by
Linda Aksomitis
I
stuck my left foot in the stirrup, grabbed the pommel and hoped for two
things. First of all, that there was enough swing left in my body to pull myself,
however ungracefully, into the saddle without assistance. And second, that after
thirty years I still remembered how to ride a horse.
Much
to my surprise, a second later my right foot thrust into the opposite stirrup
and I was settling into the saddle.
"How
are the stirrups?" said Wes, the young cowboy-trail guide.
Without
thinking I stood, clearing the saddle. Hmm, I thought, at least I'd
remembered that much. "Feels good." It did feel surprisingly familiar,
but we hadn't started to move yet either.
Leaning
ahead, I patted Cophenhagen's neck. The bay mare made no visible response, but
arched slightly to guide me to an itchy spot. Whatever happened, we were in it
together for the long haul.
Wes
mounted his own horse, and Marge, General Manager of Parade Rest Ranch, pulled
in behind me. Around us, the Gallatin National Forest framed the 160 acre tract
of land that made up the ranch. Officially, the address was 7979 Grayling Creek
Road, West Yellowstone, Montana.
Nudging
Copenhagen in the ribs with the heel of my running shoes, I relaxed into the animal's
easy gait. While I'd been expecting to tackle a variety of terrains around the
ranch, I was startled to find Wes leading us straight into the Madison Mountain
Range. I wanted to shout, "Hey you guys, I don't do heights," but thought
better of it.
So,
Copenhagen began the upward climb, her feet plodding over what appeared to me
to be more like a goat path than a horse trail. My heart pounded. I carefully
kept my eyes focused ahead-thinking if I didn't peer over the edge maybe I'd forget
it was a long ways down. I didn't.
With
the reins in my left hand, I hung on tightly with my right, focusing on the little
bits of horse sense that popped into my mind, like how to keep Copenhagen from
nibbling every tall blade of grass we passed. I've often said my memory is like
a computer system with most of the files archived. I'm waiting for the day they
develop RAM upgrades to keep everything I ever knew readily accessible. (CONTINUE...)
