Personal Narrative Essay: The Influence Of Being On Chief

That night was just like any other. I went out to the barn like usual with my friends. There was a new horse we were trying to train, his name was Chief. It was a nice night, cool but not cold. Brenda, the owner of the barn, asked if I wanted to ride him. “Do you want to try being on Chief?” were the exact words I remember. “Sure! Which saddle should I use?” I replied. “You can use Raven’s,” She told me. I had said yes, I wanted a challenge. Everyone else had done it, and I wanted to fit in. I had butterflies in my stomach as I went to saddle him, maybe excitement and adrenaline, maybe it was intuition that something evil was afoot. Either way, I had something to prove. I could do what everyone else had. Peer pressure is a dangerous thing, though not always apparent. I had no idea what could happen. I knew there were dangers, but they never seemed real to me. You work with a two thousand pound animal. You push this animal to beautiful speeds and deeds, and yet it never even occurred to me that having the audacity to boss it around, but also to try to form a bond with it, was a dangerous concept. An idea that may be true for humans too. My other friends were out in the back pasture, playing and practicing for show patterns to perform. I was warming up in the front arena. I decided to go out back too, though Chief was being a

The bright white lights and splittingly loud sounds, closing my eyes but no reprieve. The constant hum and beeps of machines. People rushing every direction imaginable. I was strapped down to a spinal board, and given a neck brace. I couldn’t move. I was choking, no one except for my Mom realized and yelled for them to flip me. Once they did I promptly threw up. This was more than a bump on my head to the staff now, they became serious. I got life-flighted to Metro Hospital in Cleveland. I asked my Mom about what happened in the helicopter ride later she told me I kept repeating