Horseback Riding at Smoketree Stables

     I was never the kind of kid who wanted a pony.  I wasn't moved by My Friend Flicka (book, movie, or television series), and it seemed that keeping an animal as large as a pony would be too much work.  However, I liked animals in general, so at summer camp when I was nine years old, I rode a horse once around a fenced enclosure.  It was an okay experience, so eight years later, when a boy invited me to go horseback riding at the Flying W, I agreed.  About ten years ago, I drove all the way to Elmer, New Jersey to take my niece on a trail ride.  Until March 17, 2017, that was my experience atop horses in toto.
     Smoketree Stables was a five minute car ride from our hotel in Palm Springs.  I wanted to see if I could still hoist myself up into a saddle, so I convinced Mike to try horseback riding.  We spent a little over an hour meandering through the California desert enjoying the land and the vegetation. We saw a desert cotton tail rabbit.  They have longer ears than east coast rabbits, and they are out and about in the morning. We also saw a roadrunner (beep, beep).

Welcome to Smoketree Stables.

While some might choose to wear a cowboy hat, we decided to play it safe and wear helmets.

They are just funnin' ya.

These guys are waiting their turn to carry some tourist around.

Mike looks ready.

I rode Ben and Mike rode Rocky.  You don't need any horse back riding experience to take this type of trail ride.  A guide leads the way.  The horses know the route by heart.  They plod along without the rider giving them any direction.  They only thing you have to do is slow them down at the end of the ride since they tend to race toward the barn at the finish.  In case you have been wondering, I did need just a little boost to swing myself into the saddle.