Giddie Up, Megesta!

Horseback riding was one of the things that the boys were looking forward to the most about our Colorado trip.  They're all such animal lovers, especially Lucas.  This was not their first encounter with horses, or their first ride, but it was their longest ride.  At the Devil's Thumb Ranch the children's pony rides aren't just in a circle around the pen.  The boys' horses were still led by an adult, but they each got to ride their own horse and go on trails through the ranch.

Harry's horse was named Boss Hog, or Bossy as Harry likes to call him.  Bossy is the smallest horse in the stables and just right for Harry.

No, I did not make Lucas wear a helmet.  It's one of those riding helmets...  like jockeys wear?  Well Lucas got really excited about it when he saw it in the stables and they let him wear it.  I think he has seen it in a book or on a TV show or something...  

Lucas's horse was Apache.  Chris won the honor of leading Apache, who the nice stable cowboy man informed him was maybe the orneriest horse in the stable.  He liked to eat grass...  A lot.  He wanted to stop and have a snack.  A lot.

Max rode a sweet girl named Magesta.  I know she's a sweet girl because she didn't buck Max off.  I would have bucked Max off if he had been on my back, but I'm not as sweet as Magesta.  For the entire hour long ride Max said, 'Giddie up, Magesta.  Giddie up, Magesta."  Only, he didn't pronounce it correctly.  Because he's Max.  So for an hour, sweet Magesta heard, "Givvie up, Magesta.  Givvie up, Magesta."  Over.  And over.  And over again.  It makes my eyes cross to think about it.  He wasn't demanding about it, didn't kick her in the flanks or anything.  Just quietly.  Sweetly.  Repeatedly.  "Givvie up, Magesta.  Givvie up, Magesta."  At one point, he did take a thin little leather strap from his saddle and to use it to whip her hiney into more of a givvie up kind of pace, but Magesta ignored him.  Because she's a saint like that.

Then these two love birds went off and rode one morning by themselves. And left us alone with our children.  

For reals.  I know.  That is not why we made them go on vacation with us...