Maine 3 day 80 CTR Waterford ME May 2001

At last I've made it to the Maine 80. After two long years of conditioning and training. There were no pre-trip adventures this time.. thankfully! Actually, that is not quite true. Marie didn't want to get in the trailer and I had to have a little talk with her about that. After about five minutes of negotiations, I convinced her it would be better if she went in and we were on our way. I don't know why she has been doing this lately. She has always been good about loading on the trailer. I'll have to work on this when I get back home. The truck is fixed and running fine and the trailer is ready. Bonnie is coming to help us and work the ride. She ended up having to work half a day Friday. Susie had to work a full day. I headed up first thing in the morning. I managed to leave home about 7:30 AM. The drive up was uneventful. I got to the Waterford Fairgrounds at 9:00 AM. I was surprised to see quite a few people already there. We had stalls assigned to us. I've never seen that done before but it worked out fine. Susie and I did end up in the same barn with the smallest stalls due to our late entry but it was fine. Stall gates were provided this time which was great. I got Marie settled into her stall first thing. She was already making a fuss and calling like crazy. She was wondering where all her buddies were. Aside from the calling, she was behaving fine. I set up our portable fence and divided it into two areas for Cody and Marie. That way we could turn them out in it when we had the chance so they would have more room to move around and roll if they wanted. I also brought my screen house since we were going to be here for three days. It has been so long since I've set it up, I kind of forgot how. I knew that you had to stake down the four corners first. I did that but it just didn't look right. Then I realized that I had staked down the roof! What a goof! After I got that straightened out, I got up set up quickly. After that, I had lots of time to lounge around and get a little rest. I napped for a short spell in my trailer, then again for a while in the screen house. I took Marie to be vetted in as soon as the vet arrived. Marie vetted in fine. I then went down to Tut's restaurant for some coffee and to pick up a few cold drinks. Bonnie Showed up right after I got back. Susie wasn't far behind her. Marie was sure glad to see Cody. We put Marie and Cody out in the paddocks so they could stretch their legs. When Susie went to put Cody in, she asked me if the fence was off, I told her it was....HEY, I really thought it was! .... oops.....Poor Susie got a big zap off it and was then paranoid of the fence the rest of the weekend.

There were 31 entries in the Maine 80 and 8 in the Waterford 30, so a good turn out for the ride. We went down to Tut's for supper. A couple from Cumberland, ME sat with us. They were very nice. We all forgot that Tut's serves HUGE portions and we all ordered more then we could eat. We nearly had to be rolled out the door! After supper we came back to camp and Susie and I played guitars in the screen house for a while. Later we walked the horses around a couple of times during the evening. They aren't used to standing in stalls. Actually, we walk them so we get to socialize with everyone as everyone walks their horses in the evening. We headed to bed just a little after 9:00 PM. The people next to us told me Marie provided them with entertainment when she was turned out in her paddock. I guess she had laid down to roll and stuck her head in her feed Pan and was rubbing around in it. Silly mare! We went out to check on the horses before going to bed. Cody and Marie were hanging over the stall Walls rubbing each other's necks. Cody was obviously a bit 'excited' about this activity with a pretty mare. We got such a laugh over it because Cody is 14 years old and has never given any mare a second look. He is totally dedicated to his athletic career. Marie has been in love with him since she first laid eyes on him. She had finally, after three years, gotten his attention! I teased Susie that Cody's athletic career was ruined now that he had thoughts about mares!

