HORSEBACK SCAVENGER HUNT

& WEEKEND TRAIL RIDE

MARCH 17TH & 18TH, 2012

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ONLINE!

Join ARA & the New Mexico Horseback Trail Riders on St. Patrick’s Day weekend for two fun-filled days of back country trail rides!

On Saturday, we’re doing a horseback scavenger hunt in the beautiful Spa Cliffs area ~ about 1 hour south of ABQ.

We’ve hidden shamrocks out there! Search for them with your riding group. Collect as many as you can because at the end of the day, the person who has found the most shamrocks takes home the pot o’ gold.

On Sunday, we’ll do a more relaxing ride exploring a different back country trail in the same general area.

COSTS: $20 Entrance fee per rider. This entrance fee goes into the pot o’gold and will be disbursed to winners at the end of the day. (More details to come.)

Bring your horse. Or, rent a horse from ARA.

DETAILS:
$10 Corral Rental, per day. $22, per day, if ARA provides feed.
$45 Horse Rental [Saturday] $60 for the weekend. [Saturday & Sunday]
Primitive Camping & RV Parking available, no charge.

Stay for the weekend and let’s make it a slumber party! Bring your sleeping bag and bunk in the historic San Acacia Schoolhouse ~ where we provide all sorts of exciting amenities. Such as heat and running water. $10 lodging fee for Saturday night.

Reserve your spot on the  St. Paddy’s Day Ride!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP ONLINE
Or, call us: 575.517.0477

Join in the fun.

We’re riding our favorite trails by the light of the bright, full moon. We’ll depart the historic San Acacia Schoolhouse (home of ARA) at sunset, each evening.

Ride one of our exceptional horses, or bring your own.

2012 MOONLIGHT RIDES:

* Did you know? Historically, Native Americans kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.

¤ March 3rd – 8th

March is called the Full Worm Moon: At the time of this spring Moon, the ground begins to soften and earthworm casts reappear, inviting the return of the robins.

¤ April 1st – 6th

The Pink Moon: Heralding the appearance of pink wild meadow phlox—one of the first spring flowers.

¤ May 1st – 6th

The Corn Planting Moon: When first seeds are sown in the soil.

¤ May 31st - June 5th

The Strawberry Moon: A time to gather and harvest the first ripe berries.

¤ June 29th – July 3rd

Thunder Moon: When the monsoon season begins and thunderstorms are frequent.

¤ July 29th – August 2nd

The Grain Moon: When our horsies favorite dish (alfalfa) is harvested from the fields.

¤ August 26th – August 31st

The Barley Moon: Time to harvest and thresh the ripened barley. (Another horsie delicacy.)

¤ September 25th – September 30th

The Harvest Moon: Casting such a bright light that this moon allows night work to finish the harvest chores.

¤ October 24th – October 29th

The Hunter’s Moon: When tribes lay in a store of provisions for the long winter.

* October is the last month of the year when you’ll find us howling at the bright full moon. Winter nights are just a tad too chilly. Come March, 2012… weather permitting… we’ll pick up right where we left off.

Questions? Call Dacodah: 575.517.0477 Or, click HERE to email.

1st Annual Poker Ride!

Saturday, January 21st

Registration @ 9 a.m. •  Rides depart @ 11 a.m.

What is a “POKER RIDE?”

It’s a fine excuse to saddle up, meet new people and have some fun with your horse. Who knows? You might come home a few bucks better off.

HOW IT WORKS: This is not a race.

Ride at your own pace, along a designated, scenic trail.

There will be stations along the way where you take a card for your poker hand.

Collect 5 cards in all and then return to the San Acacia Schoolhouse (ARA headquarters.)

Awards presented after the ride. There will be prizes for the winning hand, the worst hand ~ plus fun door prizes, too. And, like everything we do, it’s all for a really good cause.

When: January 21st. Registration begins @ 9 a.m. Hit the trail @ 11 a.m.

Where: ARA Headquarters, The Historic San Acacia Schoolhouse, 111 San Acacia Rd., San Acacia, NM.

Cost: $30 per hand. Option for 1 extra card at trail’s end for an additional $5.

Reserve your spot on the ARA POKER RIDE!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP ONLINE
Or, call us: 575.517.0477

JOIN NEW MEXICO HORSEBACK TRAIL RIDERS AND ACACIA RIDING ADVENTURES AS WE CELEBRATE NEW MEXICO’S CENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY! NM BECAME THE 47TH STATE TO JOIN THE UNION ON JANUARY 6TH, 1912.

As good an excuse as any to gather horse lovers from near and far for 3 days of trail riding, pot luck dinners, tall tales around the campfire, and lots, lots more.

