Horseback Riding 2020

We went horseback riding while we were in Minnesota. Bunker Park Stable offers trail rides, pony rides for little kids, and lessons for those with long-term riding ambitions. Our trail ride was on a Sunday afternoon...a very chilly Sunday afternoon. We bundled up beforehand and were happy to get helmets for a little extra warmth. Even the Covid-required masks helped keep our noses warmer.

 

Suiting up for riding

The stables have tons of horses. Normally, larger groups ride as a set. Again, thanks to Covid restrictions, we rode as a family, four of us and one more as our guide through the woods.

The stables

Mounting up

We were pre-assigned horses. Mine was Jericho, who was a bigger, stronger horse who apparently skipped lunch that day, as we will read in a moment.

Jericho and rider

Luke and rider

Gibbs and rider

Apple and rider

The workers were nice enough to take the above pictures, and our group picture below.

Our posse

The ride went through a lot of park land. The guide warned us to keep the horses away from the tall grass because they like to stop and eat. My son and I had the horses that were the most peckish as we rode. Jericho won the award for the most on-trail snacking with four stops to munch whatever grass was left late in November. 

The area was beautiful. I'm sure in the spring it's even more beautiful...and probably more tempting to munch the fresh new growth. Maybe our horses had eaten lunch because one of the most fascinating things to my kids was when the horses stopped to poop. Since they were riding in the back, my kids had a pretty good view of the action. 

When we got back to the stable, we adults used the mounting platform to get down, rather than take the big drop to the ground from the saddle. Our children just hopped off onto the dirt. They loved the ride a lot.

Walking away a winner