by Simon Archer
Clara chuckled and took Kennedi by the hand once again and led her back up to Wicker’s stall. “She will be just fine. Go ahead and try again. Horses are very forgiving animals,” Clara assured her.
Kennedi stood at the door to the stall and waited for Wicker to come forward again. When the horse finally walked back up to her, Kennedi held out her hand for Wicker to sniff. Then she repeated trying to pet her. This time, Kennedi held her excitement in check.
“You are so beautiful,” Kennedi told Wicker. “I’m sorry if I scared you. You are the first horse I’ve ever met. I bet I’m the first cat girl you have ever met, too, huh?” Seeing her talk to Wicker like that was like watching Kennedi drift off into another world. Clara walked back over, stood beside me, and crossed her arms.
“She’s actually very good with her,” Clara told me as we watched Kennedi bond with the horse. “I hope she will like the others just as much!” Before I could say anything, Clara walked back over to Kennedi.
“Ready to meet your next potential partner?” Clara asked her.
“I don’t need to need any other potential partners. I found mine,” Kennedi said without breaking gaze with Wicker. Clarence glanced at me and then back to Kennedi.
“Are you sure?” Clara genuinely looks surprised. I stepped forward and put my hand on Clara’s shoulder.
“She’s sure,” I told her. “She will be talking to that horse more than she talks to us for the rest of the day, I can nearly guarantee it.” Clara started shaking her head, and she shrugged her shoulders.
“Hey, makes my job easy! Maybe she will want to meet the others when we get back, just for fun,” Clara mused. “Now, Clark, let’s go find your partner.”
Clara took her time introducing me to seven other horses that were left. They were all fine animals, but the one I liked the most was the last one I met. His name was Stringer. He stood tall and was mostly white except for a spattering of gray spots down his hindquarters. There was a calm confidence about him that really spoke to me. When I told Clara that he was my choice, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a paper.
“What’s that?” I asked as she handed it to me. I unfolded the paper, and there was a single word written on it. It said, ‘Stringer.’ I looked up at Clara, puzzled.
“I like to test my ability to match people with horses occasionally. Stringer was who I had picked for you.” She smiled and shrugged one shoulder. “It’s always best to make sure one’s skills are sharp!” I couldn’t help but smile back at her. Somehow it was a comfort knowing that she had taken the time to develop a relationship with each of the horses that were so connected she could match them with people. She was a fantastic example of loving your work.
“That’s pretty impressive, Clara,” I told her. “What’s next?” She jerked her head to the side a little bit as she turned, signaling for me to follow her back to Kennedi. When we got back to Wicker’s stall, Kennedi was still standing there, petting her.
“Stan is going to get them out and saddled up for you,” Clara explained. “As soon as the horses are ready, we will head out! Each of these saddles will have a small canteen of water with it for the ride, and then Stan will four-wheel lunch out to us later.” She turned to Kennedi and held her hand out. “Want to go watch the other horses while he is getting Wicker ready?”
“Yes!” Kennedi shouted to Clara in a whisper. Before she took Claire’s hand, Kennedi turned back to Wicker and softly said, “I’ll see you real soon, partner!”
Kennedi and I waited by the pasture fence while Stan got the horses ready. Clara had gone to make sure the water troughs were full. Regardless of it being blazing hot, watching the horses graze on broken hay bales and swing their tails to shoo away flies, was surprisingly serene. Before long, we heard hoofbeats and footsteps behind us. Kennedi and I turned around to see Stan and Clara leading Wicker, Stringer, and a horse we had not met yet, to us.
“It’s about time we got you both up on your horses!” Clara called out happily. I had already told her that I was an experienced rider, so she immediately walked over to Kennedi to teach her how to mount her horse. Clara only had to demonstrate once, of course, before Kennedi put her foot in the stirrup, hand on the horn, and mounted Wicker like she’d done it thousand times.
Clara stepped back and put her hands on her hips. She looked over at me, nodding her head. “I know y’all told me she was a quick learner, but damn!” Kennedi sat atop her horse, beaming proudly.
