Thankfully, the spring semester has ended and my date book just got massively cleared out - or should I say filled up with work? Well, I can't complain, work = money = more trail riding = more blogging!
The trip to Jester Park felt much like the start of summer. For the first time in forever, I loaded Rusty up into the trailer and headed down to Ames to pick up Brea, my best friend and riding buddy. From there, we took Highway 69 to Polk City and headed west to Granger, where Jester Park is located.
The Jester Park Equestrian Center not only has horse trails but is home to a gigantic, gorgeous facility with a HUGE outdoor arena. Guided trail rides are also offered for a fee. You can trailer in to the park and not pay, though, and wander the trails at random.
The trails at Jester Park get about as close as you can get to riding on a beach in Iowa. Many of the trails are near Saylorville Lake, and you can actually enter the lake with your horses (more on waterways and safe water riding in the next post) or ride through the sand. It really felt as if I were at a resort out in California.
So, what do you think of my new camera? Props to Brea for being there for a photo shoot! It's a Panasonic Lumix TS5 and so far has been proven to be worth every cent I spent on it. It's waterproof, crush proof, shock proof, and weather proof, so I can share with you all of our great trail rides!
And guess what? There's more to look forward to! Not only will I blog about the troubles of water, but I will have a new trail destination after June 10th to share with you. It's the first camp out of the season and bound to be an adventure! I can't tell you the destination, as it's a secret graduation gift for my friend Madi, and while I doubt she actually reads my blog posts, if she did...well, the destination would be ruined. But let me give you a hint: It's gonna be amazing! ☻
The trip to Jester Park felt much like the start of summer. For the first time in forever, I loaded Rusty up into the trailer and headed down to Ames to pick up Brea, my best friend and riding buddy. From there, we took Highway 69 to Polk City and headed west to Granger, where Jester Park is located.
The Jester Park Equestrian Center not only has horse trails but is home to a gigantic, gorgeous facility with a HUGE outdoor arena. Guided trail rides are also offered for a fee. You can trailer in to the park and not pay, though, and wander the trails at random.
The trails at Jester Park get about as close as you can get to riding on a beach in Iowa. Many of the trails are near Saylorville Lake, and you can actually enter the lake with your horses (more on waterways and safe water riding in the next post) or ride through the sand. It really felt as if I were at a resort out in California.
Careful! Rusty decided after taking a dip in the water that trudging through the sand was too much. He stopped, and I foolishly though he had to poop...AGAIN. Instead, he dropped to his knees and lay down! I hopped off immediately and pulled on the reins to get him to get up, but not before he lay down on his side. Eek, it was too close to comfort for my new saddle!
Across the lake, you can see a huge wall where the water spills into the lake. Even from afar, I could imagine how enormous this wall is. Take a look for yourself! Okay, it does look really tiny in this picture, but I promise that it looks terrifying big in real life!
Another terrifying object is this concrete slab that the horses walked over. Rusty hated the idea, and he is normally so mellow about weird objects. Brea and Sunny had to lead us over.
The "seashore" trails can also take you into a forest-like setting. Some of the trails are dirt trails where you can pick up an easy canter (or race like Brea and I did at a stunningly fast gallop - Rusty was trying to emulate California Chrome!). However, the trails turn rocky quite quickly, so rider beware.
When you head into the wooded area, you forget about the beach pretty quickly. In fact, some of the foliage reminded me of what I saw in Farmington last fall, only there are no gullies to ride through!
So, what do you think of my new camera? Props to Brea for being there for a photo shoot! It's a Panasonic Lumix TS5 and so far has been proven to be worth every cent I spent on it. It's waterproof, crush proof, shock proof, and weather proof, so I can share with you all of our great trail rides!
And guess what? There's more to look forward to! Not only will I blog about the troubles of water, but I will have a new trail destination after June 10th to share with you. It's the first camp out of the season and bound to be an adventure! I can't tell you the destination, as it's a secret graduation gift for my friend Madi, and while I doubt she actually reads my blog posts, if she did...well, the destination would be ruined. But let me give you a hint: It's gonna be amazing! ☻
I'm out for now folks, have good one!
Kelsey
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