The Day it All Changed
by
Dan Sumerel
They all say the same thing to warn you, “Don’t
ever go riding alone,
You could fall and get hurt and lie bleeding in
pain, as the horse goes off trotting for home”
And it all made good sense, to a novice like me,
that the risk they describe was quite true
So I rode with my friends, being social and safe,
ride the trails with a group, I would do
After all it was great to go riding with friends,
we so liked to talk and have fun
We would ride in a safe group together, yes, that
is how trail rides are done
But a sport I had seen, started calling, to do
trail rides a whole different way
Endurance Rides seemed so appealing, do ONE HUNDRED
MILES IN ONE DAY!
I must learn about riding endurance, the knowledge
is now what I quest
Not just to ride far, but how to ride well, I must
learn from one of the best
My good fortune brought me to a man, who was one of
the best in the game
He would teach me to ride for endurance, and my
life would not be the same
The shock of the first thing he taught me, would
challenge much of what I’d been
shown
He said the true key, to riding endurance, “You must ride
a lot and you must ride ALONE.”
It is true that he was the teacher, but this idea
of riding
alone
Had me not just concerned of the danger, but afraid
of being BORED to the bone
This would mean I’d be riding for hours, with no
one to talk to at all
Just trees and rocks and trails to look at, in
places no cell phone could call
The first ride alone, to condition my horse, wasn’t
great and it wasn’t much fun
About three lonely hours going uphill and down, I
was happy when it was all done
The second and third ride were all much the same,
the fourth started out even worse
The sky was all dark, the wind such a chill, I felt
winter to be quite a curse
Yet we rode as we must to condition ourselves,
endurance is done in all weather
Then two hours out it started to snow, I had hoped
that things would get better
All the trees and the ground, began to turn white,
as thick giant snowflakes did fall
No wind did blow, not even a breeze, in fact there
were no sounds at all
As I started to see that what lay ahead, was a
miserable ride home in the snow
In the middle of nowhere, all by myself, my anger
was starting to show
I hated this riding alone, by myself, this torture
was not fun at all
Even the horse must be ready to stop, I worry we
might slip and fall
Then I notice the horse that I’m riding, and the
way he is trotting so free
As he seemed to be fine with our journey, all the
trouble was coming from me
After all I was dressed quite cozy,
prepared to be warm all the way
Not the least bit cold, nor slightest bit wet, I
thought this might happen today
There was more that I seemed to be missing, like
the feel of my warm horse below
And the way he was trying to tell me, we have
nothing to fear from the snow
Our view was in fact one of beauty, like city folk
dream to go see
Or something to put on a post card, a place you
wished you could be
How could I miss what I’m seeing, I think Shazi was
seeing it all
He now was beginning to canter, and he seemed to be
having a ball
As if he were trying to show me, all the beauty I
chose not to see
In the mountains and all of their splendor, a scene
of such great majesty
So I looked at the green of the pine trees, and the
soft white that fell from above
Where mountains met clouds and air was so fresh,
there was much about winter to love
Then my mind again heard all the silence, that had
troubled my thoughts so before
Though now I was finding it welcome, where before
it had seemed such a bore
And the feeling alone, I had hated, seemed now
distant, yet cruel and unkind
For now it was clear I was never alone, I had Shazi
with me all the time
I could no longer say, “I go riding alone”, since
that wonderful day in the snow
You can’t be alone, when riding a horse,
we’re two friends with places to go
To the risk of not riding with others, yes I know
that’s how most people feel
But riding a horse offers danger, a fact that’s
inherently real
So the safest of rules I can tell you, what has
saved me for so many years
Develop a bond and a mutual trust, to be
stronger than all of your fears
To trust in my horse and he to trust me, since a
day in the snow, far from home
We ride as a team, a man and a horse, no, NEVER do
I ride alone.
© 2006 Dan Sumerel
Dan Sumerel lives
in the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains of Salem,
Virginia, USA. He is the author of the world-acclaimed equestrian manual Finding the Magic.
He is the founder of Sumerel
Training and Sumerel Therapy, equine
programs that teach the necessities of riding.
Read Dan’s Riding
& Writing interview here
If you would like to
schedule Dan for a training workshop, send me an email! gmcknight11@gmail.com
Connect
with Dan...
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1 comment:
Beautiful poem and message too. Had to share this.
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