Tales from this weeks Trails

Things are full steam ahead here at Castellare this month. We have had plenty of interesting rides, fun guests, and even a few VIPS to keep us busy. The weather looks like it has finally started to pick up for good, and this week the forecast promises sun every day (this comes after a rotten Sunday and Monday, and fairly average morning today).

Yesterday we managed to perfectly time a three and a half hour ride to up to Barbialla farm and then home through the pretty meadows behind Alberi. Normally this would be a four hour full day ride, but since the weather was not on our side we took three very fit horses, and did a full morning with lunch on our return. We left the minute the morning storm passed and returned just as it started to rain again. Great luck on our side! In between we were lucky to experience some wonderful sunny weather, so much so that the riders with me were down to singlet tops and had to stop to apply sunblock.

Today the morning was a little cool and overcast, and our morning ride through the forest of Camporena was a tad damp. The horses were little troopers as always, and in the open areas there was some lovely stretches to let the horses surge ahead into canter. Many of our canters are winding and sometimes a little  challenging (since the rider needs to watch for low branches, and keep the best path for the horse). Fun for clients, since there is a mix of excitement and challenge.

I  like to always warn our riders that there is a fair bit of walk on our rides , since the trails can be quite mountainous in sections – but in between there is always ample opportunity for a change of pace; and some of the canters are very long, requiring a good level of fitness to really enjoy them.

Today on our return from San Vivaldo we spotted a buck fallow deer, and a sweet baby fawn (sitting in the middle of a bunch of pink wildflowers..just like something out of a postcard). At Castelfalfi we tied the horses up to a couple of olive trees, and enjoyed a fresh homemade gelato from the cafe on the grass.

The horses charged home after this break (where they managed a snack on the lush grass too), and were rewarded with a nice shower and a relaxing evening in the turnout field.

Riding the Pisan Florentine territories border

These pictures were taken when we rode out around the Vald’Egola a river that connects Montaione and San Miniato.  The gorgeous model here is Chloe – an English rider out for a week at the start of May.

This valley is best known as an area where the White truffle grows well, and the truffles collected here are demonstrated at the National White Truffle fair in San Miniato in November.

Barbialla and Barbialla Nuova were originally one farm, but were divided between two sisters thirty years ago. Both farms are huge, with many beautiful old country villas now used for eco-tourism (Barbialla Nuova has a completely bio-farm) and runs a large herd of Tuscan Chinina cattle that eat only completely organic material and live outside almost all year round in large pastures.

We rode past the Collegalli farm, a historical estate that breeds pheasants for hunting. This farm has a magical panoramic view over Montaione and San Miniato, and would have been a bustling hub of activity 100 years ago. Today it seems almost frozen in time, and the inhabitants of the farm still keep geese, chickens and pigs much like they would have in the past.

We rode up the old road, which in some parts has suffered big landslides, which makes it unusable for vehicles but fine for walkers and riders. The Whole trail takes around 8 hours to ride, so we only do a part of it on our day trips; usually we stop at an abandoned ruin amongst the olive groves – but today we rode up to the chapel of Collegalli. This tiny Church is located in the middle of the forest, and is unmarked by signage. The Church is open, so we could look around inside too. As it was, the weather was nice and sunny – so we sat outside and let the horses free to graze while we enjoyed a picnic.

On the ride home we stopped at Barbialla Nuova to let the horses drink, and then rode up via Riccardo Niggi’s workshop on our way back to Castellare. The weather was good the Whole day, and the horses were just fantastic. A lovely day all round.

Now to finish – an old Italian poem about Barbialla and horses

Oh Maresco, a indovinalla
chi morì senza assaggialla
dalle parti di Barbialla…
Tu rimani sempre a galla
hai la barba pure gialla…
hai la barba e pure i calli
per le corse a Collegalli
coi puledri e coi cavalli
alla sfida del cavillo
senza slip e tacchi a spillo…

Tuscan wildflowers and wild boar

Last week flew by. The weather in Tuscany has been almost tropical. Rain storms are followed by long hot days, and the grass seems to be growing faster than anyone can cut it back. Our horses out in the turnout field still have more than they can handle, and are all fat and happy looking.

