Nebraska Horse Trail Riding Expo.

The weather forecast had called for snow, but the morning dawned just gray & cold.  The thermometer working to rise to 20 degrees with a breeze.  No problem, perfect weather to make the drive to the Chance Ridge Equestrian Center in Elkhorn, NE.

A very large & very nice facility~

The Nebraska Horse Trails Committee has hosted this yearly event since 2015 & just from what we saw, do a wonderful job!  Daily entry fee was only $10. a great bargain!  Complete with vendors, lectures, demonstrations & clinics, it was a horseman's nirvana!

Inside the groups trailer~

This re-purposed trailer holds commercial grade equipment for trail-clearing events.  It would be the envy of some Back Country Horsemen Chapters!  I do have to admit though - that the fully equipped trailer that BCH used in WA - was overflowing compared to this very organized interior :-)

No messing around with Nebraska law!

With the proceeds from last years event, the group purchased the Mule below!  Very handy in this country of flatland's & rolling hills.

Nicely set up to do the job!

Butch is thinking that he'd like to have one of these as his town run-about!  :-)  The list of this groups accomplishments is long & impressive!  The state of Nebraska seems to be very friendly to it's Equestrian Trail Riders & there were many informational displays.  Even though the state is home to a variety of game & bird hunters, they make it possible for horsemen to share the wealth of parks & recreation spots.  Check out;  OutdoorNeraska.org/horsetrails - to find horse-friendly campsites & trails.

Very nice logo too~

Walking through the vendor booths - we were both struck with the friendliness of the people here!  Everyone takes the time to talk, the time to make you feel welcome & often swap stories.

Wonderful handwork!

One of my personal favorites, was the booth of Wild Hunt Tack.  Jessica hand makes many of her items.  This browband, all quality leather has a grove with tiny hooks at each end - making it possible for you to buy as many different beaded inserts as you might desire & interchange them!  Jessica is willing to do custom colors too!

 Reading our program, we couldn't help but sit in on Tom Seay's (Best of America on Horseback's) presentation on Trail Etiquette!  The stands were almost full - Tom made directed comments as we late comers arrived - so I had to reply;  "Washington!  Lizard Lake!"  That really caught his attention & he instantly recapped the story of our ride!  :-)

To say that he had the crowd in stitches is an understatement!  :-)  His tips included; park next to the biggest, fanciest rig.  That way if you've forgotten something - they're sure to have it.  Another - camp near the people with the neatly stacked pile of firewood, because they are the ones who love to  Dutch Oven cook & will invite you to share!

Tom & me~

We couldn't remember how long it had been, almost four-years went way too fast & yet here we were again!  Time to head south one of these days & check out Tennessee!  Tom did get serious too - when it comes to safety on the trail - sharing stories of unwanted helicopter rides for riders who ran into difficulty.

Goodies for us both!

When walking through the vendor hall, we'd spotted the EquestriSafe booth & went back to pick up another ID tag.  They have some really well made products & with an embroidery machine right there - we purchased a new ID bracelet for Farah - with our phone number & a Velcro rescue info. tag for me.

As Butch commented, another Ford man!

 Farah's new Farrier gave a presentation on shoeing & we were disappointed that it was not better attended.  It did though - give us a chance to ask questions about shoes & shoeing in such a different environment from what we've been used to.  We also met face-to-face Troy Lynn of Top Trail - who I'd conversed with long-distance.  She was a wealth of information on the Middle Of the Trail Distance Riders Association.

Back Country Horsemen of Iowa were represented with brochures & t-shirts available - we have our work cut out for us!  There are so many "friends" of whatever park groups here - we'll be figuring out a way to entice them to join BCH & be counted nationally!

 I met face-to-face several Facebook friends & that's always so fun!  We returned home with a bag full of goodies & plenty of reading material!