BLAZING TRAILS!

 

IMG_1549I can’t tell you how much I love our trails here at WEF! There is most certainly something to be said for doing something yourself – At one time, I had 4 people working for me, yet they could never find any time to start on the trails!  So now it’s just Santiago and I (and Mike on most weekends) and we began working on clearing trails around and through our 55 acres about a year ago. Plotting the course of the trail and marking the cedars to be removed was the first step.  It was our desire to create some trails that would meander and wind through the shady oaks and others that were beautiful long lanes just right for cantering.  We also wanted to lay down a few large cedars for natural jumps as well.

It was a lot of work!  The Texas Hill Country is known for the crops of rock we grow!  Santiago would start by cutting the cedars down and clearing them out of the way.  Then my job was to remove the top layer of rocks and large boulders with the Bobcat.  Once smooth, Santiago would chip the cedars into mulch right out on the trail (We invested in a large wood chipper for this task) and it has done it’s job well!  Talk about smelling like heaven when you ride!

It’s so satisfying to now reap the benefits of all of our hard work!  We now have about 2 miles of safe nature trails with excellent soft footing!  There are still a few cross trails to cut in the future, but for now, it’s heaven!  I also decided to place a few decorative accents here and there around the trails for some fun and interest – Once people saw what I was doing, they began to gift us with beautiful, artsy pieces to add out along the trail!  It’s great fun and every time I see one, I am reminded of great friends!

I ride about 5-6 days a week with a small group of dedicated riding friends.  They help me to exercise and keep all of WEF’s riding horses in good shape!  The horses absolutely love being able to get out and go on the safe, soft footing!  I can barely keep my 26 year old Arabian mare, Sonata in check when we head out!  I have never gone so fast on a horse in my life until now…not willingly at least!  Ha!  I’m really having the time of my life sharing our horses and trails with close, loving friends and if you are ever in our area, please come out and join us for a beautiful ride…there’s always room for one more good friend out on the trail!  :-)

Here are some pics of our lovely trails -