Cantering Bareback
One day on a chilly, crisp fall morning, my trainer, Mackenzie,
and I went to ride her horse Stoile. He’s an eight year old 16.2 hand
thoroughbred gelding. He has three white stockings and a watch eye that make
him adorable. When we got to the stable, we found Stoile munching on his crisp
and fresh hay. He knew it was time to work, so he walked over to greet us. As I
went to unlock the gate to Stoile’s turn out pen, the chains felt cold against
my hands. I hooked him up to the cross-ties and started to groom him; dust flew
in the air.
A cold breeze made my hair stand on end. I put on my helmet, gloves and
jacket. Finally, we started to the indoor riding ring. I gave Stoile’s reins to
MacKenzie, and she led him to the mounting block. I knew we were going to have
some fun! First, MacKenzie mounted, and then it was my turn. Stoile stood still, waiting for us to be ready.
Then it was time… we were going to canter bareback!
We asked Stoile to walk around for a little bit so he
would be warmed up. The excitement shot through my body as if I had never
cantered bareback before. Then, MacKenzie asked Stoile to canter. I held her
tight because I had nothing to hold on to. As I cantered longer, I felt more
relaxed, like I was riding on a cloud! We changed directions and cantered the
other way before we asked Stoile to walk. Sweat was starting to drip off of
him. As he cooled down, I took a moment to appreciate my surroundings. It was a
beautiful fall day; all of the leaves danced to the ground around us. It was so
peaceful that I wished it could always be like this.
MacKenzie got off so I could ride Stoile back to the
stable. I walked him around the stable until he was cooled down, at which point
we changed him back into his halter. After that, I led him out of the stable
and into his turn out pen. I unclipped his halter and took it off his soft,
shining face. He gave a little nudge to me before I headed out, and I closed
and locked the gate behind me.
On my way back to the stable, I went over to visit the
little goats. My favorite was a goat I called Polo goat because he looks like my
horse PoloBear. (If he was a goat of course!) They are both red with a little
orange, and black all over. I gave him a quick pat on his neck then walked on.
When I reached the stable inside, I found Mom and Mackenzie
talking about shavings. They talked for five more minutes before walking
outside. There we found Kimble, the person who takes care of the horses, and
his bird. The bird looked as if he could be a rainbow! My mom put her hand down
on the railing in front of the bird. All of a sudden Kimble shouted, “Move your
hand!!” A second after that, the bird closed its mouth where my mom’s hand had
been. My mom’s face was pale. She was lucky she moved her hand just in time!
Unfortunately, the time
had come when this wonderful day was at an end. I had so much fun and I didn't want to leave! My mom almost had to drag me into the car! Once we started to drive
home, I settled in watching a movie, thinking about how much fun I had just had
in one day. I knew I would never forget it… ever.
