The best trail ride you ever had...

[jazzrider]

I actually had to give this a lot of thought. We've ridden in so many beautiful places. But I think the best ride I've ever had was at the Manassas Battlefields in Virginia, not far from us. My hot and spooky OTTB was sidelined by an injury. I borrowed a friend's TB to ride the Main Loop (10 miles) with my husband and his horse. It was a gorgeous fall day, the colors were amazing, and it was the first time in a long time I could just kick back and enjoy the scenary and ride a horse I could trust. It was one of the most peaceful rides I can recall, and the day I realized I needed to find a new trail riding partner (horse, not my husband! :lol:).

What's the best trail ride you've ever had?

[mjhco]

Fort Robinson near Crawford Nebraska a little over two years ago.

100 horses (mostly Arabians). Wonderful people. WONDERFUL country. Beautiful weather. No cell service.

[lawndart]

Just last weekend had a great time with a friend of my daughters. I'm grateful her Mom sent her to me for a 'loaner'. :winkgrin: She is a great kid. We went on two different rides, both were nice, but the second was the best.

I've ridden Gettysburg, which was OK during the day, but we stayed over at the campgrounds, got up early to a foggy morning. Saddled up, and had a great time riding thru the quiet fields. The Statues would come floating out of the fog, you could not see the base of them, so the figures looked real. No humans around (live ones anyway) just us and the horses.

I've had some great ones with my daughter when she was younger. Riding along on a cold winters day, looking at the pines trees lined in white. Riding thru a mass of colors in the fall. Great times, great horses. :D

[Ponyclubrocks]

There are too many over my lifetime to pick out just one as the best, but there is one that sticks out as sort of majical....about 14 years ago on my very old gelding (I got him as a 7 year old in 1968 and had him still when he died at 39 in 2000). We went solo for a moonlight ride in the snow. The temps had dropped very fast and it was the kind of cold where the snow squeaks when you walk on it. So it was about 11 PM, full moon and everything shimmering in the moonlit snow. I rode to the edge of a large pond/lake and I kept hearing a really high pitched zinging sound, it was very odd, nothing I had ever heard before. We stood still listening a long time until I finally realized that what I was hearing was the ice forming on the surface of the lake. We continued on and just as we were entering the woods, a huge form swooped down in front of us just a few feet off the ground...a big old owl out hunting in the snow. The entire ride felt like I had crossed over into another world. Since my boy was quite elderly we just walked around the lake and through the woods for about an hour, but when I got back to the barn...I felt like we had been gone much farther...much longer. A very cool (no pun intended!) experience.

[jazzrider]

I've ridden Gettysburg, which was OK during the day, but we stayed over at the campgrounds, got up early to a foggy morning. Saddled up, and had a great time riding thru the quiet fields. The Statues would come floating out of the fog, you could not see the base of them, so the figures looked real. No humans around (live ones anyway) just us and the horses.

We really want to try Gettysburg this fall. But I've heard it's best with someone who knows the trails. Do you agree?

Ponyclubrocks -- We love to do moonlight rides! It sounds like you had a great one.

[BigHorseLittleHorse]

ooh, really tough choice between:

A: seeing brumbies while on a ride in the Kosciusko Mountains (where The Man from Snowy River was filmed)

B. seeing ancient Native American rock art in the company of a professional archaeologist while on a ride in the Capitol Reef park in southeastern Utah

I really can't pick just one... they were both absolutely unforgettable!

[ChocoMare]

Riding out through The Green Mountains near Lincoln, Vermont. Great horse (Firefly Ranch B&B) and a great guide/company. ;)

[lawndart]

We really want to try Gettysburg this fall. But I've heard it's best with someone who knows the trails. Do you agree?


We did it ourselves. I wasn't leading, but if I remember correctly, the woman who was had a map, and had been there before.

[beth heffelfinger]

I went on training rides last winter with my daughter to get in shape for our firs 25 mile ride. First and last because she is off at College 3000 miles away. Maybe in 4 more years we can do it again... But the memories are great...
Thanks for the great thread..

[Slaters_mom]

Patapsco state park in Maryland is unbelievable. Horse heaven! And of all the rides I have had on the park, I have to say that my favorite was the first time I rode to Daniels, MD from Marriotsville Rd (league of Maryland horsemen). It is about 5 or 6 hours round trip (we move too...), but the scenery is gorgeous. You see a great variety of ecosystems in one park. Wonderful ride!

