1967-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1967 November Voice RS | Page 33

DOE RUN. MISSOURI
PLEASURE TRAIL
RIDERS ENJOY
"WALKING HORSE
ROUND-UP"
In addition to the picnic tables under the pavillion
being filled with baskets of food, my young niece
Patti Sue had made sure that the large cooler-box
in the cold spring branch had been filled with favorite
drinks. As the riders were making last-minute prepar­
ation for the "take-off,” one could see small puffs ot
white smoke emitting from the barbecue pits in prep­
aration of the work they were to do later.
It had been left to me to pick the route for the trail
ride. There were several that we might travel, but to
me.» there was only one destination and turn-around
point, and that was the summit of the "roughest and
highest,” my favorite Bald Mountain! "Baldy,” as she
is generally known, lies about nine and one-half miles
southwest of Doe Run. She is accessible by horse
only from the north and west sides. The east and
south have many sheer drops of ten to forty feet.
Baldy differs from her sister mountains in that her
summit is devoid of soil and vegetation. The unob­
structed view from her great bald dome defies des­
cription.
Nine o’clock found a jolly group of riders mounting
and making their way out of the assembly grounds.
As we headed down the lane along the spring branch,
we noted the great sycamores and soft maples had
traded their bright green lustre for beautiful shades
crimson and gold.
The horses were soon doing a snappy running walk
down the country road. At the six-mile point we left
the country road and rode single file along a path
beneath the tree branches of the black gums, the
dogwoods, the sassafras and mammoth oaks whose
enchanting colors of yellow, russet, flaming red, brown
and mahogany were beautiful to behold. As we rode
along amidst this magnificent beauty, everyone’s ten­
sions and worries seemed to vanish in the crisp au­
tumn air. In what seemed too short a time, we were
at the foot of "Old Baldy.” This was the test of a
good trail horse. Would he be sure-footed enough to
carry his rider safely over this steep and rugged
terrain? Some of us knew the answer already. For
most of them, this was their first trip here but they
didn’t hesitate and fell in line and started the climb.
As we made our way between the great boulders,
across the glades, around scrub trees and up steep
climbs, one could hear some of the veterans giving
advice to other riders. What one heard most was the
steel horseshoes clicking and scraping on the hard
granite surface. After three short rest periods going
up, riders soon began emerging into the open space
above the timberline. From there it was only a short
three hundred yards to the summit. Soon our rear
guard and safety man, J. W. Hampton, came up and
announced that everyone had made the climb safely.
There beneath and beyond us, as far as the eye could
see, lay mother nature in her autumn gown of color,
so enchantingly beautiful that the mind searched for
words to describe it, but all one could do was gaze
in awesome silence!
The riders spent the next half-hour praising their
mounts, taking pictures, and viewing the scenery.
Cecil Slover of Ironton, Mo., seemed to have summed
up the feelings of everyone when he remarked, "This
was the roughest and hardest trail I’ve ever put
RAMBLER over, but I think he enjoyed doing it and
I wouldn’t have missed this experience and beautiful
scenery for anything!”
It was then time to leave our beautiful look-out
and start our return to the "Little 3 Ranch.” The
Walkers had cooled out and seemed anxious to start
the downward journey to the valley. Nine and one-
half more miles of colorful Ozark Valley and ridge
trail was ours to enjoy astride the world’s finest and
smoothest pleasure horse.
Next year when October and Jack Frost turn the
Ozark Mountains into a wonderful panorama of color,
we hope you can join us for a Two-Day Walking Horse
Round-Up!
33
November, 1967