The "S" Trade

Have you ever ventured outside on a bitterly cold, no sunshine kind of day in central Illinois? If not, you’re lucky. They’re the worst! They are especially bad when you actually want to be out doing something, but dang it! Fuzzy socks and a cup of coffee are awfully hard to leave for chilled bones. It would be the equivalent of leaving Ryan Reynolds for Arnold Schwarzenegger. Have you seen Schwarzenegger lately? Just not appealing. Hence my reluctance to leave my fuzzies and pack up in my Carhartt.

But, I did it. Why? Because K-pony needed a ride. Love endures all things… so true!

I was on the way to the facility where I board K-pony, when A, my beautiful little sis, mentions (several times, getting increasingly louder) that she would love to ride K-pony too. If you haven’t already gathered from previous blogs, I love my sister more than life itself, and she too has a passion for riding. However, because I’ve been so preoccupied with life, she hasn’t been able ride him since the middle of September. With all of that in mind, why not let her come? Sure it’s freezing cold outside and K-pony is bound to be loony! Eh, no biggy.

Ha. I sneer at my own stupidity.

I arrived at the barn, saddled up, avoided as much conversation with fellow boarders as possible, and wasted no time in getting on the horse. My fingers were about three seconds from falling off when I finally got K-pony moving. Yep, he was indeed a fruit loop. Why, oh, why do horses always pick the worst days to be stupid? Don’t answer that.

It took about ten minutes until he settled into his gaits, and after that he was fantastic! I’m not over exaggerating when I say that we had one of the best rides that we’ve had in weeks! He was so good that I momentarily forgot the fact that I couldn’t feel my face. Lovely, I tell you, lovely.

We finished our dressage work exactly fifteen minutes before my sister was supposed to return, and I had no desire to walk around in circles when K-pony had all of this wonderfulness to show off. So I thought that I would just set up one jump and do some practice sets. Nothing big, nothing hard. Just fun.

Ha. Again with the sneering.

I set up a little cross rail. We could do that in our sleep, and we practically did! He was marvelous, as to be expected. Within five minutes, I had bored with our practice and so had he. It never ends well when K-pony gets bored. With ten minutes to spare, I set the jump higher and into a three-foot vertical. Eek!

Ha.

K-pony flew over it the first time. Distance could have been better, but it was good. We practiced our simple exercise a couple more times until a thought crosses my mind.

Why is my head freezing and my hair in my eyes? (Gasp) I have no helmet on. ****!!!!!

But it was too late then! I was already within feet of the jump and turning away wasn’t really an option. Oops. Big, huge, monumental oops.

You think I fell off dear K-pony? Please. I don’t really see falling off as an option. Ungraceful emergency dismounting, yes. Falling, never! We cleared and landed immaculately, but I wasted no time in retrieving my helmet. I would prefer not to die, as my bucket list is far from complete!

By that time A arrived, along with our brother, G, and my mother. My siblings were heatedly engaged in a “ME FIRST!” “NO ME FIRST!” discussion. All Mom had to do was see K-pony’s and my Good God, there’s two of them expression, and she quickly ended their sibling’s quarrel. A was to go first.

A is eight, but I am far from trusting her on the beloved K-pony alone. I put her in the saddle, and then swung up and onto his buttox. (Yes, I just wrote buttox.) Her excitement was inspiring! She giggled the entire time, and all we did was walk! It makes me appreciate the little things that I often take for granted with K-pony. I was busy teaching her to sit up, hold her hands in the proper position (thumbs up!), and not to kick poor K-pony for no reason, when G called over that it was his turn now. Only because A truly had spent a reasonable amount of time on K-pony’s back did I comply.

G’s reaction to K-pony’s worn out gaits were quite different. He wanted to “drive,” as he calls it, and why couldn’t we run again? He inherited my desperate need for speed. Poor kid. He quickly figured out, much to K-pony’s dismay, that he could, what’s that word again? TROT!!! In his six year old language: "This is the coolest thing ever!!! Except for maybe that new holster Grandpa got me." :)

K-pony then parked himself in front of the three-foot vertical, and G then wanted to not only “run”, but “hop over” that “white thing!”

Ha. No, child.

But, K-pony seemed to have a different opinion when he knocked it over and literally “hopped over” the ground poles. If you would have asked me directly before the take off, I would have said that G was sure to fall, but he maintained his balance and the only danger he was in of falling off was from laughing too hard. I was stunned in to giggles myself out of shear amazement! A horse, my previously western pleasure horse, just knocked over a jump so that he could “hop” over it! Priceless!

I guess the point of this rather lengthy account is that sometimes trading Reynolds for Schwarzenegger can turn out decent enough. Just make sure you throw in a horse and a couple of munchkins.