January in New Mexico

Yes that is snow on the ground!  We had a really early winter but headed to the bosque as soon as it was dry enough to be safe!

Casanova donned his new red halter and a Santa hat for Christmas and wished everyone a merry Christmas!   He’s very happy now that it is 2012 and he’s past his little brush with cancer.

Where else but New Mexico can you trail ride year round?  In the summer we typically stay in the mountains and in the winter we travel down to the Bosque and ride by the Rio Grande!

An added bonus is seeing the geese, herons, ducks on the river and porcupines in the trees!  I’ve even read that we get Pelicans in New Mexico, I have yet to see them but apparently they come to enjoy our beautiful weather!

We love to meet new equine enthusiasts so send me a note and we’ll invite you to ride with us!

Karen, Sherry and Janice Trail riding in the Sandia Mountains

It was the middle of February and we were able to ride in the Gutierrez Open Space in the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque, with an altitude of over 8,000 feet! We navigated through some mud and leftover snow but overall what a beautiful ride! That is why we live in New Mexico! Our friend and good riding buddy Karen had some friends from Ohio visiting and it was our pleasure to escort them into the open space. They were overwhelmed by the beauty of the mountains and the views offered by our well worn trail! Only 2 weeks ago, we like many others in the country experienced zero and below temperatures, freezing pipes and lots of snow, but our beautiful ‘Land of Enchantment’ doesn’t disappoint; we were enjoying 50 degree weather and gorgeous sunshine!  they enjoyed their ride on the amazing horses from Enchanted Gaits Farm and will be forever converts to the gaited horse community!

This is why we live in New Mexico, horseback riding in January!  Sure we needed coats and Rip even brought his scarf but as you can see it was warm enough to get the horses sweaty!  A good time was had by all, perfect blue sky not a cloud in sight!  We sympathize with those who are dealing with ice and snow and all we have to say is “move to New Mexico”!

Where else but New Mexico can you ride year round?  In the summer we typically stay in the mountains and in the winter we travel down to the Bosque and ride by the Rio Grande!  An added bonus is seeing the geese, herons, and ducks on the river!  I’ve even read that we get Pelicans in New Mexico, I have yet to see them but apparently they come to enjoy our beautiful weather!

Labor Day weekend found the NM contingent of the Great Western Paso Fino Horse Association trekking to Utah to join members of other states for a fantastic weekend!  To say a great time was had by all would the understatement of the century!  Beautiful scenery, great weather,  wonderful people and last but certainly not least, fantastic horses!  Organized by our president Judi and our webmaster Carol from Utah it couldn’t have been better!  Moab caters to outdoor fun of every category!  It seems to be the 4 wheeling capitol as evidenced by all manner of vehicles, bikes, motorcycles, and 4 wheelers.    Along with all of that there is a very nice horse facility complete with an indoor arena, outdoor arena, racetrack and first class stalls!  The facilities were as nice as the NM State Fair Grounds here in Albuquerque.  We utilized the indoor arena for some Horse Soccer!  What a blast

Nine of us from the New Mexico contingent traveled the 8 hours to Moab.   Some of the more hilarious moments happened at the Grotto of the Seven Mile Canyon ride!  At the end of the 7 miles there is a pond of water that some of the participants did not hesitate to shed their clothing and jump in!  Thereby christened Cowgirl Grotto as most of the participants were indeed cowgirls.  One brave male participant shall remain unnamed and can share his own photos if he so chooses!

The entire weekend was a success as everyone had a great time and left with great memories and new friends!  Thanks to Judi and Carole and all the other organizers, we really appreciate all your hard work!  Looking forward to the next adventure in Colorado next year!

Located just 15 minutes from Albuquerque is the San Pedro Creek Preserve,  home to probably 40 wild horses.  The New Mexico Horse Project has been the over seer for the wild horses.  The pictures taken 6/2010 show at least 6 babies in the group.    Campbell Ranch, the owner of the several thousand acres has been kind enough to allow the wild horses to roam wild and undisturbed for several years.

Seeing wild horses grazing is just one of the benefits of living in the East Mountains! The horses are left undisturbed except for occasional round ups to DNA and sometimes to remove a horse to prevent in breeding.   DNA taken from some of the herd prove their bloodlines can be traced to the original Mustangs that were brought over by the Spaniards many years ago.

Springtime brings new babies and it is always fun to see the new little ones!  This year we have a paint, a first for the horses here in San Pedro Creek!

Definition of a long ride for some might be 4 hours, 6 hours or maybe even 8 hours.   I thought I was pretty good doing a 3 day trail ride!  Imagine that 76 miles on a horse!  Well that reality has just been blown out of the water with a chance meeting of Bernice Ende, Lady Long Rider.  I am tempted to put extraordinaire after that but I will wait and let you make your own decisions.

