I wish I came here more often. It has so many beautiful sections. It is plagued by some boggy trails with mosquitoes and we have to cross a busy road to get here. But once here, Im always happy!
We found some wooden trails with occasional muddy spots to go trotting in. I took this video with my trail buddy J and her big percheron mare.
Buffet! I struggled to keep Q on the path and focused.
Much galloping happens on this path!
This section has a few streets that we have to cross. But there is practically no cars here.
Q enjoying the view!
The hunt field is one of my favorite spots. And the sun was out in full force with a cooling breeze.
It was a gorgeous day, and the sights were beautiful. With the tardy summer, the trails were a bit muddier than usual. My friend with her big percheron mare struggles with her soundness, and did not like the muddy trails one bit. She would have much rather stayed on the tried and true section 2.
But I am glad I went, and I am looking forward to going back. Perhaps solo. Q is getting to be quite solid going solo and I think we can do this.
I may come to regret this, but Im not as prepared for this trip as I was for Alberta’s epic trek last spring. In part because I havent ridden in 3 weeks. 😃 The days will probably be shorter (4-6 hours of riding) and its pretty slow riding because its over glacier rocks …. so maybe Ill be fine? Also looks like its just gonna be me and the gauchos as the other riders had flights cancelled last minute. So this trip will be Spanish (actually Castellano) immersion too. The last few weeks in BA has been momentous, from the run to the final of the World Cup, to the dozens of people who ran in the streets in defense of a small dog in a hit and run, to the amazing fresh fruit and vegetables, to the delicious food and mountains of gelato. BA is big, at times wild, messy and very passionate. I havent found much indifference here. But now, I have to figure out how to get my backpack to weigh less than 8 kg to fit all the clothes I need for weather ranging from polar sun to blizzard. Yes, I have l...
Annual Trail Rides: 204/200 (Bareback 31/40) Well I was having some thoughts on the way to the barn ... I haven't had my unplanned dismount for 2021 and I only have 3 weeks to go before we leave. And so today, I had my ONE for 2021. Everything was going really well, but I was determined to try a planned canter bareback (as opposed to the involuntary bolting gallop bareback that happened the day before). I trotted some, felt pretty good. And then I hit a spot with a slightly sloping hill and asked. Unfortunately Q didn't think I was very serious (or stable) so he only hit stride towards the top of the hill. The first few strides felt good. As we crested the hill I was leaning forward and on top of his shoulder. Q did a sidestep right leaving me hanging mid air over where his left shoulder was. He then moved more right and I was a goner ... heading straight for a young tree that bisected me in the chest. I saw the tree coming, thinking, oh shit. I was hoping to not crash my head ...
I fell at a walk. My horse took off as I was screaming obscenities at the nearby dogwalker that let her dog chase us through the bush. Unleashed of course. My horse didn’t get very far as he stood twenty feet away from me, watching me with both eyes. The seconds before the fall are very blurry. I remember seeing the dog walker at a distance, but didn’t think anything of it. Then I heard the dog tearing through the bush to get us, the horse we were following bolted off, and I was not paying attention as I was putting on my gloves. My horse spun 180 degrees and literally left me hanging into a dead pine tree. I hit the ground fast but not so fast that I didnt shout six or seven swear words before my back hit the branches on the ground. I think my horse was spooked at his buddy bolting off, and all my screaming and swearing. I was so angry. But I do learn an important lesson every time I fall. Lately my lessons have been about my lack of awareness and my taking my horse for granted. On th...
Zoom, zoom ... ouch. Finally one of the coolest days is here. Sunny, blue skies, low humidity and temps in mid-twenties. Perfect riding weather. Particularly after our surprise storm on Wednesday that left tons of debris and fallen trees and branches on the trails. Surprise storm brewing a few days ago. Within a few minutes, there were huge circular gusts of wind, almost like a Tornado. The next day volunteer crews were out removing the fallen trees. But some trails still have significant debris. I was heading out with trail buddy C and her azteca mare to explore section 5. I told her I needed some media for my summer challenge. She was happy to oblige not quite knowing what other objectives I had in mind. Most of the trail was lovely and I even tackled the jump trail, with a series of cross-country log jumps, for the first time. Q was just simply amazing, leading sometimes or in the back sometimes. The two horses have a trot that is simply in s...
Years ago, we would occasionally see parked cars hidden on the trails. Sometimes a guy looking for a spot to pee, sometimes mushroom hunters, sometimes bird watchers. It was unusual enough that my horse at the time, an AQHA superhorse called Jazz, would pull a mighty big spin and unseat me. Jazz was my first colt, and professionally trained, but so high maintenance at times. I rode with a leverage bit and spurs to “put him to work” at the first sign of silly business. So many trail rides were spent doing gymnastics to capture his attention. Meanwhile, Q doesn’t even know what a crop is. Riding a big athletic and reactive horse required me to “level up” and Im grateful. Both the horse and I received much more coaching and training than I ever thought I would need, including annual bootcamps. I took some pretty rough tumbles with that horse and still have the scars and injuries to remind me. Anyways, yesterday we saw a parked car. Now this is even more unusual since the city put up ...
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