Several weeks ago I was invited by a friend of our realtor's to go to a local 4H meeting. While there I met some very welcoming and friendly people, and one of the invited me to come trail ride at her place. So this morning we got together in this near perfect weather for a hack!
I took Highboy since he's my most experienced trail horse. I have to smile as I note this, remembering his younger sillier days when he was quite dramatic and I only had one or two people who were willing to ride with me if I took him! Today he was my choice since I had no idea what this ride might be like. It turned out to be the loveliest walk through woods, fields, around old tobacco wagons and sheds, and by gorgeous fields.
I'm hoping to get similar fencing installed here, it's a bit of a challenge to get people to actually come out and do things. They answer the phone or text and say they'll be happy to do the project, then I hear nothing for weeks until I think I've been ghosted. If I can catch them again on the phone they are very friendly and say they're planning on the job, but won't give me a timeline. I mentioned this to Lena and she said that's pretty typical for this area, people are very friendly but there is little follow-through.
We had a nice chat while we rode, she moved here from New Jersey a few years ago where she had been running a large riding lesson school with summer camps for kids and everything. My 20-ish horse program was similarly exhausting, so it's nice that we're both now at a place in our lives and careers where it's wonderful to have essentially private barns!
There were a couple spots with water as large ponds. Highboy really loves the water, and in as sly a way as he could muster he sidled up to the edge as close as he could get... I was aware of his intentions and I was able to catch him before he actually stepped off the ledge into the water. He did this at home last week when we were hacking around so I was somewhat prepared. There he actually did manage to get his feet into the water of our pond. It was warmer and more humid so he was a bit sweaty. He splashed around a bit, and then began to fold his knees and hocks.... I hustled to get him up and out of the water as I did not need him to lie down in the pond fully tacked up with a rider! He had similar intentions this morning so we did chuckle at him but stopped him from getting into the water.
Highboy was great otherwise, marching along as he does, looking around and taking in the scenery, but never put a foot wrong and behaved himself in a gentlemanly way the whole time. When we got back to the fields closer to the barn and he caught a view of the horse trailer he did slow down considerably and began to dawdle. This is pretty typical for him, he's like a little kid at the pool, "Awww come on, I don't want to be done, just FIVE more minutes!" Typical Highboy.
There was a section of trail where we ended up looking at a giant railroad bridge going over the water. Apparently local kids go there to swim, it was a cute little cove protected in the trees. Highboy did ask nicely if he could go in the water there too but I had to decline.
Smartpak recently had a good sale on their riding clothes, so I splurged a little. I got this striped shirt in honor of Kimberly (who loves stripes and never hesitates to get a new striped shirt). When I put on my reddish helmet to ride I realized my appearance was quite reminiscent of Where's Waldo with the stripes, navy, glasses, and a red hat!
This was a fantastic ride. Highboy and I greatly enjoyed ourselves. This area is stunning with so many options to trail ride, and my barefoot mountain thoroughbreds are adapting quite well! As an added bonus, it was a less than ten minute drive to get to Lena's, so I felt really good without having to do a long drive both ways!
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