The Dream and the Reality. By Helena Hewston 307 words

Watching the countryside pass from the carriage window I watched a lone rider cantering a horse across a field. Too far away to take in detail and only a second or two of image but it has stayed with me for well over fifty years. That is what I have wanted to do. Occasionally the image has turned into a close reality but I still have not fulfilled those moments of desire.

Every week I think I am closer to the dream. It is what keeps me spending money and experiencing life. I have recognised that the dream lacks reality. I can never be in the situation of that rider because I know too much. Safety comes first, for the horse and the rider, rabbit holes, startled pheasants, anticipating what the horse will see and then being secure with feet in the stirrups and the right contact on the reins. I will never be able to see myself from the side. It is the smoothness of the vision that is missing from the senses as one sits on a four legged muscle moving undulation of power. Also missing from the visual experience is the feel and smell of leather and the awareness of hands and legs off the ground, the air on the face and the sounds of hoof beats.

This will not stop the dream. Now it is more. It has morphed to include all the senses and sensations and sharing an experience with the incredible animal that is the horse.

Creative writing is like that. For most in our group it is the writing that is important. The “dream” of taking a thought and putting it into visual words. For each of us it is different.

It brings secret joy and at times recognition.