It's been a while!

It has been a while since I have posted on Travels by Horse. It's been a long, windy winter here in the Front Range and our trail system is recovering from the infamous 1,000-year flood. It seems every time I want to get out and ride the weather goes wild or a trail closes because of bad conditions. For me spring can't come fast enough, and it will take some time getting my horse back in shape.

I have had my hands full helping with the Boulder County Horse Association (BCHA) Board and blog, BCHANicker.org. If you live in the Boulder County area this is a wonderful organization to support. You do not have to be a horse owner, you can join and get involved even if you simply love horses and want to see them thrive in Boulder County. The City of Boulder Open Space surveys consistently show that people just love to see and interact with horses on trails around Boulder. They are wonderful creatures to watch and herds have complex and interesting behaviors. Most riders will even stop and let you visit with them and their mighty steeds—simple ask.

This April, BCHA will be holding its second annual BCHA Horse Fair and Annual Meeting at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Barn A, Sunday April 13th, from 10 AM to 5 PM. What's going on?

• Mingle and reconnect with other horse lovers.
• Attend our educational seminars. Learn about camping with your horse from the Northern Colorado Backcountry Horsemens Association and Conditioning your horse presented by Cheryl and Randy Winter.
• Do a bit of shopping we will have some great vendors.
• Learn about horse breeds. This year we will have a live horse breed exhibit. Rumor has it more then 20 beautiful horses will be on display. 
• Do some to -tapping. The Wallpaper House Band featuring Anne Gifford will play from 1 PM - 5 PM. 

For more information and updates on the BCHA Fair please click here.

Happy travels, Linda P

South Boulder Trail Ride

A hiker was nice enough to take our photo.

We had a lovely trail ride on Sunday on the South Boulder trail system to the west of Highway 93 on Sunday.

Now that the road from Boulder Valley Ranch was clear of ice and snow, and recently graded,  I thought it would be nice to get out of dodge, so to speak. Nico and I hauled out to meet the gals in South Boulder. We saddled up and headed down Marshall Road to the crossing on Broadway (Highway 93) to access the wooded trails off the Mesa Trail.

This system is fairly rocky so if you are not shod hoof protection, such as Easy boots are recommended. The trails were snow packed so the pace was no more then a walk. We meandered through the pine forests enjoying each others company and the horses had a few gradual climbs to work their hind ends.

As we crossed the last meadow towards home we came upon a lovely herd of very healthy does, they seemed to enjoy our company as they traveled along with us.

Thanks Nico, Mary and Spear, Peg and Cinch, and Freddie Nemo.

Audit or Ride a Buck Brannaman Clinic?

I had the opportunity to audit the Buck Brannaman Clinic at the Boulder County Fairgrounds this past summer. A couple of my friends were riding in the clinic, for the steep fee of $600+.  These are my observations:

1. Seemed like way too many riders for one man.
2. Riders did a lot of sitting on their horses, or some standing while holding their horses.
3. So many of these novice riders with green horses could better benefit from one-on-one instruction (let's do the math, assuming a lesson is about $50).
   Wow! That would give them 12 lessons.
4. Helmets, saw many riders "duded" out on their horses but no head protection.
   It's alive, it has a flight instinct, and it is over 1000 lbs...dah!
   My friend Dr. Murray would say "all those riders are paying off my school loans".

From my perspective audit one of his clinics and search out a qualified trainer in your area.
The $25 audit fee (free if you are over 65) was the best deal in town that day.
I took notes, learned some pointers and met up with some old friends. It might be great to attend one of his clinics if the size was smaller and you could get his full attention, but in my opinion save your money and work one-on-one with an exceptional trainer in your area.

Aspens are changing at Hermit Park

A few of us decided to ride Hermit Park this past Sunday to escape another hot Sunday in Boulder. Their was a bit of road bicycle dodging on Highway 36 and in Lyons as the Venus de Miles race was gearing up but we made it to the trailhead, saddled up and headed down the trail. I love this area, as I have stated in previous posts and am glad to report that the horse campground is underway. Stakes are in the ground and hopefully the new campgrounds will be open in Spring of 2013.

