Passage III

A Stormy Ride

[1] When I moved from New York City to rural Nebraska, I became friends with a rancher, named Amil. [2] For his livelihood, he raised cattle for a living, but he enjoyed most the herd of tall, magnificence horses he kept. [3] I had no experience with horses when I had always been too scared to ride them. [4] I was reluctant but finally agreed to give it a try. [5] One day, though, Amil asked me if I would like to sit in the saddle for a while. (36)

Amil brought Stormy and Morgan, two enormous mares, out of the stable. When all was ready, he told me to get on them. I held the reins, put my foot in the stirrup, and hoisted myself up into the saddle. I sat there, awkwardly holding the saddle horn as if it were a hand brake.

I had followed Amil's initial instructions only to realize he had not told me what to do next. I didn't even know how to get Stormy to start moving.

Amil had a good-natured smile on his face, I think, he could tell how nervous I was. Sitting at the controls of a jumbo jet, I might just as well have been flying. I watched him gently nudge his heels into Morgan's side, which she quickly responded and trotted down the path.

Stormy must have sensed that l was a novice. Suddenly, on her own, she started to walk toward a field of flowing grass. At first, I was alarmed like a distress signal flashing in my mind, but she was moving slowly, and I realized that l would of been able to hang on. Then, after about a minute, she stopped walking, bent her head, and calmly started eating.

"Well," Amil said as he rode by, "you've just led Stormy to her favorite patch of grass. And I thought you said you'd never ridden before."

So there l sat, atop a beautiful, massive horse, and watched as she ate her dinner. I wasn't an expert rider, but at least l was an easy one to get along with. Although I later learned how to really ride a horse, I'll never forget my first time, when Stormy took me for a short, gentle ride.