Long Live Cowgirl's (NEVER FINISHING)

#7 guts over fear

A hoof hit Me again...
The floor was sinking...
I could hear my screams echo...
I try and stand up but its hooves hit me in the back sending me face ford, this time it was hard...

"HANNAH!"

I scream myself awake to see Leo over the top of me. I freaked out and sat up. Leo was in his PJs and outside it was dark. "Are you okay," Leo shacks his head sighing "Move over," Leo shoves me aside, and lies on top of my sheets, "you were crying in your sleep. I thought you where Dying." I turn my bed side lamp on so I could see his blue eyes, "its hard not to cry when a horse is killing you." Leo looked at me frowning, "what's a strider?"

"What do you mean?"

"In your sleep you kept saying strider." I swallowed hard "Its the horse that...." I struggled to get the sentence out.

"Emily's nice isn't she?" Great change of subject Leo. We stared at the sealing watching the fan spun slowly. "Meh" is all I managed to say. "Whats meh, suppose to mean?" He sounded upset. "Nothing, its just I think she hates me for letting the horses out. I'm was terrified myself." I tried not to smile.

"Hey, she's like that, don't let that get to you, she can be really nice.  are you coming to the rodeo on sun day?"

I nearly forgot the rodeo, Emily asked me to come see the country life because I was never a real cowgirl. "What will I do?" I look at Leo pleading he'd say something like; hey I can teach you, maybe you can ride with me But no, "you can watch me ride a bull, in pretty good at it." I giggle at the thought of Leo wearing red and pink caps. He shoved me realizing what I was giggling about. "I was actually hoping you would help me over come my fear."

Leo shuffled around to face me. My heart pounded so fast I think it could of played in ACDC. I look into his thoughtful eyes. "Ok! See ya in the morning." Before I could respond I was left there felling rejected even though he just agreed. Was it just me that felt something, how could anyone get passed Emily.

*******

Duff looked good with a western saddle. It had been three days since Emily's fall and the puppies had kept me busy.  Duff was trained for western pleasure events. I trust Duff because of his calmness, and here I was about to ride him in the ring. Leo handed me a helmet, he looked proud to see me wearing a one. I put my left foot in the wide leather stirrup, they were so much longer then a dressage stirrups. I pressed down on the stirrup and swung the other leg over to the off side. I picked up the reign... No, reigns. "There called split reigns, in western pleasure your not really meant to use them. Just in case something happens but for now hold them here." He grabbed my hand pulls it slowly up the reign, just so they were loose but I had contact to the snaffle bit. We both pursed and looked at each other. And for the first time I think he felt something too. He quickly stood back to see my position in the seat. "Your seats really good just when you jog-"

"Jog? You mean trot."

"No a western pleasure trot is to slow it looks more like a jog, hence the name. Anyway when you jog you can't rise, you sit and move with the jog." I nod taking in all information. I looked down to the floor below me. The beginning of my dream came back to me, me on a horse similar to duff, then the wind began spooking the horse making it hate me then I was on the floor to the rest of my dream. 

I panic and look up at the horses head. This isn't safe, I'm going to die. Looking at Leo who could tell I was afraid, walked up to duff and clipped the lead rope up to the halter that was under the bridle. "Your safe now I have control."

 He told duff to walk anticlockwise around the ring. I held my position in the saddle and tried to calm down. I felt each step duff took, each breath, each muscle, each tail swish. I was calmer now and I was ready to ride. It was so bad that Leo had to see me like this. To scared to walk a relaxed old gelding.

The wind picked up and the fear rushed in. I held onto the horn of the saddle with all my heart as duff shuffled backwards, hitting the fence. I jammed my feet into the side of duffs ribs trying to stay on. Leo tried to hold duff down but it was to far, "let your feet of of his sides!" I did as a told only to have duff standing still as a tree. "OK, his trained to go backwards when you put pressure here." Leo sighed and patted my knee.

He put Duff on the lung rope and we walked around for ages before I was ready to jog. It was so smooth and free flowing, I nearly fell asleep. "This is him fast at the jog" Leo grained. I was shocked duff was jogging at a human jogging paste, and he could go slower! "Are you ready to lope?" I assumed the lope was the canter so I nodded a held on to the horn for mental comfort. Leo clicked around three times before duff collected himself and picked up the left lead. It was a slow canter that felt as if he was limping. He lowered his head nearly kicking him self in the muzzle but his strides where too short. I felt such power when I rode like this, sitting up straight loosed reigns and not worrying about when the beast below me was going to get a fright or suddenly changed into a gallop. My instructor interrupted me, "When you what to stop, just simply sit down in the saddle and say woo. But make shore you mean it."

I did as Leo said, I lifted my feet an inch or so making me heaver, leaned back in the saddle and bellowed, "woo!" Like the reigning horses on magazines. Duff curled up his head and pushed down on his hind quarters, rushing sand up in the air. A smile had spread across Leo's face, "your a natural!" I laugh and scratched duff mane.

We went the other way with Leo explaining thing the horse is taught, like how the strangely loser the reign I nave the lower his head would go the slower he'll lope, and how I can move him right or left with just the tap of a spur or heel.

Later on we unsaddled duff, gave him a good wash then put him in green pic 2. After that uncle T was breaking in a little buckskin pony in the ring, Leo and I, sat in the seven foot high fence and watched the little thing try to get out, as uncle T was steaming at it, "why's he scaring it?" I asked Leo.

"Its just like what a stallion would do in the wild, show its who's boss tell it to go away, then when the young horse has no other option the stallion turns away not looking at the youngster telling them there welcomed but I'm still the boss. That's just one of the ways to break in a green horse."

By now the little buckskin gave up and stood there with his head low. Then uncle T turns away not looking at it, immediately the pony took a step ford, then another but then through its head up so uncle T started all over again.  

Thank you so muck for reading this chapter. I know its a bit of a filler but its important.

HINT:  It felt good to rise in the air again.