Jamie and myself training at home .. a rare moment
IT WAS TWO O'CLOCK ON A BEAUTIFUL SUNNY SPRING AFTERNOON, I HAD BEEN DOING THE HOUSEWORK FROM SEVEN THIRTY THAT MORNING WHEN MY HUSBAND AND SON LEFT TO GO FISHING. THIS WAS HOW I SPENT MY WEEKENDS.SHOPPING ,COOKING AND CLEANING WERE MY ONLY REAL CONCERNS. VERY OFTEN I WOULD STILL BE CLEANING WHEN THEY RETURNED AT NIGHT. MY SON FREQUENTLY TOLD ME I NEEDED A HOBBY TO HAVE SOMETHING ELSE TO OCCUPY MY MIND. I THINK IT WAS TO PROTECT HIMSELF AS WELL.HE HATED TIDYING HIS ROOM AND I USUALLY CLEARED IT FOR HIM, LOSING MOST OF HIS TREASURED JUNK IN THE PROCESS. HE WAS RIGHT, I DID NEED SOMETHING ELSE TO DO BUT NOTHING KEPT ME INTERESTED FOR LONG. MY HOME CAME TO MEAN A LOT TO ME AS I NEVER REALLY HAD A PERMANENT HOME. ALL THEIR MARRIED LIFE MY PARENTS MOVED ON A REGULAR BASIS AND BEING THE NEW GIRL,MAKING NEW FRIENDS, BEING IN NEW SURROUNDINGS WAS ALL PART OF MY GROWING UP. I SAT DOWN TO HAVE A CUP OF COFFEE AND A QUICK READ OF THE LOCAL PAPER. I NOTICED AN ADVERTISEMENT FOR RIDING LESSONS AT A YARD NOT FAR FROM WHERE I LIVED. IT HAD A CRECHE, NOT THAT I NEEDED ONE BUT IT MEANT THERE WOULD BE YOUNG MUMS THERE AND I WOULDN'T FEEL OUT OF PLACE.RIDING WAS SOMETHING I DID ENJOY BUT HADN'T DONE FOR QUITE A LONG TIME. I HAD LEARNT TO RIDE AT THIRTEEN. I HELPED MUCK OUT IN EXCHANGE FOR LESSONS. MY DAD HAD FIXED UP THE DEAL FOR ME WITH ONE OF THE CUSTOMERS AT HIS STORE. FORTUNATELY THIS YOUNG WOMAN HAD TWO COMPETITION HORSES AND WE RODE OUT TOGETHER MANY TIMES. I OFTEN SCARED THE LIFE OUT OF MY MOTHER TELLING HER OF OUR EXPLOITS! THIS WAS WHEN I FIRST EXPERIENCED BEING 'RUN AWAY WITH' . A KIND WAY OF SAYING I WAS OUT OF CONTROL!! THE SPEED DIDN'T REALLY BOTHER ME, IT WAS EXHILARATING, BUT I WAS YOUNG. I DECIDED TO RING AND MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK.
I COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE NERVOUS WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE YARD, BUT THE OLD FAMILIAR SMELLS AND SOUNDS MADE ME FEEL THIRTEEN AGAIN. THE PEOPLE WERE VERY FRIENDLY AND WELCOMING AND VERY SOON WE WERE A REAL GROUP OUR AGES RANGING FROM ABOUT EIGHTEEN TO FORTY PLUS. WE HAD ALL DAY PIC-NIC HACKS, GAMES, LESSONS, AND LOTS OF FUN. IT CAME TO THE POINT WHEN I WOULD BE THERE TWO OR THREE TIMES A WEEK, I COULDN.T STAY AWAY. I RODE ALL KINDS OF HORSES,ONE IN PARTICULAR I LIKED CALLED SNOOPY. HE WAS A BLACK GELDING 15 HANDS HIGH AND REASONABLY QUIET. I DIDN'T KNOW THEN THAT THEY COULD ALL BE REASONABLY QUIET WHEN THEY WANTED TO BE. HOWEVER HE REGULARLY DROPPED ME OFF IF I GOT TOO BIG FOR MY BOOTS.I ALSO PAID A FEW VISITS TO THE LOCAL HOSPITAL. ONE MORNING I HAD ARRIVED LATE TO DISCOVER THEY HAD ALL GONE OUT WITHOUT ME AND THERE STOOD WARREN, A SMALL GREY, PATIENTLY WAITING FOR ME TO TAKE HIM OUT WITH THE GANG. THE OWNER SAID I COULD CATCH UP IF I HURRIED......THIS MEANT I WOULD BE RIDING OUT ALONE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVEN IF IT WAS ONLY A MILE OR SO. THRILLED AT THE PROSPECT, OFF WE WENT TO CATCH THE REST. RIDING OUT BY MYSELF WAS SOMETHING I LONGED TO DO. TO GO WHERE I WANTED, WHEN I WANTED AND FOR HOW LONG I WANTED.... JUST WONDERFUL. SO THE SHORT RIDE ALONE I HAD WITH WILLING WARREN GAVE ME A TASTE OF WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE. |
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A YEAR PASSED AND I WAS REALLY HOOKED AGAIN. MY RIDING IMPROVED AND I BEGAN TO ENJOY THE JUMPING, SOMETHING I WAS VERY WARY OF.
