Today was one of those extraordinary Vermont days. It’s that time of year when those of us who live up in the north get to brag about the weather! It was crisp and cool but still toasty in the sun. The leaves have just begun to turn and they are blowing across
fields and rustling underfoot.
Today, I had the pleasure of riding with some friends on the Green Mountain Horse Association’s extensive trail system. Today was a “members day” where all association members are invited to come school on the grounds or ride the trails free of charge.
Those of you who have read my previous articles here may be familiar with the self inflicted soundness issues my horse “Oskar” has recently been plagued with. Long story short; he is sound enough for light riding but not for galloping up mountains, so we left him at home!
My friend Ellin was nice enough to offer her daughter’s horse “Thriller” for me to ride. He is a cool little OTTB who I am told is quite an enthusiastic event horse. I liked Thriller right away; he has that classic, alert and big eyed TB face. He can quickly assess his surroundings and is quick on his feet, my kind of guy!
When the busy competition season is underway, GMHA is teeming with people and horses nearly every day. Today, there were just a handful of trailers. My friends and I set out across Morgan Hill Rd, intent on finding the best view available. We narrowly avoided a herd of stampeding cows and made an energetic escape up the trail into the woods! We had one rider with us who knows the trails there pretty well and we followed her up and up through an intricate system of trails to the top of Morgan Hill behind and old Sikh compound. WHAT A VIEW! The mountains and valleys that stretched out in front of us were that stereotypical patchwork quilt of colors that we have all seen in country themed calendars. The sun was warm and bright, the breeze was cool.
We followed the trails up the mountain weaving through groves of stately pine trees, dense forest and lush green pasture until we were at the tippy top, and then turned regretfully, towards home. As we slowly made our way down Morgan Hill Rd towards the GMHA grounds we talked about the various disciplines we practice with our horses; eventing, driving, dressage and endurance/competitive trail riding among the three of us! We talked about our various experiences with our horses, both good and bad, successful and failed attempts. It struck me as we wended our way home how lucky we are to have this amazing facility just a stone’s throw from all of our houses that manages to bring us all together to enjoy the beautiful scenery, the gorgeous weather and the company of our horses.
When we are all preoccupied with our various disciplines, there is not often an opportunity to share our own particular areas of expertise. We each have so much to share and with horses, you never know what little gem of experience in going to come in handy down the road. When competition season is in its height, I tend to get a bit too intense about accomplishing my training goals and progressing with my horse every day. I do not often make the time to go on a loosely planned and haphazard trail ride with friends that is more about chatting and leaf-peeping than it is about riding. As we picked our way downhill and I learned the difference between competitive trail riding and endurance riding AND I learned what is expected of a pony in the combined driving marathon phase, I realized just how much I could be learning if I would just slow down, take a breath and enjoy what I have around me!
As I mentioned earlier; today was the perfect Vermont day. Perfect except that in the back of everyone’s mind is the season we are heading for. The nights are starting to get COLD rather than crisp and every day there will be a louder rustle of leaves underfoot. This is the time of year to plan how much better and more well-rounded I am going to be next year because soon it will be winter, which is awesome for skiing and sledding and drinking hot chocolate by the fire, but not so perfect for riding horses!
Today I told myself that next year I WILL take advantage of GMHA’s member days and trail system and I WILL go for leisurely hacks through the woods with friends. If I see any of you out and about next year, please remind me of this resolution!