The first ride of 2024 for me was at Lewis Morris, because I woke up and felt the spirit of Temperance Wick’s horse calling me. Legend has it that Wick was accosted by mutineers of the Continental Army who tried to steal her horse in December of 1780. She made a cunning escape, then hid the horse inside of a room in her family’s house. Talk about a house smelling like a barn! Anywho, so the mutineers left the Jockey Hollow area for Princeton on January 1st 1781, and that is when Wick freed the horse from the confines of the house.

Between that and having a lot of wonderful chefs and bakers in my family and having to burn off all of the holiday food and desserts they’ve been generously feeding me over the past few weeks; a ride at Lew Mo was much needed. Not the best photo, but I think it captures the spirit of a horse who has been cooped up indoors and is finally free to do what it was born to do. Ride free in 2024 friends!