I live near Santa Fe, New Mexico and our home looks over the beautiful Galisteo Basin.
I often ride in the Galisteo Basin Preserve run by my friend Ted Harrison. It is only a couple of hundred yards from our property and I thought this article by Sue Murphy was worth reprinting here to give you a sense of the place. The article first appeared on the North Texas Equine website.
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“It’s our last chance. Fall is coming, the days are short, and you are leaving soon for another winter in North Carolina”, I tell Sandra. It is the middle of October before the time change, when the air tells us winter is on the way, but the strong sun still warms the days – ideal conditions for trail riding. My husband Ron, has had a minor oral procedure early this morning, and is resting comfortably, watching TV, so today Sandra and I ride as a pair.
We agree on a plan to ride the Galisteo Basin with Ron’s blessing (he wishes he could go too). Sandra fetches my truck/trailer and horse. When I get off work, I will meet her at the barn, the Las Campanas Equestrian Center. The Equestrian Center, one the finest horse facilities I have ever seen, is part of Las Campanas, a private residential golf/tennis/spa/equestrian community in Santa Fe. Las Campanas suits aging overactive overachievers so we fit that profile!
It’s already 2pm, so we are burning daylight especially since the barn manager reminds us that the Equestrian Center closes at 7:30pm. I pull the barefoot gloves onto my quarter horse, Cash, as Sandra saddles her Paso Fino, the horses load, and we are wheels up!
The Galisteo Basin Preserve is one of several diverse trail riding eco-systems in the Santa Fe, New Mexico area. Lucky for us, it is only a half hour away. The Preserve is a land conservation and community development project located in Santa Fe County’s Galisteo Basin; a high-desert area of fragile land and scarce water. It is designed to conserve and restore more than 13,000 acres of open space in an exceptional landscape as well as promote community development. The open space is earmarked to include 50 miles of hiking, biking, and equestrian trails. The trails invite exploration and the public is encouraged to take advantage of the diverse trail system. Few houses are here yet, but the trails and open lands are!
Today is bright and sunny in a week forecasting rain. In the sun at 7,000 feet, 65 degrees feels like 75 degrees. We carry a light jacket, since the weather here in the high desert is famous for changing quickly as it did yesterday when the temperature went from 72 and sunny, to 49 with wind, heavy rains and hail, then back to 60, calm and clear – within an hour.
We stage at the Cowboy Shack, an old building with some stock pens that remain from days gone by. The windmill at the old stock watering tank is spinning wildly which takes some horses a few minutes to accept. We stop to give the horses a cool drink before heading out. People are always surprised when they see goldfish in the tank; they seem to survive the winters.
The trail starts up a gradual hill with the mountain vistas coming into full view. Within a few minutes the trails forks. We chose the trail to the left and before we know it, the trail has changed from a sandy jeep road to single track encompassing a steep, twisty climb with conifers surrounding us. We dodge and duck branches right and left. The horses love it, but since I chose to ride bareback today, I grab handfuls of mane to stay on top the big guy as he lunges upward. The climb is steep but brief, and we stop at the top to let the horses blow. Once atop the ridge, the view is now utterly amazing.
360 degrees envelops us from the ridge: to the north, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (which is the local ski mountain), Jemez range to the west (and the Valles Caldera), Ortiz and Sandia Mountains to the south. All the mountains offer equestrian trails and we have been working our way through them for two years. This is Sandra’s first and last ride of the year in the Galisteo Basin.
We continue on single track trails that weave along the rim. To the left is a sheer drop down limestone walls to the arroyo below. To the right are rolling hills, but we continue on the single track trail on the ridge. My extra-large quarter horse impresses me with his watchful foot placement and keen maneuvering of rocks and dead tree limbs. I am amused that he tries to cut across the trail when he sees that it turns back on itself. Sandra’s paso fino is nimble and sure-footed; he is thoroughly enjoying himself, too. The terrain is challenging and at one point, I lose a shoe glove. Luckily, Sandra has sharp eyes and spots it immediately.
I love the shoe gloves’ thin structure and easy slip on, but this set is at the end of their summer, so occasionally tough terrain compromises the top. It is time to get new gaiters, but for now the boot is back on and secured. At this point, Sandra wants to stop to appreciate the view and take in the sweet air. A breeze blows up the canyon to us and I am grateful we can live where we do, and enjoy all the open spaces in New Mexico.
Now we need to find a rock or stump big enough for me to remount my bareback horse. I find a dead tree, test the trunk for strength with my foot, put the horse into position, and step up on the trunk. As I jump, the tree gives and rolls over next to the horse’s leg, leaving me once again on the ground. He is such a good horse that he just stands there – bored. Sandra, however, is having a good laugh at my expense, wishing she was could have captured the moment on camera as I struggle back on.
At this moment, Sandra realizes her jacket has fallen off her saddle. She doesn’t mind losing the jacket, but her great camera is in the pocket. The shadows are beginning to lengthen on the junipers, but we have no choice but to turn back to find the jacket. We come to an unfamiliar fork in the road. We debate which trail we came up and look for tracks. After some discussion, Sandra concedes her hunch, and we continue back down the trail. Within 5 minutes, she asks again if we have chosen the right trail, so we stop to verify our fresh tracks. Thankfully, the jacket is spotted within half an hour.
Jacket in hand, we scan the horizon from the ridge to see the truck and trailer off in the distance in the valley below. Between us and the trailer are dense scrub junipers, and deep arroyos with deep sandy bottoms. We seem to be halfway between start and finish. The trail must be followed, so we try to determine which direction will be quickest – continue back the way we had come, or forward into the unknown? We chose the unknown.
Finally, returning to the trailer, it is after 6pm. My blackberry starts buzzing – it’s my husband, “Where are you?” The next buzz is the barn manager, “Should we send out a search party?” We load the horses and head for home. The setting sun is glaring low through the windshield blinding my eyes as we drive back to Las Campanas. I leave the horses and trailer in Sandra’s care to hurry home to Ron. He is recovering, but not yet talking. The first words he writes on his pad are “Tell me all about the ride.” So, I relive another extraordinary day on horseback in the beauty of Northern New Mexico and silently begin dreaming about our next horseback adventures.
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For more information the Preserve click HERE
For more information the Las Campanas Equestrian Center click HERE
A good book about riding in New Mexico is Saddle Up, New Mexico: The Statewide Horse Trail and Travel Guide