David Canyon Snowy Cart Ride

On a beautiful sunny January day, four of us decided to head to David Canyon to drive some horses from fun, little carts.

All hitched up, waiting to go.

It had snowed about a week earlier, and even though there was no snow at my house about 15 minutes away, David Canyon is a deep canyon and acts as a deep freezer, holding the cold air down below and keeping the snow from melting. So, we got to ride the carts through the snow on this day.

But because it was sunny, it didn't feel very cold at all. And the brilliant Fall color still holding on, sure warmed everything up even more.

Posing for photos along the trail.

Doing some off-roading.....

This is the intersection that I've ridden across countless times, but I had never ridden south of this intersection.

But we rode south on this day. And it was absolutely gorgeous!

I was basically guiding the ride as they had never brought their horses down this way in the canyon. And this was also their first time cart driving in David Canyon, too. I decided we should ride all the way to the far southern gate. I was curious to see if it would be a military gate or an Indian reservation gate.

It ended up being an Indian Reservation gate. And it was locked.

So we turned around and drove the carts back the way we came.

We rode past the intersection.

Posing for snowy photos....

I, of course, was in heaven with all the ponderosa pine trees!

The sun was hanging low in the sky by the time we arrived back at the trailhead, but what a fantastic day we had!

Life is Good!!

New Years Day Cart Ride

On New Years Day I was invited to go for a cart ride. Our carts would be pulled by two Gypsy Vanner horses. The stallion over on the left and the mare on the right.

They are waiting for traffic to cross the road while watching a horseback rider trotting on the bridle path on the other side. 

Driving the mare on the bridle path.

Enjoying the neighborhood roads.

Driving side-by-side down a neighborhood road.

Cart Driving Selfie!

I got the opportunity to take the reins and that was fun. And we posed for a photo at the end of the ride.

What a fabulous way to spend New Years Day!

Life is Good!!

Horses, Pups, Friends and Four-Wheelin’

 

 

My buddy, Kendra recently invited me to come down and spend the day with her on her ranch. I left my Apache mare home and just went down to spend time with my friend doing a bunch of fun stuff, like………

Cart driving her pony, Poncho.

 

Poncho hadn’t been cart-driven for several months, so he was a bit fresh. Kendra trained him to pull a cart less than a year ago and he’s such a good boy. He was pretty good that day and really seems to enjoy pulling a cart.

There’s always lots of interesting things to see while sitting in a cart being pulled down a country road.

Kendra and her husband Gerald are surrounded by countless miles of dirt roads and can ride or drive a cart for hours.

We covered about 6 miles this day and enjoyed the views, including the beautiful Manzano Mountains.

The ranches out here are hundreds of acres, so there aren’t many homes to see when you’re on horseback or riding in a cart. And we only saw one truck that needed to pass us. Kendra brought Poncho to a stop when the truck drove by and he was a perfect boy.

I really enjoy cart driving and often think about getting myself a little pony, mini-horse or mini-donkey so I can cart drive, too.

This was my Dobbie Girl’s first cart ride and she loved it!

 

Before long we were back at Kendra’s ranch.

 

Kendra and Gerald have such a beautiful ranch.

Poncho was very glad to see his barn-mates, Bailey, Kendra’s riding gelding and Durango, Kendra’s grandkids’ riding mini-horse, waiting for him in the corral.

 

After getting Poncho unhooked from the cart, we headed inside the house for some delicious tacos made by Gerald while us girls were out having fun.

 

After a delicious lunch of tacos and ice cold beer, we went out to play with the ponies.

Kendra took a turn riding Poncho in just a halter…no lead.

Good boy, Poncho!

Then Kendra took a spin on her boy Bailey, wearing just a neck rope.

And little Durango didn’t get to escape the horseback fun either.

Durango is so stinkin’ cute and so sweet, too!

While I was sitting in the dirt, Poncho took several much-deserved dust rolls.

This is the cutest little ranch dog ever! Kendra and Gerald got Hondo just a couple months ago.

And then there is my wonky Chiweenie girl, Dobbie!

Dobbie really enjoyed playing with Hondo and exploring around the ranch, too.

Hondo loves to sit on your shoes. He’s so precious!

As the sun began to go down, we let the horses eat their dinner, while we headed out for some four-wheelin’!

This was my first time ever on a four-wheeler, so Gerald accompanied me for the first 20 minutes of our ride around the ranch. It was so awesome fun! But there was a small learning curve and some crazy stops, starts and inconsistent speed until I figured it all out. Gerald was very patient and pretty amused with my silliness. We didn’t stop laughing the entire time.

This was Hondo’s first four-wheeler ride, too. He loved it, but he loved it so much that he fell asleep after 20 minutes and ended up falling off!

Thankfully, we were going slow and he wasn’t hurt.

But, Kendra and I left Hondo and Gerald back at the house and the two of of us headed out to ride the country roads around her ranch.

We ended up four-wheeling over 6 miles and finally got back to the ranch after dark. My chin was frozen, but my smile was huge and warm! What a fabulous day! 

