The FBMDR Trail Ride

May 7, 2010

Friday was a large trail ride, the FBMDR, the Friday Before Mothers Day Ride, that my friend Tammy has organized at the Oak Creek Trail in Valparaiso. This ride was the 10th anniversary for the ride. Tammy has a detailed description of the ride on her blog, Horsetrailriders.com .

Did any one tell the weatherman that this is May? We are not suppose to have to dress for winter. The day started with 45 degrees and 25-35 mile per hour winds. The day ended at 53 degrees, and throughout the day, the wind gusted to 45 mph. Brrr

I thought about wearing winter breeches, but it couldn’t be that cold! I did look for my windproof pants that I could have put on over my jeans, and couldn’t find them in the trailer! I always feel like I forget something from home, when I don’t have the trailer fully pack with everything! I did have my good rain coat in the trailer, and a fleece jacket that had a headband and gloves in the pockets. I did have plenty of gloves in the trailer though!

I wore layers! Long sleeve t-shirt, hooded sweatshirt, light windproof jacket, fleece lined jacket, and the rain coat! Geez, you would have thought it was winter! And I was not too warm except for the few times that the sun peaked between the clouds. But then you felt the wind, and you hunkered back down into those layers of clothes!

I didn’t take a horse to the ride. My friend, another Tammy, brought a mare for me to try out. She sounded like she would make a great lesson horse. Chick was a little ansy on the trails, but by the end of the ride, we bonded really well. I felt like she was a mix of our pole bending mare, Misty, that we had sold and our little reining/working cow horse, Chick. This Chick was very responsive, a little touchy on the sides, and alert and watching. Tammy says she settles right down when she gets into the arena though. I plan of trail riding her this summer, and be a replacement lesson mare next summer, as I plan on breeding Startlet this month.

Hope to see you on the trails soon!
Come along on the ride with me!