Spring Adventures

Fording the raging rapids of the Walker River!

I am so happy that the winter doldrums are over! Sage and I have been busy taking advantage of the warm weather, logging many miles around the Reno area. In fact, we already did a three-day horse camping trip! Lucky for me, we were able to dive right into riding this spring because we never really stopped during the winter. Conditioning is much easier when you don't let snow slow you down!  

Along with riding, I have been very busy with other horse activities. You may remember that Easyboot was a sponsor for the first Nevada Discovery Ride. I can't say enough about how wonderful the Easyboot Epics were during the ride -- I absolutely credit them with our success and Sage's healthy hooves after 450 miles. Well, I am very excited to have been chosen to be a 2014 Team Easyboot member. As such, I can be a reference for people who want information on the different kinds of boots and help with sizing. I'll also be blogging for the Easyboot website once a month. I'm working on my first blog so stay tuned for that!

But first I had to finish another article: http://www.equitrekking.com/articles/entry/experience-nevadas-diversity-riding-the-american-discovery-trail/. Equitrekking is an Emmy award winning PBS show that highlights some of the best horseback riding destinations in the world. I am very excited to contribute to their 50 State Trails Project - with the first article for Nevada all about the American Discovery Trail equestrian alternate route which is what I rode last year. I'm happy to showcase all the things Nevada has to offer, especially to an audience that, for the most part, doesn't really know Nevada. 

It's wonderful how popular the ride continues to be... Next month I have two talks scheduled. On May 2 I will speak at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Reno and on May 31 I will speak at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in Minden. I might be running out of Reno-Carson venues to speak at -- time to start looking out of state! Speaking of, I'm also in talks with Colorado Public Radio for an interview on long riding next month. Busy, busy!

All of this publicity is very exciting and I am honored to have a forum to use the ride to talk about so many things that interest people -- whether it's wild horses or adventure, there's something for the ride that appeals to everyone. I consistently meet amazing people because of the ride and I am grateful for that. Of course I constantly ask myself how I can do more to encourage wild horse adoption - which has always been the goal of the NDR. Sage continues to be a wonderful ambassador and we've generated a lot of buzz in the local community, but I wish I could take it to the next level some how. Well I'll just keep dreaming/scheming and see what I can come up with :)

As for our next adventure -- Now that the 2015 route is pretty much finalized Ryan and I will spend portions of the summer scouting. I've already started replacing gear and thinking about the many logistical issues. One of which is how I'm going to justify taking 2 1/2 months off work! 

Enough about me! I want to let you know about another long ride that I am keeping an eye on. The Long Trail Home begins in just a few days. Matt Littrell, a former Marine, will ride two mustangs (!) from North Carolina to California to raise money for Semper Fi Fund which aids wounded veterans. Matt has already received a ton of press and he seems well prepared for his journey. I'm looking forward to his updates from the trail. Unfortunately, his route avoids Nevada, but we won't hold that against him!

Till next time ~ Samantha

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