A life of leisure

Since I am on summer vacation, I spend more time on the couch watching things I've recorded. This morning was no exception. As I sat and ate my breakfast burrito, I watched America by Horseback with Tom Seay. It was one I had watched in the past, but I enjoyed it again. I am thinking we need to go and experience it ourselves. It was set in Norco, CA--also known as "HorseTown." Lynn's dream of riding to the store and tying up would be realized here. People ride everywhere; in fact they boast that there are more horses than people in their town. Store owners are required to have a "tie rail" for their customers. The traffic lights have raised buttons on the corners so people ahorseback can reach them easily. Trails run parallel to all the roads in town and there are 180 miles of trails outside of town. I did not see any boots on the horses, but with all the road crossings, I would be more comfortable if my horse wore them. Because Tom Seay was there with hundreds of riders, Troxel came and offered people to trade in their hats for helmets (for free!). I guess a lot did.  Anyway, I enjoyed the show and thought about how much fun we would have there.

http://www.norco.ca.us/
http://www.trailtownusa.com/index.php
http://www.trailblazermagazine.us/

I also watched a Mantracker. It was with Kurtis, the Native American cute guy, and the prey were two young guys who rode the river rapids to win. Kurtis was riding his favorite horse when he slipped on the muddy, steep trail and fell into the creek. Kurtis pulled himself off the horse by hanging on a tree branch and the horse was mired in the mud to his hip! Thankfully the horse was fine--he got out on his own. Kurtis threw a branch down into the mud and hopped over to the dry land without getting any mud on himself. See, you're not supposed to get dirty when you ride. Or maybe it's just the TV factor. Anyway, we probably would have all wallowed in the mud with the horse. I guess that's why no one has called to invite us to be on a TV show.