Full-Sized Person

On Friday night I got a text from my bishop's daughter, a piano student and babysitter of mine.  Her family owns four horses and had a ride planned for the next day, but they were one rider short.  She asked if I'd like to go.

Um... of course!


I thought it was a little weird that of all the possible people, I was the one who got the invite, but I decided not to over-analyze and just be grateful.

On Saturday, I found out why.  My bishop explained to me that the horse I'd be riding, a 25 year old Arabian named Sabelle, still has a lot of spirit, but she just "can't handle a full-sized person anymore."

So apparently, when his teenage daughter wasn't able to go on the ride, they thought of all the snack-sized people they knew, and my name was at the top of the list.

Self portrait of me and Sabelle

Whatever the reason, I'm glad I was able to go.  We left at 7 am, and since I was filling in for the daughter, I got to do all the work.  I opened and closed gate after gate after gate as we picked up the horse trailer and then 2 horses from the pasture and 2 horses from the barn.  I learned how to brush and bridle.  And finally we started off onto the mountain trails.

It was gorgeous!  All the beauty of a hike without the actual walking.  And then I realized that without the walking, there really was little to do.  Sabelle dutifully followed the tail of the horse in front of her.  I longed to gallop her, at least a bit.  Then I thought how nice it might be to read while I rode, realizing I'm really no good at holding still.

Our view for much of the morning: the tail of another horse

Finally, Sabelle got her wish of being the lead horse, and the whole experience changed.  Although we were still following the planned trail, there was nothing but views ahead of us, and any momentary boredom I may have experienced earlier subsided.  I still had that call for adventure - of wanting to go faster, or off the trail, or...

Out in front, enjoying uninhibited views

When the ride came to an end, I wasn't really ready to dismount.  The morning had been warm and still and peaceful in a way I'm not sure I've ever experienced.  And I knew I had all that gate opening and closing ahead of me as we put the horses away.  My bishop commented that now that I have all the gates figured out, I'll have to come riding again.  I laughed and said, "Plus I fit the horse," to which he commented that I now passed all the requirements.

Of course, now I seriously owe Kirk, since he got to spend the morning fighting with the boys about cleaning the basement...