Memoir Parts of My Essay

Memoirs (Obviously these are not in order)
Shenanigans
After moving to a rural neighborhood and celebrating my tenth birthday my parents finally granted my lifelong wish and began paying for me to take riding lessons at a local stable. During my third lesson I was thrown from the back of a two ton horse, had the wind knocked out of me, and almost had my face kicked in. The trauma of falling off alone would probably have been enough to cause any other girl to never want to look at another horse let alone get on one ever again. I on the other hand blamed myself for letting the horse spook and got right back on. This was the first time I was almost killed by a horse and the first time that I didn't care.

The summer I leased Spider I had just finished riding one day when Anna showed up to ride a friend's horse (Tory) while her friend was away. I decided to stay at the Barn and visit with her while she rode. Another rider came out while Anna was riding and got her own horse ready to ride. It is good manners if you are on the ground to open the gate for a rider if they need to go into a pasture to ride, so good-manner little me opened the gate to the mare pasture so that this other rider could go in. Much to my chagrin one of the mares on the other side of the gate had decided that the grass on the other side of the fence did indeed look much tastier than the grass in the pasture. I tried to shoo her away so that the other rider could come through, but she wasn't moving. Suddenly another mare (who must have also thought that the grass outside of the pasture would make a fine lunch) bit the mare I was trying to shoo away. This caused the first mare to charge out of the pasture bowling me over in the process. Her hoof was less than an inch from my face. The rest of what happened in that instant is a blur to me, but someone (be it Anna, her dad, or the other rider) must have kept the other mare from coming out for if she had she certainly would have trampled and killed me. Anna thought that I was dead and was pleasantly surprised when I moved to get up. All I remember from the rest of that day is that Spider (who was in the stall closest to the mare pasture and had therefore witnessed the entire ordeal) was rapidly pacing his paddock and that after I got up I tacked him up for the second time that day and rode with Anna for the rest of the afternoon.

One evening towards the middle of my lease on Spider I was riding him in the mare pasture. I being bored with only moving at a trot decided that it was time for Spider and I to canter. Unfortunately I made quite a few mistakes when I asked him to move faster which caused him to skip the canter and head into a full-fledged gallop around the pasture. I tried to keep a cool head about the situation and get him to slow down, but after losing my stirrups and eventually the reins I was about ready to bail off (which would have most likely resulted in a few broken limbs). Luckily for me at the moment I was about to bail off Spider ran into the corner of the pasture and was therefore forced to slow down and stop. This was the first and last time that I have ever been afraid while riding. I immediately hopped off and started walking Spider around to cool him out. Usually I would have ridden him to do this, but I was shaken. During my next lesson Danni made me reenact what I had done and showed me everything that I had done wrong. After that I realized that what had happened was my fault and thus armed with my new knowledge I knew that it would never happen again so I stopped being afraid and have never had a problem of that sort with any horse ever again.

Banchee Woman lives up to her name at times. She will spook at just about anything for no reason at all which causes me quite a bit of grief. Luckily now that I have been riding for seven years I have learned how to calm her down and show her that the things she shies away from cannot possibly hurt her.

