What a great ride we had – it was historic in ways! We actually had two rides as Megan A. and Carol S. were on Pasos so they did their own thing and rode for 1.5 hours. The rest of us experienced a unique and very different ride for 2 hours. Kathleen D. came for her first ride on Jett since having a hip replacement and did superb! Esther Diaguila was riding Dana for the first time since Dana had a tendon accident. She also had a great ride. We also had Debbie R. who rode Tombstone and ponied Doc Holiday. Then there was me on Quia.

We started to the east and rode the first new multi-use single track trail in the woods then proceeded to the single track trail that runs behind the neighborhood homes. When approaching the main trail we discovered a big tree across the single track trail but had no difficulty crossing it.

We then took the main trail to the next single track trail that takes you to the beginning ot the main trail around the lake. We hadn’t gone far and found water – lots of it as far as you could see down the trail. We splashed in and soon could see it ended a ways down. We exited the water and then found a large dead 4 ft. limb hanging in vines across the trail. There was no way to get around it because of the boundary fence on the left and thick woods on the right. Debbie deserves at least 15 minutes for trail maintenance as she got off her horse and cleared it up. I then started through the vines on the ground and discovered barbed wire so she quickly removed it and put it on the boundary fence.

We then got on the trail around the lake. The lake was full but no water on the trail. We soon learned there would be spots with water and then none all along the lake. One section was up to the horses knees! No one had any trouble navigating it. We encountered a runner along the way and notified him of the water we had just been through so he turned around to go back.

We decided to take the trail along the railroad track and it was in pretty good shape. At this point Esther decided to head back because she didn’t want to over work her horse and we’d already covered 4.5 miles. This trail was in good shape, too, and when we had the option to take the new trail with the bridge we took it. We ran into several bikers and some hikers along the way and when we got to the bridge, Kathleen rode her horse over it a few times to get him used to it. When we got back to the trailhead, Esther had just arrived, too.

The conversation along the trail revealed that Debbie is the author of a horse training book, Equine Health and Communication Guide, that deals with panic attacks. She did a lot of research for this book and it’s available via Amazon. It must be a good book because her two horses were perfect on the trail. She is also a watercolor artist who does natural scenes and stories and did some of a poker ride. She has also joined STA so please welcome her when you have an opportunity to meet her!

Submitted by Sue N.