That sounds painful. Kind of like my wife trying to explain how she skied over her thumb.

JK

 

This is a video of Jgar getting his EX 400 through a mudhole that had some nasty deep ruts in the mud. I think in this case the swingarm kind of helped by keeping the quad from sinking into the ruts. I had gone through this same hole on my Outlander and standing on the passenger footrests I still filled my shoes with muddy water. I am not as willing as Jgar was to get that mud covered.

 

Moose, that was a fun trip! We should go back sometime soon .
To the OP.
The recommendation of taking a riders safety coarse is sold advise.
What ever sport quad you may get there are 3 thing you should thoroughly understand before you try technical riding and going fast is technical riding. 1) weight distribution 2) appropriate momentum 3) picking a line of travel.
This video is a little old but it is packed full of info that will help you understand how to ride!

 

Raptor 250
300ex
Z400

Try those three out and get the one that you feel the most comfortable on. They cover a wide range of rider size and are fast enough for you to not get bored with them very quickly. Assuming you are on trails and not playing in the sand.