There were lots of trailers already there and it looked like a good turnout. We unpacked and got cozy in the little cabin turning the a/c on full blast since it was around 90 degrees. We set out for the snack shack for some dinner before too long.
They had a nice buffet set up and soon all the little hungries disappeared. I saddled Harley for a little spin around camp to work off his ansies, or so I thought. I was surprised to find that the crowd was mostly older folks of retired age and that most were riding gaited horses. I took Harley over to a little trail course they had set up and played around on some obstacles. We negotiated the wooden bridge with two kiddie pools on either side just fine. We had some issues with the hangings strips of plastic obstacle. Imagine a ten foot tall cross post with strips of white vinyl about eight foot long hanging down. Harley would walk right up to it and put his nose in them but would not walk through. I finally did manage to get him to do it but he flinched the whole way. Friday night we were slammed by a powerful thunderstorm and had quite the lightning show. I was happy Harley had a stall to stay dry. We awoke Saturday to a soggy mess and the ride was postponed for an hour. We had some grub at the snack shack and checked out some vendors goods.
I saddled Harley and proceeded to the round pen for opening ceremonies. The Indiana charter of the Ky Mountain horse gave a nice flag drill to some patriotic music and a lovely young lady sang the National Anthem. I snapped this picture of Tom Seay before the festivities started.
Tom made a little speech about the conditions of the trail that I thought was a little melo dramatic but told everyone to expect sloppy conditions and dangerous footing. Since I was familiar with the trails, I knew things would be muddy but fine. There were about 100 riders total and they split us into two groups, fast for gaited and slow for non gaited. Our lead riders may as well have been with the gaited group, they walked extremely fast! Harley had to jog almost the entire way.
I was OK though he has a jog you could sip tea while doing it. He did get a little excited at first with all the energy of the other horses. Here is a shot of Tom and I on our horses.
We crossed the stream and headed uphill while the crew filmed us for the tv show. I was disappointed to find out that it would be the only film of the ride. It wasn't exactly what I thought the show was about. We had a nice ride for 3 hours over some pretty terrain ranging from moderate climbs to ridge views. Here is a shot of the riders behind me.
We all made it safely back to camp and enjoyed the ride even if the temps were uncomfortably hot. We had a family good time in the creek splashing and playing with some other kids we found at camp. I looked like the pied piper starting out with my two, then added kids as I went along. They had a great time and I wish I had thought to bring my camera along. We had a great dinner Saturday night with everyone getting a certificate for riding with BOA. A dance followed and yes I shook my bootie just a little bit before hitting the sack at eleven. Sunday morning after cowboy church we started getting news about the flooding back in our town. Instead of riding we thought it best we pack up and get home quick. We had to drive an hour south to get over to the interstate to go North. We did finally make it here and you know the rest of that story. My rating on the ride on my scale of 1-10
is a 5. The facility could use some updates, mostly ventilation in the shower house.
The BOA part was not what I expected and No I would not pay to do it again, they were more focused on their clinicians than the ride itself. Glad I went and always happy to share my experience with you.
Happy trails.....
1 comment:
Looks like fun! I bet it was plesant out there in the heat in long pants! I can't believe how different it is there to here at the moment...we're expecting a frost in the morning.
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