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Even though I’m from Texas, it’s a rare treat to get to ride a horse. My dad was a horse-lover and I’ve loved the IDEA of a horse since I was a camp counselor during the summers of my high school and college careers. Every Thursday, we would take groups of 10-year old day campers out on a trail ride, atop ancient horses that followed the trails like Stepford wives. Not a lot of challenge to the riders, but such fun!<\/p>\n
A few years later, when our boys were in elementary school, we took a trip to a Dude Ranch in West Texas. We stayed for Spring Break and had a ball. A few years later, Jack and I took horseback riding lessons at a stable in LA, where movie stars went to get ready for upcoming roles in westerns.<\/p>\n
So, my experience on horseback is scattered, to say the least. But, the dream is always present! For years, I have dreamed of owning a piebald pony. I would name my pony Penny (after my grandmother’s horse) and I would get a companion for her for Mack (who really, really, REALLY doesn’t like horses) and name him Lucky. Lucky and Penny. Perfect.<\/p>\n
On a whim, I signed up for a horseback riding excursion while I was in San Miguel, Mexico last week.The Writer’s conference was over and I had a couple of free days before my cooking class. “What the heck?” I thought. So, I went for it.<\/p>\n
I guess I really didn’t think it through. Mack was not thrilled with my plan. He was concerned (as I should have been and would have been if I had thought it through) that I would be there alone in Mexico. A 62 year old women with (probably) brittle bones and no way to get back to the States in case of a fall.<\/p>\n
But, you know….life is short. Eat the Cake. Buy the shoes. Take the trip. RIDE THE HORSE! So, ride I did! And it was GREAT!<\/p>\n
A most handsome vaquero (about the age of my kids) picked me up a the hotel. When we got in his SUV, the radio played the sound of a horse whinnying (this is gonna be fun). We took a 20 minute ride out into the countryside, where the family has owned a ranch for 68 years.<\/p>\n
During the ride out to the ranch, I mentioned that I had been a teacher and how much I loved school. He pointed out a school on the way to the ranch, which was attended by his father and uncles decades before. They had ridden their donkeys an hour and a half (both ways uphill and in the snow…no, that’s a different story) to get to school. LOVE IT!<\/p>\n
When we got to the ranch, he took me to the schoolhouse that is now located on the ranch, populated by 4 kids belonging to family members and ranch hands. The school is taught by a teacher doing public service (her college was paid for and in return she gives a year to teaching in a remote area). WOW! While this really doesn’t have much to do with my horseback riding, I will tell you that tears came to my eyes. There’s just something about a one-room schoolhouse…<\/p>\n
Anyhow, I was the only guest that day, and the day was magical. Perfect weather – sunny skies and just enough wind to keep it cool. I picked my horse (not a piebald, but a beautiful white horse) and after a quick tour of the ranch and a stop to milk a cow (the milk would be turned in to queso blanco for our lunch while I rode the horse), we mounted up and started on a 4 hour tour (Gilligan’s music is in my head right now).<\/p>\n
Though it’s been several years since I rode, I guess it’s like riding a bike:) It came right back to me and I loved it. We even galloped some on the even spots and I “won” a race with the uncle (now the patriarch of the ranch) on a short sprint through the creek. Such fun!<\/p>\n
That day will go down as one of the best of my days on the road. While I try to be cautious when I travel, I’m always happiest when I step out of my comfort zone. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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