I slept like a log Friday night never waking up at all. That's unusual, I usually wake up at any little noise assuming it is Marie getting loose. She's known for doing that. I woke up just a little before 5:00 AM. Bonnie was awake also. I heated up water for coffee and oatmeal. It was a little chilly but not too bad. Everything was right on time this morning. A light breakfast was served at 6:00 AM. Riders meeting was at 6:30 AM. First riders were out at 7:30 AM. I was #23 and Susie was #24. We were out at 7:50 AM. The day turned out to be quite warm. Marie had been drinking a ton of water from the time we'd arrived. Cody wasn't drinking a lot but then he often doesn't. The trails were fairly dry overall. We had a couple areas where we had to muck through some mud. And there is one spot that is short but really deep. I managed to find just the right place there and sunk Marie in it up to the base of her tail! Same spot I sunk her in last year. Poor horse. She remembered the spot and didn't really want to go through. I felt guilty for making her but there was no other way around. We had to climb the mountain again this year. It is so beautiful at the top but what a climb! Cody had trouble with going uphill that steeply and kept stopping. Marie just puts her head down, digs in and goes without stopping. Marie may not be fast but she sure is steady. Susie was calling her "The Little Engine that Could." We went almost a little too fast the first day. We had to wait a few minutes before we could cross the finish line. Both horses did a great job and vetted out fine and cleared to ride the second day. Marie did get a tiny sore on her withers. I don't know what caused it. Maybe something under the saddle pad. I knew I'd have to be careful with saddling the next day. Norma House, who was the P&R person for our barn, went home and got me a gel pad to use so the sore wouldn't get more irritated over the next few days. That was so nice of her to do. that afternoon was the 'banquet' that we paid and extra $8.50 to attend. Well, to use the word banquet was a big stretch of the imagination. The meal was very good. We had ham, corn. potato, bread and salad. There was only lemonade to drink and no desert. It was the same sort of meal we usually get that is included in the price of the entry fee. We decided we'd have been better off going to Tut's for supper. Bonnie and I did sneak down there in the evening for coffee and desert. We hung out in the screen house house for a while. Norma and Irving joined us and we had a nice time chatting. They are both such characters and fun to talk to. Irving is amazing. He's in his 70's and and is at all the rides and still does one day 50's and 100's. He rides an old horse and travels around with his ancient dog. He is amazing and such a wealth of knowledge on this sport. The mosquito's were fierce so I was glad I'd brought the screen house. Susie and I played guitar for a while. Then we did the usual walking of the horses and socializing.

Sometime during the night it started to rain. we got up Sunday morning in the rain. It was just a light rain. The ride goes on no matter what the weather is so we just set about our business as usual. Everything was right on time this morning again. We were doing the same trails today as we did yesterday. Susie and I went out at 7:45 AM. There were fewer horses this morning. The 30 mile riders were gone and a few horses had been pulled from the 80 mile ride. It rained all day, sometimes quite hard. Once we got going though, we didn't mind it. It wasn't really cold and the rain kept the horses cooled down. Marie had to lead Cody up the mountain again. Two miles from the finish, Cody suddenly bolted without warning. Marie leaped into the air and gave and good buck, then also bolted. Both Susie and I were caught off guard. Both horses got running pretty good before we got ourselves together and got them under control. We decided they couldn't be very tired if they had the energy for that kind of behavior! It is very unusual for Marie to do something like that at all. We did the ride in great time today. I got though the vetting fine but Susie was told she would have to bring Cody for a re-check in the morning. I was so proud of my little Marie getting through 60 miles so far without problem. We went down to Tut's for an early supper. Heather went with us. Her horse got pulled the first day but she stayed to work the ride. Susie left to go and take a shower at a friends camp. She invited Bonnie and I to go but we decided we had been out in a 'shower' all day, we'd seen all the water we wanted to see. Now that I have a sink in my trailer, it's easy to take a sponge bath anyway. Bonnie and I hung out in the screen house to keep out of the rain. Later we went back down to Tut's for some desert and coffee. We just love that place. After we got back, Bonnie and I took down the paddock . We would be leaving the next day and with all the rain, knew we would not be putting the horses out again. We also took down the screen house. Heather helped me with that which I appreciated. Then, we went out to the barn and hung out in one of the empty stalls to play guitar and sing. Susie was so worried about possibly not being able to ride the last day. So was I, Marie would be so upset if Cody couldn't go.