We were surprised to see the smaller aspens changing color this early, but it has been a long, hot and dry summer here in Colorado. A gradual climb to the first Homestead and Spring was lovely as we explored the forests and meadows. We trotted the horses out and climbed through the forest stopping at a lovely meadow to have lunch. After, we picked up a trail towards another homestead which later revealed the Twin Sisters looming towards the west. As we turned for home the horses picked up the pace and we had it all to experience again.

Note: Entrance fee $6.00
Speed Limited: 10 MPH and they mean it!
Parking: 3 trailers at trailhead, other areas available if full.
Cabins: port-o-potties and propane stoves available (no horses allowed)
Camping: Small RVs and tent
Horse Campground: (Spring 2013)
Dogs: leashed until you reach the boundary
Water: spring at first homestead, small drainage if flowing

It's finally cooling down in Boulder

South Boulder Trailhead

It has been a long  hot summer here in Boulder, starting with fires, and record temperatures. This past weekend the temp's finally cooled down so a group of us decided to meet at the newly remodeled trail head in South Boulder off Broadway in Marshall. The new trailer parking sites were easy to pull into and out of (thank you City of Boulder Open Space).

We arrived around 1:30 pm and tacked up the horses. Today's ride was with two younger riders and green horses, their trainer Lauren Carver and my good friend Lee. We checked in with our horses with a bit of in-hand ground work, mounted and then headed west towards the Mesa trail. We turned off early onto a new link trail to check it out, and some of the greener horses had to learn to cross some small bridges, it was a good learning experience for both horse and rider. The link trail led us to the Shanahan Ridge housing community so we  decided to bushwack west to the gate that allowed us to access the trails higher up.

The afternoon we did some wonderful trotting and cantering on wide open trails, and also explored deeper into the woods on single track trails. Some more challenging then others.
There are steep steps for your horse to work on—some man-made some natural. All in all you can make this trail system as easy or as challenging as you would like.

NOTES:
Shoes: recommended.
Trailer parking: designated, can hold about six, medium size trailers doubled-up.
Bikes: Not-allowed
Dogs: Some trails require leash, bear and deer in this area so suggest you leave them at home.

Vedauwoo:
One of my favorite places

Nico chowing down
in the pens at Vedauwoo.

Just a couple of hours from Boulder is one of my favorite places to ride, camp and hike. The fires were still burning in Colorado, and the temperatures high so getting out of town was a great idea. From our campsite looking south to Colorado you could see the plumes of smoke from the High Park fire, 11,000 acres and growing. Fortunately the winds were not blowing in our direction, but Cheyenne looked to be getting some smoke. 

The horse camping and riding in this area of Wyoming is endless—whether you stay on a road, trail or simply head off cross country. We were fortunate to get the pens (total of 10) for the duration of our trip. It is a first come, first serve campsite so be prepared if the site is full when you arrive to find another gorgeous site and tie to your trailer, picket line or set up your own corral. The nice thing about this designated site is the spring and cattle tank, but this time around the tank was dry because of a broken valve and connection. So I set up a drip bucket at the main line to collect some water.

Cheryl, Mary, Lee and Camy smoke
from the High Park fire
in the background.

I arrived Thursday and had the site to myself, two other horses were there and their owners had their RV nearby. The site shows some wear and tear but the pens have been nicely maintained by the Backcountry Horseman's Association (thank you). After settling in Nico and I went for a lovely dusk ride and came face to face with a handsome antelope buck. That evening after dinner I relaxed in my hammock as the darkness revealed a cosmic wonder of stars. Friday morning was perfect, I tacked up Nico and off we went exploring. My goal was to discover some new routes through the aspens to the Beaver pond, we succeeded! Later that day my friends Lee, Cheryl, Mary, Hal and Pete joined me at the site, and later that evening a local couple, Crystal and Billy (Lee and I met them here a couple of years ago). Bill managed to fix the tank, thanks Bill, I am sure all the other day and overnight riders, along with the cows, moose and other critters will appreciate that! 

