Scotland, here I come!

By Gayle Carline
Horse Lover and Incredibly Stubborn Woman

When I was 45, I finally arrived at the horse party, and knowing my own limitations, I decided to stick with western-style riding. That saddle is so large and comfortable, I could spend all day in it.

The few times my horse has thrown me, I've really hated to leave it.

This year is a special year for me. It's the Chinese Year of the Horse, which is my sign. And I'm 60, which is some kind of a milestone, I suppose. At any rate, I decided to have a big, fat, horsey birthday year and celebrate for the entire 365 days.

My Swatch "Year of the Horse" Watch!

Part of my celebration is to visit Scotland. I've got Celtic blood in my veins and have always wanted to see the Highlands, the moors, the castles. We made all the arrangements with a lovely travel agent, including a day of golfing for my husband, Dale.

It's Scotland, after all. If you're a golfer, you gotta golf. While he was golfing, what was I supposed to do? An idea occurred to me: go horseback riding.

There was only one problem. I'm pretty sure they don't have western saddles, and I've never ridden English. It's even possible that I told my trainer Niki that she'd never get my tush on one of those little leather postage stamps.

Never say "never," Peeps. It'll bite you in the butt every time.

For about two months now, I've been taking English lessons on my little mare, Frostie. The first day, it felt like I was on a viewing platform. As comfy as I felt in my western saddle, I suddenly had no sense of balance on this little, hard triangle. Over the weeks, I slowly became more used to it, and I do mean "slowly" and "more used to it."

Like my western boots and jeans? LOL!

Here's the thing - I don't HAVE to ride in Scotland. I don't HAVE to learn to ride English. Call me stubborn. I want to ride in the Highlands, and I don't care what I have to do in order to do it.

So I can now two-point (at the trot), post, and even find my diagonal. I doubt if I start riding English for fun, but I'm proud of my new skill and I can't wait to try it out. My only worry is that I'm only 5'2" and I know that Scotland is full of sport horses. I'm hoping there's a pony out there for me.

How about you? Have you ever learned to do something you didn't want to do, just because you wanted to reach another goal?