I stood in awe at the edge of the field and watched horse and rider work in rhythmic unison as they covered the course, jumped the jumps and triumphed over other obstacles along the way. They ran several trials and Hailey was confident, but breathing heavily from exertion at the finish with Charyl beaming from her back.
This is when the fun began as Charyl asked if I would watch Hailey for her to take a personal break, handing the reins to me as she walked away. Focusing on Hailey, I suddenly noticed for the first time the look I was getting from her and it wasn’t particularly friendly.
I held the reins and tried walking her around to kill the time, also attempting to whisper to her and rub her neck as an ice breaker. She wanted no part of me or what I was doing.
With no advance warning, Hailey shifted her weight and firmly planted her left front hoof on my right foot. Standing on macadam, it felt like my foot had been flattened and then the pain hit, similar to dropping a brick on your big toe except the pain didn’t subside. She just stood there looking at me with what seemed an almost devious stare.
Becoming desperate, I tried pushing all of my weight against her, trying to make her step away. It was no use, she just nickered, actually sounding like a snicker, and held her ground until she finally decided to relent. It was probably no more than a minute but it seemed like an hour.
I stood there in pain, not wanting to admit to Charyl what happened, so I just tried to tough it out with no limping when she returned. I still believe that the look Hailey gave me en route back to the horse trailer was one of devilish amusement. At this point the score was Hailey one and Jim zero.
En route home we stopped for a barbeque lunch; sitting at the table gave me some relief. When the time came to depart, however, my big toe was swollen and Charyl noticed my grimace and limp, forcing me to tell her what happened. I tried to play it off as no big deal, but while she showed concern I did see a slight twinkle in her eye letting me know I had a lot to learn about horses.
Saying goodbye to Charyl and Hailey at her barn, I departed for home where I could suffer in quiet dignity. On arrival I immediately soaked my foot in Epsom salts and hoped the swelling would subside and allow normal coloring to return. Thankfully it offered some relief.
My recovery went quite well and it sure was a good thing because Charyl called me a few days later and asked if I would meet her at a horse trial being held at Canterbury. It’s what she had been training for and I really wanted to be there to watch her. Foot issue or not, I didn’t hesitate in saying yes; I was falling in love and wanted to be as much a part of her life as possible.