Saturday after breakfast we all saddled up and rode out for another great ride. Crystal and Billy knew all the trails from years of riding in the area, she ponied her 1 1/2 year old filly, what a cutie she was (you too Crystal)! Climbing up gently to Devils Throat and dodging the ghosts in the Haunted Forest was all part of the fun ride.

Sunday morning a moose passed through camp and Mary got a good shot of it. I was sound asleep, missed it again! The girls tacked up and explored more trails to the South. Rolling grasslands, aspens and some bogs were part of the ride before we packed up and headed home to Colorado.

TIP: go during the week for less crowds, and have a water tank in your rig just in case!
NOTE:  This is a popular area for locals, so don't think you will be alone up there on weekends.
It can be somewhat crowded with RV/ATV use (designated roads only), but there are plenty of places to ride your horse without feeling too much pressure from other users.

Love to trail ride and feeling competitive?

Love to trail ride and feeling competitive?

Try a NATRC Competitive Trail Ride.

This past Memorial Day weekend a few of us decided to head down to the NATRC Region 3 One-Day Competitive Trail Ride at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. A short haul for us from the Boulder area. I myself had never ridden there and heard the trails were wonderful. Myself and Nico, and Mary and Spear registered as Novice. This entailed a 17 mile total mileage day on this one-day ride (often these are two-day rides). My other friend Jill and Goldie have been doing this for years and they rode Open which entails about 27 miles in one-day. To prepare for this ride we just put in the miles and the hills for a few weeks. Condition....condition...condition. We arrived Saturday afternoon and set up camp (horses must be tied to the trailer) then a Vet check in which involves trotting out your horse and lunging to access gait and any lameness. A fun potluck that evening with about 70 other competitors and volunteers, a briefing and to bed early. Up at 5:30 AM to feed and get the horses ready for a start at 7:30 AM.

So how does the judging go?

Competitive trail is a bit different then Endurance—you are judged not only on time (getting to points on your map), but also on horsemanship and horse. During the competition you will be judged by both a Horsemanship and Veterinary Judge. The Horsemanship Judge will have prepared obstacles such as logs and side passes, off-side mounts, in-hand work, crossing water, etc. They are also looking on your body position while going up and down hills. Are you off your horses back or grinding your butt into the saddle? Sore backs on your horse will cause you to lose points. Along the way you will also come across the Veterinary Judge and Pulse and Respiration (P+R) stops to access other aspects of you and your horse. P+R stops are usually placed at the top of a good climb. When you arrive you should receive a card with your arrival time. At this point you should calm your horse and loosen your girth a bit. After 10 minutes a volunteer will take your horses pulse and respiration and record it on the card. Good conditioning leads to good numbers and no points lost.

The two-mile mark.

The two-mile mark is the last place to access your time. You must arrive in camp at the finish within a designated 15-minute window of the time recorded on your divisions map. So you may need to slow your pace or speed it up to make this happen. Once in camp you settle your horse back at your trailer, clean him/her up and wait for the car horn in order to do the check-out Vet check. The Vet checks for any back soreness or lameness issues. Be prepared to trot along a line, and teach your horse to lunge it saves you from running (you are pretty tired at this point, especially on a two-day ride). 

One thing I learned at this check was that I should have left the saddle and/or saddle pad on Nico for about 10 minutes prior to removing. His back developed a temporary, non serious, edema (heat bumps). I did not lose points but learned how to avoid this in the future.


TIP: a good way to learn about the sport and see if it is right for you is to volunteer to help on a ride in your area, they always need help. I helped manage two rides in Granby at Snow Mountain Ranch before I decided to compete. And when I did at the Grand Mesa ride we placed (awards are given for up to six positions and breed)!


To view pictures of the ride please click here.
For more information on Competitive Trail, upcoming 2012 rides, and more information on this fun sport please visit NATRC.org or NATRC3.org.