This is where the magic happens on a regular basis. So many beautiful trails from wide and sandy, to narrow and winding. Plenty of spaces to trot and canter and five ravines with little creeks at the bottom where the horses can sometimes drink. 95% of my trails happen in this section.
It was a stinking hot day so I came prepared with water bottle.
Double wide trails with trees growing in the median.
Crazy as it seems, Im often alone on these trails rarely seeing another rider, jogger, or dogwalker. Occasionally we see foxes, deer, goshawks, wild turkeys, and owls. Some have also seen coyotes.
Some of the trails are narrow and windy, shaded from the sun.
Some of the trails are great for long canters or fast trots.
These trails are shared in the winter time with cross country skiers and snowshoers. Each sport has their own trail, and so the riders lose about 50% of the trails in section 2 from November to April. I dont mind, as it helps me better appreciate the trails when we get them back in the summer. The winter trails are groomed with machinery and are accessible all the time, even for my barefoot Q. We only stay in during the ice storms.
Our barn is smack in the middle of section 2 with the best trail access in the whole region. We always have tons of options for 20-30-40-90 minute trails that keep us close to home. So many loops, so many choices. The challenge of course is getting motivated to go on the trails that are further from home.
Poland was lovely, but I am literally sick of carbs. By the third day, the heart burn was epic and fueled by the hot Polish donuts stuffed with rose jelly, pear jam, and nutella (separately, not together). They call them Paczki (pronounced paunchkies ... as in, if you eat too many you will grow a significant paunch). The wine, beer, pierogis (potato dumplings stuffed with meat, cheese, or many other options even sweet), Krakow bagels, and potato-everything did not help either. Oh, and there was the delightful Krakow-special cheesecake smothered in caramel, and their honey cake which actually wasn’t that sweet. Yummy Krakow Bagel with salmon tartare! Krakow Cheesecake smothered in caramel and Polish Honey Cake (not too sweet) The Devil, hot from the fryer, stuffed with Nutella (or pear, or rose jam, or many other options) Our last day in Krakow was raining and unpleasant. We enjoyed a relaxing day, and even got to see the new Avengers movie in an ultramodern mall and ...
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 ...
There is a wonderful veterinarian-turned-acupuncturist that works in our area, and Q gets an exam and sometimes a treatment once every six months. With our latest saddle restuffing, I thought it was good timing to take a look. This lovely older gentleman has over 30 years of equine acupuncture practice (in addition to 20 years as an equine vet) and many a story to tell but the biggest stories come from his patients and his magic hands. While I have never tried acupuncture on myself, I have been successfully treated for many ailments with osteopathy and I believe in the body as a system that can often heal itself. So today was the day, and I watched him do several treatments before it was our turn. Q had no back pain or soreness, but his weakness in the left hind was flaring up and probably connected with the increased work on collection over the last few weeks. So, he got some needles and then I watched him slowly drift to sleep as he licked my arm slower and slower. After these ...
When asked what I thought about Prague I always answered the same thing : dark. My last trip here dates to almost twenty years ago, in a cold November week where I spent most of my time drinking hot mulled wine in the old town square avoiding gypsies. Tales of ghosts, hidden passageways and underground tunnels, the stark period of the iron curtain, torture museums, castle dungeons ... it was all dark. Tyn Church in the iconic town square A view down the Vltava River A view up the Vltava River towards Prague Castle (from Vysehrad Castle) A view down the Vltava River from the Vysehrad Castle. Its a windy sailing day. Fast forward in time and there are some differences but Prague is still moody. Tourists are abundant and things that used to be free are now being charged at every opportunity. We are struggling with all the currency we are handling and their respective conversions (Hungarian forint, Euros, Polish Zlotis, Czech Crowns ... and soon British pounds) ...
Annual Trail Rides: 10/200 (updated) Tracking well on my annual riding goal thanks to some very mild weather and amazing footing maintained by our club volunteers. We’ve had long and slow rides, short and fast rides, solo rides and group rides. Yesterday marked 6 rides in a row and both Q and I will enjoy NOT riding today. Snow and colder weather starts this weekend, so its time to get the extra layers out of storage. Until then, we will enjoy this version of our winter wonderland.
honestly, you make me want to move to Quebec!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLa belle province!
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