NEW MEXICO HORSEBACK TRAIL RIDERS
CENTENNIAL TRAIL RIDE

Friday, January 6, 2012 through Sunday, January 8, 2012

RIDES DEPART FROM:

Acacia Riding Adventures – San Acacia, New Mexico

THREE DAYS OF RIDING:

There is no charge to participate. Minor costs for food and boarding pay for the Band and the Caterer. Join us for 3 fun-filled days of Trail Rides to celebrate New Mexico’s 100th Birthday!

Our Friday afternoon ride takes us to Indian Hills, the geographic center of New Mexico, along soft, sandy back country trails.

A full day (5 hour) ride takes us through stunning San Lorenzo Canyon on Saturday. Sunday we trot off to a secret destination.

DETAILS:

• Park RV’s, or set up tents, at Acacia Riding Adventures, in San Acacia. Rides depart from here.
• There are plenty of clean, affordable hotels in Soccoro, just 10 minutes from ARA. Click HERE to view hotel options.
• Corrals are available for boarding your horses.
• Rental horses are also available. Contact Dacodah: 575-517-0477.

Please DOWNLOAD the Ride reservation form. You can sign up for corrals on this form, too. Download the Trail Ride Reservation form by clicking here.

RSVP to Centennial Ride Team Organizers:
Dora: 575-200-8944
Dacodah: 575-517-0477
Bill: 575-725-8412.

Sign up for the historic Chief Joseph 5-day Trail Ride, scheduled for July 29th – August 4th, in Yellowstone National Park.

This is an endurance ride, averaging 20 miles per day. You’ll ride 100 miles, in 5 days, along the Nez Perce Trail of Tears.

It takes 13 years to complete the Chief Joseph Benefit Trail Ride – 100 miles each year for a total of 1,300 miles. Visit the Appaloosa Horse Club website to sign up, or learn more about this historic ride.

The truly stunning aspect of this ride is that the ONLY horses allowed on this special benefit trail ride are registered American Appaloosas. Imagine, witnessing 200 spotted horses trekking the back country of Yellowstone National Park.

* We rent Appaloosas to experienced riders. So, we can help you make this dream come true.

Brief History Lesson:
The Chief Joseph Trail Ride is so-named to honor the leader of the Nez Perce. As with most stories of Native American history, there is nothing pretty about this one. When the U.S. government tried to re-locate them – they chose, instead, to seek asylum in Canada. Traveling 1,300 miles over mountain terrain, with the U.S. Calvary in hot pursuit. They credited the athletic ability of their Appaloosa horses (a breed developed by the Nez Perce Indians in the 18th century,) for continually out-maneuvering the military.

We don’t want to dwell on all the negative aspects of this because it was a long time ago and people back then were too uneducated to know any better. ‘Nuff said.

We’d much rather glorify these stunning spotted horses. In 2012, this rides explores the stunning back country of Yellowstone National Park. Call us for more information.

* It takes 13 years to complete the Chief Joseph Benefit trail ride – 100 miles each year for a total of 1300 miles. The route follows the Nez Perce flight from the US Calvary in the late 1800’s. It originates in Joseph, Oregon and ends in Bear Paw Meadow, Montana, just 40 miles shy of the Canadian border. Where we’re sorry to say, Chief Joseph was forced to surrender.

We LOVE hearing from our new found friends and riders. Got something you’d like to say? LEAVE A COMMENT! 

OR, click HERE to SEND US AN EMAIL.

****************

Here’s one we got today:

Hey ARA!

I could think of a lot of ways to say “Thank you!” for the ride yesterday but I’ll just sum it up like this:

I hope that I don’t live so long that I forget the day that I crossed the Rio Grande… on horseback!

Many thanks from me (Walter), my wife Kelly, mother-in-law Joy and brother-in-law Nathan for a wonderful ride on a beautiful day. Kelly and I don’t get to New Mexico as often as we’d like but already look forward to seeing and riding with you again.

Your horse, Festus, had me feeling like I was ready to ride with the 9th Cavalry!

Until the next time: Happy Trails!

All The Best!
Walter M. ~ California

Want to include pictures? Email us HERE.

Sunday is our first Scavenger Hunt.

Saddle up and join us for a very good cause.

THIS IS A FUNDRAISER:
Helping families having trouble affording horse feed and facing the grim reality that they may have to give them up. We’re providing feed for them, to help supplement their cost, and enable them to keep their beloved horses. Your entry fee in the Scavenger Hunt goes toward purchasing feed.

HOW IT WORKS:

• Every 4-6 weeks we will try to put on a Scavenger Hunt!
• Each hunt will be in a different spot, around the general San Acacia and ABQ, NM areas.
• We’ll provide maps with clear hints. You MUST follow the map, so you don’t miss out on one of the destinations. Or, worse yet, get lost.
• You can retrieve the hidden item, without getting off your horse, and carry it back to the finish line.

