A dream come true for me!
I rode my pony to Village Pizza in Corrales, New Mexico!
Because we had 4 horses and 2 of them were mares, we didn’t all tie up to the Hitchin’ Post to avoid any ‘marish altercations’. So, the geldings got the Hitchin’ Post and the mares each got their own tree.
Apache was very happy to have her own tree and promptly took a little siesta.
All 4 of us, snapping away with our cameras, were like excited Moms watching our kids prepare for their first recital. Would they behave? Would they act appropriately and not get into any trouble?
All through our lunch, each of us would step out and check on our ponies, but all 4 of them were on their very best behavior.
(Sharif, Copper, Apache, and Nova)
Out on the Village Pizza patio we enjoyed a delicious lunch from the pizza buffet. My favorite is the Green Chile/Pepperoni Pizza. There were also hot soups (I, of course, had the Green Chile Chicken soup!) and a nice salad bar, too.
(Friends: Vicki, Me, Leslie, and Cindy…and the photo-bomber scarecrow. *grin*)
I have to share a sort of funny story.
When I went up to pay for my lunch, the lady at the register looked a little like a sourpuss, but I was just so darn excited about finally riding my horse to Village Pizza…a dream finally realized after many years, that I shared this news with the register lady. She was like, ‘uh..ok…that’s nice’, and she gave me this look as if I was a green alien that was covered in purple polka dots and I had just grown two horns out of my head! *big grin*
Well, who could blame her? She works at Village Pizza every day, so being there isn’t such a big deal. lol!
But to give her credit, she did give me my Equestrian Discount of 10% off my meal, which is given to anyone who rides their horse to Village Pizza.
So…..anyway.
After a wonderful, leisurely lunch, we were all ready to get back in the saddle and do some riding.
Copper had a conversation with Apache before we rode away from Village Pizza: “Those sweet, crunchy carrots that our Moms brought out to us from the salad bar sure were yummy! But I wonder why they didn’t bring us any pizza?”
After leaving behind Village Pizza, we had to travel on a road for about a half mile. Thankfully it was a dead-end road and we only encountered two cars, with very polite and safe local residents driving.
There wasn’t any shoulder to ride on, but I had to laugh because Apache seemed to prefer to ride right in the middle of the road. I would move her over when a car approached, and before I knew it, as soon as the car passed us, she’d be easing back into the center of the road.
This was only the second time that I’ve ridden Apache on an asphalt roadway, and she made me proud. She was calm, curious, brave, and just a joy to ride the entire day.
We’re planning to ride in our first parade together, in just two more weeks! Some of you may remember when I posted about the Corrales de Caballos Parade last year in November. After attending that parade, I vowed that my Apache mare and I would ride in it the following year. Well, the time has come! Our very first parade! I’m so excited!
(Check out this awesome video that my friend Dan, of Dan & Betty’s Place Blog, took of that parade: Corrales Parade
As you can see, it was challenging to keep up with my friends' Arabians and Rocky Mountain Gaited Horse. We were way in the back for much of the day and did a lot of trotting to catch up.)
Thankfully, our friends waited for us when we encountered a change of direction, like at the end of the road at the entrance to the Cottonwood Bosque.
These are the typical gates for the Bosque Trails: A wooden pole box for the horses and humans to step over to help prevent access for motorized vehicles like ATVs and motorbikes, which are prohibited.
Although, motorbikes and ATVs are not allowed in the Bosque, mountain bikes are, of which we encountered many. Thankfully all of them were very respectful around our horses. And our horses were calm and relaxed around the bikes, too.
Riding along the flat, sandy ditch banks surrounded by the big colorful cottonwoods was so relaxing and peaceful.
Just on the other side of that beautiful line of cottonwoods is the mighty Rio Grande!
We soon came to another bridge crossing. This time the surface of the bridge was wooden. I think we all enjoyed the variety of bridges we crossed that day. At the end of the day we had done 9 bridge crossings!
Three of us are ACTHA competitors, Cindy, Vicki and myself, and it’s ironic that we’ve had to complete quite a few bridge obstacles during ACTHA rides, but this day, the bridges weren’t obstacles…..they were just fun!