THEN THE DEVASTATING NEWS CAME, THE RIDING SCHOOL WAS CLOSING DOWN, IT WOULD REMAIN A LIVERY YARD, BUT THE SCHOOL HORSES HAD TO BE SOLD. BY NOW, I FELT I COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT MY RIDING. I THOUGHT ABOUT BUYING ONE OF THE HORSES BUT IT WAS AN ENORMOUS RESPONSIBILITY, WHERE WOULD I KEEP IT, WOULD I BE ABLE TO LOOK AFTER IT PROPERLY? IT WAS A BIG DECISION BUT EVENTUALLY THOUGHT I WOULD GIVE IT A GO. I WANTED SNOOPY BUT I DITHERED SO MUCH, HE WENT TO A FELLOW RIDER BY THE TIME I MADE UP MY MIND. SHE STILL HAS HIM NEARLY TWENTY YEARS LATER SO PERHAPS HE WAS MEANT TO BE HER HORSE ALL ALONG. ALL THE OTHER HORSES WERE SOLD BY THIS TIME, OR AT LEAST THE ONES I LIKED..
I WOULD JUST LOOK FOR ANOTHER RIDING SCHOOL, FORGET ABOUT OWNING MY OWN HORSE.I FOUND OUT ABOUT ONE CLOSER TO HOME. IT WOULD ALL BE OK,I WOULD STILL GET TO RIDE. HOWEVER MY HUSBAND, KNOWING NOTHING WHATSOEVER ABOUT HORSES AND ALL THEY ENTAIL, DECIDED I SHOULD HAVE ONE OF MY OWN. THE PEACE HE HAD ENJOYED OVER THE LAST YEAR WOULD NOT BE RELINQUISHED SO EASILY, IT SEEMED. HE ONLY SEES THINGS IN BLACK AND WHITE AND IF I WANTED A HORSE I GOT ONE...SIMPLE. HE CAME HOME FROM WORK ONE AFTERNOON TO TELL ME HE HAD FOUND ME A HORSE, ONE OF HIS WORKMATES' SON CALLED IAN EXCERCISED A HORSE WHOSE OWNER WAS OFF TO UNIVERSITY AND IT WAS TO BE SOLD. HE DIDN'T ASK IF THIS HORSE COULD BE SUITABLE FOR A FIRST TIME OWNER , HE DIDN'T ASK WHAT IT COULD OR COULDN'T DO... IT WAS A HORSE WASN'T IT? IT WOULD DO........ WE MADE ARRANGEMENTS TO GO AND SEE THIS HORSE THE VERY NEXT EVENING. IAN WOULD RIDE IT AND SHOW ME WHAT IT WAS LIKE. THE OWNER CAME TOO AND CALLED TO JAMIE OVER FIELDS STRETCHING FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE MILES AND MILES. OUT OF THE DISTANCE HE CAME,STONES AND DUST FLYING. HE WAS PERFECT, HE WAS BEAUTIFUL., HE GALLOPED FASTER THAN I HAD EVER SEEN AND IT LOOKED OUT OF THIS WORLD. I DIDN'T REALISE HOW MANY FAULTS ONE HORSE COULD HAVE AND AT THAT TIME DIDN'T REALLY CARE. HE STOOD QUIETLY WHILE HE GOT TACKED UP AND IAN MOUNTED AND WALKED HIM TOWARDS THE GATE. HIS FATHER PATTED JAMIES'S BUM GENTLY AS HE WALKED PAST. JAMIE BUCKED AND DEPOSITED IAN ON THE GROUND OF COURSE IT WAS FATHER'S FAULT, WHAT A SILLY THING TO DO PAT A HORSE!! IN MY EXCITEMENT I DIDN'T HEAR THE WARNING BELLS, IN MY IGNORANCE, I THOUGHT IT WAS A ONE OFF.... IT WOULD MAKE NO DIFFERENCE, I AM A VERY DETERMINED WEE SOUL WHEN I MAKE UP MY MIND. THE NEXT NIGHT I WOULD TACK UP AND RIDE MYSELF.JAMIE STOOD WELL TO BE TACKED UP AND PATIENTLY WAITED UNTIL I MANAGED TO GET THE BRIDLE OVER HIS EARS. I AM QUITE A SHORT PERSON AND IT HAD BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE I HAD DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS MYSELF.. I MANAGED TO GET UP AND WALK OVER TO THE FLAT PART OF THE FIELD. WE WALKED AND TROTTED BUT COULDN'T QUITE GET THE CANTER. JAMIE DECIDED HE DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT AND I SAID OK.THIS BECAME THE PATTERN OF HOW JAMIE AND I GOT ON. IF HE FELT STRONGLY ENOUGH ABOUT NOT WANTING TO DO ANYTHING WE DIDN'T DO IT.... AT FIRST. I RODE HIM A FEW TIMES UNTIL ONE NIGHT WE DISCOVERED HE HAD BADLY OVER REACHED AND CUT HIS FOOT. HE HAD TO BE SEDATED WHILE IT WAS SEWN UP AND I COULDN'T RIDE HIM AS HE BECAME LAME. WHEN HE IMPROVED ARRANGEMENT WERE MADE TO MOVE HIM TO THE STABLES I HAD BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND.THE OWNER TOLD US THE TRAILER WOULDN'T BE AVAILABLE AFTER ALL AND HE WOULD LEAD JAMIE TO HIS NEW HOME, A DISTANCE OF SEVERAL MILES.... THE BELLS SHOULD HAVE BEEN RINGING AGAIN, BUT I WAS OBLIVIOUS.
