Monica’s answer:
To answer the question “why do I trail ride?” I need to tell you a few things about myself.
First of all, I am a nature girl. Since I was very young I preferred the outdoors over the indoors and the country over the city. If I have a choice, I will always ride my horse outside rather than in an indoor arena, and out in nature on the trail rather than an outdoor ring.
Secondly, I am a rebel. If everyone is going left, I go right. If my parents expect me to go to college, I take off in my Volkswagen bus for the open road. If everyone is riding in horse shows, I am riding the trail.
Thirdly, I am a traditionalist. I prefer antiques to new stuff. I miss the handwritten letter. While I did not grow up in a time when horses were the main form of transportation (I might be old but not that old!), riding a horse through the woods or down a road does harken back to this era.
Fourthly, my alter ego is “cowgirl.” I so want to be a cowgirl and my vision of this role is totally sentimental. I don’t want to brand cattle or castrate calves, I just want to ride my horse on the open prairie and have an awesome western saddle with fancy leather tooling and a bridle with silver conchos and wear cowgirl boots with leather heels and turquoise stitching. Any real cowgirl worth her salt would find me ridiculous, but I don’t care. What is an alter ego for anyway, if not to provide a beautiful fantasy? At any rate, although I ride English, trail riding gets me just a little closer to my inner cowgirl.
Fifthly, I am an adventurer. My family is big on travel, taking the road less traveled, and anything new and different. When I go overseas I don’t even book a hotel for my first night, nor do I have an itinerary of sights to see. I simply go and see what happens. To have an adventure you have to get off the beaten path and not have a plan. Trail riding is similar – it’s unpredictable and fluid, even if it’s a trail you’ve been on many times. You never know what might be around the bend and you have to adjust to whatever you find.
Finally, trail riding is – plain and simple – fun. I think that my horse, Tupelo, would agree. We both feel that riding around in circles in the arena is kind of stupid. [I know it is not really stupid and I appreciate the training it provides both of us, but it feels stupid compared to trail riding.]
I also feel more connected to my horse on the trail. We are experiencing something together and working as a team. He is not just listening to my commands, as in the arena. He is sensing possible dangers and we are making decisions together about the best route, and we rely on each other for our mutual safety.
Kerrie’s answer:
Why do I like trail riding? Well, why would anyone not like trail riding?! Let’s see, you get to:
1. Spend time with your equine BFF,
2. Have adventures with your likewise horse-obsessed friends,
3. See beautiful areas that you would otherwise miss,
4. See lots of wildlife that aren’t really afraid of this weird centaur-like creature coming at them since they don’t really look like a normal 2 legged predator,
5. Forget about life’s stresses,
6. It’s not a competition, so there’s no need to dress up or stress about being perfect,
7. Do an activity that both you and your horse love (only one of us loves dressage, and he isn’t shy about letting me know),
8. Go fast!
Happy Trails!