Rode trail horses for several years than started riding hunter/jumpers/eq in middle school. Continued with the h/J and some dressage through high school. In college, rode h/j along with western pleasure and horsemanship. Transitioned exclusively to wp and horsemanship and college went on. Sat on my first reining and cutting horses while a senior in college and it was over. I have ridden reining exclusively ever since, save for hopping on a few wp horses at work.
HUS, WP, and trail.
[QUOTE=Beverley;6336121]
annual bison roundup on Antelope Island.
Isn’t that fun? I did that on my OTTB in 2009 with english saddle (I don’t own a western one). My girl galloped along the back of the herd to get them going. I’m in CA so with the price of gas probably won’t be able to go again anytime
soon : ( I primarily ride english. We do lots of trail riding, horse camping at the beach and in the Sierras. Schooling shows HJ classes and trail (she did really well in trail last year!) We’ve gone western for parades and a drill team performance. We are currently shooting to do a beginner novice event in September. I actually prefer an English saddle because it is lightweight and I feel I am in closer contact with my horse. Also my horse and I LOVE to jump. Most of my horse friends ride western. My barn owner does some training so I have hopped on some green ones in western tack when I have the chance. Riding is fun no matter how it’s done!
Mukluk, yes sounds like a LOT of fun.
“Isn’t that fun? I did that on my OTTB in 2009 with english saddle.”
I am a transplant from dressage. I was trained in classical dressage and competed through 3rd level. Trained my wb homebred to GP. Showing in dressage was fun until it wasnt. Then I went to a Buck Brannaman clinic, then onto Ray Hunt and put my hunter/jumper, then dressage showing/clinics aside for something that I considered so much better. I had dabbled showing an appaloosa and some Arabs, as we used to say "California style", straight up in the bridle. Rode my appendix QH in a bosal. I really didnt know too much what I was doing until I put more of it together through Ray Hunts and Buck Brannamans teachings. Im still learning and am glad I come from a dressage backround to this because I think I understand biomechanics pretty good and that helps. I consider myself a forever student.
I also ride pretty much in my dressage saddle with snaffle bit, mecate reins and slobber straps. May look funny, but very comfortable.
When I sent my mare away to be started by one of the important trainers of the vaquero type horsemanship, she was started on cattle, went to a branding and a stay at Buck Brannamans ranch with the trainer. Now I have to catch up to where she is. Lots to look forward to. I have found that working cattle gives a horse a great forward attitude right from the start.
Mukluk, yes, it’s great fun, hope you make it back some time! One of my riding buddies does it English every year, only time she throws a western saddle on is for the Pony Express (coming up in a couple of weeks, it occurs to me!) because you need a western saddle in order to transport the mochilla with the mail in it.
I agree re-runs, working cattle- or really giving any horse a ‘real job’ to do every now and then, and I count foxhunting in that- is really good for all horses!
(I am actually smack in the middle of a Paul Dietz clinic right now, speaking of Brannaman, Hunt, et al).
I started out riding hunters, then moved to dressage when I was 10. I rode western at camp and spent most if the time poo-poo-ing it (I wasn’t a snob… Really 
) Fast forward to the end of my sophomore year in college, I decide I want to be a horse trainer and go to an all western college. From there I began starting colts, riding ranch horses, showing in Versatility Ranch Horse, and after graduating I just spent a year working for a reining trainer. When my mare gets broke enough I’d like to try some team penning/sorting and some competitive/extreme trail challenges. Its funny looking back on it, how things worked out, out definitely wasn’t the plan I had for my riding when I started out. I used to be so against western riding, and I now own at least double the western riding gear as I do english. I still want to be a better dressage rider and would love to retrain off-track horses, but there’s no way I’m giving up reining or VRH!
