at some community center. It was mostly family and toddler aged kids running amok. I managed to land the sweet gig of handling some Shetland Ponies for the little kids to ride. (I guess helping out on my uncles farm during the summers of my teen years actually paid dividends.)
My partner in crime was a larger Shetland that was a mottled black and brown who I guess was stubborn with most people but seemed to love me. (He would stick his head in my armpit and rub up against me quite a bit. His name was Diablo by the way.)

Any way, I had this one little girl on my pony who couldn’t have been more than 5 who was initially terrified of the animal. But the mother insisted on getting her moneys worth and plopped her in the saddle.

Now let me tell you about the overwhelming emotional transformation and realization I witnessed between two random strangers at that point and time;
Typically the really young ones get more uncertain the longer their parents try to coax them to give it a try. I’ve found that if you give them just enough time to get situated you can start moving and their faces light up as they fall in love with the horse and the experience in general. (Though there is of course the occasional outlier)
Now the owner of the animal was a sweet old lady in her 70’s with a weather beaten face and twinkling brown eyes that seemed to be in the continuous state of smiling. She mostly kept to the small petting zoo we had set up with Fluffy chickens and those hilarious geese with the head poofs.

But when this one particular little girl got on the saddle she was watching. -Now at this point Diablo would simply follow me with no input from the bridle (typically with his nose in my back using me as his napkin) so I was free to look around and keep tabs on who was doing what.

I had the privilege and honor of watching this tired old lady, who had probably spent her entire life on the farm, relive one of the most profound experiences of her life.
I watched as she relived her entire life in the face of that little girl as she went from fear to uncertainty to absolute joy in the span of a few seconds. She was actually reliving her origins. The most pivotal moment of her life. As she watched a tiny human barely cognizant of the world experience something life changing.
It was highly fortunate that I was wearing my sunglasses.

But the one thing that still hits me in the gut even now as I sob like an idiot is that I am 100% certain if I asked that old lady if she would do it it again, if she would live the life she’s lived all over again she wouldn’t hesitate to say yes.