Life Outdoors Magazine (Jan/Feb 2020)

It was with his Pa that Jake made his farthest trail riding
journey. The pair took a trip to northern New Mexico by the
Colorado border; it took them a couple of weeks. During
this time, they rode in two national forests, the Santa Fe
National Forest and the Santa Barbara National Forest.
“We got to see all kinds of wildlife along the way like elk,
mountain goats, and antelope. Most days, the two of us
would leave camp at daylight and not return until dark.”
Jake cherishes this incredible bonding time as Jim passed
away from cancer back in 2000. Their shared love of trail
riding gave Jake memories he will hold onto and extend to
his children, Gracie and Ty.
In addition to the fond memories come life lessons. For
Jake, the most valuable lessons he learned growing up trail
riding were learning how to take responsibility for taking
care of something and the value of hard work. There’s a lot
of upkeep to caring for horses, but it teaches productivity.
For Jake and Stacey, these are things they want to teach and
share with their kids, and they do so by taking them on trips
like their families did with them.
The Aldridge family’s favorite place to trail ride together is
at Caney Mountain. Jake says, “my in-laws, Charles and Pam
McMichael, told us about it, and we’ve all been going ever
since.” In fact, they keep a camper at Caney Mountain Horse
Camp in Big Flat, Arkansas close to Mountain Home. The
couple takes their kids there to ride the Ozarks and swim
the Buffalo River in summer, but their favorite time to go is
in fall during the Thanksgiving holiday. “The owner, Theresa,
is an amazing cook and fixes a big Thanksgiving spread
that all the campers come to at the main ‘bunkhouse.’ It’s
definitely our kids’ favorite part,” recalls Jake.
The family also likes to hunt on their trips. “We have a coon
dog named Cain and have had numerous squirrel dogs over
the years, so we like to use the horses for those hunts as
well. We get the chance to cover more ground, especially in
the mountains,” says Jake. While recollecting a particularly
pleasant hunting memory, Jake highlights the long day of
quiet in the wilderness not seeing another soul. Spending
time out completely submersed in nature is truly the gem of these journeys.
Your Next eveNt
Will Be
-
Legendary -
These family trips are different from the pack-trip days of Jake’s youth: traveling with his Pa through the
Ouachita Mountains, sleeping on the ground, and carrying his bedding and food. Today instead, they create a
new place in the hearts of these lifelong riders, while both Stacey and Jake assure their passion for trail riding
is passed on to future generations.
We got to see all kinds of wildlife along
the way like elk, mountain goats, and antelope.
Most days the two of us would leave camp at
daylight and not return until dark.
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