The Ride We're On

I speak only the truth when I tell you this story friend,
There are a few rides my horse and I haven't finished through until the end,
It always frustrated me and got under my skin,
'For I was always out to just finish - not even to win.
Fortunately for me, my steed is big and strong,
And for the most part, despite his minor infractions, we always get along.
However, as any good pair knows,
There are days when the trail just becomes your foe.
One day I got the smart idea to head on the trail alone,
I was young, and stupid, and very far from home.
I heard wolves in the distance and started to quake,
I found myself lost, and scared and so cold I was beginning to shake.
My horse brought us home in one piece, but I had been of no help,
I had let us both down, I thought I was mature but I was just a little whelp.
Another time we were out in the arena, with some fancy moves on our mind,
My horses mind shut down, his legs went straight up - we were in quite the bind,
I thought to myself up there, whilst suspended in the air,
Well this ain't that much fun - no, this ain't really fair.
I had a bit of a tantrum, I kicked and spurred and growled,
And my horse, like the referee he is, well he called my foul.
We didn't get much accomplished that day, except both get sweaty and mad.
And really in the end, not finishing that ride made us both pretty sad.
And finally, there was the time we went racing through the hills,
And those hoodoo rocks, well for legs, they can really kill.
A twisted ankle landed us pulling out of the race,
But I wasn't about to keep going - I wasn't trying to save any face.
For what matters more to me is the quality of the ride,
And however many years I am granted him by my side.
Yes, we never finished those rides through hill, and dirt and rock,
We were never able to show off those ribbons - talk the talk, walk the walk,
But when the day comes when one of us must say goodbye,
I am happy to know there will be no DQ's up there in the sky,
For there may have been some rides we didn't finish through and through,
But there is one ride we'll never end - this, I am telling you.
No matter the order whether one of us walks or trots through those pearly gates,
I'll hop back on and away we'll go - because this match of mine, well, it's just fate.