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| Gettin' started...Okie & I are behind the white horse. |
I did it. I survived the Shawnee trail ride. And it was a struggle to start with, let me tell you. There were 14 of us that went. We had four trucks with large trailers and one pickup truck. We packed up on Friday evening and headed south, making a pit-stop for supper at my all-time favorite crappy-tavern, Syd's, for tacos. I called ahead and ordered up 30 tacos so that when we stopped we wouldn't have to wait. It was quite interesting driving past with the large horse trailers and parking along the street in the grass. We got a few stares.
We filled up on tacos, loaded up and got back on the road again for our destination, Double M Horsecamp in Shawnee. It was late by the time we got there and unpacking was interesting in the darkness, but all was good. I sat around the fire with a few people and I think it was about 1:30 when I finally turned in. I could still hear my daughter and her two friends giggling and laughing when I went in the bunk house. They were sleeping in the horse trailer...thankfully.
I should mention here that in case you didn't read an earlier post, I had a prior bad experience with trail riding. In fact, I haven't been on a horse really since and that was in June of 2010. Madolyn was going on this trip and I had an open invitation and decided I needed to go and be with my daughter. I told my friend "Karie" that I was NOT riding Melodee and could only go if she had something I could ride. Yes, she had her mare, Okie, that was very good and thought we would be a good match.
After eating a yummy breakfast at the Double M restaurant, we saddled up and headed out for a day on the trails. As soon as I hopped on the saddle, my nerves shot through the roof. Suddenly, I had this overwhelming realization that what I was about to do was completely ridiculous and stupid on my part. I really had not been on any horse for any kind of ride in over a year and I had NEVER been on this one. I recall one of the other more experienced riders asking me if I was okay, to which I responded, well, no, not really, I have never ever been on this horse. She just looked at me, trying not to alarm me, but I can only imagine what she was thinking, i.e., this girl is crazy.
I could not get sweet Okie to stand still. She prefers to keep moving. My nerves were completely shot, I was in fear-overload and seriously considered getting off and reading my Nook the rest of the day at the campsite. I had a whole host of emotions coming over me, but extreme panic was the leading force. As we headed off to the woods to begin the trail, I was in prayer. As we stepped into the woods, I was in prayer. For about the first 15-20 minutes, I was in prayer.
Then I realized that this horse, Okie, and I were going to be friends and we would do just fine. It clicked just like that. She was a sweetie, she took small steps, liked to look at everything and was very gentle. I talked to her the entire day. When we made it through something I thought questionable, I would pat her on the side and tell her good job or that she was a good girl. I am sure that those around me thought I was completely nuts, but it worked for us. We were kicked once by the horse in front of us and we kicked the horse behind us once. As long as we didn't stop, we were good. Stopping made her uneasy or something which then caused me concern, but I figured her out and by the end of the day, I could deal with her impatience (I know someone with some of that too, so we could connect).
We rode about three hours and stopped for lunch which we packed with us. We got back on the trail and rode another three hours or so. By the end of the ride, my lower back, butt and knees were incredibly sore, but I had made it. I was so excited. I got giddy towards the end. We were ready to be done and I hurt all over so I started singing church camp songs. Then the girls joined me. We weren't exactly with a church group so I'm guessing they thought we were nuts (and maybe annoying) if they could hear us. Oh and my girls (my daughter and her bff) were driving me nuts too, I was ready to get away from them. They loved watching my expressions as my horse would gallop, cantor, trot, whatever-you-call-it, to speed up to the horse in front...so they would purposely stop and wait to get a little behind and then take off. They would turn around and watch me. I could've strangled both of them, except I really didn't have the energy.
We arrived back at the campsite. I slid off the horse. Took a few moments to straighten out my legs and put our things away. We went and ate a big supper at the Double M (ribeye for me and some fantastic sweet tea) and finally I was able to call home and tell Jay that I/we had survived the day. I then crawled into my bunk at 8:30 and went to sleep. It was a good day. I had done it. Yes.
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| This is easy...(except my knees hurt so bad I want to cry). |
The next morning we decided to take a two-hour ride before heading home. It was quite painful to sit back down on that saddle, but it was also amazing. I climbed up on Okie and rode her around. Someone commented to me "Sarah, you just stand out on that horse today." I was so incredibly calm and comfortable that morning, it was awesome. I was excited to be going out for another ride again.
It wasn't quite as great as the day before because I rode the two-hour trail in constant pain. I kept thinking, I am so out of shape and getting old, this is pitiful...but maybe I should've rode a horse at least once or twice for at least an hour or so before deciding to get on one for six hours straight, huh? I hear it's much better the next time. I'm looking forward to it. Okie and I are friends. It was a sweet victory...I conquered my fears. And now I am ready to buy myself a horse. Saddle up, partner, here I come!
1 comment:
I am so glad you shared this! Love the pictures. You look like a gal who is VICTORIOUS!
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