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