Back in the Saddle Again

Okay, not really (though I do have tentative plans to go riding after work tomorrow -- in the indoor ring only). Saturday, the day after Mae succeeded in throwing me off with one spectacular buck, was also the day I had promised to take a 12-year-old girl to an amusement park. Since I still didn't notice any major effects from my fall on Friday, I kept our plans and off we went.

Luckily, this girl isn't into the big crazy rides, so I wasn't too worried about getting on something that could make any subtle post-buck injuries worse. But guess which ride she wanted to get on first? Yep. The carousel. As we stood in line waiting our turn, I watched it go round and round and began to feel kind of funny. Dizzy, sick. I started to worry that getting on any spinning rides would be a disaster because maybe my head had been jostled a bit in the fall after all, just enough to surface when I stupidly got on amusement park rides the very next day.

I was halfway through imagining some horror story involving me having a panic/vomiting/hallucinatory attack and causing a scene mid-ride when the gates snapped open and we were ushered through the entrance. My pre-teen charge dashed in to pick the two prettiest horses she could find side by side. Under normal circumstances, I would have pointed out it's always best to choose outside horses because they feel like they are going faster, but this time I was perfectly content with a slow inside horse. (My nerves also made me sacrifice the horse sporting a teal and purple polka-dotted saddle pad, by the way.)

I automatically went to the left side of my carousel horse and mounted just as you'd properly mount a real horse, even keeping my heels down once I was on (and then I realized that I had mounted carousel horses that way all through my childhood, which now strikes me as a little obnoxious). But once I was in that plastic saddle, I felt like I had to puke. I think it was a combination of being worried the ride was going to make me sick/injured/etc. when I had to be an adult and take care of a 12-year-old girl and drive her home safely, etc., along with being a little nervous at the idea of getting on anything that vaguely resembles a horse after Bucky McBuckerson had her way with me the other day.

But you know what? The ride went fine, I didn't get sick, and we then proceeded to ride a variety of other mostly tame attractions and I was fine. Later that night, once I was home, my neck felt a bit stiff, but still no major problems. And as much as I intend to joke about Mae being a monstrous bucking beast, when I do get out there next I know I'll be happy to see her. I'll give her carrots and groom her till she's nice and pretty and hopefully we'll have a slow, easy ride.

I am drinking a Miller High Life as I write this, by the way. I'm just saying.