Great thread Harvey and I've enjoyed looking at everyone's photos.

Cracking piccies Jenny, I so love my mares, would never have gelding as mares were so individual. Like you I never wore a hat, I think it was coming into the late '80's early 90's before one of my friends started giving me serious ear ache about it, so I did in the end. Those days of doing absolutely anything at the stables for a ride, even if it was riding one bare back, leading half a dozen, at a canter on the grass verges to the field, (cars etc zipping past and beeping )and then the walk back. It just doesn't happen nowadays does it, I think we were all the better for it and more self reliant in lots of ways because we were expected to be responsible and make decisions and not nanny'd everywhere. And if you fell off you jolly well found your pony, got back on and carried on!!!!

Sally - I meant to say that photo of your daughters little pony is so sweet.

June - I agree. I would get dropped off at the stables first thing in the morning and would remain there all day until I could get a lift back. In the 70's I remember also hacking to local shows (6 miles or so) jumping and then hacking back. We would also go for the most wonderful hacks for hours on end and all end up at a pub for a drink and sandwich.

I got my first pony 'Magic' when I was 12yrs. She was only 13.2. I then got Pedro my 14.2 jumping pony and Jinks who was 15.2 (the grey). I then had 18 years with no horses having damaged my back and I really missed it. It was only after we moved to where we are now and my two sons had 'grown' up ... ish, that I decided to get my back re-x-rayed and another horse. Hence 'Ebony' the welsh section D.

I don't ride at all any more but get my horsey fix through my cousin who until fairly recently owned Norton Heath Equestrian Centre in Essex. I also go down to join her at Hickstead every summer with her horses. Best of both worlds now.

Did you ever go to Hickstead in the late 80's early 90's Jenny?? In which case, I probably cooked you a bacon roll from the little trailer at the bottom of the stablefield? I was Little Polly's Pantry and I was very famous at Hickstead, or so the show jumpers told me, they said I served the best breakfast on the whole of their circuit! I think I did over 10 years there at every single meeting.

I adore that first pic you put up there Jen, how on earth did he get a pic like that without getting flattened? Were they in the back of a truck taking it then??

This was Fella, a 14h2" Arab welsh and this was the state I bought him in

sorry bout the pic quality but it was a small pic I scanned.

Within a year of owning him, I turned him into this handsome fella

My cousin took him hunting that day, I didn't have the bottle, and we didn't realise he was actually Arab/Welsh until we smartened him up like that!

This was my big boy that I had from a 3yr old and we're off to some show or other somewhere cos I look all posh up on top!


I had THE most beautiful black mare once, didn't have her for long cos she tried to kill me on every single ride I went on. She even backed onto a dual carraigeway one day, rearing right up in the process, how I stayed onboard I will never know, but I got to thinking, horses were supposed to be a pleasure and this one, although she looked the part, was definitely not a pleasure to ride, so I took her back and got the other big chesnut instead. He was enough for 20 the next 20 years

June, see the above as to my reason for not particularly liking mares. I always had geldings, because with mares I found you had to "ask" them to do something and if they liked you, they would do it, heck a mare would probably die for you, whereas a gelding you could just "tell" him and he'd always do it,. it was safer that way!

Well that's me Helena, always going for the dicey ones, not changed really even with the dogs, I've got the loony ones that present a challenge, I should be wanting a quiet life by now shouldn't I
Absolutely stunning lad your Fella

Thanks June, he was my first horse since having ponies, but as soon as we started feeding him up properly and he found his feet, he could sometimes be a nightmare. Always on his toes, always over excited, never would go out on his own, Jig, jig, jog all the way home, used to get on my nerves, he'd never stand still (probably the Arab in him), along with probably overfeeding him! The other big lad was meant for me, an absolute dream to ride, jumped like a stag, a really good boy, except when it came to doing something that I wanted to do, like a cross country, he'd show me up a treat by dumping me at the part where all the spectators were watching, like the big chair inbetween 2 trees, that kind of thing!!!

Still love to watch the x country on the eventing on the rare times it is televised.
Distance riding became my thing in later years and I was really into it.
Yeah the arab bit is a bit loopy isn't it,but that intelligence, well Isis had it, and the number of times she found the arrow when we were on a distance ride and I couldn't...she was born to do it.

Oh I AM enjoying this thread. Told you it was a winner (HARVEY? Is that your real name?)

