I had been pestering my mother for years to let me join her stable; when then, finally, on my thirteenth birthday, she reluctantly agreed that I could begin riding lessons. I was so exited and already I was dreaming about the horse I would ride. That next Saturday, mom and I loaded into the SUV and drove out to the horse ranch where mother spent practically every weekend. I was always a little jealous about her being away, but she told me that it was her way of escaping for a few hours. My dad took it all in stride, he's that kind of guy.

On the drive over mom looked kind of nervous and she prattled on about if I didn't like it I could just quit and some other stuff but I tuned her out with my walkman.

When we arrived, I went with her to sign up for classes, but I noticed that we walked past a building that said registration and ended up in the back along a deserted barn and stable.

Miss Sophia, that's what she insists everyone call her, was a friend of my mothers and she and another young girl were waiting for us as we approached. She was the head trainer out there and I had met her a couple of times when I came home from school and on occasion she would be at one of our holiday parties. But this was the first time I ever really saw her in her element. She must have been around six feet tall, wearing knee high leather boots, jodhpurs and a satin blouse-a real horsewoman. The other girl was dressed the same and I felt like a bum wearing only jeans and sneakers.

"So Lisa, you have brought her," she approached my mom and put an arm around her. "I wasn't sure you would acquiesce." My mom seemed to bow her head a little and just nodded. Miss Sophia seemed to tower over my mother even though my mom is pretty tall too. My mom had been an equestrian champion when she was young and I never could understand why she waited this long to let me take riding lessons.

"This is Tina," she made a gesture with her arm towards the girl. "She will be showing little Claire the ropes so to speak." She smiled but it did not change the sternness of her face. She was what they call striking rather than beautiful and always looked like she had a turd under her nose, you know the look.

The girl looked like a piece of work, just standing there smirking like she was posing for a magazine.

"Now Tina, dear," her nostrils flared, "I want you to take your time and break in little Claire slowly. We don't want a frightened philly on our hands."

"Yes, Miss Sophia."

"And you, Lisa," she reached behind her and pulled up a bridle and bit. "I have a new bit made just for your riding lesson today." I was a little shocked at my mom's reaction. She blushed and I thought she might cry.

"What do you say?"

"Thank you, Miss Sophia." Miss Sophia took my mother by the shoulders and turned her away. Then she turned to Tina. "Let's start off with the rudimentaries, walking." She left with my mother in tow. And Tina approached and said, "Let's get you started."

She went in the stable and came out with a beautiful chestnut. "Your first lesson will be learning how to walk the animal." She walked the animal around high stepping on her toes until she completed the circle.

"Now you try." I thought it was kind of stupid but I grabbed the reins and petted the horse, talking to it, making sure we were friends. Then I took the reins and began walking around in a circle with it. All the time Tina was saying that I had to know how the horse thought and how the horse felt before I could ride. She kept it up telling me to lift my knees, stay on my toes; all I wanted to do was ride the horse, not be one.

Then I felt a sting on my backside and I turned and saw Tina with a quirt in her hand, "Hey, that stung." "Knees up, head up, toes pointed." I stopped and put my hands on my hips, just as she raised the whip again. "Don't hit me with that thing, you bitch." I felt a little scared as I saw her approach with the quirt in her hand. "You're not doing it right and you are going to keep at it until you do it right or you'll never ride."

"I don't think you know what you're doing." She raised the whip again and let me have it good, but the denim absorbed most of the blow. So, I rammed her and took the quirt away even though she was about five years older than me. She just kept that smirk on her face. "What are you going to do, go cry to your mother?" then she laughed and I took off to do that very thing.

I walked into the building where my mother had gone. It was like a labyrinth with stalls and hallways all around. There was a woman at a desk and I began to ask for my mother, but I knew she was out riding, so I asked where Miss Sophia was. The receptionist pointed down a hallway and I wound my way back. There were a few empty stalls or so I thought; I heard some noises but they were too small to be horses so I didn't want to know. Probably pigs or something. I kept following the hall around another bend then another, until finally, I saw the top of Miss Sophia's head as it bounced up and down in one of the stalls. As I approached, I realized that she was riding on a miniature pony or something. I also noticed that she was only wearing a leather bra with little openings for her nipples. At first I couldn't see what she was riding due to the slats in the stall and before I could inch closer her eyes like lasers were on me.