“Thank you for demonstrating. I usually only have to see things done correctly once,” Kennedi told her.
“Believe me, her having never ridden a horse before will most certainly not slow us down,” I added.
“I see that!” Clara agreed as she mounted her own brown and white horse. “This here is Teal. He has been the only horse I’ll ride since he was broken.” Clearly forward and slapped Teal on the side of his neck a few times.
“It’s nice to meet you, Teal,” Kennedi piped up happily, but still not too loudly. She looked up at Clara and asked, “what’s next?”
“Next, we head up to the Rubies,” Clara told us as she turned Teal to head north and started galloping away. The Ruby mountains included over three-hundred miles of passable trails and had more than ten peaks that were above ten-thousand feet. I had heard that it was one of the most wildlife-rich outdoor areas in Nevada. I was certainly looking forward to seeing it for myself. From the ranch where we were starting, where the ground looked hard and dry, it was hard to believe that we were just minutes away from mountain pools of water and lush vegetation. While I had done my homework about where we were headed, I forgot that Kennedi had no idea.
“There any gemstones here?” she asked me curiously.
“No, not anymore. The Ruby Mountain range here is referred to as the Rubies by the locals because early settlers found garnets there, but that was a long time ago,” I told her, chuckling. Kennedi shrugged her shoulders.
“Rubies are pretty. I wouldn’t have minded seeing some!” she quipped. She turned her attention to Wicker and leaned down as Clara had done and patted her neck. “You are just as pretty as any rubies I may have seen,” she told her horse.
“We’d better hurry up, so we don’t get left behind,” I said and put some pressure on Stringer’s sides with my heels and leaned forward slightly. He was well trained and obviously used to strangers riding him because he immediately started moving for me. Kennedi followed suit, and soon both of us were riding to catch up to Clara. We had to get up to a decent gallop to reach her, and when we slowed down, I looked over at Kennedi. The smile on her face was magnificent.
“I know how strong horses are, but I’ve never felt it for myself before!” she said breathily. “I could feel the contractions of every muscle in Wicker’s body! She is so powerful!”
“Are you ready to get her running?” Clara asked Kennedi, taking joy in the awe on Kennedi face.
“Absolutely!” Kennedi answered.
“Make sure that your hat straps are tightened under your chin, or you will lose it!” Clara instructed. She didn’t wait for a reply before her and Teal took off. Kennedi glanced at me as though she had been challenged to a competition. And she leaned forward, and she and Wicker shot ahead.
“Let’s see what you can do, friend,” I said to Stringer and pressed him forward to chase Kennedi and Clara. It was only moments before we were in a dead run. Wicker was a fast horse, but Stringer was closing in on her slowly. When I caught up to Kennedi, the two of us had almost reached Clara. I sped out in front of her, showing off that my horse was faster. She soon proved that I was wrong by passing me just before we met up with Clara, who had slowed to a gallop.
“How did you get her to go so much faster than you were at the beginning?” I asked Kennedi. She smiled innocently and raised an eyebrow at me.
“I combined how you are riding Stringer with how Clara is riding Teal,” she said as though I should have known. She was right, I should have known. I agreed with her by
shrugging my shoulders, and the two of us rode up on each side of Clara.
“How are you feeling about your horse legs, Kennedi?” Clara asked her.
“They are stronger than mine,” Kennedi puzzled.
“They are stronger than everybody’s,” Clara laughed. “We are going to enter a trailhead here in just a minute. It will be a single file for just a little way until the trail widens. I tend to take the trail pretty quickly to get back into the forest faster. Does that work for the two of you?”
“Whatever you think is best, Clara!” Kennedi answered.
“Good! Let’s go!” Clara leaned forward and urged Teal into a run. Kennedi and I did the same, spurring our horses onward.
