Lookin' to hit the trails - on horseback?
By STUART TENDLER | Country World Central Texas
April 5, 2001 -- Larry and Martha Montgomery are the owners of C-Bar Stables, located near Valley Mills in Bosque County. C-Bar Stables will be holding its spring trail ride April 27-29 for the fourth year. The Montgomery's also host a ride each fall.
"The main thing is to really share our ranch with people and enjoy the comradery of it," said Larry. "Our trail rides are very special. People have a lot of fun."
Opening their ranch up to the public has a lot to do with why the ranch, in Martha's family since her great grandfather's generation, is now an equine facility.
Martha's grandfather ran a cattle operation on the ranch. Her father raised Angora goats. When her brother ran the property he moved back to cattle, raising Santa Gertrudis. He did, however, bring horses in, as for a time the ranch was home to the wild burros and horses taken off of Bureau of Land Management property and adopted out of the Valley Mills ranch.
When Larry and Martha first took over the ranch, they too ran cattle, having owned the Waco Livestock Barn for a time. However, when they sold out, they went strictly to horses.
A main reason for doing that was to be able to share the gift they feel they own with the public. "We want to share the ranch with people, the beauty of the place, which you can't do unless you either walk it or travel by horseback. There are canyons on the place that are three stories deep and we've gone in there and cut trails out. There are waterfalls and creeks and they're beautiful," Larry said.
"We like working with the people, having people come in and showing our ranch off and letting them enjoy it," added Martha, explaining that in addition to the trail rides, they also provide breeding and breaking work, throw birthday parties, business parties, survival camps for kids in summer, and adult riding camps.
"When you see people who have never been around horses and you take them in and you start riding, show them how to ride, teach them about horses, and then someday you can turn them out here on the trails on their own horse, it's a great satisfaction. To be on a horse is just unbelievable," said Larry.
"We've also learned in working with this that children that have learning disabilities, kids with attention deficit disorders, that can't sit down and be still; you can get them interested in horses and they learn ... you'll be surprised how much they retain. It's something they want to do. Then when they go back to school they're attention span is even better," Martha said.
Larry believes the horses have such an effect on the children because of "the love of the animal, and a horse will love you back. You bond with them (the horses). I think that's something that becomes so dear to a child. It's really neat, it's special.
"God gives you something like this for a very short time and if you can't share it and enjoy it then I think we're missing something.
"The main thing, like Martha said awhile ago, we started out to do this for people because we had something that we felt that God gave that is very special; to share it. Out here we try to share a very Christian atmosphere ... and we hope to share that part because that's our goal and put people with horses and share the Christian attitude; that's what we do.
"We just love it. It's very special and we have a chance to enjoy people; have a chance to show people something that some of them would never see again as long as they live, because these kind of things are getting scarce.
"This is nature. We don't get out here and do anything special to the ranch, this is just the way nature meant for it to be," said Larry.
Call the ranch at (254) 749-6962 or e-mail:
CBarStables@hot1.net for more information about the upcoming trail ride.
