Cloud and Sarge lugged us around for 18 miles on Saturday and another 12 miles on Sunday.
This was Cloud's first outing with lots of other horses
and her first overnighting at the trailer.
She handled everything like a seasoned pro
and was a delight to partner with all weekend.
The ride was a "go at your own pace" event,
which meant that the trails were marked but you did your own thing either riding alone
or with a group of your choosing.
The signs, ribbons and map were easy to follow.
It looks like Cloud and Sarge are reading the sign in the above photo!
There were various options for loops and with the mileage available,
that meant that we rarely saw other riders
and there was no bunching up or "nose-to-tail" riding.
The lunch stop held out on the trail was a welcome break
about halfway through both Saturday and Sunday.
We rode into a clearing and were surprised to find
that ride management had set up picket lines in a treed grove
and erected a food tent
where hot BBQ sandwiches, cole slaw, chicken chili, lentil soup and more
were dished up by kind volunteers!
I could get used to this kind of service!
Probably 3/4 of the trails were woods trails
that popped out onto unexpected vistas
and gave us glimpses of mountains through the trees.
This area with it's 4' high stone walls stretching as far as you could see
looked like a scene from the rural British Isles.
At the end of each day, after getting my sweet mare rubbed down,
fed and groomed,
I was ready for some relaxing myself.
From the weather to the people and from the food to the trails, it couldn't have been a finer weekend. Our rating of the Flint Hill Ride was a perfect 10!
I'll admit it: over the years of trail riding, I'd become picky about who we chose to ride with.
I'd pretty much decided that if Joe and I weren't riding with a few select friends
or at a NATRC (North American Trail Ride Conference) competition
then we'd prefer to ride by ourselves.
Not because we're loners, but spending the day with people
who can't control their horses, don't follow the rules of the area where we're riding
and who aren't safety conscious isn't for us.
It was a major leap of faith when we decided to try a public trail ride
being held near Shenandoah National Park.
My fingers and toes were crossed that there wouldn't be 100 crazy beer drinking riders out there
with Joe and I wearing our helmets.
I'm delighted to say that my fears were totally unfounded
and we had a fabulous time at the Flint Hill Trail Ride!
We've finally begun using our big living quarters trailer again, and what a grand time we're having!
A normal day ride for us means taking our small bumper pull trailer and using our GPS's to plan out a day out in a National Forest or other nearby public trails.
This was our second trip in the big trailer this year (I'll post about Trip #1 later)
and our first to a destination here in Virginia!
So.... about Flint Hill which was a fundraiser for the Flint Hill Volunteer Fire Department.....
We left the barn in the AM on Friday
and it was an easy 2 hour drive up to the Huntly/Flint Hill area south of Front Royal.
The field where we parked was HUGE.....
And did I mention scenic?!
Set up was easy for us as we didn't bother with electric corrals
instead we chose to overnight the horses NATRC style:
tied to the trailer on their overhead Hi-Tie arms.
Look who got to come along to camp....
Although Attagirl had to stay behind while we were out on the trail she loves to travel!
Our entry fees included meals for the weekend but not on Friday,
so after sandwiches at the trailer,
we saddled up and went out for a short leg stretcher of a ride.
We hadn't gotten our maps yet and were supposed to be back in camp by 4PM,
so we quickly did an "out and back" jaunt of about 7 miles.
We'd come prepared with gloves, hats, coats etc but didn't even need a jacket on this first afternoon.
Sunny and with a lovely breeze which bought down a few leaves
as we relaxed on our beautiful horses.
We decided that we were perhaps the luckiest people alive ......
We only saw about 12 riders out on the trails
and everyone was polite, in control and yes.... sober!
Alleluia!
(Trust me this would NOT have happened in Louisiana where the words "public trail ride"
normally go along with how many iced down beers can fit in the saddle bags!)
:(
We turned around at "Cougar Rock"
and were excited about the prospects of what the trails would be like the next morning.
