I started riding behind our neighbor girl on a working Quarter Horse when I was 3. A few years later we moved off the farm and I had to be content with trail rides at riding stables, on grade horses. Then when I started grad school at the University of Kentucky I took hunt seat lessons for my "PhysEd" type exercise, something new for this Minnesota girl. Started doing some dressage, cavaletti work, that sort of thing; a couple of the horses were TBs and former racehorses - one of my favorites was Papa, aka Swing Papa (ch 1960 by Papa Redbird-Swing Again, by Sun Again, one time placed in 19 starts).
After a few years, the dissertation took over my life, I got married, got my PhD, had kids..., When my boy was 8 or so, he started taking riding lessons and was doing well, but then riding lessons began to conflict with soccer games, so I took over his spot for a year or so. Got to jumping obstacles a couple of feet high around the hunter course. That stopped when we went on sabbatical the last time and I never picked it up again. Always had a touch of exercise-induced asthma, so could never get really serious about it, but greatly enjoyed riding whenever I could.
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