Many of you may remember that I sent Dalton to Thru-Rider, Gillian Larson, a while back. I wanted him to have miles of trail experience – and the timing was perfect because I knew that my life was going to get very busy.
Well… he’s been there longer than he needed to be, but it worked out because I’ve had so much going on, it really was fine… and he’s in love with the three Morgan fillies she has – he is completely happy there. Most days, he gets to go to school, then run on 45, hilly and treed acres with his filly friends.
Recently, Gillian asked if she could use Dalton during one of her weekend workshops. Of course! It only helps me that he experiences as much as possible.
Here is the photo from the trail ride on Saturday at Montana de Oro (a lovely mountain/beach ride on the Central Coast of CA). Dalton is the last horse on the right. His rider is in a blue jacket.
Dalton is on the far right. His rider is in a teal jacket.
THE NOTE FROM GILLIAN
Here is what Gillian said:
One of the things dominating my agenda recently was the wilderness camping workshop scheduled for this weekend, which I had to move to Montana de Oro due to damage at Lopez Lake. Then the weather seemed like it wasn’t going to cooperate for a while (and a fallen tree was blocking the horse camp at MDO too), so it was super stressful. But in the end it worked out really well and I had a great group of people (all women!), including one person who came all the way from Germany, though to be fair she was also working in Atlanta this coming week, so it wasn’t just for the workshop.
And Dalton spent the weekend at MDO with me. He was a champ the whole time; very cool and relaxed about traveling and staying somewhere different and all the new horses coming in. He was a little excited to go out when my mom rode him on Thursday (but to be fair it had been raining for several days so he was a bit fresh and it was cold and windy), but he was a perfect gentleman the rest of the weekend. I will attach a couple of photos from a big ride we had on Saturday when one of the participants rode him on the trail. She was from Minnesota and it wasn’t feasible to haul her horse to CA for the weekend, but Dalton was great for her.
WHEN WILL DALTON COME HOME?
I’m not sure. If Gillian can keep using him, he will stay for a few months. If not, he may be home by Summer. I will keep you posted!
