November 3, 2005

Tia Hendrikz and Victoria Hilden cross a creek on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Photos by Jennifer Margulis | for the Tidings

Southern Oregon countryside, by horseback

Rain or shine, a horse is one of the best ways top enjoy the outdoors

By Jennifer Margulis
Tidings Correspondent

Five-year-old Tyler James “Bucky” Hutchinson has been riding since he was 2 years old and got his own pony. Wearing a cowboy hat and boots, Bucky directs trail riders to the stables where the horses are saddled up and waiting. It has been a week since they’ve been on the trail, and the horses are a little restless. One, a young pinto named JR, paws the ground with his hoof and then bangs it against the stable door.

“Quit it,” Bucky tells him. “If you keep doing that, JR, you’ll be barbecue.”

Tyler James Hutchinson hitches a ride with Lee Ann Johnson.

Although he sometimes comes along on the rides, it is actually Bucky’s grandfather, Joe Johnson, and his business partner, Tia Hendrikz, who are the co-owners of Howlin’ Acres Trail Rides at the Box R Ranch on Highway 66 just outside of the tiny town of Lincoln, five miles past the Green Springs Inn. With six horses between them, Johnson and Hendrikz started leading trail rides together July 1 of this year. They offer one-hour, two-hour and half-day rides to anyone — beginners to advanced — who wants to get on a horse and enjoy the Southern Oregon countryside.

Johnson’s mare, a 16-year-old named Sassy, is the lead horse and one of the oldest. “All these boys follow her,” says Johnson, who sports a cowboy hat, blue jeans and a jacket, gesturing to the other horses. When he is not leading trail rides, Johnson does excavation work at the Box R Ranch and boards and trains horses. He also owns an Internet affiliate marketing business that sells some 5 million products over the Web.

Howlin’ Acres Trail Rides is open year-round and plans winter rides. “It’s beautiful in the winter,” says Hendrikz, who grew up outside of Nairobi, Kenya, but now lives in Ashland. The horses, she adds, are happy to go out, even in the snow.

They also don’t mind the rain. Five riders ambled along a small section of the 1,500 acres of the Box R Ranch (where Howlin’ Acres takes most of its trail rides) as it misted lightly. Hendrikz’s horse, a mustang named Tango who was caught in the wild two years ago, threw his head from side to side, and JR, ridden by Ashland resident Victoria Hilden, walked energetically through the pine trees and cornfields.

Hendrikz leads with Joe Johnson and others following.

This summer, Hendrikz and Johnson led several rides with Japanese exchange students from SOU. “One girl had never been up close to a horse,” remembers Hendrikz, who adds that they communicated mostly with gestures as the students had only a rudimentary knowledge of English, and Hendrikz and Johnson don’t speak Japanese. “She was so intimidated she didn’t want to touch it.” After a demonstration and some time in a practice ring (something they do with all new riders to get them used to the horses), the Japanese students were ready to hit the trail. “It was fantastic,” Hendrikz says, “seeing the smiles on their faces.”

Hendrikz, who grew up around horses and has been riding since she was four, says her favorite thing about leading the trail rides is helping people feel more comfortable around horses and getting them past their fear. “Horses are my passion, and I love this area — the Green Springs — so for me to be able to do both, to have the horses and be in this area that I love is just awesome. I feel so blessed that I get to be with horses.”

According to Hendrikz, people enjoy the rides at Howlin’ Acres because the horses are a little feistier and have a little more personality than average trail horses. “It was exhilarating riding JR,” said Hilden, who had not been on a horse for over a year but who as a child competed in vaulting, a European sport best described as gymnastics on horseback. “He was ready to go as soon as anybody moved. He was there, he was on it. Also I felt like he was a good horse. He was responsive, but he would definitely try to start running if anyone started to go.”

“My second favorite part was seeing the countryside out there,” says Hilden. “I’ve never done a lot of hiking out there so it was just really nice to see the wilderness.”

An hour ride costs $40, two hours $70. For more information about Howlin’ Acres Trail Rides at the Box R Ranch, call (541) 326-9046.