Well I
never expected to be writing about my ride in the rainforest, but here I am. I
spent last weekend in St Kitts, one of the Leeward Islands in the West Indies,
a three hour flight from Miami. The trip was sponsored by the General Practice
Solo Small Firm Section of the Florida Bar. I'm not a huge fan of commercial
trail rides with hack line horses but good friend and horse lover Susan
Kirkconnell wanted to experience the West Indies rainforest from horseback.
Since I definitely hate to pass up a possible adventure (and the opportunity to
tell another trail ride story) I agreed to tag along.
We were
picked up at our hotel, the St Kitts Marriott by Wilfred of Trinity Stables,
one of the few riding facilities on the island. We were joined last minute by
Angie and seven year old daughter, Brianna. They were both very excited about
the chance to ride so Susan and I knew this would add an element of interest to
our ride. Our transportation to the "stables" consisted of an open
air, very breezy, seat in the back of Wilfred's pickup. We were told the ride
was $75, cash only. Wilfred's strong suit is not making change or remembering
how much you gave him so exact change is recommended.
We were
introduced to our mounts and our trail guide, Scott, an island resident. Susan
had requested English saddles for the two of us. Apparently requests are taken
but not necessarily acknowledged. All of the horses sported worn western
saddles that had seen more than a few rides. Scott asked each of us about our
experience and I was given Gypsy (a gelding despite his girlie name). Susan had
Mary (not really a good name for her as you'll soon discover). Brianna was on Pretty Boy and the remaining
two horse's names have already slipped from my fifty something brain. Scott's horse ponied Brianna's - a
questionable choice because he really seemed to be a handful and not suited as
a pony horse.
Gypsy was
the designated leader and off we went into the rainforest. No need to have any
real riding skills as Gypsy knew exactly where he was going and at what speed -
fast enough to stay ahead of the other horses but never faster than a walk. The
weather in St Kitts is like Florida, if you don't like it wait a few minutes
because it is destined to change. It looked like we were in for a major
downpour. The top of the mountain was shrouded in mist and the sky was dark and
overcast. Much to our surprise we never even got one drop of rain and the cloud
cover made the day very enjoyable.
Kitticians
(the term for locals) don't share the same view of animals as Americans. In St
Kitts an animal must have some sort of utility or it is disposable. We were
told there were more monkeys on the island than people. Well you couldn't prove
it by me because I only saw one living monkey. On the trail ride i
unfortunately saw two vey dead monkeys that looked like their demise was
anything but pleasant. They were hung grotesquely tethered between two trees as
a warning to the possible fate of other unlucky monkeys who might venture that
way. In addition there were several goat
heads mounted on sticks. Very voodoo and very unsettling. I prefer my animals
alive and well, living free from human interference except for food, love and
affection.
Likewise
the dogs we encountered we're either tethered with heavy chains or roaming
free, obviously fending for themselves. The females have the additional burden
of providing for pups, without the comfort of a regular meal she can count on.
The cats were all feral, some with tipped ears indicating either they had been
trapped, neutered and released or somehow mutilated. Others had their kittens
in tow eating scraps of discarded food or courting the beach bar patrons for
leftovers and handouts.
I
digress. Okay, enough about the need for
a St Kitts Humane Society and more about our trail ride. The views from the trail across the village
landscape out to the ocean were amazing and well worth the effort.
Once we
reached the top of the hill, Scott unlocked a creepy corrugated metal gate
giving us access to an area where the local atv attraction was prohibited. We
rode down the hill a short way to a dilapidated padlocked shed. I have to admit
that my danger radar was on high alert. After the dead monkeys and goat heads,
it was all just a little too weird. We dismounted and Scott prepared soft
drinks for us - nice touch Still can't
figure out what the paring knife was for unless he brought it in case we wanted to carve our initials into
the shed as evidence we actually survived the ride.
During our
refreshment break, Gypsy and Mary were allowed to roam free. I was hoping they would be interested enough
in the lush hilltop grass not to abandon us miles from the beginning of our
journey.
We soon
learned that Scott's horse was a fully intact male, a stallion in all his
glory. This explains his erratic behavior on the trail. We also quickly
discovered that Mary was in heat and very interested in the possibility of a
husband (or a quickie). Scott decided to indulge his horse's natural instincts
and we all (especially young Brianna) got an up close and personal lesson on
where baby horses come from. Sadly, I was dumbstruck and couldn't get my camera
out before the deed was done and Miss Mary was no longer the virgin Mary,
although I got the impression this might not have been her first trot around
the block either.
And right
when we thought we'd had all the excitement we could stand, Scott invited us to
follow him down a deserted trail. My imagination was on high alert, conjuring
up the next day's headline - Four American Women Missing in the Jungle. Sorry
Scott but it really was a little creepy
and strange to be in such a remote place with a total stranger on a randy
stallion in the middle of nowhere, somewhere in the ocean, thousands of miles
from home, West Indies.
Actually
my instincts were dead wrong, thankfully, and he only wanted to show us a
really cool banyan tree. Thank you, Jesus.
We made
our way back to the horses, remounted and enjoyed the descent down the mountain
without further incident. Both the stallion and Mary no worse for the wear and
both in a much calmer frame of mind.
Not sure
I can top this one any time soon, but stay tuned.