Spider
In my third summer of riding my parents finally agreed to pay for me to lease a horse (leasing a horse is like owning a horse without the actual ownership). That meant that for one whole summer I would finally have a horse to call my own. The horse I leased was a 20-year-old quarter horse gelding and barrel-racing champion named Spider. He may have been 20 in age, but he acted like a 3 year old colt. He was full of energy and fun to ride. During the summer I took all of my lessons on him and thus started learning how to barrel race. Everything I know about barrel racing I learned from him. Over the summer he was my best friend and closest companion. He cared for me and I loved him. Whenever my mom would drive me out to the barn he would see our car coming and scurry into his stall eagerly awaiting my arrival. At the end of the summer Spider's owners put him up for sale and offered him to us first. Unfortunately for me at the time my parents did not want to buy Spider, it wasn't because they couldn't afford the asking price, it was because Spider was old and required extra care and the extra expenses proved to be too much for them at the time. I was sad, but I understood. Thus Spider was sold to a young couple and their young daughter. It was heartbreaking for me that another little girls dream was coming true while I was still waiting on mine. I took part of that winter off from lessons because I had health issues and riding in the bitter Iowa cold would have been detrimental to my health. When I finally did start riding again I was demoted to the old lesson horse (Big Wheel) so that I could relearn certain aspects of riding. That Spring it was determined that I would co-lease a horse with my friend Anna. This horse was much younger and more challenging than Spider. He was a 6-year-old paint gelding named Hook and he was a handful. That Spring and Summer I spent my time riding and helping to train Hook in the sport of Barrel Racing, then tragedy struck. I received a call from my lesson teacher (Danni) one Friday evening in early Summer. She was calling to reschedule a lesson that I had missed. After agreeing on a day and time we said our goodbyes and hung up. About a minute later Danni called me back to let me know that Spider had died the prvious day, she wanted me to know so that I wouldn't wonder where he was if I went out to ride as he and Hook had been sharing a stall....

Obviously there is a lot to say about Spider and I just realized that I could probably write a whole memoir on him. I wonder if that would be okay, I shall ask Mr. Ayers tomorrow.

Hook
Hook was and is one of my favorite horses ever. His personality was comparable to that of a great dane puppy. I use that certain breed in his comparison because like a great dane Hook was enormous and like a puppy Hook was rather playful, but more importantly extremely ADD. He had a lot of energy so for the first time ever I had to lunge him before I rode so that he wouldn't run away with me the moment I got on. Hook was a joy to ride, he was a slower moving horse (meaning he was a little lazy) which was nice because it meant that I wouldn't have to constantly be asking him to slow down...

And More (I am pleading for your help)

Why I Ride
I ride because it's challenging. The common misconception about riding is that it only involves pulling on the reins to control where the horse is going and at what pace. In reality if you spent your entire ride pulling on your horses face you would get nowhere, if you were riding my horse you would either get bucked off or run away with. To actually control the horse while you ride you must use subtle signals in the form of muscle contractions from your legs, hands and abs. The best riders crunch their abs 100% of the time while they ride. Different levels of muscle contractions mean different things. The challenge is found in figuring out how to control your horse without using your hands. It is not only an athletic challenge, but a mental one.

I ride because it's enthralling. The sheer power of a horse moving beneath you as you ride is a thrilling feeling. Not only that, but being in complete control of that power is an amazing sensation. (I think I might leave this snippet out or find a way to add it to the empowering section.)

I ride because I love it. Ever since I was a little girl I have been in love with horses. I suppose that every little girl is in love with horses, but the thing that separates me from all the other girls in the world is that I am willing to put up with the good and the bad for the love of my sport. I am willing to drive out to the Barn in subzero temperatures and stand around while my horse eats. I am willing to put up with her moodiness in order to keep riding. I am willing to get ride again after nearly being killed by a horse because I know that quitting will not make me any happier. I am willing to wade through knee-deep 'horse mud' to retreive my horse from the pasture in the Spring. I am willing to do all of these things because learning to ride was quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to me. I am willing to do anything because I truly and deeply love to ride.

More snippets from my to-be essay (I will rearrange them later) Once again read and please leave comments

Why I Ride

The number one reason that I ride is because riding is empowering. Horses are incredibly powerful animals and when I ride I feel as though I am part of that power. The feeling of moving at a breakneck pace on the back of a 2000 pound animal is similar to the feeling of flying. It is incredibly freeing. When I ride I feel as though I am unstoppable, that nothing can hold me back and that feeling is the most wonderful feeling in the world, a feeling that I only feel when I ride (I need another word for feeling, just too lazy to find a thesaurus right now).

