Unlike Captain Pike, Captain Picard kept himself at a distance from his crew members and generally spent his free time alone with a book. Captain Pike spent his break from Starfleet at an isolated cabin in Montana, where he could indulge in one of his favorite pastimes: horseback riding. Picard, too, had a fondness for horses and occasionally went riding on the holodeck. Although Picard's Enterprise-D had the ability to replicate a saddle, Jean-Luc chose to keep his personal saddle on the ship, just as Captain Pike does in Strange New Worlds.
Captain Picard Kept A Saddle Like Captain Pike On Star Trek: The Next Generation
As Captain Picard Says: "A Saddle Is A Very Personal Thing"
Captain Pike owned several horses he kept at his ranch in Bear Creek, Montana, where he spent his downtime between the events of Star Trek: Discovery season 2 and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Even when he was on the Enterprise, Pike kept a saddle in his ready room, which Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) tried out in season 2's "Those Old Scientists." As for Captain Picard, when he wasn't cosplaying as Detective Dixon Hill on the holodeck, he enjoyed horseback riding, as seen in TNG season 2, episode 15, "Pen Pals."
In TNG season 6, episode 18, "Starship Mine," the Enterprise is receiving standard maintenance, when Picard hurries back to the ship to retrieve his saddle after learning the locals ride horses. Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) questions why Picard keeps a saddle on the ship, to which he replies that he never knows when an opportunity to ride will arise. Picard ends up catching a group of mercenaries stealing from the Enterprise, and his saddle comes in handy as a weapon when he's initially caught off guard.
Why Captains Of The Enterprise Like Riding Horses
Captains Pike, Kirk, & Picard All Take After Western Heroes
Gene Roddenberry originally pitched Star Trek as "Wagon Train to the stars," so it's fitting that the show would contain shout-outs to the Western genre. The three most famous captains of the Starship Enterprise, Pike, Kirk, and Picard, all enjoy horseback riding despite being very different types of captains. Every starship captain is a cowboy (or cowgirl) in their own way, exploring the final frontier that is the Milky Way galaxy. Starship captains are adventurers and explorers, and there's something enduringly romantic about horseback riding and its connections to exploration.
From Star Trek: The Original Series on, the franchise has always had its roots as a Western-style adventure set in space. Starship captains develop a love for their ships just as horseback riders do for their horses, and it makes sense that captains would be drawn to the freedom of riding. Captains Kirk and Picard bonded over their shared love of horseback riding in Star Trek Generations, and it's fitting that Pike enjoys the same pastime on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
