Long horse-related meme

Found this online and thought it would be a good post for today.

1. How old were you when you first started riding? Around 3, I think. Possibly earlier, and may have been in diapers, but that was riding double with my Mom, not alone. Riding independently, maybe 8 or 9.

2. First horse ridden: Smoky, our saint of a gelding.

3. First horse trotted on: Smoky

4. First horse cantered on: Smoky, but not well. I looked like crap, and was bareback most of the time. Cantered 1 stride or so on DJ, accidentally. Intentionally and halfway-decent looking - Peyton, my riding lesson pal.

5. First Horse fallen off of: Smoky, but you had to work to do it.

6. Most recent horse fallen off of: DJ

7. Most terrifying fall: DJ, the day the little fiend blew up and bucked me off.

8. First horse jumped with: I've never jumped.

9. First horse who ran away with you: Smoky, a couple of times. All when I was riding with the saddle and couldn't feel him enough to head him off.

10. First horse that scared the crap out of you: DJ, for a lot of reasons.

11. First horse shown: Haven't shown.

12. First horse to win a class with: See #11

13. Do you/have you taken lessons: Yes, but only for three summers, 18 lessons total.

14. First horse you ever rode bareback: Smoky. Rode bareback 95% of the time, because Dad's stock saddle weighed as much as I did, and I wasn't tall enough at the time to get it on Smoky's back. NEVER rode DJ bareback - he was a bit crazy, and had withers like Pikes Peak or something.

15. First horse trail ridden with: Smoky

16. Current Barn name: None

17. Do you ride English or western?: Western saddle-wise, with a bit of English mishmash tossed in.

18. First Horse to place at a show with: See #11

19. Ever been to horse camp?: Nope

20. Ever been to a riding clinic? Nope

21. Ridden sidesaddle? Nope

22. First horse leased: None

23. Last Horse Leased: None

24. Highest ribbon in a show: See #11

25. Ever been to an 'A' rated show?: Nope

26. Ever competed in pony games/relay races?: Nope

27. Ever fallen off at a show: Nope

28. Do you ride Hunter/Jumpers?: Nope

29. Have you ever barrel raced? Nope

30. Ever done pole bending?: Nope

31. Favorite gait: A good motivated walk, although Peyton's slow jog was a close second.

32. Ever cantered bareback?: Yes, but it wasn't pretty.

33. Have you ever done dressage?: Nope

34. Have you ever evented?: Nope

35. Have you ever mucked a stall?: Not really; my horses at home always had a pasture and run-in shed, so technically there wasn't a stall or much in the way of bedding.

36. Ever been bucked off?: Once, by DJ (I'm not counting the "lost my balance and fell off" falls, or the time DJ spooked out from under me). He had his knickers in a knot about something the whole ride, and finally blew up and bucked me off. I stayed on for a couple jumps, bruised my knee on the horn, and landed sort-of on my feet (then sort of rolled backwards onto my butt and back).

37. Ever been on a horse that reared?: Not really, although DJ half-reared once, and would get light enough in front that I didn't think his feet were touching the ground.

38. Horses or ponies?: Either. I'm considering that my next equine might be something in the 14-hand region, technically a pony. I rode a short QH mare once in lessons, she was maybe 14.2, and I liked not needing a ladder to get on. (Unlike the 17hand giant I rode that same summer)

39. Do you wear a helmet?: I do since I started lessons. Didn't as a kid, but it was the 70s/80s.

40. What's the highest you've jumped: Don't jump.

41. Have you ever ridden at night?: Late dusk, but never really pitch-black dark.

42. Do you watch horsey television shows?: Yes. Gotta get my horse fix, but sometimes the errors make me cringe.

43. Have you ever been seriously hurt/injured from a fall?: Not yet. Got some bruises from DJ though.

44. Most falls in one lesson: None, yet.

45. Do you ride in an arena/ring?: Did for lessons, not as a kid.

46. Have you ever been trampled by a horse?: No.

47. Have you ever been bitten?: Yes, by that nitwit DJ. He was nippy for a long time and I usually had my hands full and couldn't fix it, until he caught some skin one day and I reflexively yelped and I think swatted him on the nose. Then I stood there and read him the riot act. It cured him, he wasn't nippy after that.

48. Ever had your foot stepped on by a horse?: Oh yes.

49: Favorite riding moment: To be answered later

50. Most fun horse you've ridden: Smoky, because I trusted him. Peyton, Libby, and Katie because they knew how to do stuff that I hadn't (and sometimes haven't) done.