Mt. Carmel XP Trail Scenery
There will be more on these new ride changes in the next XP newsletter that will be going out soon to the XP riders.
You can also check the xprides.com website for updates.
Next year we will NOT be holding the Fort Schellbourne ride.
We have applied to add two more days onto Mt. Carmel so that it will be expanded from the current 3 days and 155 miles to 5 days and 250 miles. If that gets approved I’ll post about it here and update the website right away.
Schellbourne was always one of my favorite rides. I had a lot of great times there and will really miss it. I’m really fortunate that for my last time there I was able to ride Cheefy all 5 days. One more fantastic adventure for me to pack away in my excessively rich treasure chest of ride memories.
Losing historical rides like this is why you need to go ride if you can. Even if it’s hard to get away or afford it. You’ll be glad later on that you did. It’s never going to be easy. At least, it’s never been easy for me to do everything required to get away to these rides and keep my horses, truck, trailer, myself, etc. ready to go. The payback is definitely worth the effort I put into it though so even when it’s been a struggle to get to a ride I’m always happy to be there and realize how lucky I am.
Here are photos from the 2009 Fort Schellbourne XP: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5
Would it be possible to have Fort Schellbourne XP every other year? There are so many of us who do not want this ride to go away, permanently. How can we keep it going? Anyone out there, like me, who wants this ride to keep going?
I am so thankful I was able to go to Schellbourne three times! Darn! Why didn’t I go in 09?! But, one of my first multi-day rides was Cold Springs….the ride that was held one year instead of Schellbourne. So, I’ll stay hopeful. Maybe Schellbourne will return again. Thanks to Karen and the Duck Family for all the work you’ve done to make Schellbourne possible.
Happy Trails (the happiest trails are the multiday trails)