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Afternoon everyone.

Dog, how'd the house thing go???Waiting anxiously to hear...

I'm ready, finally to write about my horse adventure...Summer '04...Pay attention Mozie:-))

Okay, this was out West at the family reunion - (husband's side)

Anyway, there were some riding stables in this town, and I'd always wanted to ride, so I mentioned it, and one of my husband's cousins liked the idea too...but she was quite experienced.

So we got our reservations....remember I wore a white jacket? Sheesh...no boots, but my athletic shoes and jeans, and a sun hat - we were up about 7,000 feet.

There were 2 guys running the place...one to lead the 6-7 of us signed up for the 90 min. ride, and the other to stay behind. In case of problems, they would communicate by walkie-talkie.

This ride was billed as "One size fits all" IOW, no experience necessary!

Hey, that should work...My cousin told me that "experience" related pretty much to the WAY we would move: canter, gallop, walk. This ride would be WALKING! Good. I thought I could handle that!!

So one of the guys sorted thru the horses, looking us over too, and matching horse to rider.

I got a nice-black, quiet looking animal, called Smokey, I believe. He seemed tame... This was going to work!!

With help I mounted, as did the others, and then we were organized into a line.

Now there was a French woman and her 2 kids....they were experienced...and bratty. We were instructed how to handle the horses, etc., and they kept breaking the rules. Figures, right?

Anyway, the leader sized them up pretty fast, and put them right behind him. There was one other no-experienced woman, and she was put at the rear which I wondered about. Her husband was in front of her, and I was in the middle in front of my husband's cousin.

The rules were things about keeping the horses from eating the grass along the way, walking, using the leash appropriately and so forth.

I felt pretty comfortable as we left the corral, with my cousin behind me. The horse seemed steady and calm!

Well, right off the bat, we cross a stream. That worried me: the rocks and uneven surfaces, and all.

But we did it, and I was pretty pleased, when WHAM!

My horse shies, whinnies, and AACK! He's going one way, and I'm headed in the opposite direction!!!

What had happened???

Well, a darn cat had come from nowhere to frighten him...I heard the other horses make some noises, but mine was the only one to react so strongly, and Guess What??

I managed to stay mounted!

It took a lot of strength and coordination, but the poor horse and I managed to reconnect with me in the middle of the saddle, my shoes still in the stirrups.

Hey! What worse could happen?? If I had survived that, what more could happen? And if it did, I guess I could manage....

Well, the next thing was we started up the mountain. YES, mountain! This wasn't some walk across flat, open spaces. We were headed up a narrow, rocky trail, a nother thousand feet or so.

Deep breath time....DEEEP Breath! But I was still game....or foolish...

There were no further "incidents"...no problems...going down was a little scary too, tho...

And oh was I sore at the end, and my white jacket pretty soiled...The guy had to lift me off the horse. No help from me, tired and sore...

Still, I was glad I'd done something I'd always wanted to...successfully!!

A few days later we were in another city, visiting one of my cousins...a physical therapist. I knew Pam had ridden, too.

So I asked her: you know me, my age, etc. Would you take up riding if you were me? She paused, and said, No, not if there were other ways I could enjoy the outdoors.

She's just seen too many injuries...

So I think that is that: a wonderful memory. Maybe I'll try again....but I don't want to push my luck!