TWO LEVELS OF COMPETITION:

• Division 1: Teams that will not trot, canter, lope etc., will compete against one another.
• Division 2: Teams who’d like to make it a race will compete in this group.
  • TIP: A sure fire way to get kicked out of the competition ~ NO RIDER is allowed to run past another group without first letting them know they are approaching them. We don’t want any injuries from a spooked horse or rider!

Scavenger Hunt Rides are Sunday afternoon adventures, beginning promptly at 2:00 p.m. when we’ll have the briefing and pass out clues. Be saddled and ready to go.

Cost: $35.00 for a team of 2 riders. $45 for a team of 3 riders.

HOW TO REGISTER:
RSVP via text or email to Mellisawb@comcast.net or 505-250-1400. Payment will be collected at the event prior to start time.

Sign up with the ARA Riding Club to be advised of future Scavenger Hunts.

Sign up NOW to enjoy a horseback ride at the Festival of the Cranes!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

FOR THE BIGGEST EVENT

OF THE SEASON:

Nestled along the banks of the fabled Rio Grande, just a hop, skip and a jump from ARA, lies the expansive Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge – one of the Southwest’s greatest natural treasures. 13,000 acres of moist bottom lands that serves as home to the Bosque’s most famed residents, the birds. Tens of thousands of Sandhill Cranes make an annual sojourn to the Bosque del Apache, where the mild climate provides a perfect winter habitat for these majestic birds.

FESTIVAL OF THE CRANES

November 15th – 20th:

Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, near Socorro, New Mexico

Over 100 lectures, tours, horseback riding with ARA, hikes and hands-on activities are planned, ranging from the popular Sandhill Crane Behavior workshops to special photography tours to socializing with locals on the Plaza.

2011 promises to be one of the greatest years yet, and we look forward to seeing you there! To learn more about the festival, click here.

ACACIA RIDING ADVENTURES: Festival of the Cranes on Horseback

Ride with ARA through the beautiful desert landscape of San Lorenzo Canyon in historic San Acacia, north of the Bosque Del Apache. On this intimate horseback tour of the hidden canyon you’ll travel across red rock cliffs, over rolling hills flourishing with mesquite, through sandy riverbeds abundant with wildlife. All riding levels are welcomed and will be accommodated with our seasoned trail horses.

To book a ride, contact ARA trail boss, Dacodah Herkenhoff: 575-517-0477.

Which is why we host trail rides all year long!

Sign up, today, for a colorful autumn ride.

Because the view is
always better on a horse.

Phone: 575.517.0477

New Mexico scenery is always stunning.

But, one of our favorite times to ride is in late autumn.

When cool, crisp air keeps the horses frisky.

Blazing sunsets turn our San Acacia skies into fiery portraits.

Where colorful scenery keeps your camera busy as we trot along the Rio Grande.

Sign up, today, for a brisk autumn ride. Because the view is always better on a horse. 575.517.0477

Once an ideal hunting ground and refuge for Pueblo and Apache Indians alike, the area offers a unique insight into the primitive past of the American West. Chihenne Ranch is rich in archaeological history with a series of Indian sites spanning the Mogollon pueblo time period. Ancient rock art decorate the canyon walls surrounding the ranch and numerous turn of the century gold and silver mines that can be visited to see a glimpse of the area’s past heritage.

The CHIHENNE RANCH 5-DAY 2012 TRAIL RIDE

Begins on Sunday, September 8th, ending on Saturday, September 14th, 2012.

THIS IS A BASE CAMP RIDE - each morning, we depart on different trails from the Lodge and return to the Lodge every evening. Campers and motor homes are welcome. Rooms in the lodge are available by reservation. Evening programs with musical entertainment as well as dancing will be available each night.

LODGING and RENTAL HORSES: Private rooms with shared baths are available on a limited basis in the beautiful Chihenne Ranch Lodge. Most rooms will hold up to 4 occupants. The costs of the rooms with a shared bath is: $30.00 per night. There is also a bunkhouse, without a bath, that will sleep 6 for $5.00 per night, per person. Rental Horses, are available at $200.00 for the week.

COST: The cost for each participant is: $350.00. This includes all meals, entertainment, showers, and toilets, etc. for the week. It does not include rooms in the Lodge or rental horses. Feed for your horse will not be provided by Chihenne Ranch, however plenty of water, in convenient locations, will be available.

To join the Chihenne Ranch Trail Ride, contact Greg Evans, Chihenne Ranch Manager, at 575 743-1602 or 575 740-1778. Or, click here to email the Chihenne Ranch.

All profits from the ride fee benefits the Black Range Camp fund for at-risk teens.