On Trail Again!

"...she's probably waiting in the wings for you to come along, let her ride again..."

- "Let's Take A Drive", Christian Kane

Okay, so I co-opted those lyrics for something slightly different than their original intended purpose, but it actually works...can't sum up the spirit of today's ride much better than that.

Yes, you read that right.  After an embarrassing long hiatus in which we've done a few stints wandering around the neighborhood and a lot of arena circles, we got to go out on trail again today.  Mimi was soooo happy to be out again.  She does the arena thing because it's what Good Trained Ponies do, and because it's some form of exercise and beats sitting around the stall or pasture.  It's not because she loves it.  But she loves trail.

It was a small group ride today -- our boarding barn owner, another boarder, and one of barn owner's friends.  One other experienced horse and two greenies.  It ended up being a really good group because the two greenies are youngsters that Mimi has been around for the past seven years, and because they're younger and submissive to her, she considers them her "keep" and takes great care to look out for them.

She's everyone's favorite babysitter.

Sometimes when we're riding in a group, I end up going to the back because Mimi hates being crowded (only to think about my own negative reactions to crowded situation with too many people...wonder where she learned it???) and we can hang back and not get too hung up in the herd.  Only problem with that is she is very competitive and doesn't like being last.

So today we compromised.  Spent some time in the middle, some time in the back, and then some time up front...or near to it.  The front horse for the day has a ridiculously fast walk that no one can keep up with (at 15.3 hands, it's understandable...), so keeping up with him was enough to keep Mimi from getting too hung up on the fact that she wasn't. actually. in. front.

We went to the San Tans...our old, familiar stomping grounds that Mimi and I know probably every inch of.

Seeing this view again is like being greeted by an old friend.

And I hate to admit it, but it was probably a good thing we had two soft, out-of-shape youngsters in the group, because Mimi and I both had to dig pretty far down to find our fitness levels.  Five miles, mostly walking, with a bit of trotting (and cantering, if you're an exuberant pony that's stuck behind everyone and just wants to GO!!!), and we were all feeling it by the end.  Fuzzy pony was definitely sweaty (in her defense, she has 2" of hair and it was 70*...) and I remembered some leg muscles that had been all but forgotten.

But we had So. Much. Fun!!!

Happy Pony got to Ride Again