JAMIE DULY ARRIVED AT THE YARD. MY POOR HUBBY HAD SPENT NEARLY A WHOLE DAY MUCKING OUT WHAT HAD BEEN A SO CALLED DEEP LITTER BED. EVERYTHING HAD TO BE JUST RIGHT FOR JUST JAMES.
THE OWNER WAS BEGINNING TO HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT A NOVICE RIDER COPING WITH A VERY FIT AND FRESH HORSE AND THOUGHT PERHAPS IT WAS GOING TO BE A BIG MISTAKE ALL ROUND AND SAID IF THINGS DIDN'T WORK OUT IN A MONTH HE WOULD TAKE HIM BACK. TAKE HIM BACK??? NEVER!!
TIME TO MOVE ON....I DECIDED TO HACK OUT WITH THE YOUNG GIRL WHO PATIENTLY HELPED ME LEARN THE DELIGHTS OF HORSE OWNERSHIP AND THE DIRT, (OH YES THE DIRT. MY HOUSEWORK WAS UNDERGOING A REVOLUTION.)
WELL TO SAY WE HAD OUR UPS AND DOWNS IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT AS WE CERTAINLY HAD PLENTY DOWNS. I MAYBE DIDN'T EXACTLY TAKE IT ON THE CHIN BUT I TOOK IT EVERYWHERE ELSE ON MY BODY.I WAS DRAGGED THROUGH MUD, DUMPED ON THE ROAD, KNOCKED OFF BY TREES,COMPLETELY KNOCKED OUT ONCE OR TWICE!! JAMIE TESTED ME TO THE LIMIT... HE WAS GOOD ON THE ROADS THOUGH, THE OWNER SAID SO AND I BELIEVED HIM. I RODE JAMIE OUT ON THE BUSIEST ROAD IN THE AREA, IGNORANCE CERTAINLY IS BLISS. I BELIEVED ALL NEW OWNERS WENT THROUGH THE SAME TEETHING PROBLEMS...IT WASN'T UNTIL MANY YEARS LATER I DISCOVERED YOU COULD BUY A HORSE WHICH DIDN'T DO ANYTHING BAD OR AWKWARD AND DIDN'T SCARE YOU TO DEATH AND ACTUALLY DID AS IT WAS TOLD MOST OF THE TIME.. THE CHALLENGES I FACED WITH JAMIE EVERY DAY WERE QUITE UNUSUAL... I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IT. A TRUE BAPTISM BY FIRE! I HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO RIDE ON THE BEACH SO A RIDE TO THE BEACH WAS ORGANISED, THE ONLY SNAG BEING THE RIDE THROUGH THE LOCAL TOWN TO GET THERE.HOWEVER WE MADE IT AND I GOT MY GALLOP ON THE SANDS, AND A SORE HEAD WHEN JAMIE DECIDED TO THROW ME OFF IN EXCITEMENT. I STILL HAD TO RIDE HOME, THIS IS WHEN I REALISED YOU HAD TO GET BACK ON AND GET ON WITH IT NO MATTER WHAT. HOW ELSE WERE WE TO GET BACK TO THE STABLES? . THE MONTHS PAST AND I COPED AND THOROUGHLY ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE I SPENT WITH JAMIE UNTIL FINALLY SOMETHING I COULDN'T GLOSS OVER... A FLAT OUT BOLT ON THE MAIN ROAD.....NOT A HARD PULL BUT A REAL SWITCHED OFF, PANIC STRICKEN BOLT. WE BOTH ARRIVED BACK AT THE YARD SHAKING, MIRACULOUSLY STILL IN ONE PIECE, AFTER CROSSING THE PATH OF ON-COMING TRAFFIC..JAMIE HAD NO IDEA OF THE DAMAGE THE LORRIES AND BUSES COULD DO TO HIM OR ME..
EVERY BOOK I READ TOLD ME THE SAME THING... A HORSE WHICH BOLTS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS, TOO DANGEROUS TO EVEN SELL ON.WHAT COULD I DO? THIS WAS A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM BUT COULD IT BE FIXED?
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