I love old photos, especially my baby pictures. So, that's where I went to get the picture. #14 just happened to be this one:
That's me and my older brother, Scott, on my neighbor's horse. The lady on the left is Mrs. Gravley, my best friend from childhood's mom - the friend's name was Heather. They had two horses that they kept at a stable in town. One day they brought one to the house... I can't remember why. But this picture was taken in my driveway... now that I think about it, it was probably an odd site to see for anyone driving by at the time.I was totally into it at the time, but I honestly can't stand horses today. They scare me to no end. They are just very large, powerful creatures. I guess the fear could be contributed to the following incidents: My uncle lived on a ranch and had a lot of horses. One day, he was guiding one out of a trailer and the horse's foot slipped off the ramp and he fell on my uncle, shattering his leg in 4 places. The next incident was at the stable with Heather. I'm not sure how old I was, maybe 8ish?, and they let me ride a pony. Well, the pony apparently wasn't in the mood and bucked me off, and as it jumped around while I was still on the ground it came a tad bit too close to stomping on my face. It seems silly, but I vividly remember that day and being so scared. It wasn't until after I graduated high school that I ever got on a horse again. My best friend, Kristina, and I went to St. Maarten as a graduation present from our parents (our moms went with us). To say Kristina loves horses is an understatement. So when she saw a flier in St. Maarten for beach side horseback riding, she wouldn't stop talking about it and begging that we do it. Being a good friend and all, I finally agreed to go with her on the last day we were there. Big mistake. It was rainy that morning, but they still let us go. It was me, Kristina, her little sister, and two guides. They gave me the biggest horse I have ever seen in my life and insisted that he was the nicest one and the easiest to control (I beg to differ). We went up steep mountains, all in the woods. You couldn't see 10 feet in front of you. It was really foggy with the rain. The ground was muddy and the horses kept slipping. And I was crying the whole time. No joke. Then we finally get down to the beach and we literally went into the ocean on the horses! I must admit, that part was pretty cool... I have pictures of it somewhere. But then one of the other horses had a difficult time getting out of the water and fell over on top of Kristina's little sister (she was okay) and it startled my horse, who then took of running. Then all of the joy I got from being in the water on the horse was gone and I was crying again. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be jumping on any horses ever again in my life.
The other thing that came to mind when I looked at this picture was how I got the scar on the inside of my elbow. I went with Heather and her mom to the stables late one night to check on the horses after it had been storming all day. One of the posts at the gate entrance into the stable had fallen off so the barbed wire was just dangling. And, long story short, Heather and her mom had already gotten back in the car to leave and I had bent down to tie my shoe. Her mom started backing the car up and I freaked out that they were leaving me and just started running and flailing my arms. And RIP! The loose barbed wire caught my arm and slit my arm open right on the bend of my arm on the inside of my elbow. P.S. That's one of the worst places to have a gash - ever. It hurt every time I bent my arm for the longest time. I still have a scar there.
AMYYYYYYYYYYYYY! YOU'RE BACK!:)
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