Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Mommy escape

Today I did the best thing. I escaped! No kids, no housework, no hubby. Just my horse and me, and a good friend and her horse. My friend Tiffany and I decided we needed a mommy escape. Tiffany has two kids around the ages of mine so she gets me and my craziness. I suggested we get out of dodge for the day and she jumped at the notion. We dropped the kids at respective babysitters and headed out for a day on the trails at Brown County State Park. We are so lucky to have this gem in our backyard, it is about 45 minutes from our house. Brown County Park is a great place to camp or day ride with about 60 miles of horse trails. The trails vary from flat and easy to some tough climbs that reach elevations of almost 1,000 feet. I am pretty adept at riding the park and am an excellent guide since I can decipher maps.
Today we took some different trails into what is called hidden valley.

I should start by telling you that Tiffany and her horse Cisco are three day eventers. We couldn't be more different in our riding styles or the size of our horses but we both share a love for all things horses. Once Tiffany accompanied me to a lesson and actually got up and tried a finished reiner just to see what it was like. She is always game for any horse event and has traveled with me on little horse vacations. She is coming along with me next month to Buffalo River for the week. Here is a shot of her and Cisco at a small creek we crossed today. Note he is sporting his fly armour! It worked great.




We started out on trail B which is a wide trail that runs the length of the campground and has trails that loop of it. The going was easy and with an overcast sky it wasn't that hot. We were pleasantly surprised at the few bugs we did see.
We took trail 14 which was a 3 mile loop off of B and it narrowed down to single file. Harley didn't care for the trench like trail at first but settled in just fine after a bit. There were lots of downed trees to practice our walkovers and he thought of jumping a few larger ones. The trail was beautiful with lots of little stream crossings and plenty of wildlife to view, we even found some berries out there to nibble on. Here is a shot of the Harley and I in a stream bed.



We only encountered one group of riders today so it was a peaceful and relaxing trip.
The horses got along great and Harley did a fair amount of jogging to keep pace with Cisco's long legs. I tried out a new saddle today and am in love! But more on that in another post. We went back the same way we came in on B trail due to time constraints on Tiffany's part. I didn't care was just happy to be there. We decided we should do this more often and made a pact to schedule it at least once a month for the summer. Ah .........the glow of a perfect day.


HAPPY TRAILS............

8 comments:

Melanie said...

Hey! I'm not sure how I arrived at your blog, but every mommy needs a "mommy escape," and what better way to do it than on a horse! Your horse is gorgeous by the way!

Melanie said...

PS-I just read some of your older posts, and it looks like you and your family have had a crazy month. I hope that things are settling down for you, and I am glad that you found a nice horse for your "mommy escapes!"

Rising Rainbow said...

That looks great! I could do with a good trail ride about now.

LA Nickers said...

Ah1 The great escape.

Sure, we moms can tell people we keep horses for our kids . . . but we know the truth. ;-)

Just for fun, will you vote in my poll?
DISCIPLINE MATTERS – How Do You Ride? On THE MANE POINT

Blessings,
Linda
The Mane Point

Gecko said...

It sounds like a day away from everything was just what you needed. I think everyone should do it more often!!

Trailboss said...

Hello there! What a great place to ride. It reminds me a lot of some areas around Kentucky Lake. I am so glad you found me, now we can see each other's blogs. What fun.

Pony Girl said...

Your blog got another makeover! Wow! Love the color and the new picture banner! I couldn't find your title at first, then noticed it was hidden in the picture. I had a hard time w/my photo banner, I had to find a lighter colored place on the photo to put text, lol!
How cool Tiffany was game enough to ride a reiner!
Also, I noticed you have adsense on your blog, can you speak to that a little bit? I am asking because I read the 18 page agreement and started freaking out about it, lol! ;)
Also, goodness, I covet Harley's mane!! He has to be one of the most gorgeous boys on the trail!
Can't wait to hear about the saddle.

Trail Riding Cowgirl said...

Thanks everyone for the nice things you had to say about My Harley boy. He can grow some hair now, that mane is my prized possession. People think I dote on him but actually he is turned out all the time, I just keep conditioner in it and never brush it unless I wash it and super condition it. PG glad you like the make over, can you tell I love change? On adsense well not alot of activity there and not the money maker I thought it might be don't bother.