Saturday, May 30, 2009

Beach Trip

Kacy from All Horse Stuff and I took our mares to the beach over Memorial Day weekend. She has a friend that owns a beautiful beach house near Tillamook Bay on the Oregon coast. I went last year, and things went really well, she was a little amped, but she worked through things. This time, Maddy was cool as a cucumber. She settled right in and buddied up to Washashe. We had a first ride on Saturday and even with the wind, she just plugged along and had some really nice, relaxed canters on beach. She is still a bit nervous about the water. I have her going in, but not above the knee and when a wave comes in, she wants out. We are working on that. On day two, we let them open up along the beach. I don't think I have ever gone that fast on a horse (even my old barrel horse never got that fast!)...a little fun, a little nerve racking, but exhilarating. Day three was a shorter beach ride with a little more focus on some pattern work in the sand. I really had a wonderful time and really proud of the mares...they really shined this weekend. Enjoy some pics of Kacy enjoying the sand.

12 comments:

Lori Skoog said...

You two are so fortunate to be able to ride on a beach, and a beautiful one at that. Where do you keep the horses for 3 days?

Grey Horse Matters said...

Sounds like you two had a great time. The rides on the beach sound awesome, glad the girls were so good, they probably had a blast too.

Nuzzling Muzzles said...

I am so jealous. Riding on the beach is my fantasy. While I was a teenager and all the other teenage girls were fantasizing about boys, I was fantasizing about riding a horse on the beach. Those are great pictures.

summersmom said...

I always love reading your blog but today's really caught my eye. My name is Kacy too and I'm just a few hours south of you guys in Springfield. I've only ridden at the beach once with my mare and since we're expecting our first child this summer I'll have to wait until next year to hit the beach again. Your pics are great! Looks like you ladies had fun.

Jennifer MacNeill said...

Gorgeous pictures. It's my dream to ride on the beach. I went all the way to Jamaica to ride on the beach and we just rode the horses right out into the water, let them swim a bit, and right back out. How boring! Glad you had a nice time:)

Molly said...

That looked like a wonderful time for all.
A favorite memory is of riding on the beach with a good friend and our two horses got into extended trots side by side that had us LOL into the wind.

Esther Garvi said...

Oh, this has LIFE QUALITY written all over it! So happy for you guys, what an adventure!

Callie said...

Sounds like fun! What great photos!

Drillrider said...

L-O-V-E going to the beach to ride. There is a campground at Nehalem bay (south of Cannon Beach) that is excellent riding with fun, fun, fun sand dunes. It is between a jetty and a pier and protected and secluded. I took Jeff there during one of his visits before moving to Idaho. That was a GREAT time. Don't know when I'll get back to the beach now, but it would certainly be worth the long haul. Looks like you both had a BLAST!

jill said...

How fantastic this all looks. Now that is a good day!
Your horse is beautiful.
Jill

smellshorsey said...

Envy envy envy envy envy envy envy. Nothing better than a ride on the beach -- my two favorite things, horses and the ocean. You are so very lucky.

jacksonsgrrl said...

Jules--Also, wanting to make some of the cavaletti you made. How much did the project cost you? I want to factor it into my budget sometime soon!
Starting dressage lessons in the next week or so!!! A really neat lady from England!
YAY!
--Mindy