The weather cooperated in style and trail riders from throughout driving distance gathered at the Brockdale Trail head for the TTPA February 19th Trail Ride and a Dutch Oven Cooking lunch.

Kurt and Shelley Van Doran treated the riders to an authentic Dutch oven cooked stew and pies for dessert. Jana whipped up some of the best rolls I’ve ever tasted – all cooked in a Dutch oven. A dutch oven is a cast-iron pot that is the traditional cowboy cooking method. The heavy pots normally have three legs, a long handle and a concave lid. Hot coals are normally placed on the lid to create internal heat in the pot so that it acts like an oven.

The cooks created the food on site using traditional cowboy cooking methods.

The turnout was great for the ride. After the recent bad weather, people were ready to get back in the saddle. Fortunately, the day of the trail ride was blessed with temperatures in the 70s and sunshine. The parking lot was nearly full of horses and trailers.

Riders went both south and north from the trail head. Riders began their rides around 10 AM and returned for the Dutch Oven lunch at 1 PM.

Here are some snapshots from the event. Pictures are by Tracy Matern and Christine Churchill. More pictures can be found at the Trail Ride Ablum of the TTPA Facebook page .