Buckle Up Ladies – come for a ride….. – Brave New World of Blogging

How wonderful to have reached the ripe old age of ‘comfort’.

That age between old enough to no longer to care and not so old that you need to be cared for.

So when two friends I recently met invited me to join them with their girl friends on an annual weekend ride;

I didn’t analyse why; I didn’t second guess their motives; I didn’t worry about whether I would snore or not (I know I do); I didn’t stress about whether I was a good enough rider (I know I am not, I don’t even have my own horse);

I just thought how lucky I was to be included and said yes.

Of course that was 6 months ago and suddenly, here was the weekend away with strangers and I was to all intents and purposes, a stranger , perhaps even, a gate crasher !

Except, that’s the point.

Trail riders are not really strangers.

Within 10 minutes of meeting, with the common anticipation of 2 days riding together, we were bonded.

I knew nothing about them, not even, if the truth be told, their names (as my memory lets me down in that department), whether they had families, what they thought, what they did when not on horseback – nothing.

Except that they loved horses and riding and that is enough.

That is enough to enable 7 strangers to buckle up, and ride into the Howqua river with, yes, you guessed it –

Buckle Up Bush Rides.

And I no longer was a stranger.

The love riders have for horses seems to extend with no effort at all, to those of us who are new to this game, and with open arms, I’m included as if I have always been part of the group.

We met our horses, and set off for 2 days of beauty, fun, food and laughter.

The Howqua Valley is a beautiful area not far Melbourne and yet So far.

Spring had arrived and everything was So green, with new leaves still almost sheer so that the sun seems to shine Through the leaves and summer dust has not yet arrived so it all felt so Light.