Listen to Tisa Marie Reichle-Aguilera read “Get Back On” in her interview with The Collective.
*
When Uncle Edward got a new horse for his fancy shows, he gave me his gentle old mare, Pearl, for my seventh birthday. She was the best present ever.
“That’s a hand-me-down horse,” my cousin Maritza said when we met Uncle Edward at his friend’s place. “My birthday present is gonna be new.” She wrinkled her nose. “And not smelly.”
I didn’t care about her Barbie set anymore, even if it did have a car and dream house. I had my own horse and imagined myself barrel racing at the next Junior Rodeo.
Before I could ride Pearl, Uncle Edward showed me how to curry comb in little circles all over her white coat then brush with the stiff bristles down each side to get all the dirty hair off. I tried to make her shine. He taught me how to run my hand down each leg and lean into Pearl with my shoulder, so she would lift her hoof.
“Bend your legs a little.” Uncle Edward clicked his tongue. “Rest her hoof on your knee.”
I struggled to hold each hoof long enough to scrape out the manure around the soft frog on the underside with a metal pick.
“That’s so disgusting!” Maritza covered her nose and mouth with her shirt. “And now your pants are all dirty.”
I scowled at her. I brushed the flakes of dry manure off my knee with hands that weren’t much cleaner. The dust made my nose run, so I wiped it on my sleeve.
“Gross!” Maritza shrieked and walked to Tía Laura on the other side of the fence.
Tía didn’t care that Mamá thought my horse habit was dangerous. She was excited for me. Made Uncle Edward tortillas to thank him.
I stuck out my tongue at Maritza and tasted the dirty air. Worried a fly would land on it, I quickly sucked it in. After my first grooming lesson, Uncle Edward said I could mount Pearl and he would lead her slowly around the corral.
“Doesn’t she need some special equipment, Edward?” Tía Laura asked.
Uncle Edward insisted Pearl was gentle enough to ride bareback. I could hold on to the mane, and he would stay right beside me. “Squeeze with your knees, Adriana. That’s how she knows you’re there and not afraid.”
I was afraid, a little. All the kids at the junior rodeo had saddles and bridles and went so fast. I worried Pearl would take off and Uncle Edward couldn’t run as fast as a horse. For a moment I pictured myself rolling backward off her butt and sliding down her tail.
He must’ve seen my eyes get too big, so he offered to ride behind me the first time. “Talk to Pearl so she knows your voice.”
“How does she know to turn left or right?” I asked. Nothing looked like a steering wheel.
“Right now she knows to walk a circle around the fence. She’s that smart.” He laughed so I thought he was making fun of me. “But when you’re out in the open or in a big arena, you lay the reins gently on each side of her neck like this.” He made Pearl move slowly to the right, away from the fence for a few steps. “Now you try.”
I pulled the reins the other way.
“Don’t pull back, that tells her to stop.” He put his hand over mine, and I could feel the reins loose, not tight like I had them, and together we guided Pearl against the fence. “Good. You ready to try on your own?”
I wiped my sweaty hands on my thighs, left dark streaks on my jeans. I nodded. Uncle Edward slid off and stood next to Tía.
Maritza said, “That doesn’t look safe.”
I side-eyed her and tapped Pearl’s sides gently with my heels. I felt so free on Pearl’s back alone. Up so high, I could see farther down the road. On my second lap walking, Uncle Edward stopped me and showed me how to make her trot. Not scared any more, I clicked my tongue and tapped her sides with my legs; she went faster. It was harder to hold on because my arms bounced up and down.
“Easy, Adriana,” Uncle Edward said, “pull back a little to slow her down and keep your elbows tight against your ribs so you aren’t flapping like a bird.”
Maritza giggled as I trotted by.
I focused and the next lap around was met with compliments from Uncle Edward.
“I wanna ride,” Maritza announced.
I scowled at her again. “You don’t want to get dirty, remember.”
Uncle Edward laughed. “It’s okay. You brushed Pearl so well, Maritza won’t get too dirty.” He led Pearl up to the side of the fence where Maritza sat so she could climb on. “Walk around once together and then we’ll call it quits for today.”
Stupid Maritza always wanted what I had, even though she had her own stuff.
“This is so boring,” she said, halfway around.
“Really?” I tapped Pearl’s sides with my heels.
Maritza wasn’t ready for that. She grabbed the back of my shirt with one hand and my long brown braid with her other. “Slow down!” she squealed.
“You said that was boring, remember? Squeeze with your legs. And let go of me!”
Instead, Maritza slid around Pearl’s side, dragged me with her to the dirt below. Her black curls were close to a pile of dried poop, and I secretly hoped she got some in her hair.
Pearl had stopped as soon as our weight was off her back, and Uncle Edward was standing over us immediately. He didn’t look mad and he didn’t laugh. “You two okay?”
Maritza started crying after he helped her up, and Tía came over to dust her off.
“I’m fine,” I insisted and refused his hand. I got myself up and dusted myself off.
“Gotta get back on, Adriana,” Uncle Edward said.
And I did.
Learn more about Tisha Marie on our Contributors’ Page.
(Photo: Fla Via/flickr.com/ CC BY-NC 2.0)
- Get Back On by Tisha Marie Reichle-Aguilera - October 6, 2022