[RC] First ride at Whirling Windmill part 1 - Suzi Maiorisi
Holly and I sneaked off without telling many what we were up to this
weekend to do the Whirling Windmill ride. It has been my goal for a year
now to go and it was time...period. Camped in the back of the trailer in
some pretty good heat and so much humidity I could barely undress for bed, drove
through millions of breeding Love Bugs that you had to stop and wash the
windshield every 40 miles or so to be able to see out, and woke up to a dense
fog for ride day Sunday. We did a fairly conservative first loop and
didn?t get back quite as fast as I had hoped, but being blonde <G> I
forgot my watch...actually forgot to finish dressing for the first loop til I
looked down to see I was only in my tank top and had to run back up to the
trailer to finish dressing...at which time I also noticed I had left my pants
(yep, wore jeans!) rolled up to keep them out of the water and they were still
up to my knees! We exited a few minutes late to avoid the rush knowing
that Holly can get a little excited at the start. She took off relaxed and
having a good time. Got to a section where those in the back are
going beside a fence line with other horses ahead going the opposite direction
on the other side of the fence. Holly kept telling me I'd lost it, we're
supposed to go the OTHER way, but no, we're going THIS way, Holly...when we got
to the gate and turned she knew exactly where she was supposed to be heading and
took off like a bullet giving a little buck when I tried to rein her in a
bit. I finally got her settled into a good trot and we went on down the
trail. Really beautiful riding in the fog like that and pretty relaxing,
too.
Got to a creek and I tried out my sponge technique...and flunked sponging
101. About the time I dropped the reins to pull it up 4 riders came
walking up behind her and Holly opts for heading up a sandy embankment
covered in brush...I'm off of there as soon as I can manage it and she finally
gets out of it while the other riders stand and wait patiently for me to recover
and get back on...Did I mention how nice and helpful everyone was??
Shirley and Joyce, I can't thank you enough - I don't know last names and I?m
terrible with names to begin with, but you to helped so much in getting me over
my heebie jeebies after that, and picking up my sponge when I dropped it,
too. I really can't thank you enough.
Finally got to the 1/2 mile from camp sign and breathed a huge sigh of
relief. The fog had finally lifted and the heat was coming on like it only
does in Texas...
