Pictures From Some Of My Recent Rides & Some Of My Riding Buddies
Lots of pictures here so the page may take a while to load...please be patient! |
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This is Sherwin Lake & Mountain From Our Trip in May 2003
That's my Mum, Sally, in the middle holding Bo and Shir Khan...elevation is about 11,000 feet. One of my favorite 1/2 day rides in the Eastern Sierras near Mammoth Lakes, CA.
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Lunch Break at Sherwin Lake (May 2003)...Hi, Mum!
This was Shir Khan's first ride into California's Eastern Sierra. As Bo is an extremely experienced mountain trail horse, and Shir Khan was a greenie that day, I rode Shir Khan and Mum rode Bo. Despite his inexperience, Shir Khan tackled a very technical trail, even scrambling down a sheer embankment when our trail was blocked by a downed tree! |
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My good friend Stacy (on Cody, with Bo) Overlooking Santa Clarita Valley (March 2003).
This was one of those "let's take this trail and see where it goes" rides. We rode right from my house in Sylmar to the Los Pinetos Trail head, and over the "saddle" of the mountains that flank Sylmar, and down the other side to San Fernando Road where Stacy's honey picked us up in the trailer. About 12 miles with fabulously clear, unsmoggy views of the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys. |
Stacy astride Cody, San Fernando Valley in background (March 2003)
Cody had to work really hard to keep up with Bo for this ride. He's a 16.1hh Thoroughbred gelding with long legs but no match for Bo in his mountain climbing mode. |
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View from the "saddle" at Los Pinetos Trail Towards Burbank (March 2003)
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My Dear Friend Gabriele Riding in Leona Valley (April 2003)
Took this shot as a contrast...Gabby and I stopped in the burned out area in Leona Valley near her home. In the next pics, you'll see what the hillsides look like once the flowers start blooming! The north end of Leona Valley features the California Poppy Reserve. |
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POPPIES!
Other than when we crossed the area that had burned the previous year, riding in Leona Valley in spring means crossing thousands of acres carpeted in flowers. Here's Gabby and Idyn, her Paso Fino (on whom she competes in 50-mile endurance rides), taking a break to smell the flowers in April, 2003. |
Bo and I Enjoyed the Flowers Too!
Ok, so I admit, getting a horse to pose in a field full of yummy flowers is a major challenge!(Leona Valley, CA, April 2003) |
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Bo Mowing Gabriele's Front Yard (Leona Valley, March 2003)
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Bo and Me in Leona Valley, April 2003
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Cheryl's First Ride on Cher, Sept. 2002
Cheryl and I met online in the Competitive Trail Riding newsgroup. I now count her a wonderful friend. She and her husband, Mel, drove all the way from Oklahoma to adopt the arab mare, Cher, (the first horse I ever "bought"--back in 1990) and another arab gelding, Jake, that I rescued. Cheryl and Cher are a match made in heaven and I count it such a blessing that she and Cher turned out to be such a great match. (Picture is from the lower end of Los Pinetos near my house). |
Caron and "Zander" the Friesian
Caron and I met via the 'net too in 2002...though the circumstances were laughably bizarre. Zander is a young Friesian (now gelded), and Caron's "dream horse." He's one of those horses who thinks he's a dog! |
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"Bella" & Jen at Chino Hills NATRC ride, April 2003
Bo and I camped next to these two at the Chino Hills NATRC ride this spring. Bo never stopped "talking" to the pretty black mare next to us for two entire days and nights. It wasn't until the 2nd day I realized why...It was a mare he knew well: Bella! (Real name is "Generator's Arrogance"). "Bella" was bred by my TWH breeder-friends, Carol and Gary, and had lived at my house for nearly a year as a 4 year old where I taught her to be a trail horse. Now 6, she was all grown up and I didn't recognize her. Bo did, though. |
"I'm Sheer Elegance," TWHBEA daughter of WGC "Generator's Elegance"
This is one of my favorite pics of "Elle," one of the Tennessee Walking Horses my breeder friends Carol and Gary, allowed me to show locally. That's Randi, another friend and Elle's trainer, up. Elle is the daughter of 6X World Grand Champion Plantation mare, "Generator's Elegance," who's show record is yet to be beaten. Elle's mama was voted "pleasure horse of the century" in 2000 by the TWH Breeders & Exhibitors Assoc. Pretty cool, huh? |
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