The Last Day of Playing Cowboys!

I have had a hard time getting started writing the final post for this vacation.  I know why.  There was an accident on the last day that marred our perfect trip a bit.  In order to NOT be overly dramatic, I will say now:  All is well that ends well!  Sasha was thrown from her horse, luckily it was in a flat pasture rather than on the side of a mountain with trees and rocks!  Yikes!  It was terrifying to watch a large horse go nuts trying to throw your only child.  She did all the right things, but eventually they parted company rather violently.  And there was nothing I could do but watch.  Since we were in a pasture, the staff was able to bring a car down.  We slowly let her sit up and then with help, she got in the car.  She did not want to go to the hospital...who does that sound like?  We rode back and when we arrived at the lodge she was taking Advil and had an ice pack.  She put on a brave front and assured everyone she was just a little sore.  But to cut to the end of this portion of the story, the next day we had a 3 hour car ride to the airport, a 2 hour flight and a 2 hour car ride home...she was not in good shape.  A trip to the doctor and physical therapy for a number of weeks, she is back to normal.  Neck, back and hip pain gone!!  She is back to attacking spin class and Zumba!

Now back to our last day.  After yet another delicious breakfast, the Cowpokes met on the front porch to plan their morning.  The adults went down to the corral for one final morning ride...one final, fateful ride.  We rode with Beth today, she is really nice and a very good wrangler.  We rode along the river, crossing a few times.  It was beautiful to watch the fly fishermen in the river.  It seems so peaceful to watch, but we are told casting sometimes spooks the horses.  That seems so weird that something so small could be so disturbing to a horse.

The dog, Hubcap, showed up before our final crossing of the Conejos River.  He managed to scare up a baby deer hiding in the bushes.  Boy, did that baby squeal!  Our final brush with nature.  Let's see this week Sasha's group saw a bear, Nancy Jane's group had  serious encounter with a wolf, I saw an elk and we saw a momma pheasant crossing the trail with babies following!

What is on tap for this afternoon?  Should be having a rodeo at 2 pm, but we have a rain shower.  So we pushed back the rodeo and 30 minutes later, it was time to RODEO.  Larry and I decided not to ride in the Rodeo.  We wanted to make sure we could help Sasha if she needed.  The rodeo was fun!  Paula, the Cowpoke Wrangler, sang the National Anthem...what can't that girl do.  She rides, she wrangles horses and kids, speaks fluent Italian and she can sing!  All of the staff was equally talented!

First up was Barrels.  Time was not the big factor, the use of good horsemanship skills was the important item.



Mike, the tallest wrangler, riding The Boss.  This is Devin's horse with
Devin's saddle, which explains why Mike's long legs are bent almost
double!  That would make my knees hurt!

Everyone had a chance to ride Poles.  We had not practiced this before, but you just need to zig zag your horse through the poles.

 

The wranglers divided up into 2 groups and then they competed in a relay event called The Pony Express.  Followed by the wranglers doing a little bit of roping.

The draft team showed up pulling the "fancy" wagon.  You will notice in the pictures of the wagon and the team is a 3-legged dog.  That is Mudflap!  He is a great dog!  And why is Mudflap a 3-legged dog?  Well, after watching him run around the arena, weaving in and out around the big hooves of the team and the wheels of the wagon...I understand how it happened.  It was a different team of horses, but he got stepped on.  They tried to save the leg, but finally it had to go if Mudflap was going to make it  Let me tell you, that dog is fine with only 3 legs.  He does most everything that Hubcap, the 4-legged dog does.  With the possible exception of going high in the mountains with riders, but maybe he never did that anyway.

After the rodeo, we had a little time to meet up with James and fly fish in the rain.  We knew it was too windy to catch anything.  Did have a bite or two and we had a good time.

Dinner was to have been down at the picnic grounds, but with the light rain and high winds it was moved to the Lodge.  One more chance to pile on more pounds before we go home!  I guess you know it is back to diet food on Monday!

After dinner it was time for an old-fashion sing-along.  We sang old cowboys songs...I think I sang some of these in grade school!  You know, back in the olden days!  Then it was time for the Talent Show and the presentation of the Awards.  Devin's awards included a golden horseshoe!  The farrier came to check and re-shoe the horses as needed  The Boss needed a shoe replaced, so they painted the shoe gold and gave it to Devin.  It hangs on his bedroom wall!

I never had any desire to go to a Dude Ranch.  But I should have tried this a long time ago.  I am so glad Devin said he would like to ride horses on vacation.  Rainbow Trout Ranch is not just a Dude Ranch.  It is three generations of a family, running a family-owned business with a hand-picked staff of 30 young people.  The family is actively participating in every facet of the Ranch to make sure everything is perfect.  I am not able to count the number of little things they did for each guest.  Mostly they were present!  The staff sits with guests and eats meals family-style.  What a wonderful, diverse groups of young people!  The owners and their children ate meals with all of us, too.  I hope we can find a time to come back again!  I never knew how much fun it would be to play "cowboy" for a week!  Until we return, a hardy, "Hey Howdy Hey" to Rainbow Trout Lodge!  We loved our time with you!