Lochill Riding, Scotland

At Lochhill we are riding with Helen Maxwell, who has nice trekking horses. Helen breeds and trains her own horses, some of whom her daughter uses in competition. Her daughter is a professional rider, so there are a variety of horses suited for show and the trails at the farm. We visited the foals in a nearby field. Of course, they were adorable. Helen keeps her horses out all year, except when she is riding or training them. They have a lot of room to run, which makes for happy horses.


I rode a mixed breed of horse named Drummer Girl, who must have had some cob in her. She was great. It was really foggy in the morning, which made the dirt lanes that we rode along quite mysterious. There are great views of the countryside here, but the mist obstructed these. There have been a lot of misty mornings on our trip, but then again, we are in the British Isles. We rode to a glen that took us along an incline from the bottom of the trees to the treetops and a pretty waterfall. We trotted down country lanes lined with stone fences covered in raspberry vines. The setting here is really serene.

Edradour Distillery, Scotland

When in Scotland… I am not a whiskey drinker. I have tried a few sips of other people’s whiskey at one point or another and thought that it tasted like bad medicine, so I was surprised to find that I kind of liked a few of the whiskeys at Edradour Distillery, near Blair Castle, in Pitlochry. Edradour’s main claim to fame is that it is Scotland’s smallest distillery. All of the machinery is run by hand, as it has been for 150 years. They only produce 12 casks of single malt whiskey a week, which is less than most places, and then the whiskey must age in the cask before it is bottled and sold. Unlike wine, whiskey does not continue to age once it is bottled. It only ages in the casks. At Edradour, many of the casks are aged 10 years before they are sold.

Andrew, who runs the distillery, showed me around and talked about how whiskey is made before we had a tasting. I didn’t know that whiskey had so many flavors. It can be aged in different wooden casks, giving it a unique taste. For instance, I tried a whiskey that had been aged in a sherry cask and was good. I also liked the whiskey that had been aged in an old cask that once held spiced rum. All of the whiskey’s that I sampled cleared my sinuses. I didn’t like the peaty tasting whiskey’s, which are apparently popular now. Andrew said that a lot of people come to the distillery thinking that they don’t like whiskey, but when they try the different flavors, find that they do have some that they like.

I purchased some items as gifts, including whiskey jam, just because it was so unique and is a good gift item that I can easily shove in my suitcase.

Castle Stuart Golf, Scotland

In Inverness, we have been staying in an apartment right in the center of town, which has been great. I have really felt like a local, being able to walk to different restaurants and explore on foot.
When in Scotland, there are certain things that I feel that I have to try. One is golf. We left our flat for Castle Stuart Golf Course for a golf lesson from Fraser, a former pro, who is helping to build the new course here. The course is not yet open, but will be this spring, so I was getting a golf lesson and a sneak preview.

I grew up in a big U.S. golfing area, Myrtle Beach, and actually did take lessons as a child. I hoped that golfing would be like riding a bike. The golf course is new, but has been built to have an older links golf look. It’s on the water, making the setting dramatic. The road that leads from one hole to the next is neat. It winds through big dunes, so as we drove I was constantly surprised by what appeared around every corner. The course is being designed so that novice golfers can enjoy playing here. It will be a public course.

Fraser gave me a couple of pointers and we played his favorite hole. My first swing did lead my ball into a sand trap, but on the second swing, I got to the putting green. Three more taps and my ball was in the hole! By that point, Scotland’s ever changing weather had shifted once again and I was getting soaked by a cool rain, but had to finish the game. I took a par 5 on a par 3 and had a lot of fun doing it. Fraser was a great coach, making me want to consider golf lessons once I got back home. Perhaps Fraser did choose an easier hole for my lesson, but it gave me the confidence I needed to perhaps get in the game and at least enjoy golfing in Scotland.

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler

I've had several emails from people who have requested the recipe for the dutch oven peach cobbler that Barbara Kennedy of Cowgirls Forever and I made in the Arizona episode that is broadcast in our new season now on PBS. We rode our horses from the B&B where I was staying in Cave Creek into town to eat at the Buffalo Chip restaurant. Barbara put me to work making the cobbler, but the results were delicious. Here's the recipe.

