The Twins

My Great Adventures

Sarah Simmons

(6/2020) My sister and I have wanted to ride together since we first knew what a horse was. We’ve talked about riding together. We’ve made plans about riding together. We’ve even run around our house pretending to ride horses together.

When we about four years old, our grandmother, we call her Mimi, gave us two rocking horses. And we spent hours riding those horses. And they neighed too. Must have driven our Mother crazy.

Then we had stick horses. Emma and I rode those at a full gallop through the house with the ‘end’ of the horse pounding and dragging the on the floor. Must have driven our Mother crazy.

When we learned to read, we read about beautiful horses, like the wild ones of Assateague and the feral ones on the Outer Banks. Then Emma and I would run around like wild horses on the beach. Must have driven our Mother crazy.

Since we started taking horseback riding lessons with Mike, Emma and I have talked even more about riding together. But for a long time, we took turns riding the same horse, Wesley. This made our dream seem very far away.

Then one day, Mike told us to tack up Wesley, but Scotty also. Scotty is a beautiful thoroughbred. Emma and I were confused at first. Then we realized. It was going to happen. We were going to ride together…at long last.

We got on the horses and we walked and trotted around Mike’s big field. We talked about horses and riding. And about becoming vets together and taking care of horses. We sometimes looked over at Mike and our Mom, who were talking and watching us. I sometimes wonder what they were talking about, probably how great Emma and I looked riding together.

After the best horseback ride of my entire life, it was time for me to take my lesson while Emma trotted around the arena waiting for hers. Just as I started to trot Scotty, something I didn’t expect happened. Instead of going around the arena at a nice slow pace, he took off at a full gallop back into the field.

For a minute or two, I was just surprised and focused on keeping hold of the reins and my feet in the stirrups. Then I remembered what Mike had told me. I tried to keep my cool and told Scotty, "whoa." He didn’t. So, I said again, but a little louder, "Whoa, Boy." He didn’t. This time I shouted, "WHOA, SCOTTY!, WHOA BOY!"

At this point, we were heading right toward a fence. "Great," I thought. "That should stop him." But then I thought, "unless he jumps that fence and then we’ll just keep going." Luckily, he swerved and turned just before we were at the fence. First disaster avoided.

But after he turned, I realized that we were galloping along the back fence and headed right toward the road. It’s hard to say exactly what was going on in my mind because of all the noise my voice was making shouting "WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" I did not want my horse to jump that fence and starting galloping down the road. Worst case. Fortunately, my brained kicked in and I remembered how Mike told me to steer the horse. So I pulled hard on the reins and made him turn to run along the fence line instead of jumping over the fence and onto the road. Second disaster avoided.

At this point, Scotty began to run even faster. I don’t remember much about this part of the ride other than the sound of his hooves hitting the ground and his loud breathing, or maybe that was my loud breathing. And, of course, the increasingly loud sound of my own voice demanding, "WHOA, SCOTTY, WHOA BOY!" I noticed that we were headed toward Mike’s house. "Good," I thought. "Scotty can’t jump over Mike’s house. He can run into it and that would hurt (it’s a big house), but at least it would stop him." Third disaster avoided.

Then all of the sudden, I see Mike out of the corner of my eye. He looked like a knight in shining armor coming to my rescue. After what seemed to be the longest horseback ride of my life, I began to think it might be all over. But while Scotty is a great horse, he’s also a bit stubborn. He wasn’t quite ready to quit. So Mike stood in front of Scotty to stop him. It went through my mind that Scotty might run over Mike. I think I closed my eyes for a minute. I didn’t want to see what might happen next. But instead of running into Mike, Scotty slowed down. I was so relieved when I opened my eyes and Mike was still standing, calming telling Scotty to stop. Fourth disaster avoided.

Scotty turned back toward the arena at a fast canter. There’s about a three foot rise between the field and the arena. It looked like a mountain. I braced myself and pulled back on the reins. Scotty jumped it with me still on his back. But not for long. Like most tired horses, Scotty was ready to go home to his barn. He made a sharp turn to the right. But I kept going straight. Yes, I ended up in the dirt. My first fall!

Before I knew it, Emma and my Mom were standing over me asking if I was alright. As Emma helped me up, I remember saying, "yes of course I’m alright. I’m fine. Where’s Scotty? Is he ok?" I got up out of the dirt and see Mike’s wife holding Scotty next to the gate leading to the barn. I think to myself, "Scotty’s ok. I’m ok. Mike’s ok." When I look back, I see Mike standing in the field smiling at me.

But my day wasn’t over yet. Mike walked over to me, looked at me, and said that I needed to get back on Scotty. I knew he was right. He had Emma get back on Wesley when she fell off. But I have to say, I wasn’t too sure about it. But I trust Mike so I got on Scotty again. Mike put me back on the "leash," but somehow I didn’t mind it so much this time. It made me feel safe. I knew Mike was in control of Scotty. I also sort of knew then, but for sure knew later, that I had to get over what had happened. I love riding. I love horses. I love Scotty. So I had to get my confidence back. And this was the first step.

This was a day filled with great adventure. Emma and I had our first ride together. I was on my first run away horse, and I had my first fall. And all with my twin sister right there with me. What a day.