Overdose of blue skies
Six hours of riding over four days. And Im on my way to the barn for a fifth session this afternoon. Ouch! My hip is killing me.
Over the last few weeks I have noted plenty of reckless behaviour. On the roads, I have witnessed dangerous driving, weaving through "traffic" and creating pile-up accidents. On the trails, I have noted plenty of delinquent users with loose dogs, and mountain bikes. And even my fellow horsemen have been disappointing with their thundering gallops as they pass me on a ravine. Seriously?
Yep. All these things make me angry and righteous. I want to remind them all that we live in a society where one person's freedoms stops at another person's right to safety. But then I calm myself and remember that this is a temporary crazy as a result of the confinement. It will all settle eventually.
When I get to the barn at my scheduled time, I am annoyed at my fellow boarders who are overstaying their welcome and creeping into my precious barn time. Two hours is plenty for a short trail ride, sometimes a quick bath, and maybe some grooming time. But Im still annoyed when I have to sit in the parking lot waiting for others as I watch the clock tick on.
And, so, Ive become an even more introverted hermit like the cliché old lady that screams at the kids for talking while walking in front of her house.
When I'm riding on the trails I intercept plenty of walkers and joggers these days and it's fun. I say hello, they tell me how beautiful my horse is, and I tell them to bring bug spray next time they come out and we all leave smiling. Until this weekend when I finally came head on to one of the delinquent mountain bike riders on the trails. They were nice, and stepped off the trail to let me pass. I stopped and said hello, and then almost apologetically told them that bikes were not allowed on the trails.
And that's when the argument began. They argued with me for five minutes about how they were allowed (not true), there were no signs that said otherwise (not true), and that they were more legitimate users of pedestrian trails than I was (also, not true as equestrians are the only all-season users to actually buy an access pass with insurance). I reminded them that as citizens of St Lazare they needed to talk to the city about the bylaws, and that I was just a messenger.
Turns out that as the equestrians mostly disappeared from the trails from March 20 to May 1, the local bike users started using the trails in abundance. Why not? It's outdoors, it's social distancing, and it's good for their mental and physical health. And the park officials were all working from home so nobody was around to police them. And so when the equestrians returned, the territorial squabbles of rights and freedoms began again. This time, with a vengeance.
Bikers now have started arguing with horsebackriders on the trails and some have even become physically aggressive when reminded that they are not allowed on the trails. I guess those delinquent users don't like being reminded of their unlawfulness. Like the dogwalkers off leash.
If you are going to be delinquent, either go off hours (not on a Sunny Sunday Afternoon), off highly used trails, and be polite when caught. Or, buy yourself a massive property of 100+ acres and stay home. Municipal parks are not your backyard that you can do whatever you want.
As for myself, I have decided I am no longer going to intervene or remind them of anything. I will however take a picture (subtly) and share with our club management for them to share with the city.
One horsebackrider was even caught running her dogs (rottweiler and an irish wolfound) off leash while riding on the trails at 8 am. The dogs chased two of my fellow boarders, one fell off and she lost her horse as a result while the dog kept chasing her mare. Not only was the fellow rider not apologetic, but she also yelled at them for having inconvenienced her. The lady lives right off the trails, and apparently considers the trails to be the extension of her backyard.
And as I hear myself ranting about the reckless behaviour of others, I realize that my fundamental problem is that I have no problem. My horse has been perfect and fun to ride. When the other horse thundered past us up the ravine, he didn't even flinch!
I have employment that will continue to be "work-from-home" until 2021. My husband and I are in good health, and even my 82 year old mother is still climbing mountains and thinking of getting a second dog.
So on that note, Im going to pack some alleve and head out to the barn for perhaps my first bareback ride of the year and a bath on another beautiful warm sunny day that reminds us that summer is just around the corner. And the bugs are too.
Happy trails!
Yep. All these things make me angry and righteous. I want to remind them all that we live in a society where one person's freedoms stops at another person's right to safety. But then I calm myself and remember that this is a temporary crazy as a result of the confinement. It will all settle eventually.
When I get to the barn at my scheduled time, I am annoyed at my fellow boarders who are overstaying their welcome and creeping into my precious barn time. Two hours is plenty for a short trail ride, sometimes a quick bath, and maybe some grooming time. But Im still annoyed when I have to sit in the parking lot waiting for others as I watch the clock tick on.
And, so, Ive become an even more introverted hermit like the cliché old lady that screams at the kids for talking while walking in front of her house.
When I'm riding on the trails I intercept plenty of walkers and joggers these days and it's fun. I say hello, they tell me how beautiful my horse is, and I tell them to bring bug spray next time they come out and we all leave smiling. Until this weekend when I finally came head on to one of the delinquent mountain bike riders on the trails. They were nice, and stepped off the trail to let me pass. I stopped and said hello, and then almost apologetically told them that bikes were not allowed on the trails.
And that's when the argument began. They argued with me for five minutes about how they were allowed (not true), there were no signs that said otherwise (not true), and that they were more legitimate users of pedestrian trails than I was (also, not true as equestrians are the only all-season users to actually buy an access pass with insurance). I reminded them that as citizens of St Lazare they needed to talk to the city about the bylaws, and that I was just a messenger.
Turns out that as the equestrians mostly disappeared from the trails from March 20 to May 1, the local bike users started using the trails in abundance. Why not? It's outdoors, it's social distancing, and it's good for their mental and physical health. And the park officials were all working from home so nobody was around to police them. And so when the equestrians returned, the territorial squabbles of rights and freedoms began again. This time, with a vengeance.
If you are going to be delinquent, either go off hours (not on a Sunny Sunday Afternoon), off highly used trails, and be polite when caught. Or, buy yourself a massive property of 100+ acres and stay home. Municipal parks are not your backyard that you can do whatever you want.
As for myself, I have decided I am no longer going to intervene or remind them of anything. I will however take a picture (subtly) and share with our club management for them to share with the city.
One horsebackrider was even caught running her dogs (rottweiler and an irish wolfound) off leash while riding on the trails at 8 am. The dogs chased two of my fellow boarders, one fell off and she lost her horse as a result while the dog kept chasing her mare. Not only was the fellow rider not apologetic, but she also yelled at them for having inconvenienced her. The lady lives right off the trails, and apparently considers the trails to be the extension of her backyard.
And as I hear myself ranting about the reckless behaviour of others, I realize that my fundamental problem is that I have no problem. My horse has been perfect and fun to ride. When the other horse thundered past us up the ravine, he didn't even flinch!
I have employment that will continue to be "work-from-home" until 2021. My husband and I are in good health, and even my 82 year old mother is still climbing mountains and thinking of getting a second dog.
So on that note, Im going to pack some alleve and head out to the barn for perhaps my first bareback ride of the year and a bath on another beautiful warm sunny day that reminds us that summer is just around the corner. And the bugs are too.
Happy trails!
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