Trail Riding News

We have had quite a bit going on lately but,I know with the hot weather it usually slows down.  We have 3 rides scheduled for late afternoon going on into early evening for July so, hopefully quite a few of us can come out to ride.  The ride at Burns Park will be during the full moon time and the park does not close until 10:00pm so we should have a good ride to the river and there is usually a good breeze so it shouldn't be as hot.  Before the evening ride at Penneyville we will have a Board meeting at 4:00pm.  The ride at Penneyville will conclude with everyone headed to their back patio area for cold drinks and watermelon.At that time we will also have our mid year meeting to determine how to finish the year out with our elected officers since our president Jim Young has passed away.  Even though the weather is hot right now we need to get some rides on our calender for the future.  Anyone who has a favorite place to ride and would like to share it with others please give me a call and we will come and ride.  From the sounds of our Bear Creek ride we need to schedule several clipper rides when the weather gets cooler.  We of course would love to have everyone come out on those days.  The club has 4 new sets of clippers and Bear Creek is a beautiful riding area. Tina Taylor
 
 ATRA Ride on 5/22/10 @ Bear Creek
It was a nice day to ride, warm but with a good breeze, for the seven riders.  Riders and mounts, were as follows; Walter Red/Little Pete, Charlie Box/Rambler, Travis Brown/Pride, Suzanne Hicks/Cody. Nate Arthur/Red, Barbara Penney/Mattie, Butch Penney/Black Jack, and Heather Larkin/Jake.  My route in, below the Hollis CCC Camp was smooth, but in another year it will only be a horse trail, if the limbs are not cut back.  There is a lot of growth on the mapped trails, we took, also.  The need for a "Clipper" ride is quite apparent.  Out of the base camp, I took an old
trail that has almost disappeared.  I lost it (the trail) once or twice, but none noticed, I think.  It was a good climb and then some steep down hill.  Barbara Penney was able to tolerate the down hill, and she gets a "big star" for her progress.  After ridding to the big overview, we went back to the trailers for our noon meal.  I feel this to be a good thing, as you can come back and sit in a chair if you like, and get a drink from your cooler.  After the meal, most of us went out for a 4 hour ride. It was the first time to bear Creek, for several, and they seemed to enjoy it.  Of note, there was a lot for fresh Coggins Papers.  A rider, most missed, was Jim Young.   By Walter Red
 
Tad Morris Memorial Trail Ride 6/5/10– Pine Grove Trails in Leslie, AR
Tina had put out the call again – ATRA needed ride hosts. Willingness wasn’t lacking, but experience and knowledge of trails were! My sister, Bev Hatcher, and I decided we could lead a ride (our first attempt to host a ride) at the end of our upcoming 5 day vacation at Pine Grove.  We coerced another friend, Janet Thompson, into coming along, packed enough food and clothes for a month and off we went for vacation. Each morning we rode out on the trails to define a route we could (a) lead without getting lost (b) take any rider or horse on and (c) show off some of the pretty scenery you can find at Pine Grove. We settled on the White Trail, traversing our way to the Swimming Hole for a break and then on to the Dam for lunch and camaraderie. We finished by taking everyone to the Waterfall and back to camp. The weather was pleasant and there was plenty of running water for the horses. A young man named Anthony was on his first trail ride and he proved to be a great hand- I hope it was the first of many rides to come for him. Everyone seemed to enjoy the ride and thankfully we brought back all who went out with us-all 29 riders! I think I will have a hard time living down my early departure from camp but it was a great experience for us, we met new friends and had a great time with old friends and we appreciate everyone being so supportive! So many people worked many hours to put this together: Tina, Noah, and Charlie preparing our food, while Leonard provided entertainment and Lee and Cindy made sure there were great door prizes for everyone and I’m sure others I am forgetting to mention. The food was wonderful (and plentiful) and we all enjoyed Leonard singing and playing for us. It was a great tribute to Tad Morris- I imagine he was looking down with a big smile as his friends enjoyed a good time in his honor and I hope Mr. Jim (Young) also enjoyed seeing his plan carried out! By Donna Haney
 

 

 

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