One of the good things about living out here in the sticks, is that when all the stars align: i.e. it's sunny, we both have a day off with nothing scheduled, and we a horse didn't throw a shoe - me and the Cowgirl can go for a trail ride.
This is the trail where these videos were shot. It runs next to the Maple Valley Highway. There is a nice gravel parking lot on the south side of the river where we parked, then followed the trail south for a few miles.
June Bug was strictly a Reining Horse before we got her, so even though she's highly trained, she hasn't been on a lot of trails. Most of her stuff was done in an arena. So it wasn't surprising that she did NOT want to cross a bridge the first time she saw one. Especially one that 40 feet above moving cars and trucks. I had to dismount and the Cowgirl walked her over the first time, but she learns quick.... the horse does.... and the Cowgirl too, I guess. I'm going to quit while I'm ahead.
The next obstacle we encountered was a tunnel under the road:
And here's the big pay off, just like a really low budget, really slow moving action movie.
I took my first lesson today, after this ride, so on my next video, I'll have some more skills.
There are tons of horse friendly trails around Maple Valley, I'll make sure we shoot some more pics and video as we explore. The one on this trip is nice for a beginning rider like me. Relatively flat and paved, so not very technical. A good beginner trail.
See you next time~
