Saturday in France

After scrambled eggs, bacon and tea drank from a cereal bowl, Francky and i got ready to leave for another riding adventure. After braving another odd shower experience and watching Madonna's Confessions DVD, we set off for Rambouillet.

I had convinced myself that the snails I'd eaten the night before had made me feel funny and spent the first half an hour in the car wondering if I'd make it to our destination without having an embarrassing stop on the hard shoulder. Luckily, after a gulp or two of fresh air and a slurp of coke i began to feel less nauseous.

Rambouillet is about an hours drive south west of Paris. It's an area covered in forest and is very pretty. Unfortunately, heavy grey clouds pursued us and as we reached the stable yard there was a definite chill in the air.

This time I was riding a bay horse called Revenu and Francky had Oulaf, a huge chestnut gelding. Revenu was a bit of pain as he seemed very head shy and wouldn't let me use a brush on his face. He also liked to paw the ground, which is a habit I'm not keen on. I like it when my horses hooves are all on the ground when i am. I'm not so bothered when I'm in the saddle.

Francky told me we were aiming for a 3 hour ride. As i mounted Revenu i almost yelped out loud. My physical riding fitness had deteriorated greatly as i hadn't ridden for about a year. My seat bones were very sore, the inside of my calves were bruised as were my thighs and my arms were aching due to Urhold's strong head on the beach the day before. I didn't want to complain though, i was so grateful to be able to ride in such fantastic scenery. I rode through the pain and after about an hour it seemed to have ebbed.

It started to rain as we cantered along the sandy trails in the forest. Revenu had a surprisingly nice gait in canter but i wasn't fond of his trot. He also had a habit of throwing his head which would off balance him and myself. Not only was concentration needed for balance but also for navigating the trails. Luckily I've had quite a lot of practice at this sort of riding. It did involve a lot of gripping with my legs though, which was pretty painful at times.

I was very aware that i had been rather quiet on our ride. Not nearly as talkative as i had been. I tried to explain to Francky that sometimes I'm just a bit introverted.

For me, riding has always been a source of meditation. I let my mind focus on the riding and then it wanders around without my knowledge. I quite like riding out on my own, there's something very comforting about being alone with only your horse for company and nature all around you. You notice so many things and can really develop a relationship with your horse. Of course if things go wrong it's not so fun, like if your horse bolts and you get left behind, stuck in a tree. That's happened once or twice to me!

After our rather damp but exciting ride, we got back in the car and i promptly fell asleep. I woke to find Francky's coat draped over me. All the fresh air had taken it out of me. Francky also felt tired and i felt rather guilty for falling asleep and not keeping him company but he insisted on me having a nap.

That evening was in stark contrast to the previous night's escapades. I was grateful as i was finding it difficult to walk without looking like John Wayne. We decided to stay in and watch Last of the Mohicans. In English. Francky said he'd seen it so many times that he didn't need the subtitles. As we ate pasta with ham and drank Rose wine i noticed Francky's head begin to nod. I was on the sofa and he was on a chair. After watching his head sway back and forth rather dangerously i woke him and asked him to swap seats. He complained in French but i insisted. As he curled up and fell back to sleep i watched Daniel Day-Lewis battle the baddies. I shed a few tears when his brother was slayed. I was glad Francky didn't see. I'm such a wuss with movies.