For one, I drove to Northern California by myself.
I took off on one hot Wednesday in August. Just when I reached old highway 5 road, no car was moving. I heard it from the radio that there was a bush fire on highway 5 north. The firemen were working hard to put it off. The authority was taking no chances so the highway was shut off. People were walking in and out the car and along the highway. It was like a scene of the end of the earth in the sci-fi movie.
I was grilled on the road in the heat of the mid-day sun for almost two hours!
Back on the road again, I crossed the Golden gate bridge in the fog. This symbol of San Francisco was a mystical marvel!
After resting at my friends G and V's lake-front house in bay area for a day, I drove north to Mendocino County. I passed by Mill Calley, Santa Rosa and Ukiah. There are many vineyards along the road. I stopped by the McFadden tasting room in Hopland and sampled their Riesling. It was good. I bought a bottle.
My special mission for this road trip was to attend a horseback riding camp for three days in Potter Valley. Upon my arrival at the ranch, a lady in her fifties, was hopping towards me. She had long coarse blonde hair, looking like a horse. Her clothes were very dirty.
She told me she was limping because of a recent surgery in the right ankles. She also told me, to my surprise, I was the ONLY camper!
"Other people just dropped out in the last minute. I thought about calling you. But thinking of your having to drive a ten-hour trip here, I just want you to have a good time. Since you are the only camper, you can stay with me inside the house. It is good. you can have your own bathroom." She said, almost apologetically.
I looked around her house. It was covered with plenty spider webs. The living room was very dark and messy, and extremely smelly. Seriously, it reminded me of the house of the killer in "The Silence of Lamb"...
I wondered whether I should thank her for her good intention or not. I thought I was in a state of shock and forgot what to say anyway.
I stayed in the guest room, with my own horse-themed bathroom. It did not look too bad. It even had a window view of horses grazing on green pasture. It was a pity that it was covered with spider webs and dead insects everywhere. And it really stunk! I controlled my breathing so hard that for a moment I thought I would soon pass out.
Then I realized, it was the moment to practice "The Power of Now": I would make the best out of this experience; I would get to know her...
I was willing to take a deep breath, literally...
I started my first English riding lesson that evening. A lady from Germany also joined me in the lesson. She was an advanced rider though. So I was walking the horse while she was jumping and cantering. After the lesson, I also joined my instructor H in the chores of barn work, like feeding the animals and turning on the irrigation system for the pasture. It was a large ranch for her to work alone: a total of 75 acres of land, forty horses, seven dogs and three cats....
In the evening, H cooked me dinner. She was a vegetarian. There was veggie pasta only. Fortunately, she also gave me some cheese cake and opened a bottle of wine. I had a good talk with her over a glass of wine. Getting to know a person was always an interesting process. She was passionate for animals. She even told me her marriage ended because her husband thought that she loved the animals more than him.
We started off the next day with intensive private riding lessons in the morning and in the late afternoon. H is British and she grew up with the Pony Club school. It is a systematic graded program for instruction of horseback riding and horse-care.
English horseback riding is a different discipline than the Western school. For example, you use both hands to control the reins, you use a different saddle; and you have to use your seat and your legs a whole lot more.
H's special training is in dressage. It is sort of like horse-ballet. In those events, the riders and horses perform many expected "tricks" together to be judged.
I was so glad that I had forty hours of cross-training in body conditioning and horsemanshp classes prior to these lessons. She made me do lots of "gymnastics" on the horseback. She said that the first goal for English rider was to develope an independent seat, and an immediate goal for her is to get me to trot (a two-beat gait of the horse, sort of like bouncing) at the end of the week. I literally was working my butt off...
In the afternoon, I read up on the Pony Club principles. She has a lot of books on these subjects. That made my own "horseback riding for dummies" book really looked childish.
I spent that evening reading and talking with H. I interviewed her like a journalist. She was happy to share her knowledge of horsemanship, Pony Club, and dressage events with me, and answered many questions I had from reading her books.
She also told me many poignant stories of rescued horses.
The horse closest to her heart is Morgan. Some drug company raised pregnant horses and used their urine for medicine. There were then a lot of unwanted ponies to be disposed of. Morgan was one of them. Somehow he got rescued and has been raised and trained by H. They have been through so many dressage events together.
Sometimes she would see the potential of some of the beaten up rescued horses. She shared with me the joy of believing in a horse and training it to live up to its potential.
"Make sure you don't take those medicine when you hit menopause!" she commanded.
She has a good nature. I told her I really appreciated her rescue work with animals. And I was fascinated by her many horse stories.
On the last day of the camp I sneaked out to the main steet for breakfast. Potter Valley was really tranquil and beautiful. However, there were only one small post office, one fire station, one church, and one historical house. There was also only one restaurant, which was closed! Craving for meat after two days, I drove thirty minutes away and finally found an Indian casino to devour a hearty steak and eggs breakfast.
My last day of lesson was satisfying. The lady from Germany came back and brought her own horse. I had much practices on how to approach and lead the horses from the pasture to the arena; I became efficient in grooming them; and I finally learned how to trot!
I said farewell to H. I was able to sincerely thank her as well.
P.S.
I stopped by many beautiful scenic places on the way home. Lake Mendocino and two reservoirs on highway 5. I would like to share these pictures with you.
Thank you so much for reading my blog, my friends. You are what keep me writing!
