As promised, here are some pictures from our last horse event. This is an endurance ride in Santa Fe, NM, held at the Listening Horse Therapeutic Riding Center. It's a fabulous facility that helps riders with disabilities improve balance and other skills by riding horses. They do great work with wounded veterans and are worth supporting if you've got a few extra $$.
We signed up for the 25 mile ride and took our youngsters for their first ride. We also introduced an author friend to the sport on a horse she bought from me, Bahzra (from B day on the A to Z challenge).I rode Csavannah (day C) and my husband rode Topper (day T). We started last because we didn't want our youngsters to get a taste of race brain with the front runners. That way we could start slow and they never realized the other horses were ahead.
They all did really well handling rocky terrain and a few rutty roads, but otherwise beautiful western, desert scenery. Csavannah got a little excited by the sprinklers making a pst, pst sound on the polo fields and she didn't appreciate having to stand still waiting her turn for the vet. But we made it with about ten minutes to spare. We have 6 hours to complete 25 miles plus a 45 minute hold to let the horses rest and eat in the middle. 
How do you find time to enjoy your pets? We take our dog on rides when we can, but her hips don't allow her to do as much as she used to. I try to balance Writing and Riding (although I do spend more blog time on the Writing side!)
Thanks for the beautiful pictures. Looks like a great time.
ReplyDeleteLoved seeing these pictures and reading your story. I grew up doing a lot of trail riding--often probably in the 20-25 mile range or more, but we never measured it. Never did endurance, though. It looks like a blast. I haven't been on a horse in years, but this is making me miss riding terribly. :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful time!
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