When we emerged from the woods, there were definitely more trailers in the field
but no way that you could imagine that there were over 250 horses and riders.
The tent which had been blown down by winds the night before
(I'm glad we missed that!)
had been re-erected.
We went for a walk with Atta, took care of the horses and made a filling stir-fry for dinner.
The next morning it became apparent how well run the ride was....
a delicious breakfast was dished up from the food tent.
Not just edible but excellent:
homemade muffins, real scrambled eggs and sausage cooked in cast iron skillets!
We visited during breakfast with a few riders in the dining tent,
got our maps
and went back to these two characters
who were as yet unsuspecting that they were about to be asked to haul us around
in the mountains for 17 miles.
Tomorrow I'll post photos of the trails.
In the meantime, ride along for a few seconds on this Hyperlapse video....
In early fall we hosted our first "famous" guest on the hill!
Steve Katz who was playing at a Krantz music party,
accepted our invitation to spend two nights with us.
Steve was one of the founding members of Blood Sweat & Tears
and has recently finished a memoir about his career.
He was a delight to get to know,
and listening to him in concert was an experience I won't forget.
He interwove stories about the beginning of his musical career, Greenwich Village 60's memories, and his more recent musical interests with songs that reflected each of those segments of his life.
Dave. Steve and Linda
His recollection of the evening that he accidentally slammed Eric Clapton's fingers
in a car door gave me shivers though!
I'll be looking for his book to be released in the spring.
You never know who's going to turn up in this town!
A corner of the Krantz Music Room
Famous musicians and then not long after Steve left,
I had some REALLY special VIP's......
My brother, Randy, and my sister, Carol,
came for their first Virginia visit!
Nobody knows you like your siblings....
or at least they know you in a way that no one else does.
Funny how I still can feel like the "little sister" at times even though I'm an old lady!
I can't express how good it was to be able to see both of them again.
Lots of reminiscing happened out on the back porch!
Good times, but I think I wasn't alone in missing our mother and father.
I managed to get several good photos of our next guests so I'll give them their own post.
I could kick myself for not taking more photos of Randy and Carol!
I said a little prayer when the Blogger window actually opened without asking for a password or saying that the blog had been disabled. It's been way too long.
My last post was about Cary's visit .... and he's been back for a repeat trip since then!
Why I can't manage to get a post knocked out, I don't know.... lately it seems that there's always something else demanding my attention. And then there's that nasty habit that I have of wanting to do a worthwhile post; something with a stunning photo or grand words of wisdom.
Oh well I'm back at the keyboard again and unfortunately there will be no award winning photos or Pulitzer quality writing to be seen on this page today. :)
Since mid August there's been a harmonious blend of daily routine (working at the shop, cleaning the house, chores around the property etc) with the special (house guests, travel, hikes and new experiences).
But what's happening today? Joe's at Lee Chapel all day giving tours and I'm about to go ride my wonderful little mare and then cook a supper that I hope we'll be able to eat by the outside fireplace. The washing machine and dryer are running, Noel and Attagirl are keeping me company as I type, and I've got a cup of hot tea here on the desk. The normal rhythms of a quiet life: dailiness. Is that a word? Since spellcheck didn't turn it red, then I suppose it's okay.
Somehow, miraculously perhaps, dailiness manages to incorporate change. I spent a few hours last week packing away my summer clothes and saying hello to my corduroys, fleece pullovers and coats as they emerged from the storage boxes. Sweater weather aka Fall has arrived and with it came not only the cool nights and changing leaves but slow subtle shifts like the unique angle of sunlight on the mountains and the disappearance of our summertime Blue Ridge haze.
My delight in having Blogger allow me to start a post might be premature. As I've been typing, dire warning pop-ups (highlighted by a grim looking red box) have been giving me the news that "an error has occurred" and my post isn't being saved.
It could be that my visit to the barn will be delayed while I try and coax Blogger in to publishing something again. Wish me luck!
