Photo Credit: NBanaszak Photography
Moonless
evening darkness.
Noiseless calm-filled quiet;
even the animals are sleeping.
Horse and rider snugly enveloped in the soothing twilight blanket
watched by twinkling diamond specks in the ever far but oh-so-near sky,
capably cantering.
Weightless footfalls soundlessly landing
save for the faint crunch of almost-frozen sand underfoot,
leaving large figure-eights and loops behind
as she reaches loftily ahead
in a rocking-horse rhythm,
effortlessly progressing through space and time.
Perky-eared bay mare boldly expressing her creativity, living in flying changes.
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*****
I wrote this poem in attempt to capture how it felt to ride my always fun-filled, giving mare during an almost surreal evening.
It was dark (no moon), shockingly quiet, and hard to see where the fences of the outdoor riding ring were. I find it interesting to be stripped of my sense of sight (well, not really "stripped", but you know what I mean - it was so dark that I could barely distinguish the horse's head, never mind the space around us). You don't know what the horse looks like in front of you, and you can't tell how large the strides are or where you are really going (you have a general sense, but can't see the exact dimensions of your surroundings).
When you can't rely as much on your vision, I find that you can "feel" deeper.
The overwhelming question in my mind was, can we ride (effectively) in this dark night when we can't see anything?
My mare answered confidently: yes!
Finally! The Ultimate Rider-Centered Program!