Chickens, Mules, Donkeys, Ponies, Bulls, Carts and Wagons…Oh My!

 

My daughter and I had a great time recently with some friends of ours during a ‘Show and Tell’ type of event at our local Tractor Supply Store.

Several groups and individuals showed up to share some of their interests and amazing animals.

But first my daughter and I stopped off at our local feed store for a Poultry Swap, where we had hoped to sell (or, heck! Even give-away!) our sneaky attack rooster, Paul Revere. There were lots of people there selling chicks, pullets, hens and roosters. There were also farm dogs and puppies, kittens, rabbits and ducks and geese, along with locally produced food and products, too. We set up our rooster with a sign that said “1 1/2 year old Blue Wyandotte Rooster ~ Make an Offer”.

We had lots of folks walk by and admire Paul, and one lady wanted to do a swap for a hen. But a man showed up within the first half hour and offered me $5……SOLD!

I almost bought a couple Japanese Silkie pullets, because I love them so much, and our Mrs. Cotton is already 4 years old and I would like to get some more Silkies to take her place when she goes up to the great coop in the sky.

Anyway, I stayed strong and didn’t come home with anymore birds, but after we left the Poultry Swap, we swung by Sonic to have some lunch and we waited in the drive-thru behind a cow.

My daughter loved this and wanted to know what his owners were going to be ordering for her to eat. We were pretty sure it was not a hamburger!

We left Sonic and stopped by our local Tractor Supply to visit with some of friends in the Rio Grande Mule and Donkey Association, The New Mexico Ladies Aside, and The Enchantment Driving Association.

My friend Linda was there on her mule, riding aside.

She and her group, New Mexico Ladies Aside, won a blue ribbon in the New Mexico State Fair Parade this year, for the best parade group!

My friend Kelli is also a member of New Mexico Ladies Aside.

Kelli was there with one of her donkeys and was happy to let Jen give him a hug.

Or two……..(Awwww!)

And then Kelli and Linda invited Jen to try out the Western Side-Saddle.

And I even took a turn, too!

 

I’d just like to say that that saddle was very comfy. I sat in it a long time…until my daughter asked me to dismount so she could have another turn. *grin*

My friend Diana was there, too.

I’ve now ridden in her cart pulled by Miss Dixie and ridden with her and her mare Glory. She’s a nice gal, and she brought along her daughter and daughter’s friend that day.

 

And Diana was giving cart rides to the public, too.

 

Jen was thrilled to be pulled around Tractor Supply by Miss Dixie, in Diana’s cart.

 

There was also a guy there selling locally produced honey.

And you can bet I came home with some! I love supporting local folks. Papa Bear lives less than 5 miles from my house and it’s not too far-fetched that his bees could have visited my peach and apple trees this Spring!

There were also a couple of 13 and 14 year old bull riders there, too.

Hunter Salter and Justin Neil had racked up quite a few buckles since they first began doing rodeos when they were basically babies.

They brought a Buckin’ Barrel for folks to try out (And no, I didn’t try it!)

I was impressed with how very polite they were, too. True cowboys, those two!

 

And they even brought along their favorite bulls.

And invited Jen to feed them some cookies.

Nothing like a kiss from a little bull!

 

Before long, several of my friends were getting hungry and thirsty, so they asked if I’d mind taking one of them to Sonic, just a mile down the road, to pick up some food and drinks and bring them back.

My friend Allen stopped by before we left and tried out the Western Side-Saddle. Kelli thought it was hilarious!

My friend Allen, is a well-known mule owner/driver/rider in our area. He and his two sons brought a team of mules to share with our community.

His 16 year old son, Cody is a highly skilled mule driver, too.

Allen teased me that he could probably get to Sonic faster than we could in my van, and that we should ride with him. I thought he was joking……but he wasn’t!

And he really did drive to Sonic, and would have pulled into Sonic when we did, if he didn’t get stuck behind the red light!

Yep, he drove his wagon and mules right through town and into the Sonic Drive-Thru!

And they stopped to place their order.

And of course, I had to hop out for a photo or two! *grin*

Is this cool, or what?? Allen was thrilled to have these photos, because he drives his mules all over town including Walmart and Sonic, but had no photos to prove it. Now he does! *grin*

Those mules were fast! They followed us right through the intersection in town!

And then got a little slow on the way back to Tractor Supply (Allen said that was because he and his son were occupied with their Sonic shakes).

Yep, his two sons drive the wagon, too. They’ve been driving mules since they were 5 years old!

Allen and his older son, Cody invited Jen and I to go for a wagon ride around Tractor Supply and down the road. Cody, who is only 16 yrs old, drove the mules!

I love living here in our rural mountains. I love the great folks in our tight-knit community and I especially enjoy having such wonderful agricultural opportunities right in my backyard. And Tractor Supply Store was generously supportive to everyone by providing awnings, corrals, shavings, buckets and water for humans and animals.

What an awesomely fun day!!