Back in the Saddle Part Four

*A few years later*
Holding a hardbrush, Mel and a brown nd white paint gelding were locked in a staring contest of sorts.

"We are supposed to be going on our first trail ride together, Pablo," Mel said as she gave up on the battle of wills and moved to brush a fleck of dirt off his rump.

"Please don't pick today of all days to be your extra crabby self outside from your regular crabby self."

Jane came out toting Pablo's saddle, and happened to overhear Mel's last remark.

"I would not worry, Mel," she said as she set the saddle on the ground. "He was trained to be a trail horse. Pablo is much better on the trail than in the arena."

Mel gave Pablo a doubtful look. Since she had started riding again a few years ago Mel had regained the confidence to ride on her own. Pablo was a big thing that helped her to regain that confidence.

Mel had been drawn to Pablo almost from the moment he had come to the farm. His crabby, stubborn nature helped to bring her confidence up, because she really had to know how to ride to be able to control him. Otherwise, Pablo kind of went off and did his own thing. He was not the kind of horse to take off. If he did not like how a person was riding him he just stopped in any random spot and tried to take a nap.

In truth, Amelia loved the old Paint's crabby personality. Yet, as this was to be her very first trail ride ever, she felt she had cause to be antsy.

"I guess I won't know unless I try you out,: Mel told Pablo as she drooped the brush she was hoeing in the bucket and prepared to saddle him.

*Back to Present Day*

"I can't believe I thought you were not gonna be a good trail horse, old man," Mel said as she gave Pablo an affectionate pat.

"Yup, he sure did prove you wrong," Renee agreed wryly. Pablo snorted in seeming agreement with Renee's statement.

"I'm glad he did. I not only started riding again, I got to bond with a great horse and a great friend as well!"

Renee beamed "Aw, thanks Mel. You are a great friend too."

And with that, the two friends rode deeper into the forest and off onto great adventures with their horses and each other.

Back in the Saddle Part Three

Thanks to everyone who commented on the second part of this story. Here is part three. Don't forget to comment and suscribe!

Would she ever ride again?

At least a year had gone by since Moonslide had thrown Amelia.Today, she was lying in her bed at home, staring at the various horse posters that decorated the walls of her bedroom. Mel had not been back on a horse since.

It was not like she had been totally avoiding horses this past year. Far from it! Mel still loved to go out to co-op to help out and be around the horses. She had yet to actually get up the courage to ride again.

Her dream from a year ago had come true. The horse she was riding had stopped abruptly, almost directly in front  of a wood fence. Amelia had been caught by surprise and had gone sailing over Moonslide's head, only to come crashing into the fence.

The next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground with every part of her body hurting and a pounding head. Jane had insisted Mel go to the hospital to be checked for a concussion, which had required a ride in an ambulance.

Everything had turned out to be fine in the end. Yet the whole ordeal had scared Mel more than she cared to admit.

Yet, she thought as she stared up at the ceiling, everyone has to face their fears sometime.

Maybe it was about time for her to face her fears when it came to riding.

I am gonna do it, Mel thought resolutely as she stood. It's past time I get back in the saddle.

Later that week, Mel arrived at the farm, her stomach churning at the thought of what she was about to do. Yet, she was still resolute and determined to see to it that she got back on a horse.

The horse that she was going to start riding was nothing like how Moonslide was. Old Skeeter, as the bay horse's name was, was old, placid, and slow. Overall, he was just the kind of horse that Mel needed to start riding again.

Mel used to be an advanced rider before she was thrown. Yet, since she was so anxious about riding again, Mel was essentially. Starting out as a beginner, insisting on being led on a pony line when she got back on a horse.

It`s time, Mel thought to herself again as she prepared to mount Skeeter. Before Mel knew it, Jane had given her a leg up and she was once again sitting tall in the saddle.

Well, no going back now, Mel thought as she glanced anxiously at the ground and the horse underneath her, as if she expected him to take off at any moment.

"Take a deep breath and relax," Jane told her, holding Skeeter's lead. "Just sit up on him for a while. We won't go home untill you are ready."

In, out, in, out, in, out, Ya got this Mel, She thought to herself.

"Okay, I am ready," she told Jane.

"All right," Jane said with a smile. "Don't feel like you have to do anything to guide Skeeter. I am right at his head. Just sit up there and enjoy the feel of being on a horse again."

Mel nodded. Easy enough, right?

Slowly, Skeeter started to move forward at a nice, easy walk. Mel tensed up at first, still feeling pretty nervous about this whole thing.