This last week we had a family from Sweden out riding with us. They were horse owners, and very good riders, and I had the chance to test out various horses on the trail with them during the week, including little Shakir the Arabian who became the firm favorite of Linnia, the daughter of the family.

We saw a lot of wild boar one day, and enjoyed some lovely riding down in the Castelfaldfi game reserve, the newly finished Natural reserve of Cafaldo (full of lovely forest trails for the horses) and up towards Barbialla and Sughera.

Here are some pics of the week, including one of a large wild boar hiding in the grass.

The next two weeks are very busy at Castellare with Pentagosto and a public Holiday in Holland and Switzerland this week. This morning I took a Group of returning Swiss clients out, with a lovely English rider who lives in Holland. The weather early this morning looked Grim, but actually it turned out very nice, and I hope this afternoons ride will be even better since the breeze should have dried out the trails up on the communal road to Corrazano where we are heading after lunch.

 

Above is Rikkard and Lucas with Blanco.

Wild boar in the grass hoping we havent seen him. Horses always know when pigs are about though…

Helen with Mascherone our four year old Paint horse. They made a great team all week long.

Linnia and little Shakir. He was a star all week too, and they were a great pairing since her mother bred Arabians back in Sweden.

The Villa Monti and the ghost of the white Bardi horse

One of our full day rides visits this historic villa in the Peccioli region, which lies under Pisan rule. The Villa Monti is part of a large cattle farm and the owners today also have a couple of horses. This is one of my favorite sections of the rides we do. One of the clients last week asked me, “Which is your favorite ride”, my answer was that I have no favorite ride in itself. All rides have parts that are lovely,and other parts that are nice, but nothing special. Some rides have (thankfully) small sections that are not lovely at all.. bud necessary to get from A-B. It is the journey, and sometimes the destination that matters to me. In saying that. The Monti farm is one of the sections that I love. Soft and eye pleasing scenery, that feels almost like it has been frozen in time. Dirt roads wind around cattle fields and ancient stone farm houses. Wildflowers carpet the Hills, and Cyprus trees line the driveway to the villa. Riding up this imposing road, one feels much as the original owners wealthy banker buddies would have felt in the 1400′s. The soft and steady clop of the horses feet. The slightly sour smell of cattle, mixed in with that of lush spring flowers and pine.
The original owner of the huge Villa Monti was a Bardi count. The Bardi’s were relatives of the Medici, and they too were one of the big names in banking during the Florentine renaissance period. The wife of Cosimo di Medici (and grandmother to Lorenzo) was a Bardi.

The Villa monti sits at the heart of the farm, on a panoramic hill that looks over the countryside below it. Historians think that the famous architect Buontalenti created the villa over top of ancient ruins of another building. The villa was originally created as a hunting lodge for the rich and powerful Florentine families. One interesting tale of the villa has it that the Villa is haunted to this day with ghosts, including that of a White horse which gallops at night through the surrounding countryside, and is seen most frequently when there is snow on the ground.

A fitting location perhaps for our horses to visit. There is so much history to these Renaissance homes. So many untold secrets lie within their walls. They were tough times for women, and many wives and lovers met their demise in awful ways, only to be quickly sent off to the family crypt under guise of a ‘sudden illness’. Villa Monti today stands quietly in the shadows of a beautiful landscape, holding these secrets tightly; making it only even more intriguing to visit.

Diego

Italian Monasteries to English Horse Trials

 

Last week we had a busy few days trying to cheat the weather, and manage to squeeze all full days of riding in before Thursdays predicted rain storms. We did it too, and managed to ride to San Vivaldo Monastery, Cedri, and the historic farm of Barbialla before the rain hit. Below is the picture of the Barbialla cemetary, a sad but very interesting spot hidden in the quiet Hills between Corazzano and Sughera.

