Horse chose!
2 Likes
Started riding at a summer camp which taught English, basic H/J stuff. Then worked to ride for many years at a local barn which pretty much only had English tack, although all we did was trail ride most of the time. By the time I was an adult and could pay for lessons, I signed on at a place where I already knew some people, and over time it morphed into more an eventing barn. So although I don’t actually show I consider myself eventer-ish :lol: Probably if either of my first two places had been Western, I may have ended up going that direction, but it seems weird to think about.
That bolded ought to be someone’s signature.:lol:
That was the same for everyone I knew, but we all knew that those vegetables were the absolutely necessary basics of good nutrition, so we learned dressage without complaining.
Dressage is sure interesting in itself, but hard to compare when it comes to how more exciting jumping is.
Just ask the horses, most will also vote jumping being more fun.
You ought to try getting together with a race horse trainer and galloping a few at the farm, see how you like it.
This is an interesting thread for me because I started riding at a hunter-jumper barn because that’s the most common discipline in my area. I love watching eventing and showjumping more than anything in the world but I’m starting to wonder if dressage is a better fit for my personality and also my physical limitations. I haven’t made the switch yet, though.
I originally learned to ride in 1958-69 when a few of us did a Girl Scout badge at Mrs. Cadley’s in Milford CT. We did hunt seat as I recall although we did flatwork and just a few jumps. I rode a big chestnut gelding called Cardinal Richlieu or Richie. I actually found a picture of us when we closed up my mom’s house several years ago.
I did trail ride a bit during the summer in high school. But I always loved horses and got back into it when I volunteered at a therapeutic riding program near my home in Maine in 1999. I was never good enough to consider myself a re-rider. But I definitely got hooked and started riding at that barn and bought my own horse, who I still have, in 2001. If you ask me what discipline I’ll say dressage because we did ride Intro tests at a few shows as well as equitation classes at fun shows, even a few Red Hat classes for riders over 50. But I concentrated on Centered Riding lessons thanks to the CR-certified BO and gave up cantering a long time ago.
The love of my life is my Paint gelding Speckles. We are 92 and in 4 years we will do our Century Ride – I hope.! The vet pronounced him in the best shape ever this year. I still ride 6 days a week, including weekdays before work. I am fortunate to be at a facility in southern Maine with ample indoor and outdoor arenas and a hayfield with a track around it and some little trails that wander off into the woods. I think I’m the oldest rider at our barn. I’ve adjusted my priorities over the years and I value every day we have together even if we are just pony-riding around the indoor when it rains.
1 Like
I started out Western in the 1960"s (only type available in my area then). Saddles had to be put on for me & since I ONLY liked BIG horses always had to get a “leg up” to mount. Being VERY independent this was not for me!! So my Mother next set me up with a Instructor riding Saddlebreds - HORRID - enjoyed even less than Western. Then I found Huntseat & everything “clicked”. To this day I still prefer huntseat, but do ride some dressage. Fortunately my “Rescue” horse Charlotte is multi-talented. My suggestion is just keep trying the different disciplines until one “clicks”. Personally I feel the right horse is more likely to help with your decision than anything else.
My first horse was “just a horse”, but boarded at a saddle seat barn, so naturally I gravitated that direction. I’ve jumped, taken lessons jumping and hunt seat. I love to jump. But the hunter princess thing, not so much. I will say I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie and I like a hot horse. So saddle seat works for me. Had I been around eventing I probably would have loved that- at least the cross country phase. Definitely not dressage- too much drill, not enough thrill. I was never big on trail riding either except for a change of scenery for my show horse. Never did much Western- remember…I like a hot horse! But I do think I could like cutting- watching a good cutting horse gives me chills.
You may want to try barrel racing.
I have never tried, then I had enough thrills with race horses.
Those that barrel race think they are getting the best thrills horses can provide.
It becomes an obsession they will do anything for.
They literally arrange all in their lives around the next barrel run.
Loving following along and reading everyone’s stories! It’s great to hear that people have changed over time and followed their horse’s lead too. Focusing right now on finding the right trainer with quality school horses and letting the discipline follow. I do enjoy jumping the lower stuff and find the hunter ring more appealing than the speed in jumpers…also very analytic so dressage sounds fun too.
