Sep29



it is not enough for a man to know how to ride; he must know how to fall. ~mexican proverb

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on the beautiful island of  jamaica

a few years back

i

went

horseback riding

with my friend

and a ‘guide’

and no regulations

and no paperwork

and off we went

up

into the mountains

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only to  find

a tiny coffee shop

in the middle of nowhere

serving wonderful

 blue mountain coffee

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and

 a farmer

way up high

on the mountain

who had a cooler

of local beer

and

who grew

local crops

some legal

some not

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we stopped

for a rest

and a beer

and

tried out

the local crops

then headed

back down the mountain

and my horse

took off like a shot

 running

at top speed

and

we flew

through the trees

over the trail

into the bushes

i pulled back

on the reins

with all of my strength

to slow him down

held on tight

 planning to roll

when i would

at last

be thrown off

the guide

caught up

grabbed my reins

yelled something

to my horse

who finally

slowed down

and said

‘oh, mon. i forgot to tell you

 you are riding

‘lightning’

he loves to race

as fast as the wind

whenever

there are other horses around

glad you held on’

and my friend caught up and said

‘ i saw your sandals fly off

as you galloped away

 and it was one wild ride

to see from behind.’

and i said,

‘good thing

i wore my ‘relax’ shirt.’

though

i’m not sure

my horse could read

—

riding:  the art of keeping a horse between you and the ground.  ~author unknown

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61 responses »

  5. Galloping on a horse is the most amazing feeling. Having a horse bolt, is the scariest. I admire that you rode in cut off jeans/shorts, my inner thighs and knees would have no skin left! Great tale though and glad you stayed on and ..relaxed.. x

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    • i agree with all of that, jen. i do love to ride and to gallop but the racing is a whole other thing – the worst part about the shorts was that my legs were a bit burnt from some beach fun earlier in the day )

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  9. Whew, you live dangerously Beth. Funny in retrospect but I’m sure very scary at the time. As soon as I saw the sandals in the first picture, I thought : this will be interesting. Did you find your sandals? What your guide neglected to mention is that when horses are headed in the direction of home and are used to getting fed when they arrive – they will take off on anyone who is unsuspecting. Ha! My Mom’s family had an ice company when she was young and used horses with wagons to haul the blocks of ice from the lake into storage in the winter and for delivery during the summer. The barn was just down the street from Mom’s and she spent a lot of time with the horses. They used them in pairs when doing delivery and Mom tells a funny story of a new young delivery lad who was sent out one morning. The horses actually knew the route and would pull to a stop in front of the delivery home and wait while the home was served. As soon as the delivery boy got back aboard, the horses would proceed to the next delivery. This went on all day and so the new young man became quite complacent, figuring he had this all figured out. The route went in a big loop so they finished not far from the barn. Apparently, as soon as he got back aboard after the last stop, the horses bolted for the barn. He fell off the wagon seat into the rear storage of the wagon and the horses ran wild straight for their stalls and food. The paddock entrance gate was open and through they went – straight for the barn door. The usual procedure was to stop in the paddock and unhook the horses and wagon but the young man had not yet regained control so the horses went straight throught the barn door. They fit side by side but the wagon didn’t. They found the horses still harnessed together, in one of the stalls munching out, with the remains of the traces draggin behind them. The wagon was in splinters in the doorway with the young man laying unconscious in the middle of the weckage. Ha! Bad day at the office. He eventually regained consciousness and was OK. The wagon was a write-off.

    Great post Beth. Looks like you had a great time and a wondeful lesson in horse-back riding. Thanks for sharing.

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    • yes, sometimes i get so excited about an activity, i just go with it and through caution to the wind, no pun intended. all good in the end and i did learn something that day, but i do still love to gallop on a horse. wow, great story from your mom’s family. that is incredible.

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  17. That’s a ride for all time, Beth. Frankie goes to Hollywood, Beth goes to the mountain top. Relax, indeed. You held on! Thank God for the local crop, perhaps that gave you the inner peace to go with the Lightning.

    As for me, I do not think I’d even go next to a carousel ever again after that adventure!

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  19. I am laughing at this, Beth! Of course, you who are accident prone (slipping under vehicles in dresses and other such stories of the past…) got on a horse named, Lightning! Wow! What a great way you told this unforgettable story! High five for holding on, did your friend and you go back and find your sandals or did you have to buy new ones?! So glad you made it, after all!!

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