An unexpected twist....

Those of us that "do" horses accept that each time we get on, we may get off sooner than we plan. Whether by centrifugal force directed by the horse......whether we fall off on our own.....or by some other happening...falls happen. If you can't deal with it, don't get on in the first place. I have gone off twice in the last 9 months. Once by my own sheer stupidity. And once because my horse decided he wanted me off. I bounced. I bruised. I brushed myself off and gathered whatever was left of my dignity and got back on. End of story.

Well......neither of my daughters have gone off. Yet. That day will come. Later rather than sooner, I hope. But guaranteed.......it WILL come.

But yesterday, a fellow riding mate of Tiersten's went off while we were at the barn. I heard it happening......looked up in time to see the crash.......heard the crying and saw her running to Cassie.......and went back to what I was doing. In my mind, if she's crying and running, she's okay and doesn't need the humiliation of more witnesses. I could dial 9-1-1 if necessary, but there were no bodily injuries here.

Jennica was sort of non-impacted by the whole event. In her own little SPD way, she didn't seem to grasp that Kailee hadn't meant to dismount at that exact moment. Okay......whatever.

But Tiersten. Tiersten surprised me. She was interested. How did it happen? What did Sunny (the horse) do to make Kailee fall off? And then........a whole host of excuses for Sunny!!!

I was instantly transported back to a moment about 15 years ago when I sat in an arena and held the head of an injured student and friend's daughter in my lap. She had been bucked off her horse and was injured seriously enough that we called an ambulance. While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, she made me promise over and over and over that I would NOT let her Dad kill her horse. She kept telling me that it was not the horse's fault that she had gone off and please please please don't let her Dad kill her horse. All while still lying in the dirt, helmet still on, and waiting for an ambulance to arrive. (Lisa ended up with a bone chip on her pelvis from that ride. She was back on the horse within two weeks. I still see her often, and she is now married, an RN, and has a newborn little boy.)

All the sudden, it is my daughter with the insatiable love for horses and making excuses so the horse is not blamed. The day will came when Tiersten is the one to hit the dirt. I'm already guessing that its never going to be the horse's fault in her eyes. Too funny!