Great thread! I started at age 9 when my older sister’s friend invited us out to trail ride Paso Finos. The barn had quite nice show horses, too, but I only trail rode. I galloped before I trotted! Kind of great to ride gaited starting out, honestly. Friends at school did h/j locally, so got into that. Moved and first barn I found was through a school friend - Morgan breeding farm. I enjoyed riding some, then a new trainer moved in, and she was magical!!! I was 16 and fell in love with dressage. She long lined and taught two OTTBs Grand Prix movements with no nastiness. Taught me to distrust the crank and spank crowd. But then she moved. I found good h/j types after that that rode back to front and correctly - like George Morris and his generation teach. I’d rather ride classically on h/j then badly in dressage.
Parents wouldn’t buy a horse but supported lots of barn time, and I lived in great horse areas. So as I got older, I pretty much specialized in starting young horses and retraining OTTBs. Bought my first horse at 26, an OTTB, planning to sell her as a junior hunter, but I’m a terrible horse trader. She’s a gorgeous hunter, but also a kind and willing partner and more than capable of doing dressage, so I finally went back to my passion, discovered when I was 16, but couldn’t pursue until I owned a horse. I still jump low (under 3’) for cross training, trail ride, some low eventing/CTs, but I love dressage. Finally in a place to really devote myself to it! I do think you learn from any good horseman, and I’ve done saddleseat, even did two shows in Academy in my 30s;). Also got a chance to ride some awesome working cow horses, and they were beautifully trained! But dressage is the grand passion, with my now 3 horses, including my wonderful first horse;)
our horse is the one that chose Western Pleasure, we bought her to be our kid’s English Pleasure mount… were kind of surprised to find her wearing western tack when we came back to she how her training was progressing
Trainer said she just was a natural western horse, which she was…but gee-whiz every one of the other one hundred fifty head on the farm were all English
She finally did do Hunt-seat and Hunter over Fences but first and foremost she was a Western Pleasure horse, a very good one.
Started with a western pony that my parents would let me trail ride with them. Then I started saddleseat and fell in love with the forward energy you get. Also rode hunt seat at the same time from the same instructor. She had won Eq classes at Madison Square Gardens in both saddle seat and hunt seat back in the 60’s. Very old school trainer and wanted us to be well-rounded riders. Jumped up to 3’ but it wasn’t as fun as a good gaited horse. Then I got the opportunity to ride a very nice dressage horse and did that for a few years. Then I bought a Hackney pony and started driving a roadster pony. Then my kids wanted to ride my pony so I broke him to saddle and just play around with him. It’s too far to drive to a good saddleseat barn in my area, but I miss it terribly. I prefer my horses spicy hot with a brain.
I rode Saddleseat as a kid because there was a barn that was convenient, and the owner let me work for my lessons. I went to camp a couple of years later, and no one knew what Saddleseat was! I came back from camp and wanted to try jumping (which didn’t last long). The summer after I graduated from high school, I worked at a trail ride place, and wanted to be a cowgirl.
When I started riding again as an adult, I took up Saddleseat because that was what I did first. It was great for a period of time, and then some stuff happened, and I took a break. I didn’t want to go back to Saddleseat, and I don’t “get” jumping or dressage, so I’ve recently started riding Western.
I love it, but I think one reason why I love it is because I got lucky and found an amazing instructor, who doesn’t teach riding, but horsemanship and the whole package. I feel like I get a horse care/riding lesson/physical therapy session every week, along with being able to talk about any non-horse or horse related topic that comes up. As an adult, I appreciate the instruction much more than when I was 10 and I just wanted to be on the back of a horse or in a barn.
I’ve never had my own horse, and I’m actually glad because I got to try so many different things. For me, the important things now are an instructor that I click with, and the fact that she has wonderful horses that are smart and fun to ride.
I grew up doing hunters and went back to it as a re-rider. Then I got a horse who ended up not liking jumping so we switched to dressage. I did that for a little while but missed jumping, so then (with a new horse) decided to combine dressage and jumping and do eventing. Did that for a little while and then went back to dressage. I also like ot trail ride so I did that a lot as well - great conditioning riding in the hills! Got a project horse who hates/hated dressage so even though we did it as training here and there, he’s really a trail horse so that’s what we do.
I have a young pony and I’m trying to figure out what she likes best. We did some dressage lessons last year and this year are focusing on jumping lessons, all the while I’m teaching her how to be a good trail pony, which she seems to like as well.
