MOAR TRAILS

I'm so happy that Jetta is such a good trail horse because I absolutely love being outside and not just in an arena constantly.

So pretty

This week's adventure was to one of my favorites, Willamette Mission State Park. It's definitely a haul, but I think it's worth the occasional trip.

We've had some really great rides (which I'll write up soon!) so it was nice to give Jetta and myself a mental break to go exploring. It was supposed to be a really hot day, but we got there early enough that it wasn't too awful.

There was absolutely no one on the trails. I didn't see a single person walking, biking or riding. It was great!

I was going to do 2 loops of the park (there's one main loop with two different ways to get back to the river) but it was pretty hot so I decided on just one loop, albeit the long way. We went about 7.3 miles in an hour and a half. It was fun!

Model status

The focus was to get Jetta going along on a nice loose rein. If she had a nice trot or canter I wouldn't bother her, but if she got going too strong, then I'd half halt her until she came back to a nice pace. She was really good, we cantered all the way around the big field even with the tractor harvesting. She didn't even spook when the tractor had to change direction by coming onto the trail directly at her! Such a good pony.

I got to test out a new tack item too... I got a PS of Sweden running martingale attachment. I think the snaps are seriously the greatest invention ever, I hate taking apart reins to put them through the rings so I was super excited for them. The attachment is a touch short for my taste, but it provides good control for when Jetta gets a little too strong on the trails. I love them! Personally I like the blue because it's "our color" though I did already have someone tell me it "looked ghetto to have carabiner clips for a martingale"... oh well.

See the new clippies!

And of course the icing on the cake with this trail is at the end, you can ride into the river to cool off!

Apparently Jetta is a hippo and had a lot of fun sticking her nose underwater and blowing bubbles.

Once we got back and I was untacking, a lady and her daughter were checking out the park map by the trailer parking and came over. Her daughter had an apple that she wanted to give Jetta. Jetta took it so carefully, it was adorable.

Overall, I think it was the best part of my week!