Misty Fall Morning

This morning Kate and I headed out from the barn at dawn to beat the raindrops.  We had an amazing ride!  The air was fresh and clean, and the horses were glad to be out.  We decided to head to the Secret Garden to see the foliage.We weren't disappointed!

There is still a lot of color to come.

We let Didder and Allie graze in the big field.  I love the fog settled over the hills in the distance in this picture. It's pouring out now, so I'm sure glad we headed out so early to enjoy!

After Work Ride

It’s that wonderful time of the year when I can actually ride after work with friends. Norma and Cassie trailered over with Norma's Walkers to ride my trails. Didder was superb. He was the gentleman for meet and greet with the two girls, and he got along fine with them for the whole ride. He had no problem keeping up. Those girls are FAST. My companions are experienced horsewomen on experienced trail horses, so our options were open as far as where to go. We wound our way down through the woods, followed ITS-89 to the powerline and crossed onto a private trail. Norma and I chatted just about the whole time. We have known each other for many years, and everytime we cross each other’ path, we say, “We have to get together to go riding!” I went on one ride with her with the Mainely Gaiters, but this was nice, with only three of us. We could go whatever speed we desired, and whereever our little hearts desired. It was fun! We crossed several brooks and made our way down to the sandpit. Junebug took Cassie right into the little pond and played. She loved the water. We went back to the house and let the horses graze for a bit on the lawn, and then rode up the powerline. By the time our ride was almost over, it was sunset. Cassie had never personally met a Curly before, and she was impressed. He is cute and functional! He fell right in gaiting with the others…of course he doesn’t do that superfast running walk, but his foxtrot was certainly adequate for keeping up with the slower runwalk. Fun, fun, fun for me! And I think Didder had fun, too. We plan on doing this again.

Winter Riding Weekend #2 of the Year

I had a great time riding this weekend with family and friends! Saturday, Scott and I started our trade, where I teach Curena to ride and he teaches Zach to play guitar. Now that’s a win-win situation if ever there was one! Love my sister in law Curena. She hit it off with Al, who is just the best guy for making a beginner feel comfortable. Within an hour, we were out riding on the snow covered trails, and Al was taking good care of Curena. Don’t they look great together! We both had a ton of fun. Afterwards, Layla asked very politely if she could have a turn, so I saddled up Al again and gave her a thrill. That little girl giggle is music to my ears.

Sunday afternoon, I picked up my neighbor Deanna, and we took a few turns around Jason’s loops, avoiding the Steep Hill and any icy spots. The Lab gang came along and had a blast as usual. There were a lot of wildlife tracks, including fisher, so I hope my cat doesn’t wander too far from the barn. Ah-D had too much energy again, and he wanted to put it to bad use with the occasional fake spook. I must say though, overall he was very good, considering he has been cooped up in the paddock and our little traipses aren’t doing much to dissipate all that excess energy. Al was a good boy, and Deanna felt she did better with him today than she did last week. She is getting to know his quirks a bit better and can head him off at the pass when he tries to do the decision making.It is soooo nice to get out and about in the winter instead of sitting in the house like a slug. The days are just an itty bit longer, too, and Mother Nature is being kind with her 30 degree weekend weather.

Starting out the New Year Right!

in the woods of Poland,Maine and

My handsome boy posing on the shores of Estes Bog, Poland

Oh, wow, what a blast I had riding over the long weekend! I had a cyber ride New Year's Eve with Denise Conroy, founder of the RAC, and the other Curly Riders. Ah-D was FULL OF HIMSELF. The only thing that held him in check were the slippery conditions and the treats in my pocket. :)The Lab Gang was along, scampering here, there and everywhere, noses on full alert. New Years Day ride was pretty similar, except that I took both horses out for a spin. Ah-D was still wound, but I was still able to keep him in check and on the right track. It was fun taking Allie out for the first time in a long time for me. I did notice that he "walks right through" the bit and pays barely any attention to it, so we brushed up on that. He was pretty energetic and gave some fun trots and canters.

My best ride was definitely on Monday, when Deanna and I loaded up the horses late morning and headed over to Poland to ride with Ulla. Great company, great scenery, great horses, beautiful weather (for January in Maine) - what more can I say?Deanna is tall and slim and Allie is short and stocky, but they make a great team on the trails! Ulla led most of the way on Gabby the beautiful Morgan. Her trails are quite hidden and difficult to follow unless you know them like the back of your hand.We traversed through the woods until we came to the shores of Estes Bog. I attempted to take a photo of all three of us, but it didn't work out.First I tried setting the camera on a rock on the ground, then hanging from a tree. About all that was good for was some laughs, as the wind blew it and I got a good picture of some branches. We were successfull a little later on, though.As we headed back towards Ulla's, we had a big surprise - Luvon on Indigo!We all decided this was an excuse for a longer ride. :) I missed a really good photo opportunity when Allie ran Deanna into a small leaning tree. She was screeching, "Whoa" and Allie paid no nevermind (remember, previous comment about him running through the bit!) and kept on a-trucking! We all turned around to see Deanne carrying along a tree about chest high. Well, Ulla started laughing and so did Luvon and Deanna, and I laughed so hard that I could barely control my bladder. I dismounted and helped Deanna with the tree, and we all composed ourselves and continued on. A bit later, Indigo decided that Gabby was too far ahead, and she MUST catch up at a gallop...well, Luvon of course did not think that was necessary so a battle of wills ensued. Luvon won, I'm happy to report.She is an excellent horsewoman. Deanna quipped, "Um...just for the record, I'll take the tree." Hilarious!!!We trotted back to Ulla's.

Here are the Four Amigos. But wait, the excitement was not over! The new American Cream Draft pastured adjacent to Ulla's horses decided to gallop over to meet Ah-D and Allie. This beautiful boy is built like Al, but BIGGER, so it was quite the experience for Al, who was quite unnerved.

What a great ride, a fabulous way to start out the year!