By Peggy Hart
The sky clouded over, lightening crashed, thunder roared, rain came down, and then a glorious sun came out for a great day of trail riding at Blackwater Creek Ranch, benefiting the Shelby Farms Equestrian Alliance. To say the day was beautiful, once Mother Nature settled down, is to put it mildly. Twenty-four riders, undaunted by the weather, gathered in two groups: the mighty and brave at any speed and the walking-and-enjoying-the-scenery riders, followed trail bosses Peggy Hart and Jana Smith as they toured Backwater’s 1,200 acres. Riders had a variety of terrain to explore from pastures, woods, and small creeks to big hills.
Stopping first at the restored 1850’s dogtrot log cabin, the groups moved on across rolling pastures replete with cows and their calves watching the group ride by; they all turned to look. Onward over the railroad bridge and into the woods which, still dripping a little, were cool and pleasant after the sunny pastures. Dana Shah brought her tiny horse Damascus, the Freisian, to ride along with Ashley Evans' pony Hershey. Southwind Stables brought a contingency of riders on everything from Ann Frost's Tennessee Walking Horse to Minkey the Quarter Horse, ridden by Ashley Meeket, and Nancy Polham and her Thoroughbred.
Lunch was served on the grounds under spreading oak trees. After much enjoyable conversation in the shade about horses, riding, and what a great day it was, the hard core riders saddled up for another jaunt. One rider commented that he would not mind if we had a nap break to let his lunch settle, but he dutifully saddled up and joined the group.
This time the riders made the loop to the south passing Adam's and Eve’s ponds, then on to the west boundary line to tackle the steeper hills on the Ranch. The reward on this route was to arrive at the high point of the ranch and see the land spread out before them. They had a good gallop down Armadillo Alley a short time later. Afterward, the group leisurely meandered back to the ranch house, past the big lake with the dock and up the hill toward home.
Our thanks go to all who made this ride possible, both volunteers and participants. Brynda and Ron Read, Rick Richardson, and Wes Mueller deserve special thanks for their hard work. Support of the Alliance benefits the horse community in many ways, including our recent efforts in getting 125 horses and 12 goats relocated when their pastures and barns flooded.
SFEA will offer another ride at Blackwater Creek Ranch in the future. Watch for news in the Alliance newsletter or on our web site www.sfeaonline.org. A special membership drive is now underway. Join before August 2011 and get $5.00 off the dues, plus and a coupon good at Saddles ‘N Such, Judy’s Tack Shop or Hall’s Feed.
The sky clouded over, lightening crashed, thunder roared, rain came down, and then a glorious sun came out for a great day of trail riding at Blackwater Creek Ranch, benefiting the Shelby Farms Equestrian Alliance. To say the day was beautiful, once Mother Nature settled down, is to put it mildly. Twenty-four riders, undaunted by the weather, gathered in two groups: the mighty and brave at any speed and the walking-and-enjoying-the-scenery riders, followed trail bosses Peggy Hart and Jana Smith as they toured Backwater’s 1,200 acres. Riders had a variety of terrain to explore from pastures, woods, and small creeks to big hills.
Stopping first at the restored 1850’s dogtrot log cabin, the groups moved on across rolling pastures replete with cows and their calves watching the group ride by; they all turned to look. Onward over the railroad bridge and into the woods which, still dripping a little, were cool and pleasant after the sunny pastures. Dana Shah brought her tiny horse Damascus, the Freisian, to ride along with Ashley Evans' pony Hershey. Southwind Stables brought a contingency of riders on everything from Ann Frost's Tennessee Walking Horse to Minkey the Quarter Horse, ridden by Ashley Meeket, and Nancy Polham and her Thoroughbred.
Lunch was served on the grounds under spreading oak trees. After much enjoyable conversation in the shade about horses, riding, and what a great day it was, the hard core riders saddled up for another jaunt. One rider commented that he would not mind if we had a nap break to let his lunch settle, but he dutifully saddled up and joined the group.
This time the riders made the loop to the south passing Adam's and Eve’s ponds, then on to the west boundary line to tackle the steeper hills on the Ranch. The reward on this route was to arrive at the high point of the ranch and see the land spread out before them. They had a good gallop down Armadillo Alley a short time later. Afterward, the group leisurely meandered back to the ranch house, past the big lake with the dock and up the hill toward home.
Our thanks go to all who made this ride possible, both volunteers and participants. Brynda and Ron Read, Rick Richardson, and Wes Mueller deserve special thanks for their hard work. Support of the Alliance benefits the horse community in many ways, including our recent efforts in getting 125 horses and 12 goats relocated when their pastures and barns flooded.
SFEA will offer another ride at Blackwater Creek Ranch in the future. Watch for news in the Alliance newsletter or on our web site www.sfeaonline.org. A special membership drive is now underway. Join before August 2011 and get $5.00 off the dues, plus and a coupon good at Saddles ‘N Such, Judy’s Tack Shop or Hall’s Feed.