Monday morning was overcast and misting when we got up. The riders meeting was a little late this morning due to the horses that had to be re-checked. Susie was nervous but Cody was cleared to start the ride! We were both very relieved. Monday's trail was easier but we had to ride faster to make the time. There was no hold either. The ride went great and we finished in great time. We rode the last five miles or so with Liz Szeliga from MA. She was very nice and fun to talk with. She had done the ride three times before but this was the first time for the horse she was riding. Marie was a bit sluggish at the trot out. And she was slightly sore in her shoulders when they did the hands on. Not surprising considering the mountain we had climbed two days in a row. Overall, she was in great condition for having just finished 80 miles. Susie was in a tizzy wanting to leave. She didn't want to wait for awards. Bonnie and I gave her such a hard time about it. We were served hamburgers, hotdog and potato salad for supper. The scoring was done quite quickly and awards were ready to be presented before Susie left so she stayed. It was such a great ride!

Maine 80 5/26/01 ME 31/S-23/F
Judges: Davis/Lorimer
1 Lord Darshan / L Szeliga
2 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
3 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
4 Jericho . C Sadowski
5 Willowbrook Precious / L Crowley
6 Hawks Neopolitan / M Coleman
7 Scatri / D Schrader
8 Rushcreek Equal / G Pawlowicz
9 High Country Piper / M Deleware
11 Kineo / P Snow
13 ? / J Stratemeyer
14 Brios Kavalier / K Duggan
15 Marie / C Ross (score 86.75)
16 Czar Nickolas / L Lester
17 Baskin Serafix / S Akerstrom
18 Xavier Sunny Acres / S Reinheimer
Comp PS Sir Sedgewick / S Corr
Comp sillows Rahmaan / I McNaughton
Comp Silvea / J Brunjes
Comp EJ Sheik / D Meldrum
Comp RKL Echo's Image / B Vanderminden

