Oh trust me, I’ve come off at shows! I did twice once on a schoolmaster, at a neigh show, over 2’3. I’d been jumping the horse 3’ - 3’3". :lol:
I don’t know why this one fall was so humiliating. Probably because I set myself up like my mare was totally going to do everything no question, and then was shocked when she didn’t at the scariest fence 
My stupidest (not embarrassing, just dumb on my part. I don’t know why I wasn’t mortified) was when I forgot a 4 jump course, that was literally a figure eight, at a pony club rally in front of the DC.
the ones that get me I am in the dirt horse turns to look at me “Why are you down there, I did everything to keep you in the saddle and you still fall off ??”
Was 13, had been sick and in bed for ten days, was still very weak, but first chance I had I went to the riding center to see the horses.
I was dying to ride, convinced the instructor that I was fine, he was doubtful but gave in and said I could ride my favorite.
We walked him to the middle of the indoor, the instructor gave me a leg up and I promptly half fainted and toppled over on the opposite side, scaring the poor man badly.
The horse stood there, rolling his eyes at us.
Guess that I was not as well as I thought I was.
I went out on the trail as a teen on my Morgan mare… I was riding bareback, and she was half asleep, lazing along, so I had really loose reins and was just enjoying a nice sunny day. Next thing I know, a pheasant flew out of a bush we were walking past, hit my mare in the nose, and I somersaulted off my now-rodeo-bronc into a giant mud puddle. Mare took off for home, and I got to walk all the way back home with mud from head to toe. Believe me when I say nothing at all is worse than walking a long way in soaking wet, muddy jeans.
First show out this year…I fell…while jogging/trotting my mare out in our IN-HAND HALTER class…tripped and went down in the dirt. Mare just skittered around me, stopped while I got up and dusted myself off, and we went and lined up. Oops!
It was embarrassing but later in the day someone with a QH had a fake tail in…and it fell out, while in the class…losing your fake tail is way more embarrassing than falling down, IMO.
Oh, too many to count. I am a walking embarrassment.
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Fresh snowfall, temps above freezing, looking forward to a beautiful snowy ride through the field! Bring mare outside and mount, swinging my vast 120 lbs (ahh, teenage Kashmere) over my mare, managing to somehow overbalance her. Both horse and rider fall over in a heap, disappearing under 3ft of snow.
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Pony club. 14 year old Kashmere has just cracked into the C group with her as-yet-still-bananas TB mare. There are 16 and 17 year olds in this group, who are Very Cool and Very Good Riders. The instructor expects Real Riding. The fences are high, the stakes are higher, but we are ready. We are warming up, the mare is bending! The mare is working from behind! Teenage Kashmere receives a compliment (!!!) from THE INSTRUCTOR, who says “very good seat, Kashmere, lovely riding.” COTHers, it was a dream. A small PCer goes to fill her pony’s bucket at the tap outside the ring near C. The bucket is heavy, the child is tiny. The bucket falls from her arms, spilling a cascade of water, and bouncing across the aisle, knocking into a tractor and sounding - I kid you not - like approximately 100 cannons. All horses in the lesson spook. All horses in the lesson but one are quickly brought under control, masterfully, by their Very Cool riders. Teenage Kashmere is seen briefly struggling, then launched impressively skyward, her seat lovely no more, as she lands in the dirt, tries to get up and retain a shred of dignity, but promptly has an asthma attack and instead must sit quietly, in the dust, for a full 10 minutes.
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I say (now as a fully grown adult) confidently “no, I don’t think I need a mounting block, thanks, the ground is on a slant and I’m uphill!” I place one foot in the stirrup, and just as I push off from the ground, the crotch seam of my breeches splits - loudly - spooking my mare. I valiantly try to control the situation, but alas, I tumble to the ground, humbled, and slink to collect my mare, drawers on full display.
And so many, many more.
LOL, that happened to me once as well. And a bunch of the 4-H kids from the group I volunteered with were watching and saw it happen. On the bright side, it was useful to bring it up again whenever one of them was nervous or feeling bad about their performance in a show.
I’ve had a few good ones, but got this particular one on camera…
I’m riding my perfect, BTDT gelding at a small local show that is just “so below us.” The jumps are barely 2 feet and we were schooling 3’ at home and had been showing 2’6 - 3’ and were only at this show because a friend didn’t want to go alone.
I was so above everyone and everything (problem #1).
