Your Best Save

Hey,

Well there is the topic "Your Worst Fall" so I decided to create a thread for "Your Best Save" have you been in a posistion were you know your going to end up in the dirt, but suprisingly don't? Well post it here!

I was riding my friend's horse, phantom on a trail ride. I took him towards the dam near the pond and he flipped out. He did his fairly annoying side steppy thing and tripped on the wrong end of the dam; the side with all the water. He landed on his feet in the water, but I was clinging on for dear life on his side (I was riding bareback...) So he jumped out of the pond and onto the dam. Iwas holding onto his mane more than the reins because I didnt want to hurt his mouth, and I was desperately trying to hoist myself back on his back (still hoding on sideways) and he took off... Im not exactly sure what happened, but I finally managed to climb back in the right position and stop him.. It was scary. I was 11. I didnt ride much near the dam after that. Lol.

This was all because of my carelessness and I am deeply ashamed of it. I was riding Rocket with only a halter and reins and I decided to ask him to canter. He didn't pick up the canter right away so I became more focused on him than where he was going and he hit a big patch of mud and fell. He didn't just slip, he fell. I honestly thought I was going to fall off. I felt myself slipping of the saddle and then I said to myself, "I'm not going to fall off." as soon as I said that to myself, I stopped sliding in the saddle. Rocket stood back up, I got off him and checked him for injuries. He was fine, but I have honestly learned my lesson. That was and will be the only time I stop looking where I'm going, especially around mud.

Okay, so I was riding my pony Rain, and she hadn't been ridden for a while and she was very excited about getting out again.......... We hadn't made it very far away from the barn before a strong wind blew up and a blue tarp over a piece of machinery started flapping, and oh my, OFF WE WENT, with me desperately trying to keep my seat! She was terrified and running wildly down through the 2 rows of pine trees we have on our property....... I was on her back trying to use the check/release method with the rains to get her to slow down, and all the while my face was getting whipped by the pine branches and I couldn't see a THING....... suprisingly, we made it to the end of the pine trees and I finally got her to stop. And I was still on!

Long story short. I was jumping 3' for the first time. Got a bad distance to the first fence, lost my stirrups, landed on the horse's neck. Shoved myself back into the saddle, continued the course without stirrups, getting perfect distances and a great time. Woohoo! Just don't ask me for a repeat performance.

Me and Doohan were barrel racing one day, and as we went around the third barrel.. (I know, I probably shouldn't have been doing barrels on a 17.3 ex-racer TB who is clumsy as all hell and very leggy, but you know) and as we went around the third barrel he lost his footing, and his offside of his hind quarters hit the ground with a thud, but he didn't hurt himself, and got up, but instead of just shaking himself off when he got up, he thought it was necessary to start rearing, and on the fifth rear he was on a vertical and the wrong angle and was very close to going over backwards, I was scared I was going to hurt him when I did this, but it was that or we both get hurt and he most likely would have been awfully injured.. but I ripped one side of his reins and hoped to dear god his head would fall after them, and thank god it did.. he landed safely, and I landed in a very unconfortable spot right on his neck, but I managed to climb back aboard and trot the rest of the course :)

One time we were doing a group lesson and it was winter. We were in the indoor ring and some snow fell off the roof. Grace was perfectly fine until one of the horses freaked out so they all freaked out. One girl ended up on the ground and I ended up on Grace's neck. I sat up and realized, I wasn't supposed to be sitting there. So I just manuvered my way back into the saddle. :P I felt bad for sitting on her neck though, so I gave her a pat. It's not like it was her fault.