Okay, we got back from a three week trip to the United States a few days ago, and I really need to post some of the pictures I took, but first I have to tell you what happened at Micey’s pony class yesterday.
Because we missed a few classes while we were on our trip, we went to pony class yesterday evening for a make-up class. It was dark, but the ring is lighted. Micey got to wear the new protective riding vest we bought in the United States for the first time, and she rode the gray pony she has been riding often lately, Sombra (Shadow).
The first forty-five minutes of the class were typical. I sat at a table where I could see Micey riding and Tito playing on the playground at the same time. The riders trotted around the ring, did some diagonals across the ring, went over some small jumps, and cantered around the ring a few times.
When it’s time to canter, they all line up on one side of the ring and stand still while the first kid in line gets to canter alone around the ring, and then go to the end of the line.
On Micey’s fourth turn around the ring, her horse went quickly into a canter, cantered a couple of paces, and then with no warning reared up, bucked, threw Micey to the ground, and proceeded to gallop and buck around the ring for a good five minutes like some kind of crazed rodeo bronc. That back rail borders a row of trees and a little road… something lurking back there in the dark must have scared him. Or he got stung by a wasp or something. Who knows? This horse is usually completely calm and gentle.
I leaped up from my table and ran halfway to the ring before I realized that Tito was alone and unsupervised (the playground is bounded on two sides by stables, with horses standing around, by the cafe and riding ring on the third side, and the parking lot on the fourth side… plenty of trouble to get into). Knowing that Micey’s teachers had already gotten to her, I sprinted back to grab Tito and take him with me. Fortunately, I was intercepted by the cafe waitress, who said she would watch him while I took care of Micey. Gratefully, I accepted her offer and ran back to the ring.
I was going to jump the fence and run to the far end, but Sombra was still tearing around the ring at a full gallop, pausing only to buck and kick, so I stayed at the rail. Micey’s teacher was slowly carrying her across the ring toward me. I could hear Micey sobbing.
By the time they got to me, Sombra had begun to calm down and two grooms were about to lead him out of the ring.
“Wait! Don’t take him. She wants to keep riding,” called the teacher to the grooms in Spanish.
I looked at Micey incredulously. “I told her I would take her to her mommy, and she said she wanted to stay and ride some more,” her teacher explained.
“You want to keep riding?” I asked her.
“Yes,” she sniffled.
“On Sombra???” I asked, baffled. You will recall that moments earlier, I was afraid to even be in the same ring with Sombra. She wanted to RIDE him again?
“Yes.” She was sure.
I looked at her teachers beseechingly, thinking that surely this was a concussion talking, but they nodded approvingly. They seemed to think it was a good idea for both Micey and Sombra. Which I supposed it was, but I just couldn’t get over the fact that Micey actually wanted to get back on that horse.
One of the instructors got on Sombra first and cantered him around a bit, and then Micey got back on and rode without incident for the rest of her lesson.
Her teachers also explained to us that the first time you fall off your horse, you have to bring in a cake for your next lesson. They then proceeded to give me the recipe for the exact cake they wanted (chocolate cookies soaked in coffee, layered repeatedly with a mixture of dulce de leche and queso crema, then chilled… I began to wonder if they had put Sombra up to his little performance).
Later, after her lesson, Micey told me that she had landed on her head, and felt Sombra step on her back after she hit the ground. Hurray for the protective riding vest, a good and timely purchase if ever there was one. Hurray for helmets!
And hurray for Micey. I still can’t believe how brave she is. There is no way I would have wanted to get back on that horse when I was six (or now, probably). Another horse, maybe. The same horse another day, maybe. I mean, It wasn’t like she just lost her balance and slid off. He didn’t just get spooked and rear a little and cause her to lose her seat. He bucked her off and then did an extended and very exciting bucking bronco performance. He stepped on her!
The girl has cojones. That’s all I have to say.
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