My husband decided to surprise me with a trip to a riding stable of all things. Although I enjoy the outdoors, But, I have Very Little knowledge of horses, well lets be honest, I have no knowledge of horses and how they work. With that in mind, I was worried about the events of the day We (I) were about to have.
When we arrived I was scared to death but, the guides who were taking our group of 6 out for an 1 1/2 hrs were wonderful. They were very reassuring about the horses, and the ride that was about to take place. They gave us horses that were suitable to the riders experience, help those of us who needed it mount our horses, adjusted our stirups to a comfortable/safe postion for each rider. While this was being done, to my surprise they talked to us like we were new neighbors being welcomed to the area, not just another customer who came to ride for the day. I found myself start to relax just a bit. Our group was even given basic riding intructions before we left the stables, with that completed we were off for a day of what our guides told us would be a great day, I still wasn't so sure.
We got about 15 minutes into the day and I really started to enjoy myself, the scenery was wonderful. The ride took though fields, clear water creeks where we let our horses drink, wooded forest that seem to go on forever. Our guides even took the time to give extra riding intructions for those of us who needed/wanted them. About half way though our day we came across an old chimney where a homestead built in the 1800's called Crockets Corner. A lot people in the area feel that it was the childhood home of Davy Crocket. Most everyone wondered what it would of been like to live back in the day, with so much wilderness surrounding them, and almost on que our horses heads turned, ears perked up, something caught their attention and ours. On just the otherside of the trail mybe 30-40 ft away were 3 does standing there watching us, it was absolutely amazing. My confidence on my horse had greatly improved, with the friendly continued guidedince. On our way back through the fields, our guides gave us the option for anyone wanting to run our horse to do so. By this time I was more than willing to give this a try, with a bit more intruction from our guides to safely run the horses we were off and running across a large open field. Everyone had so much fun we did twice more before heading back to the stables. I asked my husband when we could come back. We are here for 3 more days before going back to work, with that said we made another date to go back out, but this time it'll be for a 2 hr ride, and I can hardly wait.
Next summer we are planning a trip back to Juro Stables but this time it'll be a riding/camping trip. In talking with our guides we found out that they a campsite (tent camping) along the creek bed.
They have a saying at Juro Stables, If You Had a Good Ride, Kiss Your Horse and Tip Your Guide. Well, I'll tell you. We did most definetly tip our guides, it was one of the best choices my husband has ever made for an outting, I can hardly wait to get back for the second time around.