I was probably 9 when I met Sprinkles. He was a naughty fleabitten gray pony, and his owner didn't ride him very often. As it turned out, they were looking for someone to lease him. Naughty or not, I leapt at the chance to have a horse of my "own". Surprisingly, Sprink and I got along pretty well. He was super fun on the flat, and while he was a little devious over fences, he taught me a whole lot about sheer determination, and when he was good, he was very good.
I don't think I've ever fallen off of a horse as much as I fell off of Sprink at the beginning. He was a dirty stopper over fences, and I was woefully unprepared. He also had a very nasty little trick where he would stop, drop his shoulder as if he was going to spin, then change his mind and jump. Actually, strike that. I don't think he changed his mind. I think his plan was to jump all along, but he had to be naughty about it. That little trick caught me out constantly when we first partnered up. Eventually, though, I learned my lesson and started really riding to the fence, and not leaning up his neck when I thought he should take off. This allowed me to sit down and ride to the base of the fence. Of course, even this didn't always work.
I'll never forget the day that I was doing a jump school, and I was cantering up to the barrels, which were set up right next to the hay bales. That naughty pony cantered up to the barrels, and instead of taking off, he ducked to the right and leapt over the hay bales instead. He was quick, he was clever, and he was apparently pretty lazy. I mean, that was a pretty dirty trick just to be able to jump a little lower. However, I stayed with him that time. The next time we cantered up to the barrels, I closed the right door hard and gave him a thump with my whip before the jump. Over we went. Take that, pony.
Sprinkles also taught me to sit quietly. Well, I shouldn't say that. I guess he didn't teach me to sit quietly as much as he forced me not to STOP sitting quietly. One of the reasons that Sprink and I got along was because I could sit on him without bouncing around, or being too handsy. He HATED people bouncing in their seat or hands, and he retaliated against that sort of bad rider behavior. He had been going really well for me, so when I went on vacation, I asked if maybe Bon could use him once or twice just to keep him working while I was away. Well, when I got back, I found out he had been used once, and had caused some problems. Apparently, the girl who rode him bounced a little, and Sprink took off. Of course, when he took off, she bounced more, at which point he said "enough is enough" and bucked her off. Bad Poneh. But, you gotta hand it to him, he was a very strict teacher who wanted you to practice perfect. I still think that he was a good stepping-stone into my life of riding and loving the "hot" Thoroughbreds. (I don't really think most of them are hot-heads... sensitive? sure, but for the most part, I think that rather than being hot-headed, most of them are sensible and smart with a propensity for being hyper-sentitive and/or easily bored - at which point, they get "creative")
I will add that he never outgrew that pet peeve. After I got Sierra, Sprinkles' owner sold him to Bon as a lesson horse. I think she figured that he had gotten over the bad behavior, because he and I were doing really well together (I just outgrew him, he was probably only 14 hands). He went on to break one of my friends' arms. Pony don't play the bouncing game.
In sum, Sprinkles was yet another horse that I met towards the end of his life, but he was a great teacher and a better friend. He was the first horse that I could kind of call my own, and I will always love him as if he were truly my first pony.
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