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I lift my foot into the stirrup and grab onto the handle…or the horn, I guess.
"I'll stand here next to you in case you fall."
"Okay," I say.
I take a deep breath and use all my strength to pull myself onto the horse. My leg goes over and my butt plops right into the center of the saddle.
"Oh! I did it!" I giggle and Troy’s hand lands on my knee. He squeezes gently and a tingle runs through my thigh to my core.
"You're a natural," he says.
"We’ll see."
He walks around and hikes himself onto his horse. He gives it a little kick while making some kind of noise and the horse starts moving. He comes to stand next to me.
"Let's walk. Just give her a little kick with your heel."
I'm terrified, but I do it, and Onyx starts walking at a slow pace.
"Good. Keep hold of the reins. And the horn, if you need the extra security. Just let your body move with the horse’s movement."
I hold tight but let my body relax enough that I am able to be comfortable. It's scary but thrilling at the same time. We walk a little ways, and Troy tells me about growing up on a horse ranch.
"That sounds like it was a lot of hard work but very fulfilling."
"It was." He stops his horse, and Onyx stops also. "Do you want to try trotting?"
I pinch my lips between my teeth and nod slowly.
"Don't worry, I'm right here, and if you fall, there's lots of fresh snow to land on."
I look down at the snow, and I take a deep breath. "Okay, let's try it."
"Squeeze your legs into her sides and she will get going. Let your body move up and down with the horse’s movement. Try not to use your legs so much as letting the horse move you."
"Okay." I squeeze, and she walks at first then starts to trot.
It's very awkward at first, but after a bit, I am getting the hang of it. Troy catches up to me, and I smile at him. He makes a sound with his mouth and both the horses start walking.
"Let's walk over here. This path will take us to the top of the hill, and you can see for miles"
"Sounds great. I'm loving this."
"Good," he says. His smile grows wide across his face.
I follow behind him. It's cold, but the beauty and calmness of riding makes me forget about how freezing my face is. Twenty minutes later, we are at the top. Troy swings his leg over the horse and hops down. He wraps the reins around a tree then comes over to me.
"Think you can do that?" he asks as he takes the reins.
"Yeah, I think so."
I do just like he did and surprisingly, I land on my feet.
He walks the horse over and ties her reins on the tree as well.
"I may have to find a place where I can do this in Pennsylvania. It's so fun."
"I'm glad you are enjoying it," he says, then comes to stand at my side.
