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.
So our last weekend was a bust. The original plan was to fly to Cordoba, then drive to Villa General Belgrano (known for the largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany) in the foothills of the Andes mountains, with a day trip to pedestrian mountain village Cumbrecita … both towns known for their German heritage. I was looking forward to a relaxing weekend in the mountains with beer, sausage and schnitzel. A nice contrast to the beef, empanadas and cheese excesses of Buenos Aires. The AirBnB we rented was not great, better suited for young large drunk men needing space instead of comfort. It was made worse when the whole town shut down at 6 pm on Christmas eve with barely a stray dog stirring. We witnessed the shutdown shortly after the lamest lunch we have experienced, and started to panic as we had no food or water. We hit the last kiosko to close, and grabbed what we could to bunker down for likely two days (water, dulce de leche, coffee, tea, bread, ham, bananas). Is this our...
This summer has been generally lovely. Warm, sometimes hot, but manageable most days. We havent had a long severe drought, or prolonged period of hot humidity. Usually we would have 10-14 days in a row of heat wave. Its been sporadic days here and there. Q has been lethargic this last month, perking up when the temperature is low 20s. Ive taken advantage by cracking out the bareback pad quite a bit and doing lots of walking trails. Or I go early morning. And then a long cold shower. We just changed his haynet, to something smaller that the crew cant overstuff. He is still eating too much hay, and its hard to lose weight if you cant manage input. Work in progress. So we dance in the shade, looking for cover. Listening to cicadas, and smelling the wildflowers. Life is grand.
The year I turned 50. Technically I don’t « feel » different, but it’s a big new decade for sure. Aside from the mental and emotional impact of the pandemic, I also lost some significant people in my life and finally came to understand how finite my time is. And, perhaps more importantly, at least for those of us who always think we should be better, richer, thinner, stronger, fitter before we do THE thing … I chose to just jump off the cliff now while I still have four functioning limbs (and a brain) to do THE thing. One thing is for sure, time will not make us younger. Enter my 230 km horseback expedition across Alberta, and my 70 km horseback expedition to the bottom of Argentinian Patagonia. The trips of the outdoor « plumbing ». Neither trip caused me any significant pain in my left hip despite my concerns, and both delivered mega experiences. I learned how to dress for sleep when the temperature drops below zero. I learned how to pack my saddle bags for a long day without shade. ...
Ahhh yesterday was such bliss. It is my third trail ride in 4 days, each one varying between 80-110 minutes. Good practice for my upcoming riding marathon in 7 weeks. My hip pain has flared today but it was worth it for the 80 minutes of sunshine and good footing yesterday as we were able to tackle some of our more frozen landscapes. Some of the trails in the deciduous forest were pretty dry, as were many of the wider and sun exposed trails. It was a glorious 15C and blue skies, so we were out and about in sweaters only. The more frozen trails had mushy ice which was just perfect for this barefoot team. Still lots of puddles which Q likes to suck on. Hoping for another day like this on Friday, where we might venture out into sector 1 for the first time in a month. If we can make it past the icy winter ravine, we can access the likely very dry, sandy and sun exposed trails for our first glorious trots and canters of the season. Im looking forward to mix up my riding plans with some long...
Tough week. Had me wondering if it was the full moon or some planet in retrograde. Everything seemed to be souring, and my level of irritation was at an all-time high. And then, out of the blue, a client team shared their gratefulness with me. An unexpected gift. Reminded me of the ted talk on gratefulness leading to happiness. Worth a listen. Ted Talk on Gratefulness Ted Talk
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