So we’re on course and I’m up in a perfect little hunter half seat, practically winking at the judge as we canter by flawlessly and there’s a weird shift in the shadow pattern in the arena and this “round top” (aka a few barrels with astro turf on top) all of a sudden looks very funny to my gelding who had already jumped that same jump like 3 times from the other direction.
He throws on the brakes and because I’m barely riding (aka being a show off and thinking I’m perfect and not paying any attention whatsoever) I go face first into the jump and he exits stage right. https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/148413_10100145580148060_1749576_n.jpg?oh=1339edb9b094b4fb93163a691cb9cd45&oe=57E9BBDC
This horse is not a dirty stopper and is as close to perfect as they come so I really wasn’t prepared and looked like a complete moron because had I just been paying a tiny bit of attention and used a bit a leg, we’d probably have been just fine! I felt like such a dumb@$$
I have mine on video, even!
I was doing a horse trials and I had a broken hand that was almost done healing. We were having a great go at XC and it was the second-to-the-last jump - over a log and then into the water. My horse didn’t see the water until the last minute and he ducked out. I lost my balance and just sort of gave up and in the video it looks like I jumped off, landed on my feet, ran over to the log, got back on and jumped it like nothing happened. It was so weird! This was before the “fall off and you’re eliminated” rule.
It was too bad because we had had our best dressage score and our XC run was going great until that moment!
Apology in advance for the visual.
I took co-workers for a ride at my place. I didn’t have enough saddles or bridles at the time so I hopped on my guy bareback with a halter and lead rope. A briar got caught in his tail and he spooked, galloped up the hill, I did and emergency dismount and got my sweatpants (I was wearing at the time) caught in another briar and when I took 3 steps to catch myself - I stepped out of my pants. In a red thong.
[QUOTE=Wayside;8736556]
LOL, that happened to me once as well. And a bunch of the 4-H kids from the group I volunteered with were watching and saw it happen. On the bright side, it was useful to bring it up again whenever one of them was nervous or feeling bad about their performance in a show.[/QUOTE]
Glad I’m not the only one! :lol:
My mom and dad came to the show with me to test run their new camper (weekend long show). After the in-hand classes, I tacked up and was going into the warm up ring. My mom calls out “Should we put a seat belt on you so you don’t land in the dirt again???” laughing…some girl looks at her funny and my mom says “She fell down in her last class! Did you see it?!” … uh, mom, it wasn’t THAT funny! Jeesh! I was like “okay, you don’t need to tell everybody! Not everybody saw it!”
I fell of at a standstill on a shitland pony. She was squealing like a pig and bucking. I stopped to catch my breath because it was funny. She gave me the ol’ buckaroo at a standstill too. My mother was crying laughing.
I also fell off 3 times in the same show doing the A/O jumpers (different horse) … smh
These are hilarious!
When I was probably 5, my cousin and I were being led around double on one of my uncle’s horses. We were in a western saddle, and I was in the back. I thought I was The Stuff in my shorts and cowboy boots, finally getting to ride a horse. I picked up the straps on the back of the saddle and started swatting the poor horse on his rear. Obviously the horse took issue with such treatment and started circling around to get away from the swats. I grabbed my cousin around the waist in a feeble attempt to stay seated, but that just resulted in both of us falling to the ground in a heap like two june bugs! It scared me so bad I wet myself. When my uncle finally got the horse stopped, he asked me where the “water” came from that was on the ground. I told him it came out of my boot when I fell!! 40 years later, he still recounts that story any chance he gets!
oh all of your stories are great, what a fun thread.
When I was a teenager, I was in a little schooling show, but to me at the time it might as well have been the Olympics, my parents and family friend were there and they were filming the ride. I was on a sweet mustang who was not overly fond of jumping especially white fences. We trotted up to a line of white cross rails which was just too much for poor little mustang he ran out to the right. I was dangling off the side trying so hard to get back in the saddle but to no avail. Off I dropped in the dirt. The worst part was that I some how got lumps of dirt in my breeches so the rest of the show I was walking around with itchy lumpy legs.
[QUOTE=ponysaurus;8736719]
These are hilarious!
When I was probably 5, my cousin and I were being led around double on one of my uncle’s horses. We were in a western saddle, and I was in the back. I thought I was The Stuff in my shorts and cowboy boots, finally getting to ride a horse. I picked up the straps on the back of the saddle and started swatting the poor horse on his rear. Obviously the horse took issue with such treatment and started circling around to get away from the swats. I grabbed my cousin around the waist in a feeble attempt to stay seated, but that just resulted in both of us falling to the ground in a heap like two june bugs! It scared me so bad I wet myself. When my uncle finally got the horse stopped, he asked me where the “water” came from that was on the ground. I told him it came out of my boot when I fell!! 40 years later, he still recounts that story any chance he gets![/QUOTE]
:lol: For the WIN!
