The day did not start normally. The day did not end normally. It started with colicky horse… not fun, and ended with 7 out-of-their-minds’-girls sleeping in the barn with said horse. Between these two events, is where my story begins. Sadie was being set up in her stall, complete with fresh shavings, food, water, and an I.V. I was riding with one other girl in the arena, Annie was her name. Our lesson was nearing its end. Our instructor was setting Sadie up, and was keeping a peripheral eye on us, everyone else either relaxing, helping, or showering. We had supervision but not a technical close eye.

We had just been walking, our lazy horses plodding around in a circle. My feet were firmly in the stirrups, my knees soft on Becker’s sides, and light hands on his neck. The orange traffic cones seemed to be upsetting Becker. To help, I pressed him towards them with each pass, getting him as close as possible. I felt confident that he was okay, and soften my knees and hands. I soon learned that he was smarter than me.

With the next pass, he was fine, then the next, and the next. The next pass however, set him off. Upon our approach, he seemed weary, unsure of himself. As we got closer he began to sidestep, then, about 2 feet from the first cone he reared his terrible rear, jumped back and to the left, and off I came to the right. Within seconds, the ground made contact with my right side. The one word and only thought that went through my head for the next few moments, was pain.

When I opened my eyes and sat up, I saw blurry figures running into the arena, calling my name, making sure that I was okay. One girl grabbed hold of my horse who, loyally, stopped moving when his front hooves finally came back into contact with the arena floor beneath him. Pulling my helmet off, my instructor checked my eyes, which, gratefully, had focused, my jaw, arms, and my head in general. Another girl, pulled the stirrup from my ankle, where it wound around me in the process of detaching itself from the saddle.

Standing up, I shook myself off, peeled the rubber bits of the arena floor from my arms and legs. Annie, graciously took my horse, and let me borrow hers in order to end the lesson on a good note. My lesson ended with a successful jump, a bruised hip, arm, and knee, and a broken helmet. I still slept in the barn.





It was quite the night.