The "Trail" Ride

Please note that the word trail is in quotations.  That is because in this particular case I think the word "trail" was used as candy to entice a simpleton like myself into thinking that I was capable of doing this.  When someone says there is a trail, (at least in my mind) it tends to make me believe there is a cleared path or walkway. It was not so.

Last June we decided to buy Lane a horse of his own.  He and Madolyn had been taking riding lessons with our friend and she was letting Lane ride Melodee.  They got along great and we ended up buying her.  This particular weekend, there was a 4H horse camp at Martinsville and then on Sunday a large group of 4H'ers were going on a trail ride.  Jay was working, of course, but the kids and I were set to go.  Our friend, I'll call her Karie, was prepared to help me with all of this as I was just learning the ropes, so-to-speak.

Sunday morning we skipped church, maybe that was part of the problem, and headed to the meeting place for the ride.  The plan was that Madolyn would ride Woody, her horse, and I would ride Melodee, Lane would ride on the back of a mule with another experienced rider.  We didn't feel I was ready or capable to have a passenger just yet, after all, this was my very first trail ride.  We had only owned Melodee about 48 hours, but Lane had ridden her several times and she was sweet with him.  I really had no major concerns.

I'm going to guess there were about 20 or so of us riding, most on horses, some on mules.  Off we went.  I think I started out being behind Madolyn & Woody, about sixth from the front.  It was a beautiful day.  We were in a pretty area, lots of trees, a large pond, and a large woods...which we turned into for the ride.  I'm still pretty calm at this point.  We're going along nose-to-tail, pretty slow.  This is going to be awesome.

Until Melodee started slamming me into trees, literally.  I mean she would see a tree and get as close as possible to it, so that my leg was pinched in between it and her belly, or my shoulders would scrap along a branch or the trunk of a tree.  I was getting pretty frustrated.  Karie kept telling me that she was just testing me and I needed to stay in control.  Oh, yes, control, I like that.

Then we came to a downed tree lying across what someone in this group had termed a trail.  The five horses before me slowly stepped over the tree, Melodee and I jumped it.  Off went my sunglasses.  Oh my, that was crazy, I'm trying to stay calm when the voice inside of me is screaming "HELP ME!"  Someone retrieved my glasses for me and we continued on nose-to-tail along the "trail."

We came upon a small stream/creek.  Again, while the horses before me were tip-toeing over it gently, Melodee sorta teetered back and lunged across it.  All I could think of was to hang on and never let go, and after shutting my eyes tight, that is what I did.  My friend Karie had told me once before during a riding lesson that they won't hurt themselves intentionally, so staying on their back is your best bet. 

Now, about this time I'm becoming a tiny bit concerned because it is obvious there is NO TRAIL.  I could tell that we are blazing it as we went along.  There were huge hills with small creeks or streams in between them, there were trees down everywhere, lots of brush.  We were zig-zagging our way through the thick.  I kept hoping just over the next hill, I would see an actual clear-cut path.

At this point someone in front of me got caught up in barbwire that was lying across the ground.  We all had to stop, which Melodee had had a problem with the entire ride.  She wanted to keep going, and the more I would try to pull her back, the crazier she would become.  Where we stopped for the tangled barbwire was on a hill with a RAVINE below it.  It wasn't a huge ravine, but big enough that most horses were going to have to jump over it.  No big deal.   And again, Melodee is sorta pacing, sidestepping, she will not hold still.

I am starting to panic, I'm verbalizing my fears, my heart is pounding, I'm pleading for help (all of which fuel a horse's fire).  Everyone is telling me to just relax and it will be okay.  Yeah, right...I feel it coming and off we go.  Melodee hunkers down, leans back and we lunge forward, leaping across this ravine.  Remember there are at least 15 people behind me watching, only one or two other people had crossed because of the barbwire snafu.  I am sure I probably let out a scream in flight and hung on tight.  I landed hard but was still on that dern horse.  I can hear comments about how amazing that was, wow, can't believe you held on, that was some jump, etc.  Had I been a more experienced rider, I probably would have appreciated those comments, but they weren't very comforting to me. 

I start crying and tell them to get me out of there, I want off of this stupid horse, I am done, I'm never riding again, etc.  I then look up to see Madolyn watching me.  Busted.  How on earth could I quit now?  If I quit this ride, I will never ever live it down in my kids' eyes.  Because if there comes a time when they struggle with something and I tell them to stay the course, they're going to throw this ride back in my face.  "Remember that time you quit the trail ride because you got scared?"  OKAY!  I decided I had to buck up and finish the ride.  I whispered SEVERAL prayers during the remainder of the ride for safety, comfort, wisdom, guidance and just about everything under the sun to get me through it.  We jumped over one smaller stream after that, which was now old news to me.  I grabbed the horn of the saddle tight, shut my eyes and off we went.

The only highlight was hearing Lane yell from across that big ravine, "Mom, that was awesome!"  My little man thought me jumping that ravine on Melodee was awesome.  (If he had been in front of me, he would've had a much different view...of Mama's panicked-fear-stricken-face.)  Jay got quite an earful that evening.  I ended up with a case of whiplash and had to visit the local chiropractor the very next day.  It was painful, but he fixed me up and after a few days, I could barely tell my neck was sore.  I had scratches on my arms and legs from Melodee ramming me into trees and branches. 

Even now, some of those people with us that day will say, "Wow, I still can't believe you stayed on that horse."  I suppose that is a compliment, right?  I have been assured by many that that was not a typical "trail" ride; we were just riding through a woods.  I haven't been on another trail ride since, nor have I been on Melodee.  This weekend a group is going to Shawnee to trail ride and I am going along.  Please pray for me, I will need it.  I'm thinking I'll take along my tennis shoes in case I decide to start walking...