Today I rode Canadian horses with Melissa at Ranch CR in St. Fabien, Quebec. This is a diverse farm with 66 horses, cows and crops, plus an old mine and a high spot with views of the surrounding farms and the village of St. Fabien. Every village that I have seen in Quebec has a big, beautiful church. The big white church with red shingles that stands out in St. Fabien is no exception.
On the grounds of the ranch, there is also a large cross on the top of a hill. This cross was placed there by a priest in the 1950’s, who wanted to put the area on the map. At night, it is lit up by lights. When they were digging a hole in the ground to put the cross up, they found valuable metals, including lead and baratine, which spurred mining on the ranch grounds.

I rode a Canadian horse named Mustang to the top of the hill by the cross to take in the views. Since we are here for the changing leaves, the trees are a vibrant red, orange, dark green and lime. We had lunch on top of the hill, taking in the views, before heading to the shore of the St. Lawrence River and Bic National Park. Here, we were able to ride beside the water along rocky cove.

Learn more about Equitrekking on PBS and the Equitrekking episodes on DVD and learn about exceptional horse riding vacations at EquitrekkingTravel.com.