Post Parade Lunch and Trail Ride

 

This is the Every Trail Interactive map that shows our entire parade and trail ride route. Feel free to zoom in and get a better view of the route we rode that day. 

Christmas de Caballos Parade

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Albuquerque, New Mexico

 

 

These red pushpins on the map below show our parade route, south on Corrales Rd to Jones Rd, which leads to the Corrales Community Center and Top Form Arena. The pin at the end of Jones Rd shows the Skate Park, which Apache had concerns about because of all the skateboarders there that day.

The Push Pins also show where were had to ride from Jones Rd, north alongside the busy Corrales Rd to get to Village Pizza, between Chavez Lane and La Entrada.

And then finally you can see where we left Village Pizza and crossed the road to La Entrada and rode alongside the roadway west towards the Ditch Bank trails. The northernmost push pin is where we had to walk alongside a fence with three very large, barking and lunging dogs.  

 

A close-up view showing the location of Village Pizza, and the location where we tied up our horses. The top pushpin shows where we crossed Corrales Rd to get to La Entrada Rd to ride west to the Ditch Bank trails.

Village Pizza

 

Once we arrived at Top Form Arena and the Corrales Community Center, it was time to turn around and make our way to Village Pizza for lunch.

This was when Apache and I had our first and only “moment” of the day. We ended up in front and in the lead, riding east on Jones Rd., and Apache got a little excited and wanted to keep breaking into a trot, which I felt was unsafe because of all of the other horses, cars and pedestrians all around us. At first I became a little worried about her forward, prancy energy, but my instinct kicked in, and I just slid my hand down and one-reined Apache around to the back of our little group, where she was happy to return to walking calmly and quietly.

When we arrived at the end of Jones Rd, we had a little problem……

Problem was, the parade was over, and traffic was permitted to drive on Corrales Rd, so we had to ride across Corrales Rd, with the assistance of a Cross-Walking Guard. And then we had to ride north on Corrales Rd., alongside traffic, for about 1/4 mile to reach Village Pizza. This was a first time experience for me, and it was a little nerve-racking to ride our horses alongside so much traffic. But our horses were all well-behaved, brave and calm, and we finally arrived at Village Pizza.

The 5 of us dismounted and hitched up our horses to the trees and rail on the side of the restaurant, and then we mosied on inside for a yummy lunch of pizza, soup and salad…..with our equestrian discount, of course.

Kendra and I ate outside as I suffered from a claustrophobic hot flash and the restaurant was just too stuffy and hot inside. Our friend Matt, who was at Village Pizza for lunch, too, took a photo of Kendra and I outside on the patio enjoying our lunch.

 

And I took a photo of Matt right after he mounted up on his sweet Clydesdale gelding, Prince. 

 

Matt is a member of the New Mexico Mounted Search and Rescue and he and his fellow NMMSAR crew were at the parade to maintain safety along the parade route. Here is a photo Matt shared with me, taken at the Top Form Arena after the parade.

All of our ponies were happy to wait patiently outside Village Pizza until we returned with carrots from the salad bar. And Melissa’s family was there for lunch, too, and had brought a bag of apples for all of our horses. Apache was a very happy girl!
Cute photo of our horses along with Antonio and Melissa.

These two push pins below show the section of La Entrada Rd where we rode alongside the roadway from Village Pizza, on Corrales Rd, to finally reach the Ditch Bank trails, which travel north to south in the center of the Village of Corrales.

 

After we left behind Village Pizza, we had to ride across Corrales Rd, which thankfully, had not one car on it when we crossed over to La Entrada Rd.

We had to ride alongside La Entrada Rd for about a half mile to reach the ditch bank trails, which was a little unnerving because there was no shoulder. But it was an uneventful and quiet ride with only one or two cars that passed us. Melissa’s family decided to ride along behind us to keep any cars from riding too close to us, and I thought that was very nice of them. Especially since, at one point, we had to ride alongside a fence with three large barking, lunging dogs, and Apache decided she felt safer riding along the edge of the roadway until we were past those dogs.

And then we finally reached the beautiful tree-lined, sandy, flat ditch-bank trails. 

The ditch-bank trails are wonderfully relaxing even with the noise and activity from dogs barking from behind fences, hikers, bike riders, and home-owners working in their backyards.

Melissa and her boy Pal.

We saw some beautiful views from the trails, along with ducks and migrating Sand Hill Cranes. Apache was very interested in the flocks of noisy cranes, especially when they all took flight at once from the field.

Apache and I both enjoyed the tree-lined trails and riding along slowly at a walk. But we also had some fun trotting to catch up with our friends when we’d get too far behind.

