I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by Regarding Horses and from what I can gather, I have to write seven facts that people might not already know about me. Here goes!



1) I have never ridden a complete cross-country round. I have jumped individual fences, even a couple in a row, but the only two times I have tried to ride a whole round, I have fallen off. One time breaking two ribs, and the other breaking lots of confidence! I am hoping that this will prove to be third time lucky, as one day I would love to take Echo cross-country. That's a long way off yet though.



2) I LOVE plaiting. Weird, I know. My friend used to pay me to plait her horse before competitions and be really apologetic about it, but I absolutely love it. Sometimes, when I was working or my old boss, I would have to get up as early as 4.30am to get his horses plaited for a show - but I didn't mind - it's great. Those of you that saw the photos of Echo at her first show will realise now why she had so many plaits - because I find it so therapeutic!



3) My first experience of horse-ownership was a complete and utter disaster. I bought a flighty thoroughbred when I was fourteen and had only ever ridden cobs and ponies before. Hattie was completely unsuitable and in addition, had some kind of mental problem which caused her to have panic attacks and throw herself onto the floor. I never really recovered my full confidence after that. I don't think I have ever truly trusted a horse 101% again.



4) I am completely addicted to soap operas. I don't have time to watch them, but if I did I would watch them all. In fact, much of my English teaching is able to be related back to soaps - there's nothing quite like Eastenders for teaching dramatic irony! If I could only watch one, it would have to be Home and Away - I even went specially to visit the beach when I was in Australia!



5) The most amazing feeling I have ever experienced in my entire life was, without doubt, galloping flat out on a beach when I was thirteen years old. Nothing has ever matched that. Something about the speed and the power, with the sight of miles of open sand in front of me was simply mind-blowing. I never wanted to stop galloping. Second to this, in horsey terms (as other experiences have seconded it in other ways) was my first experience of riding piaffe on an ex-Grand Prix dressage stallion. For so long, I had watched horses do this and longed to see what it was like, and when I did finally get to try it, it made a dream come true. I have to point out that I had absolutely nothing to do with creating it - this horse had a very clear button to press. I couldn't make him do a working trot at that stage, but I could make him piaffe!



6) When I was little I had a recurring dream that I had a huge dapple-grey horse called Pebbles, that I used to ride everywhere - including to school (too much reading 'Jinny' books I think.) I never considered getting a dapple grey, as I knew that I wanted a coloured horse, but I thought that it must be fate (or coincidence??) that Echo's mother is called Pebble. It was obviously meant to be!



7)I still cry, without fail, EVERY time I watch Black Beauty. There is something about that moment, when Black Beauty is close to death's door at the sales, emaciated and resigned to his fate, then he hears Joe's voice and it wakes something inside him and he starts whinnying madly. There is a few seconds when you think that Joe won't recognise him, then something clicks and the two are reunited. He pushes aside his bedraggled forelock and sees that white star, and that's it - I am in floods of tears. In fact, just thinking about it now is making me emotional. Everything about that film gets me - even just hearing the music.



Well - I'm not sure how interesting those facts were, but I had fun trying to think of them. I will have a go at tagging some people, although I'm not really sure how to do it.

Wiola - Freelance Instructor's Diary (although I think she may have done this before!)
Odin's Diary
Barokko's Diary
Rachel-Catherine - now I know she's done it before, but tough - do it again!!!