Meet Sister A

Riding at the park has some advantage. The outdoor air is wonderful except when the wind is so strong I can't breathe. At least we haven't had much of that lately. There are always people coming and going so there's the opportunity to meet new folks. Then there's the spook factor that's ramped up a zillion notches over there. That's good for Legs.

Sometimes the spook factor is tied right in with the people. One such example would be Sister A. She's a born again Christian on a mission. Not that that's a problem for me but Sister A's unique personality tied in with her religious zeal makes for quite a combination.

The first time I met her I heard the sound of someone screaming. I looked up to see Sister A running my direction shrieking at the top of her lungs, "Hey!.......Hey!...........Hey!...........I love you!...........God loves you!" as she came flying down the hill waving both arms in the air running straight towards one of my young horses.

Now, it's not that Sister A is an imposing figure that might scare a horse just by her size because she's not. She's a medium height, very petite (maybe 100 pounds soaking wet), black woman. She wears her hair greased back slick to her head like I've never seen up close before.

She's usually wearing some kind of running suit. She's wired for sound and I think she talks to herself when she's not screaming at other people. Still, the sight of Sister A running straight towards a Young horse tied to a horse trailer got an immediate reaction out of me.

I didn't want to scare the woman nor offend her but I didn't want to have the horse frightened either. I moved in between the approaching woman and the horse making my way quickly towards her wanting to cut the woman off.

Sister A, however, was not to be deterred. She wanted to see that horse. She was on a mission. That's for sure. I had to do a little arm waving of my own to break her concentration so she would listen to me. "You'll scare the horse. You need to approach quietly, slowly. Give him a chance to see you."

Sister A's expression immediately changed to one of questioning. I think that brief moment as she tried to shift gears to comprehend my words are the quietest I have ever heard the woman. She did listen to me and toned her actions down a lot. She even asked if it was ok for her to pet my horse.

We visited for a little while as Sister A tried to save my soul while she loved on Tag. He was a pretty good sport once he realized all that commotion was just a person but I could see the tension in his body. The horse was behaving but still not sure what was going to happen next.

I managed to convince Sister A that God and I were on pretty good terms even if I don't go to church. There are more ways to worship than on bended knee. It's what's in your heart that counts. Sister A just smiled and nodded her head saying "Maybe you're right about that." Then she grabbed herself a hug before she headed off to finish her jogging.

Only after she got out of earshot, did poor Tag really relax. I heard a deep sigh and saw a drop of his head. Those were definitely signs of relief but I had the feeling we hadn't seen the last of Sister A.

To be continued..........

Sister A........Meets Arabian horses