Each ride day boasted perfect weather, and the horses seemed content with their new herd. Here, riders stop at a watering hole before continuing the journey. Photo by Zita Strothers.

Lost Springs- Population: 1. This green sign greets the occasional traveling vehicle driving east on northern Nebraska’s Highway 20 — the only road to access one of the purest pictures of the Old West that remains today: historic Fort Robinson State Park in Crawford, Nebraska. And last September, rigs from California to Virginia headed toward the same destination: the Annual Arabian Horse Association Trail Ride Fort Robinson.

Hundreds of miles of flat, grassy plains set the stage for the park’s movie-set appeal: stunning vistas and striking crested buttes that jut up from the earth against clear blue sky. Longhorn cattle, antelope, deer, and buffalo grazing on the rolling grasslands. These sights, along with a dose of history — Fort Robinson was the site of the largest United States Army Remount center in the late 1800s and was the home of the U.S. Cavalry’s Arabian Horse breeding program in the 1940s — grant visitors a rare, unaltered taste of true Western culture.

On check-in day, it was cool and sunny as caravans of smiling, tired travelers settled into their quarters. Horses were led into large brick barns. Riders kicked off their boots in restored officers’ quarters, and cleaned up just in time for a grand Western buffet.

The next two mornings, 95 horses of all breeds and their riders headed for the hills. Terrain ranged from rolling grasslands to sandstone-gravel cow paths that wound up the buttes for dramatic 360-degree views. Each ride day boasted perfect weather. Fort Robinson staff served full lunches on the trail, where riders ate next to their horses. The animals seemed content and calm with their new herd. After six hours in the saddle, riders returned to the Fort for afternoon activities, rest, and a well-deserved homestyle cowboy dinner.

Renowned horsewoman and 2004 Cowgirl Hall of Fame inductee Sheila Varian, riding her trail-savvy Arabian Horse gelding Murietta V, provided valuable expertise as the official trail ride clinician. She helped horses through tough areas on the trail, offered one-on-one guidance, and hosted afternoon trail clinics. Her presence added an air of Western authenticity as she rode the hills with ease, at home in the open range.

"A trail ride for Arabian Horse owners has been long overdue," says Varian. "I was impressed by the beautiful country, the great Fort Robinson staff, the unique and outstanding facilities, the riders from all over the country, and the fact that I didn’t hear one complaining word."

On Friday evening, the last evening of the ride, everyone met in the Bunker House for a special trail award banquet. Following a feast of buffalo beef and all the fixings, participants enjoyed cowboy music by Crawford native John Lemmon, a humorous award presentation, and a special showing of Ride in Review 2005, a video slideshow of the ride set to Western music. After dinner, a small group pulled up chairs with Varian and exchanged life-changing moments, which became a sort of Chicken Soup for the Arabian Horse Owner’s Soul.

But the best was yet to come. Saturday morning, before everyone hauled out, the group met for an early morning ride, just as fog lifted off the buttes, and headed up the bluff. The aroma of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and coffee made its way to the long line of riders at the bluff’s grand summit where the Fort Robinson staff served the world’s best Bluffs Breakfast hot off the griddle.

Then one group joined the cattle roundup and another headed back to the Fort to pack up. As the groups parted ways, all exchanged e-mail addresses and sad goodbyes on the crested buttes of Fort Robinson with which they now felt a connection.

The last hill was rounded with a twinge of sadness, but departing was bearable; there’s something about the Old West that always stays with you. It was a ride to remember.