Though we've taken a few uneventful rides around the neighborhood, we finally decided it was time to give our horses something new to look at, so we packed them in the trailer and headed down the road 10 minutes to Riverbend Park. My brother has been telling me they've been putting new trails in around the area, so we thought we'd go exploring a bit today. They've got the entrance to the park all torn up, evidently they're putting in new parking and/or a new building, so we had to bounce through that short area, then reached the trailhead field as usual. We saddled up and headed out, not sure which way to go, then decided since we were looking for something new, we headed straight north on a grassy trail we've never tried. That weaved through the woods, then soon curved around a lovely lake with some nice grassy stretches, perfect for a canter. It was windy, and the horses were fresh and full of vinegar, so we had to be careful lest they get too excited! We followed the edge of the lake, went through a couple of horse gates, then paralleled a canal for a bit. We passed a wildlife photographer whose mega-lens was trained on the nest of a swallow-tailed kite, waiting for someone to come home and feed the chicks. We passed a few words, then headed down to where the trail ended on Jupiter Farms Road. We turned around and headed back, around the lake again, this time crossing a bridge that took us toward Indiantown Road and the new Cypress Creek parking and viewing area. Unless we wanted to following along Indiantown Road away from the park, we could only turn around again and head back to the park, as the trail around the back side of the lake didn't allow horses. Across the bridge once more, then this time we stayed on the shellrock trail, until we reached the park road. Across the road there was a sign for Battle Field Trail, another grassy trail. We weren't absolutely sure whether it was an official horse trail or not, but it looked so inviting we followed it along the river, then finally curved around and back to the trailhead. Less than five miles, by a very nice 90 minute ride on a beautiful day, with my wonderful Hubby on our two fabulous horses... who could ask for more than that!
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