barn, followed my riding instructor to a different barn...I didn't get my OWN horse until I moved to florida and it was just 'one of those things' I owned her for less than a year. One day maybe I'll own another one, but right now I have a couple horses to ride for free. I wonder if I can find a picture of MY horse?


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## rottenweiler (Apr 16, 2009)

I forget how to load pictures on here, lets see if this works


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## rottenweiler (Apr 16, 2009)

Oh yeah, there ya go. That is 'Princess', my "friend" bought her at auction as a project then didn't have the time to work with her. She offered her to me for $600 with free board at her barn. Then one day got mad at my husband for him not helping her with something and told me to get my horse off her property. I couldn't afford board and all that plus have time to ride so I ended up giving her away to a good home.


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## Deej (May 5, 2009)

My first ride was on a rented horse with my older brother. I cried. But I loved it. I was 4. I later started riding at the local rent to ride stable. The first horse I cantered was a paint horse named "SPLASH". He was awsome and really planted the seed. I was 8. I got my first horse at age 11. A great horse named "DIABLO". I have had a handful of good horses since then. I now ride a beautiful Peruvian Horse who is due to foal in late July." Esperanza " is my heart and soul and I look forward to many years of trails on her.


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## Gillian (Aug 2, 2008)

Definitely by choice. There isn't one single horse person in my family, ha ha. I always loved horses. When I was six I started english lessons, always, always wanted a horse. Continued just doing lessons until I was fifteen. Leased my first horse. My neighbor's QH Star. Leased him for a year before moving on. Was leasing to buy my old horse Bo. He sadly passed away at the young age of six. We were close and it was SO hard to move on. After that I leased an OTTB named Mikey. Leased him for about a year. And than I didn't ride for a year! Crazy, I know! But now I have Zeus. And I'm so glad that I didn't get a horse when I was younger or I may have never found him! I've been lucky though, my parents have always been very supporting and have done what they could afford to do for me and my love for horses.


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## myQHpaul (Jun 25, 2009)

horse back rider by birth. my parents bought me a child's saddle when i was very young and i remember trying to get it on our goat but he was very uncooperative. i finally got the courage to ask our neighbors if i could ride their horses. i started out on the pony and worked my way up to the 30 year old mare. rode in college (tried english for the first time), and then stalled out for about 10 years to get married, buy a house, own 2 labs, and now i'm back in the game with my own horse.


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## Horse Mom (Jun 16, 2009)

I am a rider by choice. I have always loved horses but didn't start riding until I was 16 and didn't buy my own until I was 20. His name is Saber. ( I cant figure out how to put a pic on here)


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

Great pictures. 

I fell asleep on a Clydesdale when I was two. That's where it all started. lol I guess I'm a rider from birth.


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## ChingazMyBoy (Apr 16, 2009)

I was a random when it came to riding. The only riders in my family is my Aunty and poppy. So hence I was sorta like...... got dragged into sailing with the rest of my family when I was brand new. I got my first boat with my sister when I was 5. Didn't Like It Much.

My aunty has a little Welsh Mountain Pony. Who is completly adorable I started riding him with my aunty by just sitting on him with her I would have been around 3 years old. Then when I was 6 I started riding Minty by myself. When I was 11 I started riding my Aunties phsyco arab. Bananco. He is really fun to canter on and I would ride him EVERY holidays before I got Chinga! I started having lessons when I was 7. Now I have my amazing horse Chinga.


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## 3neighs (Jul 15, 2008)

What a great thread and I LOVE the pictures! I was born on a horse. I have a zillion pictures all that require scanning, but I will scan some and get them on here. Smrobs, I have a similar picture as you have sitting in front of your dad as an infant. My dad used to help his dad log with horses and my mom always loved horses, but was never allowed to have one as a child. She was in her 30's before she got her own horse.

Unfortunately, none of my own girls inherited the horse nut gene from me :-( which is why I recently sold their pony. 

Bill, I want to see a picture of your english riding days. :wink:


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## TwendeHaraka (Oct 5, 2008)

I guess I'm sort of in the middle. My mom had horses when I was younger, but I hated them at that point. Once her mare and pony both died, we got race horses, and I'm pretty certain that's where I fell in love.


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