Mountain Valley 25 CTR Turner, ME Oct. 1999

This adventure might not be as exciting as previous ones. I had to set off alone for this one. Bonnie's Shannon is having problems of some sort that hasn't been figure out just yet. The vet was coming this afternoon to look at her. Shannon has been going off her feed occasionally and having mild lameness problems. Poor Bonnie. Susie and I were going to drive up to the ride together but her son had a football game she didn't want to miss so she got permission to vet in on Saturday morning. I was a little worried about taking Fred's truck because I'd heard him say it needed a new battery. But, he told me it would be fine and not to worry. Turner isn't really very far so shouldn't be a problem. I found the ridecamp with no trouble. It was in a large field on the side of a hill. It was a really lovely spot with nice views. Marie was very stressed out about not having any of her buddie with her. This would be her first over-nighter without Shannon. I tied her to the trailer while I set up the paddock. This took me about 20 minutes after suffering a few brain cramps over it. Marie kept calling and hollering and rearing and swinging back and forth. She didn't go as far as actually pulling herself off the side of the trailer so I mostly just ignored her. When I finally got the paddock set up and put her in it, she was still having a fit. She rushed the fence a couple time like she was going to run through it but skidded to a stop at the last minute each time. She finally settled on just bucking like an idiot. Meanwhile, it was very windy and I was trying to set up a tent alone. I had not wanted to bother loading on the truck camper for only one night. I've set the dome tent up many time with no trouble but the wind was getting the best of me. While I struggled with the tent, six or seven people were all sitting in a camp nearby and not one offered to help me. I'm guessing they were having far to much fun just watching me. I guess I should have just asked for help but I eventually managed to get the tent set up on my own. Marie was still acting foolish so I decided to lounge her a bit before taking her to be vetted in. She jumped, bucked and dashed about and I had to get after her big time to get her to settle down. I didn't have much hope of having a good time getting her vetted in. Much to my surprise, she was absolutely perfect for the vetting. I put Marie back in her paddock and she settled down pretty well other then her constant hollering. I'd brought my little back packing stove and heated myself up some soup for supper. Mary Batt invited me to go out to eat with her and her neice but I didn't dare leave Marie alone with her being so unsettled. I was too afraid she might go through her fence. Later a bunch of us did get together to hang out and visit.


I went to bed fairly early last night. My wonderful horse called and yelled all night long. I'm sure everyone appreciated that. At least she stayed in her fence. I almost overslept. I'd brought a nice pad to sleep on and had my sleeping bag that was rated for -15 degrees so I was very comfortable and toasty warm. The only good thing about sleeping later then planned was that when I woke up and realized what time it was, I shot out of that sleeping bag with no thought to how cold it was. It was only in the high 30's, burrrrrrr. I fed Marie and made myself some oatmeal and coffee. The ride had some nice pastries they provided. Susie arrived just as I was finishing breakfast. Bonnie was with her to help us out and work the ride. I was so glad she had come. Bonnie and I went to get some pastries and find Susie's paperwork. The riders meeting went a little longer then planned and we were a little rushed getting tacked up. Especially Susie who had to get vetted in. Cody was almost not allowed to start the ride as the vet thought he looked a little bit lame. She finally decided to let him start and just keep a close eye on him. Susie and I managed to get ready on time with Bonnie's help. Marie was very bright and eager all day. I didn't think she'd be able to keep up with Cody but she did wonderful. At the hold Cody trotted out fine so we figured he must have just been a little stiff this morning from the trailer ride. Marie was fine at the hold. Bonnie was there at the hold and helped us out, but we were still 7 minutes late getting out of the hold. Ugh, there is just not enough time at the holds! The footing on the trail for the 2nd half of the ride was very rough and slippery due to recent rains. We had to walk through a lot of it but we did make it to the finish on time. We came very close to our maximun time allowed but didn't feel it was worth risking our horses. Marie vetted in great at the end. We didn't win any big prized but that's ok as she had the highest score yet. She will likely never be a grand champion due to the odd way she travels. But as long as she finishes sound and healthy, she is a champion to me. We had a wonderful meal after the ride. It was buffet style with lot of wonderful dishes and deserts. We all ate like pigs. It didn't take long to get packed up and ready to go. When I went to start the truck.......nothing....DEAD BATTERY!!! I was so mad at Fred. Not that it was that big a deal. We just jump started it but still.... Anyway, Marie and I got home safe and sound.


Mountain Valley 25 10/2/99 29/S 28/F
Junior
1 Indian Smoke Sign / A Cataneserah
2 Prince Aragorn / L Batt
Adult
1 Isuzu / S Niedoroda
2 Willows Rahmaan / I McNaughton
3 Midori / M Batt
3 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
3 HFA Silver Savanah / M Deleware
3 Czar Nicholas / L Lester
3 Sir Narionn / S Corr
9 Czaar / S Nash
11 Kineo / P Snow
11 Ben Putnam / S Day
11 Kahlua / P Bell
11 SA Lady Nevada / H Bonneau
11 Xavier Sunnyacres / S Reinheimer
17 ? / K Downs
17 SA King Hofflin / V Austin
Comp Count Canaskis / K Brunjes
Comp Marie / C Ross (score 95.75)
Comp Olympia Gold / J Hunt