Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail...

Alexis is an Eventer. For those of you who don't understand what that means, picture the difference between a boxer and an ultimate fighter. Your normal, well-trained dressage rider or show jumper is the boxer. The eventers, of course, are the ultimate fighters.

Eventers must not only master the art of dressage and show-jumping, but also the rigors of cross country. Cross country is what separates the men from the boys--or in this case, the women from the girls. The obstacles in cross country range from solid, natural objects like stone walls and fallen trees to things like ponds, streams, ditches, sudden drops, and men with machine guns. When the rain starts pouring down at a show, it's the eventers you'll see still tacking up, getting ready to ride. They aren't deterred by a little bit of rain, nor do they care about hurricane winds, pelting hail, sleet, snow or natural disasters.

You have to be careful about joining Eventers on what they consider a relaxing Sunday-afternoon horseback ride, especially if it has just been raining. You'll find yourself trying to convince your horse that sludging through thick, knee deep mud and making your own trails through dark forests are actually good things. (Very hard to do when you're on an Arabian.)

Eventers are tough, and falling off is simply part of the game for them. That's why if you're listening to the speaker at the cross-country section of an eventing weekend, you might hear something like

"Rider 29 has been separated from his horse at obstacle 12."

I always picture the horse continuing on with the course while the rider is running after him, trying to catch up.

Alexis never wanted to be that rider, so she learned early on never to let go of the reins. She would rather be dragged than have it announced that she has "been separated" from her horse.

The last time Alexis was "separated" was nearly two years ago during a simple schooling show. She was riding Tucker from the barn to the arena with a relaxed rein, just chilling out, when some guy crinkled up a potato chip bag and Tucker thought the world was coming to an end. Tucker bolted to the safety of the barn, leaving Alexis behind. The other horses could hear him call out "Every horse for himself!"

Yesterday, Alexis found herself "separated" once again. She has been working with Sandy, a 4-yr old Appaloosa rescue horse who she recently started under saddle. Sandy has been doing great at the walk and trot, so Alexis decided it was time to try out her canter under saddle.

"It was a beautiful canter," said Alexis. "But then I realized the saddle was too loose and was slipping . I tried to make an emergency dismount, but my foot got caught in the stirrup. It was about that time that Sandy got the idea to jump out of the dressage arena."

Anyone watching that day would have seen Alexis hopping along beside Sandy, doing her best to keep up with that horse's beautiful canter. Peter Cottontail would have been proud. Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on its way!

Alexis did her best to hold on to those reins, but after a few laps of hopping along, Alexis decided that perhaps being "separated" was exactly what she wanted after all.

And so the count rolls back to zero. We should probably post a sign in the barn. "It has now been 1 day(s) since Alexis has been separated from her horse."

Or maybe not. I think we might get tired of counting.

Happy Easter Everyone!