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Please Reply to: Bruce Weary D.C. bweary@xxxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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Regarding runaways, I thought I'd share an anecdote.Until recently, our now 
early teenage daughters have been doing endurance riding with my wife and I for 
the past few years. My wife had previous riding experience, having owned her 
own horse as a teenager, but I had to teach both daughters to ride, and four 
months later they began their endurance careers. In an attempt to help them 
learn to ride safely, I drilled them ahead of time about what to do in certain 
"horse emergencies"--bucking, rearing, running away, stepping in barbed wire, 
lost reins, tripping/falling, etc. I taught them that if their horse began to 
run away with them, they should "Stand in the stirrups, press with their feet, 
lean back on the reins and keep saying whoa 'til they slow down."
   One day, it happened. We were doing a workout together, and my youngest 
daughter (age 8 then) let her Walkaloosa pick up a little speed going down a 
short incline, and he just kept going, and picking up more speed, obviously 
headed for home, which was a mile away with a busy highway to cross on the way. 
Thankfully, he was gaited, so not too hard to stay on, but my daughter was 
terrified, nonetheless. I shouted for my wife and other daughter to stay put, 
as I thought several horses chasing would just inflame the situation. I urged 
my horse to gradually pick up speed and we caught her in a couple hundred 
yards. As I pulled up along side her I calmly talked her down, and I'm happy to 
say she was doing exactly what I had taught her--Standing in the stirrups, feet 
planted, pulling back, and yelling for Ol' Tiny to Whoa. All the while, tears 
were streaming back horizontally on her face. A striking combination of fear 
and determination. Twenty minutes later, as she had evolved from utter terror 
to bragging about the incident, she said "Dad, I heard your voice in my head 
over and over saying "Plant your feet,lean back, pull back on the reins, etc.
 One daughter went on to a southwest junior championship, and neither girl 
ever sustained an injury while riding, even though they were pretty much 
exposed to all of the dangerous situations listed above. An ounce of 
prevention...    Bruce Weary D.C. #4160


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