I’ve not been on COTH for quite some time , I have been riding and taking care of horses my whole
life ,I never had children , Foxhunted many years , have dappled in every discipline , about 6 yrs ago I lost ALL interest and motivation , pretty much burned out from all
the work, too many animals tying me down and I do all
the work , well fast forward to
this May and it all came back and now I’m
riding again . I think I want to do some HJ lessons and show some! Am I too old😱
WHO ON HERE does this at age 64!?
Well age 63, is that OK? I still have 2 horses at home and do all my own work. I originally set my barn up to be very efficient, so the work isn’t that bad. I just seem to drag once it gets cold and snowy. I am NOT looking forward to winter. DH and I bought a nice Kubota w/ cab and snow blower a few years ago, so snow removal is not really the issue. I’m just not a snow person, I guess. Yet, for some reason I live in the land of 6+ months snow. If the work of having animals ties you down and burns you out, could you be happy with just one horse that you board (or even lease)?
I jumped in my younger days, but have long since given that up since I ride alone and mostly when there is nobody here. I just dabble in dressage these days, which is fine. I’ve always loved dressage too. I have a nice indoor to ride in, but it does get harder to get motivated in the cold the older I get; I won’t lie. Love my saintly 24 year old who is still very happy to go to work (and behave himself for me.)
If you are enjoying it, heck no, you’re not too old. If you really want to still jump, stay safe, don’t do it without a skilled and responsible person present on the ground and a saintly horse under you. Show if it brings you joy but don’t feel compelled to do it just because others expect it. We’re old enough, we don’t have to prove anything to anybody, including ourselves.
Do what is fun and enjoy the ride.
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I’ll be 64 in a few months and am still jumping. I don’t keep horses at home, but still manage to be at the barn most days despite my horse being in modified full training. We have wonderful trainers and a great group of amateur riders. I have been doing the AA hunters and some adult eq. Our show season ended in May when my horse stepped on a rock and sustained a medley of damage in his foot. But we started back jumping last week and there’s always next year.
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Turning 64 in January. I just took on a project-a 12yr old German Riding Pony with a few training issues. I keep her at an indoor so I can ride all year. At home DH and I have 2 quarter horses and my old Arabian mare. DH is 72 and does cutting. So we may have slowed down, but we’re not done yet. 
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I am 63. Still riding and showing.
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65 and own my own farm and have a top 3’6 hunter and retired horses. Ride almost every day, have a top trainer and show only at the AA shows! Always have my eye out for another one. I am probably more fit than alot of people 1/2 my age. Age is just a number. Don’t get hung up on it. Take inspiration form the wonderful Betty Oare, who wins alot and just won a big class at Harrisburg. Some of us will ride until we drop,LOL!!!
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72 here. Rode as a kid, gave it up for a few years during college and when getting my career on track. Became an owner in my late 20’s. Have owned ever since. Showed hunter through my late 40’s (local shows, never higher than 3’). I was never really a good rider (no natural talent) but I tried.
No jumping now, except for a couple of occasional cross-rails, just for fun. The falls get too tough at my age.
Own a sweet, safe cob-type Irish sport horse (see my avatar pic). Board him at a great barn, and ride five days per week, just for pleasure. I love being around horses, and probably get as much fun out of grooming and caring for my horse as I do riding him.
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67 and just moved my new horse to first flight. As concession to age and joint replacement (3) I wear a safety vest when I jump. Other than that --I do what I want to. I have my own farm and do the work with the help of one hard working teen-age girl who works for $ not for “ride time.” That never worked for me. She rides now and then to exercise horses, but I pay her.
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I turn 73 today and am still riding! I bought my first horse on my 15th birthday and never looked back. I’ve hunted, evented, done the jumpers and also dressage I have made the move to the dark side and ride western, mostly due to my arthritic hands
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67 here. Have my own farm with two riding horses and two retired. I don’t show much anymore – what little competitive spirit remains in me does not outweigh the costs in money, time, and stress on me and the horses.