I loved this section of ditch bank riding. The way the cottonwoods created a sort of tunnel as you rode beneath. I would have loved to canter my horse down this beautiful trail! But we were making a left turn down into the Bosque.
And immediately we came upon another bridge crossing. This one was a very narrow, long, wooden bridge.
None of our horses balked at crossing this bridge even though it was so narrow that you had to ride directly in the center or risk scraping your feet and legs along the railings.
It amazes me how Apache is so attuned to me that she knows when I’m taking photos and will often just stop….even when we’re standing in the middle of a narrow wooden bridge. *grin*
Leslie and Sharif had no problems crossing the bridge. This little Arabian gelding is so incredibly amazing. Less than a year ago, he was rescued after being found dumped in the desert near the border of Mexico, believed to have strangles and was starved and covered in wounds. He was dumped, along with a truckload of other horses, in the desert, on the way to be slaughtered. The rescuers named him Lucky, because he truly was lucky considering how close he was to becoming dog food. My friend, Cindy adopted him just a few months ago from the rescuers and named him Sharif. She had primarily got him as a pasture mate for her Arabian mare, Nova and had no intentions of riding him because he seemed too sore, weak and small for riding. But one day, after weeks of good care and feed and equine massage treatments, she took him our for a ride. And he was amazing! Nothing fazed him and he had such endurance! A true trail horse! And then a friend rode him…and jumped him! And he was beautiful and jumped perfectly! He rides in a Nurtural Bitless Bridle and is so soft and calm and sensitive that even a beginner can ride him.
How shocking and horrible to think that he was on his way to be slaughtered nd had almost died in the desert from sickness and starvation…..that he might not have had this second chance at life! What a loss that would be!
Here is a link to the blog about his incredible story with photos, too: Blotched, Botched or Blessed - One Indian Pony's Amazing Journey
The long, narrow, wooden bridge that we crossed.
On the ride back through the cottonwoods, we all had fun trotting and cantering along the Bosque trails. Vicki had fun jumping Copper over logs placed beside the trail for horses and riders to play on. And we all just enjoyed a relaxing ride surrounded by beautiful nature.
This trail ride made me appreciate living in New Mexico even more than I already did. There is such a stunning diversity to New Mexico. We have the high and low deserts, the rugged mountains that rival any seen in Colorado, the high eastern plains and prairies that allow you to follow the trail of the historic Goodnight-Loving Cattle Drive. And you can ride the original Pony Express route right into Lincoln, New Mexico…home of Billy the Kid. We have impressive canyons and the mighty Rio Grande. And it’s all in our backyards, very easy to access, all within a days drive.
There is so much more to New Mexico than most people envision. But New Mexico doesn’t reveal all her secrets at once. The more time you spend in The Land of Enchantment, the more amazing aspects are revealed. I could never tire of experiencing all of the beauty and diversity that New Mexico has to offer.
The Bosque trails that we rode, are less than an hour drive from my house, and are bordered by the city of Albuquerque.
But when you’re riding beneath that magical canopy of cottonwood trees, you feel worlds away from any city.
These trails are just so beautiful. I am sure that Apache enjoyed them just as much as I did. I love how she is fine with riding by ourselves. I enjoy the feeling of just being with my horse on the trails alone together.
There were many times when our friends were out of view and I would worry just a little that Apache would get nervous, but she never did.
And in fact, when we would come to another trail bisecting the trail we were riding on, she would sometimes come to a stop and look both ways as if she was lwaiting to see if I might let her go explore a different direction.
There was plenty of interesting things to see on the trails we traveled. And I’m very grateful that I have a short horse. I still had to lay across her neck to scoot underneath this low-growing, wide-spreading cottonwood trunk.
My favorite thing to do that day was trotting through the tree tunnels! Wheeee!
We got to the point that when we’d come upon a tree tunnel, Apache would turn her head to look at me, as if waiting for me to cue her to trot. I would laugh like a little girl while we’d fly through the tree tunnels and I think Apache enjoyed it just as much as I did!
The late afternoon sun filtered through the yellows and golds and just made those trails so magical and beautiful.