Another reason I ride is to de-stress/relax. The world of horses and riding is completely separate from the real world. When I am at the Barn I am able to let go of the real world and focus solely on riding. When I ride the world dissolves around me and only my horse and I exist.

I ride because of the relationships that develop because of it. Out at the Barn everyone is family, all the riders/boarders help and support each other. This is because everyone at the Barn is there because they share a love of horses, which means no one is there to pass judgement on anyone else which allows for many friendships to develop. Friendships with other people are not the only relationships that develop. The most important relationship that develops is the relationship between horse and rider. If the horse and rider do not have a good relationship they will not work well together and thus will be unsuccessful in all of their equestrian endeavors. Horse and rider must work together as members of the same team. They must understand and respect each other. But most importantly they must trust each other. Just like in any other relationship, if there is no foundation of trust they will fail. I ride because the feeling of knowing that an enormous incredibly strong animal that could kill me on a whim trusts and respects me is the most incredible feeling of all. She follows me wherever I lead and trusts me to do what is best for her.

Okay, time for feedback (I feel that the underlined part might go best somewhere else). I am very stressed about this essay, time to go ride, methinks.

Last Minute Essay - I need FEEDBACK

So I am having a bit of trouble coming up with a topic for the final essay for this class and although I really appreciate ideas that have been brought to my attention I am still looking for alternatives.

Idea that has been brought to my attention:
As you my or may not know I own a horse (a mare, which is a female horse for all of you who are not equinely inclined) who gets into all sorts of shenanigans do to what seems to be an unnaturally high amount of female hormones (for those of you who are not getting the drift, my mare is for lack of a better word a slut which gets her into large amounts of trouble). Anyway she has done a few things in the past that my deter people from pursuing the act of horse-back riding and for those who do attempt to ride find that she is extremely difficult to control requiring very strong abs in order to keep her from moving at a breakneck speed. She is a very pretty mare with a personality much like mine (those who know me might also agree that this might deter someone from wanting anything to do with her), but those are probably the only two attributes a non-horse person would see in her (actually just the pretty thing as my previous statement negates the fact that she has two good attributes). Anyway it was suggested by one of my good friends that I write about why I keep riding despite all of the negative things surrounding the sport (and yes it is a sport). Negative things: trusting a one ton animal not to throw you off and kill you, putting up with the hormonal antics, feeding her everyday in winter, spring and fall (including the -50 degree windchill days), paying for hoof care every couple months, putting up with her spookiness, putting up with her hard mouth (which I am in the process of fixing), walking through mud, touching horse-mud on her legs in order to pick her feet and keep her from becoming lame, all these things and more should make a person run screaming for the sport and yet I relish in it. The problem with writing an essay about this is that I don't think I can explain why I keep doing it because it's not something you explain it's something you feel. However the more I write about this the more I actually think I could pull this essay off, but it would require visuals possibly including video accompanied by music which I have no idea how to procure.

If you have any other ideas for an essay for me please let me know,
Thanks very much.

Sentiments for PETA

PETA better known as People for the Eating of Tasty Animals, officially known as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. I'm going to be very blunt, I harbor a great disliking of PETA. I don't know a whole lot about PETA, but I do know that when the Eight Bells tragedy occurred this year PETA's immediate response was to start pointing fingers at people such as the horse's trainer and owners. I found this act heinous. What happened to Eight Bells was a freak accident and tremendous tragedy. It wasn't an act of hatred or cruelty toward animals until PETA made it out to be. I've got a question for all the PETA fans out there, say you've got a beloved dog that loves to play fetch. One day you are playing fetch when by some freak occurence the ball you are throwing gets out of your yard (which I'm sure is fenced in) and ends up in the street. Your dog, loving the chase follows that ball into the street and gets hit by a car which shatters all four of his legs causing him to need to be euthanized. Does this make you a horrible person who has malicious intent towards all animals? No, this makes you the victim of a horrible accident and quite honestly I don't think you'd like "animal rights activists" sending you nasty emails, writing you offensive letters, or picketing outside your house day and night. It's the same with the Eight Bells tragedy, no one could have ever predicted that she was going to crash and I'm sure if she has shown any signs of injury before the race her owners would have scratched her, so PETA please get over yourselves and quit harassing people who really don't need to be harassed. Here's a thought actually do something to help animals and stop pissing people off.

