Sunset Ride - Day 4

This mornings ride~

On this amazing day, we started out with a breakfast pot-luck!  Dutch oven hot goodies, baked blueberry french toast, Sausage & Egg casserole's, you name it - we had it & we ate it & we enjoyed the food & the company & the sunshine!

Dena & Bella were up for a longer ride today.  Since I'd done the jetty "loop" last evening, Dena wanted to see the sights there.  The tide had started to come back in, but thinking what the heck, it's only a couple miles, we started south...  Yes, we were pushed higher & higher up toward the dunes by the encroaching waves.   A couple times we did a quick trot to go around large logs that were jutting out into the water.  The footing got deeper & deeper, Farah knew where we were heading & set the best pace reasonable in the deep sand.  Bella trudging right along side!

The waves were getting closer, bigger, closer - I was starting to eye the dunes...  Deep heavy sand, with piles of driftwood, wondering just how difficult it was going to be to get up there!  Finally - we saw the sign for the trail & with relief left what was left of the beach - maybe one wave till it was gone!

We made it!  

Heading back toward camp on the dune trails - both mares moved into a very nice trot & Farah actually let Bella lead!  :-)  Bella looked very happy to be trotting along - ready to become a distance horse :-)

Once back in camp, Butch & I had a visit from our VBF's, Bruce & Shellie.  Bruce was best man at our wedding, so guess that tells you how long we've been friends!

Bruce with Nika, Butch & Rascal

Even with the cold blowing wind, the beach is the beach!  We just wished it had been a bit warmer - more for sitting out on a blanket & drinking a cold one!  But no... instead we headed back to camp & started a fire!  Dinner, a game of stones & lots of catching up before it was time for our group Sunset ride!

I put on a polar fleece shirt, vest - then my warmest coat before saddling up.  Butch planned to try to get some group photos, so we headed on out to the water,  it seemed to be getting dark in a hurry.  As we climbed to the top of the dunes, the sunset hit me in the face.  It was one of those "moments in time" where time itself seems to stand still - frozen in the beauty of the scene.

My view from Farah's saddle~

I couldn't even see the screen on my smartphone, but framed what I thought might be a photo & pushed the button.   There were a few riders already out on the beach, so we started off to catch them.  Too cold to sit!

We head north~

Our group headed north~

We catch up, the main group of riders come out to the beach.  It was magical, horses, riders, surf, the sound of the waves & wind...  A Very Special moment came when without any adieu, Janelle put the amazing Duke into a spin!  An incredible spin!  Then - a second in the other direction!  Showing off that $50,000 breeding!  What a horse!  Let alone that Janelle sat his saddle as good as any pro I've ever seen!

Farah far right ~

Butch was taking photos & freezing along with the rest of us to get them!  I told everyone that we were doing a group photo!  OK, sounds easy, but in reality - getting that many horses to stand side-by-side, in the blowing wind, at sunset?  No problem!

Here we Are!

We all decided to go out one more time, it was just too hard to think of our time here coming to an end...

"Riders in the Storm"

It was truly a magical evening, horsemen all - riders all - friends all~

Dena, Bella, Connie Farah

Dena had another nice gallop on Bella, Farah even galloped along with!  Then it was finally time to head back the way we'd come...

Heading back to camp~

The end of our final full day in paradise~