The Shat
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wrote on 25 Mar 2022, 20:50 last edited by
@jodi posted a video on FB of Shatner riding his horse.
He's 91 years old this week.
I can't find it on teh Tubez, but I found this one from when he was younger - 86:
Link to video -
wrote on 25 Mar 2022, 20:53 last edited by Horace
Glad they were able to mic up the arena to capture the music he asks his personal assistant to play while he rides.
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wrote on 25 Mar 2022, 21:03 last edited by
By the way, I'm going to start taking lessons again - in 2 weeks.
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wrote on 25 Mar 2022, 23:04 last edited by
By the way, I'm going to start taking lessons again - in 2 weeks.
Horse riding lessons? Really? And you have a history of horse riding?
Yes. We owned horses for about 6 years. We had two, and one of them was an idiot, so we donated him away.
Mrs. George had horses before she had me.
I was never interested until we bought Simon in 1998, I think. He was a great horse. Great head, easy-going, and terribly dependable. I would ride him at least thrice-weekly. When Mrs. George's shoulder acted up, she had to give up, and after a while, it just became too much for one person to do, with respect to riding, care, etc.
So, we donated Simon to a place that uses horses for handicapped kids. It was a therapy place.
He was really the best horse. I could take him anywhere off the "property." He had no fear, and we got along really well. Even without a saddle, if I was walking, he would follow me around. Totally dependable, calm, and sane.
I really miss it.
About 6 months ago, Mrs. George found a place about 20 minutes away that gives lessons. She started taking them weekly so as to enhance general wellness, strengthening of leg and spine.
So...I thought this might be fun for me as well. 30 minutes, once a week.
I'm really looking forward to it.
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wrote on 25 Mar 2022, 23:14 last edited by
Wow, sounds great!
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wrote on 25 Mar 2022, 23:24 last edited by
The place where we boarded him was a "hunter-jumper" barn. There were lots of tight-assed ladies who thought they were superior to anyone else.
It was funny because I could ride either Western style (I had a custom saddle for him) or English style. The picture of me is in English tack.
However, as I said, I could take Simon anywhere, and people were astonished that I could take him off the property into the surrounding neighborhoods. They were amazed that I trusted him enough to remove him from his "familiar" surroundings of the farm.
He was the best horse, and he and I became really good friends over the years we owned him.
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wrote on 25 Mar 2022, 23:47 last edited by
Mrs. George - probably 45 years ago...
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wrote on 25 Mar 2022, 23:48 last edited by
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wrote on 25 Mar 2022, 23:55 last edited by
OK, since you asked...
He really trusted me...
Best friends
Bath time.
Action shot.
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wrote on 25 Mar 2022, 23:58 last edited by
Wonderful pics, George.
Mrs. George was a bad ass, and I say that as a compliment.
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wrote on 26 Mar 2022, 00:05 last edited by
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wrote on 26 Mar 2022, 00:32 last edited by
Mrs. George was a bad ass
You should have seen her in the ICU....
And, I never had any interest in jumping, though I took a few lessons.
She jumped with horses, and I jumped with motorcycles. I like yer woman, George. LOL
Mrs, George got divorced in 1972, I think. She was working in the ICU, depressed as hell. One of her co-workers said, "You need a horse." So, being young and...energetic...she bought Charlie.
Charlie was a thoroughbred/saddlebred cross. If you go to Webster's and look up "crazy," there's a picture of Charlie there. She bought him from a guy named Silas Jayne. She had NO experience with horses, and, basically taught herself to ride. The barn where she boarded was along the Santa Fe railroad tracks, and Charlie always thought it would be fun to race the trains. Of course, the engineers thought it was fun, so they'd hang onto the horn, and Mrs. George, in her English saddle, would hang onto dear life.
Of course, she got better. She was an ICU nurse, and fearless.
When we married, she suggested I ride Charlie (indoors). He wanted no part of me, and every time I got on him, he'd dump me. It wasn't like he bucked me off, but he would suddenly move to the side, and since I had no balance, I would come out of the saddle, and end up on the ground.
It was then, at age 28, I decided that I'm too old for this, and decided that I had no reason to learn this. However, Charlie and I had a really good eyeball-to-eyeball relationship. He'd let me do anything - brush, pick his feet, and even put a saddle on. It was great, unless I got on him.
That precedent was set, for about 20 years.
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wrote on 26 Mar 2022, 04:09 last edited by
Good for you, George. I have no desire to ride a horse.
I ride a carbon fiber horse.
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wrote on 26 Mar 2022, 04:17 last edited by
Cool pictures. (Omg, Silas Jayne.)
lots of scary people in the hunter jumper world in Chicago back then. Probably still some now. I showed hunters around there in the 80’s. -
wrote on 26 Mar 2022, 07:19 last edited by
Thanks for posting all this, George; I enjoyed it.
I rode for awhile in childhood and teens, before interest faded. Won a cup, even.
