As I got closer to 50 years old, I realized there were things that I have always wanted to do but never taken the time. I was very busy the past few years with my children and their summer time activities. This Spring I shocked my family by shopping for a nice little convertible and ending up with a big 4 wheel drive 3/4 ton pick up.
I also bought a very old and rusty horse trailer. I call it the trailasouras, since it looks as much like a dinosaur as a horse trailer.
Luck was with me and a good friend was getting out of horses and offered me a 9 year old Quarter horse gelding at a very good price. Tony became my traveling partner and the center of much of my summer fun.
I had never driven pulling or backing a trailer and that got to be quite an experience. I love valet parking or pull through spots. My first stop was to visit my friend in Mt. Orab, Ohio. She took me with a group to Brown County State Park, in Indiana... The group all had Tennessee Walkers and the theme of our rides was "Is Sandy still there?" I usually brought up the rear of any ride since Tony has a much slower walk and we did trot or canter occasionally to catch up.
Cheryl and Cash in Brown County. This lady will ride for 25 miles and while the rest of us put our horses away she will take off on another 5 - 10 mile ride...
This is the group I rode with, in the far back on the left is Charlie...He has gotten awards for the amount of miles he has covered on his horse. Then it is Me and Tony, Cheryl and Cash are in the center, and Joyce is behind her. You can see her blue jacket...Elby is on the palomino, and Eric is on the right. This is a wonderful group to ride with, If you are ever in Brown county and run across them tell them HI from Sandy in North Dakota.
The next ride was in the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee, and that is one spectacular place to ride. This is a picture of Dave, on Cisco, and Jennifer on Troubles. Dave lives in Tennessee and invited us to come ride. He is a wonderful guide and great riding partner. A true cowboy. When you ride with Dave he does all the heavy work. I don't know if I saddled my horse the whole time or not. Jennifer and I used to teach together in and now she lives in Iowa. She flew in to ride with me.
Dave decided to show Tony in a couple events at his saddle club's horse show. Tony will never make a barrel or pole horse, not enough speed, but Dave did win a trophy for me to save.