Alright, so at the start of the year, I had boxed my gelding to the woods behind my house for a hack. He’s a spooky little beggar alone and we struggle to get anywhere without a normal horse with us (why I thought this was a good idea is beyond me). I had on a lovely pair of black, self seat breeches. These breeches are skin tight due to the fabric, very lycra-ey. Very slidy.
We set off, he does a full body shake, I think to myself “hmm, that was close, bets watch myself today”. We got through the estate and to the woods without further incident. Then, we walk along a trail towards a wooden bench. This wooden bench contains two elderly humans, facing away from us, being totally silent, minding their own business, but also being RIGHT in front of us and not at all surprising given we could see them from quite a distance.
So we get closer, he sees them, thinks they are a big scary monster and pirouettes on the spot, conducting what I can only imagine is a flawless 180 degree spin to the left. I, of course, being in the stupid breeches on a nice shiny clean saddle, start to slide to the right. Oh yes. I can feel myself sliding, not a thing I can do about it. I keep sliding, past the point of no return, flip over as I go down, land flat on my back, smack my brand new and rather costly helmet off the only hard part on the side of the trail. Right in front of the two elderly people, and two walkers, each with dogs.
And that, my friends, is the moment I learnt never to ride without my sticky gel seat saver ever again!
In a dressage test.
No jumping required.
Horse going beautifully - soft, willing, forward, ahead of the leg, in my hand. Everythingyou would want - and a lot more than expected for my Jess!
My trainer going ecstatic on the sideline. Bouncing up and down in her boots with excitement. My sister clutching the trainer’s arm with equal excitement. The judge was barely speaking to her writer - I could hear her “10” on 2 occasions and “9” when going past her.
I was happy - stunned as to how well my gelding was going.
Changing the rein across the diagonal in canter after a perfect circle , I was too relaxed and fell off the side when we changed bend at X.
Onto wet sand.
Jess came over to me and was shaking his head at me :D.
Once everyone stopped laughing , the judge allowed me to continue. (Was allowable then under our rules.)
The judge asked did I want to take a course error or the “1” - I took the course error and continued to get 85% and win the class.
But, man, did I never live that one down!
Another one that was quite equally fun - riding my then 4-year old Hanno mare out across the hills around where I grazed her. She was a very kind mare - but not very experienced at hacking.
The hills were in series with the higher hills looking as if they were part of the same hill that we were riding up. I knew that, the mare didn’t.
As partial excuse, I was just recovering from an inner ear infection so balance - which has never been my strong point - was even worse than usual.
We rode down a little drop and then headed up the 1st hill - I knew that we had to turn left about 200 metres along. Got to that point, mare lost her horizon (well it wasn’t what she was expecting), she stopped, I lose my balance and just slid off her shoulder. She was shaking so I lead her home.
Long long time ago, I was riding my sister’s BTDT mare. Before my sister bought this mare, she was the horse I took lessons on, so we had history and I didn’t think there was an unpredictable bone in her body. I had been cooling after a ride in which the mare had been a bit cranky, probably in heat, and probably something I should have kept in mind.
I was in the tiny, underground, STONE-WALLED indoor arena below the barn. I had been talking to my sister about some exercises I’d read about, including leaning back onto the horse’s butt. For flexibility or some such thing. So I stopped the mare and tried it. As soon as I lay on her back/rear, she bucked violently, and I went straight up, then down, between the mare and the stone wall. Mare didn’t move after the buck, so I am lying among her feet, road rash and scrapes bleeding profusely, and fully expecting I was going to get kicked in the head with the next move. Luckily my sister was able to move her away without any further damage to me.
Another embarrassing mishap was with my quite new PMU filly back when I got her in 2003. I was doing quite well taming the flat-wild child. I had even groomed her all over and handled her udder. Next time one of the other foal raisers was there, I attempted to show off how I was able to touch the filly’s udder.
Abruptly. No warning to filly. Cold hands. Resulting in a hoof-shaped bruise in the middle of each thigh. Courtesy is always best when dealing with humans OR animals! As is humility…
We all eat dirt every now and then. No worries.
