Entertainment Top of Page Lorton Virginina Lorton Valley Star
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If you happened to be driving down Gunston Road on the beautiful Sunday last month, you may have noticed more traffic than usual. In fact, this traffic was anything but usual. Because on this day was the Saddle Up For St. Jude Charity Horse Ride. Twenty Seven participants followed a preordained trail in search of thirty inflatable animals, a kind of scavenger hunt on horseback. The rider with the most animals sighted by the end of the ride got their choice of prizes, the top prize being a seventy five dollar gift certificate to Saddlery Liquidators. All proceeds went to St. Judes. The route the riders followed started at Pohick Bay Regional Park, through Camp WIlson Boy Scout camp and through parts of Meadowood before ending back at Pohick Bay. The event was coordinated by the Mason Neck Horse Coalition, based in Lorton, working in concert with Meadowwood SRMA on behalf of the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior. Brian Purdy, the event coordinator for the Mason Neck Horse Coalition, said this was the fourth annual ride the sponsored, alternating between St. Judes and Simple Changes as sponsors of the rides and beneficiaries of the donations. Purdy also made it clear that the main objectives of these rides are safety and fun, with the fundraising coming second. Still, the target goal of three thousand dollars in funds raised for the day was easily exceeded, with 3,314 dollars raised. The riders came from all around the area, both from local stables like Meadowood, Tamarack and Jarvis Stables, and from as far out as Fredricksburg and Quantico. Some riders were not interested in the prizes, and instead used the event as a warm up for longer endurance rides in the weeks to come. Some fun facts about horses are that they have no concept of relative size, meaning that it's not uncommon for a large horse to be dominated by a smaller, more aggressive horse. Another little known fact is that horses use body language to communicate with each other and their riders. In many ways, horses are just as individualistic and emotionally expressive as people, even without the use of language. This proves invaluable to the serious rider who needs to know the emotional condition of their partner just as much as the physical.
