Happy New Year!

I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, so I didn't really want to go.  I had a gaming night and when I slipped into bed, all I could think about was a new story that I'd been working on.  Minutes and then hours passed by, and I still couldn't sleep.  So when I woke up after only three or four hours sleep, there was no way I was going to go.  And truth be known, I was a little afraid.  It had snowed a few days before, and although it had warmed up "a little" it was still pretty icy and slick out.  Did I mention how cold it was?  And I had never ridden a horse in the snow.

So when I walked into her house on that frigid morning, I had intended to completely wimp out and not go.  It would have been my first ride of the new year, but you know, there would be other rides—rides that weren't so cold and weren't so slick.  But when I walked into the warm house that smelled of sweet things for the pot luck later that day, and I saw the house cleaned up and ready for a party, I really felt like a wimp for wimping out.  But what really convinced me was that Susie was there, smiling as usual, and ready for the ride.  And Deb was ready to ride, and of course Carol was ready to ride, because she was leading the ride.

So I put my big-girl panties on, and said that I would go.  Susie asked Carol if she could ride Scout.  He is a spotted horse that is only three years old but acts bomb-proof.  I've ridden with him more than a dozen times, and he's only spooked twice.  And there are a LOT of things out there to spook about.  So Carol tilts her head and says that the safest horse to ride is Taffy.  She is a champagne colored horse—she looks just like a palomino—and a sweet little thing.  Immediately, I pipe up and say, "Can I ride Taffy?!!!"  You would have thought I was an auctioneer as fast as those words tumbled out of my mouth!

Susie rode Scout, Deb rode her horse, Utah, a spotted Tennessee Walker, Carol rode Surprise, a sweet spotted horse who is one of my favorites, and I rode gentle Taffy, who hadn't been ridden in quite awhile.  And it showed.  After saddling her, I climbed aboard and she wanted to go, go, go instead of waiting for everyone else to get ready.  So I kept turning her in circles so she'd behave.  It didn't make me feel any better about the ride!

Off we go.  First out of the driveway and then about two blocks on the dirt road/street.  Parts of it were icy.  Carol's horse, Surprise, slipped a little because she was shod on all four feet.  Some of the other horses were just shod in the front, and Taffy had no shoes on at all.  After a few minutes, we were off the street (breathe a sigh of relief for no more cars to deal with, although there are few) and into a wash.  I've ridden Taffy many times—she was the first horse that I rode here—and on this day she was a little antsy.  Although, Taffy is so gentle that even when she's a little antsy, she is still pretty gentle.  So it wasn't a problem.

I wore my heavy horsey coat and my driving/riding (thinsulate) gloves.  Deb suggested that I take a scarf, and I wrapped it up on my neck so it partially covered my ears under my helmet.  Not everyone wears a helmet around here, and I never did before, but I do now.  When I used to ride motorcycles, my brother called it a brain basket, and I never rode without one.  So now, I never ride horses without one. I also had my lined jeans on and wool socks.  I kept mostly warm except my feet.  Even with wool socks, they still got cold with the cowboy boots on.  Perhaps next year I'll try to find some lined cowboy boots.  Unless I'm riding bareback, which I haven't done for a while, the shoes I wear must have distinct heels.  Many winter boots don't or have a "kind of" heel—which wouldn't work.  I always wear a helmet, and I always wear boots with a heel.  No compromise there.



The ride went smoothly and we took a shortcut to avoid a part of one wash that had many rocks in it.  Because of the snow, you couldn't see the rocks.  During another part of the ride, everyone stopped.  I had to move Taffy up to see what everyone was looking at up in a tree.  It was a big, beautiful bald eagle!  It was so cool!  We weren't that far away, but it didn't move.  We looked at it, and it looked at us, and I think everyone was amazed.  It just stayed there.  Finally we rode slowly away.  We rounded a corner and saw the bird at a different angle.  Then Taffy started to pee.  When Carol didn't notice (she was far ahead of me with many riders in between), I had to call out for her to wait.  Unfortunately, my loud voice scared the bird, and on outstretched wings, it flew away.  When it took off, it spooked the horses a bit.  I felt bad that I had been the one to scare it away, when I had been so enraptured by its beauty.  After a few more minutes and another bend in the trail, we discovered why the bald eagle had been waiting there so patiently:  a deer carcass.  It was hidden in the grass, and all I could see were some antlers, slightly askew.  Life goes on.



When we returned from the ride, we all enjoyed the pot luck inside the house.  There were many more people inside, most of whom I didn't know . . . members of the horse group that Carol is in.  I mostly talked to Deb and Susie and did all right.  This party thing doesn't get to me like it used to . . . which is a good thing!  So, life is good.