Weekend riding

My niece came out to ride on Saturday. The river was too high for Dante, so I went with her on Ranger and me on Cole. We had a fine ride—except for the rain. We turned back a little bit early. Ellen was out hiking, so she got wet, too. She rode Dante in the arena while I walked Cole. The rain let up a little, so my niece rode Dante outside to cool off.

Ellen had to work on Sunday, so I had planned a long ride on Cole with Kevin. Since it rained all day on Saturday, we didn’t expect to cross the river, so we cancelled. I got out early, cleaned stalls and walked Cruiser. Kevin wasn’t there, yet, so I walked down to the river to check it. Much to my surprise, it was crossable! I called Kevin and left him a message. He lives very close to the barn. I walked back and he wasn’t there, so I killed some time. Still no Kevin, so I left him a note to say where I was riding and left on my own.

Cole was feeling very frisky in the cool fall air, and the first half hour had some challenges. Once we got to the good trails, I let him trot it out and he started to settle down. I threw in some cantering, but it was a mostly trotting day. He gets into a good, fast rhythm, and it is just a joy to ride. We turned around and trotted back. We were about halfway home when we found Kevin on Starry. We were all happy to see each other, and rode home together. Cole and I were out 2 hours and 20 minutes. Kevin was out about 2 hours. It was an extremely satisfying ride. I can’t wait until next year when Ellen will be joining me with Dante.

This week, I start riding in the arena for my evening rides. We have plenty to work on, but I will sure miss our goofing off on the trail.