I reached my arm around the edge of the door of the indoor arena. The goal: to sneak a peek at the list for the ride. Emma would probably scold me if she saw me at it, but she was busy with the noobs, and I had a feeling.... I had a feeling. I edged …
Leggin’ It, Part II
LEGGO MY EGO Yeah, Tango was in the ride, and I have to say, I was dreading it, but not for the obvious reasons. What if his rider got him to go? I had been giving out yards about him for weeks— what if this new person actually got him to move? Ego is, of …
My, My, My
I was so delighted [and relieved] to have Delilah again on Saturday. The ride is coalescing— we are closed to n00bs, now, and that helps— and even though we've had different instructors for the last bunch of weeks, things are going well. I was told that Delilah was cranky, but she seemed to be going …
Fall the Seventh
I AM A RIDER What a day. It’s exactly the kind of day that causes Dubliners to remark to one another, known and unknown: ‘What a day!’ Bright, clear, bluest sky, the sun with some heat still in it, but the breath of a nip in the air. Simply gorgeous. Add to this the fact …
Gran Feckin’ Prix, Baby!
DECEMBER 2006 ‘Anybody ever jumped before?’ Are you kidding me? It’s December, the middle. I have been riding for… thirteen weeks? Twice a week now since the middle of November so that’s more like sixteen weeks if you count the other days as weeks, as one lesson per week, and— oh, stop it. I’m still …
I’m a Hussy
I love Rebel. He’s a lovely dun colour, and he’s feisty, playful, he kicks up a bit, he lets me know when I’m doing something he doesn’t like, but he’s willing, so willing, and he jumps like a dream. His canter—oh, his canter is just perfect, I’ve never felt so centred in the canter, and …
See You Next Tuesday
GRRRRRRRRRRRRR Last night, my lesson mates and I, during a diatribe by the instructor [unintentionally provoked by yours truly], were implicitly lumped in with ‘some people’, who take up horse riding in order to look pretty. Pretty? Pretty? What exactly makes one look pretty when one is riding? Is it the dusty hands covered in …
Some La-La Land of Inter-Species Mind Meld
22, SEPTEMBER 2007 Yeeeeah, there’s that cynicism that I mentioned. It’s the part of me that stands outside of experience— any experience— coolly observes throughout, and then proceeds to examine it to death, mostly, I suppose, to stop me over-emoting in any given situation. Which is, in turn, ridiculous because I come at everything, every …
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I Trot, Therefore I Am
MY SECOND LESSON [16 SEPTEMBER, 2007] I’ve been thinking about trotting all week. Everyday. Waiting for the bus, walking to get a salad at lunch, staring ahead of myself, bored, at work. Some of the seemingly unintelligible sounds issuing from the mouth of last Saturday’s instructor [this is the correct term, not teacher] appear to …
Rebel, Instead
I suppose I could have reminded Fiona that I'd asked for Charlie. I am rather more... assertive than many of the other riders, when it comes to the allocation of school horses. But, eh, I don't know— no, I do know. I'm putting off my trial-by-Charlie until— until whenever. So Fiona says, 'You're on Rebel,' …
MANY BRAVE FOOLS 