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I Ride 

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. I have considered this as I shovel manure, fill
water barrels in the cold rain, 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
cold beer after a long ride.

The time, the money, the effort it takes to ride calls for dedication.
At least I call it dedication. Both my ex-husbands call 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 a sport. It's not a hobby. It's what we do
and, in some ways, who we are as women and human beings.

I ride. I hook up my trailer and load my gelding. I haul to some
trailhead somewhere, unload, saddle, 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 rides my
sunscreen smeared face. I pull my ball cap 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 down the trail. I can smell his sweat
and it is perfume to my senses. Time slows. The rhythm of the walk and
the movement of the leaves become my focus. My saddle creaks and the
leather rein in my hand softens with the warmth.

I consider the simple statement; I ride. I think of all I do because I
ride. Climb granite slabs, wade into a freezing lake, race a friend
through the manzanita 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 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
find lakes that remain for the most part, unseen. Caves, dark and cold
beside rivers full and rolling are the scenes I see in my dreams. The
Granite Stairway at Echo Summit, bald eagles on the wing and bobcats on
the prowl add to the empowerment and joy in my heart.

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 40ft
rigs, we back into tight spaces without clipping a tree. We set up camp.
Tend the horses. We cook and keep safe. 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 with
out 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.

"My treasures do not chink or glitter, They gleam in the sun and neigh in the night"