A Cold And Snowy Ride In North Salem, New York
Last Sunday, a horseback ride had been arranged for a group of about 10 riders in nearby North Salem, New York. North Salem is gorgeous horse country and it's always a pleasure riding there. However, with the snowfall the day before, and with frigid temperatures, several riders bowed out and there were only 4 of us on horses. Betsy Perreten, my stable manager, and I bundled up and met up with the other riders. It was quite enjoyable, just the same.
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- Baxter Preserve is a popular destination for hikers, dog walkers, and horse-back riders. Wendy Terebesi and her horse, Brian, joined our group.
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- The Racetrack circles a pond and you’ll occasionally see people fishing there.
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- The Racetrack is a 3/4 mile-long trail. A second trail, also 3/4 mile-long, branches off and returns to The Racetrack, creating a larger loop for visitors to hike or ride.
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- The trails are wide and open and are lined with a variety of trees, including black cherry, cottonwood, maple, and apple.
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- When not covered with snow, the trails are mostly covered with grass and are fairly easy to traverse.
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- Wendy’s horse, Brian, is a thin-coat horse and is comfortable wearing a blanket in cold weather.
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- Rinze and I stayed back to take pictures.
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- After completing the trails of Baxter Preserve, we exited onto Baxter Road.
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- We rode cautiously because of all the ice.
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- North Salem is known for its rolling countryside and long stretches of post and rail fences.
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- With freezing temperatures, Betsy also wears a face mask and quite often, goggles to protect herself from windburn.
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- North Salem has many horse farms and other large estates, which help to preserve the town’s open vistas.
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- We continued riding down Baxter Road.
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- Wendy, a champion dressage competitor, is a trainer at Pink Cloud Farm.
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- It was a cold, but enjoyable ride and we were met at the end by my horse trailer, that came to transport Rinze and Ramon back to my farm.
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- Dutchess, Jody’s horse is a retired hunt horse and is about 18 years old.
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- Our destination was Jody’s farm.
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- Jody’s horse farm, Pink Cloud, is a private boarding, training, and sales facility.
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- This is an outdoor arena.
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- This beautiful tree-lined lane is the approach to Jody’s farm.
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- Here I am riding Rinze at Baxter Preserve, The Racetrack. Behind me is Jody Rosen riding her horse, Dutchess, a Shire, which is a breed of draft horse.
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- Baxter Preserve is a 114-acre parcel of land, donated to the North Salem Open Land Foundation in 1979 by “The Baxter Road Group.”
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- Locals call this place The Racetrack because of the Point to Point horse races that were held here in the 1950s.
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- This is Betsy on Ramon trying to organize his lead line and reins.
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- In winter, Betsy is clad in 4 or 5 layers of warmth, including an insulated riding jacket and pants by Mountain Horse. http://mountainhorseusa.com/
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- We saw several white-tailed deer on our ride.
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- The deer appeared to be quite hungry, as there is very little for them to eat with no foliage and with snow covering the ground. They were also quite unafraid.
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