We rode past a few pastures with galloping, excited horses that neighed and whinnied at us as we rode past. Apache was very looky, but not at all concerned. The only time she seemed a little worried was when we rode past a pasture with a lone donkey that followed us along the fence-line. Apache didn’t like when we left the donkey behind and kept wanting to turn her head to keep an eye on it. 

 

But mostly the ditch-bank trails were just wonderfully relaxing.

We had to cross many little side roads, which were mostly quiet and empty of cars, although we did come upon a few bicyclists and some cars that respectfully slowed down and stopped far back from where we were to cross the road.

 

Shadow Riders at Sunset.

Apache seemed to enjoy riding the ditch-bank trails as much as I did.

We weren’t the only horseback riders riding along the ditch-banks. Everyone we met were very friendly. And it was great to see fellow horseback riders out enjoying the trails and their horses in the beautiful weather.

This building had mirrored windows and I just had to try and take a photo with my mare and I reflected in them.

We finally reached Wagner Farms and rode east towards the horse trailer parking and parade staging area.

Altogether, with the parade route, the ride to Village Pizza and the ditch-bank trails, we rode just over 6 miles. It was an awesome day of dreams come true with good friends and our special horses.

This is the Every Trail Interactive map that shows our entire parade and trail ride route. Feel free to zoom in for close-ups.

Christmas de Caballos Parade

EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking near Albuquerque, New Mexico

Christmas de Caballos Parade

 

Last Sunday was the Christmas de Caballos Parade, an annual equine-only parade held in Corrales, the Horse Capital of New Mexico. The parade is a fundraiser hosted by the US Marine Corps Reserve to collect and distribute toys for children who might otherwise not have any presents for Christmas.

Some of you might recall my post last year: Caballos de Christmas Parade Nov 2011, when I attended this special equine parade with my daughter for the first time. After the parade was over, I vowed that I would ride my Apache mare in the Christmas de Caballos Parade the following year, 2012. And 2012 sped past and before I knew it, it was time for us to ride in our first parade together! 

 

I knew beforehand that this equine parade typically has over 100 horses, mules and donkeys riding and driving in it for the 2 1/2 mile long parade route on the main road through the Village of Corrales. So, I have to be honest and admit that I did have quite a bit of nerves beforehand. It didn’t help that the night before a cold rain storm blew in up here and when I went up to feed Apache in the morning, she was very energetic, snorty, and ready to run at the slightest gust of wind. She was also covered in an inch of mud.

As I got to work grooming her, it continued to rain and I methodically brushed down my horse, trying to calm down my nerves and thinking that perhaps the parade would be canceled due to the nasty weather.

I was so engrossed in the grooming, that I was totally caught off guard when my neighbor’s filly whinnied and I looked down the hill to see what she was sounding the alarm for, and saw that my friend Kendra had arrived to come pick up me and my Apache! Yikes! I was still in my barn sweats, no make-up, and I still had bed-head!

I tossed all the brushes into the grooming bucket and ran down to the house and told Kendra to wait 10 minutes and I’d be ready! Thankfully, I had loaded up everything I was taking to the parade in the back of my van, so all I had to do was drive it out and load it into Kendra’s truck and horse trailer.

Later she told me that, when she saw me wearing my barn clothes and looking like I just woke up, she thought I was going to back out and not go to the parade with her. I have to be honest. The thought crossed my mind! But I made a promise to myself earlier this year that when new experiences and opportunities to ride my horse in new locations, presented themselves to me, that I would never turn them down. Life is too short and I want to embrace life’s opportunities and not wonder ‘what if?’.

So, I scrambled to get ready, got dressed, gulped down a cup of tea, grabbed a muffin and my make-up bag and got my tack, hay, parade decor and my horse loaded up in less than 15 minutes! And we were on our way out of the rainy, cold, wet mountains down into the sunny, warm, Rio Grande Valley!

What??? Yes, that’s right. As soon as we left behind Tijeras Canyon and entered Albuquerque, the sun was shining and it felt at least 15 degrees warmer! We turned around and looked at our mountains, and the entire top half was covered in dark rain clouds!

We arrived at the Trailer Parking and Parade Staging Grounds at Wagner's Farm Corn Maze, 2 hours before the parade was to begin. It was Kendra’s good idea to get there early and we were one of the first 5 horse trailers to arrive. But this was a very good thing, because it allowed us all to take our time preparing our horses and ourselves for the parade. We were able to watch all the other trailers and equines show up, and our horses were relaxed and calm while looking around and munching their hay.

I decided to just be low-key in our decorations because I wanted to just focus on riding in our first parade. And not knowing how Apache would respond to all the new sights and scents, I didn’t want to throw on a bunch of over-the-top Christmas decorations that might send her over to the top.

