I just got back from New York City. Wow! Ride a
horse in THAT CITY??? That would be insane!!
I loved the city but boy I could never live there.
We did see the bridle paths in Central Park but honestly, I am not sure it would
be worth the hassle of pulling a trailer, putting your life and that of your
horses in jeopardy trying to get through the city streets just to ride
there. I kid you not, one of our taxi drivers thought it was funny to rush up to
cars trying to get through intersections just to see the "whites of their
eyes!". Central Park itself has all kinds of stuff going on. Runners, very fast
bikers, horse and buggies, traffic and two little zoos which attract crazy
little kids. Life was just as fast and furious and loud in the park as it was in
Manhattan.
I can't even count how many fender benders we saw
with people trying to change lanes at high rates of speed, taxies trying to
cross 2 lanes of traffic to pick up fares at higher rates of speed or
the always unsuccessful maneuver called parallel parking. Unless the
car was brand new, it was dented in front and back. I swear I saw an SUV back
into a spot hitting the car behind and MOVING it, pulling forward and hitting
the car in front, and then getting out and walking away without so much as a
second look for damage. That is so incredible! Don't get me
started on the horns!
Everything is fast, no one is waiting for anything,
including women and children trying to cross the streets and loud doesn't even
describe the noise level. I sure don't think it would be that relaxing of a time
for horse or rider. I am only talking about downtown, (Manhattan) and around
Central Park. We didn't get to the other areas like the Bronx.
I have never been anyplace like New York City.
Stores and restaurants open until 1 a.m.on Christmas eve and reopening on
Christmas day at 6 a.m. with sales!! Incredible. The sidewalks were jammed 24
hours a day except this morning at 6 a.m. when we headed to the airport.
Just my observations. I loved
every minute we were there but I feel like I have been on gallons of caffeine
for the past week. I'm buzzed, my head is buzzing, my ears are
buzzing and my feet buzz from all the walking. It was very
invigorating. However, I would rather ride any place else but, NYC.
To keep this endurance related, I would add that my
next endurance horse is coming from the NYC police department. Now THAT is a
horse that has seen it all!
It's good to be home, even if it is Florida. Can't
see the white sandy beaches because of all the buildings, but we can see they
sky! It is a tad bit more quiet as well. And clean.
Lisa Salas, the Oddf aRm
Ready to sloooowww down, smell the flowers
and whisper for a while.
