On a cold and windy, but beautifully sunny Sunday morning Stephanie took Laura, Karen, Jon and me with our horses Patti, Mixie, Roy and Brownie up north to the only beach here that allows horseback riding.
She had found out who to call, I had made the reservation and still we almost didn't make it to the beach because everybody had forgot their Coggins papers at home. Luckily Stephanie's neighbors who were called into action were kind enough to run over to her house and fax all the papers over to the Visitor Center that manages beach rides.
There's only a short stretch of one mile on the beach that we can ride on, but it still made us very happy. It was the first time on the beach for all of the horses, but they were all as well behaved as always and we had a great ride.
At first the horses were very scared of the waves rolling towards the shore, but I made a vow to get Brownie into the water before we left. He jumped back from the dangerous monster waves a few times, always getting just a little closer. I let the matter drop for a while and let him run back and forth, which was a lot of fun. He would always stop immediately, but did run pretty fast when I asked him to.
Trying to get him into the water was easier now and after just a little hesitation he walked in. Of course everything got wet: The horse, saddle, my boots and jeans, but it was well worth it. When Stephanie saw that Brownie was in the water she joined us and now Patti walked in, too. We jogged through the waves, splashing salt water all over the horses and ourselves.
Back at the boardwalk Jon got to ride Brownie, too. I think it was the first time he really loped the horse, and he did really good. Brownie was nice enough not to take too much advantage of the situation and just tried to run up the dunes with him a few times where the really deep and soft sand stopped him anyway. Jon was always able to get him back down to the beach and start/stop running again.
After taking all different kinds of group pictures Stephanie offered me to borrow Roy so Jon and I could ride together. Everybody else was cold and had enough, so the two of us took of for another short ride. The horses didn't really like going out again at first, but got used to it soon. Roy needed some encouragement, but was good to ride and responded well.
It was a wonderful experience and just about the best time to spend a Sunday morning. Just loved it!
MY PICTURES KLICK HERE!
STEPHANIE'S PICTURES KLICK HERE!
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