Milestones for horse lovers: First blackened toenail

The big family vacation of my youth was an annual summer trek to the Shakamak State Park in Jasonville, Indiana. My sister and I loved Shakamak, mostly because it offered trail rides. The collage to the right is actually from the park Web site (they still rent out horses!). Shakamak was probably my first time on a horse, at about 7 or 8 years old. A horse-crazy kid from the heart of the suburbs -- you can't imagine how exciting it was!

But as Tom Waits says, "Life's so different than it is in your dreams." My horse stepped on my foot within moments of my grabbing the reins. I knew my foot was a mess, but I kept my mouth shut and we went on the trail ride. After the ride I wasn't walking too well, and my parents made me take off my shoes. My toenail was split and the toe looked squished. Mom put the kibash on our plans for more outdoor fun -- we cut our vacation short. My sister and I were devastated. I remember begging and sobbing in the back of our 1969 VW van while my parents stared grimly ahead in the front seats. Poor Leslie, it was not going to be the last time her little sister wrecked her fun.

Anyway, that was my first blackened toenail -- it's still split, by the way. It wasn't the most auspicious beginning to my riding career, but it was the first of many milestones. Shall I tell you more? My first foxhunt? First riding lesson? First horse show humiliation? The first championship ribbon? The best riding clinic ever?

What milestones do you recall?