And We are Riding, Again

And We are Riding, Again

Well, I have been riding--but now, I am riding with Ellen and that is "really riding," to me.

I love riding with Kevin.  I love riding with Shari.  I love riding by myself, too.  But, what I really love, more than anything else, is riding with Ellen.

It didn't look like it was going to happen, this year.  Her anxieties were worse than ever--and that made the river deeper than ever.  I was getting resigned to the fact that I really was going to have another trail horse to ride this summer.  But I didn't want to ride Dante; I wanted to ride with Dante.

Everybody knows that Ellen is as fine a horsewoman as you will ever meet.  Ranger, in his youth, was not an easy horse to ride--and everything was made even harder when we threw Cruiser in the mix.  Going out on those early spring rides were a challenge, to say the least.

Anxieties are not logical, and if you know anybody that has them, please be patient. 

My patience did pay off.  Finally, there came a day that the river was low, the weather was warm and since it was a weekday, the park was quiet.  Ellen couldn't come up with any excuse.  She realized that as hard as it was to go on that first ride on Dante, it would never be easier than that day.

I am glad to report--that there was nothing to report.  Dante was excited to be out, of course.  He loves going on the trail.  I believe he was made for it.  Ellen was nervous, of course, but she also loves going on the trail.  She also was made for it--she just had to push all of her anxieties out of the way, and do it. 

That is easier said than done, but she did it.  Sure, she was shaking when she crossed the river.  Sure, she worried the whole time she was out on the trail about crossing the river to get back home, but she did it.  We did a bit of trotting and walked all the way home.

Then, it rained and rained and rained.  After a few days, I could cross, but Ellen thought the river was too high for her to cross.  I was worried she was losing her momentum.  It took a whole week before the river was low enough for her--but when it was, she crossed it.

This time, we did a lot of trotting.  Dante doesn't trot that fast, so it certainly isn't scary.  He acted like it was a day in August, not May.  He was wonderful.

Once again, Ellen was worried about crossing the river to get back home.  I asked her if she wanted me to go first or second.  She said I could go first.  Then, I asked her where she wanted me to wait for her.  She said at the bottom of the river bank--maybe it would keep Dante from rushing the last few steps.  Sometimes he did that last summer.

I was about 8 feet from the river's edge, facing the river so I could watch them cross.  Dante was so very, very careful.  Ellen was nervous; shaking, but Dante ignored her and walked across beautifully. 

When she was about 5 feet from the end, she told him he would get a jackpot of treats once he got across.  In fun, I said, "Just don't splash Cole!"  Cole is very sensitive to being splashed by other horses.  It really wasn't worried, because we were too far away for the water to hit him.

Well, Dante did rush the last few steps--and splashed water all over.  Nothing hit Cole, but he didn't want to stick around to find out.  He spun and ran up the bank.  I could hear Dante galloping up behind me.

Well, I flashed back to a similar episode last fall when Cole ran up the bank towards a tree, turned suddenly and I flew into the tree.  In that split second, I decided that wasn't going to happen, again.  Instead of trying to slow him down like last time, I decided to direct him, instead.  At the top of the bank, the trail goes either to the right, up the hill and home or to the left where it dead ends.  I steered him to the left.  Once he was turned, he stopped on his own. 

Dante didn't even make it up the bank before he stopped.  All was well that ended well.  It didn't scare Ellen. She knew that Dante was just reacting off of Cole--like most horses will.  I was happy that Cole and I redeemed ourselves from the fall last fall.  In fact, I have to confess, I felt rather triumphant.

Next time, I will wait at the top of the bank.