This past week perpetuated one of the scariest moments of the trip. While riding down the Rio Grande, Bruiser and I fell into a deep ditch that was covered by high bushes.
Following a drainage ditch next to the river, we came upon a locked gate. I studied the terrain and thought I would be able to ride around it and back onto the path we had been following. As I made my way up a little mountain of dirt, thick bushes restricted me from seeing the ground. I never imagined I was about to ride into a hole because the bushes were all at the same height.
As Bruiser began going down the dirt mound, he just sank. In a matter of seconds we were completely immersed. I got off him and quickly realized the seriousness of our problem. Bruiser sat on his ass with his legs up wedged in the hole. He was calm, but I could see the desperation in his eyes. I pulled his lead rope and tried to see if he could climb out. “Get up buddy, you can do it,” I yelled as I attempted to pull him up. After a few seconds, I realized he was in too deep to get out.
I managed to get him turned so he could stand in the ditch after some time. The top of the hole sat at about his shoulders. Patting him on the neck, I began to take off his saddle. My hope was that without the saddle on his back he would be able to jump out of the decaying ditch.
After a few seconds, the saddle was off and he simply stood there waiting for my directions. I managed to climb out of the ditch and faced him with his lead rope in hand. “Okay buddy, we can do this. Ready 1, 2, 3,” I said to him as I began pulling against his lead rope. With a swift jump, he managed to get his legs out of the hole and onto the safety of higher ground. It was an amazing moment. I hugged him and apologized for getting him into that hole. I was so relieved.
That was the second misfortune of the day…
Earlier, while saying goodbye to the Cogdill family in Albuquerque’s South Valley, Texas bucked Emma off. I don’t know what set him off, but he was not happy. Riding with me for the first time, Emma got back on and calmed him down. With a huge welt on her knee, she rode the entire day as we made our way to Peralta.
Riding through the largest city in New Mexico had its challenges, but with a trail that runs next to a large section of the Rio Grande, it was an amazing experience. Emma and I felt like we were in the middle of a forest as large trees lined the trail. Albuquerque is definitely one of the coolest horse-friendly major cities in the world.
The people we met along this section of the trip have welcomed Emma and I into their homes with open arms – John Sena and his family, The Cogdill family and Karen Kuehn! I can’t thank them enough for their generosity and support. We were fed, housed and given much love from these extraordinary folks.