Peach Cobbler

14" Deep Dutch Oven
28 Briquettes
1 stick of butter
28 oz. can of peaches in syrup
2 boxes cake mix (yellow, vanilla, or butter)
6 oz. can crushed pineapple
1/4 cup brown sugar
cinnamon

Heat oven with 10 coals on bottom & 18 on top for about 5 min. Melt butter in bottom of oven, add fruit, stir in cake mixes, sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon on top. Cover and bake about 35 min. Turn oven 1/4 turn every 10 min or so for even heat. Lift lid to check heat after about 15 min., if browning too fast just remove a few coals from top or bottom. Done when firm throughout. Let sit for a few minutes before serving. Be very careful, fruit stays scalding hot for quite some time and will burn your mouth!!

Any fruit can be substituted. It's best to use fruit in juice or syrup, pie filling is too sweet & thick. If more moisture is needed use 7up or Mountain Dew (not diet).

Dark, sweet cherries are great with chocolate cake mix too. Apples, raisins and carrot cake mix. Frozen mixed berries need the soda.

Loch Ness Boat Tour and Budget Travel Buzz

Check out what the Budget Travel magazine's Beth Collins, has to say about our new book, Equitrekking Travel Adventures on Horseback!

Today we took to the water with Adrian Shine, an expert on Loch Ness. We met him at his Loch Ness Exhibition Center in Drumnadrochit, where our crew learned about the history of Nessie sightings, as well as plausible explanations for these. The Exhibition Center has multiple rooms that show short documentaries on the Loch. These shorts go into the history of Nessie sightings as well as interesting facts about the area’s natural history. The Loch has a warming effect on area weather, possibly causing mirages, which may be what people see when they think they see Nessie.

Out on the water, Adrian explained more about what makes the Loch unique. I was watching the screens inside the boat that read the lakes depth and noticed that the Loch got deep very quickly. The water is cold, dark and deep (over 750 feet deep in some places), the perfect place for a monster to lurk if there was such a thing. In fact, some other interesting creatures lurk in the depths of the water, like arctic char and pure white eels.


After my interview with Adrian, we headed over to Urquhart Castle, a large ruined castle on the shores of Loch Ness and a supposed good place for Nessie sightings.

Loch Ness Riding in Scotland

Today was my first official day in Scotland and my first official ride. I went out with Candy Cameron of Loch Ness Riding Centre. The area on this side of the Loch is beautiful. Candy’s farm is located on the quieter, less touristy side of Loch Ness. Many people come to the Loch Ness area to go monster watching, which we did as well, but we looked for Nessie on horseback, riding through hills high above the Loch.

Candy said that her area reminds her of the Lake District in England and I agree. There is lush, green pastureland dotted with sheep and cows plummeting to grand Loch Ness below. If you want to ride with Candy, make sure that you are an experienced rider. She is a pretty serious endurance rider herself and has a small number of horses that she is training. You’ll ride one of these horses, so be ready to go, go, go. These are not nose to tail trail horses. Candy takes out a small number of riders. Day to day, she is mostly focused on training.

I rode a young, five-year old chestnut thoroughbred named Meg, who had a lot of energy. We did a lot of trotting and cantering on our ride, as we traveled through beautiful farmland, along quiet lanes and then through some overgrown trails and down to the shores of the Loch. Candy rode her horse Louie.

In the Loch below a motorboat passed causing the water to ripple in a weird way. This, Candy said, is what some people mistake for Nessie. I could see how people would think that this rippling looked like the ripples on a monster’s back.
The ride was certainly an adventure, and by the end, I was glad that we would be exploring the loch on a boat the next day.

Wales Pub Ride

Today was one of my favorite rides in Wales. Shawn of Tregoyd Mountain Riders and I went up to the high commons, where there is a huge flat, grassy area that is great for canters and gallops. On the way, we passed some feral Welsh Mountain ponies, which were smaller than those that I had seen in Wales before. There were a few foals and the ponies were not skittish about us riding around them.

We were able to ride our horses into a small nearby town and hit the pub. We parked our horses outside and were able to sit at a table beside them, where we ate toasties and drank cokes. Toasties are what they call toasted sandwiches over here. This pub had the best toasties that I have had on the trip. The ham was warm and the cheese was perfectly melted. We also had chips (welsh speak for American fries)It was the perfect way to end my time in Wales with our horses at the pub!