I needn’t have worried about any of that, though. 

 

A few days before the parade, I wrapped Apache’s breast collar and headstall in shiny red ribbon, and tied on a few, small red velvet bows. I recycled an old Christmas dress that my daughter had grown out of years ago, and turned it into a festive little rump rug. I braided Apache’s tail and tied on some ribbons. And then I tied on two stockings and called it good. I think she looked very pretty!

As for me, I just wore a red vest over a white shirt and some black breeches and my black fringe half chaps. I had bought a red helmet cover a few weeks ago, and sewed one some white feather trim to replicate Mrs. Santa’s red and white hat.

And Kendra was also basic in decorating her Bailey Boy, too. She was going with her Irish heritage theme and simply decorated Bailey and herself in pretty tartan plaid. Kendra also surprised me by wearing a helmet cover that she had made herself. That’s girl’s got talent!

 

While we were getting our horses ready, my friend Steve came over to visit and also give me directions on the lovely trail route we should take to get back to our horse trailers, after the parade was over. Steve is the president of Corrales Horse and Mule People (CHAMP) and is one of the parade organizers, too.

 

I was a bundle of nerves when it was time to mount up, but Apache mare was calm and relaxed. She seems to know when I need her quiet, strength and bravery, and I have learned when she needs mine. She and I have come a long way together, to be sure. 

 

We stood and walked around in the center of the Parade Staging area watching all the wagons, carriages and carts begin to get lined up to begin the parade.

I don’t know if Apache has ever seen a donkey, mule, horse or mini pulling a cart, carriage or wagon, but she didn’t seem at all nervous or worried. Well, there was one instance where this beautiful black carriage, in the photo below, being pulled by a very energetic, high stepping, handsome Friesian, circled around us and Apache got a little concerned and wanted to see what they were doing back there. So I decided to turn her around and have her “chase” the carriage, and we followed it for a short distance until it went full-circle and parked in front of us. That seemed to be a good idea, because afterwards, we just calmly returned to standing and watching.    

 

There was one other instance where Apache was definitely concerned or interested in the line-up of equine-drawn wagons, and that was when the old west style stagecoach got lined up in front of us with 4 huge draft horses with festive, loud jungle bells and a jolly Santa Claus perched right up on top. Ho Ho Ho!

Apache just stood and watched, though, with her ears perked forward. Perhaps she wanted Santa to bring her a candy cane? 

 

We have ridden with a mule or two in the past, but never donkeys. And never donkeys AND mules. I wasn’t sure how Apache would deal with the weird braying and these unusual creatures, but she was just curious…and calm.

 

I wish I knew Apache’s background. She tends to take everything in stride and is calm, patient, brave, and willing. While we waited for the driving groups, breed groups, and riding groups to get lined up, Apache helped me relax and begin to have some fun.  

 

Kendra doesn’t know Bailey’s history either, but he was also very calm and relaxed while we were waiting for the parade to begin.

 

As I relaxed, I began to smile and laugh more, and was excited to finally ride my mare in a parade!

 

My friend Elyssa would be riding with us. She was riding her beautiful paint draft, Holly in their first parade together…AND she only had 30 rides on this mare….she is green! But you would have never known it.

Later Elyssa told me that she wanted to ride with us because she knew that the calm nature of my Apache mare would help her mare stay calm. That made me feel very proud of my sweet girl. *grin* 

 

 

 We finally got lined up with the friends we were riding with during the parade: Melissa’s niece V riding Messiah, Melissa riding Pal, Me on Apache, and Kendra on Bailey. Taking the photo was Melissa’s boyfriend, Antonio, riding Cochise, who we were also riding with.

 

All lined up and ready to ride in the parade!

 

And we’re off!! Riding in our first parade!!! Woot!

 Thank you to Betty for this next photo. She and her hubby Dan were there as the official photographers of the Christmas de Caballos parade. Go check out their blog post with lots of gorgeous photos from the parade, including a few more of me (lol!): Dan and Betty's Christmas de Caballos Parade Blog Post

 

And yes I took photos while riding in the parade. I wanted to remember this special day through all the photos.

 

Kendra and Bailey…..We’re really riding in our first parade!! Whoohoo! Kendra had also remembered to bring candy to throw to all the kids along the parade route, but every time she reached into her horn bags, Bailey would try to stop and turn his head for a treat. *grin*

 

We rode past a winery…..and it was very tempting to take a detour for a wine tasting…or two *giggle*

 

The majority of riders and cart drivers were way up in the front of the parade, but our little group of friends chose to ride way in the back for a more relaxed pace. We rode in front of the Lead Line group, basically parents ponying their kids in the parade. Those kids were having a great time, too. We saw lots of smiles back there.

