10 Questions for November

The wonderful Viva Carlos to the rescue with her 10 questions for November!

How old is the youngest/greenest horse that you've ridden? I think a 4 year old Basse like maybe once a week when he was being trained by the professionals but I wanted to have a go! I think all I did was trot and canter in a circle but it was fun to be riding a youngster.

How old is the oldest horse you’ve ridden? Probably around the 20+ year old mark. Nelli was 20 the last time I rode her but I'm pretty sure I rode a few older horses when I was young before I got my pony.

Were you scared of horses when you first started riding? Nope, nothing to do with horses was scary (I loved the ponies that were difficult and bucked me off at every possible opportunity!) when I first started riding. But during the last 2 years I've started to develop a strong self preservation instinct which makes me more nervy riding now than when I first started riding.

Would you say you’re a more nervous rider or a confident rider? I would say I am a pretty confident rider, but I have moments with Vallu where I'm definitely not 100% confident in every situation. I tend to have good days and bad days with him, whereas with other horses I'm confident nearly all the time.

Biggest pet peeve about non-horse people around horses? I think what annoys me most is when people who have very little understanding about riding are overly critical and think they know what's best for our horses. I'm sorry, have you been with this horse for over 4 years and know him like the back of your own hand? No, well then don't bother moaning about the way we handle him.

Also when people you consider to be friends actually end up bitching about you to another friend of yours, who will then tell you what they've said. This hasn't actually happened to me, but I have been the friend stuck in the middle. Please if you have a problem go talk to them, not me.

A time you’ve been scared for your life? (horse related) When I came to after being thrown off Vallu this summer and was bleeding so much that I couldn't see from one eye. My first thought was that I had cut my head open and was terrified that I was going to have serious consequences from it. Luckily I'd just got a 2 inch cut in the corner of my eye and ended up with just a scar! 

Have you ever fallen off at show? What happened? Never... Yet... *knocks on wood* 

What’s a breed of horse you’ve never ridden but would like to ride? I haven't ridden loads of breeds but I'd love to ride a TB! I've mainly ridden warmbloods so to try something super hot would be fun. 

Describe the worst behaved horse you’ve ridden? I was going to put Vallu here, but he's not actually been as bad as my pony was! Yeah Vallu is spooky and hot but at least he doesn't use his strengths against me like my pony did. He was more than happy to chuck me off every other day if I even did one mistake (which I'm really grateful for as it means I have much better skills to stay on other horses!)

The most frustrating ride you’ve ever had? Any ride where I seem unable to get my brain to stop over thinking, over analysing and being scared. When you can feel that you are worried/nervous but have no ability to get yourself out of that zone, and it ruins your ride! It's so frustrating when you want to ride better and you are trying to get your body to act like normal but you just can't. Arghhhh, those rides just enrage me!