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This sums up the day with Hamilton perfectly |
Sunday I hauled both chestnut boys to a gorgeous private field to enjoy the gorgeous fall weather at the hunter pace. Surprisingly C asked if she could have the ride on Eeyore again and I was happy to hand her the reins as long as she rode in his Aussie saddle which she was happy to do. It worked perfectly and Eeyore was the mostest goodest boy ever. The saddle makes all the difference. Plus some monstrous hills, but I’ll get to that.
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This view did not suck |
I also took her advice and instead of trying to be the first ones on the trail we waited until midway through hoping all the fast riders were off the trail before we even started. It was a lovely plan and we ended up in a nice bubble for most of the ride. Those who did pass us or that we passed were all friendly and safe about it. A much different crowd than the speedsters at the front.
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Hamilton seemed to approve of the view as well |
The trail was amazingly well marked which is saying a lot as they worked hard to get the mileage in by winding through fields and small thickets of trees. There were times where the trail headed sharply left to wind around a half mile just to end up 10’ in front of where you had turned. It would have been easy to just go straight and miss it had it not been for the massive red arrows everywhere. Big kudos to whoever had that job.
Eeyore was a saint for the entire ride. He never put a hoof wrong. C was thrilled with him as was I. He didn’t even seem to mind when others came up behind but again, they didn’t gallop blindly up our butts either. Honestly there were several moments where I wished I had been on my Appy instead of the rage monster I found myself on. I did feel really badly for the chubster though. We were going along nicely with a lot of trotting through fields and things were going swimmingly until after the hold.

After that we entered the GENTS trail system and let me tell you…I’ve done a lot of trail riding in my day and I don’t think I’ve ever encountered hills as steep as those. I’m talking hills the horses had to slide on their butts down. At one point we found ourselves a lovely flat trail along the riverbank. All four of us eagerly hopped into a trot then a canter to enjoy the flat, easy and cool trail. Just as we all settled in the trail turned sharply right and we found ourselves staring straight up the side of a mountain with a small pink ribbon at the top. I wish I could have been in front to see the look on Eeyore’s face. I’m sure it spoke volumes.
After that poor Eeyore was done. We still had a handful of crazy steep hills to climb before the end too. Honestly that horse gave his all and then some Sunday. I couldn’t be any more proud of him.
Then there was my Baby Racehorse. Remember me saying how much this horse LOVES the trail? Apparently one pace was enough for him to learn the game because he came out ready to rumble. Now. The bar for “bad behavior, expressing opinions” is set pretty high since I’ve been riding Eeyore for over three years and he is the King of Expressing Opinions. I’m not sure how someone who isn’t used to Eeyore would feel about Hammy. For me, I thought he was silly.
One of his issues is that he is starting to strongly dislike being behind Eeyore. Or at least being behind a tired, barely moving Eeyore. He was perfectly happy to follow until Eeyore started to slow down at which point Hammy thought he’d help motivate him by being very very snarky and attempting to bite his ass. He got sharply reprimanded for that maneuver.
Then he got angry with me for holding back his greatness and tried to bite my leg. He got kicked in the nose for that. He was good for awhile (good meaning his objection to not racing was expressed through grunting, sighing and the occasional moment of tucking his head to his chest and blowing out a lot) until we came to a stretch that was particularly sandy for some reason. I felt him slow, paw and then his knees began to buckle as he thought that was the perfect time for a good roll. A sharp heel to the ribs got him moving before I became a sand coated pancake. He was in rare form indeed.
Ok..so here is where I become a Hamilton Apologist, but I have a point so hang with me. Hamilton has very long legs. He is also born to move out. While Eeyore thinks he is moving out he generally tops out around 7-8 mph at the trot and then has to canter. He cruises best around 5-6 mph. At one point I let Hamilton lead for a nice trot stretch and before I knew it we were cruising at a glorious 9.2 mph with happy ears. Poor Eeyore was cantering and still getting left behind. I’m sure Hamilton enjoyed finally getting to stretch out those long legs of his to move freely at his own pace down the trail. I sorta felt bad putting him back behind Eeyore after that as I could tell he was pissy about it. You can’t go leaving your chubby partner behind though.
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The finish was at the top of this field in the gap between trees. You can see the arrow pointing us left to hug the tree line and wrap around. |
Beyond his obvious displeasure at moving slower than he liked, Hamilton was such a good good boy. He tackled his first set of creepy, rickety bridges. He navigated knee deep mud. He scooted down hills on his rear. He galloped up hills so steep I grabbed mane so I wouldn’t slide off the back of him. He did it all without blinking an eye or once saying no to anything. He even lead a great deal at the walk and a small portion at the trot. For his second pace it was a lot to throw at him. I think now the only thing he hasn’t encountered is a water crossing.
So…yeah his behavior wasn’t the best. He was pissed we weren’t flying through it all and he was showing it in some pretty naughty ways but as always he stayed safe, listening and easy to handle, if annoying. No bolting, bucking, rearing. Just a baby horse throwing some epic temper tantrums when he didn’t get his way.
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I managed to snap the most unflattering picture of both my boys post ride. Eeyore looks like a mule here (no offense to mules LOL) and I swear he isn't this bad looking in real life. |
All in all it was one of the best rides I’ve ever had. It easily ranks in the top 10. Both horses were happy, easy going (in the ways that matter) and safe. Both us riders grinned and laughed through it all. I couldn’t have asked for better. We ended at just over 7 miles and just shy of 1200 feet of elevation gain. Poor Eeyore dug into his hay bag while we wandered over to the food truck to grab lunch. Both boys then fell asleep while we ate. Not too shabby of a Sunday afternoon.