Well, this ride has a little pre-drama that I must add before telling about the ride. I was sitting in my living room last Friday, looking through the latest Uncle Henry's and reading the ads by the horse trailer dealer where Bonnie and I bought our present trailer. They had just gotten in some trailers with living quarters and I wanted to go take a look at them. They were out of my price range but I still enjoyed looking at them. But, I did find a trailer I fell in love with. It is a 2000 Bison 3 horse slat load gooseneck with rear tack and front dressing room. It was a used trailer but had only been used three times. I inquired about the price and it seemed very reasonable. I asked them to give me a ball park figure on what the payments would be and it was very reasonable. I went home and casually mentioned the trailer to Fred. The next day, when Fred got home from work, he looked at me and said, "well, what are you waiting for?" I gave him a funny look not knowing what he was talking about. "So," he said, "I thought we were going to look at that trailer." I was out the door like a shot. We went down and looked. Fred liked the trailer and told me to go ahead and get it if I could work things out with Bonnie with the trailer we have. Bonnie came over to ride that afternoon and we discussed it. She said to go ahead and trade in our trailer on it. So, Monday, I called the dealer and set up an appointment for 11:00 AM on Thursday to have them look at our trailer to give us a trade in price. The dealer had been out of state and couldn't do it sooner. I took the trailer in and was given a trade in price that was more then I expected. So, I did the paperwork for the loan. The dealer said it would be a couple of hours before we heard from the bank so I headed back home. By the time I got home there was a message on my answering machine telling me that the loan had been approved. I was asked when I could pick the trailer up. I laughed and jokingly said tomorrow morning as I had a competition to go to tomorrow afternoon. I was told fine, no problem. I was speechless. I told her I didn't have a hitch and one would have to be installed. I was told to bring my truck in right away and they would get the hitch installed tomorrow morning. So, back I went with the trailer. My mom followed me down so I could drop the truck off and not have to wait. I didn't hear anything from the dealer that night so I assumed everything was ok. Fred and I headed over Friday morning to finish up the paperwork and pickup up the truck and new trailer. Sure enough, they got the hitch all in and fixed and electrical problem with the wiring on the truck we had been having. Then, when the new trailer was hooked up, there was some problems with the wiring. It took a while to get it figured out so Fred went home. Meanwhile, I'm getting nervous about getting to the CTR too late. I knew Bonnie was at home waiting for me. They got it all taken care of before 11:00 AM so that wasn't too bad. The trailer hauls real nice. I took it right over Oak Hill to see how the truck handled it. We usually avoid Oak Hill when hauling and go around by Rt 126. The trailer is certainly a bit heavier then the 2 horse trailer but not bad. When I got home, Bonnie was not there. I went in the house an asked Fred if he had seen her. He said she had gone out to meet me on the road. I had not seen her and I knew she would not have missed seeing me with the trailer. Then I realized that she would not have expected me to go over Oak Hill Rd. and that is how we missed each other. I started loading the trailer and eventually, Bonnie got back. She thought I must have stopped for gas when she hadn't seen me. We just heaved everything into the trailer and figured we'd sort it out when we got to the ride. We got the horses and prayed they would load into the new trailer without trouble. When we'd gotten our other trailer, our horses had refused to load the first time. There was nothing to worry about, the horses loaded right in. The ride was in West Sumner. I have never been there before but we figured it would take us about an hour or so to get there. We went by the directions we were given. 1 1/2 hrs......2 hrs......2 1/2 hrs.......and we're still driving??? 2 1/2 hrs and we're still seeing signs for Turner, which isn't all that far from my house. The directions we'd gotten took us the looooooong way around. We finally did find the ride camp. We set up the portable pen and got the horses settled in. We had to divide the pen because Marie and Tamara do not get along. Then we took the horses up to be vetted in. Larry Buggia is the vet judge. He is our regular vet. The vetting went great. Bonnie did a great job on her trot out. Tamara was a little fussy about having her mouth messed with but Larry managed. Just as we were getting finished, Susie arrived. She didn't know about us getting the new trailer. We could see her looking around for our trailer and wondering where we were. We flagged her down and pointed toward where we were parked. She looked over there with a puzzled expression, then suddenly recognized my truck. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head, she was very excited.
The ride was being held at the home of a couple that have horses. Their home is an old farmstead (1736) on a dead end road. The home and main barn have been restored. It is a really beautiful place owned by Steve & Laura Falconer. There are acres of fields which we are camping in. The farm is up on a hill with great views of surrounding mountains."Snacks" were provided for us in Steve and Laura's house. 'Snacks' was a bit of an understatement though. It was a regular meal with soup, finger foods and lots of baked goods. We were stuffed and decided we did not need to go out for supper. When we got back to the trailer, we could hear all this screaming coming from a house across the field. It was a large field so the house was not all that close, yet we could clearly hear a woman screaming, " stop, you're hurting me, someone help me." Over and over again. Even the horses were all staring. Susie called 911. We don't know what happened but the screaming continued until the police showed up. It was very scary. The riders meeting was held at 6:00 PM in the house. It was nice having the meeting in the evening so we didn't have to rush around in the morning. When I walked into the house, I noticed Laura sitting on the floor writing in a notebook with her feet. She wrote, turned a page, wrote some more then tore the page out of the book. She then picked up some pens and pencils, but them in a box and placed them on a shelf all with her feet. I did not realized until then that Laura has no arms. It is absolutely amazing what she can do with her feet. Laura rides and Susie asked her how she controls her horse. Laura said she uses a lot of leg signals. And she has a harness that goes around her upper body and which the reins attach to. So, she has some control of the horses head this way.
Vicki, the ride manager, had us all sing a Halloween song done in rounds. No one had heard of the song before so we did a pretty poor job of it. It was kind of fun anyway. After the meeting, Bonnie, Susie and I went over to visit with some of the riders gathered at one of their trailers. Around 8:30 PM, we heard Vicki yelling that there was a bonfire at the house. We wandered over and it was really only a campfire but very nice and cosy. And, they were serving wine. It was interesting watching Laura holding wine and a cigarette with one foot and even flicking off the ashes. That's more then I could managed with 2 hands. Around 11:00 PM we wandered back to our trailer and went to bed. Bonnie and I are really going to enjoy this trailer.
We were up plenty early in the morning. Breakfast was served at the house at 6:00 AM. It was very good. Hot and cold cereals, baked goods, fruit and all sorts of drinks. Bonnie, Susie and I wandered over to check out the barn. It's a big old barn built in the 1730's. It's been nicely restored. While we were there, the resident rooster came in and decided to defend his territory. Bonnie and I beat a hasty retreat with Susie covering the rear with a large barn broom for defense. Stupid rooster! The ride started right on time and the first riders were out at 8:30 AM. They let Bonnie, Susie and me go out together. Bonnie was at first worried about riding with Susie. She was afraid Susie would set a pace that was too fast for Tamara. Tamara was quite pumped up at first and was quite a handful. We held back and let Susie go on ahead of us. Of course that didn't settle well with Marie. Tamara was so excited that she was trotting along quite fast so that Susie wasn't really getting that far ahead of us. On a straight stretch, we would catch sight of Susie, Marie would start calling to Cody, then Cody was answer and start fussing. Finally, I told Bonnie we might as well ride together. Tamara was moving as fast as Cody whether she liked it or not. So, we joined up and all the horses were happy and did just fine together. Tamara settled down then fairly quickly and was great. we did a 12.5 mile loop and the hold was back at the camp. Marie's P&R's were very good. So were Tamara's. We were about five minutes late getting out of the hold but the trails were great and the time was easily made up. We did the same loop again to complete the ride. The vet judge, Larry Buggie, didn't waste any time with the final vetting. Marie's trot out was good. And Tamara's looked good to me also. Cody looked like he always does. We got the horses settled into their paddocks and went to see how supper was coming along. Supper was being catered. It was ready when we got over there and we were first in line. The meal was great. Grilled chicken, mixed veggies, baked potatoes, fresh bread and apple pie. Bonnie and I sat on the lawn near the house. One of the riders, Becky Lester, was sitting on the lawn near the barn. I noticed 'the rooster' coming out of the barn behind Becky. I pointed him out to Bonnie. Sure enough, the rooster attacked Becky. After trying to kick him a few times from a sitting position, Becky tried to jump up but tripped and fell dropping her plate of food. Becky jumped back up and kept kicking the rooster trying to keep it off her. Finally Steve saw what was happening and ran to her rescue, grabbing the rooster and putting him in a pen. Poor Becky!
The awards followed the meal. Bonnie got a sixth place in her division. Susie got a 5th and I got a 3rd. Marie and Tamara had both done wonderful. Tamara lost point where her girth had rubbed the hair off behind her elbows. It didn't take us long to break camp thanks to the new trailer. We headed out and NOT the way we had come. We went home through Turner and within 40 minutes were in Lewiston. It was starting to get dark at this point so I turned on my headlights. Soon, I noticed I had no interior lights. Then I lost my headlights, then the trailer lights. Now I was quite worried. I knew I could not keep driving in the dark with no lights so I pulled into a gas station in Sabattus. I pulled up to the pumps as I needed gas anyway, and turned off the truck. This was a big mistake as the truck wouldn't start again. A couple girls getting gas helped me jump the truck so I could pull it out of the way. While we were doing this, Bonnie called Fred to come help us. He came, took a look at the truck and said the alternator was shot and there was nothing we could do about it that night. So, I called Susie and she came out with her trailer to get the horses and hauled them home for us. What a pain! Fred and I went back the next morning to get the truck and trailer. We jumped it and headed home. We got about half way and had to jump it a second time. We did get truck and trailer home safely.