Equitrekking New Season on PBS

Our new third season of high definition episodes debuts on PBS stations across the nation this month, taking viewers horseback riding in extreme destinations including snowy Quebec, along the border of Arizona and Mexico and deep into the jungle in Belize. Episodes in the new, third season include Costa Rica, Kentucky, Arizona, Belize, Texas, Southern Quebec and Utah.

You may watch the season three video on our homepage, as well as other video of horseback riding around the world.

Please check your local listings to watch Equitrekking on your local PBS station. Here's a partial list of some upcoming debut times.

Albuquerque, NM on KNME on Thursdays at 7pm.

Boise, ID on KAID on Sundays at 10:30pm starting Sept 7th.

Boston, WGBH will be airing the new season of Equitrekking on Sundays at 2pm, starting September 28th on WGBH 44.

Charleston/ Hunington, WV on WKAS on Fridays at 5:30pm starting Sept 5th

Charlotte, NC in WTVI beginning 9/29, Monday at 6:30pm.

Cincinatti, OH on WCVN and WKON on Saturdays at 1:30pm starting Sept 6th.

Denver, CO on KRMA, Rocky Mountain PBS, on Sundays at 1:30pm starting September 9th.

Evansville, IN on WKMA and WKOH Saturdays at 12:30pm starting Sept 6th.

Indianapolis, IN on WTIU on Sundays at 10:30am.

KET, Kentucky's statewide PBS station, on KET1 on Saturdays at 1:30pm and KET2 on Wednesdays at 5:30pm. Starting October 2nd, we also broadcast on KETHD (the High definition channel) on Thursdays at 11pm. In addition to our regular time slots, there are special featured broadcasts of our Kentucky episode.

Milwaukee, WI on WMVS (channel 10) on Fridays at 6pm.

New Jersey (statewide and parts of Philadelphia) on NJN on Friday nights at 9:30pm starting Sept 19th.

Nashville, TN on WCTE on Saturdays at 3:30pm.

New York City, WLIW continues to air Equitrekking on Wednesday nights at 11:30pm on Channel 21 with new, season three episodes beginning September 24th.

Norfolk, Newport News, VA airs Equitrekking on Saturdays at 4:30pm on WHRO.

North Carolina (statewide) UNC-TV broadcasts on Sundays at noon starting Sept 21st.

Orlando, Daytona Beach and Melborne, FL on WCEU airs on Sundays at 7:30am.

Phoenix's KAET has scheduled EQUITREKKING for Saturdays at 10:30am, starting Nov. 1st.

Portland, OR on OPB on Wednesdays at 6pm starting October 1st.

Roanoke/ Lynchburg, VA on WBRA on Tuesdays at 1pm starting Sept 6th.

Sacremento/Stockton/Modesto, CA on KVIE. The series will air on KVIE analog simulcast on KVIE – HD on Sundays at 11:30am, starting November 2nd.

San Francisco, CA begins Equitrekking on KQED LIFE at 5pm on Saturdays starting September 27th AND on KCSM on Saturdays at 6:30pm starting September 20th.

Spokane, WA on KCDT on Sundays at 10:30pm starting 9/7/08

St. Louis, MO on KETC Saturdays at 4:30pm, starting November 1st

Tulsa, OK on KRSC on Fridays at 5:30pm starting Sept 5th.

Washington, DC, WHUT airs Equitrekking on Sundays at 2:30pm on Channel 32. The new season starts on Sunday October 5th at 2:30pm.

Tregoyd Mountain Riders, Wales

I trekked out with Shawn of Tregoyd Mountain Riders today to see some absolutely beautiful scenery surrounding the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales. I rode a very reliable, pretty much bombproof horse named Burgess, a Welsh Cob. We are staying with Haydn Jones at his B&B Tregoyd, where riders can take day long or multi-day treks to the surrounding area. We would be climbing up into the mountains to take in views of the countryside.

Shawn is Welsh and grew up in speaking Welsh as her first language. She explained that like accents in the U.S., accents in Wales change from region to region, which makes sense. Those folks in North Wales tend to speak Welsh more and have a thicker Welsh accent than those in the South.

We rode over a small stream before getting to a grassy area, where we warmed up with a few nice canters, before climbing higher up. We passed through the bracken, which was already starting to turn brown in preparation for fall. As we climbed up, the views of the fields surrounding us got better and better.

