When Eric and I were visiting England last year, he expressed surprise that my mum hadn't broken out the old photo albums with the embarrassing photos of me as a kid. When mum was visiting my aunt (her sister) in Florida a couple of weeks ago, she must have mentioned it because Auntie Beryl dredged through the "archives" and found some pics which she scanned and sent.

Among them, this pic which I don't remember AT ALL!!!

I would say I'm around 7 or 8 in the pic, judging from my hair-do. Taking a pony ride on the beach in Devon, by the looks of it.

 As I say, I have no recollection of this event at all. LOL

 OK - let's share our "When we were young... riders" pictures.

Here is one of me from my very first show when I was 11; the pony's name is Merlin, I went in the walk/trot classes and got a 3rd and a 6th :)

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u278/StephR_photos/Old%20Riding%20Pics/Firstshow.jpg

 This is the pony who taught me how to ride -- Sassy, our leased Welsh Mtn Pony X.  We didn't have a saddle or anything, just the bareback pad and hackamore.  Check out mom's killer 80's sunglasses!  And yes, I used to be blonde!!   I think I am about 6 here.

I have no pictures of me riding in my teens. However, I found a picture of the first horse I ever rode:

I confess I do not remember the rope...Eat your hearts out!!!

This is me on my first horse. Her name is Lollypop. I got her for my 9th birthday.  I did walk  trot on her.  I got to take her in play day events..which was fun. I did a barrel game where you ride to the other end of the ring and get off the horse and crowl through the barrel and then get back on and trot back home..lolly took off at a canter. That was the first time i had cantered her.  

I sure do miss her though. She was in her 20s when i got her. So did not own her for long.   Here is the picture of me on lollypop. 

I did ride other horses and ponies before i got lollypop. I just don't have any pictures of them.  They were cute horses/ponies though.

~Laura~

This is us in my first horse show ever...

 Here is a picture of my first Pony Club Dressage Rally... I think I was 9?

and I've always loved palominos...

This is "My Sweet Sundance" (Sonny) an Arab/Saddlebred cross, and my first horse to raise and train that I was allowed to keep. I was 13 here (1960

My Sweet Sundance and me six years later and he STILL wasn't broke to a saddle - lol

Sonny was my bud for 29 years, until I had to put him to sleep with the Big "C"    He was a gentle, huge motored horse, tough as nails, loved parades, and would do just about anything I asked without much hesitation.  Except gaming.  He would work perfect at home, then blow when we got to the arena, so gaming lasted about two months

What a cute idea, Jayne, but I can't view yours!

This is a neat idea i have to search for mine. stay tuned.

Thanks for the heads up Kate (which I just now noticed)

I could see the attachment fine, but I've uploaded to my gallery now and linked to it from my original post in this thread.

I love seeing these pics of us in our younger days :)  But lets see some more BLACK AND WHITE pics.  Surely I'm not the only one who was riding back in the days before color photography????  LOL!

JayneP-Admin:

But lets see some more BLACK AND WHITE pics.  Surely I'm not the only one who was riding back in the days before color photography????  LOL!

You're not, I just don't have any of the black & white pictures.  I clearly remember avery old album full of B&W's of me when I was a little tyke, my aunts & uncles, great-aunts & uncles, pics of my dad's dad with one team of horses, and he's standing on the hay wagon.  I don't have it and don't know where it got off to

And I, too, love your picture.  How long has it been since there was a "horse fence" across the road from a diner/gas station?  At least that's what it looks like to me.  Boy if there was such a thing as time travel and I could pick my time, I'd be in line to get on the bus for 40's or 50's.  But I would have to be allowed to bring today's money for that time periods C.O.L.A. - lol lol

I don't think that's a horse fence, it's just the fence they had separating the road from the beach back in those days.

And on the other side of the road is the ubiquitous British pub