Boo 25 ME 10/21/00 28/S-27/F
Junior
1 San Sierra / A Catanease
Adult
1 Silvea / J Brunjes
2 SPD Carousel / C O'Conner
2 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
4 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
5 Talzrianon / N Okun
5 HVA Silver Savanah / M Deleware
7 Briwds Mardi Gras / S Corr
8 Willowbrook Precious / L Crowley
9 Marie / C Ross (score 93.75)
10 ? / T Hutchinson
10 Willow Rahmaan / I McNaughton
12 Xavier Sunny Acres / S Reinheimer
13 SA Lady Nevada / ?
14 EA ABadi Jasara / ?
14 Mighty Frankie / T York
14 Nerzans Lady Mariah / H Bonneau
17 Travelons Times Two / M Gamester
Comp Rolling Stone / H Moss
Comp ? / J Hatch
2000 ECTRA Year End Awards
YTD milage Marie-370 Cindy 370
Middle Distance - Adult (10 rides - 99 horses)
Bronze
Beau Socks Bette Laug MD
HFA Silver Savanah Marcia Deleward ME
Imperial 'O' Munif Joann Farman MD
JJ Sandra Hoffacker NJ
Junior Henry Smith VAonnie Snodgrass MD
Son Bob's Tony Reiner Sandra Draus NJ
VAnitys El Hadiya Jan Larson
Silver
HV Terdakis Bean Doran VT
I C Double Kathy Schiermeyer NJ
Indevincable Dinah Rojek VT
Little Hi Jinks Betty Bannerot PA
NLF Moonstruck Carl Lange NY
Narizar Renee McNamara NJ
SHS Shoo Fly Pie Susan Doucette NJ
SR Spirit Steve Rojek VT
Stoneybrook Lyric Stephanie Muncy VA
Stormy's Raini Day Drozan Mahon NJ
Gold
Aleser Sue Greenall Vt
Anchor Hill Alan Marcy Gamester MA
Briwds Mardi Gras Sue Corr RI
Crystal Mint Lee Alexander VT
Marie Cindy Ross ME
Otter Brook Sonata Lance Lochary MD
SR Zeppelin Steve Rojek VT
To The Moon Greg Senseney MD
WW Risky Business Barry & Louise Schimel MD
Saturday, October 21, 2000
Friday, October 6, 2000
Crooked River 2 day 60 CTR Waterford, ME Oct 2000
The weather forecast was for cold and rain for the weekend. It takes more then that to stop Bonnie and I from going to a ride! We set off early Friday morning. Bonnie took the day off work. She isn't riding in this competition. She is just coming along with me for moral support. She will be working the ride. She is such a great friend and good sport. It was raining when we left. We had an uneventful trip. We took a camping spot where we could have electricity. Bonnie brought a heater so we would not freeze to death. There weren't many people there when we arrived. The Rojek's were there with there enormous bus. We parked our puny little trailer right behind them. Talk about extremes, it was pretty funny. It was raining lightly when we got there and while we were setting up camp but thankfully, no downpours. We got Marie settled in first. The competition is at the Waterford fairgrounds. It is a small fairground and not the most well maintained. The stall are open cattle pens. I brought along some boards and the hardware to put a gate across the front of Marie's stall. I used my electric unit last year. That was a bit of a nuisance, I thought the board would work better. After we set up camp, Bonnie and I headed down to Tut's for some lunch. This is a great restaurant and within walking distance of the fairgrounds. After lunch, we took a tour of every one's horse trailers. We like looking at all the different ones and hearing what people like and dislike about them. We would really like to get a gooseneck trailer sometime in the near future. It would make camping with the horses so much easier. The Rojek's brought the pony mare, Cavaletti, that Bonnie is interested in. Steve just hasn't committed himself to selling her yet. Nor will he tell Bonnie what his price will be if he does sell her. Bonnie is going crazy with wanting something definite. It didn't take long to vet in the horses. The vet was one I didn't know, Matt Holden. He was very quiet and didn't say much. Bonnie and I went back down to Tut's for supper. After supper, we took Marie out for a walk and let her graze for a bit.
About 5:00 AM Saturday morning. Marsha Deleware knocked on our trailer door to let me know that Marie had gotten out of her stall. She said she had put her back in and everything was fine. Sigh, that mare can't leave anything alone!! We got up at 5:30 AM and fed Marie. She had leaned on the top board of her stall gate and broken it, which is how she got out. Marsha had taken the bottom one and put it on top to keep her in. I ended up using my electric fence unit to keep her in her stall. Rotten horse!!!I heated up some water on our new little stove for oatmeal and coffee. It wasn't nearly as cold as they had predicted. No complaints about that. The riders meeting was held and the ride started right on time. I was out at 8:06 AM. I was paired up with Lois Crowley. She took off like greased lightening. I didn't want to start out so fast so I held Marie back. Marie didn't like being alone. She behaved well enough but was so nervous that eventually, I let her speed up a bit. We then caught up with Marsha Deleware and Marcy Gamester. That made Marie immensely happy. She fell in love with Marsha's horse, Piper. I don't know why, Piper is a mare. I guess you have to be a horse to understand these things. About 5 miles out, I really had to pee. I just couldn't wait any longer so I told Marsh and Marcy that I was going to make a pit stop and I would catch up with them. I got off Marie and went off the trail into the woods. I climbed over a bank of dirt for a bit of privacy and to keep Marie from bothering me. Well, she was very worried about the other horses being out of sight and at the most inopportune moment, leaped over the bank of dirt almost on top of me. Here I am in the middle of doing my business when suddenly I have 1,000 lbs of very unhappy horse doing the Mexican Hat dance around me. I'm doing the crab scuttle with my pants down around me knees trying not to get trampled to death. I certainly could not stop what I was doing as I was now in fear for my life!!! I finally finished, jumped up and yelled at my horse to settle down and stop and by some miracle, didn't wet anything I shouldn't have. I was soon mounted up again and quickly caught up with Marsha and Marcy. The first 10 miles of the trail was rocky and kind of slow going. Then there was a 5 mile loop that was just wonderful sandy dirt road.Part way through this loop, we stopped to let the horses drink at a puddle. All of the sudden, I felt an awful pain on my right shoulder blade. I accidental kicked Marie while trying to swing around and see what it was and Marie jumped forward and ran into Marsha's horse. I was stung by a nasty yellow jacket! We moved right out of there quickly in case there was a nearby nest. We came into the hold and Marie's P&R's were good and her trot out was ok. We then repeated the nice 5 mile loop and another 10 miles back to the fairgrounds. Marie and Marcy's horse are very well matched in pace. I was glad to ride with her. We finished in good time. Those of us doing the 2 day 60 only had to do a quick trot out. Marie was fine and cleared to ride the second day. Heather, Jean and Dinah were told they would have to have their horses re-checked in the morning. The ride provided us with a nice supper but Bonnie and I still snuck down to Tut's for coffee and desert. We got back just in time for the award ceremony for the 30 mile riders. Later we walked Marie one last time and headed to bed.
We were up early. Marie was kind enough to stay in her stall last night. The vet was a little late showing up which caused a slight delay due to the horse that had to be re-checked. Bonnie and I did a little packing while we waited. The vet passed Dinah and Jean's horse but was a bit concerned about Heather's horse. Heather was not happy as she was working towards the versatility award. For this award, you have to do a one day ride, a two day ride, a three day ride and one endurance ride in one season. Heather's horse had been pulled at the last 2 day ride so this was her last chance to complete a 2 day ride. The vet judge finally decided to leave it up to her and she decided to ride. Marie has totally bonded to Marsha's horse Piper and has been a real nuisance about it. Today Marhsa and Marcy rode out ahead of us and Marie was very unhappy. Just barely managing to contained herself. About 12 miles out, we caught up to Marsha and Marie settled right down. Everything went fine at the hold and we finished in good time. The final vetting went a bit slow. Marie was very restless after the ride and didn't do the best trot out. I figured we would place poorly due to that. But, we placed first in our division and 4th overall. I was thrilled. Heather placed last but did get her completion and was very happy with that. Bonnie and I stopped at Tut's one last time for coffee before heading home.