[War Admiral]

Ohhh, for me, that one is a no-brainer. Late 70s, early fall, New England. We had this amaaaaaaaaaazing long trail which ran along a disused railroad bed with the tracks removed. It had perfect footing and it ran for miles and miles across three counties. The problem was that access to it involved somewhat more complicated terrain. Over the years my friends and I had built XC jumps across it in places, some of which were pretty challenging for a bunch of kids... There was one where you jumped a log vertical, took one stride, jumped UP onto a dirt road which crossed the railroad bed, scrambled down the drop on the other side and then jumped another big log. A huge plus was that the railroad bed trail also went through a Boy Scout camp, and when it was not in session, you could picnic there and go swimming and have a cookout.

My fancy TB eq. horse at the time had always been completely chickensh*t about anything involving jumps or complicated trails or XC. When we built the XC jumps we had to leave "walk arounds" just for him! :rolleyes: He was pretty fit that year though, b/c I'd fallen in with a group of CTR riders and foxhunters who were getting their horses fit for the fall season.

So one day I takes it into me 'ead to ride him ALONE on the railroad bed loop. What possessed me to take Mr. Chicken$hit Snit Fits out on Da Road by himself I do NOT know, but on that particular day, he was as up for it as he had ever been on any racetrack. We trotted and cantered for miles and jumped every jump, first try, never even missed a beat. We took a lazy break at the Boy Scout camp and shared lunch and a swim. When we were both dry, I remounted and walked for a mile, but ended up cantering and galloping and jumping for another good hour or so. His pace was SO lovely and relaxed. He and I both just had a blast. He was finally the XC horse I really wanted, after 8 long years. I got off him and put the stirrups up at the end of the railroad bed trail, and walked him the 3 miles home. We got home some time after dark.

I can still feel the singing rhythm of that canter, 40 years later. DEFINITELY the best trail ride I've ever had!

[Dreamboat Annie]

Patapsco state park in Maryland is unbelievable. Horse heaven! And of all the rides I have had on the park, I have to say that my favorite was the first time I rode to Daniels, MD from Marriotsville Rd (league of Maryland horsemen). It is about 5 or 6 hours round trip (we move too...), but the scenery is gorgeous. You see a great variety of ecosystems in one park. Wonderful ride!

Patapsco is beautiful, and so is Fair Hill, in Cecil county, I live closer to Fair Hill now, and you can both ride and drive up there! :)

[jeano]

That would be my ride on the King of the Wild Stallions back in the early 90s. A rental string run by the Navajo in Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. It was a wild set up, about 50 mares, a lot with foals at heel, and the herd sire, and a lot of clueless highschool kids. The kids didnt know one end of a horse from the other, but they knew the stallion was too much horse, so one after another got on him, got scared, and got off. Finally we were down to one horse, two riders (my friend and me, not connected with the group of kids.) My friend told me to go ride, since I was obviously dying to get on this beast. I had a great time, he was a very nice horse, very sensitive, and very concerned that all his mares were leaving without him. Only time I've ever ridden a stallion. It was a lovely cool spring day, the Navajo wranglers were the best, and I saw some incredible riding fron them that day--one teenage boy riding just on a saddle pad had his horse doing flying lead changes at a dead run.

Another great ride was supposed to be by moonlight at Tar Hollow in Ohio, except I miscalculated moonrise and we found ourselves descending a rock staircase in almost total darkness. Neither horse put a foot wrong and we had a really good ride, totally put ourselves in our horses' care.

[Rachel L]

I agree with jeano, Canyon de Chelly is amazing! The canyon is spectacular, we saw a bachelor band of wild horses, the company we went with took great care of us, the food was good, I slept under the stars and heard a couple of whinnies in the night, and it was CHEAP!

Other favorites are the rides I have taken in Yosemite, and in the Desolation Wilderness near Lake Tahoe.

I feel lucky to live in such a beautiful country.

[Anyplace Farm]

Oh, nice thread -- thanks for starting.

My best trail ride would have to be the day when my OTTB crossed all the creeks all by himself. We were all alone and he did it without hesitation. I was just thrilled because it opened up the door to many, many hours of wonderful, peaceful rides that really bonded me with my boy.

I'm in your area -- in Haymarket. Not far from the Battlefield and we have a wonderful area to trail ride in. My guy is retired now and unfortunately, I'm about to help him across the rainbow bridge, so, this brought up some fond memories.

[CBudFrggy]

Most recently and one of the best...

Sunday I rode with a group from the South Florida Trail Riders at St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park. We went through swampy standing water over the horses knees, saw a bald eagle, a wild hog, deer tracks, turkey tracks, and a manatee. Just a glorious 3 hours. I love my horse!

Probably the best...

