Enjoying the Weekend

~Susan and AhD in Maine~

Friday night just before dark I made plans with Kate to ride early the next morning, and then flew across the road to see if Megan was interested.  Duh, of course she was! We groomed, tacked up and headed out to meet Kate and Jax on the road.  The air was too heavy to ride in the woods (heavy air = deer flies around here), but it was pretty chilly.  I had my RAC fleece jacket on, but by the time I had trimmed Ah-D and Allie's feet, believe you me, I set that aside.  Good thing, because as the day wore on, the weather got more and more picture-perfect.

 

Even though we were on the road the whole way (well, except when we meandered off to take pictures), the views were absolutely beautiful, as you can see.

Megan did a great job with Allie,

 

Left to right, Megan on Allie, Kate on Jax, and me and AhD

 

 

I LOVED this gate Frank put up.  He is the old farmer from whom we get our hay.  The hay in our barn right now was taken from a field a stone's throw from this one.

This picture is for Donna.  Part of Frank's herd of black and red Angus.  We get most of our steers from Frank.

Incredible weather!!!!!!

 and Allie did a great job with Megan. There was no funny business between the Jax, AhD and Allie.  We walked and trotted down Center Road and carefully avoided the wash-out where the edge of the tar was GONE.  There was evidence everywhere of the heavy rains of the day before.  We would have been soaked and bug-bitten had we been in the woods, and there is virtually no traffic where we were.  Perfect!

My riding partners on the way out

Playing in a puddle

 

Our goal was to meander around up on Sanatorium Hill, because I had told Cathy that she could meet us up there if she decided to trailer over.  She didn't, but at the top of the hill, Kate mention Audrey (whom she had never met), so I texted her on the off-chance she was home.  Audrey works all the time, and I give her a lot of crap about it.  When she has to travel for work, I do her horse chores for her at night. 

Audrey was home!  It was only about a mile to her house, so we headed down the hill.  At Audrey's we let the horses graze and patted her Lab and Basset Hound while she tacked up Treasure.

Audrey's driveway.  The house and barns are way up around the corner

Audrey, Treasure and I go back a long ways.  Nineteen years ago when I moved to Hebron, my husband Dana introduced me to Audrey and her late husband Tom, and the next year Audrey introduced me to traveling up to Acadia National Park with a gaggle of horsewomen.  We did that for a few years and had TONS of fun.  I remember Audrey working with a then 3-year old Treasure on the Carriage Roads up there, so it was kind of nostalgic being out on the trails with Audrey again in a group.

Audrey and Treasure on the way back.  Treasure is a QH.

On the way back when hit Station Road, we parted ways as Audrey turned around and headed home and Kate turned right towards her house.  It wasn't long after when Megan asked," Can we canter?" We were headed down a slight incline, so I replied, "as soon as we get to the bottom of this little hill."  Sure enough, as soon Ah-D started cantering, Allie followed suit, even though he had been ten miles already.  I was really proud of Allie.  He gave Megan two really nice canters on that last leg home.  Guess it shows you how slowly we had been going, that he still had oompf enough left to canter.  We didn't poke either, we had walked right along everywhere we went, but we had thrown a lot of rest stops along the way and had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, and that is what a drafty pony like Allie needs in order to keep on keeping on.  I was also proud of AhD, because he took a different lead for each canter, and we don't practice on that much.  At some point during our riding career together, I would like to do some ring work with him, so that I can be a better rider and so he can be more finished as an all-around mount.

 

UH-OH....and I know you all know exactly what I mean!

We stopped and visited Mrs. Cushman (who LOVES horses) on the way and helped get her garbage out to Tom Collins (haha- and he is a psychiatrist for substance abuse, too) our mutual neighbor, and when we did that, he offered me free use of a pasture he owns right up the road from me.  He doesn't want it to go to waste.  I like living in a small town!
 

 What a great ride!  I couldn't ask for more.