Tell us about your last ride

Hey guys, Well, the intros went pretty well. That was fun. How's about we talk about something we all love? When/where was your last ride? Tell us about it! Those w/out horses would LOVE to hear! My last ride was with a new friend I met at work. She offered me a ride before my surgery (surgery was July 19th, 2005). I almost swooned with delight! She is such an awesome person, and I was super touched by her generosity. We rode to some BLM land (in Western Oregon), and rode in the mountains. It was wonderful! I have some great (okay, they were on my phone so not-so-great! ) pics of the ride. We went out late in the evening (was hot, but not too hot) and it was dark by the time we got back. The stars & moon were out, and it was so magical. I don't know if she knows how much that meant to me. We rode for a couple of hours through the trails, hills & meadows. There was this one ridge we rode up to (that she wanted to show me) that had the most breathtaking panoramic view of the mountains. I will never forget this ride for as long as I live. We would ride parts in open meadow, then back under the tree canopy, and back out in the open again. It was fun to see where we would end up next. I was one TIRED puppy, though! I hadn't ridden in so long, I was hurtin' a bit when we got back, but it was MORE THAN worth it!!! I helped her put the horses away, and feed them. I only wish I could have done more. Her and her boyfriend invited me to a biker party afterwards. Damn, I would have LOVED to have gone, but I had to go pick up my son from daycare. Maybe next party. So, how was your last ride? Take care everyone! Lisa (5'9") Lap RNY 7/19/05 360/345/296 (OMG, WOW!!!)/160

Wow, Lisa! Sounds like fun! Lucky you.....mountains! I'm here in SW Michigan so it's just beautiful woods, praries and dunes for me. (Not complaining). Oh, and then there's Lake Michigan! I will be moving Indie in three weeks to where we will be exactly one mile from the gorgeous sandy beach!!! Indie LOVES the water...hence her nick name "Indie-pottamus". She swims like a fish and rolls. When she drinks from a lake or a pond, she submerges her entire face almost up to her eyes! What a dork. I'm going riding later today but my last ride was this past weekend. We went with my best friend and riding buddy Brooke (who is the only person on this earth who I can almost forget about my weight when I'm with her) and her little gray arab mare. We followed a deer path for a while and when it dead ended we said "let's keep going!" We got lost while "burning a trail" as we like to call it and ended up with more than a few mouthfulls of leaves (us, not the horses). It was fun and we eventually found our way back to the trail. I love how when I am riding I can let go of everything in the world. It's just me, Indie and God's marvelous creation. It brings to light the gratitude that I am so often lacking. Lizzie

My last ride wasn't much to talk about, just me and Teddy trotting around the ring trying to figure out the most recent odd thing that I'm doing. For some reason I keep dropping my chin, then the rest of my upper body follows and I end up putting all my weight on his forehand, which Teddy hates. Once I realized it was my chin and not my shoulders, we corrected it and everyone was happy. My last fun ride was Saturday, when we went out trail riding with an old friend. We took our favorite trail through the woods which has about 10 nice little logs to jump over. Both of our horses love to jump, and they really come to life when we get back into that area. (I just wish I had the courage to take him over some of the larger coops. He does them very well, but I'm just a great big chicken!) We came rode along a cornfield, where T tried to eat all the leaves, and then along the creek back to the barn. There was a lamb laying in the trees along the creek, which was odd since we don't know of anyone in the immediate area who has sheep. A great time was had by all. Thanks for asking, Lisa! Deb

The last time (and first time riding in nearly 17 years!) was in February. My friend and I went on a 7-night cruise to Cabo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. My folks live in baja and we met with them in Cabo. They told us about this little town about 30 mi north of Puerto Vallarta called ***** de Mita. We took a bumpy bus ride up the coast and sat on a restaurant patio right on the beach, drinking margaritas and eating shrimp. Yum! About an hour after we got there a old guy comes up over this hill with his son and 4 horses. My friend looked at me and I looked at her and we both went, "OH yeah...mexico, beach, horseback riding...HELL YEAH!" For $20 we rode down the beach and back for two and a half or so hours. It was awesome! The pages take a little while to load, but here's some pics here: http://wildfirenews.com/cruise/6.shtml and on page 7. It's kinda like riding a bicycle...you never forget how! I'm gonna try and get to the Friesian show next month at the LA Eq Center and in Pomona the following week. I'll be sure to get some pics!