Crooked River 60 10/7/00 11-S/F
1 Briwda Mardi Gras / S Corr
2 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
3 High Country Piper / M Deleware
3 Marie / C Ross (score 90.00)
3 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
6 Willowbrook Precious / L Crowley
6 S R Spirit / S Rojek
8 ? / D Rojek
9 ? / S Greenall
10 SA Lady Nevada / H Bonneau
About 5:00 AM Saturday morning. Marsha Deleware knocked on our trailer door to let me know that Marie had gotten out of her stall. She said she had put her back in and everything was fine. Sigh, that mare can't leave anything alone!! We got up at 5:30 AM and fed Marie. She had leaned on the top board of her stall gate and broken it, which is how she got out. Marsha had taken the bottom one and put it on top to keep her in. I ended up using my electric fence unit to keep her in her stall. Rotten horse!!!I heated up some water on our new little stove for oatmeal and coffee. It wasn't nearly as cold as they had predicted. No complaints about that. The riders meeting was held and the ride started right on time. I was out at 8:06 AM. I was paired up with Lois Crowley. She took off like greased lightening. I didn't want to start out so fast so I held Marie back. Marie didn't like being alone. She behaved well enough but was so nervous that eventually, I let her speed up a bit. We then caught up with Marsha Deleware and Marcy Gamester. That made Marie immensely happy. She fell in love with Marsha's horse, Piper. I don't know why, Piper is a mare. I guess you have to be a horse to understand these things. About 5 miles out, I really had to pee. I just couldn't wait any longer so I told Marsh and Marcy that I was going to make a pit stop and I would catch up with them. I got off Marie and went off the trail into the woods. I climbed over a bank of dirt for a bit of privacy and to keep Marie from bothering me. Well, she was very worried about the other horses being out of sight and at the most inopportune moment, leaped over the bank of dirt almost on top of me. Here I am in the middle of doing my business when suddenly I have 1,000 lbs of very unhappy horse doing the Mexican Hat dance around me. I'm doing the crab scuttle with my pants down around me knees trying not to get trampled to death. I certainly could not stop what I was doing as I was now in fear for my life!!! I finally finished, jumped up and yelled at my horse to settle down and stop and by some miracle, didn't wet anything I shouldn't have. I was soon mounted up again and quickly caught up with Marsha and Marcy. The first 10 miles of the trail was rocky and kind of slow going. Then there was a 5 mile loop that was just wonderful sandy dirt road.Part way through this loop, we stopped to let the horses drink at a puddle. All of the sudden, I felt an awful pain on my right shoulder blade. I accidental kicked Marie while trying to swing around and see what it was and Marie jumped forward and ran into Marsha's horse. I was stung by a nasty yellow jacket! We moved right out of there quickly in case there was a nearby nest. We came into the hold and Marie's P&R's were good and her trot out was ok. We then repeated the nice 5 mile loop and another 10 miles back to the fairgrounds. Marie and Marcy's horse are very well matched in pace. I was glad to ride with her. We finished in good time. Those of us doing the 2 day 60 only had to do a quick trot out. Marie was fine and cleared to ride the second day. Heather, Jean and Dinah were told they would have to have their horses re-checked in the morning. The ride provided us with a nice supper but Bonnie and I still snuck down to Tut's for coffee and desert. We got back just in time for the award ceremony for the 30 mile riders. Later we walked Marie one last time and headed to bed.
We were up early. Marie was kind enough to stay in her stall last night. The vet was a little late showing up which caused a slight delay due to the horse that had to be re-checked. Bonnie and I did a little packing while we waited. The vet passed Dinah and Jean's horse but was a bit concerned about Heather's horse. Heather was not happy as she was working towards the versatility award. For this award, you have to do a one day ride, a two day ride, a three day ride and one endurance ride in one season. Heather's horse had been pulled at the last 2 day ride so this was her last chance to complete a 2 day ride. The vet judge finally decided to leave it up to her and she decided to ride. Marie has totally bonded to Marsha's horse Piper and has been a real nuisance about it. Today Marhsa and Marcy rode out ahead of us and Marie was very unhappy. Just barely managing to contained herself. About 12 miles out, we caught up to Marsha and Marie settled right down. Everything went fine at the hold and we finished in good time. The final vetting went a bit slow. Marie was very restless after the ride and didn't do the best trot out. I figured we would place poorly due to that. But, we placed first in our division and 4th overall. I was thrilled. Heather placed last but did get her completion and was very happy with that. Bonnie and I stopped at Tut's one last time for coffee before heading home.
Crooked River 60 10/7/00 11-S/F
1 Briwda Mardi Gras / S Corr
2 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
3 High Country Piper / M Deleware
3 Marie / C Ross (score 90.00)
3 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
6 Willowbrook Precious / L Crowley
6 S R Spirit / S Rojek
8 ? / D Rojek
9 ? / S Greenall
10 SA Lady Nevada / H Bonneau
Saturday, July 22, 2000
Fryeburg 2 day 50 CTR Fryeburg, ME July 2000
Well, here I go again! Bonnie is not bringing a horse but came with me and will be working the ride. She is such a good friend for doing this. It takes so many volunteers to run one of these rides. Bonnie has returned her new horse, Max,to the dealer and traded her for a nice pony mare that I think she will have a lot of fun with. Since this mare is in her teens, Bonnie will still be looking around for something else but she wanted something to ride now while she was looking. Though I think this little mare will surprise her and do fine with this sport. I took her out a day after Bonnie got her and loved her. She is spirited but sane and steady. I must have looked quite a sight riding down the road on this pony with my legs handing nearly to the ground. I was hoping Bonnie would show up early enough Friday morning so we could sneak out for a quick ride before I dragged her away from her new pony for the weekend. She did arrive early enough and we had a nice little ride to the alpaca farm. Bonnie really like her new little mare.
I was a little apprehensive about going to this ride. We had to use my truck and I've never trusted it. We have had it in to two different mechanics and it still hasn't been running very good. We finally took it to a third mechanic. I don't like the man that owns the last shop we brought it to but his mechanic finally seems to figure out what was wrong and the truck is running great right now. Better then it ever has since we bought it. It's almost a 2 hr. drive to Fryeburg. We arrived at the fairgrounds about 11:00 AM. Not many people had arrived yet. They have opened up the new barn that they were just finishing last year when we were here. We had our pick of stalls. the fairgrounds are beautiful. It is in a valley with mountains all around it. the grounds are beautifully maintained and landscaped. The bathrooms are pleasant and clean and there are even showers. the horses stalls are roomy and there is water piped in between every two stalls. And the barns are lovely shed row barns. You can camp right in front of the stalls which is great and so convenient. I filled up Marie's stall with shavings while Bonnie cleaned out the horse trailer and set up our cots. Camping in our trailer is working out great. It is simple and it makes us keep the trailer spotlessly clean. It is secure and dry in bad weather and has nice window screens keeping the bugs out. When we get to a ride, we clean out the manure, rinse the floor, give the walls a quick wipe down and ta-da, our home away from home is ready. I even made some curtains that we put over the windows with velcro. Someday we'll have a trailer with living quarters but for now this is great. Anyway, after I got Marie all settled into her stall, I got a stall ready for Susie. She was planning to arrive between 3:00 and 4:00 PM. Bonnie and I went into town to gas up the truck and get lunch. We stopped at a nice little restaurant of which I can't remember the name. we both ordered the fresh fish sandwich special and it was SOOOOOOOOO good. Best fish I can remember having in a long time. When we got back, we walked Marie for a while so she wouldn't be stiff when we vetted in. The vet judge, Don McLean was an hour late. The vetting was supposed to start at 3:00 PM. Susie arrived at 3:30 PM and the vet at 4:00 PM. Don was the same vet that judged this ride last year. Marie is his worst nightmare. He just hates the way she travels. It really bugs him. Both Marie and Cody vetted in ok though I did see Don roll his eyes are Marie. He remembered her from last year, sigh. Bonnie got the job of scribing for the lay judge. I was jealous, that is a good job and such a great learning experience. The lay judge is Gaynor Coassin. She is a great lady and has been in this sport forever I think. Steve and Dinah Rojek are here this year. I believe they come to this ride every year. They are legendary in the sport of endurance riding. They are both on the US endurance team and have competed all over the world. They use CTR's as training rides for their horses. They travel around in this enormous custom bus camper with a slide out and pull a trailer behind. It is very impressive. Susie did ask Steve today what he did for work. He just replied that he was a business man. Steve and Dinah are both such nice people. They both make a point of talking to everyone and encouraging us newcomers in this sport. After Bonnie was done with her scribing job for the night, the three of us went over to the food trailer and had hamburgers, salads and cake. We set up my tent for Susie. She had hers with her but mine is easier to set up. We sat around camp for a while and chatted. The electrolyte controversy continues. Susie uses electrolytes on ride day mostly because that is what "everyone else does". I've read enough to feel that electrolyteing is not completely harmless and in some cases may be more harmful then beneficial. Especially if your horse does not drink well. And Cody is not the best drinker. I have read one theory suggesting giving electrolytes several days before a ride. Since you are likely resting the horse the days before the ride, you wont risk electrolyting when the horse is dehydrated and/or tired but will prompt the horse to drink and hopeful have him "super hydrated" before you get to the ride. Marie always drinks like a fish anyway. We invited Heather over to our campsite. She has been at all the rides and seems to be a very nice girl. She has a little Mustang mare named Lady. We headed to bed when we couldn't stand the mosquitoes anymore, they were ferocious. We had a quiet night.
