Riding San Lorenzo Canyon

 

I just returned from a fabulous Cowgirl weekend and am still sorting through all the amazing photos that my friends and I took on Saturday and Sunday.

(Seven of us posing on a ledge beside a great rock monolith nicknamed the “Wall of Warmth”. Two of our cowgirl friends were down below taking the photos.)

So for now, I’ll just share a few special photos and will create a post later this week.

These photos are all from San Lorenzo Canyon, which is BLM Land located in the south central part of New Mexico, not far from Socorro, NM.

I have ridden someone else’s horse and hiked in San Lorenzo many times. But it was on my Bucket List to ride my own horse here. And Apache was a rock star all day. I was so proud of her!

There were 10 of us ladies riding together and some friendly hikers offered to take a group photo of all of us in the main canyon.

A view from between my mare’s ear’s of Neptune Canyon, a side canyon located not far from the main canyon.

Riding through the main canyon….

My friend Latana and her lovely mule Lilly drove up from Las Cruces to ride with us, too.

 

My dear friend Kendra was there, too. Her Bailey Boy and my Apache Mare are BFFs.

 

San Lorenzo Canyon is only an hour and half from my house, so I’m sure I will ride there again, but we took enough photos to last a lifetime! Well, in a place so gorgeous and stunning, there are photo opportunities everywhere!!

Memories of San Acacia, NM

 

I created the collage below from photos taken during some of my trail rides down in San Acacia, New Mexico earlier this past year.

I have to credit quite a bit of my self-confidence, sense of adventure, and new skills to my time spent riding the horses at Acacia Riding Adventures.

I cantered through wide canyons, trotted up and down steep rocky hills, explored narrow side canyons, galloped across sandy arroyos, and splashed in the Rio Grande

But as much fun as I had in San Acacia riding someone else’s horses, it was time to get back on my own mare’s wide, comfy back again and transfer the self-confidence, sense of adventure, and newfound skills to riding my own horse in new and exciting places.

My Apache Mare was getting bored just hanging out at home while I rode other horses. She wanted to head out on the trails with me, too.

So, that’s just what we did.

The horses that I was riding, in the photos below, are Splendor, the grey mare, and Ranger, the bay gelding.

The Rest of the Weekend

 

After our dinner of steak, corn and ice cold margaritas after 7 hours in the saddle marking trail for the back to back ACTHA rides, I retired to my tent for the night and slept like a log.

The next morning, after breakfast, we saddled up with the plan to head back and finish marking the last 2 miles of trail that we had ran out of pink ribbons the day before. It was just going to be Karen, Priscilla, Shane, Shelley and I on Friday’s ride. Except Shelley got this crazy idea to ride one of Dacodah’s green horses that day, instead of her own horse, Macho. I had a bad feeling about it from the start, because this horse, Guru, was making it known that he was not in a good mood and didn’t want to be ridden. He was twitchy, nervous, spooky and highly reactive, blowing back and rearing off the rail several times. I told Shelley I didn’t think she should ride Guru that day, especially since the next day was her birthday and 2 days of ACTHA rides that she was hosting. But she’s pretty stubborn and said that if she didn’t ride him that day, he would think that he could get out of being ridden anytime he acted up when tied.

So, she mounted up and things seemed to be ok. We even rode through the village and stopped off at Karen’s house to talk to some of the remodelers that were working on her front patio. But we never did make it out to the trails because just a short distance away from the horse paddocks, Guru lost his mind and went bronc. I was right behind Shelley and watched as Guru reared up, hopped a few steps forward, then humped up his back and went to bucking and twisting. Shelley seemed to stick in the saddle and I thought that she might not get tossed if only Guru would stop, but he didn’t. He wanted her off and wasn’t going to stop until she was on the ground. She landed on the gravel road with a thud and she began moaning and didn’t move at all.

Shane, Priscilla, Karen and I hopped off our horses and tied them to the nearby pipe fence. Shelley suspected that perhaps something had broken. Her chest and ribs hurt from hitting the saddle horn, her right hip and back was painful, and her helmet had made contact with the ground. So, Shane hopped on his horse and rode back to the schoolhouse to get the truck and after Shelley was loaded into the truck, I took Splendor back to the schoolhouse, too. Karen and Priscilla were going to head out to the trails and finish marking those trails that we had ran out of pink ribbon for, and I was going to drive Shelley to the Socorro ER.

A sign at the ambulance entrance to the ER. If you’re going to be bitten by a rattler, at least you’d be in a safer place at the ER.

We spent the rest of the afternoon at the ER waiting for test results and x-rays, and once the drugs started working, Shelley and l enjoyed quite a few laughs.

Here she was in the ER calling her hubby to let him know what had happened. She was crying and laughing.

Amazingly, all of the test results showed that nothing was broken and she was fine to go home with crutches and pain meds. We asked the doctor, also a horse person, if Shelley could still enjoy some margaritas that night even though she was also taking pain meds. I love the way that he answered us: “If it was me, I would”.

