Sore bum, bruised foot, and deflated confidence.

While Jill and the girls went to the Katy Perry Concert, I took the boys for a day of fun. Sean and Riley had to work, so it was Tucker, Asher, Levi and me. We went to Jayell Ranch in Pigeon Forge, surprisingly close to Dollywood Splash Country.

Smoky Mountain View

At Jayell Ranch, we rode ATV's, Zip Lines and Horses. The ATV ride was very cool and trouble free for the most part. Tucker drove one with Asher on back. And I drove one with Levi as passenger. Tucker and Asher got stuck a couple times. Levi and I got stuck once. We had a great guide who took through lots of mud. You never get too old for fish tailing.

Then we suited up for the zip lines. Levi was very nervous. Somehow we got him to go on the first one, which was the shortest on the farm. They called it the warm up line. Although it was shorter than the other five lines, I thought it was fast and fun. Levi must have been scared by it. When we got to the next one, he absolutely refused to go, no matter how brave we told him he was. That was the "end of the line" for him and me. Tucker and Asher continued on.

Here they are playing with a cat before zip lining.

Next came the horseback ride. I thought this would be the most laid back and easy activity of the day. I was mistaken. Asher was the nervous one on this activity. Honestly, I was wondering if it was smart of me to take him and Levi on this one, considering they both were on horses by themselves. Our guide, Susan, led the pack with Levi following close behind on his horse, asking question after question and almost continuously testing the horse to see if it would stop when he pulled the reins. Susan was very patient with him. Tucker was next. Then me. Asher in the rear.

All was well until we went down a particular slope on the trail. Asher's horse thought this would be an easy time to catch up with the rest of us and picked up his pace to a slight trot which made Asher bounce up and down in the saddle like the back seat of the school bus going over a speed bump. He lost his balance and fell off with a scream that would surely catch the attention of a herd of walkers from The Walking Dead. He hit the ground with a pretty good smack. I heard it. My horse got spooked and tried to take off out of there, but being the skilled rider that I am, I pulled back on the reins till he came to a stop. Then it was all over but the crying and figuring out if he was truly hurt.

Susan was great. She told him not to move, radioed for help, and started asking Asher questions like, 

"What is your name?"

Levi had Susan's ear
even after the fall.

"Asher"

"What is this?"

"A horse."

He was fine, except for a sore bum, bruised foot, and deflated confidence. Not that he was too confident to begin with. 

Help arrived and put him back on the horse, much to my surprise, as I sat quietly and observed all this from my horse's saddle. Susan promised to keep a close eye on him and to keep on flat terrain. So we continued. 

Asher kind of freaked out one more time, so Susan attached a rope to Asher's horse and lead him the rest of the way. 

I was proud of Asher for taking it "like a Brasfield", getting back on the horse and riding back to the stables. 

He was happy to get off that horse.