The horses and me.

This post led me to write this blog. 

When I read it - it reminded me of all the times I've tried to ride. I always thought it looked so beautiful to see, in my imagination, a woman in flowing clothes galloping full speed. My eldest daughter made up for me. From the age of three when she had her picture made on a pony, she was hooked.

We lived in Canada then and when she started school aged five she had a long walk to school. I was pregnant with her brother so she walked alone. She had some riding lessons by then, and somehow she discovered that if she crossed the railroad tracks about another mile and she was at the stables. This I found out much later, she used to take her lunch money once or twice a week and cut school and go to the stables. For 50 cents they let her ride for 15 minutes. 
Up to that point I was not into attempting to ride. Bad enough she wanted to go on a Ferris Wheel and Daddy didn't like heights so there I was very pregnant, and terrified that I would fall out from the top. Later my riding attempts were just as scary.


When we lived in Puerto Rico we had horses of our own. We could afford them because Ray's boss allowed us to leave them in the field where the company buildings were. Cher bought an old grey horse that she literally saved from the glue factory, she groomed that horse for several months and went with a friend up the mountain near where we lived, and traded her for a palomino that was with foal. Steve had a "horse" that was actually part mule. It was smart though he used to lean down and undo Steve's shoe laces.

                                                                          

I tried twice to ride in Puerto Rico, the first time I had my one foot on a wall in front of the house, swung my left leg over the horse, who knew horses could walk sideways? Anyway that's the closest I've coming to doing the splits.
The second time we all went to the pasture and the kids  had another horse for me to ride. 
"Mummy it's so gentle nothing will happen - honest." So they throw a blanket over the horse, no saddle, and got me on to the horse and that's when the bucking started. 
One of the saddest things that happened in Puerto Rico was when Cher's palomino was about due to foal. It was a Sunday we checked on her on the way to the beach, she seemed fine. When we came home she had given birth but this beautiful baby was dead. We were told later that as she was giving birth, and had been spooked by some wild dogs. She fell backwards and broke her baby's neck. We were all devastated. I cried for days.

When we moved to Conover, we tried one more time, Cher brought home a beautiful horse, I can't even remember where it came from? I managed to mount that one, sitting proud in the saddle, and she decided to walk under a tree, after several encounters with low branches, I said enough. That was my last attempt until Spring Break at the Dude ranch in 2010.

Mounting Beau this is blurry but the look of horror on my face was priceless

This was me after I composed myself - looking like an equestrienne

 After a torturous 30 mins I called pax, they had to take me back to the ranch house in a golf cart. A second golf cart for Beau whose nickname was Slow Beau the golf cart driver took his reins and speeded back to the stable. Beau had never moved so fast, his face was about like mine when I first started to ride. Next pic. I call Cher the horse whisperer, I think she told him a joke.

This is Cher and Ed showing how it's done.

One of our Spring Breaks Ed treated Cher and I to the show Cavalia. If anyone loves horses this show is spectacular. It's almost a spiritual experience it's so moving. The most beautiful horses and the riders and the trainers obviously love these animals like family.

This is the huge tent that the show took place in.

 

Waiting on the stage before we took our our front row seats.

The following pictures are of some of the horses and riders. The most breathtaking thing for me was the riders that rode two horses with one foot on one horse and one on the other. They went so fast.

That's all the pictures I have, but if you go to Youtube.com and enter Cavallia in the search they're are lots of videos. I have experience so many problems trying to get the pictures on here, my page view count must include at least 40 views by me, as I tried to get this blog sorted. Cher was a mounted park ranger in Connecticut, but of course I can't find that photo. Thanks to the people who encourage me to continue with my writing, I hope you enjoy this chapter.