And that’s exactly what we did once we got back to San Acacia and grilled up some more steak and heated up some cowboy beans. When I finally headed to my tent that night, I slept like a log once again.

~~~~~~~~~~

Good thing, too. Because the next day was the first ACTHA ride of the weekend, and even though I was supposed to ride out to an obstacle as a judge, Shelley needed me to stick around close to help her back at the base camp.

Rider’s Briefing with Shelley.

 

First there was the Rider’s Briefing…warning riders of some of the wildlife that might be seen while out on the trails. Like this rattlesnake that Dacodah had seen the day before.

So, I did Gate Control, checking names and numbers, making sure that riders and horses left the start gate, spaced 15 minutes apart, in the groups they had signed up for.

That day’s ride theme was Birthday Party, in honor of Shelley’s Birthday, and she asked everyone to dress up in their best ‘party animal’ outfit. I decided to wear my leopard riding tights that were custom made for me by The Tights Lady. And since I wasn’t riding that day, I just placed my helmet cover on the top of my straw hat.

About 2 1/2 hours after the last riders left the start gate, I went back out to the finish line and prepared to judge the Soundness Test as riders and horses returned to the old schoolhouse again.

When all the riders and horses had come back to the old schoolhouse base camp, and had untacked and fed their horses, it was time to gather together for our Potluck and Birthday party.

Including the delicious Birthday Cake, too!

And Shelley’s two paint donkeys, that she had recently bought from a gal in eastern NM, had arrived just the day before. They were the best Birthday Presents!

 

Shelley had handed out water pistols to everyone and between margaritas, wine, and getting spritzed by water from friends, it was such a fun evening. When my head finally hit my pillow that night in my tent, I once again slept like a log.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was going to head home in the morning, but Shelley had a judge do a no-call-no-show, so I offered to stick around, as long as I could leave as soon as I returned after judging my obstacle, so I could take my kids up to the top of the Sandia Mountains to watch the Annular ‘Ring of Fire’ Solar Eclipse.

But after 3 nights of sleeping on the ground, my lower back was screamin’, so I asked Dacodah’s friend Mike, who is a Chiropractor for the Air Force, if he would adjust me so I could move more comfortable before I mounted up to head out to my obstacle. Mike always brings his folding Chiro table to San Acacia because Dacodah always needs adjustments from his hours in the saddle, horse training, hay baling, and farrier work. After he adjusted me, I felt so good!! And then Mike saddled up to compete in the ACTHA ride.

My young friend Hunter, one of Dacodah’s Wrangler’s tried on my helmet just for fun.

And then after getting the horses saddled a small group of us, including Karen, Priscilla and I, headed out to judge our obstacles.

My buddy Shane, also another one of Dacodah’s Wranglers, was my Assistant Judge. Our obstacle was ‘The Downhill’. See him up there at the top of the hill?

Shane was up at the top of the hill to brief the riders on what was expected for the Downhill Obstacle (Pleasure Division: walk down slowly in 30 sec. Open Division: walk down slowly and stop at the pink ribbon, halfway down, and stand for a count of 5 seconds, then continue to the bottom of the hill.

I was at the bottom of the hill with my clipboard and timer…and Shane’s horse, Ember, and my horse Splen Splen! She was such a good girl. So patient. I rewarded both of them with lots of cookies. hehe!

 

Shane also showed me some beautiful pottery shards he had found while out riding around San Acacia. Wow!

And after all the riders and horses had completed our obstacle, we mounted back up and returned to the old San Acacia schoolhouse. Riding back from our obstacle, Shane had me ride in front of he and Ember, and I enjoyed one of the longest and most exhilarating canters across the desert mesa that I have ever had. It was also exciting because it was one of the first times that I’ve ever felt that comfortable, secure and confident…and free….while cantering! It felt like we were flying! I was grinning from ear to ear and laughing from pure joy!

If that had been the end of my weekend, it would have been perfect, but I still had to read my judge’s scores to the computer entry volunteer, then pack up all of my stuff and then drive the hour and half back home, pick up my kids, and meet the Boy Scout Leader to drive up to the top of the 10,678ft high Sandia Mountains so we could watch the Ring of Fire Solar Eclipse.

What an awesome…but busy day!     

      

Marking Trail

 

Just another boring post about me, on horseback, while marking trail for another ACTHA ride.

I sure am glad that I’m just fine about creating blog posts just for me, as a sort of personal diary, because it seems that most folks aren’t taking the time to stop by my blog for a visit anymore. Oh well.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 46 years is that you just gotta do what makes you happy, live your life to it’s fullest, and not worry about what others think or wonder if they are even paying attention.

So, that’s what I’m gonna do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last weekend was one crazy busy weekend for me, and one heck of a great time, too!

On Thursday, I packed up my tent, sleeping bag, food, drinks, and all of my riding gear…enough to get me through 4 days. And I headed down to San Acacia for a full 4 day weekend of riding, marking trail, and judging obstacles for two back-to-back ACTHA rides. And I was also excited about celebrating two of my dear friend’s birthdays (Shane and Shelley) with a BBQ potluck and party on Saturday night.