A fortuitous ride last week with the usual lunch at the pizza place let to a chance meeting of a woman Leigh had known about and made contact with several years before but had no contact with recently.  As we waited for our pizza we happened to see 2 horses with riders making their way south on the highway.  As they came closer we were able to make out a rider on the first horse and a ………dog…… riding on the second horse?  As unusual as it is to see horses on North 14, it is really unusual to see a dog riding a horse down the highway!  About that time Leigh jumped up and tore out of the restaurant exclaiming it was the Long Rider he had been wanting to meet!  Sure enough when they returned with the report it was Bernice Ende on her third and longest ride of 7,000 miles that will take her 2 1/2 years!  Fascinating!  With no crew, no support system, no GPS or even cell phone this lady and her 2 horses and dog have been thousands of miles cross country!

It was truly amazing to hear her stories of how she survives on the road, letting the horses graze as they walk and finding water along the way; always sleeping out with the horses and her dog Claire.  True grit!   I am certainly an admirer and I will keep track of her as she puts on the miles and will update you faithful reader occasionally.

Lady Long Rider, my hat is  off to you!  Happy Trails!

Even though the area was weather forecast was to have significant wind the adventurous  Trio: Liz, Leigh and Linda, decided to try the La Cienega Trail hoping the wind would be less.  The winds were very strong in Guiterrez

R & R

Canyon, annoying the horses no end when their hay was blowing out of their pens.

Most horses are jumpy in the wind, never knowing what is going to jump out at them from the bushes.  Paso’s are of Spanish Blood and typically have more brio or spirit;   however this doesn’t translate to spooky or crazy.  In a well trained animal there minds are so good that they typically don’t spook or bolt!

Saddled and ready we took the blacktop road to the trail.  It was a busy

Leigh and the gaiting Grace

weekend with several cars driving cautiously by.  However a brain dead skateboarder came whizzing by us at a fast rate of speed.  Thank goodness once again for good minds, the horses didn’t skip a beat!

These are not really mature horses they are all rather young.  Casanova is the old man at 6, both Rip and Amazing Grace are 4 years old.   There was no bolting or going sideways they all just kept the beat!  Another reason to ride Gaited!

Last weekend I was honored to meet several members of the Great Western Paso Fino Horse Association.  (GWPFHA)  One of the members is the current president of the club, Judi, or madame president as we addressed her.  The ladies were here to consider relocating to our fine state from Utah as well as invigorate our NM branch of the club.

We had a wonderful time touring the beautiful countryside of Northern NM in our search for horse property.  A slightly snowy morning greeted us Saturday as a major storm passed through the area but didn’t dampen our spirits or sense of adventure.  One of the less traveled roads we found ourselves on was blocked by a herd of cows.  Never to be daunted by a few dozen cows I stopped while Carol practiced her cow herding skills!  There’s a reason we’re called ‘cowgirls’!

Along the way we stopped by another GWPFHA member’s home; Jacquee’ of Beautiful-horses.com.

Medusa Horse Pendant of Beautiful-Horses.com

A amazingly talented artist of horse jewelry,  horse hair braiding and beautiful hand painted hobby horses, we enjoyed her hospitality with tea and home made cookies and visited with her beautiful Paso Fino Horses!

Thank you Jacquee’ !

Beth on Danza

Upon our return to Albuquerque, one of the members of the group, Beth hosted a meet and greet for the Paso Fino people.  Fine food and lots of wine and all the members made merry.  Of course Beth of the Cavalia girls group that ventured to Scottsdale the previous weekend to see the show purchased the Cavalia DVD and played it upstairs in the loft.  At evening’s end everyone was in front of the big screen watching Cavalia, it is always mesmerizing!  Horse Lovers don’t miss it!

Happy Trails till next time!

Several friends and myself journeyed to Scottsdale to see this magical performance.  After hearing that there was a Cirque De So lei type performance that featured horses I tracked down the Cavalia website.  When the DVD came I threw a Cavalia Party that has been the topic of many conversations whenever the horse people gather!

Cavalia

The intrepid 6, horsewomen all, consisted of  Liz, Susan, Beth, Kari, Nancy and me.  We drove, flew or would have crawled to get there.  We opted for the horse lover tickets that enabled us to visit the stables after the show in addition to having front row seats.  It was amazing to be so close to the action;  a 2 foot barrier was all that separated us from the flying horses.  When the trick riders galloped across the stage spraying us with dirt we were truly enthralled.  The show has several acts following the seasons so we were showered with leaves in the fall and ‘snow’ in the winter.  ‘Mirror’  was an incredible dressage display and the ladie’s costumes were gorgeous;  long Renassance type dresses draped over the beautiful white Lusitano stallions.  The ‘Carousel’ was also an amazing show; 9 riders dressed once again in Renaisance type clothing performed dressage maneuvers on the incredible Lusitanos.  Some of the action acts were the trick riders on quarter horses, and the roman riding on the Belgium geldings.  As horse

Carousel

lovers all were mesmerized when the fantastic trainer  and creator, Pignon played with 3 of the stallions.

No head gear or saddles were used and the horses truly seemed to be enjoying themselves.  At the conclusion of the show 3 young horses were turned out on stage to just enjoy the crowd, action and lights as this is how their training begins!

The show is still running in Scottsdale until March 26th!  After that you have to go to Montreal!  Don’t miss it!

Happy Trails!