Cowboy Chords

Just putting on my riding chaps, feeling, touching the black leather that has turned as soft as baby skin after all those years of wear and tear, fills me with an incredible sense of satisfaction I have been missing for way too long. That too-well-known distinctive smell of leather, dust and horse hair finds its way to my olfactory nerves and triggers a firework of endorphins racing through my nerve system – and I am done. Spending hours, days, weeks at the ranch, day in day out, it all comes back to me in a second and I can hardly imagine I survived this long without it.

Saddling and snaffling(?) is as much of a routine as it used to be and before I know it I am already sitting in the saddle, feeling as comfortable and relaxed as one can be. I am in my own personal version of heaven and loving every damn second of it. Pure bliss. 'Das Glück dieser Erde liegt auf dem Rücken der Pferde' / 'The greatest happiness on earth is sitting in the saddle of a horse' – whoever originally voiced this wisdom surely knew what he was talking about.

The twins and me grab the reins and off we are, crossing the street and making our way into the fields. Getting lost in an ocean of sparkling yellow rape fields, surrounded by its bewitching scent and an uncountable number of bumblebees. The twins kindly offered me to ride their beautiful white Arabian gelding Ijadh and I can feel his gracefulness below me, the way he carefully arranges his legs, already letting me know he can't wait for the moment we let them run loose like there's no tomorrow.

The poor souls who have never experienced the beauty and serenity you feel the second you get on a horse and out into the open can hardly understand what I am talking about. It's the most perfect refuge and retreat there is. Just you and your horse. Nothing but nature all around you. Perfection. Minutes, yes hours to let your thoughts fly while the wind blows in your face and takes all your worries and pains away. At least for a while. Nothing but 900 pounds of muscle below you. And then you adapt to this movement and focus on the trivial beauty all around you and suddenly you are completely absorbed by it. (Oh, just screw your dirty thoughts right now...) It saved me more than once from losing it after a stressful day at school, after fighting with my parents or the usual and unavoidable drama we all experienced during puberty.

As usual we stop at the little tavern, get off our horses and have a beer, the horses grazing next to a group of children eager to pet each and every one of them. It's weird how fascinated yet apparently anxious they approach the horses, I bet some of them have never touched one before. It seems to me most kids are not that confident around animals and nature in generel anymore. My parents must have had one hell of a hard time with me as soon as I was able to walk, as I kept running towards every dog I could get my hands on to pet and hug it. I guess I didn't have a choice, I am a dog person after all.

Riding through the forest we decide to change into the trott to burn up some distance before the sun begins to set. After a while the muscles in my thighs painfully remind me that they actually still exist and aren't too fond of suddenly being overexerted. My bad. I know I will pay for that in a day or two. And I bet it's getting worse the older you get. Damn it. We pass the old waterworks and turn right to get back onto the open fields, my old racetrack. I'd give anything to fast gallop down the field only one more time on Bronco, my old horse. Fast enough for the wind to make your eyes water, feeling the adrenaline rush take control over your body.

Nora just screams 'Let's go!' and off we are. A black cloud of dusk surrounds us as we are dashing down the field, each of us eager to be the fastest, to win the race. Making the others eat dust. In the end Nora was bold enough to speed up to the max and win. It takes a few meters to get Ijadh from a fast gallop into a slow trot, sweating, breathing hard, eager to keep on running as his Arabian purebred blood forces him to. I just give him a pet on the neck and breathe audibly out while we're slowing getting back to the ranch. Mosquitos have replaced the bumblebees by now, it's getting dark. And I feel like I'm home in every possible way.

The welling of nostalgia, and feeling kind of strange,

Because despite the little changes, this place still feels the same.