ON'T think for a moment that the woman atop this huge Belgian draught horse named Tonka trotting through the main road in Somerset is an eccentric.

Rather, she is that intellectual lady, with a refreshing wit and keen sense of humour, who when she is not on her extended Yuletide holiday, happens to be a member of the Bermuda College's executive team, and Director of the College's Division of Continuing Education and Workshop Training.

Tonka's rider is Dr. Eugenie M. Simmons, who earned a doctorate in Education from Columbia University to go along with her two master's degrees and a bachelor's from Howard University.

She said there was a bit of history to Tonka and the whole question of her riding. If anyone had even begun to tell her a few years ago she would be riding around Somerset on a horse, she would have laughed at him or her.

She always had a fascination for horses, and had ridden periodically like a day or two every ten years. Almost by default, she and Tonka have become infatuated.

Her husband Edward (Ed) Simmons and his brothers, like their father Raymond (Libby) Simmons, grew up as horse lovers. She was persuaded during one Armistice Day holiday to go riding with the brothers.

"They saddled me on this old, old horse named Star. He was about 30 years old, which in human terms would be 90. I fell in love with Star, so much, that I adopted the horse.

"Star reached a point where it was succumbing to old age, and it was 'time to go'. It was heart-wrenching putting him to sleep. Meanwhile, a little boy around the stable had acquired this horse, and named it Tonka, as in Tonka toy. But I saw in it a new 'Star'."

Horses don't generally adapt to new surroundings and people, no matter how much they like you; but what was interesting Tonka became attached to her. Periodically, that horse escaped from its owner's stable, and would be running around Somerset without a rider, terrifying people and engaging the attention of the police. People thought it was her horse.

Eugenie acquired the horse and it settled down on her property. "I ride Tonka two or three times a week around Somerset, and as far away as Horseshoe Beach. I am trying to get him to go as far as Hamilton. He's an old carriage horse and has a lot of street sense.

"Originally Tonka was brought to Bermuda by businessman Malcolm Terceira. He has had a couple of owners since, but this is the first time to be owned by a woman. He certainly responds to his mummy's touch, and we are quite jealous of each other," Dr. Simmons said with a laugh.

"Ed, my husband, has fallen in love with Tonka as well. I remember the first time I said I was gong to bring the horse home. I was quite excited, ordering this, and getting that ready. I could see Ed just sighing. I thought to myself that must be exactly the way men feel when their wives in their excitement suddenly announce to them a new baby is coming."

, Tonka settled in and has been acting as if it is one of the dogs. They were pets in the Simmons household long before the horse was thought of. They all play happily together. Dr. Simmons has a Doberman and a mutt. The mutt strolled into her yard years ago and refused to leave.

"So we acquired it by default."

Despite her initial trepidation, Tonka has proven to be a nice addition to the neighbourhood. The children at the nearby St. James Church Nursery School come to the wall and speak to him.

"He is a Belgian draft, from a breed of farm horses. As you can see he is a rather thick horse and I am no midget as you can see.

"So there is some compatibility to my size. I feel quite comfortable riding Tonka, and even though at times he likes to run and gallop, and play when he comes to an open field. But I feel quite secure on him, firm in the settle.

"It is incredibly relaxing riding Tonka in the highways and byways. I get to see a side of the country that is not easily visible any more to the modern eye. When I am on that horse, getting exercise and fresh air, all the tensions of the day just slip away."

When Dr. Simmons is not riding Tonka, she is engrossed in her educational concerns. She considers this is a very critical time in Bermuda's history, particularly so far as adult education is concerned.

"Bermuda is at a crossroads where it has come face to face with globalisation. We are victims of our own previous success, and we don't quite appreciate where the rest of the world is headed in terms of accreditation and standards, qualifications, etc.

"And while we are not quite aware of it, the rest of the world is catching us up and in many cases rapidly overtaking us ? for instance, islands to the south we have perceived to be primitive or so-called backward.

"Often Bermudians travel many times to New York, New Jersey shopping malls and to Disney World and don't seriously expose our minds to what other countries and other nationalities are doing. We fail to get a true understanding of what other people's abilities are. Other jurisdictions have well-developed educational infrastructures, people who are hungry to succeed and highly educated workforces.

"I spend much of my time assessing where we are heading globally; looking at our workforce and whether it can support business, whether it be in the hospitality field, reinsurance, or whatever, and keep pace with a global work force."

Dr. Simmons is optimistic that Bermudians are capable of adapting, but her fear is that we don't have to do it with our backs against the wall. Our Achilles heel is that we are not sufficiently receptive to change, she said.