My sister sent this to me. Of course, the message hits home, but I was mostly taken by the photograph and the contrast between this young girl, with little muscle mass, in control of and in one with this magnificent, powerful animal.
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You are right, that is a powerful image.
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Only a horse person could feel their soul warm at reading that, Tom. It certainly does hit home, and right on the head.
The photo is pure magnificence. A young girl of small stature, completely in tune and in sync with an utterly powerful animal. Rid it of the modern barrels and gates, and this could be reminiscent of a young rider from one of the many great horse nations that have existed. Perhaps a young Sioux, Crow, Blackfeet, or even Mongolian rider. Such a great photo. Thank you for sharing, Tom!
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So beautiful. The look of determination on them both is breathtaking.
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Thank you for sharing this amazing photo. And the copy above the photo is right; it does get in the blood. I donāt get to ride as much as I used to, but Iāll never stop loving it. I got an unpleasant concussion about 3 years ago from a fall, and I debated whether I should be doing this anymore, but I just canāt stop. However, I definitely donāt recover as quickly.
What impresses me about the girl is that even though she looks determined, to me she also looks relaxed at the same time, like she knows sheās got it.
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Oh, I just love this. And I so needed to see this. Iāve been off the back of a horse for far too long. I grew up riding and that photo makes me think of those wonderful years. It really is in your blood and never leaves; I dream about riding some nights. My five horses have lived and moved on over the Rainbow Bridge, and I have not felt right about buying more since Iām a working mom now and just donāt feel like I can devote the amount of time I need to into owning a horse at this point in life. I hope Iāll have them again one day. And at least for me, itās really not as simple as renting a horse or riding someone elseās; it just feels too wrong to be on someone elseās horse that I donāt have that connection with.
I can relate to that girl, because that was (is!) me. I may keep this one and print it out. Thanks for sharing it!
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One of the things I loved about going to jackpot rodeos and gaming events were all the kids in the parking lots roaring around (usually bareback) on the retired rope horses while their parents were in the arenas. They were fearless, the horses pretty bomb proof at their age, and everyone having a great time.
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I finally found this photo.
In 2004 I co-owned a photography business. We specialized in on location and special event photography of mostly horses.
It was the County Fair and we set up at the horse location. We had my laptop and photo printer, so could print out photos.
My daughter, who is an excellent photographer, joined us.
We knew many of the 4-H horse peoples, including Janeās family.
It was Janeās first year in ārealā 4-H, now that she was 9 years old. She was so excited to ride her rather large horse, Flag, in the barrel races.
Jane and Flag were doing great. They were so in sync. Then this happened. My daughter took the photo.
To everyoneās amazement, Flag stopped in his tracks. Jane, unscathed, jumped back on him and finished the race.
They later came in 2nd place in the beginners pole race.
I loved Janeās spunk and the connection her and Flag had.
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Thank you for sharing a bit of your story! Your daughter caught a most impressive photo, a still shot that feels in motion.
I feel this is one of the most indispensable of duties in horsemanship, as well as all other aspects of life, it avails nothing to stay in the dirt!
Thanks again for sharing this @fernwood!
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I love this photo also! And I can relate to her 
@Ravenscry, you are right about the value of learning to get up, and (when possible) get right back on the horse. Same same with skating. If a kid refuses to fall they will struggle, because their fear is holding them back - granted we fall much more on the ice, and it hurts a lot more off of a horse 
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IDK, Iāve fallen once ice skating, and many many times off a horse, and I will say that ice skating fall hurt BAD. I tried to do a sliding stop, which it turns out I am not nearly ace enough for, despite being perfectly capable of them skiing. I did some kind of out of control spin, then went right down, slamming my head into the ice. It seems weird, but it never occurred to me exactly how hard ice is until I slammed my head into it at high speed. I ended up getting evaluated by medics for a potential head injury (but was fine, if a bit bruised).
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Oh no!! Iām glad it wasnāt a serious concussion. I wasnāt really thinking about hitting your head, because mostly we fall on our behinds I think you just needed me to teach you how to stop 
Unfortunately that is one of the very difficult things at the beginning.
When I got bucked off the horse I even had my helmet on but he is a biggie, 17 hands. And I didnāt get back on that day, but almost 3 years later I did get back on him this summer (heās not my normal ride).
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I do need you to teach me how to stop. I havenāt tried again since, and that was probably 20 years ago 
. And perhaps there is a bit of an art to skate falling, like there is to horse falling.
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There is. And outside of the concussion, I really have never been very hurt falling off a horse. I think the concussion happened because Iām not as young as I used to be; more than likely I probably wouldnāt have fallen off 20 years ago.
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And to get back to the topic a bit, wouldnāt it be fun if all of us horse lovers could have one of these?
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Looks like a well trained horse; this little gal is lucky to have an experienced barrel horses for her early rides!
To those of you who have come off a horse, I agree the landing is typically not as hard as ice 
, but as a person who had been tossed off a few times, that feeling of loosing your breath when you hit the ground is horribleā¦and broken ribs are not fun! But I wouldnāt have traded the horses Iāve had throughout my life for anything. Whatās that old sayingā¦There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man. Canāt remember who said that but so True!
And, @Ziacat, as an Appaloosa gal, I love that Zuni Buckle!
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Winston Churchill. That is my fatherās favorite quote. 
My favorite is this one by Kelsey Grammer:
āWhen I get on a horse it can reduce the events in my life to a simple desire to stay alive.ā
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Ha Haā¦ been there! Kelsey Grammer? Who would have thoughtš. So true, but thereās that level of trust tooā¦except when a paper bag blows across the trail!!!
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Yep, he owns horses.
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We are currently horseless, since we now live in a neighborhood and are getting a little older. My favorite horse was our quarter horse JaC (jaycee), photo taken right before he had his heart attack in the arena in Prineville (USTRC roping). Our daughter didnāt understand why we werenāt loading him and taking him home, and I explained that he had died and was in heaven now. For a few years after, anytime she heard that someone had died she wanted to know if they were in Prinevilleā¦ itās become a running joke in the family ever since.
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