Christmas on Horseback

Photo By Hubertushof

In 2008, my family and I moved to Vienna, Austria, where we lived for two years. I soon found a small barn that I liked, and there I started riding a somewhat wild pony, Prince Charming (see left). He was a ton of fun, but he would take off all the time with me on his back and just run. He may have been small, but he could run. Just the tiniest noise or movement would set him off; I would feel him scoop his hind legs under himself and then he was gone. We would race around and around the arena, he never getting tired and me secretly enjoying the thrill of the speed. We made a good pair.

Around Christmas every year, the barn would put on a Christmas show. There would be cookies and hot apple cider, lots of people all in good spirits. The riders would participate in Quadrilles, sometimes in twos, fours, tens. That's right, tens. For one quadrille, all the kids from the barn would participate on their ponies. We would ride simple patterns to cheery Christmas music, all dressed in shades of red and green. This quadrille was always the highlight as well as the most chaotic part of the day.

I, of course, rode Prince Charming. The crowd and music would drive him crazy. We all had to go at the same speed, and the other ponies all trotted along at a comfortable pace. I was sitting on top my little one pulling on the reins as hard as I could, doing everything in my power to keep him from exploding. It would work, until someone in the crowd laughed too hard or another pony sneezed. Prince Charming would tear off, causing half the other ponies to do the same. Pretty soon the whole arena was filled with galloping ponies and terrified kids. Our trainer would have to step in and bring everybody back to order, and we would exit the arena as fast as we could. The crowd. of course, loved it, and there was no doubt in anybody's mind that the same quadrille would be performed the next year. To tell the truth, I miss it
.