Horse-y temper tantrum

I still can't believe it; I got bucked off my favorite horse yesterday!

It was a beautiful day, and I had called ahead to let Pat know I wanted to ride. She was almost done with the stalls when I got there, so I took the hose and filled the outside water buckets. I got Dakota, Pat got Lady and after grooming, tacking up and re-adjusting tack, we went off.
Pat led the way through some trails I had only partly explored before. We ended up in a mown field near the water. The beach is rocky and there really is no safe way down there, so after going along the top for a bit, we turned for home. Lady is a Tennessee Walker and already has a very long stride. She started to get quite a bit ahead, so I decided to let Dakota jog to catch up. Bad Idea!
She jogged about two steps and gave a little buck, and I remained seated, but apparently because I wasn't going to let her go faster, she really kicked up her heels and there was nothing I could do about it. It didn't even occur to me to grab the horn. I rode English for so many years that I just forgot I had that option. Don't know if it would have helped, though.

I landed HARD on the baked ground, on my left hip. It hurt something awful. I said a bad word (several times, in fact) that rhymes with buck! Pat turned around and told me not to move. I wanted to grab Dakota, but she just stood there like a well-trained horse! It took me a few minutes to really feel like standing up. Pat asked me if I was alright and if I wanted to walk back. I wanted to ride, to prove to both myself and Dakota that I wasn't going to let this bother me.

I tried to mount from some raised septic covers in the field, but she wouldn't stand still. I finally walked for a while and found a stump, from which she finally let me mount. She was perfectly fine all the way home! I took her into the ring when we got back and jogged her for a while. No more bucking episodes, so I really think she was just aggravated at being held back.

Now, I just have to figure out how to stay in the saddle if it ever happens again!