I have missed a lot of hunts this season. It’s also my daughter’s regatta season (rowing) and I’ve spent more time by a river waiting for that 7 minute race, than chasing hounds.

This morning I was planning to hunt. This was going to be Zelda’s first hunt of the season and I was pretty sure she was ready — we’d worked hard yesterday and I’d turned her out first thing to get the bucks out.

I was loaded and on my way, along with my friend Marianne and her horse Charlie. But it was not to be. At the first stop sign I realized I had a problem — no trailer brakes. I had a good electrical connection. I had turn signals. I had brake lights. But the only thing stopping my trailer was my truck. Not a good feeling to have when you’ve got two draft crosses riding behind you! If I could feel the difference stopping from 30 Mph, I didn’t want to think about what would happen if I were going 45 or 50. You know what it’s like when you’re pulling a trailer: every idiot from miles around MUST pull out in front of you with no warning. It’s bad enough to stomp on the brakes and feel your horses scramble to keep their balance; it would be way worse to discover you weren’t

So, we turned around and went back. Luckily we live in an areas with plenty of nice trails so we took a right instead of a left and ended up at the town forest. We had a lovely ride on the fire trails where the footing is perfect. I hadn’t been there for awhile and Zelda had only been there once or twice before.

We visited with friends along the way who live near the trail system.

And at the end, I jumped a few xc fences with Zel. She was a star. No bucking. No squealing. She obviously likes going on adventures.

And when we got back to the barn, we had our own tailgate.