It was a sunny afternoon and against my mother’s rules, my sister and I decided to go on a horse race. We could do that fairly easily, as we lived on a ranch and our horses were available practically anytime we wanted them.
Riding our horses was okay. Racing them was not, well not for the little 8 year old me. Safety always came first. But, safe was boring and I really wanted to race. Plus, my mother was gone that day so she’d never know.
We saddled up our horses and led them out to our pretend race track. My sister’s friend may have been there too, but I was only 8, so my memory fails me now. Actually half of this story may be different than how others recall, but it’s how I remember it, so I’m sticking to it.
Back to the race. We climbed onto our saddles, my sister on her horse and me on mine. Well, mine was a pony. Now that I look back, the odds were not in my favor.
Three…Two…One! We took off. The race was going great! My sister flew around the track like lightening and I followed right behind her, for a moment. I was on a pony after all. However, my pony did have some good energy and I sure felt like I was flying.
Then I really did fly. My pony got spooked, reared up, and I went flying, landing in the dirt below. I bit the dust, a lot of it. A whole mouthful. But, that wasn’t going to keep me down.
I stood up, spit the dirt out of my mouth, and dug some of it out too. It was pretty crammed in there. Then, looked up at that disobedient pony with a stern expression and jumped right back on her. At that point, I wasn’t going to win the race, but I was determined to finish it, and finish it we did.
Moral of the story – No matter how hard you fall, get back up and finish the race.
Also, dirt should not be a food choice. If you’re going to go natural, I’d recommend a salad instead.
This post is a part of SoCS, hosted by LindaGHill.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: “bat, bet, bit, bot, but.” Focus on one, use them all, or simply include one of these words in your post. It’s up to you!
“Typing my heart out” for Nano Poblano/NaBloPoMo.
Me - Who am I? 
That’s a great tale (and a lucky escape)!
LikeLike
Thanks! Yes, I’m thankful that it was only dust I ate and no bones were broken in the process.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good story. You were very brave to get back on the horse. I had a horse rear up on me once and it is very scary. I was able to stay on that time. Another time I was thrown and I still have a lump on my hip from all those years ago.
LikeLike
Thank you, Deborah. It can be scary at times. I’ve known people who refuse to get on another horse after their first bad encounter. I couldn’t do that though. They were my life. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The same thing happened to me: the pony reared and I fell, except flat on my back and it knocked the wind out of me. The pony, which was merely on loan so we could try her out, took off running back to her home farm. I was with an older girl, a teenager, and I remember not being able to move, thinking my back was broken. That day, after I caught my breath, I walked home. That just wasn’t the right pony for me. I had to move on. 🙂
LikeLike
That had to be a frightening moment, thinking your back might be broken. Smart pony for running back home though. I’ve decided that ponies aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. Kids should forget about the ponies and ask for horses instead. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahaha! Salad is much better than grass, which is where I ended up much of the time. If I could count how many times I fell off a horse… I’d need a lot more fingers and toes. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your awesome story! 😀
LikeLike
It is better than grass! Ha. When you ride long enough, falling off a few times is just the part of the game. Get up, dust off and get back on. Plus, it makes a person stronger, right?
LikeLike
It does! I used to take out trail rides for a living. When anyone asked me how many times I’d fallen off, I’d tell them that someone once told me, to consider yourself a good rider you had to fall off a hundred times. And that I was a good rider. 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a great story, it made me laugh, thank you 😀 I’ve fallen off of a horse once, we were going uphill, 2 on one horse, me in back. I started slipping, slipping, my friend said “hold on!” But, I fell on my butt. In the mud. I still think it was great fun though!
LikeLike
Glad to give you a laugh. 🙂 Ha! I like your story. If you have to fall off, then landing in the mud would make it fun! Thanks for sharing that.
LikeLike
Yuck! I’ve had dirt in my mouth too. It’s been ages ago (when I was a kid) but I still remember how awful it was.
LikeLike
🙂 You too, eh? It may be natural, but it sure is gross!
LikeLike
I can just see your determined little self finishing. That’s what counts, doesn’t matter how you got there, but without the mouth of dirt would have been nice.
LikeLike
I was determined, for sure. Couldn’t let my sister see me quit. Then she really would have given me a hard time. 🙂 Yes, without the dirt would have been okay.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for stopping by my blog! This is a great story with a good moral. My first memory of riding is on a HUGE horse (to my 4 year old mind) with my parents. I fell off but hung by one boot from the stirrup, My hair dragged on the ground as the horse walked me back to the stable, with my parents following and having a good laugh. I am not a regular rider but my daughter was in the hunter-jumper class for about 5 years and won a lot of ribbons. Then she discovered team sports and boys. What can I say…
LikeLike
You’re welcome and thank you for stopping by mine. Oh no. What an experience that must have been for you. I am impressed by the fact that you go on to say that you are not a regular rider – which tells me that the experience didn’t stop you from riding. That is a wonderful thing. That’s great about your daughter. I bet she had so much fun during those 5 years. Boys do have a way of getting in the way, don’t they?
LikeLike