Love it love it love it! This thread to me sums up the best of being on the 'net!

Helena - your chestnut gelding was gorgeous and what a difference from when you bought him. My grey was called Alfred Percival MFH (master of foxhounds) when I got him and changed it to Jinks. Needless to say I did hunt him and he was fantastic and would jump anything. Strangely though he would rather have been at the front
Yes, I did go to Hickstead then and we always got our bacon butties from the trailer at the bottom of the field on the left ... just before going over the little bridge? If only I'd known I would have said hi. We use to go down as a family to join my cousin. It was a sort of family tradition and although last year I only went down for the day, prior to that we'd go down and all stay for 4 days at both Derby meeting and the Royal International. I'll try and find my decent photo album from when I competed but think its in one of the many suitcases or boxes in the barn roof. My cousin doesn't compete at such a high level now having broken her back but she does still have a few horses that are competed by Ben Maher and Laura Renwick.

June - I can imagine you liked the mares as you like the challenge. You had mares - I had geldings (apart from the last one), you have wolf type dogs - I have tibetan fluffballs. Arab types were always so well suited to distance riding - I do love an arab head.

Doesn't it stink getting older ....... I had such happy years riding.

Oh yes, arabs were born for long distance riding. A friend of mine had a beautiful Arab she used to do this with, and I think she actually did the 50 miler once She used to let me ride him out during the week (I was the only one she would trust with him cos I had "beautiful hands"), and one day, there I was in a beautiful collected canter along this wiggly woodland track, and just before a bend which I couldn't see around, he stopped dead, and dumped me down a ditch, BUT, I still had hold of the buckle end of the reigns!!! A girl on a horse appeared coming in the other direction and said "he's a clever boy, he heard me coming and you didn't"lol! I used to do a lot of those sponsored rides, 10,15, 20 miles with 20 jumps cos I knew he would jump on those cos I was going so fast he could never put in a dirty stop or run out on me, that was the plan anyway

Oh so glad you're enjoying these lovely piccies Pat

I hunted on the one I'm sitting on all kitted out, because he was 5 then and so I was allowed to and I had the bottle by then!! He adored his hunting (I wouldn't do it now of course but I'm going back 30 years here!!!! ) He could stop on a sixpence as I zoomed up the rear of a line of people waiting on a narrow track, he could go up the front, in the middle or at the back, and I often did the "gate" bit because he was so good at gates, and I would never have jumped one I always took the easy route if they jumped a 5 bar gate, I had a self preservation theory.

No, I didn't cook your brekkie then, cos I was in the actual stablefield with all the lorries of the show jumpers,. I much preferred to be with them than joe public over on the showground. What a laugh I had with that lot over the years, especially with Geoff Billington who was my absolute favourite and the Whittakers and Peter Charles who was just getting good in those days. Wish I could turn the clock back sometimes, I had such fun with the horsey set

Did your cousin do showjumping then or eventing? How awful that she broke her back It's easily done isn't it with a fall from such a great height, the times I've had my guardian angel save me from near death or worse.

I once went out with a new guy at the yard who used to do eventing, I thought I would show him some nice rides locally. Off we went on one of my favourite rides. I took him to a place where we could have a real blast through two fields, but the track itself, was in the middle and half way along there were 2 big posts with no gate in there, so I told him there was no actual fence going either side of this gateway, but he could just go through it if he wished. Off we went, he was ahead of me flat out, and I saw him going up the slope to the right of this gateway, but then he came back down onto the track to go through it, and just as he got there, his horse shied away, he fell off and was in a ball underneath it as his horse then sped off up the hill Blooming 'eck I thought, that wasn't supposed to happen, and I stopped right beside him as he lay there in a crumpled heap on the grass, horseless and noncomposmentis, and how I stopped dead like that from a flat out gallop I still don't know how I did it! Anyway, he managed to utter the words "just get my horse Helen, I'm ok". So off we went, galloping about all over these big hills, down into woodland, but I couldn't for the life of me find this horse of his anywhere. I went back to where I'd left him and ...... he'd bluddy gone!!!! Only me I thought My poor horse was knackered, so I rang hubby to come up with the lorry, see if we could find this loose horse, and get us home and we'd send out the search party.

When we finally got back to the yard, there he was WITH his horse, phew! He had found him in the woodland and walked him home. He did laugh and said if ever you want an "interesting ride" then go out with Helen!!!!