- From left, guests Helen Wilsher and DeLorne Watts,Tall Pine owner Debra Racheter, and Garth Rumsmoke.
Tall Pine. Sounds just like horse country to me. I know that when I first heard the name, that's what jumped into my mind. Maybe it helped that we were in Arkansas, and some other folks may've mentioned the name. On with the thought, once we had Kathy packed away in the truck-pillows in place to minimize any bounce from the highway-we headed north. Kathy's injury wouldn't keep her from traveling. (For that story, you'll have to read the last issue. I just hate to repeat myself.)
We were headed to Tall Pine Resort, 65 Tall Pine Circle, Norfork, AR 72658; (807) 499-7413; www.trailriding.net. Debra Racheter is the owner. Her business card reads, "Cabin Rentals-Guided Horse Trails, Horse Rental & More."
When we arrived, Debra was standing in the front driveway-cell-phone magic. Who said calling ahead wasn't a smart idea? She waved us in and got us parked in front of a beautiful log lodge. After the howdys and such, she told us we could have our choice of cabins, but felt this one was more our size. She meant it was the larger of the two.
Inside, the lodge was completely finished in cedar. The very large living room opened to a huge kitchen, and had two large fold-out beds. There was also a large bath with tub and laundry, and two huge bedrooms. The bigger bedroom opened up onto a deck with a hot tub.
Although you can bring your own horses, Debra more or less caters to groups of folks who want to come without anything, and ride and enjoy. She has a fine string of gaited mounts and more miles of trails than you can do in a summer-more than 350, if I remember right.
And here was Kathy, unable to ride. Her saving grace was the hot tub. She put some "miles" in that. Meanwhile, I was forced to go ride a couple of the most attractive trails in Arkansas (poor me, and in cold weather, too).
After we got settled in and had a chance to meet all the folks and the dogs, we talked about a ride. Debra said she had some nice rides planned for us, but with Kathy's injuries, which Debra didn't know about till we got there, some changes were made. One concern was the weather. It'd turned cold, and cold is what Kathy and I had gone south trying to avoid. A ride with some other folks was planned for the next day. Just about everyone would be riding a gaited horse, so I decided to ride one of Debra's mounts. If all her horses were that good, you'll have a great ride at her place. Of course, she says they are all that good, or she wouldn't have them on the place. I believe her.
