It became my ultimate goal this spring, to successfully capture two of my horses as they play against one another down a stretch of open field at a beautiful canter… and that is just what I succeeded to do this week!
So, of course we must start out with some introductory photos. We head out on the trail starting at Palmyra’s Horsemen’s Park. The we involved is comprised of myself (Erica K. Frei), and two of my horses – Scout Sweet Dynasty (Paint gelding) and *Tanjobi (Bashkir Curly gelding). I prefer to take two out at one time, not just because we can cover more ground, but it also takes me less time to ‘work’ both horses.
Usually I start out aboard Scout, for the very reason that he is more seasoned at the moment than Jobi…
And he seems to enjoy the trails thoroughly…
These two make a pretty good pair. Jobi is quite respectful about being ponied. If given the line he’ll hold rank evenly with Scout, and is attentive enough to know just the right moment to trot or canter to keep up with us.
Every once in a while Jobi veers wide to get the best footing, according to him. Neither of these guys are shod, so we take it at their pace. They hold up nicely on the rocky footing and are great about picking where they put their feet.
Jobi never stays away for long however, and is definitely sure to voice his opinions about the matter. I think today he would prefer to lead…
We take a quick break for some re-hydration and a mouthful or two of grass before we take our canter across the field. Jobi also gets a scratch on the forehead and extra attention…
From my vantage point, you would never know just how fast we are traveling. For some reason, the image I had in my mind of these pictures was vastly different from the reality I could achieve from being so close to the action. Still aboard Scout!
Did I mention that Jobi is usually the instigator for some playful antics? He likes to pretend like he is still the stallion and take charge of the situation…
And in my attempt to show we are running, an interesting leg shot…
Jobi is still next to us… and we’re still cantering…
Look at that beautiful curly mane! 
One last shot before we take it back down to a walk and mosey our way down the rest of the trail…
I hadn’t originally intended to take on 25 miles on this particular ride. I like to make my way up to doing two 25 mile rides a week in the summer, that is on a good week when time permits.. but we were just getting close to reaching the goal of 25 miles once a week. So, as we got to our normal half-way point, I opted to just keep on going. Not to mention the fact that the next stop has a portable toilet and I did have to pee. So the boys got some nice grazing time in after a great workout.
We also spent a little time checking out the bulletins posted at our rest point… and the boys wanted to read them too.
And it wouldn’t quite be a break without Scout using Jobi as a scratching post…
Before I could put myself back in the saddle and head back home, who do we run into but my favorite student, Miss Julie! Her and her gelding, Hollywood, accompanied us back down the trail for a stretch and it was enjoyable company indeed!
Of course, Jobi gets to take over the lead on the return trip. It’s a nice change of scenery…
Jobi isn’t too excited about Scout working his way to the lead…
What a fistful! I’m lucky enough to have these wonderful horses who make it easy to wander down the trail in pairs. Riding in a dressage saddle down the trail means I don’t have the handy ability to tie off my ponied horse when I want an extra hand, so instead it all gets consolidated and shoved into one hand – lead rope, reins and riding whip. Just so I can get to my camera or a bottle of water I’m satisfied…
And one last one at the end of the ride. Mr. Scout can be seen to my left. I think we were all happy to load back up in the trailer and head home for some grub after this ride!
All in all, a decisively enjoyable ride. It is always nice to run into friends and acquaintances. I also spotted a friend of mine driving past as we were on our way to Horsemen’s Park. Had a great conversation with another woman at the park just before we went home.
A slideshow of these images can be found on our photo gallery (http://www.ericafrei.com/photogallery/) as well as more photos from events, shows, and other horse activities!
