Archives for October 2016

Friday, Oct. 14, 2016 – Another Fabulous Ride Day at Skymont!

dscn0439 dscn0441 dscn0442 dscn0443 dscn0444 dscn0435 dscn0436 dscn0437 dscn0438

After a busy couple of days, we set aside today to map out yet another section of the Skymont Trails, and learned from Ranger Dave's wife Ellen that Ike and Rebecca, the organizers of the SERA endurance race for which I had volunteered a few weeks ago were actually camping in the back, so I was looking forward to introducing Hubby to them when we passed by. After getting saddled up and riding through their camp, it became obvious they were all out on a trail ride, naturally, as it was a beautiful day. We headed out over the dam, this time heading north to mostly follow part of the orange trail. I had mapped out about 6.75 miles of riding, but got a little turned around, as most of the flags near where the buildings and other scout facilities were had been removed, and since they had the most roads and options because it was the most used and populated area, it made it a bit more confusing. Following my GPS, though, we managed to get on track after awhile. Once again it was a gorgeous ride. The leaves are starting to change color, adding to an already gorgeous experience. After about 4 miles, however, after cantering up a hill, we looked back and realized that our little dog Billy was missing! I asked Hubby when was the last time he had seen him, and he couldn't really remember, because he had been running lines of a one-man show he's getting ready to perform next month. So we turned around and headed back to see if we could find him, and after about half a mile and lots of yelling, Billy finally came bounding up the trail towards us. We figured he must have gotten distracted or tired somewhere, and because he's getting a little deaf in his old age, he couldn't hear us well enough to track us down again. Once he caught back up with us, though, we headed back on up the trail, as it was longer to go back than to continue forward, even with the extra mile of backtracking. My horse Apollo wasn't exactly thrilled at going back and forth (he tends to get bored easily, and retracing his steps is boring for him, he always wants a new trail!), so he got a little ornery for a few minutes, but settled down again once we got going. We were afraid Billy would have trouble keeping up (he is over 12 years old, and has tiny little dachshund size legs, after all!), so we slowed down and waited for him more often, which made what should have been a 2.5 hour ride into more of a 4 hour ride. But, of course, any time on the back of my horse is a good time! We finally reached camp, and by then, the other campers were back, and we stopped and chatted with them for a while, comparing notes. We knew from the fresh manure on the trail that they had been on many of the same trails as us, so we talked mostly about the orange trail What a great ride, though! Perfect weather, a gorgeous day! Got back and got everyone put away, gave Billy a baby aspirin because I knew he was going to need it, and settled down for the evening. Wonderful!

Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2016 – RIDE DAY AT LAST!!

dscn0427 dscn0429 dscn0428 dscn0431 dscn0434 dscn0433 dscn0432

Finally got a ride in today! Can't believe our last ride was way back in June! The weather has finally become perfect for riding, low 70's, clear skies, gorgeous! After having met the new Ranger at local Skymont Boy Scout Reservation during the SERA Endurance Race ten days ago, we got permission to come and ride, and we volunteered to help GPS the trails to help build an accurate trail map, though the one SERA was really good. Anyway, we packed up the horses into the trailer and drove the quick 5 miles down to the camp, checking in with the Ranger and heading back to where the riders had camped during the race. We got the horses saddled up in no time. Frankly, I was a bit nervous about how the horses would behave after such along layoff, but they were perfect! Everything about the ride was perfect! We've had no rain here for a few weeks, so the trails were perfect. Mostly flat through woods, but with several hillocks that provided some challenge. Hubby got a lot of canters in to keep up with Apollo's fast walk, and we got both got some nice trots in as well. Fabulous, fabulous day, can't wait to come back! Hopefully, later in the week, we'll get another chance, while the weather continues to be perfect!

Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016 – Final Volunteer Day

Had another busy day in the morning, though it slowed down more in the afternoon since we didn’t have any more new riders come in. Last riders came in at early dusk, before heading over to the dining hall for a repeat of the awards ceremony. It was a great weekend, made lots of friends, laughed more than I had in a long time, and enjoyed myself thoroughly. Made friends with the new ranger of the Boy Scout Camp and his wife, Dave and Ellen, and offered to help him GPS the trails so we can make an even better map than the ride had provided, which was pretty detailed. He was open to Hubby and I coming over to ride any time we wanted, which I plan on doing in the very near future, as the weather is just cooling off nicely. Can’t wait to get back in the saddle!