Our first horse campout, I had a beer and decided to ride him bareback with a halter and lead rope in the light of the full moon. I rode all over the campsite and introduced ourselves to everyone and then out in the woods and fields.

[mrs.smith]

Just this past weekend I had a wonderful ride through farm fields and woods with a group of six, which included two young girls on ponies. I rode last as Alice was a bit marish, and just really enjoyed watching the girls ride, listening to the older riders' stories of past rides and horses, and gazing at the beautiful scenery around us. We came to a clearing and one girl yelled so all could hear, "AND RIGHT HERE WAS WHERE GRANDMA GOT BUCKED OFF AND HURT HER BUMM". We all had a good laugh and decided a memorial marker should be made to commemerate the spot, as "grandma" is quite a good rider and her getting thrown was unbelievable.

Nothing spectacular about the ride itself, just the wonderful companionship with others who enjoy riding as much as I do. Quite thereputic, in fact. I hope we can do it again before the weather gets too bad.

[jazzrider]

I'm in your area -- in Haymarket. Not far from the Battlefield and we have a wonderful area to trail ride in. My guy is retired now and unfortunately, I'm about to help him across the rainbow bridge, so, this brought up some fond memories.

So, so sorry to hear about your guy. Blessing and jingles to you during such a difficult time. :sadsmile:

We used to board on the Battlefields and know the trails really well -- but we actually haven't been back there since we moved out here. That's what made me start this thread -- thinking about how great it was to ride there. Now that we finally have two trail eager horses, we're thinking about making the drive one weekend. We mostly ride out at the Blue Ridge Center or Sky Meadows these days (and trying to whump up the courage to try the C&O and see how our boys handle the trains :eek:).

[dressagetraks]

Back after the Man from Snowy River came out, I daydreamed about riding along a sawtooth ridge in a pasture about 2 miles from the boarding barn, the nearest I could get to the movie scenery, and doing it at a gallop accompanied by the main title music. Came the day, of course, that I found the soundtrack at a time when I simultaneously had the few bucks required. I bought it, borrowed a friend's walkman, and waited for appropriate weather to most nearly resemble the good days in the movie (not the storm scene, we aren't recreating that, thank you).

So the perfect day came when my schedule and weather obliged, and I drove out to the barn to saddle up my unlikely partner in romantic film fantasy, Bam Bam the half-Arab, half-lunatic gelding. I told the BO we were going on a trail ride but didn't state my intentions, feeling a bit silly saying it out loud. To the big ridge we went. Bam had warmed up nicely and was feeling pretty obliging for him.

Here I discovered a problem as I hit the starting point of my scene recreation. It required a hand free to hit the start button on the walkman, with tape already cued up, and Bam, of course, picked that moment when I only had one hand on the reins to throw in one of his patented spook-rear-spins. I stayed on, but I resembled more a monkey than Jim Craig in doing it. All of this, of course, was done to glorious musical accompaniment.

Stop. Regain stirrups. Call Bam a few endearments. Rewind the tape. Cue up the tape again. Ready? Go. This time, Bam took three canter strides and spotted A ROCK :eek:

Stop. Regather reins. Call Bam a few more endearments. Try to explain the wonderfulness of the Man from Snowy River to him and how honored he should be to be my partner in this cinematic recreation. Rewind the tape. Cue up the tape again. Ready?

And the third time, whether because of my lecture or just because of his whirlwind moods, Bam was wonderful. We galloped along the whole length of that ridge, clouds overhead, wind in my face, incredible music accompanying, and even his hoofbeats were in time with the theme. Nobody on earth watching right then. Just the two of us living a crazy dream I had had.

The main title ended. I stopped Bam, gave him a grateful pat, and really called him a few endearments. And then I walked him all the way home, satisfied. That will probably be as close as I ever get to the movies, but I'll never forget it. The most perfect gallop of my life.

[Mersy]

The Mantanuska Valley in Alaska.
Surrounded by huge mountains, spruce and birch forests, lakes and streams. Long summer days. Cold, crispy, moonlit nights through the snow.
A wonderful place to get lost.

[NC Trail Girl]

I'ld have to say that with the Great Smokies in my back yard.... This is by far the most beautiful scenery I've ever ridden in. BUT I would think most of my memories come from hacking around with my buds when I was a teen w my first horse. Those days and memories can never be replaced ;)

[J.R.]

Most recently and one of the best...

Sunday I rode with a group from the South Florida Trail Riders at St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park. We went through swampy standing water over the horses knees, saw a bald eagle, a wild hog, deer tracks, turkey tracks, and a manatee. Just a glorious 3 hours. I love my horse!

Probably the best...

