Sweet goodbyes

August 27th

The strange thing about travelling is that it always feels like you’ve been somewhere forever while at the same time it seems like just yesterday that you arrived. That’s how I feel now, it feels like time just flew by while I was in the USA while at the same time it seems like ages ago when I left New York. I am back at JFK airport now, waiting for my flight to Dublin (and then on to Amsterdam). I’ll arrive in Amsterdam Sunday morning around 10AM, after forty hours and five flights. I don’t know why I thought booking these flights was a good idea at the time, I am exhausted. At least I didn’t have to travel on my own for the first part of the journey. Jess, one of the other interns, was on the same flight to Salt Lake City as I was and in Salt Lake we saw Rosie and George, who had left Cody a couple hours before we did. It was so good to see them again even though they had only just left. I can’t believe how close I’ve gotten to all the people I’ve met on my travels and how much I’m gonna miss them. Thank you guys for making this an amazing summer and an experience I will never forget. It’s going to be quiet to be back home again and not constantly be surrounded by other people. I am already trying to figure out when and where I can go on my next trip. I always thought I wouldn’t be good at staying abroad for an extended period of time, I’d miss my family and friends (and horse!) too much. And I do miss them, but I also realised I love meeting new people and exploring new places and this is a good time in my life to do it. I must also admit I rather liked not having wifi and not constantly being in contact with everyone, it was nice and quiet.

This trip has made me realise I’m still a country girl at heart, even though I loved living in the city. There is no better feeling than riding through the middle of nowhere on your horse. The views in Wyoming were amazing, I don’t think they’ll ever get old. On every ride I was amazed by the mountains surrounding me. I love how the steep slopes that petrified me on my first day seemed easy during the third week. The feeling of trusting your horse to get you down safely is great. Even though I ride western back home and I am used to riding on a long rein (or without a bridle) this experience has thought me to just trust my horse to find it’s on way down a hill and not having to control everything. I got to ride a lot of different horses and learned a lot about training. I especially loved those training sessions. The methods they use are mostly in line with what I do back home but it’s amazing to see how much patience MaeCile has with the horses. Where others would have given up or would have gotten angry with the horse she just tries again. She also emphasizes the importance of taking small steps and giving the horse time to digest what it has learned. The amount of time she invests in ground work certainly pays off in the long run.

 

It was a weird last day as two of the interns had already left in the middle of the night. The rest of us got up at 5.30 to tack up for one final ride. Jess wanted to see the sunrise and we got to the top of the hill just in time. The second we arrived, the sun peeked out from behind the mountains. The colours were amazing, the sky was painted in shades of pink and purple. Even though it was freezing, it was one of the best rides of the holiday. When we rode back to the ranch over the mountains, we found the rest of the horses peacefully grazing up there. I’ve never seen them on top of the mountains and it was such an amazing sight, definitely my ‘gift’ for today.

After the ride, George took photos of me and Hazel. I love how great they turned out. I look like a real cowgirl. I did manage to lose my cowboy hat when loping around the arena and of course it fell on Hazel. She didn’t spook too badly though and I didn’t fall of this time ;) I wish I could take this horse home. She has been amazing, one of the sweetest horses I’ve ever ridden. She loved a good gallop but I never felt out of control and she was a true mountain goat! Unfortunately it was time to say goodbye to the other interns after that as their flight was around noon. It was really weird being at the ranch without them. Jess and I had lunch with Emelie and MaeCile and finished our packing. It was a struggle to get all my souvenirs (*cough* boots *cough*) in my bag but I did manage in the end. And like a true cowgirl I tied my rope to my bag with some bailing twine! With two carry-on bags instead of the one I came with, we boarded the plane in Cody. I was really sad to be leaving Wyoming and I hope I get to go back someday!  

Back in the saddle

August 26^th

I am so glad I was able to ride again today. My hip still hurt but I chose to ride Selim, a horse with a really comfortable gait. The ride was great until Emelie lost her stirrup during a lope. She held on for quite a while but then she fell. She landed on her side and was really struggling to breathe. We waited with her while Lucy rode home to get the car. They then took her to the hospital. We later heard she had broken a rib which had punctured her lung, really scary! Thankfully they took good care of her at the hospital. That was the third fall in our group, I guess bad things do come in threes.. They hadn’t had any falls that season up until we arrived, apparently we are a clumsy bunch.

After taking the horses back to the ranch we spend the afternoon helping Rachel and Sam built their log cabin. We we’re a little sceptical at first but it was a lot of fun. And we got everything we needed to do done as a team. The next day we went for a ride in the morning after which we headed to Cody to visit Emelie in the hospital. The staff was a bit surprised when such a big group came in, especially when some people started racing the wheelchairs through the hallway. Thankfully, Emelie looked a lot better and she told us she was allowed to come home the next day. After the hospital we went to ‘the Cody Cattle Company’ to celebrate Rachel’s birthday. We had dinner and saw a country music show. We spend the rest of the night in the ‘Cowboy Bar’ in Meteetsee where George and I tried to beat two of the locals at pool. I love the ‘cowboy’ live we’re living here!

Thursday was our last full day at Horseworks. I can’t believe how fast these three weeks went by. Lucy and I got up early that morning to wrangle the horses (I rode a mule for the first time!) and when everyone else had finally woken up we took a couple of the horses to the arena. I rode Buttercup again! She was great, I think she just needs to build up some muscle to balance herself and her rider when she trips. I wish I had more time to work with her.. In the afternoon we were allowed to go on a ride with just our group, with me and Lucy as ‘wranglers’. It was a lovely ride but we took it easy because I didn’t want anyone else falling off. Halfway through we saw a storm coming our way so we had to take a shortcut home. That shortcut led us over a couple of steep slopes. Thankfully everyone was well practiced in the art of riding up and down the hills by then ;) And we got back just before the storm hit!

That night I sat on my cabin porch gazing at the stars. It was a clear night, I could even see the Milky Way. I was really sad I would have to leave the next day. I’ve had such an amazing time in the US and particularly in Wyoming, I wish I could stay here longer… 

Falling down and getting back up (again)

August 22^nd

They warned me the weather in Wyoming was unpredictable but I didn’t expect a full day of rain after all the hot days we have had. The land needed it though and it gave us an excuse to go into Cody for some shopping! I still hadn’t been to Boot Barn and I was dying to go! We weren’t planning on staying there all day but I guess that’s what happens when you tell a group of girls to go shopping. I bought some great souvenirs in the shops on main street (my own rope, so I can practice on the sheep back home!). After a visit to Walmart (I’m really going to miss Walmart, I think I’ve been to at least one in every state) it was finally time for Boot Barn. I think I tried on twenty different pairs of boots. In the end I had two pairs left to choose between. By this point most of the others had gone to another shop, it took me ages to decide. Eventually I decided to just get both, while in Wyoming right?

I got up early Saturday morning to wrangle with Emelie and Laura. It was Laura’s last day so Emelie and Sam would be the only wranglers left. I was just having some tea that morning when MaeCile asked ‘so Aly is an assistant wrangler now right?’ I suddenly got promoted! We rode all around the property so Laura and Emelie could show me all the places the horses could be when wrangling in the morning. I rode Hank, a real mustang! He was such a giant sweetheart though. Two of the horses had escaped through the fence so we had some real wrangling to do.

In the afternoon I took Buttercup to the arena for another session. After some ground work I rode her in the arena and she was great. She is a really sensitive horse but very comfortable. She reminded me a lot of Hazel, who, as MaeCile told me later, is her full sister. She is such a sweet horse and I felt completely safe taking her on a ride the next morning. Unfortunately she tripped when we were loping through a field with a lot of sage bushes. I suddenly felt her disappear from underneath me. According to Lucy, who was riding behind me, she tripped over a bush and then jumped to the left, while I fell off on the right. I landed on my hip and hit my head as well. I was a little disoriented but after sitting down for a couple of minutes I really wanted to get back on. However, I couldn’t lift my foot high enough to reach the stirrup so I decided to walk home with Laura and try again in the arena. Halfway through the walk I got really dizzy and nauseous and I had to sit down. Laura took Buttercup home and went to pick me up in the car. I spend the rest of the day hobbling around the house…

The next morning my hip still felt pretty bad. MaeCile told me I wasn’t allowed back on a horse until I went to the hospital for a check-up. My insurance hadn’t called back yet though so I had to wait... Everyone decided they wanted to head to the Horseworks sign to take a photo so I was allowed to ride the smallest horse they had for the photo, Frecka. She was really sweet and even though it hurt, it felt good to be back in the saddle. In the afternoon, my insurance company finally called back and MaeCile took me to the hospital in Cody. They immediately took me to a private room, got me into a hospital gown and gave me one of those bracelet thingies with my name on it. I didn’t really think all that was necessary.. They were really nice though and kept checking up on me (I think I've seen ten different nurses, all asking me how to pronounce my full name). After watching Lifetime and history channel for hours the doctor finally told me the X-rays were clear, no broken bones, just banged up. It was nice to know that nothing was seriously wrong and I could ride again!

That night I went down to the cabins with Laura and Emelie, it was pitch black but when we turned around we could just see the moon starting to rise above the mountains. We stood there for a bit watching the moonrise. It was such a beautiful sight, a bit surreal even. I realized what an amazing time this has been and how glad I am that I finally decided to come here this year, even though I doubted it for so long. It was the best decision I’ve made this year.