The British clients we had last week, were fine taking a half day in the rain on Thursday morning – and though the ground was sodden, the weather cleared up as we rode. We stopped off at the artists Riccardo Neggi’s house, and enjoyed a couple of nice canters afterwards on the road home. One of which was so bouncy on the little Arab, that I lost my car Keys and had to drive back afterward in the work car to find them. Lucky for me one of the riders spotted them enroute, thus I managed to avoid a long walk back down the muddy trails in search of the elusive item.

We had Paulo Arrantes here this week for a few days. He is our Brazillian agent, and also is a guide for two trails in his homeland.

He was a really nice, easy going guy – and a good rider, so well suited to his four year old Paint horse Mascherone pictured below with him.

On Friday (the clients day off) I dropped them up at the station to train into Florence for a day of culture and shopping, and I furiously tried to get everything ready for my 6pm flight to London. I managed to get to the UK without too many hitches, and trained out to a friends house for the night. On Saturday we bused down to Bristol to meet other friends, and headed to the Badminton Horse Trials; where I helped out on the In the Saddle stand over both Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

I managed to sneak out over lunch to watch some of the cross country, and met up with loads of clients, friends and possible new clients at the stand. It was a great event, and if you are considering attending in the future, I whole-heartedly reccommend it. Well organized, great shopping, food options, and even live music in the evenings.

 

Sunshine and Wildflowers in Tuscany

It is a glorious day here in Montaione, wildflowers are everywhere now, and the sun is shining brightly. Since todau is the final calm before the long weekend ‘storm’ (we are at full capacity all weekend) I escaped the office on my lunch break with Shakir to ride a new route that I had scoped out by foot last week.

The ride uses part of the old medieval road that took farmers, merchants and soldiers between the fortressed castle of Castelfalfi and the village of Montaione. Parts of the road still have old stone cobbles, and there are dramatic views in each direction.

The grass is so long right  now that it covers some hidden dangers, such as a deep ditch that we almost walked right into. Luckily since he arrived Shakir has become much better, and as soon as saw the ditch underfoot  and asked him to back up, he reinbacked perfectly, and performed a very good rollback to turn literally on his heels on the narrow trail. Franco often uses the example of trail ride hazzards to explain why the rollback is so important  and this morning was a classic example of a technical movements practicality outside of the arena.

We rode down through the olive groves and crossed the river at the bottom of the canyon between Montaione and Castellares land. I had a brief chat with an elderly man cutting wood, and we carried on to the old water mill and finally Casa Cheta,a beautiful holiday home hidden in the middle of romantic olive groves and wild woods.

As we rode back up to base a fallen tree blocked our path, and I was so glad to have this nimble mountain goat of a horse with me. I took off his bridle and we literally had to negotiate a steep metre high climb followed by twenty meters of pushing through thick forest and low brambles to get around the said obstacle. He acted like a little dog: quietly, patiently picking his way through all that blocked his path, and then popped a wee jump at the end to get back down from the ledge.

It was a lovely ride, and when he got home he enjoyed a long shower and when cool, some grain and hay in his box as thanks for a lovely ride.

Shakir now is ready to be used for clients out on the trails, and I hope they enjoy riding him as much as I have over the past couple of months.

Turnout Time

Its that time of the year again, and to make the most of a quiet week of riding we turned out the majority of the horses into the big turnout field at the top of the property. This year the donkeys are out with the horses too. I turned out my two geldings with everyone else, and one in particular was not too fussed on the donkeys initially. I thought it was really sweet however, that the geriartric thirteen hand pony that has lived with them the past two years at the stables threw himself between donkey victim and big mean 16hh horse and fiercly defended his girls. Everytime my horse came near them he would fly at him, and eventually his authority was firmly established.

It is a beautiful sight to see these horses together. All colors, shapes and sizes – and they really deserve the grass and sunshine after this long, hard and rainy winter which has delayed their turnout period considerably.