Riding in CA

We arrived in Eureka on Tues night and Wed night went for a lesson with my trainer S. My husband Bob is a great natural rider but had never taken a lesson before. I was so excited for him to take one with S because she had a western and english background and really focus on improving the rider, not just the horse. When Bob took his lesson I tacked up and hoped on Rifle. Now I incorrectly assumed S would not like Rifle but to my surprise she loved him! Though he would be a great Dressage horse and perfect for pony club. I ended stealing some of Bob's lesson so we could play with Rifles lateral work and canter transitions. He was so calm and laid back and had a prefect metronome trot and canter. He is a pleasure to ride in the arena especially compared to everything else I own lol.
On Sat I left Eureka for the Cooley Ranch Endurance Ride. Forrest and Cynthia put on this rider and they are Rifles owners. I love this ride and was so happy to go down early and help set it up. Sat night Bob and I went for a quick ride so he could see some of the trails before he went back to Eureka. He rode Ike and I rode Rifle ponying Kate. F & C's horses were loose on the 30 acres and they came to follow us down the trail. The start of our ride was along their fence line and it was so cute to see the herd galloping up the hills. This was the first time though that Rifle has really prepared to spook. As the herd galloped up it made a ton of noise and he hunkered down like the world was going to end. The funny part was that he did not actually move his feet and when he saw it was the horses he was fine. I though for a moment we were going to go somewhere lol. The rest of the ride was calm as normal. Up hill, down hill and over dale.
On Tue we had some spare time in the morning and Forrest said I could mark the start. Decided to take Rifle as Kate had done some trail marking the day before. We saddled up and headed out alone. He tried a few times to turn and walk back but was easy to persuaded to keep going out. It was great to ride a horse that moves well off your leg when putting up ribbons in strange places. He is so nice to ride alone. Does not whinny, spook or have any anxious behaviors after the first 10 feet from the gate. He was happy to trot and canter along on a loose rein and eager to speed up when asked. We even too a detour off a side trail and checked out a donkey. On the way back into base camp we came up to the gate and I wondered if he would open it. I have never tried opening gates off him as we condition on public trails and there are no gates. This one is a tricky one to do from in the saddle but I though it was worth a try. He stood quietly as I leaned over and undid the clip and pushed open the gate. Had to take two tries to push it shut but the second time he figured it out. Rifle had to stand still while I grabbed the gate, then walk forward into the gate while keeping me steady so I could hold it. Then stand still as I dropped my reins and had to use both hands hanging off the saddle to grab the chain, wrap it around and clip the snap. He did it! I was so surprised and proud of him. Rifle, the gate opener and closer extraordinaire.