Ride & Play!

 

 

Windy, the most beautiful bay mare, turned 11 years old yesterday.  I told the people I was camping with that today was her birthday.  I hadn’t looked at a calendar for several days and got the days mixed up.  Here we are on her birthday ride. 

 

 

This is my friend, Joni, photo-bombing the picture of me and my beautiful bay mare.  Have I ever told you how much I love being with my girlfriends?  Laughter is such a cure all.  And we laughed so hard!

 

John and I spent this past Memorial Weekend with fourteen of our good friends at Eagle Creek Ranch which is owned by one of those friends. 

 

 

I took this picture of John and Fancy.  When I scrolled through the preview of the pictures on the little LCD screen, once again I couldn’t believe the resemblance.  This picture was taken yesterday of John riding Fancy. 

 

 

Here is John and Ginger in June of 2006. 

 

 

Pretty incredible, huh?  While their personalities are altogether different, there are times when John is walking ahead that you could swear he is on Ginger.  Fancy is taller and longer and not as animated as Ginger.  While Ginger was bold and fast, Fancy is graceful and elegant and sometimes a bit nervous.  I’m glad for their different personalities and appreciate the horse that Ginger was and the one that Fancy has become.

 

 

We not only rode.  We ate.  But I don’t want to talk about that because I have some serious damage control to do with regards to the diet this week.  I did manage to squeeze into a swimsuit and we hung out in the creek.

 

 

There are several waterfalls coming out of the bluffs above the creek.  We called this one the Stair Step waterfall.  Tanya climbed it and I followed.  She is so stinkin’ cute and she brings out the youth in all of us!  Gawd!  I need a tan!

 

 

Speaking of water, second riding trip this year and second time I had a water landing.  Me, and the two riders behind me in this picture, stepped off the sandbar into some quick sand.  Windy quickly sunk to her belly.  I did not want to hinder her ability to pull herself out of it, so I rolled off to the side of her while she pulled herself out of it.  A very good reminder to be more careful at water crossings. 

 

 

This is our second Memorial Day that our friends were kind enough to invite us up to ride.  It is located almost on the South Dakota border, down in a canyon along Eagle Creek.  Hence the name.  We had the whole place to ourselves.

 

 

Well, except for thirty-some head of cattle.  We camped in their pasture.  Meet Duracell, a twenty-something year old steer who never made it to the dinner plate and never will.  He did, however, find the alfalfa we kept under the gooseneck of our trailer and helped himself to the dogs’ food.  Friendly chap, too.    He did make me a bit nervous when he scratched his head on my Ram. 

 

 

Remember that cell phone commercial where there was always a bunch of people behind the person making the call?  That’s how we felt when we took a walk one morning.  The herd came along with us.  When we walked, they walked.  When we stopped, they stopped. 

 

 

And speaking of cell phones….  there was no service.  We had severe withdrawals and would make a trip to the top of the hill each evening to “geek out”, as John calls it. 

 

 

And yes, Pip made the trip.  She is officially a camping dog.  For every mile we rode, I think she ran 1.5 miles.  And when we weren’t riding, she was playing with all the other dog friends she met at ride camp. 

 

 

But when the sun went down, so did Pip.  She was plum-tuckered out.  Pip has never been a lap dog and I was thrilled that she so turned into one when she got tired this past weekend. 

 

 

I had an awesome weekend with my husband, horses, dogs and friends.  Can’t wait to do it again. 

 

Thanks to my friends at Eagle Creek Ranch for sharing your beautiful land with us.    

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