Boo Boo and I did our first ever hunter pace!
To get there was a two hour drive, but thankfully Boo Boo had no anxiety getting on the trailer or during the drive at all.
Ciro's mom was already there with her other horse Santana. Santana and Boo Boo greeted each other and it was like they hadn't spent the last two years apart! It was actually a little freaky how nice Santana was to Boo Boo. She doesn't normally like horses besides Ciro or even cuddling with people. She didn't pin her ears at me or Boo Boo once.
The weather was perfect. The sun was out but it was cool.
Boo Boo was really hyped up and excited about doing something. He never stopped bobbing his head up and down, but he was also relaxed enough that he started munching hay when he was tied up to the trailer.
We had some lunch and a small celebration for Ciro's mom's birthday. Then our other two team members trailered in and we tacked up the horses, warmed up, then we waited for our start time!
We lined up and got a count down and we took off at a canter, even though everyone didn't want to canter. The horses were so excited, but we quickly took a walking break. Once the horses caught their breath one member wanted to go ahead and another wanted to stay at a slow pace, so we split up and Boo Boo and I stayed at a slow pace.
Boo Boo and his new friend Frosty got along great as we walked and trotted the rest of the five mile course.
The course went through fields and woods. There was some mud and soft spots, some hills, but nothing that was too bad. There was one log we had to step over and a water obstacle we could go in. I've never had Boo Boo around water other than puddles and I can't tell what he thinks of water because he knows he can easily move around puddles so there's no reason to step in them. He followed Frosty right into the water without hesitation!
Right before the water obstacle Boo Boo and Frosty got a second wind and we trotted for quite a while. Boo Boo never really lost energy, but he did need to slow down a couple of times to catch his breath. He was having so much fun.
Finally we crossed the finish line! It took us about 58 minutes.
The place we were at also has a horse playground that we went to after our ride. There were different types of bridges, climbing obstacles, and another water obstacle.
One obstacle was steps up and back down. Boo Boo went up to the top without a problem. Stood for a picture. Then he decided to freak out. He started backing up and we almost went backwards and sideways off the top which was a good three feet up. Thankfully I got him to move forward and we got off it safely.
There was also a teeter totter. Boo Boo has never been on one before and the first time it moved he was a little surprised and looked down at what he was standing on. After that we were able to move forward and back tipping it one way and the other. I had too much fun on it!
I really want to do a day of just playing on a horse playground!
Even after all of this Boo Boo did not want to stand still. He still had so much energy and was excited to be out.
We took Santana and Boo Boo for a walk down the drive and back to cool off before tying them to the trailer together again while we had another snack and hung out. Boo Boo kept bobbing his head and pawing the ground. Santana was ready for a nap.
We were pretty much the last people to leave because we just wanted to hang out and spend time together. It was a great day. The horses all loaded back up nicely and everyone got home safely.
Back at home, I opened the man door and Boo Boo stuck his head out to look around and seemed happy to be home. He got off calmly but wasn't too interested in his dinner, so I put him back out in his field. He rolled on both sides and went to say hi to Trinity, who spent the day with her other four boys, and she just pinned her ears at him.
We all had so much fun at our first hunter pace, and we already started planning our second!