365 Project Day 254: Back in the Saddle

Canon 5D Mark ll, 50 1.2L, 3.5 aperture, 1/100 shutter, 200 ISO

The weather was so beautiful today it would almost have been wrong not to ride one of my horses. I chose Sam out of my three because I needed a mount that I could trust while riding with my camera. Also, I wanted to just enjoy the ride and meander down the road a bit. Sammy is the perfect horse for this. I introduced him on a previous blog when he was not feeling well. I am happy to report he is back to his spry and ornery nature. He is 26. Pretty old for a horse, but don’t tell him that.

Sitting in the seat of a saddle brings a sense of peace and well-being like nothing else can. The creaking and squeaking of the leather, hooves clip-clopping on pavement, the smell of horses and barns that reach all the way back to my earliest memories. As I ride  I am taking all this in. I pull gently on the reins to bring him to a halt and take a few photos. He swivels his ears back to discern what I am doing, and I laugh. All the tedious concerns of life untangle and fade as we both exhale a deep sigh. I drop the reins, swing my camera to my back and drop onto his neck to hug him, his warmth and softness so comforting. I speak softly to him, thanking him for his cooperation and his friendship. I do not take it for granted. I breathe in my favorite scent on earth, the smell of a horse, and bury my cheek into his mane. Friend. He is a gift from God to me.

We go on together down the road and find friends along the way, both of the horse and human kind. Everyone is enjoying the cool evening. We stop to chat awhile as the sun beings to set and the moon rises. I sit in the saddle, and in the moment, letting it sink in. I am living right in the middle of my childhood dreams. Right here, right now, on this old country road, on this old horse that one of my best friends gave me. It feels like sacred ground.

And then, as we head home to the barn, the moon rises. Sam finds his Saddlebred gait and lifts his tail. I think he had as much fun as I did.

James 1:17 ~ “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”