Post by sbutter on Sept 23, 2009 13:08:26 GMT -5
We went to Point Reyes on Monday and it was sooo much fun. We took our 4 riding horses even though there was only 3 of us. We have gotten into a habit of riding around our property with Hawk loose. He has a big puppy dog attitude and we had been feeling bad that he wasn't really being ridden much, so one evening my mom turned him loose with us. He stuck to Latte like glue. He has always been a good ponier, so he naturally stayed in the perfect spot beside Latte. He also would never dream to wander off without the others even though he has been everywhere on our ranch and knows where some of the hay bails are. The last ride that mom and I went on, we took Latte, Calista and Hawk. It was at a regional park that had a lot of hills and we had to open and close gates. There were very few people there and Hawk has always been very level headed, so we turned him loose. He led the way and would always look back to make sure that were were following him (we tried to hide behind the curve of a hill one time and he poked his head around the corner and looked at us like "are you coming?") If he noticed someone coming towards us on the trail, he would stop and my mom would ride up and put the lead rope back on and then we would continue riding. So, for this Point Reyes trip, we left early in the morning and got there when no one was around. We hit the trails and Hawk took his usual lead in the front. If we came to a fork in the road, he would stop and wait for us to pick a direction. Everyone had a lot of energy for the ride and it was the perfect temperature. After about an hour or so, we saw some Endurance riders heading our way, so we rode up and caught Hawk, while he was standing there watching them approach. He soon became content to just follow as the second horse in the front, so we didn't have to worry about other riders that came later in the day. We made it back to our trailer and then hauled the horses over to the beach. Hawk was the only horse that has ever seen the ocean, so we ponied him off of Latte. We rode across a scary big metal bridge that was about 60 feet long. People watched us as we rode down the beach and we asked a couple to take our picture with my camera. All the horses did great! Latte was a little spooky at first but my mom was able to ride him to the waters edge. My dad was riding Little Swiss Miss, who is a gorgeous Thoroughbred mare. She did great despite the fact that she doesn't have much trail experience and she was nervous about the loud ocean. She relaxed after the first 5 minutes. We think she will be my dad's riding horse, since she is so big and he likes working with her. She is hot and smart, so my dad enjoys working with her, since she picks up on things super fast. Calista did great. She wasn't shaky at all and never once made me think she was going to bolt. She walked up til she was about 5 feet from the water and then said "okay, I'm done" and just stood there. I just wanted her to be relaxed the whole time, which she was, so I was content with that. Okay....enough with the typing, here are some pictures...
Thanks for sharing ..really a good time had by all, I can see by the smiles on your faces ;D