The day began quite chilly and I wondered what kind of turnout there would be for this trailride.  As it turned out, the only brave riders were board members.  After I arrived with Quia about 9:30, Sharon was next with General, then came Liz with Majik and Becky with Smoke.  Last to arrive was our president, Joyce with Blue.

I had decided to ride the Yellow Trail since we had just completed a work day to clear large trees off the trail the farthest out it goes because our turn markers could not be seen.  We also cleared other trees at different locations but I was excited to show our members what the club does to provide safe trails for us to enjoy.

In the meantime, while we were preparing to ride, Liz asked if it was safe to ride in the forest now that hunting season is open.  I replied that still hunters are usually out of the woods by 10.  Shortly after that, 3 pickup trucks headed down Rivers Road toward Crawfordville Highway.  I asked Liz if she thought they were still hunters leaving and she said “I hope so”.

We started down the Yellow Trail and were having a good ride.  After we made the first right turn, Joyce let us know a truck was coming and we needed to get off the trail to let it go by.  I watched the truck head down the trail and noticed a vehicle approaching it coming our way and wondered how they were going to pass each other on the narrow trail road.  The truck then went over a hill and I lost it.  We kept riding and I couldn’t see the trucks at all so I assumed they were gone.  Soon we came to a cross road and there were both of the trucks!   The drivers started the trucks and took off going north and we went on to the west.  We wondered if they knew each other and were just talking and thought they would interfere with our ride.

Soon we were where we had chainsawed and moved four trees that blocked the trail and hid our turn markers.  I pointed this out to everyone and we continued on our way, making the necessary right turn.  There were more downed trees in this area that we cut and removed and then we made another right turn.  We hadn’t gone a long way when we spotted another truck parked in the trail ahead of us.  It was not either of the trucks we had already seen.  We stopped and talked with the driver and learned he is a dog hunter.  His group was running dogs in the Yellow Trail area.  He said they knew we were riding in the area and appreciated us wearing orange.  We were at the intersection where the Blue Trail crosses the Yellow and I asked if we should take it.  He said they would be heading in that direction back toward the transmission line and then got confirmation on his radio so we continued on the Yellow Trail.

We soon got to the trail we came out on and turned left heading toward the Trailhead.  A short distance ahead we could see a couple of trucks and two equestrians.  By the time we got there, the equestrians had started back to the Trailhead and the hunters were collecting their dogs.  We were at the point where the Yellow Trail cuts off toward Crawfordville Highway so we thought that would be the best way back. 
When we made the loop and were heading back to the main trail, we were shocked to see a hunting dog looking at us.  He was all by himself and we wondered if he had gotten lost.  We hoped we would run into the hunters again to let them know where we saw him.  Then, we heard some dogs off in the near distance and he took off baying.

When we got back to the main trail, a truck came down it and stopped ahead of us.  The guy got out and started loading up the dogs.  We shared our encounter with him and he was having trouble getting one of his dogs to load up.  I looked at him and said “there’s always one”.  He looked at me, smiled and said “yes and this is the one”.  We all laughed and wished him well as we left for the Trailhead.  When we arrived there were no other equestrians in the parking area and we wondered  who else was riding that day!  It certainly was a very different 3-hour trail ride.  Do you think it is because only board members participated?

Submitted by Sue

What great weather and great turnout for our first fall ride in 2024! We had a total of 12 members: Linda on Blondie, Chris C. on Rose, Chris L. on Ripple, Sue on Jazz, Esther on Dana, Nancy on Rosie, Chuck on Justin, Debbie on Doc, Liz on Majik, Becky on Smoke, and Regine and David leading Manni and Blue. This was Sue’s first trail ride on her new mare, Jazz. We also had two service dogs tag along.
We rode out at 9:30 taking the trails that loop from the main trail and back until we passed the new pedestrian bridge, which is currently blocked by orange fencing. Couldn’t resist a photo opportunity under some stately oaks nearby.
We then explored a newly-cut trail that wound its way through the woods; taking us West until we reached the fence line. It was quite beautiful, had a couple of shallow water crossings, and was well marked with wooden stakes.
We stopped for a while on the last leg of our ride in the oak-filled portion of the park. It gave us another chance to chat, drink some water, and snap more pictures. All in all, it was a pleasant, slow-going ride that concluded right at an hour and a half. As we returned to the parking lot, Liz couldn’t resist taking a picture of the parking lot that was filled to capacity with horse trailers.
Submitted by Becky

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.