When I used to ride a lot of years ago, it wasn't uncommon to go out with 20 or more folks. We would knot up into smaller groups or pairs and then come back together. Often it was a training ride where one or two people were being ponied, but that never seemed to get in the way of the fun. Since most of the horses were pastured together, they knew the ins and outs of each other's personalities. For example, no one got too close behind my friends horse. She was very cranky about having space around her and wasn't shy letting any other horse know. So even if we had a new rider, as long as they were on a pastured horse they would be okay, because the horse wouldn't get too close to Queenie!

I often rode out with just one or two people and only occasionally by myself. When I rode by myself, it was usually in the lower pasture (the only flat area we had) that was close to the road and a straight shot back to the ranch. I guess safety in numbers was drilled into us, although I cannot remember even one lecture about riding alone. Most of us saw enough accidents that could have been a lot more serious if there hadn't been another rider to run back for help. I've been the rider on the ground and the one running back, so I know the value of riding in a group.

We had very few flat areas where we rode, since San Diego is primarily made up of canyons. Ironically, every summer we would go up to the mountains where there were a lot of wide open fairly flat meadows. We tore them up! It was great fun.