Good morning and thank you if you participated in our first group trail ride. I don't have any pictures to post yet but I'd like to mention that we had a great day. If you are reading this, and you have digital pictures....please e-mail them for this blog to DomnarskiFarm@aol.com Much thanks to the Granby Regional Horse Council (413)467-2913 for promoting the event at our farm.
I see we made the Springfield Republican Local section of the paper. Thanks to William Sweet for coming out and for the accurate write-up. Next time we'll have to get that man on a horse.
I'll wait for all the reports to come in, but from my perspective I had a great time. We got off to a late start (10:45) but we got lucky on impending weather. There was rain to the west of us hampering the Westfield Air Show but we didn't get wet until a light sprinkle late into the long loop 9.75 mile 3 hour 5 minute ride.
In the future, I'll depart promptly at 10 am to reward those that are conscientious. I'm not knocking the late starters (...its supposed to be relaxed and fun!) ...but participants didn't seem to mind if they had a guide or not, as long as the trails were marked.
Also...there was a communication inconsistency where "ready to ride 10 am" got advertised somewhere as "register by 10 am, ride at 10:30 am" Anyway, I apologize for any wrinkles. Everyone seemed pretty laid back and that's what I like.
As we are not finished with our East pasture/parking area, I was concerned that we might not have enough parking but it all worked out. This year the pasture looks like a gravel pit bomb sight and next year it will hopefully look like a flat soccer-like grassy field. The flattening of the area made for a steep departure and I plan to have a more gradual ascent to the trail.
Our goal is to have a free monthly group trail ride, rain or shine, where riders can count on having someone to trail ride with. Its fun to have a horse. Its more fun to have someone to ride with and to meet new people with horses. One of the best things about boarding horses is to care for different horses but not have to pay for them!
I'm trying to collect rider e-mail addresses so that everyone can network and get together. Anyone is welcome to park and ride off our property, as long as they call us (413)262-8432 or e-mail. We just want to know who is out there and we have a problem with litterbugs out in the woods. I want to know if a truck is pulling in to go riding or to dump an old refrigerator out in the woods.
I rode Cocoa while Lisa remained at the Command Post. Of course, Cocoa decided to misbehave right from the start. Generally, we have a love-hate relationship that goes way back. He tries to talk me out of going on a ride for the first 1/4 mile and then he settles in once he knows I really want to go. Sometimes its just a plod along in 1st gear and yesterday, it was some wheeling around and bucking. Once we got onto the main trail, he resigned himself to getting the job done but still checked with me at every intersection to see if we could take the short way home so he could get back to the usual business of lounging and eating hay.
Ruth rode Roger. It didn't take her long to realize that Roger likes to bully Chance. Bonnie almost ended up tumbling in the ferns under Chance when Roger tried to take a bite out of Chance (...who is actually terrified of Roger).
We got that sorted out so I led, Ruth on Roger, Danni on Nikki to provide a buffer between Chance and Roger and then three more riders, Steven, Joanne and Teresa. One great surprise for me was to get to ride with my former MSP Colonel's wife, Teresa Hillman on her horse Apollo. Chance no sooner got away from Roger and then decided to kick Apollo. The first fifteen minutes of any ride seem to be the most interesting while the horses all get used to their new "friends" and decide what kind of mood they are in. Bonnie was a real sport because her Chance is like her baby, and no one likes to think their child is not behaving!
I think the group would agree that the short loop was mello and the long loop had some good challenges. I didn't want the long riders to be bored so we scaled our way up to Palmer's highest peak, Pattaquattic Mountain. The trails were dry and rocky, with some low branches, but nothing we couldn't handle. I told everyone when I finally finish my fences and get everything the way I want it on my farm then I'll groom the trails. Everyone got the joke that I'll be unlikely to ever get out there to the trails!
At the second excursion from the short loop, Danni, Ruth and Bonnie skipped round 2 of the adventure and rode back for a total of 7.7 miles. They did the first excursion of 2.7 miles plus the short loop of 5.0 miles. Steven, Joanne, Teresa and I did the whole ride, plus an extra 1/4 mile atv trail for a total of 9.75 miles. I guess Teresa doesn't care for the rain, but I didn't want to cheat her on a good trail ride before she's back teaching school tomorrow!
It seems that cutting the ride shorter revealed that Ruth likes to ride fast! I wasn't there but it sounded like Ruth thought she was Paul Revere and was worried that the Red Coats were coming!
Steven was thrilled that his quarter horse actually waded into the pond at Lazy Acres. I guess the horse hates even looking at water but there's nothing like three other horses in water to convince yours that its OK.
As the pictures and reports come in...I'll post them. Feel free to add your report on this Blogger. Feedback will only make the rides even better for next time so let us know where we can improve.
Happy Trails!
Matthew J. Domnarski