Our first horse campout, I had a beer and decided to ride him bareback with a halter and lead rope in the light of the full moon. I rode all over the campsite and introduced ourselves to everyone and then out in the woods and fields.

Cbud!!! You've been nailed:D When I was trying to decide to go to this ride last week with my soft footed horse, everyone said it would be high and dry!!! Glad I stayed home:eek: Even tho I did get picked on about it!

I rode there yesterday and it was gorgeous and just a little damp in spots!

P.S. I registered on the board, just to respond to this. This is my first visit and I found a buddy in the first 5 minutes. How weird is that?

[911Cowgirl]

Both my husband and I take our one big vacation in the summer and we load up the LQ horse trailer and head out for our annual leg of the the Chief Joseph Trail ride. This is one of the ApHC sponsored rides but you must ride a registered Appaloosa that is at least four years old. This year will be our seventh year and we have seen some wonderful sights, from the Bear Paw battlefield which is the end of the ride, to Joseph where the Nez Perc started their flight from the US Army. This year was a challege as we were on the Lolo Pass and it was the Lewis and Clark bicenteninal and the state of Idaho was burning up. We had just finished our ride and the group was pulling out on Saturday morning and by later that evening the Forest Service has closed the trail down due to fire. Beautiful horses, scenery and wonderful people.

Also like to ride in the Salmon, ID area with our friends that raise racing QH and Appaloosas.

Suzanna

[yellow-horse]

2 rides stand out

i rode my retired mare along the beach with a group of friends, she was still in decent shape from being trail ridden around the local trails a few days a week, and i had promised her she'd never have to get on a trailer and leave home again when i really retired her but i had never done a beach ride before and took her one last time away from her field, she was so eager and fresh for it, like a young horse and i remember us leaving the rest of the group behind and we galloped off from the group and she felt so good, when i turned around my friends were like little dots on the beach

another ride was alone in the moonlight after a snowfall, we were the 1st footprints out there and the moon was very bright on the white snow, it started out as a quick ride around the farmbut we rode for most of the night over our familiar trails but it all looked so different on the snow and night

[LostFarmer]

I have several favorites. One of my favorites is to hit the swim hole inside Yellowstone. The water is like a big bathtub and a wonderful soak at the 11 mile mark on the trail.

The 3 to 5 day trip into the head of the Yellowstone is also a good one. To sit at the parting of the waters and watch one stream go to the Atlantic and one to the Pacific. Beautiful country and BIG spaces.

The Salmon, Selway, and Frank Church are all fun places to horse around.

LF

[kearleydk]

LF Didn't know you ride as well as drive. Bravo!

911cowgirl, Wow what fortitude to trailer all the way to Wyoming. I've driven over the Chief Joseph trail in a car a couple of times and would love to do it with horses. I can't imagine hauling my horses al the way out there tho. How many days does it take just to get out there?

Also must be a shock for a Florida horse to suddenly be faced with that sort of terrain.

Dick

[LostFarmer]

Yes I ride, those ponies have to earn their keep somehow. LF

[Cold Spring Farm]

I used to live in Half Moon Bay Ca and could ride right out of my place to a ridge behind my barn and the whole Pacific Ocean spread out before me! It was breathtaking. Also had a gorgeous redwood preserve down the street which was just a magical place to ride.

Now that I'm in Va. (not far from you at all, jazz!) I ride out from my farm but also enjoy going to Little Bennett in Md. Will have to try Patapsco and Sky Meadows next! My niece has done Gettysburg but says Mishouex (sp?) is much better....but bring a GPS! Hope to try that sometime soon.....

[jazzrider]

We still need to try Little Bennett. December has turned out to be a difficult month -- not a lot of riding opps. We missed a USTR ride at Micheux (not sure I've spelled it right either!) in October. I heard it was great.

I just love Sky Meadows.

CSH -- Every time I see your screen name it makes me think of home -- I grew up on the border of Cold Spring Harbor and Huntington in NY...:yes: But I know you're here in Loudoun.

[Bank of Dad]

My best ride was my last ride on my 25 year old mare that I raised from birth. We camped at Fair Hill, rode the whole weekend, and she was like a 5 yr old. Two weeks later she came down with severe EPM and I lost her a few months later :( :(

[wateryglen]

Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria, Virginia; with a bunch of crazy fun friends. In the spring; before the leaves were on the trees so the views weren't obscured. Appleblossoms/peach blossoms in full bloom & smell was delicious. Horse was perfect.

Another was one I took the night before I had major surgery. Wasn't sure how it would go so I did some daring jumping/galloping. Wondered if me & this horse would ever do this again.....it was magical. Anxiety CAN make you brave!! :winkgrin: