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2003-09-14 - Moonlight Horseback Riding
As a date, I agreed to go horseback riding at Wild River Stable. To be completly honest I was a little nervous about this endeavor. Not because I didn't like horses, I do, but because the last time that I had ever been on one was over 15 years ago. I was hoping that there would be no real skill involved on this, because if there was, I was going to look like a big fool. When we got there, it was a nice cool night. The moon was partially hidden by some scattered cloud cover. A bonfire was burning and the area appeared to be deserted. Then, a couple started walking up the gravel drive, it was the owners. There was a group out already so we waited at the campfire. Hank (one of the owners) played the guitar and I had a couple of rather black-on-one-end marshmellows. There were other refreshments available too - hot chocolate, and hotdogs. As it turns out I could have made smores, but I was sitting down and to lazy to get up and walk the 10 feet to table for supplies. I know that sound bad, but I was on a date. I tried my hand at the guitar, sufice to say, I need some help in that department, but I like to play along with songs on the radio. I decided that I would have to become a better campfire guitarist. As we sat around the campfire the other group started arriving which led to us getting ready for our ride. My date rode a carmel/chestnut colored horse named Hank. Being a little bit bigger guy I rode a larger horse named Cassidy. Getting up wasn't the big issue that I had invisioned. Foot in the stirrup and I swung my other leg up and over. Vola! I was in the saddle. We mulled around a little then took off on the trail. Me, my date and the guide - Matt. Very nice to have such a small group. The clouds were continuing to clear and the moon was bright in the midnight sky. The stars were twinkling and the still night air combined to make this a very memorable occasion. After a bit we brought our horsed to a trot for a bit. Cassidys' trot was alot of bouncing up and down. Combined with my very limited riding experience I thought I was going to fall off at every bounce. The ride was short and Matt checked to see that our saddles were cinched nice and tight. He also adjusted my stirrups. This made all the difference. I could now grip the horse and use my legs to hold on during the trots. At canter, Cassidy was very smooth, it was really neat. After our stop we rode up a little ways only to encounter the howling of coyotes. We sat still for a while. The stable dispatched two other riders to join us. Comfort in numbers or something like that. The rest of the ride was uneventful except for an occational horse fart (man are those stinky), and some cantering through the woods. The whole time the moon slipped in and out of the light clouds. We could pretty much see the whole time. Better than being in the dark. When we got back to the stable I was starting to get sleepy. I kinda felt like a whimp in that reguard, but I've been adjusting my sleep schedual and I guess you can't have the best of both worlds. Good thing my body is easily trained to stay awake. So, what are my general thoughts? Horseback riding rocks! Guess it just took me the suggestion of a beautiful woman to realize this. Always nice to break out of the shell and try new things. If your interested there is another ride on October 11, 2003. Being that this is the web, you might be reading this in 10 years from now, so checkout the website listed above. So until then...high ho silver...away. |