On Thursday I spent over 7 hours in the saddle marking trails for both Saturday and Sunday’s ACTHA rides.

 

The original plan was for 5 of us ladies (Kendra, Karen, Shelley, Jenny and Me, and also my buddy, Shane) to head out in the morning and mark 8 miles of trail, while planning the obstacles and their locations. Then we were going to ride back, have some lunch and perhaps a margarita, then head back out in the afternoon to mark Sunday’s 6 mile trail with some of the guys (Tim, Hunter and Dacodah)

But it didn’t quite work out that way. While we did connect later on in the day with the guys, we ended up staying out the entire day, and never made it back for lunch or that icy cold margarita. Thank goodness, I packed plenty of snacks and drinks in my saddle bags!

Here are some photos from that day:

Kendra waiting to start out on the trails, riding Echo the Arabian, one of Dacodah’s horses.

 

My friend Kendra riding Echo out on the trails. Echo is a young, green-broke, well-bred Arabian, supposedly worth about $10,000.

My friend Shelley and her horse Macho, and dog, Grommit. I just love this photo. It just confirms to me why I always have my camera within reach.

My friend Karen riding her horse Lady Bug, and caught in a typical silly moment.

My friend Jenny, riding Gracie, one of Dacodah’s horses, while practicing one of the obstacles we created: The Jump.

My buddy Shane (one of Dacodah’s Wranglers) riding Zia in the Rio Grande.

 

And me wearing my string of pink trail marking ribbons, while riding Dacodah’s horse Splendor, in the river.

We ladies (and Shane, too) sure had a great time riding together that day. What was supposed to be hard work, was just plain fun!

(Kendra, Karen, Jenny, and Shelley)

Karen putting a trail ribbon in Shelley’s horse, Macho’s forelock.

Shelley and Shane…the Birthday Kids!

 

Jenny and Shelley and I discussing the Jump Obstacle.

 

Shelley and Macho testing out the Jump Obstacle.

 

Shane scouting out some potential trails above us.

Kendra and Echo waiting for a turn on the Jump Obstacle.

 

Karen, Kendra and Shane riding through the desert.

 

Splendor asks, “Are you my Mother?” “No! You’re not my Mother! You’re a SNORT!!”

Before long, we arrive at the old Train Trestle Bridge spanning the Rio Salado Wash.

Here we are discussing the obstacle that we want to place here below the Trestle Bridge, with Shelley, Karen and Shane.

And then Shane gets up there and places a pink ribbon beneath the Train Trestle, to mark the location of the obstacle.

And we then realize that it’s getting too stinkin’ hot and decide that we should just hang out in the shade for a little while.

It doesn’t take us long to come to a group consensus that we should leave behind the Trestle Bridge and canter all the way down the Rio Salado Wash to the Rio Grande (off in the distance behind us, in the photo above). What a thrill, all 6 of us, cantering full speed through the sandy wash, until we finally reach the cooling waters of the river!

The horses were loving it! They took long deep drinks of the cool water then splashed around just for fun!

 

 

 

After we felt sufficiently cooled off, we finally caught up with the guys (Dacodah, Hunter, Tim, as well as one of Dacodah’s paying customers, too)

That’s Hunter right in front of me beside the river. And my friend Kendra in front of him.

 

As we rode along beside the river, we caught sight of a couple wild horses hanging out on a sandbar. How exciting!

Then we continued on down the trail, placing pink ribbons along the way.

 

And soon we crossed the river once again…and got close up to those same wild horses we had seen just a few minutes earlier!

 

Splendor got me to within 30 feet of these beautiful wild horses!! Check out that gorgeous albino!

That was beyond AWESOME!!!

But it was getting late in the day, and our shadows grew long.

But as the sun dipped lower in the sky, a nice cooling breeze blew in and made our trail traveling much more comfortable.

And although we still took the opportunity to take a rest in the shade…….

We continued to mark trail and discuss potential obstacles and their locations.

(Shelley and Kendra behind me)

(Dacodah, Kendra and Shelley….We just placed that pink ribbon…see it? On that dead shrub just above and to the right of Dacodah’s head)

Before we headed back across the river and completed our trail marking for Sunday’s ACTHA ride, we stopped by Mr. Baca’s gravesite.

 

Mr. Baca owned this land we were riding on, and it is now part of a Land Trust deeded out to the Sevillita Wildlife Preserve. We stopped by to say thank you to Mr. Baca for making it possible for us to ride on his beautiful land.

 

Rumor has it that one day some cowboys discovered Mr. Baca dead with 2 empty bottles of wine and his horse grazing nearby. They decided to bury him right where they found him. (The next day, some of us rode back to his grave while finishing up marking the trails, and left behind a full bottle of wine, just as a gratitude offering for Mr. Baca. I wonder if he drank that bottle of wine all gone?)

 

We were all very tired and hungry, after our long 7 hour day in the saddle.

But we still had a couple more miles to ride, and the Rio Grande to cross before we arrived back at the historic old San Acacia Schoolhouse, where we would soon be grilling steaks and corn and finally drinking those ice cold margaritas.

 

I could almost taste my delicious steak and that refreshing margarita. And Splendor was dreaming of her bucket of grain and a long roll in the sand.

 

As we trotted across the Rio Grande I managed to capture my last photo of the day…..

 

                                                  Yes. Life is Good.