David & Dolly's riding adventure

By David Bull

We had a raspberry patch in the middle of the paddock. Filling a basket with raspberries was an extremely exciting task. If Dolly caught you there, it usually ended in you doing the Fosbury Flop over the electric fence trying to salvage at least part of the basket of berries that came cascading on top of you as you hit the ground.

Riding Dolly was to really appreciate this horse’s devious nature. It took a huge effort to coax Dolly away from the comfort of the barn only to experience 15 seconds of terror as Dolly galloped back to her stall, usually by way of a low-lying branch.

My last riding adventure with horses was a number of years ago when my sisters and I accepted an offer from our neighbour, Jo Northcott, to go riding in the bush beside the back forty. I am not built for gracefully mounting a horse, and after a number of attempts to get my left foot anywhere near the stirrup, I swallowed my pride, and led the horse to a vehicle so that i could use the bumper as a launch pad. Just as I was about to heave myself on to the saddle, I had a vision of not quite making it, resulting in my crashing back to earth with one foot caught in the stirrup thereafter being dragged to death by a panicked horse. With the thought of making sure I got to the saddle, I made a mighty heave, resulting in me sailing over the saddle to come crashing to earth on my back on the other side of the horse. Think of a breeching whale, or a failed caber toss.

After the stars cleared, I looked up into the face of the horse who was staring at me with a high degree of contempt. Jo, God bless her, rushed over wide-eyed with concern and asked, not after my well being, but whether that had been an accident, or was I just trying to be funny.

Thus ended my equestrian career.