Wind Creek State Park in Tallapoosa County adjacent to Lake Martin was the place to be the first weekend in February.  Trucks towing horse trailers and campers began pulling into Wind Creek Park south of Alexander City, late Friday afternoon.  Over 25 riders paid approximately $17.00 to spend the night and be close to the staging area for their 12 mile wilderness ride Saturday morning.  The temperature early Saturday was in the 40’s but by noon it was close to 70 degrees which made it a great day to enjoy the outdoors and 1,400 acres of Wind Creek State Park. 

At around 9:30 Saturday the overnight campers began preparing for the day long trail ride.  They saddled up and met at the staging area which is actually a paved parking lot used to accommodate fishermen for parking their vehicles and trailers while out fishing on the lake.  By about 10:00 all the day riders had arrived and prepared their horses for the trail ride.

Bobby Whaley gave a brief talk to the 74 riders at the trail head prior to their departure.  Bobby is a member of the Alabama Recreational Trails Advisory Board and represents the equestrian interests in Alabama.  According to Bobby the group took a lunch break about noon and completed the ride around 3 p.m. Saturday.  Some of the riders remained at the park to ride again on Sunday prior to breaking camp and returning home.