Whoa, horsey!

A few weeks ago, two of our grandsons flew to Florida to visit with us while they were on school vacation. The last activity that we did with them was horseback riding. Neither of them had ever been on a horse and they were a little apprehensive. After researching the area providers, we settled on Cactus Jack's Trail Rides (floridahorseriding.com). Reservations are encouraged so that they can plan ahead and match the horse to the riders weight and experience.

We arrived about one half hour early. The horses were already saddled, so the boys met them while I was doing the obligatory paperwork. Once we were ready, we ascended the loading platform as the three staff brought out the horses. This ride was your typical nose to butt trail ride. The order of the horses had been predetermined by the riders experience level and the personality of each horse. And off we went. We traipsed through the Florida woods of mostly live oaks and long-leaf pines. We did not see any of the natural wildlife, but did pass other humans out enjoying the forest. The ride was pretty uneventful other than my horse trying bite the butt of Pam's horse. But I showed him who was boss. ;-) Overall, the boys enjoyed the ride and were both eager to get on horseback again sometime.