An Unexpected Encounter
Leyla Rabbat
It felt as if Medusa had locked her eyes with mine, and I had turned to stone. Fear seized me and spread from the fingers around my reins into the blood in my veins.
Mom and I had been riding our horses, Fixxer and Amira, in an endurance race through the Sierra Nevada mountains when we came across the beast. We had been riding for 6 hours, cantering through rolling hills that extended into the heights of California’s largest mountain range. Finally, we reached the summit, joyous but exhausted. Just as the four of us slowed to a walk and rounded a large bush to our left, we found ourselves yards away from a California black bear. He must have been more than 7 feet tall, standing and staring at us from atop his hind legs.
We all froze. Then Mom forcefully turned her head forward, away from the bear.
“Do you see it?” she inquired with a quivering voice. I couldn’t respond.
I felt as though I was about to fall off Fixxer. My fear was so overwhelming that my vision became hazy and unclear. Instinctively, I tightened the grip of my legs around the saddle, and that was when I felt Fixxer’s heart beating hard through the saddle. I had been riding Fixxer for most of my life, but I’d never felt his heart beat like that before. In that instant, I realized I had a choice to make: to allow myself to be sucked into a vacuum of dizziness and panic, or to stay present and steady in the seat of my saddle.
Ever since I started riding at the age of four, Mom has consistently reminded me what it means to put your trust and safety into such a powerful animal. “Remember, Ley,” I can hear her saying, “You are Fixxer’s person. He trusts you. However, his faith in you means that he is never going to be any less scared or stressed than you are. If you want him to be confident, you must stay calm and collected yourself.”
Mom had spent years preparing me for what to do if we ever came across the worst of situations, and that fateful moment had come. I lifted my eyes up, straightened my back, and nudged Fixxer onward gently with my legs. “Here we go, it’s okay,” I told him soothingly, over and over again. We tentatively started making our way onward.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Mom and Amira. Although Mom was doing her best to edge her petrified horse onward, Amira’s wide eyes remained locked on the bear, her legs immobile.
“Ley, just keep going no matter what. Don’t look back,” Mom urged me.
“It’s okay, Amira will follow us.” I knew I would never leave Mom and Amira behind.
I guided Fixxer slowly around Mom’s right-hand side. Watching us shuffle up ahead of her, Amira began to follow suit. I continued to switch between encouraging Fixxer onward and checking in with Mom. Step by step, I led the four of us down the path and away from the bear, who remained standing and watching us from his initial position. Once safely out of sight, we cantered away as fast as we could.
Mom had been guiding and protecting me all my life, but at that moment, it was my turn to step up. The courage and composure I found in myself then has fueled me ever since, as well as the sense of responsibility to take charge and to lead no matter how grave the situation is and no matter where. I may not know what is around our next bend, but whether it is a bear or a bunny, I know I am prepared to lead the way and to take it on.
