Colorado Springs Horsebackriding

Just found out that Ill be going to Colorado Springs this January.  I believe that Im going to plan a trip horseback riding with Colleen. The city is at the foot of Pike's Peak which is the inspiration for "America the Beautiful"  the song.

http://www.triplebranch.com/activities_food.php

Academy Stables
This place rides in the Garden of the Gods just outside of Colorado Springs
http://www.arsriding.com/
This place looks like its close to the Colorado Springs 6 miles away.

Inn at Cascade
http://www.theinnatcascade.com/rooms-rates.htm

Eleven Mile Canyon
http://www.tellerlinks.com/activities/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=26

Private Ride today, Sheila Grizzly, Andy Colleen and Tulsa

Tulsa  looking right at me and I loved her today. Young Bobby w/her.

Sweet Tulsa great to be on the trail with her again.
As we signed in today, Bobby says, Its just you two on the ride this morning.  I was thinking how happy  Colleen would be,  it was worth the sacrifice.  We have had some packed rides.
Sheila told me that lately Tulsa has been riding so much on all rides that she may be getting worn out. I hadnt rode her since last March.
Because we were with Sheila and she was first ride, it was an advanced ride just for Colleen and I.
Today during the ride, Sheila said that Andy trots  slow.  I was relieved because Tulsa thinks so too, along with Duke.  I think that Blue would be thinking that he trots just fine.
It was a beautiful day almost 60. I wore silk long johns but I didnt need them.  Sheila said pick a horse that you like the trot, we'll be trotting alot.  It sounded great.  Tulsa was ready and I could have ridden Duke (I thought about it) but I miss my Miss Tulsa.  So young Bobby got her ready for me.  She kicked up a bit on them because she was still eating. I told young Bobby that I could take any horse ready.

Side shot of Tulsa on lakeside trots.

She was great, she didnt like the water today and we took some interesting paths with Sheila because she was mixin it up.  As we came down the first hill, Sheila took us back on the middle trail that had been washed out. You could see that it hadnt been used in a long time.

We had for a few months now been taking the hard right The weather almost perfect, blue sky with peaks of sun.  Bobby signed us in and he was in a great mood. I was almost running to get back from the bathroom so we could get on and start riding.  The geese were on Kennedy Lake and made plenty of noise while we trotted at the edge of the lake.  Like I said Tulsa hated the puddles of water but one of the later trots she just went right through the water and didnt miss a beat. Good Girl.

You can see Tulsa looking up at me from the trail.

Colleen was up front with Sheila and I was in the back. I was thinking that maybe I would like to go tomorrow too.  The ride was beautiful, Colleen mentioned that we trotted places we had never trotted before.  At  

Heading lakeside for a great ride today.  Beautiful day.

At the end of the ride Colleen and I went into the barn and said hi to Amanda with Rosc, Sarah with Hawk and Anya with Winston.  They were brushing out the horses while Sheila was in the ring giving a lesson with Jewel and another black horse.  It was very nice.  They were brushing the fur and the tails of the horses.  It was great to see how sweet the horses were while they were being groomed. Not sure but it seemed as though the next ride had 2 young riders.

Kennedy Lake

At the end of the ride I took pics of young Bobby shoeing some horses. It was cool. I like how Bobby is at the farm.  Sheila shared some info on how things were going.  She said she has a daughter Tory and had worked yesterday. She also said how things were going on the farm lately.

2009 June Loon Mountain

This may be a short post. Two years ago June 2009,  Colleen and I took a weekend off to go zip lining and horseback riding in New Hampshires White Mountains.  I rented a nice condo in the town and we had a wonderful weekend.  We got up very early Saturday morning and had lunch at the Bear Breakfast place in Lincoln and then we started out to Loon for the 1st ride of the day and of the season.  It was pretty exciting we were the first run of the season. The horses were new and we would be going up the mountain. As it was the trails were down so we went up some trails on the sides. We trotted across fiends.  I felt that my horse was small or my butt was big. for some reason I felt like I was falling out of the saddle. Our guide was very nice and lived in the area.  she rode her own horse.  I was so upset with feeling like I was falling off the horse that she switched horses with me and gave me her horse.  It is the pretty one.  

It was a great ride even though all day I was wondering why I was so off my self on the horse.  I know now that I need to make sure my stirrups are tight and my leg is bent plenty.  

On the mountain trails there were so many wild lupine it was beautiful. There was piles of horse manure and the butterflies were flocking to it.  It was strange and beautiful day.

In general I thought that Loon's stables were just too touristy looking. The condos in the background bummed me out. Maybe next time Ill rent there and then I wont mind so much.

http://loonmtn.com/info/winter/horse.aspx

Great last ride today! It was huge. Foxxy

Here is Foxxy, she was the smoothest horse I have ever ridden. I dont want to tell anyone so I can ride again.

