I've waited a long time for this... 

Photo by Mike, of course.

"How do you get your horses so quiet?"
"Well, on Sundays, we ride them around the lion pen..."

I've mentioned in passing a few times that it is theoretically possible to ride to the back of Six Flags Safari. The public sand road goes right past the back of the animal enclosures, and I've been mildly obsessed since I saw a between the ears photo of giraffes on a street view or AllTrails or something a few years ago. 

Last year, Mike and I even took a drive and saw giraffes and other critters from our car. 

The sand roads also connect to the trails on the north side of Colliers Mills. I have tried a few times to get over there on horseback, but there is only one connector trail from where we usually park, and it's always either extremely overgrown or full of downed trees. Since this trail runs through the swamp, there are no alternate routes. 

There is technically another trail that pops you out up the road about a mile, but I have not gotten desperate enough to ride up the side of Veteran's Highway to get there. 

One of the reasons Mike and I chose the north side of Colliers Mills for our hike on Saturday was so I could scope out the trails for riding. I knew it was possible to park the trailers on the side of the road, but would the trails be worth it? 

Short answer: yes. 

With my cabin fever at its highest setting, my desire to make this bucket list ride happen was renewed. It just so happened Sandy and I had loose plans to "go south" for a ride on Sunday. I called her excitedly on our drive home from hiking. I was surprised when it took almost zero persuasion to get Sandy on board. 

We agreed to meet at my barn at noon on Sunday and trailer pool to the Pine Barrens. I had only one goal: safari on horseback. The short version of this story is: mission accomplished.

(Do not try this at home.)

Dramatic reenactment. (Although this is probably how it felt to Booger.)

 The ice has finally melted at home this week. Woohoo! That did not help us last weekend.

Mike suggested we go scout out the trails on the north side of Colliers Mills. I have been trying to get over there for years now, but the connector trail is never passable. Last year, Mike and and I did some exploring by car and made a mental note to come back. 

We finally checked this one off the list! Of course, Bonnie doesn't care where we go to walk and sniff. Besides, it's all new to her!

We did another five and a half miles, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.

 Alternate title: Thank God for Riding Skirts

 This will be a short post!

Obviously edited.

 First of all, thank you for all the kind comments and emails in response to my previous post. While I do not blog for the attention/reactions, it certainly felt nice to receive so much love. It sounds like this space brings several of you joy. In a world full of so much darkness and sorrow, who am I to deny anyone a snippet of joy? The blog lives another day...

2025 ended with ice, snow, and more ice at home. Despite a week of clear weather, the temperatures did not get above freezing, and both the house and barn were roughly the consistency of a skating rink. In fact, the brief warm rain we got only served to Zamboni the surface. Now would be a good time for some crampons...

I hadn't ridden since Sandy and I took Booger and Tot to Deer Path Park, and I was starting to go a little stir crazy.

Bonnie was also starting to get bored without our daily hikes at lunch. I've been romping her around the pastures at home, and she has been doing well on the ice, but I can't keep up without four legs of my own. 

Mike and I decided to head south/east to the Assunpink to scout out the footing. It would be a good leg stretcher for Bonnie, and I was hopeful the conditions would be favorable for riding. My goal was to do a first day ride on New Year's Day.

The following is mostly a photo montage of my dog against various brown backgrounds.

 Time for my annual post where everyone gets a peek at how neurotic I am. (I assure you, this is only scratching the surface.) 

This year, I made a spreadsheet to not only log my rides on each horse, but to log where I rode and who with. I can tell you exactly how many miles I rode with, let's say, Sandy on Tot at Horseshoe Bend. I'll spare you.

I'm still going to dive into the numbers a bit though... buckle up!

 I am seriously considering making the blog private in the new year. After decades of over sharing on the public internet, it is suddenly making me feel some kind of way. I love blogging and story-telling, and I've met so many wonderful people through this space, but I am acutely aware that some people who are reading are not doing so with good intentions. I feel like they heyday of equestrian blogging has come and gone. It may be time to retreat behind the curtain. 

Which has made it more important than ever to stay up to date on this thing for the last few days of the year. 

It has been another busy week here, and I'm dumping it here now.

Getting a dog was the best way to desensitize my yearling.

 We did it, equestrians! The longest night of the year is behind us. Brighter days are coming. 

The solstice is always the perfect excuse for a ride. Sandy was feeling the urge to go to the Assunpink. I am always up for riding there. It's a long haul for Sandy, but she declared that it would be worth it if she got both her horses worked. Her friend Krissy, who I met earlier this year, joined us. 

One of my casual goals for the year was to ride each of my girls 120 times (ten rides per horse per month). Lucy had reached 120 rides earlier this month. Booger had two rides to go, which made it her turn. 

We wound up doing eleven and a half miles with lots of magic along the way.

 In the name of tradition! And posterity. It has been a whopper of a year. But I say that every year. 

2025 will forever be the year I lost my heart dog, and that still hasn't really gotten easier. It is also the year we added Bonnie to our family. In many ways, the year has been about finding silver linings.

Early in the year, I declared, "2025 sucks so far."
Sandy wisely replied, "This chapter of the year hasn't been great for you. But it is just one page."

I have tried to hold that advice at the front of my mind. It has been hard. 

Still, it was a successful year in many ways. There was a lot of riding (which is always the goal around here). 

As always, this post is mostly for my own records, but feel free to scroll along!