Good friends, good weather, and...

A good horse. I'm lucky to have all three, and to have an understanding husband who told me to go have fun tomorrow.

A group of local riders and drivers threw together a cross-country ride this weekend, and once again C & J are playing chauffeur for Sunny and me. (The search for a suitable three horse trailer continues, but that's another story.) At any rate, I'm going to play on the trail and just enjoy my horse, and will - hopefully - be home to attend a re-scheduled cookout that was weathered out today.

We debated the logistics of all of us going, but the kids haven't ridden enough to make a long day in the saddle pleasant, and weren't excited about the prospect of a wagon ride in the heat. (I can't really say I would be thrilled, either!)

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Well, that was yesterday. Today was the ride. Beautiful day -- lots of sun, high clouds, enough breeze to keep the bugs off without blowing everything away. Sunny was easily caught (although I definitely need go out early some days when I don't intend to ride him - he's getting a wee bit suspicious that seeing me early means work!) and he's a peach to load. The "trail head" was a local farm only about 5 miles away, and our destination was the local horse arena on the outskirts of a small town about 10 miles as a crow flies.

I've ridden on a couple of these local rides before, and they usually involve a bit of road riding, but mostly we end up winding around in and out of pastures and across cut hay fields. Pretty, not too taxing, and with a shady spot to stop for lunch. Had I realized this one was to be 9-10 miles of gravel topped off by 2 miles of blacktop, I would have passed. Sunny doesn't have shoes on - ordinarily he doesn't need them - and I don't like riding on blacktop. A lot of it's slippery when it's hot, the concussion is hard on legs, and there are a lot of less than careful drivers out there. I also discovered that I can't ride for long, flat distances on a hard surface without my lower back protesting badly. Hills and terrain that allows for varying speed and position I'm fine. Even on softer surfaces - fields, etc., I'm okay. Not gravel or pavement.

So, after a very long day with lots of walking (I think I walked about 6 of the 12 miles we covered), I'm sure of two things: 1) Sunny has a definite future as a steady trail horse - he wasn't fazed by much of anything, and 2) a trail ride needs a trail, not a road.

And now, I am going to bed. Will get pictures from the day up tomorrow.