Appalachian Spring

I spent last weekend in Appalachia. Appalachia is beautiful all year round, but in the spring, there is nothing to compare to it. I found out that this time of year is called Service (pronouced Sarviss) Winter, which is when the Redbud trees burst into splashes of bright pink among the grey-brown forests in the mountains. Next will be Dogwood Winter (you can guess what is happening then in the forests), and the Blackberry Winter.

If you ride horses, Appalachia is a goldmine in our backyard. It has inspired poets and musicians, theologians and philosophers.

Ironically, when I returned home the Sunday Lexington Herald-Leader had a review of the Lexington Philharmonic's performance of Copland's "Appalachian Spring". The reviewer was saying the pictures of horses grazing in pasture should have been of horses frolicking in pastures. And I am thinking, "Those pictures were probably horses in the BLUEGRASS, not in APPALACHIA." Ah, how we in the Bluegrass seem to think we are the center of the world....

As we rode in SE Kentucky, my new horse struggled up the steep hillsides, and I was sure to give her lots of resting time between climbs. But when we got to the top, the scenery was spectacular, viewing mountain top after mountaintop, most of which have a name known only to the locals.

Coal mining was a source of long discussions. The challenge of coal as a single source of industry. The necessity of strip mining. The coal property owners who live in other states and make decisions about Kentucky's Appalachian hills while flying 30,000 feet over the area in a plane. The viability of alternative energy sources. The future of the region if coal jobs went away.

(Well, OK, and then there was the UK Final Four Game wedged in there between the discussions... OMG, a nail biter!!)

But back to the SE KY economy. Here is where trail riding comes in. It can be the basis for a healthy adventure tourism economy for Appalachia in Kentucky. There are many counties working on new trails right now... not just in Appalachia but across the state. Horsemen are coming together to do the work necessary to get this effort going. We plan to make "Horse Capital of the World" mean something beyond the Bluegrass. Man, it is so rewarding to see this happen! Racing may be struggling but trail people keep on going... and keep working despite the economics of 2011. It will happen.