When my wife and I went on our honeymoon a few years ago, we decided to go horseback riding. But the day we went to sign up for the advertised trip, we were told there was no more room. However, there was this other trip that the tour guy told us about.
A half-hour ride acorss the bumpy, Aruban desert, and we actually thought it was a joke when they dropped us off at this downtrodden stable, with no grass, skinny horses, and a 15-year-old guide. It turned out to be the best bargain and surprise of the week. We rode for hours, pretty much got a private tour of a rarely-seen part of the island, and one heck of a sunburn. And its still the first story we tell people about when they ask about our honeymoon. We loved it!
So, When my wife recently reached a milestone birthday, I decided I wanted to take her horseback riding again, but this time, we'd stay local. I surprised her by inviting a few of her closest friends and family, and for this trip, we knew we were going to a great place from the start.
Below are some pictures taken on our trip to the Wishing Well Equestrian Center outside of Newville, Cumberland County.
Enjoy...
This is our group. That's me and Tara in the middle. On the right, her sister Michele and husband, Len. To the right, friends Heidi and John. Between the six of us, there's about 5 hours of horseback riding experience. Yep, a bunch of rank amateurs.
But not for long... After fitting us each with a horse, we spent two hours trail riding thorugh the various areas of the 293-acre farm. Tara caught on pretty quick.
Here, Len looks a little uncomfortable... But believe it or not, with just a little riding experience under his belt, he had this black beauty galloping pretty quick by the end of the trip.
This was the best part... Check out the view behind us. From this hillside field, you can see for at least ten miles south along the scenic Cumberland Valley.
And I'll probably get in trouble for this one... But if you look in the background, you can see the big white barn with the green roof. It's the biggest addition to this up-and-coming equestrian center. It's about the size of a football field, and accomodates all sorts of indoor riding, jumping, and training.
If you think we look like we had fun, please give this new, local (and most importantly affordable!) business a try for yourself. I discovered it while doing a news story (link below)...
http://www.whptv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=318854CE-2232-4107-AB4B-4143B26E90DC&gsa=true
...and remember, life is an adventure. Here's a link to their site.
http://www.wishingwellequestrian.com/
-- Mike
