By Jordan Reis
Paisley had wanted a horse since she was 11 years old. Finally on her 14th birthday she got a horse, but it wasn’t any old horse, it was the horse of her dreams. It was a 13 year old Buckskin and she called him Bandit. He was a gelding and trained to be ridden. English style.
Paisley was so excited when she got to visit her horse each day. It was what she most looked forward to every afternoon. She was a home-schooler, so she didn’t have to spend most of her day at school, but she did have to get her school work done before her mom would let her go to the barn. She loved the barn, not only because Bandit was there but because it was out in the county and quiet. Paisley lived in the city, where it was loud. She appreciated the peacefulness of the county where the barn was located. There were over 30 horses at the barn. It was huge. All kinds of breeds, colors, sizes and personalities. Paisley loved them all, but mostly she loved Bandit.
There was a riding trail nearby that led to a dried-up creek. It was a sunny trail with only a few places to stop under the trees for shade. The trail path was concrete and was hot and still. Paisley always felt a little sticky in the wide, open trail. In the arena, the ground was soft dirt and there was a nice breeze. She preferred the arena to the trail because there was more to do there. The trail felt less exciting because all they could do was walk. In the arena, they could walk, canter, trot and eventually jump the horse.
The barn was 15 minutes by car, away from Paisley’s house. The barn owner’s name was Judy and she had a stable full of horses. She also taught riding lessons, all the time, to many different kids. Judy was funny and was a true horse person. She had grown up with horses and made them her life.
One day when Paisley got to the barn, she realized there was something wrong. Judy was nowhere to be found and several horses were out of the barn wandering around, out of place. Paisley knew she had to round up the horses as it wouldn’t be safe for the horses to get out onto the road or to break away and run. She couldn’t do it by herself, or at least, she thought she couldn't.
She looked around and called for Judy. She was nowhere in sight. Suddenly she saw her boot sticking out of one of the stalls. Oh no, thought Paisley, She’s been knocked out! And the horses are loose. Do I help Judy first or gather the horses? She ran over to Judy and saw that she was still breathing. She had recently taken a CPR course and knew how to resuscitate. Before giving her CPR, Paisley called around for help. She didn’t hear anyone. She had a cell phone, so she called 911 and frantically began pushing up and down on her chest the way she had learned in her training. It had been a joke in class when they had practiced with dolls, but this was the real deal. Paisley was shaking, she was so scared, but she kept compressing up and down, up and down.
After a couple of minutes of CPR, Paisley could hear sirens of the ambulance approaching. Soon there were EMTs at her side, helping. Paisley knew that she now had to turn her attention to the wandering horses, because Judy was in good hands.
By Jordan Reis