Since I was literally a toddler, I've been riding horses. They've been my favorite animal since before I can even remember. My family has never had enough money to actually own one, but I've been hoppin' on them for quite a few years now -- technically, around twelve. When I was about, seven or eight, we found this wonderful stable, hidden behind a Tire Kingdom and a dead-end sign. It's the kind of place that you'd never guess was there unless you knew about it previously. I started off taking lessons on an old horse named Beau, who I'm sure to remember for the rest of my life. He was a sweet old-man horse with a swayed back and lots of grey hairs. Although he didn't go very fast -- it took a lot to get him going -- I remember riding in the circle ring (which is no longer there) one day when he took off on me. I was pretty scared, but I managed to stay on. When I got off, a little shaken, I recall Nongae, who is the owner of the barn, giving me a blue ribbon for managing to keep my seat. It probably wasn't the best memory I have of the place, but it's still nice to think about. As the years wore on, I stopped getting lessons, but Nongae was nice enough to let me ride for free. She's the nicest lady, I swear.
More? No, you're probably done, but I'm not! I'm just getting started!
So, over the years, I helped out a lot there. I find that more recently I'd rather just be around the horses than ride. I don't feel the need to hop on as much as I used to. True, I'm a little scared that I won't remember anything, but really, give me a curry comb and a horse, and I'm set! But yes, helping out. I did summer camp a few years, helping out with the tacking up, the brushing down, getting everything ready, helping the younger kids mount, etc. It was fun, and I found that while the kids took a break in the pool after their morning ride, I'd rather hang out around the barn.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention that. Nongae used to live on a house right on the premisis. Literally, it's about ten steps from the nearest horse paddock, and you can see the barn from her window, as well as all the rings. Now she moved, although she still owns the barn, just leases the house out. I've decided I want to live there, very badly.
But back to my story!
There was this stable hand, Mike, who used to work me to death. I slept over for a few days one summer, and was up early and in late. I loved it though, even though most of it was really manual labor. I fed, watered, groomed, shoveled, and rinsed every horse and every horse stall in that barn. It was a lot of fun, but very exhausting. See? I don't always dislike doing stuff!
Okay, but I'm skipping a really big part.
I used to bring a lot of my friends out to ride, all of which are no longer my friends. I kind of regret it now, but oh well. Once, when I was riding a while ago, Nongae, who was my instructor, told me to go fetch this horse, 'Miss' out of the paddock. I don't think I'd ever done this before -- but when I helped out over the summers, I think I turned out and brought in more horses than I could count -- but apparently she had confidence in me. I was a little scared, since Miss was no small horse, and the paddock she was in happened to be laced with electric fencing. Now, I've never been afraid of horses, and since they can sense it, I try to conceal it when I am a little nervous. I'm sure that I was nervoud when I went to get her, but it was more out of excitment.
Alright, more back story, yay!
Miss America, or Miss for short, is about 16.3 hands, which is pretty large. Let's just put it into perspective, I cannot see over her back unless I stand on my tippie toes, and even then just barely. She's a beautiful bay hanoverian, and a third-level dressage horse, I do believe worth about sixty grand.
Okay, so I get into the paddock with little trouble, not bothering/knowing to turn off the electric fence. It's not very big, just a strip along the top of the fence to discourage any rowdy horses from escaping, but it sill packs a pretty powerful punch. Can you see where this is going? So Miss's lead rope had metal connecting to her halter, which eventually fed into the regular material. As I'm getting her ready, trying to prop open the fence, not let her escape, and put on her halter, she brushes against the fencing. I guess it was my fault, since I should have been more coordinated, but it happened. So naturally, she flipped out, and spooked a little, doing the typical wild-eyed, head raised, flaring nostril thing that is characteristic of a scared horse. I was hurting too, since the shock she had recieved had transfered to my hands via the metal in her lead rope. Still, my hands numb and tingling, my mind in flip-out mode, I managed to calm her down.
That was the first experience I ever had with Miss.
After that, I fell in love with her. I'm not sure why, but I just did. These things happen I guess. It's kind of embarassing now, but after my first ride, I timidly asked Nongae if I could 'half own' her, or more take care of her: y'know, brush her down, etc etc. Nongae said yes, and I was very very happy. I'd never had a horse, and even half of one was better than nothing! (Of course, my asshole friends had to ruin it for me in fourth or fifth grade, telling me that she was just lying to make me feel better, but to this day my mom still says she was serious. I've decided to believe my mother.)
So, I developed a love for Miss. I was very jealous when other people rode her, but I knew that she still loved me (or I assumed, whatever.) I called her 'Mooch' for a petname, and taught her a neat little trick. Whilst grooming, I'd go around to her front -- when I was much shorter, I'm sure it wouldn't work as well now -- and sweetly command, "kiss" over and over until she lowered her head and allowed me to kiss her on her star. It was a cute little thing, and I wonder if she still remembers it. Unfortunatley, she wasn't the friendliest animal. Apparently her previous owners had abused her, making her slightly recalcatrent and cold. Sometimes she'd be affectionate though, but I would have loved her even if she never was.
Is this sounding creepy? I mean, by love, like, the kind of love that your dog or cat gets, innocent little animal love. Well, bigger animal in this case, but whatever.
