OK, so I know this blog is supposed to be about Riyah, but I couldn't resist posting about the fun ride I had on Keno this morning. We finally got out on the Ponderosa Trail up in the canyon! We're late this year because of the high water in the river. Crossing the raging river to get to the trail promised to be a little tense, and I was not ready to ask Riyah to face that challenge, so Keno was chosen for this mission. He is an excellent trail horse and had no trouble with the high, swift river, but he was absolutely full of it today! Piaffe (i.e. jigging in place!) on the trail might be fun for a little while, but after that I had to tell him to get a grip and settle down. We had a mountain to climb! Parts of the trail are still quite wet from spring run-off. We confidently faced the rushing river, bogs, greasy ledges, the rocky, muddy Salt Creek, and long, steep climbs--all in EasyBoot Gloves (with a couple of fairly worn-out gaiters, no less!) and had NO boot failures at all! Keno has been wearing Gloves since they came out, and absolutely swears by them!

The wildflowers are out; the grass is tall, and it was a gorgeous day to be out on the trail with friends. Riyah will eventually become quite familiar with this territory since it is the best summer trail around for views, beauty, challenge, and conditioning.