'It' finally happened
Emma Simmons
(3/2020) In my first column back in January, I wrote about how I’ve always wanted a horse and then finally a few months ago I got my wish. I started riding a horse named Wesley and taking riding lessons from a great Coach, Wesley’s owner. It’s been amazing and better than I ever
dreamed! It’s like flying just above the ground.
I’ve spent weeks and weeks walking and trotting on Wesley. My Coach - Mr. Hillman – Mike (he told me to call him that), teaches me how to sit in the saddle the right way, hold the reins correctly, and stand in the stirrups easily, which is really important for riding. I trust Mike and I trust Wesley, but sometimes I think about the ground.
Wesley is over 16 hands, that’s 5 ½ feet tall. And I’m 4 feet and 9 inches. When you look at a thoroughbred horse from the ground, he looks tall. But when you look down from on top of a thoroughbred horse, it’s a REALLY long way to the ground.
Not long ago, Mike told me that I was ready to start jumping. I can’t tell you how excited I was. I’ve not only gotten to ride a horse, but now I’m going to ride one while he’s flying over a jump. My heart was beating so fast. But I knew I was ready. I’ve been riding for months, trotting around Mike’s farm, and even cantering through the
fields sometimes. I’ve listened to Mike and done my leg exercises at home (well, sometimes. Sorry coach!).
The first time I jumped Wesley it was magic, like my birthday, Christmas, and summer vacation all rolled into one. For the next few weeks, I rode and jumped. I learned more and more about how to control the horse and keep my balance in the saddle. I was confident!
Not long ago, I started jumping over fences that were a little taller. And I’m learning how to canter over fences too. Let me tell you, trotting over a jump is fun, but cantering over them is a blast! Sometimes when Wesley and I canter over a jump it feels like we are going to take off and fly around the field. Wouldn’t that surprise my
coach? He’s always so calm that he’d probably just shout out to me to "grab mane" and "keep your chin up" as I flew past his head!
A few weeks ago, it was a great day to ride, it wasn’t too cold or too hot, I was getting ready to do a jump called an "In and Out." An In and Out is a jump where there are two fences, one right after the other. I was a little nervous and excited at the same time because I didn’t know what it would be like. Mike was telling me to jump it.
He said he knew I was ready and to give it a try if I felt confident. I tell Wesley to walk on. He walks forward and then I tell him to trot. Wesley starts to trot and I brace myself for him to leap into the air. He jumps up, then bounces down, takes a stride in between, and jumps again. I was a little discombobulated. (I learned that word from Mike), but when I
was done I was thinking, "That was amazing!" I was really excited to do it again and this time I knew what to expect. I praised Wesley and said "Good boy!" Wesley and I walked over to our starting position. I got ready, itching to go. And again, we cleared the jump easily. So I praised Wesley again. Mike says it’s important to praise your horse when he does well.
It makes Wesley feel good, gives him confidence in me, and makes Wesley want to please me.
Now, even though Wesley jumped the fence, "our approach wasn’t straight", Mike said. I didn’t really like to hear that, but I knew he was right. We needed to work on that. It may sound easy, but believe me, it’s not. Most kids can walk in a straight line if you tell them to, but you have to really try hard to make a horse go straight.
I jumped a couple of more times with no problems. I remember thinking to myself that Wesley and I are an amazing team. I direct him to the jump, he jumps, I praise him. We can read each other’s minds, just like my twin sister and I can do. So, one more time. I line up Wesley with the jump. I ask Wesley to trot. And he trots like the great
horse he is. In my mind, I’m all ready to go sailing over that fence. I can almost feel it before we go into the air.
Pause. Actually I mean complete stop. I mean STOP. I mean that Wesley stopped. He stopped and stopped fast, right in front of the jump.
Funny thing is, I didn’t stop. I kept going. I went clean over his right shoulder and straight to the ground.
It took me a minute to realize what happened. "IT" happened.
I … FELL … OFF!
It’s what every rider fears. What riders never want to talk about. What every rider never wants to think about. I’ve always had wonderful dreams of riding and jumping horses, but this was NEVER part of my dreams.
Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt. But it was definitely a surprise. By the time I figured out what had happened, Mike, my sister, and my Mom were right there asking me if I was alright. "Of course I’m alright," I said, still holding the horse’s reins (the only good part about the whole fall thing). I was a little mad and a little, well, a little
embarrassed. I think Mike knew this and he asked my sister and Mom to give me some room.
Mike asked me again very quietly if I was ok and I nodded to him. He looked at me for a minute and then nodded back and said, "Well, let’s do it again, but without the fall." He gave me a leg up and I got back into the saddle.
I totted around the ring once to get my self together and pointed Wesley towards the jump. We jumped it perfectly this time. When we landed, Mike said: "Do it again." We did, and then did it again, and again.
Mike told me later that he didn’t think it was anything I had done wrong. Wesley just stopped. Right in front of the jump. "They do that sometimes," he said. Later that afternoon, I watched myself as I went tumbling over Wesley’s shoulder. No, I wasn’t reliving it in my mind. My twin sister, Sarah, caught the whole thing on video!
