Everything sublime is as difficult as it is rare. Baruch Spinoza

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Our Trail Ride On Sunday










Four of us went to Carver Park on Sunday afternoon for a fun day of riding in a beautiful park. My friend Jean took all of the photos, so she is sadly missing from the pictures.  We get to see Sinclair's ears and a little of his head, but no Jean.

The day was perfect and the first part of the ride was fun for me, but we went too long for my poor older horse. He was pushed harder then he should have been, but he seems OK now. He was exhausted at the end of the day though. I don't know if I will ever get him in a trailer again. My horse Ben was a great guy. He hasn't been ridden for 3 years, until Kristina got on him twice in the past couple of months and Ben has only done arena riding. He acted as if he is an old hand at this trail riding stuff! My good mare Dani carried Jill like a pro and made Jill laugh the whole time because Dani is so nosey and amazed at by what she sees. We now think Dani must be the barn busybody and gossip. 

Two rides for me this year is rather amazing because it's almost ten years since I stopped riding. I was very sore on Sunday after pushing Spenser forward for two hours, but I recovered quickly and felt OK the next day. I'm up for it again. : )



8 comments:

JeanRDH said...

Hurrah; She's up for it again!
I am, too.

Um, where are the pictures of you and Spencer that I sent you?

Sandra said...

I'm in the photos but one is sort of small. Maybe it will stay warm enough to go one more time.

I expect to see lots of photos and reports from Kentucky. I bet you are really excited!

Hillsidefarm said...

Looks like you had more fun than I did in IA!

Sandra said...

OK Jean, I added another photo of me with Spenser!

We did have fun, but I don't think it would be too hard to have more fun than you had in IA. : )

dressage rider said...

Loved the photos! Trail riding is so great! The horses look so beautiful.
I see from an older post that I have been tagged. Let's see if I get this right.
I was born (with my twin brother)in Minneapolis and lived in New York state as a small child where I fell in love with a tall pinto mare that used to trail ride through the neighborhood. I may have been put up on her. Then we moved back to Minnesota and lived all over the state. We grew up nearly constantly wearing our Minnesota Twins t-shirts. Then we moved back to the PA/NY area. When I was in my teens I purchased my first horse. When I traced her background, it turned out to be the horse from my childhood. Gypsy was so special. She carried me all over and was hard and fit until she died at 28, probably even early because early wormers were difficult to get down her.
In my 20s, I began raising Arabians. I was also teaching first grade and loving that, also.
In my 30s, I was raising a family. Having become concerned about the equine market, I began selecting former broodmares and turning them into dressage lesson horses. We had a great time, hosting clinics and holding 23 dressage shows.
In my 40s, I returned to the elementary classroom as a kindergarten teacher. I love it! To me dressage is all about logical and kind instruction and so is kindergarten. A good foundation with solid theory behind it is important in most disciplines! I still love teaching everyday now in my 50s.
Now my son and daughter are enjoying college or exciting careers in Florida, my husband is still a workaholic, so my dad and I enjoy the horses together. I have GDE Cassidy, related to many of Sandra's horses and just love to work with him. I also have my daughter's tall black mare who has Paint breeding papers. (She does have a large "drip" off the side of her blaze.
Here at Misty Meadow there is always something to keep us busy. Horses don't let you sit around!

Sandra said...

I can see the connection between kindergarten and dressage! I didn't know we are contemporaries, but it sounds as if you have stayed in the saddle over the years and I have not. It's been good for me having the young women around encouraging me to ride again. That includes you, Jean!

How amazing that you bought the horse you knew from childhood without realizing it. Sometimes things are so weird.

Thanks for the compliment on the horses. The bay is a Lipizzan cross and the chestnut is out of a Morocco Spotted Horse. They are great horses and they enjoyed themselves very much. My ASB gelding, not so much! He was in shock, as he hasn't done anything in a long time.

Ashley Dumas said...

What a simply beautiful park! I would love to ride a horse in a setting like this. So far I am just riding in a ring : ) The horses are so lovely!

Thanks for sharing the pics..

ASh

Sandra said...

We are so lucky to have several wonderful parks to ride in. This particular park is about 4 miles from my home, so it's a real blessing for us!

You will eventually be able to go out and about. Probably when you get back to the states.