Coulsdon Captivation
"Horse riding instructor Efua teaches confidence at the Coulsdon stables. When anxious executive Marcus seeks stress relief, she shows him that letting go is the first step to taking control."
The doctor said Marcus needed stress relief that didn't involve alcohol. Someone suggested horses. The Coulsdon stables were nearest, and Efua was available.
She was Ghanaian-British, thick curves in jodhpurs that should be illegal, with the commanding presence of someone who controlled thousand-pound animals daily.
"Anxiety?" she guessed after their first session.
"That obvious?"
"You're fighting the horse. Fighting yourself. Fighting everything." She touched his shoulder. "Come back tomorrow. Earlier. Before anyone else arrives."
The stables at dawn were peaceful—just horses breathing and Efua waiting. She led him to a quiet paddock.
"We're not riding today. We're connecting. With the horse. With yourself."
She taught him groundwork—standing with horses, breathing with them, feeling their energy. Her thick body demonstrated what calm looked like.
"Now transfer that to your life."
"I don't know how."
"Let me show you."
She kissed him there in the paddock, surrounded by curious horses, her thick body warm in the morning chill.
"This is connection too. Being present. Letting go of control." She guided his hands to her waist. "Trust the moment."
They found privacy in the tack room—surrounded by leather and the smell of horses. Her thick body revealed beneath riding clothes was powerful and beautiful.
"Ride me," she commanded. "Like you rode today. With trust, not force."
He entered her slowly, carefully, following her lead. She moved beneath him with a rider's rhythm.
"Yes... perfect... let go..."
She came with a cry muffled against his shoulder, and he followed, finally understanding what surrender felt like.
"That's what the horse needs from you," she said afterward. "What life needs. Trust. Presence. Connection."
"Can we practice more?"
"Every day if you want." She kissed him softly. "The stables are always open. And so am I."
His Coulsdon captivation had gentled something wild in him. And Marcus had found peace in unexpected saddles.