A Ride at The Beach

The sun was up, 6AM, clear skies, the chores were done, two cups of coffee, lunch and snacks and waters packed.  I loaded the horses and waved good bye!  It’s a ride at the coast day!!  Forty five minutes later, after a scenic ride through vineyards and apple orchards and vast fields of black and white cows, we turned the corner and saw the ocean.  It always makes you wonder and realize how lucky we are to live near the coast!

The horses unloaded and took a deep breath of fresh, clean, crisp ocean air.  The dust was brushed out, a few tangles removed, tacked up and saddle bags loaded….we were on our way.  Ensueno and Soltar were happy to be out in the sun, gaiting through the sand, off on another adventure.  We had jackets in our saddle bags, but it was t-shirt weather and the sun was shining, no clouds in the sky.  There was a light breeze bringing in the ocean salt air.  We were wearing 30 suntan lotion, since both of us are fair and have freckles, so we could get tan and not burnt today.

We rode through the dunes counting all of our blessings and thinking about  how lucky we were to be riding beautiful Peruvian Paso horses on a gorgeous day, on a sand trail, heading for the beach in awesome Northern California at Bodega Dunes and Salmon Creek Beach.

We soon became ambassadors of the breed, explaining the horses’ gait and termino to other riders on trotting breeds.  Everyone commented on the horses’ beauty, conformation and ease of movement.  We told them how we benefited from the ride and could see the envy in their eyes as our well behaved, handsome geldings glided away towards the beach.  We were stopped by a number of people asking what breed of horse we were riding.  They noticed the termino and gait movements of the horses and realized they were somehow different than the horses they had seen before.  Everyone commented on their smoothness and their long forelocks, manes and tails!    Other riders noticed our horses were calm, cool and collected, while theirs fidgeted and would not stand still!

The beach was beautiful, clean sand, littered with a vast array of driftwood and logs, turquoise waves with brilliant white crests crashing on the shore.  The water foamed into the sand leaving is crust of crystallized surf with each wave.

The horses arched their necks towards the breakers, wondering if the next wave would wet their feet with foam.  After gaiting along the surf a short time, they allowed the waves to wash over their legs….without a major shy or snorting reaction.  The two geldings paca pacaed along the damp sand side by side, matching strides.  Where were the full champagne glasses when we needed them?! We could have ridden along without spilling a drop.  The ride was exceptionally smooth!

These two horses have paraded together so they wheeled and gaited side by side like it was a rehearsed event.  We continually remarked on the gorgeous weather, great ride and wonderful horses while on our ride.  We enjoyed being ambassadors of the breed answering questions poised by beach goers and other equestrians.  We even rode to the Chancellor Ranch, which has a handsome stable of rental horses, along with a bed and breakfast inn, to see their recent improvements and view the horses.  Wranglers and rental riders all commented on our horses and their beauty and “funny way they walked”.  Debby and I did a little exhibition riding to show off our trusty steeds and got rave reviews and more questions.

It was a day which makes up for all the miserable weather we have lived through lately.  We enjoyed educating the masses and know they secretly wished they were riding our horses.  We shared a wonderful day with fellows – Ensueno and Soltar – we know and love.  A great day in the sun on the beach riding great Peruvian Paso horses!

Happy trails to you!!

Susan Black