Won't Be Doing That Again

[tomchap]

This is for real, but I survived the excitement.

Won't Be Doing That Again

Copyright © May 2007: Tom Chapman

There are some things in life, and it's my sure belief,
Those events we will never repeat.
It was one of those times when I near came to grief
But I managed to pull off a feat.

We'd been riding our horses, my brother and I,
In the paddocks securely fenced.
And then something different I thought worth a try
So a new exploit then was commenced.

Now riding bareback was a usual thing,
But having no bridle was new.
And I thought there and then I would give it a fling;
It was something exciting to do.

With a handful of mane to help steady the ride
And a free hand to block half her sight;
When I covered her right eye then she turned left side,
Or her left eye she'd turn to the right

With a heel in her ribs you could make the mare go,
But a different thing making her stop.
I tried covering her eyes, but her head went down, so
I went flying off over the top.

But then the time came for a practical test
Where the paddocks were open outside.
No fence or restraint there - you might well have guessed
That it made for a heart-stopping ride.

With his horse full harnessed my brother took lead
And my mare, she just followed along.
So I had a great ride on that old chestnut steed.
For a time there was nothing went wrong.

But after a while, when we turned to go back
And the old mare got wind of some feed,
She turned on the power, and took up the slack,
And galloped away at full speed.

Now you've got no control, with the whim of the beast,
With saddle and bridle not there.
She came to a corner post, then headed east,
And my left leg was round her ribs, bare.

I could see she was taking the corner quite close
And she'd graze the fence post with her side,
And I had no desire for my foot and my toes
To be skinned there to finish my ride.

She wheeled to the left and my weight shifted right
To clear the top of the post.
Was right at that point that I almost took flight
Was this my last ride?—well almost.

The momentum took me, I flew off my seat
And she felt the load go from her back;
And I swung round in front of the mare's pounding feet
And near finished up on the track.

When she felt me come off then her pace took a check
But I never quite went to the ground;
For I managed to lock both my arms round her neck
And got back up on top right around.

I'd had no time to think, scarce had time to react,
I wondered, was this my last breath?
To my brother, it looked like a great circus act,
As for me, I was scared half to death.

So I came through unscathed from this little event,
And I thought how things might have been then,
And my possible fate there as far as it went.
Well, I guess we won't do that again.

[therese]

scarey!  but at least you lived to tell the tale!!  lol

[Irene]

Tom
YOu might have been scared while it was happening, but I bet you enjoyed telling the story afterwards!!! 
Did you ever try it again?  I remember when I was at a riding camp as a kid, we went out to round up the horses for the afternoon riding, and we did exactly the same thing!! (Without the fancy acrobatics of hanging around the horses neck, though!!!  ) Thought it was great fun, but we really just went along for the ride, as we certainly didn't steer the horses anywhere!!! 

However, I also remember being on the opposite end of such a ride when my daughter did it, and went flat gallop across a paddock with a bunch of horses heading for home - I didn't think it was so great when I was standing there watching her, and worried she was going to hit the deck!!!

Great story!

Catchya
Irene

[the mad mare]

Ha, ha, ha Tom!  Great story!

Horses certainly can be unpredictable beasties. They can keep you on your toes ... or on your back ... or on your head ... for that matter.

I've seen my daughters do some fantastic busters (thank goodness for helmets) and I've seen them do some unbelieveable "saves".  Once, during a cross country jumping lesson,the horse put on the skids about six foot before a jump and screeched to a halt right in front of a solid log and my daughter grabbed her neck and swung off, and stood on top of the log!  She then just climbed straight back onto the horse (the horse swung around beside the jump so she could mount again) and they kept riding.  The group of parents watching cheered at the brilliant recovery and dared her to do it again, and she did!  She did the whole skidding horse and stand-on-jump-to-mount routine again at the next jump!  What a laugh!  That was years ago, and people still remind me about it when we go to that course.


Loved the poem Tom and the memories it prompted.  Thanks.

See ya'

Kym.

[tomchap]

Hi Therese, Irene, Kym,

I suppose if we live long enough we'll all have stories to tell.
And Irene, no I didn't try it again.
In those days (early 50's) we didn't have helmets, and that ride was with bare feet too.
I eventually had a serious fall and very nearly ended up in a wheel chair for the rest of my life. I broke a few bones in my back, but the spinal column wasn't damaged—thank God.

Cheers

Tom.

[r. magnay]

I think anyone who has ridden will have a few tales to tell about similar events, like Tom I also tried the no saddle and bridle thing with similar cosequences, nowhere as spectacular as Tom's story though! I never rode again after my mid teens, apprenticeship, cars, footy, sheilas, band and even work sort of took over, I must admit though, I thought I was the man from Snowy River on flat ground for awhile!
I remember as a kid, Dad always telling yarns about his brothers and sisters riding horses and what they got up to, but in his time they bloody near lived on or with their horses.
Good yarn Tom.

[the grey]

You brought back a few memories with this one Tom. 

Once when I was about twelve I was riding bareback along a footpath when the horse bolted.  I was slowly falling off, but was determined to hang on and eventually ended up under its neck with my legs and arms firmly gripped to the top side.

 I slowy managed to work myself back up on top around the wither area and just as I got there the old mate came to a hedge and hit the anchors and I went sailing through the air into the folks yard.

Then there was the time I came off and got hung up in the stirrup iron in an old corragated paddock.  That was one hell of a bumpy ride.

Had a few other hair raising experiences mustering as well but I sure do miss those days in the saddle and working with horses.

Cheers Merv