We had an uneventful morning. We were up early and got the horses fed. I heated up water for coffee and oatmeal. The ride provided coffee and pastries but just not early enough. we had a brief pre-ride meeting and the ride started right on time. Susie is only doing the 25 mile ride but we got paired up together for today. Four miles out, we had to cross the Saco River. It was chest deep to Marie and is quite wide. It was a lot of fun. I had to put my feet up on the saddle to keep them from getting wet. Marie had her head down in the water drinking all the way across. It was funny watching her. I was wishing Bonnie was here riding with is on her new pony mare, she would have had to swim! Last year we'd gone down the road and crossed the river on the bridge. This was much more fun. Marie has to work hard to keep up with Cody. She is so in love with him though, that she would follow him to the ends of the earth even if it killed her. We never saw the sign that the hold was coming up and we were moving pretty fast when we suddenly there it was. Oops! We waited for a couple minutes just outside the hold to give the horses time to cool down. We usually walk the last mile in. Marie was inverted at the 10 min. check. That can be a sign of trouble but not necessarily. The P&R person didn't think she looked at all distressed and wasn't too worried. He told me to let the vet know when I went for my trot out just to be safe. By the time I did my trot out, Marie was just fine and I was cleared to go. the vet was still rolling his eyes at the way Marie travels. I told him that I knew there was nothing wrong with her, just a matter of imperfect conformation, but he didn't look convinced. Susie and I rode with Carl and Irving for quite a while. Carl is new to the sport. Irving is a man in his seventies and had been doing this for quite a few years. He had a stroke last year but had made a good recovery. He is great to ride with and a wealth of knowledge on this sport. We passed one woman who was having a very bad time with her horse. She looked terrified and exhausted and her horse looked the same. She swore to us when we went by that she was not going to bring her horse home with her. Well, she was right. Carl offered her $900 for the horse and took her home. We forded the river again on the way back. We had to wait for some canoes to go by. Marie thought they looked quite scary. I heard that one woman got bucked off in the river on the morning crossing. She didn't get hurt, soft landing. At the finish, Marie's P&R's were good. I only had to do a quick trot to pass for the second day's ride. Well, the vet just couldn't' stand it anymore the way Marie travels. He made me trot, then trot again and finally he said I would have to come back for a re-check in the morning. The lay judge spoke up and asked him why. She said she didn't see anything wrong. They discussed it for a while and the vet finally relented and said I didn't have to come back for a re-check but he'd appreciate it if I would. I agreed and that turned out to be a mistake. After everyone was vetted and Bonnie was done scribing, we went over to the food trailer. They had a nice meal of baked ham, baked potato, salad, mixed vegetables, bread and cake. Steve Rojek sat with us for dinner. He wanted to personally thank Bonnie for being a volunteer worker at the ride. He knows how hard it can be to get enough volunteers. Bonnie and Steve got to talking about horses (imagine that...) and Bonnie was telling him about her first horse, Shannon and how Shannon had tendinitis and she'd had to make the hard decision to give her up to do this sport. Steve told her she did the right thing in deciding to move on to another horse. Bonnie then told her of her bad experience with her next horse, Max and she mentioned that she would prefer to have a pony rather then a big horse. Steve looked at Bonnie kind of funny and asked her if she was serious. She told him that yes, she was. He then asked her if she meant a real pony and Bonnie said yes, a pony. Steve asked a pony under 14H. Bonnie said definitely. Well, it seems that Steve has a pony that he just might be willing to sell. Bonnie got all excited. Steve told us that he had bought this very talented mare years ago. She'd won everything he'd entered her in. He'd tried for years to breed this mare without success. Finally, he did get one foal from her and it was a pony, even though both parents were horses. Steve didn't do much with this pony mare for her first five years. Then he broke her to ride and tried her as a hunter jumper thinking she would make a good pony for some 4-H kid. She did ok but finally someone talked Steve into trying her at endurance since that was what she was bred for and both her parents were champions. He got someone to ride her and she won a reserve championship on her first 100 mile ride. Then did it again on her 2nd 100 mile ride. This pony mare is now in contention for the Florida Cup. This is a ride that you are invited to if you get three high placings in three 100 mile rides in one year. The next qualifying ride is Labor day and if she places high in this ride she will qualify for the Florida Cup. After this is done, Steve said he might consider selling her to the right person. He wants Bonnie to come to his farm and try this mare out. I hope she does. Bonnie is quite excited about this.
After the meal, they had the award presentation for the 25 mile riders. Susie won reserve champion!! She got a score of 97 which is great. Susie was thrilled. She assured me that I would do well tomorrow but a lot of really tough competition is staying for the 50 mile ride so I'm not expecting much. I just hope to finish in good shape. Susie left right after the awards. Bonnie and I went back to town to the restaurant for supper. When we returned to camp, we took Marie out for a walk so she wouldn't get too stiff from standing in the stall. She isn't used to being confined in a stall. The ride committee decided to start the ride early in the morning so Bonnie and I went to bed fairly early. Neither one of us was really tired and we ended up talking until late.
Both of us were up plenty early and Bonnie went out and fed Marie for me. At the appointed time, I took Marie over for my 'voluntary' re-check with the vet. After watching Marie trot, he really wanted to pull me from the ride. I knew there was nothing wrong but couldn't convince him. And he couldn't decide if Marie was having trouble with her hindquarters, legs, shoulders.... I told him if he was that unsure, maybe he was nit-picking. The lay judge was on my side and told him to let me start the ride. They watch you the whole ride, he could pull me at any point if he could see a definite problem. The vet gave in and let me start the ride. I know that my horse is driving him crazy, but he is driving me crazy! Heather's horse got pulled this morning along with another horse.
The woman I started with today left me in the dust within minutes. Marie was kind of poking along wondering where Cody was. This is the first time she has ever gone out without one of her buddies. About 3 miles out, Another rider caught up with me. It was Marcy Gamester and Marie decided she liked Marcy's gelding and perked right up. Marcy has been competing for 24 years. Carl and Irving soon caught up and went by us. I thought Marie would want to go with them as we rode with them yesterday. But, she was very content traveling with Marcy's gelding. They are very well matched in pace. We passed one woman leading her horse out ot the road. We were afraid she'd gotten hurt. She said she was ok. She was having a back problem and just couldn't handle her horse for another day's ride. We forded the river again this morning without incident. We had to walk the horses through a city of tents to get to the river today. The horses didn't really like that but were good. At the first watering hole, the vet was there and really tearing his hair out over Marie. He asked me to voluntarily pull from the ride. He couldn't quite lay his hand on the problem and couldn't quite bring himself to pull me. I told him no. I told him when he saw something that he could point out as a definite problem, he could pull me and I wouldn't argue.
Marie was in great shape at the hold. Even the vet had to admit that he thought she looked pretty good. Marie was great on the way back. We left the hold before Irving and Carl. They caught up with us a little later. Irving went ahead of us but Carl was having trouble with his horse and let us go ahead of him. He ended up getting lost, then, when he got back on course, his horse slipped on a rock just two miles from the finish and went severely lame. The horse was trailered back to camp. Poor Carl, it's his daughter's horse and he said she was going to be very upset.
The pace that Marcy had set was just perfect for Marie and at the finish, she vetted out with flying colors. I ended up placing first in my division. I was so proud of my little mutt of a horse. The lay judge later congratulated me. She said because Marie is so laid back and not flashy, it is hard to show her so I could be proud of such a high placing. I was, I love my horse!!
Fryeburg 50 7/22-23 16/S - 12/F
1 Alesar / S Greenall
2 SR Spirit / S Rojek
3 Sage / S MacDonald
4 Marie / C Ross (score 96.25)
5 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
5 Indevincable / D Rojek
7 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
8 FFC Brigadier
9 HFA Silver Savanah / M Deleware
10 Willows Rahmaan / I McNaughton
12 Sir Narion / S Corr
Fryeburg 25 7/22/00 10/S-F
1 Especial Edition / L Prentice
2 Xavier Sunnyacres / S Reinheimer
3 BAF Cabis Choice / L Pedersen
4 Izuzu / B Lester
5 GBA Karakoram / J Sewell
6 PS Sir Sedgewick / K Brunjes
7 Mighty Frankie / T York
8 Rolling Stone / H Moss
I was a little apprehensive about going to this ride. We had to use my truck and I've never trusted it. We have had it in to two different mechanics and it still hasn't been running very good. We finally took it to a third mechanic. I don't like the man that owns the last shop we brought it to but his mechanic finally seems to figure out what was wrong and the truck is running great right now. Better then it ever has since we bought it. It's almost a 2 hr. drive to Fryeburg. We arrived at the fairgrounds about 11:00 AM. Not many people had arrived yet. They have opened up the new barn that they were just finishing last year when we were here. We had our pick of stalls. the fairgrounds are beautiful. It is in a valley with mountains all around it. the grounds are beautifully maintained and landscaped. The bathrooms are pleasant and clean and there are even showers. the horses stalls are roomy and there is water piped in between every two stalls. And the barns are lovely shed row barns. You can camp right in front of the stalls which is great and so convenient. I filled up Marie's stall with shavings while Bonnie cleaned out the horse trailer and set up our cots. Camping in our trailer is working out great. It is simple and it makes us keep the trailer spotlessly clean. It is secure and dry in bad weather and has nice window screens keeping the bugs out. When we get to a ride, we clean out the manure, rinse the floor, give the walls a quick wipe down and ta-da, our home away from home is ready. I even made some curtains that we put over the windows with velcro. Someday we'll have a trailer with living quarters but for now this is great. Anyway, after I got Marie all settled into her stall, I got a stall ready for Susie. She was planning to arrive between 3:00 and 4:00 PM. Bonnie and I went into town to gas up the truck and get lunch. We stopped at a nice little restaurant of which I can't remember the name. we both ordered the fresh fish sandwich special and it was SOOOOOOOOO good. Best fish I can remember having in a long time. When we got back, we walked Marie for a while so she wouldn't be stiff when we vetted in. The vet judge, Don McLean was an hour late. The vetting was supposed to start at 3:00 PM. Susie arrived at 3:30 PM and the vet at 4:00 PM. Don was the same vet that judged this ride last year. Marie is his worst nightmare. He just hates the way she travels. It really bugs him. Both Marie and Cody vetted in ok though I did see Don roll his eyes are Marie. He remembered her from last year, sigh. Bonnie got the job of scribing for the lay judge. I was jealous, that is a good job and such a great learning experience. The lay judge is Gaynor Coassin. She is a great lady and has been in this sport forever I think. Steve and Dinah Rojek are here this year. I believe they come to this ride every year. They are legendary in the sport of endurance riding. They are both on the US endurance team and have competed all over the world. They use CTR's as training rides for their horses. They travel around in this enormous custom bus camper with a slide out and pull a trailer behind. It is very impressive. Susie did ask Steve today what he did for work. He just replied that he was a business man. Steve and Dinah are both such nice people. They both make a point of talking to everyone and encouraging us newcomers in this sport. After Bonnie was done with her scribing job for the night, the three of us went over to the food trailer and had hamburgers, salads and cake. We set up my tent for Susie. She had hers with her but mine is easier to set up. We sat around camp for a while and chatted. The electrolyte controversy continues. Susie uses electrolytes on ride day mostly because that is what "everyone else does". I've read enough to feel that electrolyteing is not completely harmless and in some cases may be more harmful then beneficial. Especially if your horse does not drink well. And Cody is not the best drinker. I have read one theory suggesting giving electrolytes several days before a ride. Since you are likely resting the horse the days before the ride, you wont risk electrolyting when the horse is dehydrated and/or tired but will prompt the horse to drink and hopeful have him "super hydrated" before you get to the ride. Marie always drinks like a fish anyway. We invited Heather over to our campsite. She has been at all the rides and seems to be a very nice girl. She has a little Mustang mare named Lady. We headed to bed when we couldn't stand the mosquitoes anymore, they were ferocious. We had a quiet night.