Oh yeah, and for a few years in there I tried to go western. But I just can’t ride in the saddles - too much pain in my hips. I wanted to play cowgirl, but it just didn’t take. (Though I still think that cutting looks like one of the funnest things ever!)
I started out riding my grandparent’s plow horse as a baby, put up there by an uncle who loved horses.
Then I took english lessons at SaHi, the local riding academy.
I also rode western in a drill team…with my 5 gaited horse who loved to race but did not love to jump jumps, but did jump ditches at the boy scout camp down the road.
I took english lessons even when I rode in the drill team and I took english lessons in college at Oak Manor Stables where my college had PE classes in riding.
I like to jump, and I usually rode bareback growing up, having had well rounded horses and wanting to be close to my horses. I chose english riding and hunter/jumper because it put me closer to my horses than a bulky western saddle.
Eventing called like a siren song my whole life. I grew up in VA taking HJ/all around lessons in the heart of eventing country at the time when American dominated the eventing scene (I remember David O’Conner on the cover? of the Washington Post after winning his gold in Sydney) and I wanted DESPERATELY to gallop XC. Didn’t get to, wasn’t happening on the lesson ponies. Finally in college I got my chance to do a little, and when I could finally afford a (free) horse of my own post- grad I took her evening.
Hunter Pacing I got into because it is local, cheap and plentiful and satisfied the urge to run and jump. Polo I got into because my farrier in high school hired me as a groom, playing followed slowly. I love watching Steeplechasers because they’re such athletes and it is so exciting to go to the races. Jumpers aren’t bad as a sport, but I hate the sit around and wait aspect of competing- give me ride times!
Dressage is too perfectionist for me to do full time. I really like Hunting but it is really expensive to join if you don’t go out all the time, so I’m a couple times a year guest. Western saddles are uncomfortable to me so that side is out. I’d really like to try side saddle next.
One other suggestion for you is to investigate Pony Club. Yes, adults can join USPC as ‘Horsemasters’ which are full members. PC is famous for a) great horsemanship lessons b) multiple disciples. It could be a great way to try things out without offending trainers and feeling like you have to obligate yourself to one thing.
My story hasn’t really changed.
Grew up on a farm with a couple of old nags. Rode western. We rode to visit friends/family, to help search for lost parts in fields, and generally just rode around fields and woods. How did I choose? I don’t know, that’s just what we did, that’s what dad did growing up, so we did too!
As an adult, I now have my own piece of property. Most of it is wooded, so 95% of my riding is on gravel roads around my place. I ride to visit my friend, she and I will ride around the neighborhood or nearby fields. We love to chat while going for a nice long trot.
It is a bit of a bummer–I have no real open place on my property to ride. I broke/started my pony gelding pretty much riding on the road. :lol: Luckily, we did a lot of ground driving and hand walking first, so he was pretty road broke before I hopped on. Have to do the same with my STB later this spring, road riding or nothing for us!
I did take a handful of dressage lessons as a late teen, which did change and improve my entire concept of riding. I do hope to get into driving as well with aforementioned STB. I would also like to (someday) do CTR’s or endurance, but that’s not happening anytime soon.
I spent 40 years riding serious H/J and Dressage. Showing, the whole works. I’ve ended up judging some of the local over fences shows. During this time, I dabbled with western and driving as some low key alternative to riding hunters so seriously. But when I turned 50, I realized I was bored.
I didn’t want to jump anymore, I’ve never been drawn to western, and I’d gone as far as I was interested in with the H/J and dressage stuff. I’d always had in the back of my mind that I wanted to try saddleseat, so I did. I literally started over.
I’m having the best time ever. A lot of it has to do with the trainers I’m with. They are a family oriented barn, primarily focused on teaching. They show, and have shown successfully for years, but their goal is teaching. As a result, I’m completely reinvigorated. I drive a lot as well, because as a saddlebred barn, that’s just part of it. Since I’d already driven a fair amount, it was just getting reacquainted with it.
What I’m trying to say is that try any style. You may find you really like it. And since it involves a horse, it’s a winner right there. Trying something new will give you new energy, and you meet more great people and horses.
1 Like
I started out at a H/J-type lesson barn as a kid but switched to dressage after a few years because I liked how it sounded in the Saddle Club books. 
In my defense, I was 11!
1 Like
