Chase's Chatter: Dating her means dating the horse, too

  I’ve known my girlfriend was obsessed with horses since we met. This has been obvious since our first date when she showed me what seemed like a dozen photos of her horse just minutes after we exchanged names. Looking back, I realize this wasn’t a simple case of a young woman sharing her interests with a potential partner, she was laying out a major ground rule for our future relationship: She was a “horse girl” and I had to embrace it.

Since then it feels as though our relationship has flourished, probably because I’m not allergic to horses (that would’ve been a deal breaker I’m sure.) Multiple times a week we visit the barn where she houses her young gelding, and my girlfriend lights up like a carnival carousel. And boy, is that joy infectious. Because after a few minutes of being around that electric smile, I remember what it felt like to be a 12-year-old boy blushing at his crush from across the classroom. Don’t get me wrong, I am picking up a genuine interest in horses as my visits to the barn become more frequent. I’m just typically more drawn to the attractive blond combing their hair (my girlfriend, of course).

When we first started visiting the horse barn, I felt excited by the novelty of the horses. As we saw them more and more, my interest in the animals sort of plateaued. But recently, my interest was once again piqued as I did something I hadn’t done in years– I rode a horse by myself.

Now as a grown man, it feels a bit silly to clarify that I rode the horse by myself. But it’s an important distinction as last month my girlfriend took me on a two-person bareback ride, during which she sat behind me and steered as though I was a toddler. But in all fairness, I am probably little more than a toddler when it comes to the equestrian arts.

But last week I upgraded to a toddler who can walk when my girlfriend asked if I wanted to ride solo.

“Sure, that sounds fun,” I answered nonchalantly.

As I stepped up into the saddle (a skill my girlfriend taught me the month prior), I truly did feel nonchalant about the experience. I’d occasionally rode horses as a child, how hard could it be as an adult? But when I tried to turn the horse it stayed rooted with all the adamants you’d expect from 1,000 pounds of muscle. I shrugged and looked at my girlfriend, who then adjusted my grip on the reins to the proper position.

“You can’t just tell her to move,” my girlfriend advised from the ground. “You have to mean it.”

I looked down at her and flashed a grin.

“Can you tell her I mean it?” I joked before tightening my grip again.

Within a couple minutes of further instruction, I tasted my first drop of success – getting the horse to turn a full 360 degrees. Not only did this feel like an accomplishment, it felt like a milestone. Soon, I thought, I’d be riding the horse like a surfboard as if I were some gnarly rodeo clown. But then my girlfriend told me to bring the horse to a canter, which is the pace between trotting and galloping.

Easy, I thought to myself. But after nudging the horse’s sides and making an audible yip, it did exactly what I wanted it to do, it cantered. But as it turned out, cantering was much faster than I expected. As soon as the horse took off, I shot upwards and my backside left the saddle. I bobbed aggressively up and down as my teeth threatened to bite off my tongue. It only lasted for a few seconds, but it felt like an hour-long thrillride. We didn’t move much faster than a trot after that.

This riding experience may have turned me off to the idea of riding a horse like a surfboard, but it made me realize something. I’m pretty lucky to be with somebody that exposes me to new activities and interests. Sure, you could say this is common and that all romantic relationships are essentially just the intermingling and meshing of two people and all their likes and dislikes. But when you find someone that challenges you in fun and exciting ways, it sure feels like you’re doing something right. And it’s even more adrenaline-inducing when some of those challenges turn into interests of your own. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll even refer to myself as a “horse boy.”