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Rock-N-Horse Stables and Cabins
Townsend, TN
http://www.viewmonster.com/stables/default.php
Submitted by John

A horse trip to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary was planned to go to the Smokey Mountains and stay at Rock-N-Horse Stables and Cabins.  It was about a six hour trip from our house to Townsend, TN. Now, if you have never been to the Smokey Mountains let me clue you in on a few things you might not have realized. First, there is no access by horse to the park from private grounds. You must trailer in and trailer out, unless you are camping in the park. However, once you get acclimated, this is really no big deal. There are several trail heads near many of the parking spots. Believe me, you will not lack for trails to ride within an easy commute! For instance, Rock-N-Horse Stables is located just 3 miles from the Tremont entrance to the park. Once you are in the park, trails are as close as a couple of miles from the entrance. The longest we drove to a trail head was about seven miles.

Second, there really are no SHORT trails. You can certainly do an out-and-back and ride as short as you wish. But, most of the loop trails we saw were longer.  Third, don't ask for trails without rocks. The mountains are composed of rocks! There will be rocks in your trails!! Fourth, bring as short of a trailer as you have. It is difficult to navigate around the park in a long trailer. Yes, there is a story here, but I need to let a little more time pass before I find it funny.

We used Tuesday to settle in get acclimated to the barn, the pastures and our cabin at Rock-N-Horse. Let me say right off that Brenda and Richard that run the place are the friendliest, most accommodating folks you could hope to meet. And, Brenda is a very accomplished chef! They offer evening meals on the weekends. If you get the chance, sign up for a meal. You won't believe what you'll get! (Hint: When is the last time you've had chocolate fondue for desert? With cherries, pineapple, strawberries, pound cake, bananas and chunks of NY cheesecake to dunk in the chocolate!) In addition, they have 10x12 stalls that are much nicer than ours at home! And, the pasture run-outs are very spacious and clean. Heck, I'm thinking of moving there.

Wednesday, we took Brenda's advice and decided to ride one of the Tremont loops, a 16-mile trail that would cross streams three or four times, go past three waterfalls and above one. This little 7-hour jaunt was wonderful! We didn't gait too much. It's kind of hard to explain, but the footing and elevation and climbing and such didn't really contribute too much gaiting. But, the scenery was to die for. We ended up on Miry Ridge in a total downpour. Oh yes, the Smokies average the highest rainfall per year in the country! So bring your gear and ignore it. It gave us a chance to watch steam rise off our horses. Most of the trail was of the single-file variety. The folks we met from Florida thought that part of the trail was scary. Nah! If you've ridden in Shawnee, this won't scare you. Later we read a trail guide that mentioned not to ride Miry Ridge when it was wet. Duh! Loretta's horse lost a shoe somewhere on the Ridge. The shoe-sucking mud was deep. But, hey it was an adventure! The horse didn't seem to notice the lost shoe and we didn't either for another hour or so. Upon completing the loop, we had to cross the creek one last time to get to the road back to our parked trailer. Only this time the rain at the higher elevations had made its way to this crossing. The SOUND was nearly deafening. The horses were nervous and Loretta and I were pretty anxious, too! But, we plunged in and made it across. Probably the most interesting crossing of the day. The horses did great.

Thursday morning, we had a farrier come to the barn to put a shoe on Legs. Unfortunately, he quicked him instead! Then, he proceeded to tell us that the hoof wall was too thin to nail on a shoe. I guess I should tell our farrier at home to quit doing just that! So, we had him just pull the other shoe. We used Old Macs for Thursday's trail ride. Legs did very well on Thursday, but that was to be his last ride of the week as he came up sore on that foot Friday morning.

Thursday's ride was in the Cade's Cove area. Our new friends from Florida, who were making their third trip to the Smokies, told us not to miss a trip up to Spence Field. We found the trails on the nice map that Brenda provided us and we were off! It was a relaxing drive to the parking area at the Cade's Cove picnic area. That would be the last relaxing we would do for the next four hours. There is no way to prepare for such a trail ride. I have previously not been on a trail that went UP for four hours straight! My horse was really blowing bad, so we stopped and I dismounted until his breath came back to normal. This took quite some time and was a procedure that was repeated twice again before we got to the top. Only later did we learn that we had climbed 3,200 feet in elevation. The big drawing point for the Spence Field was the view. From the Field you could usually see mountain tops all around you. And, the Field is flat with very good grazing for your horses. We did find wild turkeys up there. But, when we arrived, a storm blew in with fog and rain. I could barely see the trees in the field, and certainly not any mountain tops! But, I did get a picture of the darn nicest field I've ever seen. That's my story and I'll never think otherwise. We ate our lunch in the rain. (Hey, I had gotten Loretta a nice rain jacket for her birthday and she was getting a lot of use from it. So, not all was lost!) The return trip down the mountain took slightly less than two hours! Both horses picked their way quickly. No missteps and no running out of breath. They were two tired steeds that evening.

The rest of our trip was spent enjoying time together and with the horses in the pastures and touring the Park a bit. It would have been great to ride more, but things happen that you can't help. Loretta is already looking forward to another visit!

THANKS to everyone who suggested Rock-N-Horse Stables. That's a first-class place, facilities and hosts. We'll be going back. That's the best recommendation I can give.

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