SAMPLE

by Joyce Walker

Many years ago, I was invited to be a guest speaker at a women's retreat held at a beautiful retreat centre just north of Barrie, Ontario, near Coldwater. It was peaceful, scenic, and full of opportunities to step a little outside your comfort zone.

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One of the activities offered was horseback riding for those who felt adventurous enough to try a trail ride.

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Well, of course, I signed up. I can do what other people can do.

I wasn't reckless about it, though. Before the ride, I made sure to tell the lead horse handler that I had a disability and would need a very calm horse. If something happened to me, especially involving a fall, I would have some serious explaining to do when I got home. He assured me it wouldn't be a problem and said he had just the right horse.

You should have seen me mounting that horse.

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My left leg is my strongest, so I climbed onto the stool and slowly, painfully slowly, tried to lift my right leg over. It felt like my leg was moving in slow motion, as if it took a full ten minutes to complete a task. I'm sure it looked ridiculous. Even I had to laugh.

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Once everyone was mounted, we were given basic instructions: pull the reins left to go left, pull the reins right to go right, and pull back to stop. Simple enough.

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To learn what happens next order my book, or return to the Author page.