 My friend Melissa taking a photo of me, taking a photo of her!

 

There were a few people who live along the parade route that chose to drive across the road and cut through, even though they weren't supposed to. But Apache didn’t mind at all, not even when bicyclists rode up behind us and past us, or when dogs barked and lunged at us or when people ran into the middle of the road to take photos of us, or when candy was thrown over our heads and in front of us. She wasn’t even concerned when we rode past an 8 foot tall metal T-Rex dinosaur sculpture in someone’s front yard! She was happy to just stroll along and I was happy and having lots of fun waving to everyone and wishing them a Merry Christmas.

Elyssa and her green, draft paint mare, Holly were having a great time, too.

 

I’m pretty sure Kendra was breaking some kind of law when I took this photo. *grin*

 

I wasn’t sure if Apache had ever seen a mini before…and not just a mini…but a mini pulling a little cart. I figured we wouldn’t get to see any since they started at the front of parade. But about halfway through the 2 1/2 mile parade, we came up this cute little trio. Apache wasn’t concerned about them at all.  

 

I thought they were adorable!

 

Thanks to Kendra for this photo. I love how Antonio and Melissa’s niece V, are holding hands, and that you can see my mare’s tail braid.

 Kendra, ‘guess what?’ ‘You’re riding Bailey in a parade!’ *grin*

 

I thought it was cool that we were riding past the road that leads to the Historic old San Ysidro Church. A few years ago, I took my daughter and neighbor Val to the annual Mudders Day Event where friends and neighbors come together to help mix and apply adobe mud to the walls of the Old Church. You can check out the post from that day: Happy Mudders Day!

 

I just want to take this moment to say how proud I am of my Apache mare. She is a rock star! She is the wind beneath my winds and she makes my dreams come true!

 

This smiling young man is Filipe Masetti. He is fulfilling a dream and riding from Canada to Brazil entirely on horseback. His website is chronicling his entire journey, including his time spent in New Mexico: Journey America ~ Land of Enchantment 

It was an honor to finally meet him face-to-face, ever since I first heard about him about a month ago via Mikey on Facebook, and started following his blog.

It was also very interesting reading about his impressions on his journey riding through Albuquerque, which is something that Apache and recently did when we rode through the Rio Grande Bosque and hitched our ponies up at Village Pizza for lunch.

Here is that post: Journey America ~ Riding Through Albuquerque    

 

And now I can say I actually rode with a real Long Rider!

                     Melissa, Kendra, Me and Filipe Masetti

 

                     I don’t think I stopped smiling all day! 

 

Apache was checking out the hay for sale at Wagner's Farm Store.

My friend Cheryl (on the right) and her daughter Rachel (on the left) riding in front of us.

Lots of happy, smiling, festively decorated parade folks and their horses!

 

There were more parade spectators lining the parade route as we got closer to the center of the Village of Corrales. And lots of kids waiting for riders to throw them candy. Next time I will remember to pack candy in my saddle bags *grin*

 

The famous, and most delicious Perea's Tijuana Bar and Restaurant just up ahead on the left. Housed in one of the oldest buildings in Corrales, a 200 year plus old structure constructed of “terrones” or thick slabs of earth rather than adobes, Perea’s is not only one of the very best traditional New Mexican restaurants in the Albuquerque area, but in the entire state of New Mexico. If you ever visit New Mexico, this restaurant should be on your Must Visit list!

Riding along through the Village of Corrales with some old friends from when I used to ride Dacodah's horses at ARA down at San Acacia. This is Tim and Marilyn riding their two mares, whom they board down at San Acacia at Acacia Riding Adventures.  

 

Tim and Marilyn and Kendra waiting at a bottleneck towards the end of the parade.

 

Lots of parade spectators with cameras in the Village of Corrales. I was taking photos of them taking photos of me. *grin*

 

Riding past Wells Fargo bank with a beautifully decorated horse and rider behind us. 

 

As we neared the end of the parade, The Top Form Public Equestrian Arena, I didn’t take anymore photos as it got more crowded and bottle-necked and I needed to focus on my horse and everything around us. We did have a few moments of concern when a few horses argued with their riders and some other horses weren’t under control. Apache was also worried about the Skate Park that we had to ride past to get to the Top Form Arena, but we managed to make it past calmly.

After the parade, the parade organizers invited everyone to gather together for a huge group photo, but being surrounded by 219 equines (the final tally) and riders just didn’t appeal to me at all. So once we got to the arena we decided to turn around and make our way to Village Pizza for lunch……….which turned out to be quite the adventure!

 

                      (Thanks for the photo, Betty!)

 

To Be Continued…………………..