Now I might greatly detest PETA, but I do agree with some of the things they are sort of halfway fighting for such as shutting down horse slaughter houses (which are cruel and wasteful). I also agree that most other slaughter houses present only a cruel and painful end to the animals they are in charge of and that needs to be rectified. I am also against cruelty to animals which is why I am a member of the ASPCA who actually fights cruelty to animals while PETA merely protests it. If PETA intends to be such a big name in the "fight" against animal cruelty then its members need to be willing to actually do some fighting, at least some fundraising for the ASPCA or some other such organization that actually does something to put an end to cruelty to animals. So please PETA put away the picket signs, get off your bums and do something to protect animals without pissing people off.

Don't Even...

For all the people out there who believe that horse-back riding/any sport involving horses is not a sport, I have quite an argument for you. If you really wish to engage me on this subject go ahead, but be aware that I warned you not to.

Horse-back riding and all afilliated activites is/are (a) sport(s). (Is that messy enough for you?) If so here is what I'm attempting to say: Equestrians are Athletes! Most people who disagree: have no knowledge of horses, are afraid of horses, have never seen a horse except for on TV, or think they know everything about horses because they rode a pony at the county fair once and decided that was all the experience they needed to determine that riding horses is not a sport. Well I have a word or two to say to said people about their supposed knowledge on horses and neither word is very nice.

It takes a build-up of certain muscles to be able to control a two-ton animal and keep that animal's respect at the same time. For instance when stopping correctly one does not merely yank on those 'string things attached to the halter' (yeah, their called reins ad they attach to th bit which is attached to the bridle) one must sit down in the saddle and crunch ones abs in order to use one's tailbone to signal the horse to stop, if the horse does not stop then one must gently but firmly apply pressure to the horse's mouth by way of the reins while continuing to crunch abs. Even something as small as stopping the horse is a muscular task.

Another display of strength when riding is portrayed when one is 'going fast' (loping, cantering,

galloping). During this time one must once crunch abs and use leg muscles to collect the horse and safely mmove in to the next gait. Whilst one is loping/cantering one must continue to crunch abs in order to stay upright so as not to fall off the horse and DIE, while also using their legs to keep the horse moving at the correct speed. Moving at high speed on a horse can be very dangerous so before you say "Oh, that's nothing, (compared to another sport i.e. soccer, football, baseball, what-have-you)" why don't you get on my green, speed-crazed mare and try it. If you can successfully canter her in a perfect circle while maintaining her speed, not falling off, not letting her run away with you, and getting her to slow back down, then I might listen to you.

Equestrian sports are the type of sports that build muscle, increase reaction time/mental capabilites, and teach a person how to control almost every muscle in the body which is what I think about every other sport in the worl also does. What most other sports in the world do not have is the imminent danger of serious injurey or death. Equestrian sports are more dangerous than extreme skiing (which is not something every highschool sport could claim), every time an equestrian involves themself in any way with a horse they are risking their life. This is caused by the unpredictability of a horses actions. At any given moment a horse could bolt at, kick, bite, or trample anything in their path. I have almost been killed due to horse-related accidents at least twice in my six years of riding horses, I've been thrown, run away with, knocked down, dragged, stepped on and almost trampled by a two thousand pound animal (for most scenarios) many times and I'm sure there are many more near-death experiences yet to come. Could any highschool jock say the same. I've watched friends almost die, and had a friend put into a coma by a horse, each one of them still participates in and loves the sport. Part of the sport is the thrill and the danger, the other part is the life-long friendship/partnership one makes with the horse they ride. Horse-back riding is one of the most demanding and rewarding sports in the world today.