Today was the day. The weather was gorgeous! Blue skies! DH and 11yods were excited! 14yodd and I were cautiously excited. She had made another breakthrough this summer. She was willing to go horseback riding! We used to be part of a horseback riding therapy program for Sensory Integration Disorder when the kids were 2 and 4. We’d get to ride the horses with them and it was a weekly delight. (Since then, my kids were graduated from the SI program.) DH wanted one new activity on this trip to be horseback riding, so we encouraged dd that she used to enjoy it and it would be equally enjoyable. She also enjoys the Marguerite Henry horse stories, the American Girl Felicity and her horse, Penny…dd was willing to try.

After breakfast, we headed to the SK Stables outside of the Fall River Entrance to RMNP. We signed up and had an hour to wait. Well, dh decided he needed a cowboy hat. Interestingly, dd already had an orange one with seashells she got from her grandpa at the kiosk where he works on base. She had never worn it before, because she is not a hat person. Today, she was wearing it. So we went to the Fall River gift shop to get hats for the rest of us. Eventually, it was time, and I was getting more nervous. I have never really ridden a horse, except in the therapy program when we had the horse owner lead the horse and the parents each rode with a child. Now we had to sign our lives away for insurance purposes (gulp) and partake of a 2 hour ride into RMNP. (Double gulp.)

We were helped onto our horses by the wranglers. DD had a difficult time mounting, because she has trouble motor planning and didn’t know what to do with her legs and got tangled up. With the help of a wrangler, she unconventionally got situated on the horse.

Then we were given quickie instructions on how to become expert equestrians. I have never handled the reigns before! (Triple gulp.) We were all told to keep the horses from nibbling on the trail. And I was told that my horse liked to trot! (Wait a minute…maybe we should rethink this adventure!!!) I was told how to slow him down and we were off. (Ummmmmm, I’m really high up here. Wait, we’re moving! The horse is moving! Shouldn’t someone be guiding this horse for me???? And 14yodd is really high up…how is she doing? I hope she doesn’t have a melt down!) I knew 11yods would prefer to take off with a charge up the San Juan Hill, I mean Mummy Mountain (an alpine peak) and find the elusive bighorn sheep. Hopefully his horse would be a slowpoke.

Our guide, Alex, led us out. He took the lead on Maverick. Then dd on Elmer (whew! That sounds like a slowpoke name.) Then me on Ripple (sounded delightful!). Then dh on Rocker. Finally, ds was behind on Cutter. (Hmmmm, as long as he doesn’t "cut loose".) Shortly after starting, we stopped for Alex to check the cinch (?) under the saddle. 

I think mine was the only one loose.  I had wanted to bring my camera, but I was holding on for dear life!  DH, behind me, took pictures when he could.

After a while, I started to feel more at ease. Often Alex stopped to allow all of us to catch up, especially ds. He had trouble keeping his horse in gear! Then when it was time to start up, dd’s horse seemed content to stay put. It was funny to watch dd try to nudge him back into movement. We crossed the bridge over Fall River and saw the Lawn Lake flood washout from 20 years before (more on that another day).

We rode through Horseshoe Park and made a 1000’ elevation gain. As we left the trees to the meadow, a steep hill dropped down to our left. Alex said the grade was as sharp as the one the horseman takes in "The Man from Snowy River". I hadn’t seen that movie since it first came out, but I vividly remembered that scene. The scenery surrounding us was breathtaking. The sky was blue. I wasn’t tired a bit since the horse had to do all the work. (This was great!) We crossed the uphill side of a meadow, with a mountain beyond. Alex pointed out 2 coyotes, a mom and a pup. One of the kids saw another coyote. Alex said it was another adult. He kept a close eye on them. (Hmmmmm, should I be worried? Didn’t Laura Ingalls Wilder and other authors talk about fearing for one’s life because of coyotes?) Oh well, they never seemed to pay any attention to us. They were far off in the distance playfully jumping around, enjoying the lovely day. The mood was incredibly peaceful. Behind me, dh started softly whistling cowboy and praise songs. This was the life! Even the chipmunk, perched on the boulder nearby, seemed to enjoy the day, curiously watching us. In the distance we could see beautiful Ypsilon Mountain and Mummy Mountain.

We came to the woods again and had to negotiate muddy spots from the typical afternoon showers. The horses didn’t like stepping in the mud, so they’d hesitate and we’d have to nudge them to proceed. Also there were times they chose a drier path, not the established muddy horse path. Alex told us to try to keep them on the horse path, because the RMNP rangers wanted to preserve the land and didn’t want new horse paths made. Finally we had to start going down, which was tricky for me. I had had major head surgery years ago when a balance nerve was cut; now I struggle with keeping my balance. My lack of balance was definitely taxed on the downhill portions. A few curves were especially sharp. One of them was called Dead Man’s Curve. Alex teased us, saying that’s where we might need to pull the ripcord on the parachute behind us…the rain slickers actually. We kept taking steps down which were exceedingly difficult. Ripple was an extremely thoughtful horse. He’d stop to think how to best negotiate the step down into the muddy area and the rocks and tree trunks. Then he would slowly and carefully proceed. There were a few times I had to use the reigns to guide him the way he was supposed to go. That challenged my lack of balance, but I was elated when he obeyed. DD also was challenged trying to get her horse to go the proper way. She did an excellent job nudging him on and trying to steer him properly. I was amazed!

When we approached level land again, Ripple got the sudden idea that it would be fun to trot! (Yikes!) Thankfully, I remembered what to do and managed to slow him down. That happened a few times. Thrilled, I couldn’t believe I got a horse to obey me! We finally got back to the corral. A wrangler helped dd off her horse. Again she became a pretzel, not sure how to negotiate her legs. I knew exactly what to do, except I was just plain stuck! I was so sore! Alex helped me down and said, "Just swing your right leg over the back of the horse." "Oh I know what to do," oomph I huffed as my leg got stuck on the back end. "I just don’t think I can do it. I’m stuck." Chuckling, Alex helped me get off. I could barely stand! Alex asked if I was staying in at a place that had a hot tub. Longingly I thought about the soothing treat but dismally replied, "Oh no, we’re camping." He told me to do lots of walking. DH had to come and help me walk out of the corral. The pain lingered for about 3 days. Surely, my back end was solid black and blue. I couldn’t walk straight; I couldn’t sit. DH and I theorized that my lack of balance caused me to use my legs extra hard to balance and resulted in extra pain. Would I ever do that again? Hmmmmm, yes, when can we go again? Ride ‘em cowboy!