The ride today was pretty good. I was at the end of the huge lines.  A few people walked but most trotted. We had 3 trots one of them was very good.  I was the last person to get on a horse. Because there were so many riders I didnt think that Id even get a horse. Duke, Tulsa, Hershey, Jewel, so many horses I was scared. They only had Pixie and Domino left. I knew Pixie would work too hard to have me on her back.  Bright Eyes was in front of me. She is so beautiful.  Yesterday when I  got to the farm it was early for my ride. I saw that Bright Eyes had an eye hurt.  I didnt ask too many questions but I was worried for her. I realize that taking care of all those horses must be pretty difficult.

We were at the back of the ride and Sarah was in front of me. Way ahead was Sheila. I do love to ride with her but she had to go ahead to lead the huge amount of people.  Colleen was wearing a bright blue coat and I could see her from the rear as she rode.  There was a lady behing me that was riding Strawberry. Id like to ride Strawberry, Bright Eyes (Bright Eyes is a big rusty-brown painted mare with a white mark down her face, white patches on her side and dark brown mane and long tail) and Foxxy very soon.  Foxxy was great.

Sarah on Pumpkin. She is a very cool guide from Bobbys.

As we trotted I didnt even feel like I was going to fall off.  She is an amazing horse. Sarah says her face is so pretty. I have a picture of her in the top photo she is black with a white and pink nose.

Im sitting on Foxxy at the end of a huge ride.  Domino is front of me. I was last to be loaded.

I wish I had a chance to ride Bright Eyes.  She may be leaving to go to a thereputic farm. She sure seems sweet.
Dec 10th saw Bright Eyes giving a lesson.  So maybe I can ride her someday.

Late again had to go on the 10am, Duke was great

Great ride today.  Its funny There were so many guides and so many riders too. The ride split up 3 ways.

Jess told me - ** the blue strap Duke wears is because of his shape it keeps
his saddle straight. 

I was on Duke, Hershey was behind me and Blue was in the front.  At around the middle of the ride after the split with the walkders after little desert, Jess (Sheila's daughter) came in the front of me. I think she was trying to help the woman who was on Blue, get him going during the trots.  Jess told great stories about Blue and Rizo, Mariah, Blueberry, Tacoma (I think) and others too. Jess said that two of her horses were Blue's children.

The ride was great even though there were so many children. The kids went mostly on the walk ride.  The guides on our ride, were Sheila in front Amanda in the back and Jess in the middle.
We had 4 trots and one of them was very long. I loved it so much.  Duke rode perfectly behind Jess's Mariah. There was so much mud this weekend I saw mud where I hadnt before.  Jess said she trained Blue and Smokey and that they came together at the same time, they were both about 3 years old. She said that those 2 horses were kinda tough training.  I liked being with Jess she told great stories and I loved learning more.

On Sunday Duke let me get very close to him and hung out.  He is a sweet boy.  You can see his Brown eye.

Duke's white eye, He is a beautiful horse with his trained horse style. Like Hershey he is classy guy.

I didnt expect the ride to be such a great trot ride. So many people but it was smooth because of the guides I think. The 3rd trot was very long, up a hill around a corner and down the next hill. I was so happy. Blue did slow down a bit but the Jess got up behind him and tried to make sure he kept up the trot.

At the end of the ride I did get to get off Duke on the ground. I love when I get off on the ground. Enja is good at knowing that I like to get better at my horsemanship.
I was too late for the 9am just as I had arranged.  I needed to call Bobby to get in the 10am.  I had missed a beauty of a ride, only 2 people maybe only 1 person.

I went and got a coffee before the ride and then took a drive to Vine Brook Road at the end of Powers Road to see if I could access the little dessert. The area was posted as no tresspassing unless you were a resident of Vine Brook Road.

**The strap on Duke is called a :  Breastplates, breastcollars or breastgirths attach to the front of the saddle, cross the horse's chest, and usually have a strap that runs between the horse's front legs and attaches to the girth. They keep the saddle from sliding back or sideways. 

Duke Rocky Andy Colleen, Erika 2 (Deer Jumped the trail)

The two hour ride is the most beautiful rides that I have done ever.

Here Duke is trying to get around the other horses, he's so anxious today.  He jumped so beautifully over the water today it was so thrilling for me.  He's a big fav for me. Always keeping it exciting for us.

Today was so cool. Erika was our guide. She said that the trails might be blocked because of the storm.  It was a 9am there was another man on a trail ride for a one hour and the girl who really talks alot was taking the man on Tulsa.  I miss riding Tulsa.  Erika broke off after the lake up the hill where Colleen likes to trot up the hill and to the right.  We took the left.

Colleen letting Andy eat grass in the cornfield.

