Thursday, April 8, 2010 - Final Ride at Woods Ferry

The weather was a bit cooler and cloudy this morning, with the forecast saying that rain would arrive around 2:00. We were out by 10:00, with plans to finish off the rest of the trails that we hadn’t been on yet, and to hopefully find a towel that Hubby had lost on the first ride. Started out on the blue trail again, and sure enough, we found the wayward towel. We took the yellow trail, then came back on the green connector, which had some very pretty sections. Actually, every trail had it’s own character, and ranged from sections that were quite narrow, to wide dirt roads.
Very little gravel, so we weren’t quite sure why there was a notice on the kiosk saying horses should be shod, because there really was very little to be concerned with. Also, I should note that it’s practically impossible to get lost here, as there is a placard at every intersection with a mall-like "You Are Here" map, probably one of the best marked trails ever. Also, there was a stockpile of maps at the entrance to the campground, which is more rare than you might expect.
At about noon, it began to rain (another excellent weather forecast :-). We pulled out the ponchos and carried on. The horses were particularly slow and ploddy today, even with the slightly cooler temps, but after the rain, they seemed to be a bit recovered. In fact, toward the end of the trip, there was a long fairly gentle climb up a dirt road. I decided to trot up, and set out at a moderate pace. Hubby’s mare decided she wanted to race, and cantered, then galloped by. Of course, my gelding (her son) wasn’t about to be left behind, so he chased after her. Both started to gallop faster and faster, until we were at breakneck speeds. There were berms every 10 yards or so, and every time we reached one I thought they would slow down, but instead they seemed to use it as a launching pad, getting ever faster all the way. It was incredibly exhilarating, but also a bit hair-raising, as these were speeds we’d never experienced like this before! We never expected that so late in the ride! Just goes to show what good shape the horses are in now! When they finally slowed down, I was just thrilled there were no crashes, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Whew!
Got back all in one piece, then started getting ready to leave tomorrow. We were hoping it would rain again, and a bit harder, to get rid of the thick layer of pollen that had collected over the week. It did a bit more later and overnight, which helped, but at some point, everything needs a bath!