Trailride on Cheyenne Mountain

During a recent stay at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs,

View from our window

View from our building

View from hotel

View of Cheyenne mountains from hotel

I had an opportunity to trail ride through the Cheyenne mountains.

The rustic (no running water or flushable toilets) and charming Stables at the Broadmoor, which of course weren't AT the Broadmoor, were a scenic drive up one mountain, down the other side, and halfway up the next mountain.

On the way to the ranch

View from Old Stage Road

The five mile drive up Old Stage Road took 40 minutes due to the constant mountain switchbacks, and also due to me having to pull over every few minutes to gape at the unbelievably gorgeous mountain views.

Scott, who lives and works at the ranch, was my guide on the mountain trail

Our guide, with my horse's ear in corner

and if I thought rugged mountain cowboys aren't as sentimental about their horses as are we dressage queens, then I was wrong.

Scott referred to the 30 plus horses on the ranch as "his children" and his personally owned guide horse, Diesel, was thoughtfully catered to and petted by his human as he proudly related how the seven year old Diesel ("Isn't he a beautiful and unusual color?  The color of black gold---'Diesel!'") came to be in Scott's life.

Scott and Diesel

Scott showed us some amazing things and I was grateful he and the sturdy Diesel were right ahead of me showing the way through the sometimes challenging mountain path.

Crossing a creek, pronounced "crick"

During the ride we saw a deer, two elk, and four buffalo.  The buffalo are bred and raised on the 300+ acre ranch, and according to Scott the elk are the dominant party over the buffalo, who for all their mass (the bull buffalo we saw weighs 3,400 pounds!) they yield to the tall and graceful elk.

The first guy we saw on the trail

The boy elk were wearing their summer velvet

"Toughy" the buffalo

I got to ride the very slow and certainly agreeable Henry, who looked like he may have had parents of Spanish barb mixed with quarter horse blood, but at (a healthy and vigorous) nineteen years of age he looked more like the universal well loved if well used older horse.  Henry was in good flesh and had excellent feet.

Henry wearing curb bit, western bridle and saddle, and me in my DQ attire