Riding Without Spurs
JOURNAL
RIDING WITHOUT SPURS
There is nothing quite like the early morning on the Rides of Worcestershire.
The gentle walk,
the imperceptible slip into the sitting trot;
my Beauty knows the routine,
already she’s anticipating the lift from the saddle
as we slip into the rising trot …
pausing on rein as we slip alongside early walkers,
the greeting, warm, friendly…
Golden Retrievers excited, happy, boisterous, free
Yet quietly, by pierced lips, kept in check, a wonderful sound.
The Rides
There is nothing quite like the early morning on the Rides of Worcestershire.
The gentle walk, the imperceptible slip into the sitting trot
Now ten yards t’other side my Beauty see’s the Ride stretching ahead of her for two miles.
We roll into the canter.
That’s it Girl, just roll gently, gather your pace, get into your stride, Beauty.
She senses the slight shift,
I’m leaning forward now,
ever so gently giving more rein,
now the fast canter…
Hold still Beauty,
hold still… I whisper.
Her ears attuned to my every syllable.
We move to the rise, we pass the Gorse on the Heath, a dash of blazing early morning yellow.
Nature Supreme!
Now I go silent; she knows the routine…
Now the full rein released, my hair mingling with her mane, her body outstretched at full gallop…
Oh what joy it is,
we become one,
one movement,
one rolling motion,
hardly a breath from her,
it is as if we fly upon the wings of the wind…
20 April 2024
All Rights Reserved
LIVERPOOL
© 2024 Kenneth Thomas Webb
Digital Artwork by KTW unless otherwise credited
Written 18 September 2023
Ken Webb is a writer and proofreader. His website, kennwebb.com, showcases his work as a writer, blogger and podcaster, resting on his successive careers as a police officer, progressing to a junior lawyer in succession and trusts as a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, a retired officer with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, and latterly, for three years, the owner and editor of two lifestyle magazines in Liverpool.
He also just handed over a successful two year chairmanship in Gloucestershire with Cheltenham Regency Probus.
Pandemic aside, he spends his time equally between his city, Liverpool, and the county of his birth, Gloucestershire.
In this fast-paced present age, proof-reading is essential. And this skill also occasionally leads to copy-editing writers’ manuscripts for submission to publishers and also student and post graduate dissertations.
