Face-to-face with a mountain lion

Re “Single, aging, but still on the prowl in Los Angeles,” Column One, April 24

I'll never forget the afternoon I came face-to-face with a mountain lion.

In my younger days, I owned a horse, Hookey, and boarded him in the San Fernando Valley. I was exercising him in a large outdoor arena, but I noticed that every time we trotted past one end, Hook would shy away.

The next time we approached I felt Hook’s heartbeat through the saddle. I looked again, and there in a pose my cat at home would take, was a very large cat. He was almost invisible: His coat was a perfect match to the decomposed granite he sat on.

We slowly walked out of the arena. My heart was pounding, but it was amazing.

GENIE SAFFREN

Los Angeles