Dangerous Game

Today I will answer the burning question of which is safer: horseback riding a horse that has not been ridden for 10 years? or playing hopscotch?

A few days ago I saddled up my gray gelding that has had a life of leisure. He remembered right away what it meant to be ridden and we took a little tour of the neighborhood. I had a great ride. Do not try this at home! Most horses are pretty hairy to ride when they've been laid off for the winter. Much less a year or more. But this gelding, the product of a 60 year-old Arabian breeding program in Arizona, is special. So that is what happened when I rode the horse. Nothing exciting.

A couple days later I drew a hopscotch game on the sidewalk. Since the 6 year old and almost 4 year old were not too sure of the rules, I hopped the series of squares to demonstrate. Then I lost my balance. I landed in the cactus garden. Any other direction I would've been fine. But nooo! I had to go into the barrel cactus, the cholla cactus and the poke-a-dot prickly pear cactus. Today I had a doctor cut and prod and search and pull out thorns. The kids enjoyed the game. They aren't tall enough to fall into the cactus garden.

So now you know how safe it is to ride wild horses and how dangerous hopscotch can be! Go ahead and laugh. I did when I saw the absurdity of it.