I took horseback riding when I was a little girl & these horses weren’t taken care of very well!!! I think they were also very old as they walked very slowly but that was a good speed for me as I really did not know what I was doing, anyway. They might have been old but they were smart as once they started the trail, they would walk very close to the tree trunks & you can just imagine that if you are on a horse & they start walking close to the tree trunks, the rider is going to get hit with branches & get scratched up as did happen to me. During the trail, we came upon a very shallow pond. Well, my horse decided that he did not feel like crossing the pond that day & started to get down on his knees. He not only got on his knees but then started to roll over as I think his back was itchy as I do not think they groomed these horses very well. I quickly jumped off or I would have been a pancake.
My next opportunity was to go horseback riding on the beach. I was told to wear sneakers but it was such a hot day, I decided to wear flip flops. When it was time to select your horse, I put in a special request for my horse to have arthritis as I was not a very confident rider & they gave me a horse they said would suit my needs. Once on the trail, walking very slowly on the beach, they was a loud bang & my horse took off running & my flip flops flew off. I was screaming as there was no way I was going to be to control this horse. Thankfully, the guy who was in charge of this operation caught up with me & stopped my horse, otherwise, I think I would still be riding into the sunset.
So did that stop me when another opportunity came my way??? No way!!! So a group of friends decided to take a trip to Puerto Vallarta & one of the activities was horseback riding on the beach. I asked the guide if he would go on the horse with me & he said, “Sure.” So, this time I was certain that it would be a safe & easy trip as the guide was going to control the horse so I had nothing to worry about. Well, I was sadly mistaken as during the ride, since the guide was sitting behind me in the saddle, as we rode, he hands would move up my blouse. I started screaming as of all of these horseback riding episodes, this last one was the scariest!!!
You would think that if I was ever asked to go horseback riding, I would refuse, but no!!!
If you first
don’t succeed, keep trying and
THRIVE!!!
Horseback Riding: A Lesson in Thriving
RHG Magazine & TV Guide TM - Spring 2018 © All rights reserved.
|10 |