We passed through a field of sheep, which would usually scatter about when you walk near them. They didn’t flinch at the horses though. Some of the sheep had these freakishly long tails, while most of the sheep had short tails. I asked Shawn what that was all about. Shawn said that the sheep with the long tails are sort of the rogue sheep. Those that have a short tail have had their tail docked. When this particular breed of sheep are babies, they put a band on their tail, so that part of the tail it falls off and doesn’t grow as long. Yes, this is not the most pleasant topic, but I thought that it was interesting. So interesting, that I actually looked it up this morning and found that people actually want the tail shorter to keep the sheep healthier. The sheep who had the long tails had somehow escaped this banding process.

We then rode through a wild area of braken and tall grass with beautiful views of the Brecon Beacons mountains in the distance and another high mountain that we would climb later in the day.

We had a lot of chances to canter on this ride, which made it fun. We let our horses have a break and had a picnic lunch by an area with natural springs. We then climbed up to a spot where we were able to have ice cream and take in the beautiful views. No joke. In a nearby parking lot a ways down from where we were riding, there was a good humor truck. The film crew went down and picked up some ice cream for us, so we enjoyed the stunning views (in the sunshine!) of the beautiful surrounding Welsh hills.

NYC Book Signing for Equitrekking Book

Please join us next week on Thursday, October 16th from 5:30p-7:00p for a book signing and reception for our new book Equitrekking Travel Adventures on Horseback at Rizzoli Bookstore in New York City. (31 West 57th Street)

Here's a brief description of the book, which chronicles our first 13 episodes: "This companion to the American Public Television series Equitrekking proves that the world's most beautiful views are often best seen from atop a horse. This gorgeous book features dozens of scenic rides in the U.S. and around the globe. Hundreds of stunning photographs paired with Darley Newman's colorful travelogue bring to life a vibrant mix of landscape history culture and horses. Readers will journey from the remarkable ruins of Ireland and charming colonial towns of Spain to the lush rainforests of Hawaii. For armchair travelers and horse lovers alike Equitrekking will inspire anyone who dreams of riding off into the sunset."

Parc le Breos, Wales

Today Olive of Parc le Breos took me trekking to King Arthur’s Stone, located on a large hill that had panoramic views of the surrounding Gower Peninsula. There are lots of fables and stories surrounding this stone, which has been a popular pilgrimage site for quite some time. On the way to see the stone, we rode up along a high ridge overlooking several vast beaches, backed by 200-foot tall moss covered cliffs. I grew up in a beach area and have seen lots of beaches, but these beaches are the widest that I have ever seen. Olive told me that there are huge shifts in the tides here on the Gower Peninsula. As we rode along a route lined with heather and gorse, I could see Three Cliff Beach down below.

We were trekking on common land, meaning anyone could come and hike or ride here. Some people also had rights to graze their cattle and sheep and horses there. There was a band of Welsh Mountain Ponies ahead of us with three foals. They were adorable. Olive knew the owner, who leaves the ponies out all year. These hardy ponies are able to live off of the land, even in winter.

We trotted and cantered and walked along the top of a ridge with views of both coasts of the peninsula before reaching the King Arthur’s Stone. Some claim that this is a Neolithic tomb, but other purport that it is not. Whatever its origins, for quite some time people have made pilgrimages here. Olive told me that there is a legend that if a single woman crawls three times around the stone on her hands and knees that she will find her true love shortly thereafter. It’s pretty rocky around the stone, so I don’t know if I would try that, but you never know.

Olive and I trotted and cantered on the way back, so that we could make it to the actual tomb right by Parc le Breos before my afternoon hike.

Cerreg Cennen Castle, Wales

Today we visited one of the most photographed castles in Wales, Carreg Cennen. This fortress sits on a high limestone cliff, overlooking the area farms. It is an imposing spot for a castle.

While the crew was filming, I decided to take my torch (British speak for flashlight) down the dimly lit hall that led to a pitch-black dungeon. It was really erie to walk the hall alone in the dark. I will tell you that I only got down a few of the stairs that lead to the dungeon before I chickened out. I thought that I heard something. Perhaps a ghost from battles past.

I had to add this photo into this blog. There was this cat at the castle that hopped on Greg, our cinematographer’s, back. What a friendly castle cat!