The Rosehip Trip

Several weeks ago when I shared a picture of bright red rosehips and my Fell Pony mare Willowtrail Wild Rose, a Fell Pony colleague in England commented on the photo and mentioned rosehip syrup. I’d never heard of rosehip syrup before, so I reached out to the colleague, Christine Robinson, for her recipe. My curiosity was further raised, so I then put collecting rosehips on my list. We were in the midst of warm fall weather at the time, so I began watching for our first hard freeze since several sources suggested waiting to pick rosehips until then.

I spotted this rosehip patch while riding on the Mickelson Trail through the Ranch as part of the Fell Pony Society 96 Mile Memorial Challenge.

In the meantime, while riding the Mickelson Trail with my friends Paula and Torrin, I saw a huge patch of rosehips. It happened to be on a section of the Trail that is on the ranch where I live, so I made note of the location to return to. Previously I’d assumed my rosehip picking was going to be in widely dispersed and lightly populated places. This patch, though, meant I could get everything I needed in one spot.

Rose on the MIckelson Trail in search of the Rosehip Patch.

One morning when weather was pleasant after a run of freezing weather, I decided it was time to go pick. Paula had wisely suggested it was an excuse to put a pony to work, so I hitched the horse trailer, loaded Rose, and we headed to the far end of the ranch to a trail head. It was the first time I had ever taken Rose to a trail head by herself and then ridden her, so I wasn’t sure how she was going to feel about it. As it turned out, she did fabulously.

I couldn’t remember how far it was to the rosehip patch from the trail head, so my dogs and Rose and I headed out. It ended up being a mile and a half to the patch. The weather was pleasant so it was another beautiful autumn ride. When we got to the patch, I looped Rose’s lead rope over a fence post so she could graze, and I set to work picking, moving Rose to another fence post occasionally for her to have fresh grazing.

Rose was contentedly engaged with grazing while I picked rosehips nearby. I moved her from fencepost to fencepost as she needed new forage.

After about a half hour, I heard a twanging sound and soon figured out it was the wire fence that Rose was tied to. She didn’t seem concerned that the wires were jiggling, but I was. It turned out that one of my dogs had found something of interest on the top wire of the fence and could only get to it by jumping and snapping at it. The twanging was essentially her plucking the fence like a guitar string! I smiled but also took it as a sign to finish up my picking chore and head back to the trail head. Rose put her foot to the Trail as capably as she had on the way in. We saw only cattle and a rabbit on our trip, just the sort of outing I enjoy, on beautiful country with just my pony and dogs for company.

The fruits of our labors: rosehips!

The Rosehip Ride was the day after I had completed the Fell Pony Society 96 Mile Queen Elizabeth II Memorial Challenge. I was once again thankful for the Challenge for getting Rose and me in riding condition. Our spontaneous trip to the rosehip patch wouldn’t have happened otherwise. Now it was time to make rosehip syrup!

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2023

Exploring

By far, the riding I have done with my ponies over the past two decades has been of a single type.  I have gone out, sometimes on trails, sometimes off trail, exploring.  Sometimes the route is entirely new to me, and sometimes it is familiar.  Even familiar routes, though, are new every time, due to weather or the pony I am riding or changes in the landscape (downed trees, for instance) or the time of day or the wildlife that is about or the dogs that are accompanying us.  Only very, very rarely have I gone out riding with another person.

Rose and I out exploring

When I am new to a place, the exploring has more dimensions of course.  I am truly exploring a landscape for the first time, learning where routes go and how each route relates to another and what routes might be worth exploring further.  The first two places that were entirely new to me I explored with the same pony, Mya the Wonder Pony.  I know now that I took for granted Mya’s suitability to the role of fellow explorer.  She was level-headed and sure-footed and slow to spook and alert without being on edge.  I still remember vividly the first time we encountered a bear while out riding.  She stopped and looked at it, allowing me to do the same, until it wandered off.  She didn’t snort or get busy feet or get tense.  She gave me confidence to continue taking our exploratory rides.  Mya is now retired and elsewhere, and I have a new place to explore. 

I have been bringing my homebred Fell Pony mare Willowtrail Wild Rose along in her ridden work.  Exploring was not something she took to when we began.  Every time out she had new reactions to new things and new reactions to things we’d seen before.  I came close to giving up hope that she’d ever be my fellow explorer, since newness is inherent to exploring.  Then one day things seemed to change.

I had learned of a new route.  Previously I had been taking Rose on the same route day after day, adding distance usually but sometimes asking her to tolerate different weather or ground conditions or cattle populations.  Then I asked her to tolerate my dogs going with us.  That seemed to be easier for her than many of the other things I’d asked.  And one day I decided to try the new route.

The new route involved not only new scenery but also elevation changes and close foliage and a building she’d never seen up close before.  And the dogs were along.  It was a beautiful day, and for me it was even more beautiful because Rose carried me safely and sanely on the new route with all its newness without complaint.  I was ecstatic.

Nearly every day since, we’ve gone exploring.  Nearly every day we are going someplace we’ve never been before.  And since I live at the bottom of a valley/canyon, nearly everywhere we go has elevation change (and views!)  A month or two months or three months ago I would not have believed you if you’d told me Rose and I would be exploring our new place with my dogs.  She hasn’t yet achieved Mya’s standard of fellow explorer, but now I believe that we can get there, and I’m excited by the possibility.

© Jenifer Morrissey, 2020

You can find more stories like this one in my book What an Honor, available internationally by clicking here or on the book cover.