Hieland Store

I have been putting 'medicine boots' on KC every day. These are made out of a material that is not unlike SCUBA suits. He's prone to slip and fall, stumble, so I think this will prevent him from getting lacerated with rocks and lessen the bruising opportunities. We trailer-ed from camp to the Hieland Store. This became our trail head and cut out more than an hour of riding. It was heating up out there, so we hurried down the gravel road and into the shade. The rhododendron are blooming in the woods, the bushes at home have come and gone weeks ago. These woods are fantastic; as soon as you get in them it feels like the Air Conditioning has been turned on.

We had a great ride. The young cowboy that had on Monday shown the rest of the group how to ride that mechanical bull joined us. He is really a cowboy! When we crossed the Clarion (twice) his mother put his life-preserver on him. When he needed a nap he climbed onto his mother's horse and took one, getting back on his horse when he woke up.

KC tripped over a rock and fell into the river. I did manage to stay on, although it was a challenge. He was definitely listing to one side, but hauled himself up. I was wet past my knees. My boots are waterproof. Unfortunately they were filled with water from the topside. Not a single drop leaked out, all the way home. My toes were floating.

By the time we trailer-ed back to camp from the Hieland Store my Wranglers were dry but my feet were still soaked. I pulled my boots off, my socks were stuck to my feet and my hot-pink toe polish was kaput. I poured the river water from my boots. My feet were pale and wrinkly, the polish was mostly gone. It's hard to be glamorous in this horse life.