I also enjoyed how the trail twisted and curved through the tree tunnels. You never knew what you might encounter around the next bend. Sometimes we’d come upon some dog walkers, sometimes mountain bikers, other times hikers, and a few times, even some fellow horseback riders. Apache took everything in stride, no matter what we saw or experienced. I love my mare!
The brilliant yellow against the ever-present New Mexico blue sky. So pretty!
Have I mentioned yet, how much I adored riding through all of the tree tunnels?
Like I mentioned before, we did a lot of trotting and cantering to keep up with our friends. Apache was so much fun that day and seemed to enjoy flying through the forest with me on her back.
I hope no one is getting bored with all of these ‘between the horse’s ears’ trail photos. Every time I look at them again, I just feel like I’m back in the saddle and my soul is smiling!
I’m so thankful for my wonderful riding friends who share such wonderful trails with me and enjoy their horses just as much as I do mine.
And I’m so thankful for my sweet Apache mare for being the wind beneath my wings and the best trail horse I could have ever wished for.
I’m so happy to have a horse that not only enjoys the trails as much as I do, but is so attuned to me that I’m able to take photos of the beauty all around us.
When we trotted through this section, our dust created such a dreamy looking haze, but the camera didn’t capture it the same way that it actually looked.
Running through the trees, I didn’t capture any photos of the last part of our ride and before we knew it we were out of the Bosque and preparing to cross the 962’ long Alameda Pedestrian Bridge.
I was happy that my friends took a photo of us on the bridge.
Enjoying the beautiful views of the Rio Grande and the western flank of the Sandia Mountains in the distance. Amazing to think that we live on the eastern side of those mountains, in the rolling foothills of the Sandias.
Its so easy to enjoy the views when you’re riding such calm, brave, well-behaved horses.
The mighty Rio Grande isn’t so mighty due to the drought we’ve had for too many years here in the Southwest.
More friendly bike riders as we rode across the bridge.
And then we rode across the bridge over the water-filled ditch.
And none of us were worried about riding beneath the Alameda Blvd Bridge on the way back. We were relaxed and enjoying ourselves, even though we could see the huge trucks and cars crossing just overhead.
Riding beneath a roadway with cars and truck thumping and bumping across overhead is really weird. But our horses deserve huge kudos for not being worried about it at all.
Even as we rode through the tunnel and pigeons flew out of the rafters above our heads, and a bicyclist came up behind us, our horses were relaxed and unfazed. I’m so proud of my Apache mare!
I’d like to think that my confidence is much stronger now that my horse feels safe with me on her back. I’d like to think that she trusts me now because she knows I won’t ever let anything bad happen to her. But I know I owe a lot to my mare for her own self-confidence, bravery, and sensible, calm nature.
We’ve come a long way together and worked through some hurdles, she and I. She has earned my trust after the many miles we’ve traveled together, the obstacles we’ve crossed, and all of the different sights, sounds, terrain, and locations we’ve experienced together.
In this photo, we had just walked out from underneath the bridge with the bicyclist right behind us. He was respectful enough not to pass us from behind, but most horses would still be a little nervous about knowing there is something moving up behind them that they can see.
Apache wasn’t nervous, but she was curious. But she stayed calm and focused on me. She was listening very closely to the bicyclist, but she was also listening to me. I always talk her through anything worrisome or unusual we encounter. She seems to appreciate me talking her through these types of things.
The bicyclist waited to pass us until we turned off the main bike trail, just up ahead where those signs are.
Since it was a Sunday the main parking lot was packed full with cars. This is a popular trail head for hikers, dog walkers, bicyclists and horseback riders.
But soon we were finishing up our trail ride after having reached the equestrian area, with it’s round pen, trails and trailer parking.
For me, it was another ride of a lifetime and another one to mark off my bucket list. I enjoyed every last second of this trail ride and I know my Apache mare did, too. We rode 8 miles, traversed 9 bridges….over and under, hitched our ponies up to have lunch at the best pizza restaurant in New Mexico, and enjoyed gorgeous trails beneath beautiful cottonwood trees in their autumn splendor.
Life is Good!
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder