Just Horsin' Around.

I am a person of many phobias. Flying, social situations, wide open spaces, enclosed spaces, Michael Myers from the Halloween movies, stepping on a dirty syringe, tampered-with food, heights, spiders, large dogs, cancer, losing a loved one, death in general...and horses. Yes, horses.

If you knew me in college or have come to know me since, you have probably heard the story of The Horse Incident. If you have never heard this story - well, saddle up because I am about to give you the As Short As Possible Version.

My Junior year, I went to a Sigma Iota Delta Hayride with a young man by the name of Brent Pruitt. Brent and I were good friends, but if I may be so bold, I think he wanted to date me. I kind of liked him too; however, he had an on-again off-again girlfriend. At the time of said hayride, they were off so I was the date of choice. Lucky me. (Yes, I am being sarcastic and you will soon understand why.)

The hayride was somewhere in Kentucky and part of the day's "fun" was riding horses. I had never ridden before, which was the case with most of the girls there. We made our guide aware of that, but for whatever reason, toward the end of the ride, he decided to run on his horse. (Not the brightest of guys.) Of course, all the other horses started running as well and none of us had a clue what we were doing. My horse wouldn't stop when everyone slammed on their brakes in front of me, so my horse collided with my friend Tonya's horse. Both Tonya and myself were thrown from our horses and Brent told me later that my horse came about an inch from slamming its hoof down on my face. All I know is that I landed on my right hip and then my head slammed back on the ground HARD - and for about a minute and a half I couldn't really feel my right arm or leg. My friend Tonya landed on her head and was taken to the hospital where they found a slow bleed on the brain. (She ended up fine, thank goodness.) Looking back, I should have let them take me as well, but did I mention that I also have a phobia of hospitals?

Needless to say, I was in a lot of pain for a couple of weeks - my whole body ached. I couldn't go to aerobics class, which I loved. I could barely walk to class. It was during this time that I was asked on a date by the Boy Prior to Phillip (whom I have referred to before and will continue to refer to as Yucky Boyfriend). He and I worked together at a day care center and I guess he felt sorry for me hobbling around campus so he offered to drive me to and from work and he also carried my book bag to and from my classes every day. I was charmed (or blinded, perhaps?) by his kindness, so we began dating. I guess in a way, I blame that stupid horse not only for a bump on the head and a hip that still hurts (nearly 10 years later), but also for dating a moron for nearly nine months. Stupid horse.

ANYWAY...on the drive home from that hayride, in the passenger seat of Brent Pruitt's little red Saturn, I swore off horses. For good. I said that I would never ride again.

But I didn't know Phillip at the time and I didn't know that nine months or so later we would meet, fall in love, get married, have a gorgeous child (who loves "HeeHeeses") and that for Phillip and only for Phillip, I would one day ride again.

Phillip grew up riding horses. He is always telling me stories of the day-long rides he used to take as a kid in Birmingham. You can see the sparkle in his eye when he talks about that time in his life. I wanted to help him find that sparkle again, so this past Saturday I scheduled a ride for us at JuRo stables in Mt. Juliet. Yes, I did.

Phillip's birthday is coming up on Tuesday, and I could think of no better gift than to share in something that he loves so much. I think he really had a great time, and thankfully - so, did I. The first five minutes on Little Dolly were rough for me. I must admit, I shed a couple of tears, had a small panic attack and begged to get off NOW, but our guide was patient and encouraged me to hang on until I got the feel of it. Shortly after that, Little Dolly nearly decapitated me on a low-hanging branch, but from then on it was pretty smooth sailing. Here is a shot of Little Dolly with our guide, Rachel.

Phillip's horse was named Charlie. Charlie is Little Dolly's Daddy. And oh my goodness, was he slow. Which was fine by me. At least I didn't have to worry about any running. Heck, we didn't even trot! I honestly don't think Charlie was even capable of trotting. Sorry, honey!

The property there is very lovely. We saw lots of animals, not excluding a Wild Turkey and a Peacock.

It was absolutely wonderful to see Phillip in his element. To see him so relaxed and at peace. I wish this were a gift I could give him everyday. He certainly deserves it.

And to further prove what a terrific guy I married, he was so concerned for me and was so attentive to my state-of-mind during the trail ride. He kept reassuring me along the way that he would never let anything happen to me. What a comfort! After all was said and done, he kept saying over and over, "I am so proud of you!". Wow. I am so blessed.

I guess I was kind of proud of myself too. But most of all, I was just so happy to have such a wonderful day with my favorite guy in the whole world!!

Happy Birthday, Bup! I love you!