There is no such thing as the perfect horseback ride. But there are those rides on horseback that sure as hell are pretty damned good! I’ve been part of some real successful rides that, quite simply, just plain worked. When you’re half way through a good ride and the energy in your guests is turning to smiles, engaging conversation, even an improvement in their horsemanship skills, you know you’re onto something good!

That good ride is a pleasure. It plum flat feels good and you know it when you feel it. 

I’m thinking of one ride in particular that we do. There are some pieces to that day’s adventure that fall into place and make the ride just right. In most cases, we’ll be riding in a small group, generally with no more than eight riders but preferably with four to six folks with some riding experience.  A guest doesn’t need to be super handy but hopefully has some rides under their belts, while also being in decent physical shape. There’s a difference between sitting on a horse and “sitting a horse.” Sitting a horse requires some effort, legwork, and a good posture that’ll move you towards that “riding light through feel” concept that the Dorrance brothers fashioned going back to the early days of the modern pure horsemanship movement. When our guests begin to ride lightly and you can comment to them how good they are riding, it’s all good!

There’s no doubt that a ride into some remote country, awesome in sight, and with blue skies and the sun shining, we’re ahead of the ball game. Even in Northern Montana, our warm weather days are common. We’ve got the mountains covered, and with some good travelling onto a river bottom for variety, those natural resources, that are often taken for granted, are well appreciated. Every so often we’ll bump into a grizzly in a coulee or a coyote racing away from us at warp speed, which only adds to the spice of life on a good ride. I know what you’re thinking. We see those griz from a distance, usually moving away from us. But occasionally, we’re able to get a good look from a distance and they are a sight you’ll never forget. So in my world, if you see a grizzly, that means you’re gonna’ have good luck!

Well alright then. 

There’s the matter of how good it feels and how important it is to yours truly to do a ride and never see another soul. That’s where we normally are. Alone and with only us and the Four Winds! We seek out the untrammeled trailed and untrailed country. That’s the way we like it and so will you. There’s something special about a small group of riders and no one else. I swear, you will love that sense of solitude. It’s just us baby! 

There’s another thing I’d like to mention and that is how we ride. By that I mean we ride with as little nose to tail formation as is humanly possible. You don’t like constant nose to tail and neither do I! There are sometimes when you’re on a narrow trail and may have to amend that but for the most part we ride with some freedom attached. Ride to the side, ride with your partner, ride alone, ride as you feel you want to. It’s easier than you think. We don’t have lots of do’s and dont’s. There’s no need for that kind of behavior! We’ve been doing these rides for longer than about anyone I know and our style has worked well for us.

There you go! Riding big country with good folks and even better horses is what we all want. We’ve got it here and I am so grateful for that.  An almost perfect ride is the result of thought, engagement, preparation, and the “want to” that’s necessary to make the day a winner.

 Vaya con Dios mi Amigos. Bill.

Oh yeah, there’s one more thing I’d like to mention. We don’t do a whole lot of hard, fast, pounding rides. We save the speed for the arena if we’re roping, barrel racing, or moving cows in our arena. We do occasionally break into a trot on wide open country and that’s fine but I think it’s important to manage the horses over the course of a long season. It’s Hollywood that dramatizes opening up the horseflesh into a gallop. But that’s what it is… drama.

Hey, last but not least, you’re going to meet some really neat folks at our place, and you will undoubtedly enjoy riding with a new friend and sharing new experiences with them. There’s no better way to develop a new friendship than from the back of a horse!