Letter from a Seller

The Graduates

Our Horses & Trail Photos

Overnight Stabling

Bandera trail ride

Colorado riding photo

Sale Horses:

Sammy's Song

Padre Island Beach Trip

United States Pony Club

Old People's Riding Club

Bee Creek Stables

Yellow Rose Ranch

Lazy F Ranch

NATRC.org

Longacre Hunt

Hill Country Equestrian Lodge

Bandera Horseman's General Store

Padre Island Trip

May 17-19 Weekend, Padre Island Beach Trip
Organizer. Carol Grosvenor and Bonnie Strickland. Ride your horse on the white sandy beaches of North Padre Island. Show him waves in the ocean. Gallop in the sand, and ride into the surf. We have arranged both camping and motel accommodations. Horses and campers will stay at a private ranch with ride---out beach access. Motels are located one mile away. Thanks for Manon for finding this place for us!

Main Information
Friday May 17 departure, leave Padre Sunday at noon.
Driving Distance from Dripping Springs: 235 miles, drive time, 4 and a half hours according to Map Quest.

Horse Lodging at Star Locke's Ranch, 16562 S. Padre Island Drive (Hwy 22)
Horse Lodging. Horses will stay at a 50 acre private ranch on Padre Island owned by Star Locke. Most horses will need to be picketed to trailers or posts, so bring ropes. Cost of horse lodging is $10 per night, but that also covers campers. There is one pasture and one roundpen available. No stalls.
Bring your own water for horses-- about 10 gallons per day per horse, plus buckets and chains or ropes to hang them.
Bring your own hay and grain.
If you want someone else to feed for you, prepackage your grain by meal, and label bags with a description of horse and his name. Include all your own feed additives in the bag. Use small paper lunch bags and tape them shut. Store in a sealed container that is horse proof.
Current Coggins. I do not think a health certificate is required.

Riding Information
You can ride right off the private ranch onto the beach. The island is about 1 mile wide there so we should be very close to the beach. The ranch is 15 miles north of the National Seashore so we may want to trailer into the park, but it doesn't sound like it is necessary unless the beaches are very crowded. Riding north will take you into areas with more people. The email says you have to cross some sand dunes from the ranch and you are right on the beach.

Lodging for People
We already have some people signed up to camp. We have enough campers now. Too many campers will pose a problem as we only have one bathroom, one indoor shower and one outdoor shower. Campers will be staying at the ranch with the horses. There is a kitchen area and refrigerators we can use, as well as a BBQ pit. Lodging for campers is covered in the $10 per horse fee. Because of limited facilities for camping, if you invite friends who are non-members, please tell them they can keep their horses at the ranch, but please have them stay in a motel room.

There is one RV at the ranch property which can be rented. If interested, contact Star Locke to reserve it. I am reserving his electrical outlet hookup for my trailer. He says we will not need AC, as the wind blows all the time. I don't know the price. He says it is an older model but everything works.
Ranch: 16562 S. Padre Island Drive, 361-949-1200

If not camping, there are motels and restaurants close by. I have information on two of these and a phone number on a third. Please make your own reservations. I am not doing block reservations.

Passport Inn, (closest-- one mile from ranch), 361-949-8111.
Cost: $59 + tax for a bed (2 people), $69 + tax for 2 beds (4 people)
restaurant, no pool, address: 15378 D. Padre Island Drive (22)
This one is supposed to be relatively nice.

Monterey Motel (cheapest motel on the island), 361-949-8137
Cost $40 + tax for one bed (two people), $65 + tax for two beds (4 people)
No restaurant or pool on property but several restaurants are close by.

Holiday Inn, 361-949-8041
No information available as yet except all three are owned by the same family.

Dennis is also looking into renting an RV and bringing it down. The RV sleeps 5 and would cost $400 to rent. If interested in this, please contact Dennis.

National Seashore Rates & Information
$8 admission, $5 for a paved campsite, no electrical hookups, chemical toilet, cold showers, store, restaurant. Call: 361-949-9368

Trailering
Since some members do not have trailers, others may be able to take you. However, you will have to arrange with them how to get your horse to their facility for departure. Please offer to pay a substantial portion of the gas as the drivers are putting a lot of wear and tear on their vehicles and these rigs are very expensive to operate. People who may have extra spaces in trailers include Sandra Walker, Bonnie Strickland, Kathryn Hayes, and myself. We will also need some people with cars to do some driving so we do not have to unhook rigs which will probably be used to support picket lines.

Riding Lessons on the Beach
Sandra Walker says she will help people with green horses if they need help, and will be available to teach lessons if requested. I don't know if any of the other professionals are coming yet, but they may also be willing to do some teaching. Let me know if you either want to take a lesson or would be available to teach one. I know some of you are in regular lessons with our member-instructors so they may want to clinic in the biggest arena you'll ever ride in!

Attendance:
Please make motel reservations and RSVP to me as soon as you can if you are interested in going. Tell me whether you are camping, staying elsewhere, arriving late, and / or you'd like a roommate for a motel room. To follow is a list of people that have expressed interest in attending. If you aren't listed, we haven't heard from you, but hope to soon. It should be fun!

Sandra Walker, motel
Carol Grosvenor, camping
Kathryn Hayes, camping
Dennis Riddlemoser, camping
Bonnie Strickland, camping
Linda Garriot, motel
Susie McLain and a friend, motel or camping
Lin Sutherland and 2 friends, motel
Carol Williamson, ? lodging preference not known
Summer McGinty, motel
Manon Lemoine, motel
Julie Krosley, ?
Carla Quijano (?)