A Horseback Ride to Bedford Post
Last Sunday, my friend, Muffin, arranged a really fun horseback ride for a group of nine of us. We started at Muffin’s house and headed into the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, which is practically in her backyard. It’s really wonderful riding through this large and beautiful park, especially when the trail leads to brunch at Bedford Post! Bedford Post, owned by Richard Gere and his wife, Carey Lowell, features an eight-room luxury inn, a yoga studio, and two distinct restaurants. The Farmhouse offers fine dining and The Barn, as its name suggests, serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner during the week, and brunch on weekends.
1 We riders met at Muffin's stable. Peter (very dapper in his outback coat) and Dan standing on Muffin's vibrant lawn
2 This was also a play date for dogs! Sharkey and Francesca were very happy to see Muffin's dogs, Kaya and Coco Channel.
3 Coco Channel is a corgi that came from Palm Beach and is a great herding dog. Kaya is a wonderful mix of a German Mountain Dog and a Swedish Mountain Dog.
4 Muffin's driveway circles around this very clever walk-up mounting wall.
5 After mounting our horses, we started off for Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.
6 Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is a 4,315-acre park, with varied terrain and landscapes and miles of wooded trails.
7 We stopped on the trail for some equipment adjustment.
8 The name Pound Ridge is traced back to the Native Americans who used the area as a pound, where game was kept on hoof until it was needed for food.
9 Muffin shared a good laugh with her guest, who was riding her horse, Bisquit.
10 Bisquit is a large, 17-year-old palomino pony - Muffin's perfect treasure. He makes things all safe while touring in the countryside.
11 Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is the largest park in the Westchester County Parks system and is a very popular destination for bird watchers.
12 It was nice to see so many young saplings. In addition to many species of birds, the park is one of the best places for butterflies in the New York area.
13 We rode to higher elevation.
14 This is a beautiful spot to sit and enjoy the view of the Cross River Reservoir.
15 In another couple of weeks, the trees will have their leaves and the view will be quite different.
16 Smile, Betsy!
17 Muffin was riding Brian, a Welsh pony that actually came from Wales!
18 Headed towards Leatherman's Cave, so named for the leather-clad French vagabond, who traveled a circuit between Connecticut and the Hudson River between 1856 and 1889, sleeping in caves.
19 We met this rather shy dog on the trail, who proved to be not shy at all once his owners caught up. That's when he began barking ferociously at us.
20 This granite formation is reminiscent of New Hampshire's Old Man of the Mountain in Franconia Notch. To the sadness of many, the Old Man actually fell from the mountain in May of 2003.
21 Leatherman's Cave is somewhere up there. You have to walk by foot to see it.
22 Emerging from Ward Pound Ridge Reservation
23 Getting close to Bedford Post
24 At this point, we were all thinking about brunch.
25 Muffin dismounted Brian and....
26 Took a group shot of us behind the Bedford Post
27 A mystery rider with a horse named Dr. Phil
28 After dismounting, some of the horses were led down to the parking area.
29 Once again, Barbara Kovach generously loaned some of her horses for this ride. They were loaded onto the horse trailer and transported back to her farm.
30 Brunch in the Barn of the Bedford Post - Yum!!! What a great way to end a great ride!
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