Good Ole' Days

There was a time when spring and fall road trips to Medicine Springs meant weekends filled with SSMA playdays and endurance races. Families and friends packed up primitive camping gear, campers, or horse trailers and headed to the mountains to gather with others who shared the same love of horses, trail riding, campfires, good food, and lasting friendships.

The sense of camaraderie built during those weekends carried on for many years and many of those friendships remain strong today.

Behind the fun was a great deal of effort, from marking trails for the races to organizing the gathering around the Rickman cabin.

Like many good things, this era came to a close when timber companies chose to end livestock leases in favor of hunting clubs. That decision not only halted the short boost in county revenue but also closed a chapter in the story of the Spanish Mustang horses of Blackjack Mountain.

We are fortunate to have preserved many photographs from those days and we share them with gratitude for the friends and supporters who stood by the breed.