This is a personal (and amusing) story about endurance horseback riding on the Crooked River National Grasslands outside Prineville Oregon. But it's really about facing your fears in life. When we have guides and mentors in life it's a lot easier accepting challenges. My mentor was my uncle-in-law Cole Still. A man of few words with a vast knowledge of endurance riding, Cole encouraged me as I competed in a 25-mile endurance ride on his favorite (and fast) Arabian horse Wendy. Ride along with me, a novice rider, as I "hung on" to Wendy through the hills surrounding Smith Rocks State Park.