Stories and Poems from our Young Willamette Writers

We love to share writing from our very talented Young Willamette Writers. Many of these works are still in progress, and our writers appreciate hearing from readers like you. We welcome raves as well as helpful suggestions for ways to make a piece better.

Note: Since the site is monitored by Athena and Ganesh (just two of the gods who look out specifically for writers) no mean or unhelpful comments will make it past the portal, and the writers of such comments will be cosmically squashed like a bug on a windshield.

Any members of YWW who would like to publish on this site, please download the PDF permission form, fill it out and send it to 9045 SW Barbur Blvd.,Ste 5A, Portland, OR 97219-4027. Send your writing to Corey as a Word document via e-mail.

And without further ado, here is our first YWW Story to be published. Check back soon to see more work from our young talented writers.

Horseback Riding
by Anjali, Grade 8

I remember very well my first horseback riding experience.

I was in 4th grade, and I went with my Girl Scout Troop. It was along drive to the horse ranch. We played Tic-Tac-Toe and word games until we could barely speak. Then we began staring out the windows at the Oregon scenery. We lost our way about a bazillion times on the back roads leadingto the ranch. When we finally got there, my legs were so stiff I couldhardly stand.

There were some other troops there as well that day, and we got in lineto get assigned a horse. The rancher dude obviously didn't realize that short people generally ride ponies or smaller horses. He paired me with one of the biggest horses on the ranch. He had to lift me up practicallyon to his shoulders and my foot still could just barely reached the stirrup, and the dude was at least 6'5. When I finally dragged myself onto the horse, named Mr. Dudley, I looked down. Not a good idea. I was so far from the ground! I imagined this must be what it feels like to sit atop askyscraper. At that point, the horses were still in the paddock. A different rancher dude came out and showed everybody how to hold the reins.

I had a runny nose and was digging in my pocket for a tissue. I had just found one when the first rancher dude opened that paddock. Swoosh! Outside the paddock was a fenced pasture, with food troughs lining the edge, and my horse was going full speed for a trough. I hadn't had the chance to pick up the reins yet, and my left foot wasn't even in the stirrup yet. I began yelling my head off and finally my horse reached the trough and bent its head to eat. I slid forward in the saddle and hit the horn, flopping over it like a rag doll. It took me a while to get over the initial shock, but eventually I began breathing normally.

While I was trying to put my left foot back in the stirrup, Beverly, my friend Brittany's mom, and her horse sauntered over. She asked me if I was okay as she had seen my little fiasco. I replied that I was okay, just having some technical difficulties. That's when tragedy struck. Beverly's horse decided it wanted the whole food trough to itself and decided the best way to get rid of Mr. Dudley was to bite him. So that's what he did. Mr. Dudley neighed in protest and galloped off to find another food trough where he could eat in peace.

Well, now I was in a sorry state. Neither of my feet were in the stirrups because my right foot had come out while I was trying to put my left foot in. I was frantically searching for the reins, while screaming bloody murder, and upon searching had found that my horse apparently didn't have reins. I began to sob and then I couldn't see anything.

Finally, Mr. Dudley found a food trough with no other horses eating from it and began munching again. I took off my glasses and wiped them clear of tears. I was still crying, but now it was just tears running down my face, not big, noisy sobs. I got another tissue from my pocket and blew my nose, trying to stop crying. Remember, this was before we even went on the trail, and I still had a good 4-5 hours before I got home again. I began to think that this was a horrible idea. Right then and there, I decided that horses are evil. I was thinking of just not going on the trail and staying at the ranch, or in the car, or something yet undetermined, as long as I got away from the evil Mr. Dudley.

Beverly came over again (holding her horse's head away from my horse) and asked if I really wanted to stay at the ranch. She persuaded me to come along, and that everything would be okay once we were on the trails since the horses were very controlled on the trails. I decided to be brave and to overcome my fear of falling off my horse. Beverly turned out to be right, Mr. Dudley was a lot more controlled on the trails. And then the trail began its steep climb upward. Naturally, he wanted to gallop up the slope. And naturally, I was scared. Eventually, I got used to it and was okay. I began thinking maybe just some horses were evil. Soon, the dreaded trail was almost to the end. Then I saw the big hill.

"Aaaaaaaaauuuurrrrgggghhhhh!" I screamed the whole way down while Mr. Dudley was galloping full speed downhill. When I got to the bottom, I felt like I would explode because my heart was thumping so badly. My breath was so ragged. It was particularily hard to breathe. And then I realized I had lived. I WAS ALIVE! The realization that I had made it thorough the trail (in one piece, I might add) was enough to make me smile. After I got off my horse, I began walking to the car, when the rancher dude asked everyone if they'd like to spend more time with 'their' horse and brush it. I sprinted to the car and sat in it.

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