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.
- Baxter Preserve is a popular destination for hikers, dog walkers, and horse-back riders. Wendy Terebesi and her horse, Brian, joined our group.
- The Racetrack circles a pond and you’ll occasionally see people fishing there.
- 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.
- The trails are wide and open and are lined with a variety of trees, including black cherry, cottonwood, maple, and apple.
- When not covered with snow, the trails are mostly covered with grass and are fairly easy to traverse.
- Wendy’s horse, Brian, is a thin-coat horse and is comfortable wearing a blanket in cold weather.
- Rinze and I stayed back to take pictures.
- After completing the trails of Baxter Preserve, we exited onto Baxter Road.
- We rode cautiously because of all the ice.
- North Salem is known for its rolling countryside and long stretches of post and rail fences.
- With freezing temperatures, Betsy also wears a face mask and quite often, goggles to protect herself from windburn.
- North Salem has many horse farms and other large estates, which help to preserve the town’s open vistas.
- We continued riding down Baxter Road.
- Wendy, a champion dressage competitor, is a trainer at Pink Cloud Farm.
- 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.
- Dutchess, Jody’s horse is a retired hunt horse and is about 18 years old.
- Our destination was Jody’s farm.
- Jody’s horse farm, Pink Cloud, is a private boarding, training, and sales facility.
- This is an outdoor arena.
- This beautiful tree-lined lane is the approach to Jody’s farm.
- 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.
- Baxter Preserve is a 114-acre parcel of land, donated to the North Salem Open Land Foundation in 1979 by “The Baxter Road Group.”
- Locals call this place The Racetrack because of the Point to Point horse races that were held here in the 1950s.
- This is Betsy on Ramon trying to organize his lead line and reins.
- 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/
- We saw several white-tailed deer on our ride.
- 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.