Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Sometimes Your Nerve Just Fails You

The worst wreck I ever had happened about two years before I quit training. At the time I neatly rationalized everything that happened. I wasn't on one of my horses. I was riding in a new place under conditions I wasn't familiar with. I wasn't given a clear history of the horse I was given to ride.

Afterwards I decided there was no reason for me to be afraid. If I could have better control over my circumstances, think each step through, pay better attention to my gut instincts and not allow myself to be pressured, I should be fine.


The reality is fear can be insidious. You can ignore it, run from it, shout at it, but once fear takes hold it effects every aspect of your life, for the rest of your life. It certainly did mine.


After my accident I found myself being slower to make my first ride on a new horse. Once I finally got on it took me days longer to push through to each new step. Instead of feeling if each new colt was ready for the next step, I was stiff with the memory of a horse that gave me no response whatsoever, the only horse I ever rode that had no give, no bend, nothing.

My friend Grace had called me one bright Sunday morning and asked me to meet her and a few others to ride some quarter horses.
I was off that day and really wasn't in the mood to ride. But I hadn't had a chance to visit with Grace for a long time and I was curious to see what she was planning to ride, since as far as I knew she wasn't into horses at all. I agreed to meet up with her, promised my eye-rolling husband I would be back in a few hours and headed towards town.

I pulled into the large lot and walked over to meet Grace and her friends.

"Hey!" she called, and waved, I could tell she was happy to see me.

"You ride first, then we'll all take turns," she said.

I'll be honest, I might have swaggered just a little bit, I was proud to be the one they were looking up to, the trainer they trusted to explain things to them.

The horse was a stiff, stubby little thing who had seen better days. I really didn't see anything to worry about, but beyond a rudimentary glance at the tack I didn't spend much time looking the situation over. I was playing to the group standing around me, just a little. I couldn't help it.

I normally would have paid more attention to how unyielding the little horse was when I tightened my inside rein, but I was letting my ego take the place of my common sense. I just swung my leg over and started to ride.

The little horse started off slow enough but just as I got my outside foot into the stirrup he started to pick up speed. I tried to pull him up but he just kept on going. He jumped forward and I lost my balance and came out of the saddle. I fell to the outside and was stuck fast by my boot, ironically the same foot I had barely gotten into the stirrup.

I hit the ground and the little horse just kept going and going, dragging me behind him. Everyone stood around screaming, but no one seemed to be able to help. I truly thought this was the end.



If that Kmart manager hadn't come running out of the store and pulled the plug ....on the quarter horse.....I might have died.


Gotcha.

April fools.

44 comments:

  1. Dang. You got me. You really did. :)

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  2. Ha ha ha.

    Okay, that was actually pretty funny.

    But it's still March 31st over where I am. If it was tomorrow I'd have been a bit more suspicious!

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  3. hahahahahahaha!

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  4. Oh that was aboslutely great. You really had me going. I got to the K-mart part and went "What? K-Mart...?"

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  5. I'm with ManyMisadventures. It's still March here. But you wouldn't know it for the foot of snow and 1/4" of volcanic ash on the ground.

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  6. K-Mart manager?
    Pulled the plug??
    What???
    thinkthinkthink
    oooooooh
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
    Got me there, Mugs!
    I was totally absorbed by the suspension of the story, and it took me a second to digest the end, lol!

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  7. Your sense of humor is whack... and that is why we all keep coming back! :) Thanks for the April Fools.

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  8. Sorry to those who got the early post. I put it up an hour early.....I was tired.

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  9. I got to Kmart and was like... WHA?!?

    HAHAHA. Best April Fools I've seen in awhile! :)

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  10. oh got me, too. Oh, and "Quarter horse" = 25 cents to ride. LOL.

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  11. I was reading that and remember how another time you said you could count on one hand the number of times you've fallen off (in the last ten years? Not exactly sure...) and then thinking, "This doesn't sound right at all. WHAT? Really?! No... Really???" Nice, Mugs.

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  12. You totally had me going. I was just about to email you and say, "What wreck? You never told me about any devastating wreck..."

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  13. Should have expected something like this from you! LOL!

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  14. OMG, you totally got me! Too funny....

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  15. You had me going... hahahahaha.. I needed that this morning. Gave me a good laugh.

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  16. OMFG! I HATE YOU! lol j/k but I was enthralled with the story thinking it was true!

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  17. jsut wanted to add: I too got to the Kmart manager and went WTF?. you really reeled that one in! GOOD JOB

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  18. You caught me too, thanks for a much needed laugh.

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  19. Oh good lord... that was SO not nice lololol (ok, so I'm laughing).

    (rolling my eyes and smiling)

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  20. O MY GOSH, the old blond joke, how deceiving!! Totally got me too, happy april fools day!

    http://ridingmsdaisyandson.blogspot.com/

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  21. My favorite part was how the little horse lack of bending should have been a read flag. HA!!

    You were so deadly serious that I was fooled right until the last line.

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  22. I got to the K Mart part and was thinking " why is she riding in a parking lot" DUH!! That was good.

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  23. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard that joke, but I have to say I didn't see the punchline coming at all!

    You got me!

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  24. lol, I'd totally forgotten it was April 1rst :) Really, really good mugs :p

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  25. I read this last night and was so confused. It didn't sound like you at all. Then got to the Kmart part and laughed and laughed. Good one!!

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  26. Still beautifully written. Thanks for the chuckle.

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  27. Nice...very nice. Totally had me! (And many of the other readers, it seems)

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  28. I thought the same thing as Foxtrotter; "why is she riding in a parking lot?". Boy, did I fall for that one...HARD. Thanks for the laugh!!

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  29. You certainly sucked me in. That is the 2nd time today someone has gotten away with a good April Fools on me. I am so gullible.

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  30. OHH you are evil!!!!

    Speaking of friends. How is your friend you told us about last year. The one who took a bad fall and was in the hospital for so long?

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  31. That was REALLY funny! I didn't see it coming at all until the end. :-)

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  32. Late to the party but enjoyed the laugh nonetheless!! Thanks for a smile!!

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