Florida Sport Horse Club

Last year contained some sobering events for me.  I took a hard fall, and watched my panicked horse vanish into 5000 acres of wilderness (fortunately, he was found quickly along the trail).  I heard multiple stories about riders who suffered similar incidents and did not fare so well–one horse was found too late and died,… Continue reading Trail Riders: Consider a GPS Tracker

Hunting season is about to start, and the last thing we want is to drive all the way out to our chosen trails only to find it’s closed due to hunting–or worse yet, get out on the trails because we didn’t see the hunting signs when there are guns in the woods.  You can always… Continue reading Know Hunting Dates Before Riding

It’s a good idea to refresh our trail etiquette manners at the start of Florida’s riding season.  You can find a whole list of guidelines on the “Club Documents” page, but here are a few of the top tips: Be on time.  If the ride is scheduled to start at 9am, be ready!  Don’t make… Continue reading Do You Follow Good Trail Etiquette?

Yesterday was a perfect trail day.  Eleven riders came out for the club ride, and we had a really diverse group–2 thoroughbreds, 4 quarter horses, 1 Foxtrotter, 2 Tennessee Walkers, 1 Halflinger (a first for us!) and 1 Paso Fino!  The riders? Who cares?  We all had a wonderful time, with happy, well-behaved horses EVEN… Continue reading Colt Creek’s trail ride

Non-horsey people probably think we’re a little nuts to be so happy about a mounting block.  They don’t realize how much easier it is on a horse’s back and withers when a rider uses the block; we as riders, especially as we grow a bit older and less agile, certainly appreciate the mechanical boost and… Continue reading Colt Creek’s new mounting block

Or at least in our prayers that cooler weather will soon arrive!  It DID feel cooler this morning, with cloudy skies and occasional light showers as club members rode at Lower Green Swamp for the first time since Hurricane Irma.  This is one of the most well-maintained riding areas we have, with all thanks going… Continue reading Fall is in the air….

Many of us have experienced hurricanes before but it occurred to me, as we watched the Facebook posts, emails and even tweets fly back and forth before the storm hit that all of us know SOME ways to prepare for a major storm but still had questions that others could answer.  We’ve taken as many… Continue reading Lessons from Hurricane Irma

We all worry about what could happen if our horses get away from us, and the fears only increase at night.  As Hurricane Irma approached, one club member decided to make her own break-away reflective collars for her horses. She found a 2-pack of reflective vests on Amazon, and took the yellow one apart.  Using… Continue reading DYI: Make your horse a reflective collar

We had a great ride today at Tenoroc, with 5 club members and 5 guests.  The south trail (on the same side of the street as the office) had part of a berm washed out–which made that section impassible–and a few trees still over the trail.  The culvert that used to be down in the… Continue reading Tenoroc Trails are (mostly) open

With so many local riding areas still closed because of the hurricane, a friend and I decided to try the Marshall Hampton Reserve off Thornhill Road whose trails had been reported open.  That report was–shall we say?–slightly exaggerated…. Both of the automated gates leading into Panther Point were damaged, and had to be opened by… Continue reading Marshall Hampton Reserve may say its trails are open BUT….