We had an uneventful morning. We were up early and got the horses fed. I heated up water for coffee and oatmeal. The ride provided coffee and pastries but just not early enough. we had a brief pre-ride meeting and the ride started right on time. Susie is only doing the 25 mile ride but we got paired up together for today. Four miles out, we had to cross the Saco River. It was chest deep to Marie and is quite wide. It was a lot of fun. I had to put my feet up on the saddle to keep them from getting wet. Marie had her head down in the water drinking all the way across. It was funny watching her. I was wishing Bonnie was here riding with is on her new pony mare, she would have had to swim! Last year we'd gone down the road and crossed the river on the bridge. This was much more fun. Marie has to work hard to keep up with Cody. She is so in love with him though, that she would follow him to the ends of the earth even if it killed her. We never saw the sign that the hold was coming up and we were moving pretty fast when we suddenly there it was. Oops! We waited for a couple minutes just outside the hold to give the horses time to cool down. We usually walk the last mile in. Marie was inverted at the 10 min. check. That can be a sign of trouble but not necessarily. The P&R person didn't think she looked at all distressed and wasn't too worried. He told me to let the vet know when I went for my trot out just to be safe. By the time I did my trot out, Marie was just fine and I was cleared to go. the vet was still rolling his eyes at the way Marie travels. I told him that I knew there was nothing wrong with her, just a matter of imperfect conformation, but he didn't look convinced. Susie and I rode with Carl and Irving for quite a while. Carl is new to the sport. Irving is a man in his seventies and had been doing this for quite a few years. He had a stroke last year but had made a good recovery. He is great to ride with and a wealth of knowledge on this sport. We passed one woman who was having a very bad time with her horse. She looked terrified and exhausted and her horse looked the same. She swore to us when we went by that she was not going to bring her horse home with her. Well, she was right. Carl offered her $900 for the horse and took her home. We forded the river again on the way back. We had to wait for some canoes to go by. Marie thought they looked quite scary. I heard that one woman got bucked off in the river on the morning crossing. She didn't get hurt, soft landing. At the finish, Marie's P&R's were good. I only had to do a quick trot to pass for the second day's ride. Well, the vet just couldn't' stand it anymore the way Marie travels. He made me trot, then trot again and finally he said I would have to come back for a re-check in the morning. The lay judge spoke up and asked him why. She said she didn't see anything wrong. They discussed it for a while and the vet finally relented and said I didn't have to come back for a re-check but he'd appreciate it if I would. I agreed and that turned out to be a mistake. After everyone was vetted and Bonnie was done scribing, we went over to the food trailer. They had a nice meal of baked ham, baked potato, salad, mixed vegetables, bread and cake. Steve Rojek sat with us for dinner. He wanted to personally thank Bonnie for being a volunteer worker at the ride. He knows how hard it can be to get enough volunteers. Bonnie and Steve got to talking about horses (imagine that...) and Bonnie was telling him about her first horse, Shannon and how Shannon had tendinitis and she'd had to make the hard decision to give her up to do this sport. Steve told her she did the right thing in deciding to move on to another horse. Bonnie then told her of her bad experience with her next horse, Max and she mentioned that she would prefer to have a pony rather then a big horse. Steve looked at Bonnie kind of funny and asked her if she was serious. She told him that yes, she was. He then asked her if she meant a real pony and Bonnie said yes, a pony. Steve asked a pony under 14H. Bonnie said definitely. Well, it seems that Steve has a pony that he just might be willing to sell. Bonnie got all excited. Steve told us that he had bought this very talented mare years ago. She'd won everything he'd entered her in. He'd tried for years to breed this mare without success. Finally, he did get one foal from her and it was a pony, even though both parents were horses. Steve didn't do much with this pony mare for her first five years. Then he broke her to ride and tried her as a hunter jumper thinking she would make a good pony for some 4-H kid. She did ok but finally someone talked Steve into trying her at endurance since that was what she was bred for and both her parents were champions. He got someone to ride her and she won a reserve championship on her first 100 mile ride. Then did it again on her 2nd 100 mile ride. This pony mare is now in contention for the Florida Cup. This is a ride that you are invited to if you get three high placings in three 100 mile rides in one year. The next qualifying ride is Labor day and if she places high in this ride she will qualify for the Florida Cup. After this is done, Steve said he might consider selling her to the right person. He wants Bonnie to come to his farm and try this mare out. I hope she does. Bonnie is quite excited about this.
After the meal, they had the award presentation for the 25 mile riders. Susie won reserve champion!! She got a score of 97 which is great. Susie was thrilled. She assured me that I would do well tomorrow but a lot of really tough competition is staying for the 50 mile ride so I'm not expecting much. I just hope to finish in good shape. Susie left right after the awards. Bonnie and I went back to town to the restaurant for supper. When we returned to camp, we took Marie out for a walk so she wouldn't get too stiff from standing in the stall. She isn't used to being confined in a stall. The ride committee decided to start the ride early in the morning so Bonnie and I went to bed fairly early. Neither one of us was really tired and we ended up talking until late.
Both of us were up plenty early and Bonnie went out and fed Marie for me. At the appointed time, I took Marie over for my 'voluntary' re-check with the vet. After watching Marie trot, he really wanted to pull me from the ride. I knew there was nothing wrong but couldn't convince him. And he couldn't decide if Marie was having trouble with her hindquarters, legs, shoulders.... I told him if he was that unsure, maybe he was nit-picking. The lay judge was on my side and told him to let me start the ride. They watch you the whole ride, he could pull me at any point if he could see a definite problem. The vet gave in and let me start the ride. I know that my horse is driving him crazy, but he is driving me crazy! Heather's horse got pulled this morning along with another horse.
The woman I started with today left me in the dust within minutes. Marie was kind of poking along wondering where Cody was. This is the first time she has ever gone out without one of her buddies. About 3 miles out, Another rider caught up with me. It was Marcy Gamester and Marie decided she liked Marcy's gelding and perked right up. Marcy has been competing for 24 years. Carl and Irving soon caught up and went by us. I thought Marie would want to go with them as we rode with them yesterday. But, she was very content traveling with Marcy's gelding. They are very well matched in pace. We passed one woman leading her horse out ot the road. We were afraid she'd gotten hurt. She said she was ok. She was having a back problem and just couldn't handle her horse for another day's ride. We forded the river again this morning without incident. We had to walk the horses through a city of tents to get to the river today. The horses didn't really like that but were good. At the first watering hole, the vet was there and really tearing his hair out over Marie. He asked me to voluntarily pull from the ride. He couldn't quite lay his hand on the problem and couldn't quite bring himself to pull me. I told him no. I told him when he saw something that he could point out as a definite problem, he could pull me and I wouldn't argue.
Marie was in great shape at the hold. Even the vet had to admit that he thought she looked pretty good. Marie was great on the way back. We left the hold before Irving and Carl. They caught up with us a little later. Irving went ahead of us but Carl was having trouble with his horse and let us go ahead of him. He ended up getting lost, then, when he got back on course, his horse slipped on a rock just two miles from the finish and went severely lame. The horse was trailered back to camp. Poor Carl, it's his daughter's horse and he said she was going to be very upset.
The pace that Marcy had set was just perfect for Marie and at the finish, she vetted out with flying colors. I ended up placing first in my division. I was so proud of my little mutt of a horse. The lay judge later congratulated me. She said because Marie is so laid back and not flashy, it is hard to show her so I could be proud of such a high placing. I was, I love my horse!!
