Trail Riding News

Arkansas Trail Riding Association

The Arkansas Trail Rider's Association (ATRA) gathered on Friday, December 9 for its annual Christmas party. We had a grand time with good food, great fellowship and a whole lot of fun. Walter and his lovely bride came all the way from Center Ridge while Mike, Buddy and Bret came from Pine Bluff.  Sherry traveled from Vilonia, and the rest of the gang made their way from places closer. The annual gift exchange left everyone with a little something that they didn’t have before. For example, those were really fine hot dog cookers that Buddy walked away with. With gifts like that, it was not clear why everyone was fighting over the “Gone Riding” artwork or the hoof cast material!

For those who could not be with us, we missed you, and we wish you a very Merry Christmas! For those who don’t know us, come join us. Below are some recent ride reports, and you can find more information on our website www.arkansastrailridersassoc.com.

Lonesome D – New Blaine, November 11 – 12, Butch Penney

It was not too hot or too cold as twelve riders left Lonesome D following host Butch Penney.  The scenery was spectacular with beautiful colors.  Arkansas could not be prettier. Five riders stayed overnight, visiting around a large bonfire and listening to the Razorback game. 

Sorghum Hollow – Delaware, November 19 – 20, Jerry Strickland

Jerry Strickland hosted twenty-seven riders who rode out of the Sorghum Hollow Camp on a fine Saturday morning. The creeks were flowing and spirits were high. Forty-five minutes down the trail, we had lost two, but the others carried on and had lunch on a cliff overlooking the valley.  Several hours later, after a wonderful 15.5 mile ride, three rough and tough riders rode out again for “a little more” riding. A ‘little more’ turned out to be about 6 hours! Riders and horses alike were exhausted and glad to see camp. Even so, everyone had a great time.

Moccasin Gap – Dover, December 10, Tina Taylor

Tina Taylor hosted eight hardy ATRA souls on cold morning at Moccasin Gap including Walter Red, Barb & Jerry Strickland, Noah Grady and Tina, Charlie Box and a couple of other riders. One of the riders had bought Charlie’s nice gray mare and wanted to do some riding on her, and her friend had a horse that was acting up a little; so they and Charlie rode ahead. A little way down the trail, Walter had a great idea:  to ride down to Mack's Pines and go in for hot chocolate! Everyone agreed, and we beat a trail to Mack's. While we were there, we decided we might as well eat lunch in the warm. Noah treated us all to lunch. With our bellies full of hot chocolate and hamburgers, we eased back on the trail. We rode the far yellow trail and met up with a new ARTRA member, Shelli. She had arrived a little late and missed us, and we were glad to have her! The Moccasin Gap maps do not show all the trails and we were temporarily misplaced a couple of times but had a great time. There was a lot of water in the creeks and Moccasin Gap is a beautiful place to ride.

Burns Park - North Little Rock, Jan. 8th, Tina Taylor

I always try to watch the weather the night before we ride especially when there might be a chance of rain.  Saturday night the weather person i heard said a 30% chance of rain on Sunday. We had 9 riders on our Sunday afternoon ride at Burns Park. We started out and rode the new orange trail in the woods.   We eventually wound around and rode to the high hill that overlooks a part of the river and you can see the capital building even from there.  Then we rode on down to the river and rode along and stopped to let a little girl pet the horses.  The last time we went to Burns Park at our rest break at the foot of the Big Dam Bridge we had people taking pictures, sitting on our horses for pictures, being led around by us, and petting horses.  This included little kids on up to grown ups.I bet no one
on a bicycle has ever had anyone want to touch their bicycle or have their picture made with them.  This ride we had several riders who had never ridden Burns Park and did not know what a great place for riding it is.  We had started for the Dam when it started to rain and this time of year it was a really cold rain.  So, we cut out across the park at a trot and gait to get back to the trailers.  We were all soaked by the time we got back and everyone raced
around getting tack off and loading up.  Hopefully, next time we will get all the way to the bridge.  We still had a good time and the heater in the truck felt like heaven on the way home. Tina Taylor
 

 

 

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