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“Howdy, what you up to today, little lady” were the words coming out of a big broad, white haired man, yelling at me from across the road. If you can imagine a cowboy, like Woody from Toy Story, this was him but bigger, with a Woody style cowboy hat, horse motif red and black cowboy boots and a tarnished leather waistcoat covering a red check shirt tucked in tidily to his blue denim jeans covering his ever so pot belly. Little did I know that these words would lead me to the best day EVER!!! I had been driving through Kolob Canyon (Zion National Park of Utah, United States) after having taken the decision to go out onto the open road, on my own for the very first time. What I didn’t expect to find was that I adored travelling or meet a cowboy whose hospitality would see us become friends, beautiful Canyons that inspire you to scream out loud and a horse named Star who took me to the stars and back..awwww. After an introduction to my companions for the day; a NASA scientist, a world-renowned chemist and a model (OMG really!!!) we headed off to learn about horses. These horses were rescue racehorses that Jackson, the cowboy, had been saving them 10 years; he couldn’t bear that these beautiful creatures, when they had gone beyond their prime were sent for horse meat (sorry). He had over 40 horses to choose from, or so you thought. The truth of it was that the horse would do the choosing. Now orientation was key here, and there are lots of facts about horses that I have forgotten, but what I learned is that they are smart, intuitive and super-fast. We learned about horses, how they work, what their behaviour means, how to connect with them and them with you. I was lucky enough to have Star a true brown stallion, who said (in my mind) “I give you permission to be my rider”. Star led me out to the paddock to play with me, teaching how to guide and direct her; building trust and a bond that would see us stay together and safe throughout the day. We were then ready to go. Once we had got saddled up, our playground for the ride was Kolob Canyon, out of the back of Zion National Park, Utah. It was a glorious day, with bright blue skies, wispy white clouds and the sun to heat your back. We gently trotted out with our horses, each of us nervous. of the unknown, having never ridden properly before. Jackson exclaims, “there are 6 gears to a horse” and with that we were off, out of the starting blocks in a race. And off we went, 1, 2,3,4,5 and omg 6…we were running, thighs holding on tight, squealing with delight and having the most fun with my cowboy hat on and the beautiful landscape of the valley. The sand was yellowy, orange, spitting up from underneath the horse’s hoofs, the noise the hoofs made on the canyon floor was like someone playing a deep drum very fast, we were running just like the Baywatch babes on the beach..lol. It was an amazing experience, exhilarating and energising all at once. Everyone was giggling, out of breath and speed talking, “OMG, I cannot believe we did that”, “how fast did we run”, “could we do it again”. We were loving it, in our element enjoying every part of the experience as we continued to ride throughout the Canyon, babbling brooks and up and over mountains. And as we sat and watched the sun set, all was quiet, Star was snoozing, and we sat there together staring out over the vast Canyon and the stars as they came into the darkening sky. And in that moment my life changed forever; for the kindness of a stranger, the wonderful Canyons and a horse named Star my wanderlust gene was unlocked forever and now I travel and connect with local people wherever and whenever I can, for the joy of travelling is in the places you go, the people you meet and the impact you allow them to have on you.