In a matter of minutes, we reached the trailhead with me bringing up the rear. Clara did not slow her pace as she rode onto the path between the trees. As soon as I passed between those same trees, I couldn’t believe how different everything was from just a few yards ago. The temperature dropped fifteen degrees, and the ground was covered with vegetation. Although some sun made it through the trees, the leaves broke it into tiny rays and spots by the time it hit the ground. It was absolutely beautiful.
The trail itself was well-worn with very few roots running across it. The ride was smooth, and the lack of obstacles allowed for a little bit of sightseeing as we flew through the first part of the forest. At one point, I saw Kennedi look straight up over her head to watch a bird flying between the trees. If she had been a normal human, a move like that would have likely resulted in her on the ground. Her amazement made me smile.
Clara had obviously done this ride a thousand times or more, so she was ahead quite a bit by the time the trail widened. When it did, she slowed Teal to a walk and waited for Kennedi and me to catch up to her sides. She set up straight in her saddle and waved her arms out in front of herself.
“Just up ahead here, there will be several paths that veer off into the forest,” Clara started. “Feel free to explore any of them. They all will loop back and meet the main path within about a mile. As long as you are within eyesight of one of them, you cannot get lost.”
“Do you suggest one side or another?” I asked Clara.
“You will see more water off to the west, but you will most likely see more variation in wildlife on the east side,” she notified us. Kennedi started looking from side to side.
“What do you want to see first?” I asked Kennedi. Since today was about giving her a new experience, I was going to let her choose which paths we took. She looked back and forth from the east to the west several more times and then looked at me.
“I want to see the water,” she said matter-of-factly. “There’ll still be some animals near the water, so we can see a little of both!” I nodded my agreement, and the three of us started walking her horses forward.
The first side trail broke off to the east after we had moved ahead about fifty yards. In another ten yards, a path veered off to the west. Kennedi looked over at me to ask if she should take that one. I shrugged and smiled at her. That was all the permission she needed. She held her reins off to her left, and Wicker slowly turned onto the path.
“We are going to take this one,” I called forward to Clara.
“Meet you up ahead,” she called back. I directed Stringer off to my left and followed Kennedi.
The forest became denser just a few feet onto the new trail. The path was much narrower and obviously less traveled. The further down the trail we walked our horses, the louder the sky above us became with the chirping of birds. We could hear their wings flapping as they flew from branch to branch. Kennedi rode a good twenty feet while staring at the treetops, trying to see the birds who hid themselves remarkably well. Every time a bush or shrub would rustle, she quickly turned her head to see if she could catch a glimpse of what was causing the noise. While I enjoyed the nature around us, watching her was even more entertaining. She was in awe of everything.
Suddenly, we passed through a dense group of trees and found ourselves in a small meadow. The bushes had ceased and were replaced with tall, wild grass. Kennedi brought Wicker to a stop and looked at me when I rode up to stand beside her.
“Look over there!” She pointed out to her left. “Where the grass is taller.”
“What do you see?” I can see the grass she was referring to, but that didn’t seem like something she would just point out in and of itself.
“I can hear water, and grass is often taller at the edge of the edge of bodies of water,” she whispered. I strained to hear the water that she was referring to but could not. Cat girl hearing far surpassed that of humans, so it didn’t really surprise me that I was unable to hear it.
“Why are you whispering?” I whispered back.
“Because nothing here is used to loud noises unless it is caused by the sky,” she told me. Her automatic respect for nature and its creatures sent a warm tingling into my chest. I wondered if she realized that she was the most beautiful thing in the meadow.
“We can go over and see the water if you’d like,” I reminded her. “Clara said it would be fine as long as we don’t lose the path.”
“I would like that very much!” She immediately turned Wicker towards the long grass and started galloping to see her water. I let Stringer walk to catch up while I watched her ride. She looked as though she'd been on a horse every day of her life.
