Ed and me

Some weeks ago I decided to ride Ed, short for Eddy, again. He is a funny, but lazy horse. He has a bit of a temper aswell. The other times I rode him there was no problem at all. I had no problem this time either. But Ed had a surprise for me in store. It was almost the end of the lesson when my teacher told me to start a galop. I gave Ed the signs he needed but he didn't pick them up. I gave him a smack with my whip (not to hard), but he didn't listen. I smacked him a few times more and he still didn't listen. And then I saw the wooden boards at the side of the track coming closer and before I knew I was in the sand. It happened quicker than I can tell you. I lay exactly in the ditch where the horses run and I couldn't get up. At first I thought it was my back, but I felt nothing. I asked my teacher if I was in the ditch and she confirmed it. She and the others had a good laugh when they saw me struggling to get up.



I was moving like a fish on dry land. When I looked up I saw Ed standing next to me with a funny look on his face. It was like if he wanted to ask me what I was doing down there in the ditch. All I could do was smile and say "Hi Ed". But as he is not the talking horse from the early ages, he just looked down on me. My teacher helped me to get on my feet and back on the horse. She asked me if I wanted to start another galop, but I decided to wait just a bit, to relax a bit and to settle. But I rode a galop before the lesson was over. After the lesson I was told that Ed jumped in the air to get me off his back. They all told me that it was funny to watch me go. I don't remember the fall at all. It happened all so quickly that I remember being on the horse and then in the sand. Both Ed and I were alright, but it is an experience I will never forget. It made me see that you can't mess with horses and that they have a mind of their own.