Thanks to the generosity of some supporters whom we will be naming later this summer after our relocation to the Santa Fe area, we are able to once again run our Trailmaster Program. This program allows riders to reconnect with nature from the back of a horse on the trail. It is named “Trailmaster” after the term “Schoolmaster,” which is used for a very well-trained horse who actually teaches the rider how to ride a certain discipline or movements within that discipline, such as certain dressage movements. The horses in the Trailmaster program similarly teach people how to reconnect to nature by being very connected to both the land and to people. The program is not the kind of nose-to-tail trailriding many people do at dude ranches, with horses that are dissociated, nor is it a sporadic riding program that people do whenever they feel like it. This program is similar to our basic riding program in that riders will be expected to come on a scheduled, weekly basis. They will be taught to balance, center and connect while riding. The trail ride is not a time to talk – it’s a time to reconnect to the horse and to the natural world. The horses in the program are solid, well--trained horses, mostly Mustangs and Foundation-type Quarter Horses (which is a breed that was created from the early Mustangs). They are very friendly horses, who connect with and interact with people rather than simply carrying people.
We will also use the Trailmaster Program when we hold meetings for projects at our new location. We originally launched the Trailmaster Program in 2003 with such a ride in Palo Duro Canyon, TX, for a meeting concerning an Indigenous Science film. The results were very positive and while we were unable to put the program into effect in Sowbelly, we are very excited to offer it not only to meeting participants but to individuals who are willing to make a weekly-commitment to it.
Members of the Indigenous Science film planning team take a trail ride at the beginning of our 3-day meeting in November, 2003.
