Horse & Carriage

We all went to a birthday party at Charlie's horse ranch (where Clara has ridden before) to celebrate a buddy in Clara's class. The day felt like a scene out of a movie— sunshine, cuties in cowboy hats, giggling kids riding around the ring, parents chatting and looking to the hills dreaming of a simpler life.

Then, it really turned into a scene from a movie and not in a good way. At the very end of the party Charlie told Ben and Clara to hop in the buggy cart for one last ride with Sprinkles at the lead. There had been buggy rides all afternoon, but they had not had a turn together. The three of them go down the trail and a few minutes later Sprinkles comes bolting, BOLTING down the road, galloping at high speed with a flying buggy behind which was totally empty.

There was a moment of shock watching this powerful animal running wild and then it hit, Ben and Clara were on that buggy. We took off running down the trail filled with total fear. Oh the relief of seeing our two kids come walking around that corner with no broken parts. We had parents at the party e-mailing us all weekend to check on us, because it was just that scary.

On the ride, Sprinkles had gotten spooked by something and thankfully, so thankfully, Charlie knew what to do and was quick. There was a split second pause before Sprinkles bolted. Charlie instructed Ben to jump out and sweet Ben followed instructions with no questioning and leapt out of the cart. Clara was frozen, so Charlie scooped her up and tossed her out of the buggy on to some grass and horse poop—which actually broke her fall.

Charlie then leapt out, taking the worst fall (he's OK, was just very sore and a banged up a bit). But the kids were fine, in shock and Clara was sore, but oh my goodness, it could have been beyond tragic. We found out later that Ben and Clara were on opposite sides of the road and Sprinkles was circling and Ben yelled over to Clara, "Stay where you are! Don't cross the street!" This moment of big brother protection is what gets us, every time. (Teary right now.)

We still tremble and shake when we think of what could have so easily happened. We know we used up some sort of angel pass that day, I just hope it wasn’t one the kids need when they start driving or something else down the road. Charlie was a true hero and we are beyond grateful for his quick response and putting the kids’ safety first.

Clara doesn’t want to talk about this and is a little shy about getting back out to the ranch to ride. We are letting her set the pace on that one; we need a little time too. But thankfully, the last scene of our movie sequence ended with warm baths, cuddles (and yes, some tears), a batch of cookies delivered to Charlie and a fat glass of wine for mom and dad. 

Note: Sprinkles is fine, she made her way back to the stables after she calmed down and luckily there were no people in her path. The buggy however, was found in pieces on the other side of the property. Did we mention we are thankful??