Today was one of those days that just keeps getting better…then it’s over.

I got up bright and early, had my breakfast, then, right on time, my buddy arrived. Our plan for the day was to deliver a horse to a buyer in Richfield, UT, then to visit my aunt and uncle in Elsinore, UT, then to find a place to ride for a few hours, as we start our tune-up rides in preparation for a long pack trip in May.

We arrived in Richfield and delivered Chance, a 12 year-old Tennessee Walking Horse gelding, to its new owner, who was overjoyed to see him. Miranda committed to buy Chance last Friday and has been chomping at the bit herself, to get him to his new home.

While we were there, her sister arrived to see the new addition to the family. Now she wants one.  She has decided that one of my trail horses, maybe in the Tennessee Walker variety, might be just exactly what she needs. I’ll be keeping an eye out for another as nice as Chance.

After that, my buddy and I visited my aunt and uncle, Torla and Jim Boucher, of Elsinore, Utah. I hadn’t seen them in a while and we enjoyed about 45 minutes of pleasant conversation and catching up. I completely forgot to get pictures!

My friend and I then headed back north, just as it began to snow in Elsinore. We began to consider heading farther north and east, down into the desert lands east of the mountain range, hoping for better riding weather.  However, as we came near to Sigurd, Utah on I-70, we noticed some very interesting looking mountains to our north and decided to just find a place to park the trailer and head for those mountains.

We were lucky enough to find a nearby exit (Sigurd) and turned north of the freeway. We found a two-track road that headed back toward the west, that took us to a good place to park the truck and trailer. We saddled up there and headed northward into the hills, my friend riding Trigger, a registered Tennessee Walking Horse, and I riding Lizzy, my registered Missouri Fox Totter and favorite trail companion.

Shortly after heading out, we came upon a canal we had to cross. Of course, there was no water in it this time of year, but the sides were steep and we had to find a suitable place where the horses could descend in to the bottom of the canal. Once in the bottom, the sides looked much higher and steeper that they did from the top! We eventually located a place where the horses could scramble up out of the canal. It was a good training obstacle for ourselves and the horses. They handled it with aplomb and grace. We, on the other hand, just held on and stayed in the saddle, while the horses did all the work. Seems that when we do the most difficult obstacles, we never get photos! I guess we are pretty busy keeping ourselves upright and had no time to be concerned with a phone-camera in the hand.

After crossing the canal, we headed northwest toward the mountains. We came down into a creek bed and followed it deeper into a canyon surrounded by steep red rock cliffs, accented by streaks of snow. It was quite beautiful. We rode back into the canyon a quarter-mile or so, before heading back to the east, across the foothills at the mouth of the canyon. We followed no trail. Just made our way through the cedars.

Once out of the foothills, we headed back southeast, toward the trailer. It was getting on toward evening and temperatures began dropping, but luckily, the snow storm never moved up into the area in which we were riding. We could see it off to the south, shrouding the mountains in snow and clouds.

On the way back across the flats, Trigger, the horse my buddy was riding, stepped into a deep hole and nearly went down. My buddy lost his hat, but kept his seat. Trigger went to his knees, but regained his feet and all was well.

We arrived back at the trailer quite satisfied with the day’s activities. both horses, Lizzy and Trigger, seemed to have enjoyed the ride as much as we did.

My friend and I then unsaddled, brushed, and loaded the horses into the trailer, then headed into Salina, Utah.   My friend bought me a nice dinner at Mom’s Cafe, which has been an icon in Salina since 1917.

I recorded my ride with Ramblr. The link is here:

https://www.ramblr.com/web/mymap/trip/303226

The dinner was nice, the conversation enjoyable and the time well-spent. The drive home was uneventful and filled with enjoyable conversation.

Tomorrow I will be hauling Oreo, another Tennessee Walking Horse, up to Syracuse, Utah to show her to prospective buyer. I’m looking forward to that as well.

What a great day!