Long - Virginia is for (horse) lovers!

[Linda Cowles <lindac@gilroy.com>]

Two weeks back I posted to RideCamp asking about riding
opportunities in Virginia. Family business would keep me in a
500 mile radius of Winchester for 9 days, and I knew I'd go
crazy if I couldn't ride at least once, so I figured I'd try and
ride with a few Ride Campers during my stay. Sally Augier did
this when she came to California.

This trip "home" has been great. Thanks to ride campers and
Virginia friends, I remembered that I'm a Virginian living in
California. After 23 years of visiting the east, I went home for
the first time. 

The week was perfect. The weather was clear, the sunsets and
sunrises - spectacular!! The fall foliage is at it's peak; the
sumac, maple, oaks and gums, ash and hickory - all are vibrant!
I was in St. Michael's (Chesapeake Bay), Hagerstown and
Frederick Md, and all over Delaware, Virginia and Washington DC.
My Buick Skylark had 1900 miles on it when I turned it in. How
did I do that???

I had great responses on the riding. Valerie Kanavy invited me
to ride in Fort Valley, Sally Augier arranged a Graves Mt ride,
and Lari Shea offered her wonderful Cardeno, staying at
Valerie's barn. When I got home, I found another invitation to
ride the FV ride from Lori Hayward! I only use this gilroy.com
address for ridecamp, and missed the opportunity to meet Lori -
Argh! I'll be back soon, Lori! 

I got in five VERY good rides in in 9 days on 3 horses.
Endurance riders, my father says, must  be "that way" about
everything. He's right. The WEG discussion is another example!

I arrived at Valerie's last Friday to take Lari's Cardeno out.
The Kanavy's run a phenomenal horse operation! It's perfectly
suited to what they do, which is locate, train, manage and
compete top notch endurance horses. Their stable of consistently
great horses made me itch to ride!

My favorite ride on Cardeno was east over the mountain to the
road that runs along the Shenandoah River... The bright gold,
crimson, red, orange, violet and lime foliage stretched out
forever; showers of golden leaves that drifted down from the
trees while the aroma of wood smoke wafted by. The only sound
was Cardeno's steady trot and canter, accompanied by the breeze
rustling through the trees and gurgling voice of the river. It
was one of my most memorable rides ever!

Cardeno was an excellent companion; it took me hours to wipe the
smile off my face every time I rode him! His name should be Mr.
Personality - he's lovable, "a pussycat" when not competing as
Lari says. Comfortable, powerful and *very* fast. He's an
extremely fun horse to ride; fast, reliable and VERY
comfortable. He never hesitated, spooked or resisted; always
VERY eager and willing. An incredible horse to ride! 

Thank you, Lari for the opportunity to ride this fellow... I'm
indebted forever! Valery and Danielle - I'll never forget your
wonderful southern hospitality and invaluable "lessons"; I
learned much from both of you in a short period of time just by
being around you! If you ever need a crew or a hand, I'll be
there for you; that's a promise. I may end up being another of
your many good neighbors!

I made it to the Fort Valley ride on Saturday and met many folks
- I can't even begin to name them all... I missed meeting
several that I particularly wanted to meet because 1) I had to
leave the ride early and 2) I couldn't identify them!  Tom Sites
was there, (met him while crewing for the Brazilians at Tevis)
and he once again entertained me with his minstrel banter... if
you think of communication as an art, Tom is a, uhhhh, prolific
artist !!! ;^)  Tom, if you get this, keep up the good work...
there is no finer way to spend your life than by decorating the
planet with fine plants and broad smiles!

I rode at Graves Mt with Sally Augier on her neat mare, Lella.
This mare has a great walk that CTR folks love, fast and steady!
Fellow ridecamper Susie Wimberly joined us as we rode a nice
piece of the CTR trail and enjoyed the beautiful fall scenery. 

Carol Gibson, a friend in Clark County, threw a huge halloween
party in her "barn" where I met other Virginia horse folks. The
loft in this ~50x110 feet historic barn, was converted into
living space, while retaining the stalls downstairs. The "house"
has two floors with at large cathedral ceiling'd "music room" at
one end that swallows a concert sized grand piano. In place of
the loft doors, large picture windows look out over the Virginia
Blue Ridge Hunt country, and hosted the Good Morning America
show for one week a while back.... Carol and Bobby deserve the
great reputation they have as entertainers. The roaring bonfire,
tables loaded with great food, assortment of spirits, liquid and
quasi human, musicians playing Virginia style country music, the
hot tub, the howling and laughter... the joviality continued
late into the night! Windy Acres... 

Four of their oversized, paneled box stalls are occupied by
horses, and I have my eye on five of the remaining stalls - one
for each of my horses, and the fifth? Me, of course! 
Now... It's Saturday night on the flight home. I'm surrounded by
great memories, real estate books, lot maps and farm
descriptions. 

Am I going "home" to California? Or returning there to live a
while longer? How hard is it to be bi-coastal?!!! Tom Sites
talked about forming a nation based on spirit vs location...
what he calls his "state of mind"... to be with my true
countryman, I suspect I'll have to wander the country, going
from ride to ride.... About those health certificates...   ;^)

I'm a Virginian... It took a long ride on a good horse over
autumn Shenandoah trails, and the camaraderie of *many*
wonderful Virginians, to remind me of that.

   Cheers!  Linda

P.S.  I *also* have extra horses and need help exercising them.
I don't pay close attention to the list, so if you are planning
a trip west, hang onto my name and addresses! 

P.P.S  If you are from Virginia and hear of any good properties,
I'm buying something with my Dad even if I stay here a while
longer, and welcome any advice.