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While the thought of being more than a few feet away from a Broadway Theater or a TV set on Superbowl Sunday would make many nervous, at NYC.com the call of the wild was just too strong. We took the Outdoor Bound Winter Horseback Ride & Wine Tasting day trip on a brisk but stunning blue sky day.
We were met bright and early by Thomas, an Engineer that moonlights as a tour guide on weekends. He was friendly and approachable without that over the top enthusiasm that can make some tours a bit trying. The city fell away quickly and we were suddenly amongst snowy rolling hills and pulling up at Echo Lake Stables.
Then I came face to nose with “Tico” and wondered whether I’d made an error in judgment describing myself as an intermediate rider. Our wrangler Aubrey kept a close eye on me and quickly rearranged the trail order after “Cinnabon” kept nipping “Tico” on the butt to assert his authority. Aubrey chatted through out the ride and filled us in on everything from the rigorous process the stables use to select their horses during buying trips to Mexico to how the career of a race horse is no more than 2 years!
Unfortunately, there was too much snow on the ground in the forest so we weren’t able to take the horses faster than a walk. I thought this was more than fair, have you ever tried running in snow? Two hours in the saddle was enough for our untrained haunches and made me incredulous of those who ride for days on end. Next up was lunch and wine tasting at Warwick Valley Winery and Distillery. It is located in the foothills of Mt. Eve and Mt. Adam in the Hudson Valley. My companion and I shared a very tasty fresh baked gourmet pizza from Pané Café and then followed this up with wine tasting. The staff were knowledgeable and accessible about it - there was no wine snobbery on show. They have a fantastic selection of ciders, spirits and wines that use locally grown organic fruit as much as possible. The apple cider is award winning and the Bourbon Barrel Aged Apple Liqueur has a great story. It is made by blending NY state apples with their own Eau de vie de Pomme and for those of you thinking that sounds like a Donna Karan perfume, it’s actually a fruit brandy that is produced by fermentation and double distillation. Together this is aged for a year in barrels previously used to age bourbon at Jim Beam and this gives it a unique, smoky bourbon undertone.
We came away with Riesling, Apple Cider, Harvest Moon white wine and Apple Liqueur and this was being extremely restrained. The prices were very reasonable and there was the added bonus of buying local products.
Beautiful weather, amazing fresh air, horse riding, wine tasting AND back in time for the Superbowl – it doesn’t get better than that!
Tags:
outdoor bound, winter horseback riding
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Posted on 2/2/2009
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