We past little desert and this time we trotted a few times before we started out trak out to the outer areas of the conservation land.  Just as we started down a hill just before the hill before we would take a hooked right and go up a huge embankment that formed a ridge.  The valley we were currently walking had the ridge on both sides of the trail.  The gradual hill we continued to walk down  was beautiful.  As we progressed there was a stomping from the right and a sudden sound of the small branches moving.  Duke stood still and my heart was beating strong.  A huge Buck with a rack of antlers came leaping down the ridge on the right, then leaped huge across the path infront of us and then up the left ridge so fast then away into the forest.  It was a wonderful moment.

We continued through the forest's pine needle paths, they were beautiful but the paths were blocked by fallen trees at several points we needed to pass.    We needed to bush wack around the trees into some very thick brush.  My knees were crushed 2 times during the tight squeeze that Duke needed to make.

Before we get to Texas Road we go through what Erika calls, the Cornfield.  We today walked and she told us we could let the horses graze on the grass for a while in the sun. It was cold and it felt so good to be horseback in the sun with the horses eating so loudly in the field.
After the cornfield we go out onto the road, Texas Road, by Sterling Road and then we were back in the woods thick until I start to see sandy ground and some of the dry looking long grass that is brown and has while buds that look like strings of cotton ball material.
We were at the Big Desert.   We rode there for a while and Erika took us to the edge of a golf course that I had no idea that was there.

Duke was very anxious the whole time during the ride. He thought that Andy was going too slow and that he should pass him and Colleen and take the lead. The whole time I had to hold him back. I needed to steer him constantly too.  I really like Duke, hes a nice guy but he's a tough guy like I may have said in the past.  He is also very beautiful to me.  He has lots of style and personality.

Today Duke Jumped a real horse jump over the river. I had to hold on like never before. It was amazing. No one saw it but I dont care he is so strong and I felt like I was going to bump right off his back.  Good Times.

When we got back to the farm, Enya asked me if I wanted to dismount on the ground instead of the ramp.  I really like that but Id like to have a guide give me the "ok" to dismount. This way the horse can be held.  Because they dont know me, if I was dismounting and the horse started to move, Id be off on the ground on my back.  I appreciate her asking.

This is the link for the printable map.

http://www.actontrails.org/images/mNashobaBrook.pdf

This is the link for the Nashoba Brook conservation Webpages

www.actontrails.org/MapNashobaBrook.htm

So to get to the place where the hunters park their cars to hunt at little desert.  You take the right onto Powers road off of Great Road and then find the VineBrook and follow it to the end.  Park and that is little desert.

Sheila's horse Cash was feeling much better and Sarah's horse Hawk had a absess that she treated with ebson salts and he was on the trail today feeling great.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

Sunday with Blue Sheila and some new family riders

Colleen's lil fav sweet horse.  Andy posing for me last week. He kept nudging my camera and he gave me a hug too.  He is a sweet boy.

Ive been trying to get the post up for a while.  Ended up riding 11am on Sunday. I enjoy riding early but just didnt get it going. I called in and then I had a low tire.  I think I should have gone at 9am.  As I drove for a 10am I realized that my tire was too low and I had to call in to the farm and let them know I need to reschedule for 11am.  Amanda answered and said that the 11am was less busy and it may be a good move.  Well I guessed Id just hang around the farm for the extra time. When I pulled in the ride was still loading. I didnt want to rush and the ride looked full so I sat in my car and organized my cash til the ride was loaded and left for the trail.  I got out and the barn had Bobby, Sheila and another man talking about the internet and phones. I know that Bobby sure could use some help with business.  Sheila seemed preoccuppied with something. She has been so busy lately with all the horse work.  I went over to the two horses at the post in the barn.  Domino was one and the other was a horse I didnt know. I said hi to him and he seemed a little worried.  I petted his head some.  Sheila came by and told me that he was her new horse.  She said that he could get fresh so I should be aware. I didnt want to annoy him so I kept my distance but still showed him some caring.  I took a couple pictures and just hung out with the kitties, donkeys and goats it was nice.  There was a family that arrived in a BMW. I was quick to judge them as snobs and rich people but I was wrong. They signed up with Bobby and they were on the ride with me.  As they stood getting ready I could hear that the ride was a first time for 3 of them and the others hadnt ridden in 25 and 30 years.  They were excited.  I think they shouldnt have gone on the trot but did. The father was on Hershey, I told him that Hershey was a cadillac of a horse. I was first to be saddled and they gave me Blue.  I am fine with him. He keeps me in my horse form.
As the cowboy guide placed me first because I wasnt with a group.  Blue was a great listener and He is very good on the trail.  After most of the family was loaded on and the young man on Domino was clearly overwhelmed with his size and his power.  Sheila cantered in at the last minute and said she needed to get out of the barn and out on the trail. She was stressed. She said her horse didnt feel good and she was worried.  I felt sad for her, she was clearly overwhelmed.
Well by the end of the ride she was better and we were smiling. I would like to send her a note and see how she is doing now.
Just checked in with Sheila and Cash her horse was feeling better the next day.  She had felt overwhelmed with taking care of the other horses and animals and also needing to take care of her horses.