Greetings
fellow
horse lovers!

Rascal and I, Elicia on Rioja, Linny on Citron and Matt on Strider were thrilled to be featured on the cover of the July/August Trail Rider Magazine, riding on Ten Mile Beach in a photo taken by my husband, Harvey. Inside is Cynthia McFarland's interview with me entitled "Safe Beach Riding"... a subject that was hard for me to edit down to an even slightly reasonable length! Cynthia is interviewing me for 12 issues on various trail riding concerns including conditioning, mountain riding, and veterinary checks. Available now on newsstands!

In a future article about tack, I warn about the dangers of riding a horse who is not yet used to a crupper under his tail. My daughter Kyala's photo caught a perfect example as I longed my Arabian stallion Mendocino Shiraz before riding him.

Have you been dreaming about moving to the Mendocino coast, on top of a mountain so you're out of the fog and high enough to have incredible ocean views?Perhaps you'd like 23 acres with fenced pastures, 3 stall barn with hay and tack rooms, a mile from the beach... and, oh yes, a unique redwood home with outdoor hot tub overlooking the Pacific? Harvey is selling Serenity -- click to see more. Zhivago and Friendly canter through the pastures on the video, and yes, I have to admit, that's me pretending to get into the hot tub, and meditating under the redwoods.

Hey, try Ride & Tie! To become a RAT (Ride & Tier), you'll share a horse with your human partner, one starting off riding, the other "running" (or animatedly walking, as I do!) The rider will outdistance the runner, get off and tie the horse to a tree, and take off running up the trail. The person who was originally running will catch up to the horse, untie him, ride until she passes her partner, after which she will then tie the horse and take off running. Leap-frogging like this, each person gets to rest up while riding the horse! (Check out the Ride & Tie Website here.) I was inspired when I read Maryben Stover's article which began something like: "I'm 52 years old, 5'2" tall, weigh 250 pounds, and I just completed a Ride & Tie with Steve Shaw and my 16 hh. mule." The last time I competed in R&T was with John Melville as my partner, who was 72 years young at the time. That meant I only had to 'fess to being 28 for us to be in contention for the "Century in the Saddle" award!

You can watch the excitement at this year's R&T Championships held in conjunction with the Mendocino Magic 30 and 50 Mile Endurance Rides the weekend of the 24th and 25th of August at Simcha Ranch. The youngest competitor on the last Mendo Magic was six years old, and the oldest was 82 year old Connie Berto, who is still riding endurance. Go Connie!

Ricochet Ridge Ranch alumnae Ginny Clemens, who produced the beautiful Horse Classics calenders for many years, joined us on a Safaris Unlimited horse safari in the Masai Mara in Kenya last year. Her wonderfully descriptive photos and article were published in Horse Illustrated Magazine this spring, and I'm sure can still be found online. I've now ridden with Gordie Church's Safaris Unlimited six times since 1990, and I'm sure many of you have heard the story about how Harvey and I met in a bar in Nairobi the night before my first safari in Africa. Ahhhh, the memories! Read my article here.

RIDE WITH US

If you haven't ridden with us a Ricochet Ridge Ranch, or have dreamed of returning, 2013 is filled with wonderful opportunities and ways to do so. Our full-tilt boogie, the Redwood Coast Riding Vacations, are all inclusive, catered with truly wonderful meals. They include lodging at unique Bed & Breakfast Inns and Hotels, riding every day, fine dining with a glass of choice California wines accompanying dinner each evening, live entertainment on Wednesday and Saturday evenings, hot tub spas and massage available just down the road, a party on Friday night, snacks, beverages and lots of camaraderie. They begin on a Monday at 2:00PM and end after breakfast on Sunday morning. The complete itinerary, with dates, description of accommodations, and other information is found on our website.

In year 2013, the price for the six night vacation remains $2295.00 per person, double or triple occupancy, all inclusive. Although our regularly scheduled week-long vacations are during the six summer months, we are happy to arrange custom treks of any duration or full Redwood Coast Riding Vacations at any time during the year. Returning RCRV clients are welcome to $100.00 off!

Rascal overlooking the Inn at Newport Ranch

For those of you who want the full experience of the Redwood Coast Riding Vacation's riding itinerary, but would rather explore other options for meals, wine and entertainment, we offer the "Ride & Save Redwood Coast Riding Vacation". The exact same riding as on regular RCRV, but you'll arrange your own morning & evening meals, lunch one day, wine and entertainment.

On all of our riding vacations, those who are interested can and do learn about the sport of endurance.Friday's ride can include a "mock endurance ride", where we teach you more about sport horse conditioning and veterinary skills. You'll learn to check your horse's cardiac and respiratory recovery rates, capillary refill, skin response, muscle tone and gut sounds, just as is done at a "vet check" on a competitive trail ride, 3 day event, or endurance ride.During the week, we also discuss how to navigate different terrains, demonstrate other endurance related skills, and highlight many of the different riding strategies used by successful riders in the sport.

We can produce custom, magical riding vacations of any duration, from one or two days up to two weeks, with accommodations ranging upwards from $99.00 - 499.00 per night, with or without breakfast, including if you like the Mendo Wine Tour, and suggestions for ocean or river kayaking, golf, hiking trails, free wine tastings and many other local secrets. Of course, if you are going to be in the area already, but don't have time for a full riding vacation, we also offer Daily Trailrides to the Beach and to the Redwood Forests.

RIDE FOR FREE!

And if none of the above entice you... RIDE FOR FREE! Bring 10 friends, and the 11th rides for free on ANY of our private or group trailrides. RIDE FOR 1/2 PRICE! Bring 5 friends and the 6th person rides for 1/2 price on any private trail ride. Ask around at your stables... surely lots of your riding buddies have always wanted to ride in Mendocino and are just waiting for you to get the ball rolling!

And don't forget to follow us on Facebook, where we post fun horse facts, fabulous photos, and share stories of the RRR family - of which you are an important part!

Y'all come!

Happy trails, Lari

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