Horse girls gonna horse

Left to their own devices, horse girls are always going to horse. Karen and I are both dyed in the wool horse girls. There was never any doubt that our weekend trip to New Mexico was going to include some horse time.

On Sunday, we climbed in the Tesla and drove thirty minutes south of Santa Fe to the village of Cerillos located on the historic Turquoise Trail.

Our destination was the Broken Saddle Riding Company.

For a moment, I thought that was a Breyer Clydesdale mare on the sign, but closer inspection revealed it to be a knock-off.

We arrived early, which gave us a little bit of time to walk around and take in our surroundings.

The decor was unrelentingly, eclectically and charmingly horsey.

So much to see! 

I could have cuddled up to the cat and stayed there all day.

But no! First and foremost, horse girls need to horse, so we went to the office/tackroom, signed our waivers and paid for a one hour ride.

Then - because I am an old horse girl - I asked to use the facilities. I was pointed to two wooden shacks located at the back of the property. I've experienced some terrible barn outhouses, so I had concerns...

Fortunately, what I found behind the wall, was a really clean Porta Potty. 

No rattlesnakes. Phew!

With that done it was time to meet the horses.

Karen was assigned to a Tennessee Walking Horse named Shadow.

I got a chestnut Missouri Fox Trotter called Lily.

Our guide adjusted our stirrups, mounted his horse, Bubba, and then the six of us headed out.

The horsing part of our horse girls road trip was about to begin in earnest.