Horsing Around

This post is dedicated to Gretchen, Ben, Claire and Doug, whose extremely generous wedding gifts made this awesome day possible - thank you so much!

Didjeridoos aside, we stayed in Mendocino because it was close to Fort Bragg, where Ricochet Ridge Ranch is situated. We'd looked at going horse riding in a few different places, but this particular ranch seemed to have an excellent reputation so we booked a private, four-hour trail ride that would take us through the forest and along the beach.

Before I rang to book I asked Daniel if he had any riding experience - I had to let the ranch know so they could pair us with suitable horses. The conversation went as follows:

"Not really, but I'm fine - horses don't scare me," he said.
"Have you been on one before?"
"I think I went on a pony ride as a kid. No problems."
"Right."

Needless to say, when we got there and they brought out Cloud, a rather large white mare, he turned a vivid shade of green and all the bravado of the earlier conversation disappeared. I was to ride the feisty Voltaire. He's fifteen or so now but didn't come to the ranch until he was five and at that point had not been gelded (chopped). According to our guide, this meant he'd had plenty of time to learn and retain typical male behaviours (sulkiness, unnecessary aggression, showing off, general disobedience etc). It took me a while to stop being too timid and actually take control of him - Daniel was/is much easier to break.

Voltaire

The ride began up in the forested mountains (or very large hills), from where we could see down to the beach and along the coast for miles. We rode through the redwoods before heading back down past the ranch and onto the beach. From there we could see colonies of seals sunbathing on the rocks offshore, and there were at least two whales playing beyond them.

For the most part we walked, but we had a few good trots - once Danny worked out how to post he was brilliant. I was lucky enough to get in a small (involuntary) canter when Cloud managed to get in front of Voltaire and Voltaire was not having any of it. I may not have looked particularly graceful, but I managed to stay on. To be honest, I would have loved a deliberate canter, but we had to stay at Daniel's pace...

By the end of our ride Daniel was feeling much more comfortable, but I have no doubt he was pleased to get his feet back on the ground. He prefers the company of smaller, more cuddly animals.

Like the cat that got the cream

Hopefully there will be more (significantly better) photos to come, as we were accompanied by equine photographer Shawn Hamilton. She was researching, photographing and writing an article for Trail Magazine, and she has very kindly said she will send us some of the photos she took.