OklahomaHorses Magazine January 2021

The drive up the dirt road at KJM Eques- trian School in Tulsa felt like a blur. All I remember is looking out the window and seeing a large riding area with jumps, and that just about did it for me—the horses in my stomach began to gallop even faster. It was a sunny day in November, but my mood was spoiling it for me. Most of the other girls in my troop had already arrived and were grooming the horses while giggling and chatting with each other. Many of the girls already had experience with horses, and several of them had gone to horseback riding camp through Girl Scouts. You could feel their excitement filling the barn; unfortunate- ly, it wasn’t as contagious as I hoped. Those horses in my stomach just wouldn’t stop. While we waited for the last few girls to arrive, I picked up a brush not knowing what to do with it. Luckily, the woman in charge showed us a demonstration of how to use all of the different brushes on the horses. One brush looked like an overgrown toothbrush and was for flicking the dirt off the body of the horse. I looked down at my brush, “Nope, not today,” I thought. I quickly put it back and picked up another one that looked like a hairbrush and began combing my horse’s mane. I hoped this was the horse I would be riding. He was small enough that I wouldn’t be too hurt if I fell off but large enough that my feet wouldn’t touch the ground. He was not that much bigger than Paddywhack, the donkey at Riverfield. I whispered to the girl next to me, “What’s his name?” She told me his name was Happy, and I thought that was perfect. I took his name as a sign of the experience to come. Once all the girls had arrived, the woman leading the session explained the do’s and don’ts of horseback riding. She taught us that you can’t lean back or forward and that you shouldn’t look down while riding your horse. Riders always need to keep their heels down, hands down, back straight and legs back. It was a lot to try to remember, and those horses in my stomach were distracting me. Finally, she asked us to stand by the horse we wanted to ride. McGumbo was the biggest horse, standing at what I estimated to be 6 feet tall. Happy was the smallest horse, standing between 4 and 5 feet tall. I happily marched over to stand by Happy along with Josie and Hailey. No one chose McGumbo until the woman in charge said some of the girls would need to change horses. One of the girls bravely took the lead followed shortly by two others. I felt relieved that I could stay with my first choice. A former Girl Scout named Lily led our group outside. We decided that Hailey would ride first. I would be second, and Josie would ride Happy last. We marched down a rocky pathway, and I watched as the other girls proudly guided their horses around the property. When it was finally my turn, I shuffled up to the step stool. The anticipation rose inside of me, and there were those horses in my stomach again. Lily brought Happy over, and everything was quiet. It felt like the world was watching me, waiting to see if I would actually get on the horse and grab the reins, literally. Lily told me what to do, and I did it! I was on the horse! Now, Happy just had to move, but he wouldn’t budge. We waited a while, and, finally, Lily told me to dig my heels into him. I did a double take, raised my eyebrows and widened my eyes. That sounded like it might hurt, and it is not in my nature to hurt anything. Lily told me to just do it, so I did. I dug my heels into Happy’s sides, and he started to trot. It surprised me, and I jolted backward then quickly straightened myself trying to execute everything I just learned. I felt like I was flying! Then I felt like I was wobbling. I looked down in horror; the saddle and I were both slipping off the side of Happy. I wiggled myself and the saddle back onto Happy’s back and sighed with relief. Then Happy randomly came to a halt. I looked all around and saw the horse in front of me cantering away. The horse behind me, however, had also stopped. The rider behind me didn’t look so pleased. I gave her a ner- vous smile and shrugged. I dug my heels into Happy, and he began moving again. Happy and I continued in a slow canter around the outdoor arena. A huge smile of glee spread across my face. Apparently, the other girls’ enthusiasm was contagious after all. And those horses galloping in my stomach? They weren’t completely gone, but they had gone from my attention. I was just focused on riding my horse. And it felt amazing. 10 OklahomaHorses • January/February 2021 KJM Equestrian School Boarding, lessons, summer camps and pony parties. (918) 299-9283 9801 S. Sheridan Rd. Tulsa, OK 74133 kjmequestrian.com Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma Providing a variety of courage- and confidence-building experiences for girls. (918) 749-2551 4810 S. 129th E. Ave. Tulsa, OK 74134 gseok.org