An Almost Disaster

Sometimes a planned trail ride with friends is an uneventful good memory, sometimes a great ride, and then sometimes a great ride with an almost disaster. I had that ride this week. 

I trailered with two of my friends from our country setting to a park in Memphis. That in itself doesn't make sense. But it is a wooded trail along the Wolf River and somewhere different to ride. It is shared with bicycles and hikers and that always make things interesting. But the trails aren't marked well and we had trouble figuring out which trails we could be on. The sign that said we would have a court date if found on wrong trail was not comforting. 

It ended up being a great ride up and down ditches and we managed to make only one man hiker mad. He gave us "the look" because he had to turn his Fitbit off and let us by. I wanted to tell him "the look" really didn't bother women out riding. We just smiled and went on. 

Our almost disaster came when we came upon a narrow wood bridge with no side rails. I wasn't sure it was made for horses and was about 20 feet over a ditch. The biggest problem is there was a long dead tree propped over it and held up by a tree on the other side. 

It looked like enough room to duck under on one side. The first rider on a smaller horse did this and almost scraped her back but made it under. I decided to lead mine. I got off and was able to walk under it. The third rider then tried to lead her horse across but her saddle horn caught the tree and brought the tree down on the horse's neck. 

Now they are still on the bridge and she was trying to help the horse but the horse kept coming and the tree was then resting on her neck. She was able to get her off the bridge and then was holding the tree by her arms and resting it on her helmet. I ran to hold it up also but it was too heavy. The third rider jumped off and came.

What happened next was a sweet moment to me that I won't forget.  I cried out, "Lord help us" at the same time that my friend cried out, "God, help us." 

At that moment we were able to lift the tree up enough for her to pull the horse's head to her and then we couldn't hold it and the tree fell to the ground. Such a scary moment that seemed to last forever. Both the rider and horse are a little sore but seem ok. 

I remember it as a bad scary moment but also God's deliverance. We were able to go on and finish a good ride.

"Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress." Psalm 107:6

Shiloh- My New Ride

Gracie will always be my number one horse. She is fifteen and should have plenty of years left or at least as long as my riding years are left. But she was off for a year that I couldn't ride her because she was lame. She is in great shape now  but I still decided I needed a back up horse. I think I have found it in a eight year gelding I named Shiloh.