Fryeburg 50 7/22-23 16/S - 12/F
1 Alesar / S Greenall
2 SR Spirit / S Rojek
3 Sage / S MacDonald
4 Marie / C Ross (score 96.25)
5 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
5 Indevincable / D Rojek
7 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
8 FFC Brigadier
9 HFA Silver Savanah / M Deleware
10 Willows Rahmaan / I McNaughton
12 Sir Narion / S Corr
Fryeburg 25 7/22/00 10/S-F
1 Especial Edition / L Prentice
2 Xavier Sunnyacres / S Reinheimer
3 BAF Cabis Choice / L Pedersen
4 Izuzu / B Lester
5 GBA Karakoram / J Sewell
6 PS Sir Sedgewick / K Brunjes
7 Mighty Frankie / T York
8 Rolling Stone / H Moss
Wednesday, July 12, 2000
Acadia, BLTA pleasure ride
Thursday
Another wonderful adventure! Ten of us ladies headed up to Acadia for a four day camping trip with our horses. Bonnie and I headed out Thursday morning sometime between 9:30 and 10:00 AM. We had been up there last year so we weren't worried about how to get there. We soon proved that two heads are not better then one. Last year we drove separate vehicles. Bonnie was hauling the horses and I drove my truck with the camper. We just camped in the trailer now as it saves the cost of driving a second vehicle. Well, we were gabbing away and missed the exit for I-395 in Bangor. About 15 minutes out of Bangor I came to the realization that things didn't look right. I told Bonnie she had better turn around at the next exit. We did and headed back to Bangor. There were signs for the exit nearly as big as a house, it was hard to believe we missed it. Oh, well, that was really no big deal. Then, right as you drive onto Mt. Desert Island, Rt 3 splits and goes both ways and circles the island. We needed to stay right. But, we were gabbing again and went left. That takes you right through the very busy tourist town of Bar Harbor. Oops. Bonnie did great driving through town. Then, at the bottom of the island, Rt 3 takes a hard right and we went straight ahead, which is a dead end with no real good place to turn around. AAAGGGHHHH..... Bonnie did manage to get the trailer turned and we finally got to Wildwood Stables. Susie, Maura, Ann, Nancy, Joanie and Sue were already there and had taken all the good stalls near the campsite. (rotten buggers!)
Joanie's horse, Porsha, has been a bit lame so Joanie just came to spend the night with us. Bonnie, Halla, Missy and I had to take stalls on the other side of the grounds. Not that far really, we are just lazy. We got set up quite quickly and headed right out for a ride. Bonnie, Ann and Missy didn't go, they wanted to just hang out and relax. Susie, Sue, Maura, Nancy, Halla and I went. Joanie also went riding on Ann's horse, Ted. We tried to ride slow and stay together but Susie couldn't stand it and before you knew it, Susie, Sue and I had left the other girls in the dust. We had quite a crazy ride. Marie is in great shape and was quite excited, for her. We took a small side trail that isn't maintained and found a jump. It was a downed tree a little higher then a horse could step over. We could have gone around it but when Susie saw it, she got so excited that she forgot to think that maybe Sue and I might not be comfortable jumping. I've never jumped Marie before and didn't know what she would do. Susie took off and sailed over it. Sue went right behind her. So, I screwed up my courage and headed Marie straight for it. Marie didn't hesitate for a second and sailed over it like a pro. I was sooooo proud of her.
Marie actually over did it at the start of the ride and was just a hair tried by the time we got back. Susie's horse Cody is in terrific shape and Sue's horse, Sassy, is a wonderful Standardbred mare that easily kept up with us. She could trot faster then either Cody or Marie could run. We actually did a bit more galloping downhill then I was comfortable with. I just let Marie have her head and trusted her. She is the most amazing horse and managed fine. She was even doing some flying lead changes. She's never done that before. When we got back, the girls that had stayed behind had wine all chilled and ready for us. Ann and Nancy pretty much took charge of all the cooking for the weekend. Lobster was served the first night. YUCK! I had a can of soup. I did eat a small piece of Susie's lobster just to say I had. Joanie made some roasted red pepper with garlic which we spread on French bread. We had my 'guitar' sugar cookies for desert. Susie, Sue and I broke out the guitars later and we had quite a sing a long. We went a bit past quiet time. Thankfully, the two other campers liked our singing and playing and didn't complain
Friday
We were all up fairly early. Nancy, Ann and Joanie had coffee ready. We had bagels, cantaloupe and blueberry buckle. Poor Joanie was sick as a dog. That poor woman vomited for hours. We think she had too many lobster bodies. UGH! We decided to split up into small groups to ride. Susie, Sue and I went out together. Sue and I are the only ones that want to try to keep up with Susie. Bonnie, Ann and Missy went out together. Nancy, Maura and Halla made up the third group. We had a great ride. We did the 'Around the Mountain' loop. We passed Bonnie's group about half way out. Bonnie looked like she was doing fine with Max. When we got back, Bonnie's group was already there. We knew right off that something was wrong. It seemed that Max got real upset after he had seen Marie and then panicked at a group of bicycles. He reared up and spun around throwing Bonnie. One of the bicyclists were deathly afraid of the horses. She jumped off her bike and ran into the woods crying. Bonnie was laying on the ground afraid her horse had somehow done something to hurt this woman. Max had never touched her. The whole incident scared Bonnie to pieces. She got back on to ride back because they were too far from camp to walk. She was a bit bruised and scraped up. Poor Bonnie. That afternoon, Bonnie drove me up to the top of Cadillac Mountain. It was a clear day and we had a great view from there. It was very windy though. Later that afternoon, I took Max out with Susie and Sue to see how he would behave with me. We did a real short easy ride. Max was quite good but we didn't see any bicycles though we did pass four big wagons. Cody did a big spin though and twisted one of his shoes and made it very loose. Wildwood Stables called in a farrier to put it back on the next day. They said he would be coming sometime between 10:00 and 11:00 AM. That night Ann and Nancy made Tortellini with peppers and onions. It was great. We played guitars again until about 10:30 PM then headed to bed.
Saturday
Another nice morning. I finally, with great difficulty, persuaded Bonnie to ride Marie that morning and let me take Max. I told her I would wait with Susie until the farrier came then go riding with her. Bonnie really wanted to wait and go with me. I didn't want her to even be around Max. If I had any trouble with him while she was there, it would spoil the ride for her. She finally agreed to go with the morning group. The farrier showed up a little before 11:00 AM. I took Max out and lounged him a little. He seemed a bit uncomfortable on one side. Missy had also stayed behind to ride with us. It didn't take long for the farrier to reset Cody's shoe and we were on our way before noon. Just as we headed out of camp, Bonnie's group was headed in. I was hoping Max would not see Marie but no such luck. He didn't give me any problem about it though. Max did spook at the bicycles. I kept him under control but it was not very relaxing. We finally all agreed that he was definitely feeling some discomfort on one foot or leg. I decided to just get off him and walk him back to camp and let the other two get a good ride. We were only about two miles from camp so that was really no problem. Max was very good at first. Even letting bicycles go by without a problem. Until we were in sight of camp. We had gotten to the corner where you turn to go down the hill into camp. The road is kind of narrow with a big drop off on one side and rock ledge on the other side. Max heard the horses in camp and got really excited. A large group of bicyclists were coming down the hill behind us. I didn't think it would be any problem as he'd been ignoring the bicycles for a while. WRONG! He started to pull me and then spun around. The group of bicycles all came skidding to a halt and when Max heard the sound of the tires skidding on dirt he just lost it. There were at least 10 bicycles with some small kids. They had nowhere to go and Max started to spin right into them. Thankfully, one mother stayed very calm and kept telling the kids quietly not not move. I threw myself into Max to keep him from spinning into the kids. He slammed into the rocks bordering the drop off and thankfully stopped dead. I managed to get Max going and led him back up the hill past the group so they could go on their way. That is when I knew that Bonnie needed to take Max back to Hemphills. Bonnie was at the stalls when I got him into camp. I told her what I thought about him and what I thought she should do. She is feeling very disappointed right now. She thinks maybe it's her fault and that she's failed in some way. I am glad we are here in a group of women that have all been through this same situation and know what she is going through to help her out. We have all unanimously agreed that this is not the horse for Bonnie.
Bonnie told me it took her almost half of the morning ride to gain her confidence back. Max had given her that much of a scare. She said about halfway out it suddenly clicked and she got her confidence back. She and Sue took off and had a great wild ride. Bonnie was very impressed at how fast Sassy can trot. The girls took her over the jump with Marie!! I was so proud of them both. Bonnie has never really done any jumping and is nervous about doing it. She said that Marie once again handled it like a pro. Bonnie realized that this kind of fun is what riding was supposed to be. I think she is in love with my horse, and why not, Marie is a great horse. I had a little snack after the ride and was tired so decided to take a nap. After all, It's my vacation, I should be able to nap when I want. Bonnie and Missy went into Bar Harbor to poke around. Some of the other women went to Jordan Tea House for tea time. We were planning to take a moonlight ride to the top of Day Mountain since it would be a full moon.
