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Human:
Name: Paige
Age: 19
Saddle time: The first time I sat on a horse, I could not even walk yet. My mom used to hold me on our horses' backs while they ate. As soon as possible she took me on trail rides riding double with her, at three I rode alone (on a VERY SWEET horse who probably slept while we walked) and at four I got my first horse. I've been in the saddle ever since.
Favorite Breed & Color: I love thoroughbreds, honestly--I love a horse with a little too much energy, because once you learn to channel it, it is just breathtaking what they can accomplish with all that heart and dedication. I also have a little love affair with Akhal Tekes, who are just absolutely spectacular in my opinion. As far as color... a nice richly-colored bay, with those talllll black stockings, is beautiful. The really DAPPLED dapple-greys are nice but I'd hate to keep one show-clean... redheads are probably one of my favorites, just because they keep things interesting. ;)
Other: My current horse is kind of... special needs... so we always do a few equitation/special hunter classes when we show, but our main focus is jumpers. Sometimes my boy just needs a little confidence boost before he goes into the jumper classes. My end goal is--well, my fantasy is the US team, but my realistic goal is qualifying for Washington and Harrisburg. These days unfortunately I spend more time working shows than riding in them; I am my trainer's main source of reliability and good work ethic and all-around know-how, so I am usually the one who gets there at 4 am and leaves at 2 am. I also work for her Tues-Sat every week, doing barn chores, half-managing the barn, and catching all training rides for which she does not have time.
Horse:
Name: Isaac (Isaac's Light)
Age: 9
Breed: OttB; steeplechased until five, when I bought him.
Gender: Gelding
Height: 16.3, and so impossibly long that he doesn't fit on normal trailers. :|
Other: Very sweet, very... unique. I've spent three and a half years with this horse, and still am occasionally baffled by his thought process. He can jump endlessly--we've taken him as far as five feet and found no end to his scope--but is only competitive in the 3'6"s thanks to a severe disinclination to accept any kind of input from me in regards to striding, distance of take-off, or bending around turns. His stride is phenomenal--he can turn a long three-stride into a short one-stride if he has a mind to do it--but this is more a hindrance than a help, since it leaves him long flat and unstoppable. He usually ends up terrifying himself, and ends up blaming me for it. Oh, and he seems to have absolutely no ability to discern one bit from another; they all accomplish basically the same thing, which is in effect, nil.
But of course, that's only on a bad day--on a good day, he knocks judges' socks off and wins me crazy prize money, and moves like a grand prix horse. ^.^
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