Ride Stories

Endurance Riding, Mountaineering and Big Mouth Disease - Becky Coffield

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May 30, 2009

Besides being impulsive and frequently out of control, I also suffer from Big Mouth Disease. I often get the feeling that lots of people don’t like this about me.

My last attack happened when a co-worker told me about his wife doing endurance races. It hit like a thunderbolt. Suddenly I heard not a word he said as I saw my destiny as a world-famous endurance rider!! Fabulous images crossed my mind as I envisioned myself galloping through the dell, trailering around the world to compete, collecting ribbons and trophies, appearing on a late night show as a celebrity. Could this be an Olympic event for me?

Had I kept this inspiration to myself, there would have been no harm, no foul. But no. I had an onset of “Big Mouth Disease.” Because I regularly suffer from an overabundance of enthusiasm, I have a tendency to tell every walking human being who is not comatose of my grand schemes and ideas. That very day I told the entire student body and staff at the high school where I taught, half of Costco and the Oriental drycleaners (who I think speak no English) of my new ambition. When I told my long time horse shoer of my plan, he only arched his left eyebrow as he looked from me to my lazy, fat horse, Quincy. He said not a word, but listened as I babbled for an hour about training schedules, competitions and other nonsense I’d gleaned from internet experts.

Ah, reality. I was well into my second day of training when I became aware that my horse could handle long distances far better than my left knee could. I had forgotten about the Four-Hour-Fix my knee needed…the fix being to dismount and walk for a long spell. (This was the result of renting a horse in Mexico where the stirrups were set so high I had to ride like a jockey for hours.)

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