Nobody but me can appreciate how wonderful it is to be inside my head right now.
After more than 30 years, I am returning to horseback riding and I cannot wait.
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But today, I get a second chance, a chance to start it all again. I am absolutely giddy.
The horse I get to ride is called Sky. He is gentle and sweet and for me it's love at first sight. Sky is perhaps less sure, but after fixing me in his big brown eyes and then sniffing my hands and coat sleeve, he lets me groom him. Sky belongs to Mr. Barolo's nephew O2.
O2 is also kind, gentle and generous of heart. He surrenders his horse to me for the afternoon.
While still grooming Sky, I meet O2's Grandmother, Anne. She is a highly accomplished equestrian. Over the course of the afternoon she she becomes the instructor I wish I had encountered over 30 years ago.
She reads me immediately and as we are walking out to the ring she says to me quietly,
"This horse can be a bit spooky. If you are nervous he will sense it and react. Take a deep breath and relax."
Once in the ring, I focus on her voice while I try and remember back to what I learned when I was a kid. I get on the horse. I take the reins and Sky and I walk around the ring. Anne speaks to me gently the entire time.
"Bring your heels down, place the balls of your feet on the irons and angle your toes out." I remember this was hard for me to maintain when I was a kid. It still is.
Sky and I walk around the ring.
"Now bring him to a trot. Do you remember how to post?"
When we finally leave the farm I am at a loss for words; there's Anne who has shown me such great kindness, there's O2 for selflessly allowing me to ride his horse; there's Mrs. Barolo for driving my up to the farm; there's Mr. Barolo's sister and brother-in-law, the Glenfiddich's, who have made the arrangements for me to ride. This all has meant so much to me. All of these fabulous people have come together to give me a moment of redemption too complex to express with a simple "thank you." Unfortunately those words are the only tools I have. So I thank them for the day, knowing that this is also my way of thanking them for a new beginning.
Never quit,
Mary
Coming up next: Kayaking , Toronto Women's 5km and a Caribbean Cruise
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