There's been so much going on this past month that I'd have loved to blog about (and some I still will, like the felting class I took in Michigan), but time has made it nearly impossible. The month ended on a great note with a ride at the Kentucky Horse Park which was a fundraiser for Central Kentucky Riding for Hope (CKRH).Four of us decided to dress ourselves and our horses up in costume for the ride... as is usually the case with Halloween, planning and getting ready was the fun part! Mirian loved the idea of being a vampire and making her horse, Gringo, a victim and thus a vampire, too.
So, how do you make fangs for a horse? Mirian sewed and stuffed some white fabric and painted blood on the tips, hanging them from Gringo's halter with safety pins. Realistic, maybe not but funny? YES!
Of course she had fangs, too.
She also decided to put mascara on her horse... Gringo is almost as long-suffering as our cat Sushi when it comes to being dressed up! He had his mane and tale painted pink, and had fake blood applied around his face.
Our friend Martha rode my horse Sunday, and painted a broomstick on him to go along with her witch costume.
MB was a skeleton, and her horse wore the mask.
I rode Paul's horse Strawberry- she was a spider web (with a few captured flies painted on her rump) and I went as a spider. I had to abandon my extraneous legs when she started jumping around with excitement in an open cornfield and the legs were thumping on her, and I was afraid that the spider web was doing nothing to help me stick in the saddle! We rode through harvested fields and beside old barns, then back onto the beautiful horse park grounds.
It was the first time we'd ever gotten to ride our own horses over the beautiful cross country course, and we had a new appreciation for the height and breadth of the huge fences!
We had our lunch on one of the jumps, and of course enjoyed a bit of red to celebrate the gorgeous fall day.
Despite storms and flash flooding on Friday night, the weather cooperated beautifully the rest of the weekend. It was a bit sad but also pretty amusing watching stuff float down the fast-flooding creek beside the campground- a refrigerator and everything! It didn't help at all in dispelling any Eastern Kentucky stereotypes we held. One thing that isn't perpetuated enough about Eastern Kentucky is it's treasure-trove of natural beauty. This is just one of the hundreds of natural arches that are all throughout the Daniel Boone National Forest and Sheltowee Trace area.
There was a plethora of wildflowers blooming and butterflies everywhere (not to mention poison ivy and ticks, but we won't go there...). 
The sloppiness of the trails wasn't really too much of a bother for our surefooted horses, and the sandstone terrain isn't very slick at all. There were enough treacherous areas to keep things interesting, and we wisely dismounted to lead the horses through some super-tough areas, especially Jump Rock- I'd really like to see how any equine could get up that rock-strewn cliff! Gringo and Sunday made us proud, once again, with their good sense and enviable endurance!
I hope you like this little movie, the first I've made with my handy Flip Mino which fit nicely in my pocket as I rode. Sorry for the shakiness of the videos, it's more because I have a wiggly horse rather than the video itself being poor! Also, this is my first You Tube Video and I need to better figure out a way to control the "thumbnail view", as what you see here isn't a good representation of the movie itself- anybody have any suggestions? At least I've accomplished another step in technology! (And this particular post was about getting away from it all for the weekend- hah!)
We stopped at our customary fire ring for lunch, and Marti shared her favorite fall drink with us. It is absolutely the BEST! The horses all got a little taste of the whipped cream, though we didn't share the bourbon with them as we wanted them to keep their wits about themselves for the remainder of the ride!
The leaves were at peak color, and the trails were wonderful, though wet. The horses were extremely muddy by the second mile, but the soil is very sandy so it was rarely slick. The map and markings were better than for most places we’ve ridden, and we easily found a beautiful overlook and then searched for and discovered what we had been told was one of the most noteworthy attractions in the area, Needles’ Eye. We picketed the horses, then scrambled down a steep path which required some climbing before we reached the opening of the cave. 
I love caves anyway, but this one was really unique, with a huge opening at the end we entered by, with an arch within it. There was a smaller opening at the other that made a silhouette of the fall trees outside. There were many little offshoots, and I insisted on getting the flashlight so that we could explore them fully, though they didn't go anywhere.
More riding took us along an old railroad bed which followed the gorgeous White Oak River (I had to keep pinching myself, it was my fantasy trail!) and then on to our destination for lunch, the Big South Fork River. Mirian had hoped to ride through the big water, but possibly even better was the ride across it on a towering old railroad bridge! 
We ate lunch on the sunny rocks below, and listened as horses clip-clopped across every few minutes, mostly Tennessee Walking Horses. 
It was nice to see the trails so well-used, and it was fun to chat with other riders and compare notes on our horses, tack, and trails. My flashy little Kentucky Mountain horse, Sunday, got a ton of compliments as he’s currently almost black with a flowing, nearly-white mane and tail. I almost would have given him away with the way he was acting at first on Saturday, but later in the day he settled down and his smooth gait made him worth his weight in gold to me! There were many sleek riding mules, which I know Paul would have loved to see- hopefully, he and Robert can come along next time.
Sunday’s ride was longer than anticipated, as we couldn’t bring ourselves to take only a short jaunt with the conditions so perfect. We rode to the Twin Arches, an incredible sandstone formation that you first go completely over, then curve around and down a steep, narrow path until you’re beneath and within the beautiful double arch. 
The entire ride was truly a dream, but reality set back in when we had a flat on the trailer coming home. MB and I were proud to change it entirely ourselves, and once again our portable jack or “Trail-ease” helped make the job a whole lot easier. I am so grateful for the opportunity to experience a lovely daughter, a wonderful friend like MB, handy horses, and nature's fall glory like we did at Big South Fork, and will always cherish the memory of this weekend. (P.S. We did miss you, Marti!) 
MB, 