I still jump, max 2’ at home, because I ride alone and any higher creeps me out a bit. I should add that I have two wonderful WB geldings that I picked specifically for their job of being good polite boys and they are very very good at that. I adore them both, and they know it. I haul to lessons and my trainers are as wonderful as my horses. Would love to do a show or two at 2’6" but I try to avoid a lot of pushing that I will just have to or want to back off from.
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64 in a couple of months. Sold my farm 11 years ago and moved to the city. Board my 2 horses at a lovely facility. Still jump, although not terribly well. Showed once this summer and had a great time. Will do so as long as I possibly can. No health issues to speak of and love it!!!
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'Been there done that. I have had my farm for 38 years. Showed jumpers, hunters, fox hunted and later switched to dressage and showed successfully on the provincial circuit. I backed a few horses, retrained OTTBs and other youngsters. I had great schoolmasters and gave regular lessons.
Fast forward, five years ago my world fell apart. I tried desperately to re-invent myself. Went through a depression but recently got a second wind. I am back to training one of my current horses on a regular basis. Working on my hip pain with exercise and stretching sessions. I am down to 4 horses one of which is a boarder. I do all the work with the horses and around the farm. Enjoy riding that tractor again and plan on getting a new chainsaw.
I will be 75 in December.
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Read Denny Emerson’s (Tamarack Hill Farm) facebook page on this subject. I forward it whenever I see it. I believe he is substantially older that what you are currently worried about.
I’m turning 60 in a couple months. Scary.
We moved away from civilization 12 years ago. Live on a 160 acre farm, horses are “easy care”, live outdoors. I don’t ride much in the winter, horses are furry and everything is frozen at -25C. We make and sell hay, and I can ride whenever I want during non winter months. I have over 50 years of riding and training and caring for horses, both as hunter/jumper show horses and racehorses. I have never ridden full time with a coach, but take coaching when I can, from a variety of coaches. I have always kept my horses at home, and done full care. We are “semi retired ranchers”, and we work fairly hard at this (LOL) during the haying season, and on property upkeep the rest of the time, and cross country ski in winter. We are currently doing some fencing, and I burned 8 burn piles yesterday. Hubby has just taken up mountain bike riding. Horse shows are a bit of a drive to get to, but that’s OK, my truck runs cheap. I’ve always been a jumper rider, and up until recently, that is where I have been showing, when I show. I don’t horse show like I used to decades ago, when I never missed any of the local A circuit shows, and competed in the larger jumper divisions. Recently, I’ve played in the 3’ to 3’6" divisions, and enjoyed the occasional 3 Bar class, and Gambler’s Choice. My little mare packs my old bones over 5’ in the 3 Bar classes like a trooper. But she is retired now. I ride alone at home.
What I have now, apparently, is a hunter. He’s lovely, but has been a bit difficult to get “broke”, and reasonably reliable. But he just did his first actual horse show last month. And he was excellent. So I am now looking at being a Fossilized Amateur Hunter rider. I’ve done a few local hunter classes in past years, but not actually with a horse who truly IS a hunter, and ONLY a hunter- just getting show mileage on green jumpers. This one is more than this, he’s the real thing. So I am looking at actually showing at decent shows in the hunter divisions in hunterland with this one next year. Scary. Everything I have is “out of style”, but I am hoping to get away with it because I am old. You can do that when you are old, right?
Yes, you can do it, as long as you are functional enough. What you have OVER the younger riders is “experience”. You have jumped more jumps than they have, you have ridden more horses over the decades than they have. You have been in more sticky equine situations than they have, and have survived. You have experience, which is an advantage that they won’t have for several more decades. You go, girl!
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62 and I’m riding more now than I have in years - primarily because I now board rather than own my own little farm, which has freed up a remarkable amount of time. I can’t wait to retire and have even more free time to ride.
I’m not nearly as brave as I once was and no longer push the envelope like I once did, but I’m still having fun.
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69 :eek: Wondering howtheheck that happened…
Mentally 20-something 
Widowed 17yrs, horses at home for 15.
Current herd of 3:
*TWH I ride Dressage irregularly - trainer comes to me, 2X month until lately, when budget has that cancelled for the next few months 
He won his first Intro a couple years ago & is going well at 1st level.
Mostly I ride for the Zen, not competition.