Unfortunately, the fog rolled in very thick that afternoon and we decided to ride at around 5:30 PM since we wouldn't have any moonlight with all the fog. Bonnie took Marie and I rode Bally. Maura had gone home that afternoon. She was getting a bit home sick. She has two children and one is just a baby. Bally is a big Thoroughbred. I was a little put off when I saw the postage stamp that Maura calls his saddle. It is a close contact saddle and not much to it. I decided if Maura could ride in it, so could I. Bally was horribly rude while I was tacking him up and I had to get help. I felt stupid but Ann said he is like this even with Maura. I climbed aboard and off we went. Bally is big, strong and forward but despite that and the saddle, I soon got the hang of riding him and had a great time. We even did the jump. It was fun watching Bonnie ride Marie. I don't often get the chance to see how my horse travels. Bonnie was having a wonderful time with my little mare. I was so glad. Halla didn't really want to go to the top of Day Mountain, she's afraid of heights. We told her not to worry since with all the fog, she wouldn't be able to see over the edge of the trail anyway. It was true. We met two of the big wagons up there on the sunset ride. They stopped and let us go by. All the horses were pretty good about that. When we got back to camp, Missy, Nancy and Ann had a tarp set up over the table because it was drizzling and they had supper all warmed up. Bonnie, Susie and Missy went over to Ed Winterburg's campfire for a while to get the story on the whole stable closing deal. When they got back, we all sat around the campfire and chatted. Halla and Missy headed to bed early. At around 10:00 PM the fog suddenly started to clear out. We all started wishing that we had waited to go on our moonlight ride. We hemmed and hawed about doing it but didn't really want to take the horses out for a third time in one day. A few of the horses hadn't been out twice and we thought about taking them. But, finally Susie and Sue decided it wouldn't work. Then Nancy said that if someone would go with her bareback, she would go. I looked at her and asked if she was serious and she said yes. I told her I'd go with her if I could take Abby. She had only been ridden once today and I knew she was comfortable to ride bareback. But, I haven't ridden bareback in years. I really didn't think I could do it. I decided to give it a try. I hesitated because Missy had gone to bed and I didn't want to wake her up. I also was not going to take her horse without her permission. I finally couldn't stand it and went to her tent. "Missy...are you awake?" "Missy?". No answer. " Missy..." Finally, "uuugh?" in answer. "Missy, are you awake?" As if I didn't know the poor woman was sound asleep. Halla woke up and asked what was wrong. I told her I wanted to take Abby for a moonlight ride. "You're going riding now?" she yelled. That woke Missy up. Missy told me to go ahead and take Abby and have a good time. Susie and Sue didn't believe we were really going to go. Bonnie went over the the barn with me to help get Abby out. Susie and Sue helped Nancy. Someone else that was there feeding their horses shone their car lights into the Barn for Nancy. They thought we were crazy. When I got over there with Abby, Susie had given Nancy a leg up onto Cabbot. She gave me a leg up onto Abby and off we went.
You could tell that the horses were wondering what was going on but they soon got into the spirit of it. We walked and trotted them to the top of Day Mountain. All the way the fog continued to clear and it got more and more beautiful. There were times when we came out from under the trees and the moonlight was so bright we had to shade our eyes. We could hear the buoys clanging out on the ocean and see all the lights of the town down in the valley. The horses were awesome. Not a single spook or wrong step. At different times along the trail we had clear views for what seemed like miles. I thought I was seeing some clouds when Nancy pointed out I was seeing islands out in the ocean. She was right, I could see lights on them. The ride was, as Nancy said, magical. We had left camp at 10:00 PM and got to the top of Day Mountain at 11:00 PM. On the way back Nancy asked if my legs were hurting. I said yes and she said her were killing her. She then said that we had to be able to tell the girls back at camp that we galloped the horses along the moonlit trails, could I handle it? I told her to go for it and off we went. We galloped for a bit both of us giggling like a couple kids. We entered a dark spot under some trees and Abby broke into a hard trot. Between that and giggling so hard, I nearly slid off her and I yelled to Nancy I had to stop. Abby was taking good care of me and slowed then stopped on her own before I came off. There we were, giggling, laughing, breathless and in pain. We were having the time of our lives. We got safely back to camp about midnight. I hurt so bad when I got off Abby I thought I was going to have to crawl back to camp. It was pain joyfully earned. Susie and Sue were in their tent when we got back but still awake. They had to have all the details. They said Bonnie hadn't wanted to go to bed while we were out as she was worried about us. She finally did go to bed around 11:00 PM. When I got to our trailer, Bonnie had left a light on for me. What a wonderful friend I have. Bonnie told me that it drove Susie and Sue crazy that we went and they almost followed us. Now I have something to lord over Susie. HA! It really was a great chance to get to know Nancy. What a nice woman she is. My magical moonlight ride to the top of Day Mountain with Nancy is going to be a memory to last me a lifetime. It took me a while to go to sleep. It was so excited and happy when I got back. the fog rolled back in sometime after we got back. How incredible that we had that few hours of clear moonlight for our ride.
Sunday
We got up and packed everything. Everyone was going out for a short ride. Bonnie and I decided not to bother. We decided to head for home since we had heard we were going to be running into some bad weather on the way home. I would have been happy to ride if Bonnie had wanted to. I had Bally I could ride but Bonnie didn't really care. And nothing was going to top last nights ride for me so we headed out as soon as we got packed up. We did encounter strong winds and heavy rain on the way home but got home safely.
Saturday, May 27, 2000
Waterford 30 CTR Waterford, ME May 2000
Susie and I decided to ride the Waterford 30. They are running the Maine 80 also but Susie didn't have the time to do it. I didn't feel I'd gotten Marie in good enough shape yet. The Maine 80 is a three day event. 30 miles the first and 2nd day and 20 miles the last day. Bonnie decided not to bring her horse to this one. She wants more time to get more weight and conditioning on him. Bonnie did haul us up though. Bonnie didn't have to work Friday so she came over and picked me up about 10:00 AM. I was ready to go so we just needed to hook up the trailer and load Marie on. We then went over and picked Cody up. Susie had to work so she was meeting us in Waterford later. We had an uneventful trip there. We were set up in short order. We used my and Bonnie's portable fence. We were going to separate Marie and Cody but she is so in love with him that we didn't need to. As a matter of fact, Marie is so in love with Cody that whenever he got out of her sight for just a second, shd acted like an idiot. It only took a few minutes to clean up the horse trailer and set up our cots in there. Using the trailer for our living quarters is so easy. I wish we'd thought of doing this earlier. the vet was supposed to start the vetting at 11:00 AM. he didn't show up until 3:00 PM. Bonnie and I went down to Tut's restaurant for lunch since we had plenty of time before the vetting. We both had chicken salad Italians. They were huge and very good. Great coffee there also. Susie arrived at about 2:30 PM. There were a lot of horses to be vetted but they got us through in good time. Susie's husband, David, came up for the weekend. He drove up after he got out of work. I ended up taking a nap in the afternoon. I didn't intend to but the bed kept calling to me and I'd had a full night at work. Later, Bonnie and I went back down to Tut's for supper. Susie and her husband had gone down earlier. Bonnie had not wanted to wake me from my nap so had decided to just wait for me. I forgot to bring my guitar and Susie almost killed me. We both took turns playing her guitar and singing up a storm. David was very nice but kept smiling at us like a parent smiles fondly at their children doing something cute. We went to bed when it got dark and had a nice quiet night.
We were up early. I heated up some water for coffee and oatmeal. The ride provides coffee and donuts but I needed more then that to start the day. The ride started right on time and we got off to a good start. I started ahead of Susie. Marie did not like this at all. She hollered and called constantly, but she behaved otherwise. It didn't take Susie long to catch up to me. I didn't realize that my Easyboot had fallen off my saddle. Susie saw it on the trail and had picked it up for me. Susie said Cody was doing great until she stopped to pick up the boot but he squirreled out after that. This ride was one tough ride. The toughest I've been on yet. A lot of hills and one downright mountain that was extremely steep going. Some very bad mud also. At one point, while traveling down a steep hill that was knee deep in mud with a lot of large rocks mixed in also, the woman riding behind me lost control of her horse and the horse bolted forward and rammed right into Marie. It ran us right off the trail. She got her horse backed off and I got Marie back on the trail and then her horse bolted and rammed us a second time. The woman did an emergency dismount that put her right between her horse and Marie. I was so afraid that Marie might kick out and kill the poor woman but she didn't. The woman was mortified that her horse had done that. She apologized profusely throughout the whole ride. I'm just glad she wasn't hurt. Her horse is an adopted wild Mustang. He'd run wild for eight years. He's thirteen now but still needs some training obviously. At the hold, Marie's P&R were well within limits. Cody's was borderline high. The vet checked him a second time to make sure he was alright, which he was. David was working the ride as a timer. He was doing the time into the hold and Bonnie was doing the time out. The hold is a mandatory 20 minutes though you can stay longer if you wish. You just end up making up the time while riding. The trot out for Cody and Marie was fine and we were out of the hold only two minutes late. We took it easy going back over the mountain. It was a beautiful day with great views from the top. It was a tough climb but well worth it. When we got down to the bottom of the mountain, Marie started stumbling and limping. I was so afraid she had pulled something on the steep terrain. Thankfully, she had only lost one of her front shoes and we were on some pretty stony ground. I had to stop and put the Easyboot on her. I was sure glad Susie had picked it up when she found it on the trail! I had tied it so tight onto my saddle that I had to cut the tie strap to get it off and once again Susie saved me by having a pair of cutters in her saddle bag. Two miles later Marie lost her other front shoe. By then we were on soft ground and it was good the rest of the way back to camp so we managed to finish on time. Poor Marie!She did such a great job. I used Bonnie's endurance saddle on this ride as I've been having some troubles with mine. It seems to fit her well. I don't know if it has anything to do with the saddle but she traveled better today then she ever has. She was doing great extended trots and keeping right on Cody's tail. She usually has trouble keeping up with him. I am suspecting that my saddle has been pinching her in the shoulders making her unwilling to do extended trots. She passed the final vetting with flying colors and we placed first in our division. Susie got reserve champion. We were both thrilled, it was a great ride.
