MOUNTING UP—( left) Ready to " head for the hills "... J. W. HAMPTON on Blondie, JACK HAMPTON on Maybe and author FRED LESH on Major Walker Boy make a last-minute check of their mounts before storting on their trip through the snow-covered Ozarks.
MISSOURI HILLS PROVIDE EXCELLENT SETTING FOR MID WINTER WALKING HORSE ACTIVITY
The following account of a mid-winter trail ride in the beautiful hill country of the Ozarks in southeast Missouri accurately describes the enjoyment of riding for pleasure with a Tennessee Walking Horse. We wish to thank Mr. FRED LESH of Doe Run, Missouri, for this contribution to the VOICE.
‘' After being cooped up for three weeks with subfreezing weather and eight inches of snow on the ground, my riding companions— J. W. HAMPTON and his younger brother JACK— and I were getting anxious for a chance to do some trail riding.“ The weather report on Saturday morning, February 5, gave promise of what we had been waiting for all winter. The predicted high for Sunday was in the upper fifties, which is ideal for riding. J. W. and I decided we would check Sunday morning and, if the weatherman was correct, we would make our fifteenmile horseback ride through the beautiful snow-covered Ozark Hills of Missouri. A ride over these winding snow-covered trails is something much desired by nature lovers and, once taken, is long remembered.
“ Here in the southeast Missouri hills we are lucky if we get one good snow at the right time and under the proper conditions for horseback riding. Many times the weather is too cold or the snow comes during the workdays and melts before the weekend, when most
54 VOICE of the Tennesse e Walking Horse