by Eve Browning
What a glorious weekend! The weather could not have been
nicer for the second annual Memorial Day Trail Ride at
Foothills. This was the first year I attended, and my
first visit to this horse camp, so I had no idea what
to expect.
What I found: Paul Bundy made me and my horse feel right
at home from the get-go, and the facilities are ideal.
Solid tie lines with secure rings, easy in-out and turnaround
space for the trailers, a gorgeous galloping field and
a nice little warm-up loop trail around the camp, clean
pure water with electric pump, abundant firewood and
fire rings for all, happy campers, gorgeous horses, and
trails
of great variety and beauty.
Total there were about 35
horses and riders, and we went out in several groups
throughout the weekend. Paul led
a main ride each day. I would call these trails overall
fun/challenging, by which I mean: plenty to think about
and good training opportunities for you and your horse,
but nothing to scare the bejaysus out of you or make
you wish you had updated your will. Challenges included
deep
water crossings, bushwhacking, log obstacles, steep hills
(and I mean steep, really), and a turkey who flew up
my horse's nose. But the challenges are interspersed
with restful beautiful stretches of forest trail, where
the only sound is soft hoof-falls and the occasional
jackhammer-tap of a pileated woodpecker, or a thread
of golden birdsong.
We stopped for breaks at beautiful
Lost Lake, where the horses enjoyed wading out into cool
water and playing
around. On the first day my Johnnie was afraid of the
ripply wind-waves
and reluctant to wade in, but he followed when Peaches
the Belgian cross showed him how much fun it is to splash
with your hoofs. On the second day, he took off into
the water so happily that we got quite refreshed, including
water-filled boots for me.
Our potluck Saturday night
was the best camp potluck ever, with a perfect array
of menu choices. Ponder this:
venison sausage, Buffalo wings & drummies, cheesy potato
casserole, barbecue beans, chicken pasta salad, veggie
pasta salad, cherry Jello fluffy thing, meatballs, strawberry
cheesecake, chocolate chip cookies. We all sat around
in the golden slanting sunlight, eating great food and
talking
and laughing, and it was like a scene from horse camping
heaven. One camper laughed so hard she tipped over backwards
in her chair, and just lay there laughing on.
Overall,
a terrific experience at a first class facility,
with wonderful folks who show what the horse life is
all about. I look forward to visiting Foothills again
as soon
as I can get a group together. |
