Aidol's Story....... Tales from the Trails........ the Wreck

Part 1

When I'd first heard all the commotion behind us, I had turned my horse to see what was happening. As the horses in our group fanned out in the small clearing to make way for the approaching riders, I watched things unfolding, not really believing I was seeing what I was. There wasn't a shred of concern from the approaching group. All they could think about was getting ahead, faster and faster. You would have thought we were riding some kind of race instead of playing a poker hand.

The horses in our group got so spread out many were off the beaten path. Horses were going through tall grass and brush during the hottest months of the year in this area. Anyone who knows this area knows you're just asking for trouble doing that. It's bee season and the ride organizers don't sweep for bees off the trails.

The approaching riders dove into what ever places there might be room for them still heading on in their accelerated gait. The number of horses in that little clearing doubled in an instant with half of those horses running, the other half trying to stay under control.

It looked like a scene out of some old cowboy movie where the bad guys are attacking the good guys. Only in this instant, the riders didn't stop to fight, they did their damage on the way through.

In disbelief I saw two horses from this group of inconsiderate riders rush up behind Mark carrying my now not so composed husband/newbie rider. The horses separated at just the last moment, whooshing by the now frightened Mark, one on each side of the gelding.

Mark didn't know how to take this encroachment on his space. He may even have actually been bumped those riders were so close. I watched in horror as the gelding whirled around and Dave's saddle slide off to the right.

"WHOA!.........WHOA!........WHOA!" Dave screamed as he tried grabbing onto the horse's neck. Dave's eyes were as big as saucers and there was a pitch in his voice I have never heard before. If this horse was going to stop it was going to be by the sound of Dave's voice. I saw arms flailing in all directions grabbing for anything that would hold. The man was nowhere near a rein and knew nothing about a one rein stop if he did.

As it was I couldn't believe the man was still in saddle. I've seen many a rider hit the dirt from less dramatic a change in direction as Mark accomplished that day. Adding to that a saddle hanging precariously right in the middle of the horse's side, Dave had given that horse quite a ride. Now Mark stood there like a rock as he had been commanded to do with Dave hanging from his side.

Ever so carefully Dave managed to get himself back up onto the top of the horse. It was so odd seeing the man pulling himself up to the top of the horse with the saddle still hanging off his side. Then Dave began straightening the position of the saddle from up top pulling on the horse and wiggling himself around. How he did it, I don't know. Neither does he, nor any of those in our small group who witnessed this near disaster but Dave managed to get the saddle back on top of the horse before he dismounted.

Of course, the riders who caused this wreck were gone.........racing off down the trail. They probably never had a clue what kind of damage they had reeked. I doubt they would have cared. They probably would have blamed the "spooky" Arab who'd endured an assault on a trail ride no horse should ever have to endure.

Riders from our group went flocking to help Dave. Before I could get to him the horse was unsaddled and in the process of being resaddled. Riders were sharing safety tips with Dave as they put him and his horse back together. When Dave remounted, we were back on our way. I never even got off my horse which was probably a good thing after what it had taken to mount in the first place. My head was still spinning for the events I'd just witnessed. Aidol didn't seem to notice that anything was wrong.

Marks' confidence was shattered. The always quiet reliable trail horse was now a basket case. No amount of comfort was settling the horse down. Every time other riders came up behind us the horse fractured ed again. For the first time in his trail riding career, Mark was a jigging, lathered mess.

The condition of the horse wasn't doing anything for Dave's confidence either. We ended up splitting off from the group so we could slow up to see if we could calm Mark but that didn't work. I think by this point Mark was feeding off of Dave's lack of confidence and Dave was feeding off Mark's. It was not pretty.

Luckily no one had been physically hurt but the emotional trauma from this incident just seemed to build the farther we got down the trail. We were too far to turn back and I wasn't really sure how Mark would respond to coming at strange horses head on. It was a catch twenty-two.

Part of the time Dave dismounted and walked thinking if he led Mark the horse would relax. I felt bad for him but didn't really know what to do. I wasn't convinced that Aidol could deal with the rattled man any better than Mark. I was really thinking this trail ride had been a horrible mistake.

To be continued........



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