This is a great story and well worth the read. I am sorry it is referring to the womens point of view, I am sure there are many men that feel this way, enjoy!
~ I ride ~
That seems like such a simple statement. However, as many women who ride know, it is really a complicated matter. It has to do with power and empowerment. Being able to do things you might have once considered out of reach or ability. Pushing yourself so much farther than imagined.
I have considered this as I shovel manure, fill water barrels in the cold rain and snow, wait for the vet/farrier/ electrician/ hay
delivery, change a tire on a horse trailer by the side of the freeway, or cool a gelding out before getting down to the business of drinking a glass of wine after a long ride.
The time, the money, the effort it takes to ride calls for dedication. At least I call it dedication. My husband calls it 'the sickness.' It's a sickness I've had since I was a small girl bouncing my model horses and dreaming of the day I would ride a real horse .
Most of the women I ride with understand the meaning of 'the sickness.' It's not just a sport. It's not just a hobby. It's what we do and, in some ways, who we are as women and human beings. Some people are defined by their country clubs, personal possessions, or parents, I am defined by one statement...
I ride.
I hook up my trailer and load my gelding. I haul to some horse show somewhere, unload, set up stalls and tack rooms, whistle up my dog, and I ride. I breathe in the air, watch the sunlight filter through the trees and savor the movement of my horse. My shoulders relax. A smile is worn proudly on my sunscreen smeared face. I pull my helmet down and let the real world fade into the tracks my horse leaves in the dust.
Time slows. Flying insects buzz loudly, looking like fairies. My gelding flicks his ears and moves around the ring like the melody of a symphony. I can smell his sweat and it is perfume to my senses. Time slows. The rhythm of the walk, trot and canter, and the plan for my course become my focus. My saddle melts to my horses back and the leather reins in my hands soften with the warmth. I consider the simple statement;
I ride.
I think of all I do because I ride. Spend countless hours caring for these beautiful animals that cannot take care of themselves, jump over obstacles almost as tall as I am, ride with a dear friend through the trails in the back acres all the while laughing and feeling my heart in my chest. Other days just the act of mounting and dismounting can be a real accomplishment. Still I ride. No matter how tired or how much my seat bones, inner thighs or any of the numerous horse related injuries hurt.
I ride.
And I feel better for doing so.
The beauty I've seen because I ride amazes me. I've ridden out to see the nature and skies that surround my beautiful farm. I've trail rode down to the river and just sat there to watch the water slowly move, the fish jump and the birds fly. I've spent hours discovering the 15,000 acres of the Kentucky Horse Park- all in the saddle on one of my beautiful four legged friends, I've seen the most beautiful sunsets while cantering on my sweet gelding.
I think of the people, mostly women, I've met. I consider how competent they all are. Not a weenie amongst the bunch. We haul 40 ft rigs. We back into tight spaces without clipping a tree. We set up at the shows. We carry 300 lb trunks full of all our equipment. Groom and clean, tack and ride. We understand and love our companions, the horse. We respect each other and those we encounter on the trail. We know that if you are out there riding, you also shovel, fill, wait, and doctor. Your hands are a little rough and you travel without makeup or hair gel.
You do without to afford the 'sickness' and probably, when you were a small girl, you bounced a model horse while you dreamed of riding a real one. Now you are there.
I ride.
--Julia Dake--(many of us feel she is our sister)
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1.
this is a splendid post and I would give a five out of five rating to it. Need some more posts like this to be coming out Thank you and looking for more of this kind. http://www.trading-shoes.com shox nz on the zoo.
This is a wonderful story and it does say so much as to why we as horse people do what we do. It is a sickness and I too am glad I have the sickness. I will hang onto the sickness until the day I die. Everytime I read it, even though it has been many times, I still get tears in my eyes. My husband read it and said "are you sure you didn't write this?" I told him that I am sure and you see I'm not the only one with this sickness. There are many others out there. And still "I ride"!
Thank you for your eloquence and the way you captured how we all truly feel. I sincerely wish I had ridden with you. My eyes welled up with tears reading your words and acknowledging "the sickness" we all cherish. Thank you. - by Carey Sages Mackin, 31-03-2009, 8:30 AM
7.
I also would love to know who wrote this because she says what we all feel every day with our "companions", our best friends. I have the "sickness" and I cherish it. Thank you for your eloquence, your details on our emotions and accomplishments, the empowerment yet humility from our experiences. You are right, so right it brought tears to my eyes. I wish I had ridden with you. - by Carey Sages Mackin, 31-03-2009, 8:27 AM
I Love your story. I know how you are feeling from the bottom of my heart. I know the magic that runs through you body the moment you put you foot in the sturrip. The sweet smell of a barn and the soft nickers and nays you get when you enter.
Keep righting it hit right home for me and I am sure it did for others also.
