This is old information but there is always a possibility we could do this event again in the future
A General Description of the ride would be a no frills, low budget, relaxed training ride that will offer riders an opportunity to camp out with friends and ride around the neighborhood without offending anyone or acting like a jerk. Garth Brooks wrote “I got friends in low places” with me in mind. You may remember a ride held here a few years back called the Bar H Boogie. There were a number of Boogiers who seemed quite unhappy with a number of things on that ride, even though a caring hard working ride manager put it on. Ride management wants to give everyone advanced notice this is a second rate event. There is a reason that this is called the Bar H Ride instead of the Bar H Boogie. There is a difference between riding and racing. Some ride managers prefer races and are knowledgeable about how to safely conduct such events. Others, like us are inexperienced, forgetful and generally uncaring. The only thing you would gain from coming to a ride like this would be a chance to ride your horse in a different place and hopefully have a good time. The faster you ride, the more experience is required and the bigger chance you take on hurting or killing your horse. There will not be a dedicated treatment veterinarian on site. The one vet is here to judge the advisability of allowing a horse to participate or continue to participate, not for diagnosing or treating animals. You can gain some insight to their thinking and methods by going to http://www.xprides.com/VeterinaryPre-RideInformation.html
We might talk Annie into cooking on Saturday night if the Covid Pandemic is under control. If you want meals that night you need to email her at annie@xprides.com so she can buy enough food. Meals are eaten at your own risk. They are not catered and are prepared in a residential kitchen by volunteers. Eat at your own risk.
Weather for the weekend is always somewhat tenuous at this time of year. If the weather deteriorates we may either cancel or postpone the ride to Sunday.
Base Camp is located on the Bar H Ranch, located at 2200 foot elevation in the horse friendly area of Riverside County California. There is enough flat space to park large rigs. There is even room to put out your corrals. There will be some horse water there but it wont be where you want it. Cellular phone service sucks but sometimes works. Leashed dogs are tolerated; loose dogs are not. Loose dogs that are causing problems will likely be shot. There is a small market on Gavilan Hills Road near Lake Matthews Road for those who forget to bring something. There are no restaurants, hotels or motels in the immediate vicinity, but there are lots of them in the surrounding towns about 15 minutes away if you drive like a redneck. Most folks around here do. Registration will start at 3:00 on Friday. You can come earlier but you will probably get put to work. The corrals are filthy since the crackdown on the illegal aliens. In fact, the whole damned state is going to get pretty tacky, unless we get teenagers to start working for minimum wage. Fat chance of that. The vet check will start at 5:00 on Friday if the vet shows up on time. There might be a farrier but he drinks as well, so if you need him you should try for an early appointment. There will be a ride meeting around 7:00 each evening but don’t ask any dumb questions.
The Trail has a lot of variety including fire roads, oak studded single track, dedicated bridle paths. The route winds through the flats and rolling hills of southern California and has a few steep climbs. There are some rocky spots that will require some hoof protection. Much of the footing is all weather granite. The trail is moderately difficult because of the hills, but with the WDRA we adjust the mileage to account for the time it takes to complete the course. In the past, with the AERC ride we had to add stupid loops to satisfy the whiners who only ride their computers. This year we will use the old time tested measure of a trail where the first horses get finished in five to five and a half hours. The ride can be easily completed on new horses ridden with care by good horsemen. Most people are surprised that major SoCal freeways surround so much open land. The trails through Harford Park and the old Gavilan Springs Ranch offer a look into the past history of the area.
GPS Recievers are a useful tool and will become a thing of the future. In fact by the time of this ride we will have done many rides with only GPS tracks. We still mark corners and junctions with ribbons and pie plates but we rely on the GPS tracks to replace the “confidence” ribbons. If you have a Garmin GPS receiver and would like to download the tracks after the ride meeting we can accommodate you. There are some things you should know about the benefits and limitations on GPS devices and we can talk about those at the end of the Friday night meeting. I have yet to find a wrist band receiver that will import tracks, but if you have one and have what it takes to connect to a USB port on my computer I will give it a try. I can also send a .gpx file over the phone or put it on a flash drive. During the summer of 2011 everyone on our 2000 mile ride learned to use GPS receivers quickly and they were able to ride across the country and never get lost. The most popular models are the Oregon and eTrek series. It’s really all a matter of personal preference. If you are going to bring a GPS, and we hope you do, please make yourself aware of the club policy on distribution and use of this information as we consider the data to be club property with a monetary value.
Directions depend on where you are coming from. The ranch lies between Interstates 15 and 215 in the general vicinity of Perris/Lake Matthews, California.
From I-15 exit Cajalco Road. Turn EAST and go to Lake Mathews Drive and turn right. It’s the only way you can turn as the lake is on your left. At approximately 3.3 miles after the turn off Lake Mathews Drive you will see the Bar H sign on your left, jam on the brakes and turn left on the really wide dirt road (Windford Road (unmarked). There is a large Bar H sign at the intersection. We might have some ribbons there if we can remember. Continue 0.2 miles until this dirt road ends at the orange grove. Turn right and go 0.2 miles to the first left and turn into the ranch. Go north past the stop sign and the white fencing to the camping area.
From I-215 exit Ramona Expressway/Cajalco Road. Travel west and turn left/south on Gavilan Hills Road. Go past the Gavilan Ranch Market to the first street on your right. Turn right on Lake Mathews Road and go exactly1.8 miles to the camp entrance on Winford Road (unmarked). There is a big Bar H sign at the turn. Follow the above directions into camp.
From the 91 Freeway exit La Sierra and go 5 miles south to Cajalco Road. Turn left/east for 3.2 miles to Lake Matthews Road. Turn right/south and follow directions above from the Gavilan Springs landmark.