She gently slowed Wicker to a stop when she reached the grass. A minute or so later, Stringer and I joined her. She sat atop her horse, gazing into a pool of water that was fed by a tiny, babbling creek. The water was so clear I could see each individual will rock at the bottom of the pool. Fish of all different sizes were swimming seemingly without a care in the world. The sunshine sparkled off the tiny waves caused by the creek emptying into the pool. Tiny bugs were swarming over the middle of the water. Occasionally, a fish would jump to catch them. Other than the sound of the water, the meadow was relatively quiet. We had left the noise of the birds back in the forest.
“Wicker is thirsty,” Kennedi said suddenly and dismounted her horse. “Why do you think she’s thirsty?” I asked as I hopped down off Stringer. She had said it so convincingly that I figured she must have some actual evidence for her statement.
“I can feel the difference in her muscles. More dehydrated muscles aren’t as plump when they contract,” she told me as she took hold of Wicker’s reins and led her to the edge of the pool.
“You seem to be as adept at taking care of animals as you are at taking care of me,” I joked with her, and she smiled brightly over at me.
The moment Wicker got to the edge of the water, she put her head down and started to drink. Stringer took a tentative step forward but not so far as to feel pressure from his reins that were still in my hand. I reached up and ran my hand along his nose and up between his ears.
“You’re thirsty too, aren’t you, buddy?” I led him to the edge of the pool right beside Wicker, and he started to drink.
I walked over behind Kennedi and wrapped my arms around her. She reached back and put her hands on the back of my thighs. We stood like that, perfectly silent, watching the horses drink, the fish swim, and the sun dance off the water. I took a mental snapshot of the moment as it felt like the calmest and most comfortable that I’d been in quite some time.
Once the horses were watered, Kennedi and I let go of each other. We remounted our horses instead of them back towards the narrow path. Soon the grass of the meadow changed into more trees and shrubs. The sky grew loud once again with the birds overhead. It felt like we rode for hours before the path opened up wide enough for us to ride side-by-side. When I pulled Stringer up beside her, Kennedi glanced over at me and got a mischievous look in her eye. Before I knew it, she urged Wicker forward and shot ahead. I leaned forward on Stringer and started to chase her. The two of us raced through the forest, trees blurring by. Right when I was about to pass her up, the past suddenly narrowed, and I had to pull Stringer back to avoid hitting a tree. Not a moment l
ater, the two of us sped out of the forest and into an open dirt area.
Clara sat on a broken log right in the middle of the opening with Teal standing close by. Kennedi and I brought her horses to a quick stop just as Clara looked up at us.
“Looks like you two are having a fun time!” she laughed. Kennedi walked Wicker to stand beside Teal and got down. I followed suit. Kennedi bounced over to where Clara was sitting and sat next to her.
“Clark was so close to passing me up in the forest! If the path hadn’t narrowed, I might have lost the race!” Kennedi squealed. She kept her voice low enough, however, to not startle the horses again. I went over and stood in front of the two of them.
“You’re damn right, you would have lost!” I joked with her. I turned to Clara. “How long have you been here?”
“I rode in about a half an hour ago,” she told me. “Did you find the meadow?”
Kennedi twisted to face Clara. “We did! I’ve never seen anything like it! How do you not go there every day?” Kennedi looked like she was seriously concerned that maybe Clara didn’t know how beautiful it was.
“Honey, I have been to that meadow more times than years I’ve been alive,” Clara chuckled. “I grew up here. At one point, I even tried to name the fish.”
“I wish I would have thought of that!” Kennedi looked at me. “Next time we see anything like that, remind me to name the fish!”
“Clara,” I started, “I think you and Kennedi have a lot more in common than was initially apparent!” I sat down on a rock opposite the girls. “What’s next?”
“I figured you two might be getting hungry by the time we made it this far. There is a picnic area just through that small grove of trees over there. Stan will meet us there with lunch in about fifteen minutes,” Clara informed us, pointing a finger over her shoulder to some trees behind her.
“Oh, I don’t need to eat, though Clark might be getting hungry for sure!” Kennedi told her.
“Well, I had Stan pack lunch for three. You may not need to eat, but can you?” Clara asked as she stood up and walked over to Teal.