*Hackney pony companion I play at ground-driving. He is useless, but entertains me & is minion to the Walker.
*Mini I gifted to myself at age 66 & we both learned to drive. We’ve had success showing locally at Fair & have 1 ADS show & a CT under our belts.
Just got back from 4 days at The National Drive.
I take care of the farmette (5ac) myself & until last year did the mowing. Now I gladly pay for the lawns & a helpful neighbor bushhogs, hays & plows snow for me.
Besides the horses, I have chickens & pond fish.
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I
have a lesson scheduled tomorrow out of town , in the mean time I’m getting invited to ride at a local trainers and DQ ‘s dressage ring , she instructs me at no charge but I can’t be honest w her and tell her I don’t like dressage lessons 😳 I told her I rode in my CC saddle for the first time in years and realized how much I missed it. I felt much closer to my horse than those bulky expensive dressage saddles and comfy AP. ( I didn’t say that to her) I think I rode better too.
she made the comment I can ride in it to
jump and get me a nice dressage saddle😱
Im’ hitting this age group as well. Don’t want to give it up as I too am one that just loves being around horses - as much pleasure with them on the ground as riding them or watching them go. It’s easy for me to spend hours at the barn so its no wonder when I get home it’s too late to do any housework.
Like several on here - started riding young, took lessons on/off as a kid but after I started working I decided to get back into it got into lessons than landed an incredible lease deal which lead to another ridiculously fabulous lease deal and that’s when I started showing. Did some rated shows but was mostly the queen of the local AA circuit - it was the horse, certainly not me a her co-pilot. That horse and trainer taught me so much and I’m probably more passionate about horses because of that experience. My current horse is a lovely Irish Sport horse, we’re both in the AARP bracket, so I’m beginning to start a search for a Hony. I’m seeing that more and more folks our age - rather than giving up riding - are giving up the 16+ hand and opting for HONYs. I see the stories of the 70 y/o on their winning Haflinger, ladies have fun on Fjords and now I want that 15 hand sparkplug saint of an “all arounder:”
I think it’s fabulous there are many who are unwilling or not ready to give up this passion we have and I think we’re a force to be reckoned with. I love hearing/reading about the accomplishments of some of our senior equestrians - small or big they’re doing what we love. Awhile back my trainer was going to an horse show association meeting where one of the big topics was “adults on ponies”. I said absolutely - don’t restrict it to just kids - knowing how many of my peers are wanting that large pony or HONY (a HONY division would be nice)
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I am 65 and have 3 horses at home, one 8, one 23, and one 33. The 33 yo is retired, but still sound, but the other two are still ridden.
I have had a couple of “eventful” years health wise: 6 cracked ribs in 2018 and brain surgery (benign, all removed, but has left me needing more sleep) in 2109. So I was not riding as much. But in 2107 (when I was 63) I was competing both the younger ones in Eventing (up to Novice) and hunter/jumper (up to 3’).
I am hoping/planning to get back into riding more regularly, and competing (up to Training Eventing), in 2020
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Ditto, but I’m just 60 and do 3 day eventing. Never took a break, no kids, owned consistently since age 23 until now. Have 2 and adding a third possibly.
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Psssst!
Ride in what you & horse are comfortable in.
If DQ has one of those Dressage saddles blocked to high heaven (knee, thigh, Uber-deep seat) & that fits her horse, you may have to learn to live with it if you want to continue the free lessons.
Ask to try using your preferred saddle & if she agrees & fit suits her horse, have at it!
FWIW: all that blocking is not a requisite for a saddle you can ride Dressage in.
My own semi-custom Stubben Maestoso has no thigh block, a mere pencil roll at the knee & while deeper than a CC, it is not a bathtub.
I rode in a clinic with an O Judge (Goetz Weber-Stephen)in my Stubben Parzival AP.
While he suggested a more traditional Dressage saddle, he had no problem teaching me in the AP.
My budget - then & now - did not allow for multiple saddles.
BTW: I showed Hunter in that saddle & did very well. Champions, Reserves & EOY award.
Still have it & would still use it.
Maestoso was purchased for the WB it did.not.fit - after being used on 5 other horses: Hunters, Eventing, Dressage & trails.
