Pardon me. *cough* I have to pause a second and clear the dust out of my lungs. Oh. And pick a few leaves from my hair.

There. Much better.

You see, I just returned from a trail ride at the river with my sister. I rode Wally and she rode Cookie, her fat-- I mean, "overly robust"-- tobiano Paint mare. It's always an adventure trail riding with my sister. We're both lifelong show ring riders but we also both have a penchant for fun on horseback. In other words, despite all of our huntseat riding we're truly a pair of rough 'n tumble cowgirls at heart.

Wally was quite the gentleman. He's so easy to trailer any place. He unloads, looks around at the unfamiliar territory, and then stands next to the trailer, patiently expecting to be tied up while I grab my tack. Cookie, on the other hand... Not so much. Instead she's constantly on the move searching for food lest she burn off any calories and lose a few ounces.

That constant drive to be a Hunter and Gatherer presented itself several times on our ride. Wally would be cruising along the trail as it snaked between trees and dipped over small embankments at the river's edge. Cookie, however, would be sampling the flora along the way. And she did it with all the grace of an elephant in the process of deforesting the veldt.

Other than that, it was a fun ride. I have a lot of stress in my life at times and trail riding helps me forget about whatever is bothering me. I feel like a carefree kid again on the back of a good horse.