Day 2: To Buckfield via The Old Railroad Bed

There is a joke in our community that the toothbrush was invented in Buckfield, and you can tell because it is called a TOOTHbrush instead of a TEETHbrush.

All that being said, Buckfield is beautiful.  Very hilly, gorgeous views, great foliage, quaint little village.  I think the other towns around were jealous of Buckfield and felt they had to pick on it.

Buckfield is where I went on Saturday, on my AWESOME Curly AhD, with Kate on Jax and Cathy on Paco.  You have met Jax before, but not Paco, who is a Peruvian Paso x TWH - I think I got that right.  Paco is wound just about as tight as a horse can be and is extremely sensitive, and I give kudos to Cathy to the way she handles him.  She is AMAZING with him.

The day was overcast and a bit misty, but very pleasant riding weather.  The footing on the old railroad bed was much improved from last  year.  The foliage was past peak because the road goes through quite a bit of swampy area, but it was still beautiful nonetheless.

I am so glad I went on this trail.  The trail head is only 3 1/2 miles from my home, but I rarely trailer out because it is such a bother. I was on screech Saturday morning because I had given my 8 year old niece a horseback riding lesson, and really didn't have enough time to do everything I had to do to hitch up, load AhD and go get Jax and Kate.  Cathy called me, saying, "I don't think I am going to make it, just leave without me," and I replied, "Cathy, I don't even have my trailer hooked up yet!!"  Dana's motorcycle was in front of the trailer (it is so big and heavy that I can't even move it), the dividers weren't in the trailer, and I hadn't eaten yet that day - yet with Dana's help (VERY begrudging help - man was he mad at me!!), I made it to the parking lot at 11:31 am - only one minute late!  Cathy was there, but not even tacked up yet, and then Kate and I actually had to wait for her to work with Paco because he is a special case.  We were happy to wait, and even found a victim to be a photographer for us.

And then we were off!  It was a very relaxing ride, great company, easy speeds.  Paco does a running walk, but with his boots on, he was doing some other kind of gait that AhD could keep up with (at a foxtrot).  So, I was able to enjoy more foxtrotting on AhD in one ride that I ever have.

It's pretty far to Buckfield and back, maybe 10-12 miles? It took us better than three hours of riding.  We took a break at South Pond.  Who wouldn't?  It was beautiful.  The horses had no problem going in the water and viewing the scenery with us.  The reflections on the water were amazing.

At the end of the trail in Buckfield, we dismounted and let the horses rest and graze.  We found an apple tree so there were treats for the horses.

I took a kazillion pictures.  It was so beautiful, even without a clear blue sky.  

 

 

I spied a beautiful tree and made everyone pose by it.  The view down the road, framed by foliage, was quaint and peaceful. This road is extremely unusual for this area because it is FLAT.  It isn't flat anywhere else around here ; I don't know how on earth people a hundred years ago found such a great place for a railroad bed.  Hey Harold, I just realized hardly any stone walls! And, Linda V, I kept thinking how nice this road will be to drive on.

What a trip.  I enjoyed my pony's company and my friends' company and arrived home safely, tired and happy!