Barb & Ron Kroll publish the trip-planning website www.KrollTravel.com Read the fine print! While guided horseback riding trips aren’t usually dangerous, other adventure activities such as rock climbing, bungee jumping and paragliding are riskier. In Tennessee, when we had the opportunity to go tandem skydiving with Leon, an experienced skydiver, our journalistic response was: “What a great story!” Because Leon wanted to ensure that we had the courage to jump out of the plane’s open door, he asked us to first jump off a cliff in a tethered hang-glider. As we stepped off the precipice, the sensation of flying – rather than falling –motivated us to do the 5,500-foot skydive. The cold air that ruffled our clothing as we free-fell 1,500 feet at 200 mph warmed after Leon pulled the cord for the 4,000-foot parachute descent. Our bird’s-eye view of the approaching landscape was exhilarating. The euphoria that we felt after landing was later replaced with dismay when we noticed that hang-gliding and skydiving were excluded from our insurance. From that moment on, we carefully reviewed the policy before every trip. Will fear of injuries or illness ever stop us from travelling? Not a chance. None of our near mishaps resulted in insurance claims. But, considering the alternative outcomes, we always ensure our peace of mind by booking coverage for medical emergencies. We don’t leave home without it. Just as he predicted, our horses started to roll over on the beach. As we pulled up on the reins, the horses weren’t happy. Pinning their ears back, they galloped off to the forest, forcing us to do seated limbo dances to avoid being knocked off by low-hanging branches. Fortunately, Smitty rushed to us quickly and halted the horses. Smitty tells riders not to let their horses roll over on the beach Parachute landing after tandem skydiving in Tennessee CSANews | FALL 2020 | 21 Travel
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