trlvn
Ultra Member
The horse in the picture above is called Solo. I think the first competition my daughter* took him to was an indoor ring. Maybe 40 by 80 feet? My daughter was about 13 at the time. There was a small warmup area at the end that was 4 or 5 feet lower than the main ring. The horse and rider would go up a ramp to enter the competition area. Viewers, including me, could watch the main ring from one side of the warm-up area.
My daughter started her round and got to the far end of the ring. Something must have spooked Solo and he lit out coming straight back toward us. It was like he had a jet takeoff pack firing out of his butt! I never saw the horse moving that fast before or after. My daughter was hauling on the reins and telling Solo to stop but they were fast running out of barn. I can't imagine the carnage if they'd coming crashing through the light wood barrier and into the ponies, children and others in the warmup area. At the last moment, my daughter threw Solo into a hard left turn and he did it. Dirt was spraying everywhere...but around they went. They even finished the course.
I don't think we ever really figured out what scared Solo. I'm also not sure how many people realized how close we came to disaster. It did show me, however, that my daughter could keep her wits about her in a crisis. Also that Solo would regain his head fairly quickly. That's better than the alternative. <Shudder.>
Craig
*We had a sweet deal with Solo. He was owned by the barn manager at the stable my daughter was riding at. Unluckily, the barn manager had a fall shortly after getting Solo and spent months trying to rehab her shoulder. Solo, who was pretty new to jumping, needed to be exercised during this period and the owner picked my daughter. Solo and my daughter basically developed their skills together. More than the owner would have had time to develop the horse herself. Which made Solo a more valuable horse. We kicked in for some expenses, coaching, show fees, trailering, etc but didn't have to take the big risk of buying a horse.
My daughter started her round and got to the far end of the ring. Something must have spooked Solo and he lit out coming straight back toward us. It was like he had a jet takeoff pack firing out of his butt! I never saw the horse moving that fast before or after. My daughter was hauling on the reins and telling Solo to stop but they were fast running out of barn. I can't imagine the carnage if they'd coming crashing through the light wood barrier and into the ponies, children and others in the warmup area. At the last moment, my daughter threw Solo into a hard left turn and he did it. Dirt was spraying everywhere...but around they went. They even finished the course.
I don't think we ever really figured out what scared Solo. I'm also not sure how many people realized how close we came to disaster. It did show me, however, that my daughter could keep her wits about her in a crisis. Also that Solo would regain his head fairly quickly. That's better than the alternative. <Shudder.>
Craig
*We had a sweet deal with Solo. He was owned by the barn manager at the stable my daughter was riding at. Unluckily, the barn manager had a fall shortly after getting Solo and spent months trying to rehab her shoulder. Solo, who was pretty new to jumping, needed to be exercised during this period and the owner picked my daughter. Solo and my daughter basically developed their skills together. More than the owner would have had time to develop the horse herself. Which made Solo a more valuable horse. We kicked in for some expenses, coaching, show fees, trailering, etc but didn't have to take the big risk of buying a horse.