Riding on Water: Is That Another Train?

The riding school where I had my first lessons from Auntie M as a tiny kid is down the road from us, and my first coach's stepdaughter happens to be one of DH's best friends. Growing up in a small town will do that to you. Friend C---who handled Arwen and got kicked by Wynnie at HOY 2022---works overseas for much of the year, so we've seldom actually ridden together, but on Friday we changed that.

I asked the ever-lovely M to give Lancey a bath for the occasion, at which request M scrubbed Lancey to within an inch of his life, so it was a snow white and show ready Arab who we loaded up on Friday afternoon. He got out at the riding school where I had my very first gymkhana on Skye about fifteen years ago, tail high and neck arched, snorting so that C thought he was a Wild Stallion. I assured her that he is all bark and no bite as I threw on his tack, and we left DH to hang out with C's fiance while we went riding.

C was on Salsa, a daughter of Auntie M's treasured old mare, and we rode past a field full of horses I'd known as a little kid - Polka, Stefanie, Bolero, Isak, Dirk, Mazurka and even the pony on whom I was an up-downer, Mystique. It was lovely to see them all grazing in a big green field, looking wonderful and happy in the home they've known for decades.

C and I haven't ridden together much, but we instantly settled into a merry rhythm of walking and trotting through the summery fields. Salsa couldn't decide if she was going to be a bit nappy or a bit excited, but Lancey seemed to hit his happy, I-can-do-this-all-day stride immediately without his usual few minutes of stop-and-snort first.

We rode across a small vlei and then along the edges of the fields, which were deep with the rich green of soyabeans. Salsa charged into them with a great rustling at one point; Lancey spooked at that, then spooked again at a mealie leaf. Both were spooks-in-place - I didn't bother to pick up the reins.

wow I really need to cut his bridle path

As we wound our way along the fields, I remembered the train tracks running through the middle of the farm from pony camp years ago when Skye was pregnant with Thunder and didn't bat an eye at the speeding train. Then again, Skye didn't bat an eye at anything.

"Do you think there'll be a train?" I asked.

We moved on between two soya fields and C asked if I was up for a canter. As usual I asked to go in front and squeezed him forward, and Lanceycorn responded by Bronco Leaping, ie porpoising that doesn't panic even me. I pulled his head up and booted him and he cantered off like a good boy, albeit a very happy and excited good boy, who settled into a far more acceptable canter by the end of the field and happily dropped to a walk on a loose rein when asked.

Five minutes later, there was indeed a train when we were quite close to the tracks. It clunked past quite slowly, and despite the fact that I was definitely worried, Lancey barely looked at it. He grabbed a few bites of grass and we continued along, unphased by the tractors and trailers that were heading along the fields, "following" us (did I mention those?).

We had another lovely long trot along the edge of the field, Lancey absolutely powering along despite his lack of fitness, hitting that extra gear that he only ever finds out on a long ride. This dude was born for endurance and he knows it.

I declined to try to get Lancey through an underpass that had water in it, so we headed for a bridge over the train tracks instead. This was our mutual first bridge, and bridges give me the heebie jeebies even in a car, but Lancey clopped over without batting an eye. We walked along the vlei on loose reins, enjoying the sunshine and excellent company, when I realized sharply that the tractors were no longer behind us despite the clanky sound I heard.

"Is that another train?" I enquired.

It was, and it was loud, fast, behind the trees, and had something wrong with it that made it squeal appallingly. Lancey took a couple of walk steps backward and sideways, but he didn't offer to turn around. We stood and watched it zoom past and then continued on our merry way at a happy walk, even wading through belly-deep vlei grass, normally a thing Lancey does not enjoy. He snacked happily and I let him.

We had one more nice stretch along the fields before we got back, and we took advantage of it. This time, Lancey stepped up into canter without a peep of protest, and I urged him on to the point where C could actually canter too (my little dressage-queeny collected canter on outrides is decidedly unpopular). It felt good to let him out a little, and we were all grinning by the time we reached the end of the field and he went back to an obedient, quiet walk.

The last stretch involved following a busy main road, and while we were across the fence from the road, the traffic still swished by much closer than Lancey's used to. He didn't care, though. Even when I made the mistake of waving to a trucker, who cheerfully hooted in reply, Lancey didn't even flick an ear.

Relaxed and happy, we got back, unsaddled and left Lancey in a field with Mystique and Polka, two ancient mares unlikely to beat him up even if he annoyed them. To my relief, Lancey didn't try to play with them. He happily grazed while we visited with C and her fiance N, and even though it was totally dark by the time we left, he walked straight into the box with no hesitation.

We did 6km in an hour in the end, which for this ploddy dressage queen and given that Lancey is by no means fully fit again, was more than enough for a lovely Friday ride.