The Magic of Trail Rides

Our farm is lucky enough to back up to hundreds of untouched, wooded acres. When I was too young to be considered to go on a trail ride, I always felt envious of those who did get to go. When riders would return after an hour on the trails, the horses would be wet to their bellies from crossing through streams, and the riders would seem so relaxed and content. I imagined the forest to be a magical place.

Just after my tenth birthday, our farm hosted a Fall Poker Ride. The Poker Ride was a charity event where riders from all over brought their horses and paid an entrance fee to buy a poker hand. Then they would ride off into the trail where they would find buckets nailed saddle height to trees throughout the trail. They could pick a card from each of the buckets in order to try to better their poker hand. This was my first experience on the trail, and it was one of the most fun days on the farm I can ever remember. The farm was decorated with pumpkins and hay bales. Pastures were filled with visiting horses, and the it was a perfect, sunny, crisp Fall day.

When I headed out with my group I was filled with anticipation of what was hidden in the woods. I wondered silently if I would be able to handle guiding my horse through the water and over the rocky terrain. I didn’t care about my poker hand. This was all about the experience of the trail. I secretly hoped it would live up to my expectations. As we left the openness of the field behind the farm, and rode into the darkness of the woods, the temperature dropped dramatically. I felt like I left one world and entered another. Narrow beams of sunlight shot from the sky, through the tree tops, like laser beams onto the forest floor. Everything was quiet except for the rustling of the leaves on the ground as our horses walked through. I felt my horse relax under me. It seemed like we were all in a trance.

That day I learned why everyone who returned from the trail always looked so happy and satisfied. Since then I have returned more times than I can count, because it is an experience I haven’t been able to duplicate any other place.