Waterford 30 5/27/00 11/S-F
Junior
MCO Ali Darkness / J Wazelle
Adult
2 Xavier Sunnyacres / S Reinheimer
3 Briwds Mardi Gras / S Corr
4 Marie / C Ross (score 92.00)
5 Otis / A Beem
6 Mighty Frankie / T York
7 ? / S Day
8 FR Canadian Pilgrim / S Vieria
9 Little Beau / S Leavitt
10 Travelers Midnight Shadow / S Booth
We were up early. I heated up some water for coffee and oatmeal. The ride provides coffee and donuts but I needed more then that to start the day. The ride started right on time and we got off to a good start. I started ahead of Susie. Marie did not like this at all. She hollered and called constantly, but she behaved otherwise. It didn't take Susie long to catch up to me. I didn't realize that my Easyboot had fallen off my saddle. Susie saw it on the trail and had picked it up for me. Susie said Cody was doing great until she stopped to pick up the boot but he squirreled out after that. This ride was one tough ride. The toughest I've been on yet. A lot of hills and one downright mountain that was extremely steep going. Some very bad mud also. At one point, while traveling down a steep hill that was knee deep in mud with a lot of large rocks mixed in also, the woman riding behind me lost control of her horse and the horse bolted forward and rammed right into Marie. It ran us right off the trail. She got her horse backed off and I got Marie back on the trail and then her horse bolted and rammed us a second time. The woman did an emergency dismount that put her right between her horse and Marie. I was so afraid that Marie might kick out and kill the poor woman but she didn't. The woman was mortified that her horse had done that. She apologized profusely throughout the whole ride. I'm just glad she wasn't hurt. Her horse is an adopted wild Mustang. He'd run wild for eight years. He's thirteen now but still needs some training obviously. At the hold, Marie's P&R were well within limits. Cody's was borderline high. The vet checked him a second time to make sure he was alright, which he was. David was working the ride as a timer. He was doing the time into the hold and Bonnie was doing the time out. The hold is a mandatory 20 minutes though you can stay longer if you wish. You just end up making up the time while riding. The trot out for Cody and Marie was fine and we were out of the hold only two minutes late. We took it easy going back over the mountain. It was a beautiful day with great views from the top. It was a tough climb but well worth it. When we got down to the bottom of the mountain, Marie started stumbling and limping. I was so afraid she had pulled something on the steep terrain. Thankfully, she had only lost one of her front shoes and we were on some pretty stony ground. I had to stop and put the Easyboot on her. I was sure glad Susie had picked it up when she found it on the trail! I had tied it so tight onto my saddle that I had to cut the tie strap to get it off and once again Susie saved me by having a pair of cutters in her saddle bag. Two miles later Marie lost her other front shoe. By then we were on soft ground and it was good the rest of the way back to camp so we managed to finish on time. Poor Marie!She did such a great job. I used Bonnie's endurance saddle on this ride as I've been having some troubles with mine. It seems to fit her well. I don't know if it has anything to do with the saddle but she traveled better today then she ever has. She was doing great extended trots and keeping right on Cody's tail. She usually has trouble keeping up with him. I am suspecting that my saddle has been pinching her in the shoulders making her unwilling to do extended trots. She passed the final vetting with flying colors and we placed first in our division. Susie got reserve champion. We were both thrilled, it was a great ride.
Waterford 30 5/27/00 11/S-F
Junior
MCO Ali Darkness / J Wazelle
Adult
2 Xavier Sunnyacres / S Reinheimer
3 Briwds Mardi Gras / S Corr
4 Marie / C Ross (score 92.00)
5 Otis / A Beem
6 Mighty Frankie / T York
7 ? / S Day
8 FR Canadian Pilgrim / S Vieria
9 Little Beau / S Leavitt
10 Travelers Midnight Shadow / S Booth
Sunday, May 14, 2000
Bog Brook 25 CTR Standish, ME May 2000
Bonnie and I headed out for Bog Brook 25 on Saturday morning. We got there around 11:00 AM and quickly got the portable fence set up. Bonnie and I are getting the routine down very well now. Bonnie has a new horse, Max, and this was his first camping trip. I thought he might be a bit nervous with all the other horses around but he was mostly just curious. He was very quiet and relaxed in the paddock. Bonnie and I decided to try camping out in the horse trailer this trip. It would save the time of setting up a tent or driving an extra vehicle to bring the camper. I had a fold out cot that I had set up in the trailer at home to see if it would fit. It just made it in one half of the trailer. Bonnie was happy as she had a similar cot. After sweeping out the trailer and wiping the walls down, we got my cot out and set it up. Then we got Bonnie's cot and .....uh, oh, it was a little bit wider then mine. What a time we had cramming it in there. We had to do some very serious cramming but we did manage. Bonnie has decided she will look for a new cot that is a bit more narrow.
There was a long line for vetting in. Max behaved very well while waiting. Better then Marie! they did the vetting in an indoor arena. Neither Max or Marie were used to that, they both behaved kind of badly for the hands on and trot out. Marie was spooking at the walls because there were mirrors on them. After, we fed the horses and settled them in for the night. Bonnie and I went down to the local convenience store and picked up Italians for supper. We went to bed fairly early. It poured buckets during the night. We felt bad for the horses out in the rain but at least it was warm. We were very comfortable in the trailer. I was up early and got the stove out to heat up water for oatmeal and coffee when I realized we'd forgotten to bring matches to light the stove with. Bonnie went out and borrowed a lighter from someone. Bonnie knows I can't start my day without my oatmeal. We had to hustle to get the horses ready after the pre-ride meeting as we were rider number's 1 and 2. Max was a little excited when we started out but not bad. After all, he had no clue what was going on since this was his first ride. When the first riders passed us, Max did get a bit upset and he tossed his head a lot for a while. Bonnie did a great job of keeping him under control though so it was no problem, just annoying for her. We had a great ride. We went nice and easy for Max but made our time with no trouble. Max and Marie were both a bit naughty at the final vetting. (sigh) We finished in good shape though.
Bog Brook 25 5/14/00 24/S-22/F
1 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
2 ? / S Nash
3 Especial Addition / L Prentice
4 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
4 BAF Cubis Choice / L Pederson
6 ? / L Lester
7 Shiloh / S Niedoroda
8 Jewelys Gem / C Bechstrom
9 HFA Silver Savanah / M Deleware
11 Desert Falcon / J Graffam
12 Rolling Stone / Heidi Moss
12 Maxwell / B Hinz
15 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
16 Inde Khaldair / L Crowley
17 Marie / C Ross (score 90.50)
18 Silvera / J Brunjes
Comp Travels Midnight Shadow / S Booth
Comp Mardi Gras / S Corr
There was a long line for vetting in. Max behaved very well while waiting. Better then Marie! they did the vetting in an indoor arena. Neither Max or Marie were used to that, they both behaved kind of badly for the hands on and trot out. Marie was spooking at the walls because there were mirrors on them. After, we fed the horses and settled them in for the night. Bonnie and I went down to the local convenience store and picked up Italians for supper. We went to bed fairly early. It poured buckets during the night. We felt bad for the horses out in the rain but at least it was warm. We were very comfortable in the trailer. I was up early and got the stove out to heat up water for oatmeal and coffee when I realized we'd forgotten to bring matches to light the stove with. Bonnie went out and borrowed a lighter from someone. Bonnie knows I can't start my day without my oatmeal. We had to hustle to get the horses ready after the pre-ride meeting as we were rider number's 1 and 2. Max was a little excited when we started out but not bad. After all, he had no clue what was going on since this was his first ride. When the first riders passed us, Max did get a bit upset and he tossed his head a lot for a while. Bonnie did a great job of keeping him under control though so it was no problem, just annoying for her. We had a great ride. We went nice and easy for Max but made our time with no trouble. Max and Marie were both a bit naughty at the final vetting. (sigh) We finished in good shape though.
Bog Brook 25 5/14/00 24/S-22/F
1 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
2 ? / S Nash
3 Especial Addition / L Prentice
4 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
4 BAF Cubis Choice / L Pederson
6 ? / L Lester
7 Shiloh / S Niedoroda
8 Jewelys Gem / C Bechstrom
9 HFA Silver Savanah / M Deleware
11 Desert Falcon / J Graffam
12 Rolling Stone / Heidi Moss
12 Maxwell / B Hinz
15 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
16 Inde Khaldair / L Crowley
17 Marie / C Ross (score 90.50)
18 Silvera / J Brunjes
Comp Travels Midnight Shadow / S Booth
Comp Mardi Gras / S Corr
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