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Caloosa Regional Park - November 19th
Take
a dozen daring riders, (throw in a couple of new members!), order perfect cloudless skies, great Chili-dogs and fixins with
a bright Full Moon and what you have is a splendid Moonlit Ride on the trails at Caloosa Regional Park. Our two
Cowboys, Steve and Randy, fired up the grill and cooked the hotdogs while Laura Estabrook, Sr. Program Specialist
at Caloosa, joined our group and informed us of the large trailer set up on the property because of the Bike
Rally that was taking place that weekend. We ate, visited and waited for the moon to get higher. Finally Amy
pulled out the Glow Sticks which we donned as bright necklaces and then saddled up our eager mounts to venture out into
the darkness. We weren't on the trail for more than 10 minutes when the flashlight on my helmet hit the
reflectors on that huge "trailer". All horses up front stopped immediately and I'm sure, thought "Whoa! What
the heck is that thing?!" It truly looked as if a UFO had landed on our very trail. With all the lead horses frozen
in their spot, it took none other than Donna's little Paso Fino, the mighty "Ammo", to march all the big horses
(including a Clydesdale!) past that monstrosity! We carried on, marching to the spooky Tunnel Trail where we heard
wildlife scurrying beside us. The moon became so bright that palm fronds sparkled and our horses shadows danced,
it was truly a fun and heavenly outing!
Patti Bell &
Shazar
Goodno - September 25th
Our first ride of the
season was wonderful. The weather cooperated-overcast skies, a beautiful breeze,
no bugs, and great company, who could ask for anything more!! We met at the Burger
King in LaBelle and then moved down the road to Goodno. We stuck to the tried
and true, (the swales and along side of the roads) since some areas are still a little buggy and wet. We did poke around and found some of the areas are starting to dry.
Jeanne &
L
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Pepper
Ranch - April 23
The dozen riders
from the Caloosa Saddle Club that showed up to ride the Pepper Ranch on a sunny, warm Saturday in April were not there
... just to ride. Our Trail Boss, Ericka Devore, explained that we were actually "On a Mission" to mark the horse
trails on her GPS so that the County could use the information to create maps. So off we went with Ericka showing us
the way! Her husband, Steve, was the only "Cowboy" daring enough to accompany the wild & crazy
group of gals but it's always comforting just having a man around!
The trails were nice
and dry with a variety of open grasslands and meandering paths that took us through beautiful oaks and palms. The cows
are always an added feature but we were delighted to see a pair of Sand Hill Cranes with their youngster, who would
jump up, run a little ways and think he was hiding from us in the grass. We were also treated to a pair of Red
Shouldered Hawks and one that let us ride so close, we actually thought it was tethered to the stump!
Of course all of our marvelous
mounts got along beautifully and it was a worthwhile outing just enjoying nature and each other. We look forward to
many more rides at Pepper Ranch with ... our new maps!
Patti
Bell
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