Gradually, though, Mel began to relax, letting her body move with the horse.

I can do this, Mel thought for perhaps the billionth time that day, this time with true confidence.
This is not bad at all. In fact, I forgot how fun this can be! Mel smiled to herself at that last thought.

She still had a long way to go when it came to regaining her confidence riding. Yet today she had crossed a significant hurdle by getting back in the saddle to start things off.

Back it the saddle again!

Back in the Saddle Part Two

Better late than never right? Well anyway here is the second part to Back in the Saddle you all have been waiting for! More timely post will come in the future.

*Flashback eight years ago*

  This particular day in summer had started in the wee hours of the morning for Amelia. She woke with a start and glanced at her clock. 3:15, the screen blared back to her. 

Gee, what a strange dream, Mel thought as she sat up.

It was all very hazy, almost as if she were watching a movie. In her dream Mel saw a girl riding a chestnut colored horse. All of a sudden, the horse stopped abruptly in front of a wooden fence, and the girl went flying over its head only to lay motionless on the ground.

Amelia shrugged. She had to be up early to go up to the horse co-op.

 It was just a dream, anyway, she reasoned.

Thinking nothing more of it, Amelia merely rolled over and went back to sleep. Little was she expectation that dreams do very much in fact come true. 

Later that morning, Mel bounded out of her dad's car and into the barn at the horse co-op. She breathed in deeply, the smell of hay and horse mingling together to create a pleasing aroma, at least for horse lovers like Mel was.

The farm's director, Jane, rounded a corner. "Hey there Mel!" She greeted her enthusiastically.

"Hi!" Mel greeted. "I was wondering if I could ride Moonslide today?"

Moonslide was the new chestnut Tennessee walker pony at the farm. He was named as such for the blaze that came sliding off his face. Since Mel's dad had taken her to a Tennessee walker horse show last fall, Mel had fallen in love with the breed and they way the horses moved. Due to this, she had been absolutely giddy with excitement when the co-op had gotten a Tennessee walker.

"I don't see why not. Remember, you have chores to do first though. Why don't you grab a shovel and help me muck out some paddocks?"

Mel nodded, and with a smile she went off in search of a shovel.

Later, Mel was leading Moonslide around the arena, warming him up to prepare him to be ridden.

"All right, mount up everyone!" Jane called from across the arena. Amelia woahed Moonslide, and stood waiting for Jane to come and help her mount.

"Ready for this, boy?" Mel asked the horse. Moonslide merely stood there, not paying any attention to Mel. Any trace of the dream Mel had was gone from her mind as her excitement mounted.

"All right little one," Jane said as she came up to Mel. "Up you go."

Jane gave Mel a leg up. "How has he been?" She asked once Mel was settled in the saddle.

"Really good so far. He has a really calm temper."

"That's good," said Jane with a smile. "Why don't you take him around the arena to get the eel of him."

Mel asked Moonslide for a walk. He started out at a nice, easy pace, a and all was well and good for a while.

Yet, when it comes to horses, things have the ability to change in a heartbeat. As Mel turned Moonslide to go down the center of the arena, he bolted for no good reason whatsoever. This completely caught  Mel off guard as she felt herself flying, then her world went black.

Hope you enjoyed! Please be sure to comment and enter in your email on the right to suscribe to my blog!

This barn is kind of simular to the barn I go to ride at!

Photo credit: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red_barn_(5988547631).jpg

Pick Up Your Pen and Get Inspired!

Hello everyone! So the next part of Back in the Saddle should be posted by Friday. I had meant to get it up sooner but I am still trying to plan a posting schedule that works for me. In the meantime, here is my first writing tips post! 

If you are like me, you all lead pretty busy lives. You are constantly running to and fro with school, homework, after school activities, a job if you have one, not to mention family events. With all this going on in our lives, it can be hard to find the time to sit down and work on some of the story ideas we have floating around in our heads. Today, I will be giving some tips on how to get inspired to either start writing or write more regularly.

1. Morning vs. Evening?
Different people have different times of the day where they can focus the best. For some people, this time is in the morning. For others, myself in particular, this time is in the evening. It will ultimately depend on your personal preference, and what time of day you can focus the best.

2. How long should I write for?
Unless you have a lot of free time on your hands, or write for a living, you should not feel the need to write for several hours a day. 20-30 minutes a day should do in if you are in a crunch for time. You will be surprised at how much you can write if you take 20-30 minutes a day to write and make it a routine.

