Party of Five: Horseback Riding and Kenosee Lake

I packed up Emma’s bike and mine just in case as we headed to go horseback riding. Our initial thoughts was that Emma would have to ride a pony around the stable with me because of her age, while the boys and Michelle went off on an hour long ride. When we got there, I figured this is Saskatchewan, why not ask . . . and low and behold Emma was allowed to ride with one of us . . . this is Saskatchewan where there are no rules. Emma rode with Michelle on a horse named Sailor. Josh was on a horse called Smoke. Jamie’s horse was named Chubby. My first horse was named Tag and my second horse was named Bingo. The reason why I had two horses was because when I first got on Tag the lady said to me, “Wow! You have short legs!” My response was, “Thanks?!?!” Sure, let the short guy go through the troubles of getting up on one horse and then have to get down and move over to another horse. Could she not tell when I walked up to the horse or when I struggled to get my foot up to the stirrups . . . I think this is why they didn’t have cowboys in Japan. So I hopped up onto Bingo. You know she couldn’t just let it go because as I climbed up on Bingo she had to remind me of my short legs . . . “Well, this is as short as they get, will it do?” (referring to the length of the stirrups) Not too sure how to respond to that one so I said, “will do”. I guess my body isn’t cut out for horseback riding (HE HE).

Chubby is trying to get some snacks.

Pull Jamie!!

Josh and Smoke

“The trail was bumpy it had lots of bugs that would go in my ears, nose and mouth. The trees were smacking my face. I tried to sneak a few trots along the way by stopping Smoke and then letting Smoke catch up to Jamie, until I got busted. The best part was when she started to speed up into a trot. The worst part was when Jamie bent the branches with his horse and it smacked me. The hardest thing to do was to not let Smoke eat along the way.”

Jamie and Chubby

“Chubby ate a lot of buttercups on the trail, but I pulled him back . . . it was not easy, it took all of my strength. He got away with some food, but I pulled him back some more. The funniest thing that happened was when our guide Cody did not know where she was going and I had to do a full turn. The horse in front of me tooted too much, like it ate too much beans. I was trying not to giggle.”

Emma and Sailor

“Uhm that it was awesome. And because it keep on eating and you are not suppose to let it eat. Because mom was trying to get away because Josh’s kept dumping and dumping and dumping. The best part was when it was going really fast and it was hurting my cheeks . . . my bum. Jamie’s horse did not understand because he had bum cheeks. The best thing about my horse was that he was large and he went to the washroom very badly.” (Emma talked to the horse the whole ride. When her horse was eating she would say, “it’s not recess get back on the bus!”).

After a morning on the trail, we headed down to Kenosee Lake to hang out and relax. The kids had a blast paddling around and testing their skills against a strong headwind. I am always amazed at how quickly they pick up the paddling skills and can maneuver the kayak. Some sand play and some one on one football to end the day off.