Horseback Riding at Cerrillos Hills

Today was our first day in Santa Fe at Sylvan and Jake’s.  We arrived in time for dinner last night, feasting on home made pizza, cooked in an outdoor pizza oven, and salad.

This morning, it was easy for us to get up since our bodies are still on Eastern Time, 2 hours different.  So getting up at 6:30 here was like sleeping in till 8:30 at home.  We needed to leave promptly at 8:50 to make our way to Cerrillos and the Broken Saddle Riding Company.

We arrived in plenty of time to sign the paperwork, use the rest room, and get ready for the 10 am ride that would last till about 12 noon.  Before we started, the owner gave us some basic riding tips so we could stay in the saddle and enjoy the ride.  His instructions were so clearly stated, in terms that I could understand, I felt like 10 minutes with him taught me more than many hours of riding lessons taken about 20 years ago.

Our group consisted of our guide, Bob, on his sorrel horse, me on Jack who was black and white and had a nice smooth trot but wanted to be in contact with the tail of the horse ahead of him.  Sylvan was on Twain, Jake on Keyo, and Pete on Duke.  A new employee, Ann, brought up the rear on her horse.

We rode out on sandy, rocky trails up and down the Cerrillos Hills past many old mines, most of them made during the 1880’s – 1890’s.  We always walked the horses down hill and were told how to shift our weight to help the horse going up or down.  Going uphill, Bob would say “let’s move on up” and we would trot or lope, some of us bouncing up and down a bit more than we wanted.

I felt pretty secure right behind Bob, a little out of control on the loping.  I think Pete feared he would fall a few times, partly because he was caught off guard when we “moved on up” the hills a few times.

Bob told us about the various mountain ranges, many of the plants, and talked about water flow when it rains which typically occurs in July and August.  He pointed out mines and had us pose for photos.

I could hear Bob clearly since I was right behind him but I found that I was so intent on riding the horse that I didn’t retain much of what he told us.

After getting back to the stable and feeding our horses a carrot each, Jake drove us over to Madrid for lunch at The Holler.  Pete and I treated ourselves to a  beer with lunch.  Sylvan had to work later so she and Jake had lemonade.  The food was great.

Madrid had many small shops with local arts, weaving, and jewelry. Unfortunately, several of the more interesting looking ones were closed.

Arriving back at Sylvan and Jake’s house, Sylvan went off to work at the Botanical Garden for a few hours and the rest of us read and napped.