But although she was perfect to me, ground manner wise, she was, uhh, not too great in saddle. Well, you'd kind of think that she'd be a pretty good ride since she was a high-level dressage horse. That's a lie. Don't get me wrong, 98% of the time, she was a good girl, a little pokey at times, but still good. Still, she had her vices.
For one, she turned on a dime. This isn't the best thing, but I was so proud when I managed to cure her of it! Seriously, I'm not lying, it was pretty much me who stopped her from doing that. I'm sure she picked it back up again when I wasn't around for a little, but with me, she rarely ever did it, because I didn't tolerate it.
Also, she liked to run. I remember once when I was being taught a lesson by this girl, who was a pretty good rider herself, we were jumping. Simple stuff, really, trot over, and then pick up a canter as you land. They weren't huge jumps, not at all, but still managing to push the horses to canter afterwards. So, I went over a few times, and started cantering, just like I was supposed to. Maybe like, the third time I went over, cantering like I was supposed to, that's when it happened. Everything was good until I tried to slow down. Yeah, Miss wouldn't stop. So me, I'm not really used to riding like this, and although I could ride, It's not like I was world class. So Miss takes off on me, and we're cantering around, me trying to steer her away from the higher jumps, lest I fall off and break my neck, and then, she breaks into a gallop. I'd never galloped before, and I didn't even know how to sit for a gallop. It's not really the kind of thing you do every day. Racehorses gallop, kay? So, I'm hauling major ass, trying to stay on, as I cannot stop Miss for the love of me. This one woman who was also riding in the ring dismounts for her own safety, so what was happening wasn't exactly... safe? But eventually, I managed to slow her down, and get off, shaking. My mom as well as everyone who was watching kept saying, "I thought you were going to fall off, or she was going to go over a jump, or you were going to die."
All in all though, I think that it was pretty fun. Scary as hell, yeah, but really a lot of fun if I think about it.
Now Miss doesn't jump anymore. ):
But before we get into that!
Nongae decided to breed Miss. I don't recall why, but I'm sure it had something to do with lineage and such. She was artifically inseminated, and the first two times it didn't work, but eventually it took. I think Nongae was planning to use her as a broodmare, but that never panned out. After her first baby, Nongae admitted that, 'I didn't want to go through that again, and neither did she.' I remember asking my mom frantically if I could sleep over the night she was due, and be with her when the baby was born, but that never worked out either. I teared up a little when we pulled up to the barn after a month or two of not going, and my mom says, "look who's in the paddock?" where I responded, "Miss..." and she goes, "look who's with her."
Although Fina -- that's what they named her -- is much bigger now. She looks like a smaller version of her mom.
But anyways, I kind of stopped going out there. I think the last day I went was the day before 8th grade or something, and I hadn't been since. Truth be told, I was a little afraid to go. I thought that the more time that passed, the more different everything would be. I was sure that the barn would have morphed into this unrecognizable place that I could no longer relate with. I was scared that the people would be different, that the horses would have come and gone, and that I would get guilt-tripped by people saying, 'where've you been?!'
Happily, it was not like that at all.
Today, for the first time in over two years, I went back to the barn. My mom called Nongae to ask if she was around, and so we headed out there after a quick stoll down Worth Ave. I have to admit, I was still a little nervous about going, but I was more open to the idea than I'd ever been. As we pulled down the pot-holed drive leading up to the gates, I felt my butterflies calm down a little. It didn't look that different, which took a worry off my shoulders. The barn was always very relaxing to me anyways. I remember sitting on Miss, walking through the trails and just talking to her, and having her listen to me. There's something very zen about that.
So we park, and get out of the car, seeing Nongae heading towards the back ring. We walk over there to be greeted by this woman Ellen, who I vaugley remembered, and Nongae, who'd just mounted. She greeted us like we'd just been there yesterday, aside from pointing out how much I'd grown, and told us to do whatever we liked. Of course, I went to Miss first, and something in me told me that even though it had been a while, she still remembered me.
Norma, Nongae's daughter, told me that Miss had almost died a year ago from a bad case of colic. She'd been operated on and it had come back, but then it magically disappeared. I shudder thinking about how crushed I would have been if today I went out, only to find that she had passed away. Let's not think about it.
There were a lot of different horses, but still some framiliar faces. I didn't really care other than Miss though, since it was like seeing an old friend. We walked around and said 'hi' to the other horses though, and it was a little sad, but I was glad that we'd finally come out. Naturally, I spent a lot of time coaxing Miss to come towards me, and I gave her a pretty long butt rub towards the end of our visit. It was probably then that I vowed to come out more, because looking out of the barn, I realized that it felt like I hadn't been gone for two years.
When Nongae came in from her ride, I admitted to her that I felt guilty I hadn't been out, to which she replied, "don't feel guilty unless you're out here and doing nothing," which is totally true.
Oh! Also, as we were walking back, and Ellen was introducing me & my mother to some new faces at the barn, (well, new to us since our last visit was long overdue) she introduced me as, "Lily, she used to ride Miss a lot." It made me really happy that I was remembered for that, because really, nothing else I'd rather be remembered for.
As we were driving home, I also realized that, aside from Nongae, we've been going there the longest out of anyone who boards their horses there. That's pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.
Next time I go, I'll bring my camera. Oh yes, and there will be a next time, now I'm quite excited to 'get back on the horse,' if you pardon the pun. (;
No comments:
Post a Comment