My local riding group organized a group riding event in a county open space area not far from my house. Because the trail head has not been well-developed for parking of horse trailers yet, we got permission from Founder's Ranch, home of the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS), to park on their property and ride out from there.
Two of our trail guides, Ray and Martha.
The road to the official trail head is actually that dirt one over on the left in the below photo. The entrance is gated and was actually quite challenging to open due to the tangle of twisted wire.
Our group consisted of mostly short eared equines. But we did have one long eared equine that was as cute as could be.
We had one rider, Mike, that was ponying a horse (on the right), and our other trail guide was Michael, over on the left.
We started off with a larger group and lost 4 riders within the first 15 minutes. Two left because their horses were green to group rides and were proving to be a challenge. Not sure why the other two riders turned around and returned to their trailers.
I didn't mind that we lost four riders, though. I prefer riding in smaller groups.
I think my Apache mare was aware that her barn was just over those ridges in the distance. Even farther in the distance, we could see the top of the Sandia Mountains.
I had invited my friend Yvonne to join me on this ride, and I gave she and her mare a ride in my rig.
Yvonne and Etta Bay bringing up the rear.
I have known Mike for over 6 years, because we both used to compete in ACTHA competitive trail rides. Now he mainly rides trails on his paso fino horses.
Apache loves to bushwhack, so we had fun riding off trail and taking photos of our group.
It was a gorgeous day and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.
The views to the east, from the top of the mountain were amazing!
And although the views were incredible, the tree clearing that had been done to control forest fires, was not.
I would not ride this area on a hot summer day as it would be brutally hot. We rode it in March and it was still uncomfortably warm out in the open, without the shade from any trees.
We rode for about an hour and a half, and then started looking for a rest stop/lunch spot.
Ok, excuse me little rant. But it must be said.
These riders have absolutely no idea to do a truly enjoyable ride with a picnic lunch stop. In the past, this group typically rides non-stop for 2-3 hours, without any rest stop or lunch. To me, that is just sad and such a waste of wonderful day spent with your horse and riding buddies.
People! Pack a lunch! Pack some wine even. At the very least, a cold drink! Stop for a rest and a leisurely lunch on the trail. Find a beautiful shady spot surrounded by pretty trees with lovely views, if you can. A good log or a boulder to sit on, or rest your back against, makes a lunch spot perfect!
And, most importantly, tie up your horses and let them have a rest, too. Why stand around holding a lead rope while you try to choke down a piece of jerky? Give your horse and yourself a rest away from each other! Teach them to tie quietly and to take advantage of their tied time to rest. This is a good quality of every good trail horse!
So...do it!
Yep, so there they all are. Down the hill, holding onto their horses' lead ropes, while the riders try to eat in the hot sun.
Now, notice where my friend Yvonne and I are sitting while we enjoy our gourmet lunches.
Yeah.....not standing around in the hot sun, while holding onto our horses.
We know how to do lunch right!
While we were sitting under the shade of the trees, enjoying our lunch and wine, Ray rode over to say hello. After he dismounted, he even came over to join us and admitted we had a good idea.
After a very nice lunch stop (for some of us anyway), we mounted back up and continued down the trail.
Trail Selfie!
We rode sort of a lollipop route, in that we did a loop in the middle, but rode the same section of trail at the beginning and end. I don't mind riding the same route back, because the views are often different.
It was a little challenging riding back, because our lead rider allowed his gaited horse to get excited and ride at a fast pace to return to the trailers, and everyone ended up getting spaced pretty far apart, which meant that some horses got anxious and started speeding up. Some riders were even letting their horses trot and canter back to the trailers.
Ummm....not cool.
We ended up having to let our horses trot to catch up, too because they were getting wound up watching other horses race ahead. But Yvonne's hat blew off, so we needed to stop so she could get it. Thankfully Ray heard us call out to stop and he offered to dismount to pick her hat up for her, but it was challenging to keep our horses from prancing and dancing when they knew that the rest of the group had left us behind.
We finally caught up with the rest of the group at the trail head gate, which needed to be opened. So, the rest of the group were standing there waiting for someone to open it for them. I made Apache walk at a controlled pace back to the trail head, but it was a brisk walk for sure. She was relieved to see the rest of the group waiting at the gate to be let out, instead of all the way back at the horse trailer parking area.
But even after Martha opened the gate for everyone, one rider rode away back to the horse trailers, instead of waiting for everyone to get through the gate and for Martha to remount.
I find this incredibly inconsiderate!
In the end, we had an enjoyable ride, but this just confirms why I rarely ride in large groups with people I don't know well.
Thankfully, it was just a 2 1/2 hour trail ride, and I was back home in just a few minutes after loading up our ponies.
Life is Still Good!
