Crossing the Hudson Courtesy of Mary Hatt

On Thursday, June 11, Mary Hatt from Rock Creek Farm in Pelham, MA, drove out to North Egremont to trailer Winnie over the Hudson. She brought along Winnie's BFF, Sundae, so the two mares could catch up on barn gossip and munch grass together.

Just as we were loaded and about to leave for the Hudson Crossing, Mary noticed one of the trailer tires had gone flat. Out came the horses. We called for help and a wonderful fellow came with the right size tire to replace the bad one. We reloaded the mares and off we went, intent upon crossing via the Rip Van Winkle bridge. That done, we headed down Route 32 toward High Falls, NY, to Duchess Farm, where we were graciously hosted by Debbie and Michael Warren and their two daughters, Misha and Chantal. The barn, pasture, and arena at Duchess Farm could not have been more posh; I'm sure our horses thought they'd landed at the Ritz! Debbie and her daughters then proceeded to feed Mary and me the most delicious assortment of fresh fruit, cheeses and breads that you can imagine. A big thank you goes out to them for this, and for all the help they gave us the following day while we tried to find our route down the rail trail.
On Friday, Misha saddled up to get us started, and later, when we found the trail blocked due to a missing bridge, another angel appeared--Eunice of the Rail Trail Committee. We met Eunice out there, busy clearing brush, and she left her work to become our second guide that day. She invited us to her house for the most refreshing ice tea I ever tasted, and another spread of fruit. Then she saddled up her beautiful Tennessee Walker, Blue Solitaire, and led us past the blocked area, across some challenging water crossings.

After Eunice turned toward home, Mary and I dismounted to walk down busy Lucas Turnpike and Route 209 to Loosestrife Farm in Kerhonkson. Misha had driven the trailer there, so Mary could load Sundae without riding all the way back to Duchess Farm. With our trail and directional problems, we covered 13 miles that day, so a big thank you goes out to Misha and her mom, Debbie for moving the trailer and taking care of Mary's dogs, too!
Please see our Picassa Album on Our Photos page for more pictures from our adventures on Thursday and Friday, June 11 and 12.