The Bee Story

Everybody has a story that can make you laugh or shudder. Our bee story makes me and my riding gang do both. We often bring it up and talk about it.

We had been riding several hours already and decided to go to a nearby trail that went around a lake. Now this trail doesn't say-- no horses it simply shows that bikes and hikers are welcome. We went with the "no ask" policy. It didn't take us long to find out that the trail was narrower so your knees were taking a beating and the bridges that crossed the ditches didn't look strong enough for horses. Starting to realize this trail wasnt' exactly "horse friendly."

Our first mishap was trying to cross through a big ditch. It didn't

look that muddy. My cousin's son stepped his horse in it and the horse sunk immediately up to his belly. He stepped off the horse and tried to pull him out but the horse struggled and sunk deeper. I had seen this movie. I started visioning a helicopter and a sling. But evidently we were able to get him out.
So deciding it was time to get out of Dodge, we turn to go back. I learned something. Being third in a trail ride is not a good thing. The first two horses stirred up a nest of bees. Gracie  started jumping around and I thought fire ants at first. Then I saw the swarm. I yelled "BEES". Got their attention. Gracie and I turned and ran back down the trail and they ran the other way. I was being stung repeatedly and so was Gracie. She was jumping and bucking and throwing me up against trees. It was like riding the Walmart bucking horse plugged into a two-twenty outlet. I was finally able to get off her. I led her and we ran some more. One stop I heard my cell phone and grabbed it.

Meanwhile on the other side of the bees, a rodeo was going on also. Two statements were said there that can make us giggle now. One was when one of them was running and leading her horse and she jumped a ditch and the horse almost jumped on her. She turned to another and said, "We are in a real mess here." We repeat those words often. The other was when my cousin finally stopped running  and she turned and saw I wasn't with them. She turned and in her best John Wayne imitation screamed "We've got to go get Breeennda!" My hero. Before she could run her son grabbed her arm and quietly said--"I've got her on the phone." Oh.  But I couldn't talk. The bees had caught up so I ran again, not realizing that I had dropped my phone.  This was going downhill fast.

I finally lost the bees and one of my gang came through the woods to find me. But I still didn't have my phone. So he takes Gracie back and tells his mom to start calling me. I ran back and forth through the woods hearing a ring and running one way then another way.  Finally I found it and walked back down the trail doing a wide berth  where I thought the bees were. I met up with the gang back at the entrance to the trail that doesn't have a sign saying "Horses Welcome"

 So after a seven hour ride, we slowly head home, tired, grumpy and stinging and itching. What a ride!