I was flipping through my FB and caught the words, CALIFORNIA MISSION RIDE.
Wha? OMG. Really?!
Yes. Really. They’ve already started…
Riders are going to ride the Mission Trail that marks the entire length of California?!
How?
Now, you may wonder why the California Missions are even on my radar… and my answer to that is quite simple.
Every single California gradeschooler has been required to do a report on the California Missions from waaay back – continuing through today. Every one of us. Mine was on Mission San Juan Bautista.
Anyway… the Mission Trail is no longer a trail, per se. In fact, much of it has turned into huge freeways (Freeway 280, Highway 101). So, for horses to do it? Well, that would be something! Not just for the navigation, but for the splendor and the juxtaposition. Mission Dolores, for example, is in the heart of San Francisco.
Hmmmmm. This I’d like to see. And Bravo for those who thought of this and who arranged it!
How is the heck are they going to be able to ride through all of these huge California cities on horseback?!! How cool! Follow them via FB by clicking image.
All Natives know who Father Junipero Serra was and we can all recite the names of at least half of the Missions from memory due to the infiltration of Missionisms. Every one of us lives somewhere near a town, district, event, museum, bridge, statue, street sign, restaurant, Mission marker, route bell, freeway, building named or styled after the missions… the Missions of California live subliminally in every true CA Native’s mind.
So, when I caught the words, CALIFORNIA MISSION RIDE, I thought – How could they possibly ride through all that incredibly expensive real estate which now house the 21 Missions of California? Just look at the map below. Those towns are not dirt roads anymore…
The missions are in some very swanky California towns… how would they ride this on horseback?!
How did they get clearance?
Are they really going to ride horses through the downtowns of Mission cities like San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz… Really?!
So, I went to the website for the ride.
Here is their statement:
Click image to go to the website.
I love this shot. I found it in a news article about the ride. The priest at Mission San Rafael is blessing the horses.
THE RIDERS
On the website, there is a list of the riders their horses (which I loved!)… You can read that here. What caught my eye was the eclectic group – a teenager, a stuntman, a filmmaker, a writer, a the professional trainer, an American Indian… very interesting group of riders.
It seems that the organizers of this group decided to see if riding the missions could be done in this day and age… They wanted to document how life has changed since the mission route was commonly traversed via horseback.
The more I explored the site, I realized that the team incorporated a documentary crew, a lead team, a Press team, etc. So, they are doing it right… should be very interesting.
This photo made me stop in my tracks. This is in the heart of SF. A horse!! Amazing. Love it!
THIS IS THE PHOTO THAT GOT ME! Plus others
This photo really struck me. I grew up a few blocks away from where it was shot. I learned to ride at Mar Vista stables. Wow! Incredible to see this … it takes me back.
I grew up a few blocks from here! I learned to ride at Mar Vista stables!
This is Golden Gate Park. We used to ride our bikes there as kids. Riding horses through there would be such a treat!!
My brother lives in Pacifica now. It is very close to Mar Vista Stables. Incredible they are riding through there. I never knew anyone could do that!
Amazing. On a horse, looking down on SF. Wow. My hometown.
THEY HAVE A FB PAGE so you can follow them!
For me, I was fascinated by these shots on their FB page because I grew up all around the area of many of their first photos. San Francisco, Golden Gate Park, Pacifica… all of these areas are so familiar and I WOULD NEVER think that anyone could ride anywhere around there.
But I think that even if you don’t know all of these places or have never been to California, just following these adventurous souls who all TOOK A MONTH OF TIME OUT OF THEIR LIVES to do this – besides the time it took to organize this extraordinary ride – is inspiring! My hat is off to them. Well done!
Wouldn’t you like to take a month out of your busy life to do something as profound as following your dream – with your horse?!
Very special.
Ringing the bell – every mission has a bell…
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Thanks for the history lesson Dawn!!
Will be sure to share.
Very, very cool – also Dawn, did you know Rod Rondeaux, pictured ringing the bell, is partner (husband?) to amazing equine photographer Rachel Waller?… her work is so beautiful and moving, and they serve the horse in many sacred ways…fyi.