As part of our weekend to see Mercy Me, we set up a horseback trail ride for the kids! They were so excited when we arrived and we had an amazing guide that showed them everything in the woods and told them history and stories about the area. Now, for those of you who know me personally, you may have noticed I don’t have a great deal of leg! While I love horseback riding, my short, stubby legs have presented some problems when I have ridden over the years. While the guide adjusted the stirrups to fit my legs, one of them had a tendency to turn and my foot would come out of the stirrup. While we were walking the horses, this was not an issue. But our guide wanted the kids to have a really good time and so he wanted to give them a chance to do a little galloping. Every few minutes, he would kick his horse into a slow trot and move ahead of us. Of course, being trail horses very used to this, our horses all kicked in to a gallop as well! Now, I had expected a little pain considering that very sensitive parts of my anatomy were between me and a huge horse. The first few times I was able to stand in the stirrups and keep from bouncing too hard in the saddle and inflicting too much pain! This was effective until very near the end of our ride!
As we came out of the woods, Phyllis ‘horse, which was in front of me, had to take a potty break and my horse moved around her. As we were sitting and talking, the kids moved a good distance in front of us. I was adjusting my weight and stretching my leg in the stirrup that I had a problem with! At that moment, my horse decided to catch up with the kids!!! I never got my left foot back in the stirrup, so as we took off, I could not stand in the saddle! The pain, as I bounced up and down was excruciating! Thank God, my child bearing days are in the past or this would have made them much less likely! As I trotted, with tears in my eyes, I hear a cackle from behind me as Phyllis laughed uncontrollably! I called back that it wasn’t funny! I was in severe danger of cracking something other than walnuts (One of the activities we could do on this farm!) With all the love she could muster for me, Phyllis could not hold back the laughter; and I could not hold back the tears!
Finally, after what seemed like hours, but was probably 30-45 seconds, I caught up to Seth’s horse and my horse stopped running! I got my foot back in the stirrup and lifted my poor body off the saddle! Phyllis rode up and asked if I was okay, while barely hiding the laughter from me! I gritted my teeth, and said I think so, but that WAS NOT funny!!! She had to laugh again, so I guess from the other side of my saddle, it must have looked hilarious! As we rode back into the stable, I climb down from the horse carefully and did a quick baseball check to make sure everything was still there and turned the horse over to the guide!
Needless to say, when the kids decided to go for a second ride that afternoon, I took a pass and rested in the rocking chair on the front porch with Phyllis! It was an amazing ride and I am sure at least part of my body will remember it for a long time!!!!!
