The Horse Trail!

Today, thanks to our friend Colleen, the kids and I got to go horseback riding on the beautiful Horse Trail just minutes from our house.

I walk our local trails often, but I have to say that there is something so tranquil and beautiful when seeing the same woods from the the saddle of a horse. Maya and I rode tandem on a gentle horse named Sunny while Kai and Colleen rode on Rain.

Sunny was so "in tune" with us today, never attempting to trot or canter to catch up to the quick lead of Rain. Towards the middle of our ride, I finally talked Maya into giving trotting a try. After a gentle kick, Sunny took off in attempts to catch Rain. Maya clenched my waist tightly and giggled the entire way. As soon as Sunny realized that we were more than comfortable with this, she often initiated a trot for the remainder of our ride, making Maya laugh every time.

Kai loved the ride as well. He loved the motion of the horse and never flinched, even when his horse got a bit spooked by a random chipmunk or the sight of her own shadow.

We rode through the beautiful fall colors for almost two hours before arriving back at the trail head. The kids never once asked "are we there yet?" and were actually a bit disappointed that our ride had to come to an end. They helped brush the horses and gave them treats at the end of the ride.

Thank you Collen for such a magical day!