The part of Sydney we live in is truly spectacular, a string of coastline dotted with stunning beaches on one side and the lovely calm of Pittwater on the other side. In between there is a lot of national park and the odd rural hamlet. We take a shortcut to the boys schools through one of the more rural areas and in doing so drive past several paddocks that are home to horses. And yes, I was one of those girls that was horse mad.
Here I am aged around 15/16 on a pony camp. Loving my very 80s Akubra (the hat) and my Drizabone that I have rolled up and hooked onto the saddle! I think I must have been channelling The Man from Snowy River! Although I am appalled that I am not wearing a helmet!!
This childhood love of horses has never really abated and I often stop at one of the paddocks we drive past on our way to and from school. It is home to half a dozen horses and they always come over to the gate to say hello. The other day though as we were driving home we came across one of the horses and a little Shetland Pony out on the road. A bunch of people had stopped and there were a couple of men trying to catch them with a bit of rope. Both the horse and the pony were very agitated and the horses in the paddock that hadn't yet got out were also very distressed, cantering up and down the length of the paddock beside the road.
The two that had got out were in serious danger of being hit by a car as they were dashing back and forth across the road, dodging all the cars. Fortunately, as more and more people came across the mayhem all the cars created a sort of roadblock that stopped the horses moving further along the road in either direction. All the extra cars and people though certainly weren't helping to calm the horses.
Watching all this from the safety of my car I was at a loss as to what to do until the Captain said to me, "Mummy I still have some apple in my lunchbox!" I grabbed his lunchbox and jumped out of the car, one of the men yelled at me to get back in the car and that they had called the RSPCA and the Police and I was all like, oh yeah just watch this and waved The Captain's green lunchbox at him! He probably thought I was crazy! Ignoring the Shetland, (I figured he was probably a companion pony and would follow the other horse back into the paddock), I walked straight up to the horse and with one quick wave of the apple under the horses nose she was putty in my hands. My audience of onlookers watched enthralled (if only they knew!) as she followed me calmly back into the paddock, the little Shetland trotting along obediently beside us! I felt like the horse whisperer, it was hilarious! The Captain is now working hard on me to start horse riding classes! I guess it looked pretty impressive to a 6 year old!
