12/19/2024
Throwback Thursday
In this fast paced digital world we live in, with instant gratification. It's nice to embrace the old school slow way of life once in a while. It was a rare treat to get a little note in the mail the other day from a longtime friend with these old pictures. You know, like actual physical photos you can hold, not just look at on your phone.
This picture was taken around 20 years ago on a ride with a couple good friends to the top of the Sierra Buttes. Yes, you can indeed ride all the way to the bottom of the scary stairs that lead to the lookout on the tippy top of that incredible peak. It's certainly not an easy ride or hike, but so worth the challenge and the views, if you don't mind very steep rocky trails with a few drop offs here and there.
I guess I missed the national day of the horse last week. Oh well, any day is a good day to talk about our best equine companions. The horse in this old picture is my heart horse Ty. That was his nickname, short for his stable name Tioga, the name given to him by the interns at Feather River College. His registered name with AQHA was FRC Doc's Nu Rose (Doc Bar lines obviously). He was the first horse I ever trained from the ground up. I started working with him when he was a weanling and I was a teenager just starting to take classes in the Equine Studies Program at Feather River College. Ty really shaped who I would become as a student of the horse. He was far from perfect, he threw me more than once. He was a real handful at times, but that little horse was so fun. He was the go anywhere do anything type. He would go all day and never quit. I have yet to own another horse that had the great work ethic that Ty had.
This was long before my endurance riding days. Back then I thought you had to ride crazy Arabians to do endurance. I now own 2 half Arabs and 1 full Arab 🤣 Knowing what I know now, Ty actually would have done just fine in endurance. He was a true mountain goat. He easily carried me over the roughest terrain, rarely stumbling or getting tired. He was bred, born, and raised in the Lost Sierra, so he was no stranger to some pretty tough trails. Back then I worked as a wrangler at Gold Lake Stables. Ty was my main mount and we were out there on those gorgeous and rugged trails in the Lakes Basin Area all day long usually 6 days a week, all summer and early fall. Sometimes I really miss my "office", but, alas, I needed insurance and retirement so I could continue being a crazy horse person into my later years in life, so I had to give up my dream job.
This old picture reminds me to cherish the good stuff in life, and always show love to our special ones, because you never know when your last ride will be. I had my last ride on Ty to Smith Lake a few years after this was taken. That's another one of my favorite lakes in the area, and not too far from where this photo was taken. I knew that day something was wrong with my good friend, but I never would have imagined that would be our last ride. So never take for granted the good horses, dogs, and people in your life. The dog in the front was my amazing pal Chase. Besides being my best friend, she was also a search and rescue dog.
Let's see your special horses, dogs, or people in your special places.
-Amie
This page is dedicated to connecting endurance and trail riders of The Lost Sierra.
