Cowgirls Don't Cry

Cowgirls don't cry
Ride, baby, ride
Lessons of life are going to show you in time
Soon enough your gonna know why
It's gonna hurt every now and then
If you fall get back on again
Cowgirls don't cry
Brooks & Dunn

When I got married about 14 years ago I hated country. I never dreamed I would like it (I still don't really care for the older twangey country songs), let along sing the lyrics in my head. I also never dreamed I'd have my own little cowgirl. Morgan's confidence soared 4 years ago when she started riding. This tiny little thing sat on top of a giant horse and her very first time on she rode by herself. And hasn't stopped. Her ability has grown tremendously, and she really bonds with these horses. Three year old Misty was just amazing with Morgan, that horse really loved Morgan and of course she loved her. Now Morgan is with Sissy who is 17 years old. She is not an old hag at all, she's a beautiful Western show horse. And, to prove she's not a hag, she darned near threw Morgan yesterday during their ride. Morgan wasn't in a lesson, just up at the barn to ride. She was doing some patterns with cones in the ring and I suspect Sissy was a bit cranky because it was dinner time. Something spooked Sissy and that was that. She bucked, reared, bucked again. I wasn't there, but evidently she gave PBR bulls a run for their money. Mike, who really hasn't spent much time at all with Sissy went RUNNING over to his little cowgirl who hung on, but almost ended upside down in the saddle. Mike said at one point she was at least 2 feet in the air over the saddle, and unfortunately came down hard on the pommel. Morgan got off and was quite a bit shaken, but still owns the nickname "velcro" because she has yet to actually be bucked off. She walked Sissy around for a few minutes to calm both of their nerves and got right back on. Not for a long time because she was sore, but back on nevertheless. So this morning I woke Morgan up signing "cowgirls don't cry"... and she rolled over, groaned and smiled. She's sore, bruised, but can't wait to get back to the barn. That is one tough little girl and a love for horses that I hope never goes away.