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!

The newly opened Gutierrez Open Space is a great afternoon ride, just 15 minutes from Tramway Blvd and Central in Albuquerque.   it is located  between Hwy 14 and Gutierrez Canyon Rd.  It can be accessed from either Gutierrez Canyon Rd or Hwy 14.  Just behind the post office there is a parking area and a fenced area with a hitching post, they even planted corn for the horses to snack on!

The 400 acres was rescued from development by the Milne family and Mayor Martin Chavez who took on the task of having the city manage it through the open space network.  The $2.2 million purchase was funded by the City of Albuquerque, capital outlays from the New Mexico legislature, and New Mexico Land, Wildlife, and Clean Energy funds.  Key support was provided by Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Sue Wilson Beffort, Senator Kent Cravens, Representative Kathy McCoy, Representative Mimi Stewart, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez, and Albuquerque Councilors Isaac Benton and Martin Heinrich.  Thanks to all of them for keeping the area for all of us to enjoy!

The ride takes about 1.5 hours each way.  There are a few steep and rocky areas but mostly just a fun trail ride!  We opted for lunch at Ribs but there is also a coffee shop/deli called Woobies that is terrific as well!  (Tell Linda I sent you!)

Our friends Radu and Daniela joined us from Texas with their Arabian endurance horse and Paso fino; they took these great pictures.

Here is the Utube video taken by Daniella as we rode, of course it was mostly of the guys they are the publicity hams!

gutierrez canyon ride