3. Quality
When you first sit down to write, do not worry about writing the best thing you have ever written. Just get whatever you have in your head written down on paper. You can always go back later to edit and revise. Or you can put whatever you have just written aside to be inspired by later. Just NEVER throw any of your work away no matter how bad you may think it is. You never know when and where in a story you may end up using it.

4. Pick a method to write
There are two different ways to write, either by hand or on a computer. You will have to experiment to find which way you like to work the best. I use two journals for my writing. One is for my blog writing and the other is for my story writing. Before I got these journals, I experimented with both writing in plain composition and spiral-bound notebooks as well as typing them out on the computer. I only just recently bought my two journals. I have fallen in love with them because I have found that having something nice to write in inspires me to write. Of course, if you hand-write your stories, you will eventually have to type them down the road. I personally am old-school and don't like to type that much, which is why I started this blog to encourage me to type my stories more.  Overall, I think that the more you have a set method of writing, the more you are likely to sit down and write.

5. Pick a place to write
Another thing to consider is to have one or two set locations where you do your writing at. This can be a place where you focus the best at, such as at your desk. Or it can be a place that inspires you the most, like the great outdoors. I love being outside in the sunshine, and maybe playing a bit of music as I write. So next time before you start to work on writing another masterpiece, go and pick a place where you feel like you will produce your best work. 

6. Write about what you love!
This point is perhaps the best point out of them all to remember. If ever you are in need of inspiration as a writer, just write about what you love. Things you are passionate about are the best things to draw inspiration from. Don't worry about what others may think, just write for the enjoyment of it.

So, there you have it. My six tips to help you be inspired in your writing. I challenge you this week to take some of these tips and incorporate them into your writing routine. Leave a comment and let me know how it goes!

Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day to all my wonderful readers! I hope you are having a fun and safe Fourth of July with your families.

Almost all of you know the significance of this day in American history. Yet, since this is supposed to be a blog about history, I wanted to share some facts about the history behind the Declaration of Independence that you might not have known.

The Continental Congress actually voted for independence from Great Britain on July 2, 1776. The actual Declaration of Independence was adapted on the date we know as July 4, 1776, but only two of the fifty six of the Declaration's signers actually signed it on that day. The other fifty-four men signed it almost one month later, on August 2, 1776

After the British surrendered, the people of the new country of America celebrated July 4 as Independence Day mostly because that was the date written on the Declaration itself. John Adams, however, was of the opinion that Independence Day should be celebrated on the 2nd of July since that was the day the formal vote took place to declare independence form Britain.

Since I learned about how John Adams wanted Independence day on the 2nd instead of the 4th, I got to winding how he would have reacted since he did not get his way on when the day should be celebrated. The following story is the result of my musings ;).

"This is an outrage!" John Adams cried, storming into the parlor where his wife, Abigail, was thoroughly engrossed in her embroidery.

"What is, dearest?" she asked, not bothering to look up from her work.

"The people of this new country!" he yelled as he started to pace to and fro in front of her. "They don't understand when the day of liberty should be celebrated! They insist that is is the fourth of July!"

Abigail now lifted her eyes from her work to study her husband. "But dearest, the fourth of July was the date that was written on the Declaration of Independence, was it not?" she stated.

John snorted with disgust. "Yes, but the actual vote to declare independence from the tyranny of Britain took place on the second!"

"Yet the people are not aware of it. They are only aware on the Declaration that was published on July fourth," Abigail calmly pointed out.

John gave her a withering look. Abigail tried to hide her smile by intently studying the rose she was working on embroidering. Most of the time, he was the most doting and devoted of husbands. Yet, when times like these arose and he was being pig-headed about an issue, she liked to get him wound up even more. Besides, he looked more handsome when he was wound up.

"My dear," he said, as he stopped pacing by the mahogany mantle of the fireplace. "Must you always be the logical one out of the two of us?'

"When it comes to making you see reason, yes. If you wanted the people to celebrate our independence from Britain on the second of July instead of the fourth, you should have sent notice of the vote for independence in the papers," she said, sticking her needle in the cloth to finish the rose as if to make her point.

John harrumphed, snatching his pipe and tobacco off the mantle. "I think I will someday run for president. Then I will make sure the day of liberty is celebrated on the second!"

"You do that, dearest," Abigail called after him as he stomped out to the balcony with his pipe.

Once he was gone, a smile graced the cheeks of Abigail. She never once tired of her husband's antics. Knowing him, he was very likely to become second president of this new country. Yet, whatever he decided to do, she thought as she trimmed the thread on the rose she had just completed, she would be by his side every single step of the way.

There you have it. I hope you like it. Please be sure to comment and subscribe to my blog!