Some of these trails weren't even trails. Just us tromping through the woods. I rode down and up super steep hills, and going down them was awful. Going up was the best, especially when I was told by my instructor to let the horse I was on go at the pace he wanted up the more challenging ones. Never thought I'd canter through the woods lol. The whole thing reminded me of where I grew up. My mom would tell me to go outside and play until dinner and I'd just go off into the woods and be feral for a while. I felt a wonderful nostalgia the whole ride today.
I'm absolutely exhausted now. My thighs are bruised too lol. So worth the pain though. It was absolutely gorgeous.
For my grandparents’ 50th anniversary a huge group of the family spent a week at a dude ranch in central Oregon. They had a cattle ranch when my dad was a kid and always kind of scoffed at the idea of a dude ranch but everyone had a great time. My mom wanted me to know what I was doing so I had riding lessons for months before we went, and kept it up for a while after. I loved trail riding the most of all of it. It was fun on the East Coast but riding through the desert, canyons, and lava walls on the east side of the Cascade Mountains was really special. That was over 30 years ago but I miss it every time I’m around horses.
That sounds like an awesome time! I'd love to be able to do that someday.