Back and Hard At It... Sortof

Our "mini" vacation was fantastic. Horseback riding for a vacation is exactly what I needed to recenter and refocus myself. I absolutely enjoyed the entire time, even with the thunderstorm and obnoxious camper neighbors.

I didn't get a chance to ride Friday after getting to Newton Hills but it was fun to drool over everyone else's horses. I was surprised to find that there weren't many campers this weekend. Of course it was hot, at least hot for me.

Saturday was a blast. We met a lot of nice people. Some were knowlegable about breeding and respected and understood what it meant to breed. I also met someone who is not knowlegable about where their babies go. I didn't want to harp on her but if she attends another meeting or trail ride I may mention something.

On Saturday, we rode for two hours in the morning, took a break for lunch, and a few of us headed out in the afternoon. Zeke behaved beautifully. He was full of himself in the beginning and trotted for the first 15 minutes or so. But that's to be expected since I haven't ridden him much. After everyone left for the evening, we puttered around the camp and went up to the main campground to talk with new friends who have horses (but didn't bring them to the trail ride).

After a bit we heard a weather report stating that a storm was headed our way. So we headed back down to button everything up. I decided that I wanted to be brave and take Zeke out on the short trail to see how he would do alone. I was a little nervous since it was starting to get dark, we were out by ourselves, and there was a storm coming. But I warned our camper neighbors that if Zeke came back without me to come look for me.

Oh what a wonderful ride it was. I was nervous riding alone but it was worth it. Right before we rode into the trees the lightening bugs lit up the path. It was incredible to watch. As Zeke and I were headed back for camp, the dragon flies flew overhead. It was so enjoyable I was sad to end the ride but knew I better get back since it was getting dark and the storm was fast approaching.

We survived the rainstorm but it made the trails slick Sunday. I had thought I would pass on riding since I knew some of those trails would be too wet to ride. But I was itching to head out on a trail so I took the chance and went on a path that no one had been on yet. I wasn't sure how Zeke would handle it but he did just fine. When we got to the more common paths, it started getting slick so I figured we'd better end it on a good note.

That vacation was exactly what I needed. I was worried for the horses when I heard the storm was headed right for Borderlands. But in the end everyone was the same as I had left them Friday late afternoon. Only the ponies seemed to care that I was gone.

I hope we can sneak another "mini" camping vacation in before the end of the summer. I had so much fun and really got to relax. It was absolutely worth the hassle of preparing for the trip, driving two vehicles down, and dealing with camper neighbors. I am refreshed. The only downside, I didn't get any pictures. I'm not sure why. I was so wrapped up with making sure everything went off without a hitch for Saturday's trail ride that I plumb forgot the camera. Oh well.

I'm hoping we can get another ride in sometime this fall when the leaves begin to change colors. It would be absolutely stunning down there, even if we do just a day ride.

Now to get things organized and ready to go. I talked with my hay guy last night and we have it squared way I'll be getting 70 big square bales. I need to do some caluculations to see if I need to order more. I would feel better with more but not sure the checkbook could handle more. I don't have enough space for more since I have left over. But if I get more, then I can pull another horse from an auction this fall, which is what I'm planning on doing. But I HAVE to make sure that the Borderland Herd is taken care of.

All in all, a very refreshing weekend. I am revived and ready to focus!