Day 2 - call to saddle at 8:30am, line up and then the morning prayer, followed by the National Anthem.
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| Morning Prayer & National Anthem |
We're on the road at 9am ...
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| Cameron |
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| Jerry, me & Joe |
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| Joe & Hogie |
Aside from the "madness" of mixing hundreds of horses who don't know each other, there's something relaxing about the rythm of the ride once you get out of the big city of Brenham.
You'll notice that the sun has come out and even though there are clouds in the sky, it's casting a long shadow. Surprisingly hot, and as the hours go by, it's not easy for horse or rider.
The ride was fairly uneventful, although I'll confess to walking TieDye across the first wooden bridge. He was a little spooked by our second wagon - the mules were wearing bells - and I didn't feel like I should risk his already "dancing" gate across that plywood. I liked him a lot, but wasn't going to take any chances. All the others rode across and TieDye did the second bridge without any issues.
The funny story about Sunday happened mid-morning as we were moving through a neighborhood area and realize the wagon is out of "lemonade," just as we are riding past some little kids who have set up a lemonade stand in front of their house. Sandra Montalbano jumps off her horse, yells "someone give me some money" and takes off running for their stand.
The ride keeps going and shortly she's jogging back to get her horse with a big Tupperware pitcher in hand. She told the kids she wanted ALL the lemonade they had and with a very surprised look, they said they had to ask their mom if they could sell the Tupperware too. Sandra gave them a $20 and the mom said she was welcome to keep the pitcher or bring it back next year. LOL!
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| 5 Hours in the Saddle |
Day 2 is sort of a "trial by fire" - it's 14.4 miles and 11 of them are before the lunch stop. I'm posting this unflattering photo because the looks on our faces are exactly how we felt as we neared Chappell Hill. There was an accident with one of the back wagons that had us on hold and put lunch back about 30 minutes - our horses needed water and we needed food.
The fun/silly thing about entering Chappell Hill is that they turn it into a mini-parade and the Fire Dept. donates their pasture for our stop. Coming into town we have to get into formation, but I don't think our group would win any prizes for straight lines!
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| The Magnificent Wagon 7 |
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| Our Posse |
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| Morgan & Cameron |
We can SEE the lunch stop from here and our moods were dramatically improved ... the horses too!
Lunch stop means a break for the legs because you're out of the saddle, but you're also taking turns holding horses while riders eat their lunch. The delay from the rider who was injured meant our break was cut short because the Highway Patrol was set to close 290 at 2:45pm and the entire trail ride had to cross by 3pm.
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| Just a man and his horses ... |
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| An exhausted TieDye |
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| Morgan with Her & Cameron's Horses |
This is only our second year, but you learn a little something each time you ride. This year, I added a "tush cush" to my saddle (visible in the photo with Jerry & TieDye above) and while it wasn't a complete transformation, my saddle was easier to take.
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| Rocky & TieDye getting a much needed lunch break! |
Call to saddle at 2:30 with line up and crossing of 290 ...
I will admit that we all felt 100% better after lunch and were ready to take on the last 3+ miles. Here we go ...
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| Scouts Leading SGTR |
It was another fun day and another important lesson for me. Do not ever get on a horse going 11 miles before lunch without a power bar!
Although Joe and I were riding Monday, Jerry was headed to the office Monday morning and Brenda needed to be home on Sunday night since her son would be back from his Dad's. After a quick dinner at the Wagon, we headed home.
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