OklahomaHorses Magazine January 2021

8 OklahomaHorses • January/February 2021 B utterflies in your stomach is a phrase most people are familiar with, but have you ever had horses gallop in your stomach? Well, I have! My name is Emily, and I love cats, dogs, bunnies, donkeys, bugs … almost any living creature you can name. That’s why it surprised me so much (as well as my parents and troop leaders) when I was petrified of earning my horseback riding badge with my Girl Scout Troop 2120. I’m not afraid of anything, or so I thought. When our troop visited In- sect Adventure at OSU Stillwater, I was one of the only ones to pick up all of the bugs, including a hissing cockroach. I have fed a giraffe at the Tulsa Zoo and held a boa on vacation in Mexico. I love animals! But the idea of getting on a giant horse (and maybe even falling off!) or getting kicked or stepped on was filling me with dread. It’s not like I had never been around horses. My friend Logan competes in barrel racing, and I had been to see her ride and even pet her horses. I also attend Riverfield Country Day School and love visiting the miniature ponies, llamas and donkey in the campus barnyard. But in my mind, I was going to be risking my life riding a 6-foot-tall racehorse, going at breakneck speed. When the day finally arrived, I didn’t have butterflies in my stomach; I had galloping horses in my stomach, trampling all over my courage. Wild Horses Couldn’t Stop Her A Girl Scout braves the ‘galloping horses’ in her stomach to earn her horseback riding badge WRITTEN BY: Emily Holloman, age 9 | PHOTOS BY: Sarah Onorato