Summer is by far the best time for horseback riding! There is nothing like an evening ride when a hot day begins cooling off. These rides are best enjoyed bareback, as the horses seem to have a lighter step and are happy to go on a joy-ride, rather than work.
My best memories of childhood are horseback with my brothers and sisters. After supper time in the evenings, we would all run down to the barn, grab a bridle and jump on a horse. Bareback and barefoot, we would walk down our gravel road to the ponds that lined our cornfields. Frogs would be singing, the evening star would be out, and all was well with the world.
Being horseback with my siblings often gave way to pranks or competitive arguing. My brother Kevin loved to back his horse into yours, bumper-car fashion and give your horse a jolt. His horse would also attack on command, if you were riding side by side. Kevin would rein his horse over toward yours and say, “Git ‘im, Gunner!” and his horse would actually pin his ears back and lunge at your horse, biting at his neck. This would result in our squeals and Kevin’s laughter as he trotted off down the road in victory. We also argued a lot about who’s horse was best, a topic we never tired of and constantly sought to prove by jumping over ditches, wading in deep water, or racing to the top of the hill.
These days I find my summer evenings not quite so free (taking along a four-year-old, don’t forget the helmet, saddle up for everyone, and get Grandma to watch our youngest) but I still enjoy them just as much. It might be the slight breeze lifting my horse’s mane off her neck, the soft “clop-clop” of their hooves, the happy chatter of my little cowgirl talking to her horse about random things, or the great feeling of having my husband along on a horseback ride. Whatever it is is pure happiness.
Don’t be missing out–go on a summer ride of your own!