Appleblossom I 25 CTR Groton MA May 2001

Yeah, competition season begins! But, as usual, this story begins days before the ride. Several weeks ago, I noticed that the breaks on my horse trailer were getting a little grabby. Since it is a three hour drive to Groton, MA, I called Will's trailers to have the trailer serviced before the ride. I took it in on Monday before the ride weekend, explaining to the mechanic what was going on with the trailer. I had planned to just drop the trailer off for the day but the mechanic asked if I could leave the truck also. He thought there might be more going on then just the trailer breaks. So, I called Fred to come pick me up. When Fred got there, I was out on the lot looking over all the trailer, as I just can't resist looking. Fred scared the poor mechanic with his...... Fred-ness. Fred is such a wonderful man but some people don't know quite what to think of him when they first meet him. That evening, the mechanic called and said the truck and trailer were ready so we went to pick it up. The mechanic said the electric break system had not been properly grounded and he'd fixed that. He said all was fine with the trailer but the truck needed new breaks! AAAGGGHHHHH. I only drive it when I haul the trailer so I was blaming the trailer for the breaking problems. The mechanic thought I'd be fine to go to the competition, so I didn't worry about it. The Wednesday before the ride, Fred pulled the trailer out back to install a cabinet and sink. He did a wonderful job with it and it looks great. Then, on Friday morning, Fred came home from work and told me he noticed a squealing in the front end when he pulled the trailer out back and he's worried the wheel bearings need to be re-packed. He doesn't feel I will be safe to take the truck on such a long haul!!!! I was just about beside myself. I've got all this money into entry fee, shoeing and health papers for going out of state and NOW he's telling me he's worried about the truck! I told him he'd better start calling some garages. Poor Fred, I was trying not to get too excited but I was quite upset. I was supposed to be leaving at noon and follow Susie and Mary to the ride. Fred called the garage we usually go to and they said to bring the truck in. So begins the waiting game. I called Susie and told her and Mary to just go without me and to just try to save a place for me to park when I got there. They were both worried for me. At 10:30 AM the garage called to tell us that it was the breaks that were making all the noise, the ball joints were bad, the wheel bearing were loose and did need to be re-packed. But, he told me, none of that was really at the dangerous stage yet. The problem was that one of the tie rods was about to let go and that was dangerous. I would loose my steering if that went. He said he could replace the tie rod that day but nothing else. So, that is what we had him do. The truck wasn't ready until 4:30 PM. I rushed over, got the truck then rushed back to the house, hooked up and off I went. Mary gave me very good directions to the ride thankfully. I left the house at 5:30 PM and got to the ride at 9:00 PM. I had no problems with the truck other then the trailer breaks grabbing. I had reserved a pen for Marie so I wouldn't have to set anything up when I got to the ride other then giving Marie some hay and water. Susie and Mary went to bed soon after I got there. I stayed up a little longer and made myself a sandwich. I had left in such a hurry I hadn't really had any supper. I was really appreciating my new trailer. The living quarters, home made as they are, make for little to no set up when you arrived at camp. I didn't have the best night sleep because some horses in a pasture adjoining Marie's pen kept crashing through the bushes all night trying to check her out and they were all squealing at each other. I was afraid Marie might get loose if one of them kicked through the fencing. Nothing did happen and I woke up for good around 5:00 AM. I heated some water and had oatmeal and coffee. When Susie got up, we fed the horses. When I stepped out of the trailer and saw the barn at this place, I couldn't believe my eyes. I hadn't seen it when I arrived as it was dark. I've never seen such a heathen structure in my life. It was....well...hard to describe. It looked like it was thrown up with all scrap material. Lumber, plywood, carpeting... and nothing was cut to fit. I was just sorry I didn't have my camera with me. There was an outhouse in the middle of one of the paddock by the barn. But, otherwise the place was very nice. Vetting in was done the morning of the ride. The vet was late getting there are there were 31 riders. Needless to say we got a very late start on the ride. I will say the vet was very quick with the vetting. At the pre-ride briefing, Gail was describing the trail and what the markers would look like and it sounded complicated. Susie was totally stressing out. "It sounds hard, we're going to get lost..." etc. I wasn't worried. It always sounds harder then it actually is. It turned out to be no problem. It started to rain while were were vetting in, so, we broke out all the rain gear and resigned ourselves to a wet ride. By the time the ride started, it was clearing off and the weather turned out beautiful. The trails were outstanding. Very flat and easy with little pavement. Some of it was along an old railroad bed where we had to go through a 'tube' which was just a huge culvert that went under a road. the horses were very brave and went right through. They sped up towards the end of the tube but that was it. We followed a wonderful trail along a river for a while which was lovely. The first and second loop were the same nine miles then a hold back at camp. Marie was traveling very strong and was in good shape at the hold. The last seven mile loop was lovely also.We went through a state bird sanctuary with maintained trails, then through a cross country jump course. We were strictly told to not try any of the jumps going through there. Not to worry, these jumps were seriously huge Olympic caliber jumps and I would not even have considered trying one. The whole ride was great. After the ride, Susie got fretting about wanting to get home and didn't want to stay for the awards. By the time we'd had dinner they were ready with the awards so Susie ended up staying. The vet judge didn't like the way Marie traveled so she took off points for lameness. Just before my trot out, Marie had nipped me looking for a treat and I had given her a sharp slap for it. So, she was sulking when we went to do our trot out and was reluctant to trot. So, more points of for 'fatigue'. That was ok, it was a great ride and will be worth coming back to. We had a safe and uneventful drive home. The truck goes back to the garage tomorrow morning to have the rest of the work that it needs done. I'm not going to haul again until everything is taken care of.

Apple Blossom 25 CTR MA 5/5/01 24/S-23/F
Judges Newell/Stratemeyer
Juniors
1 Travelon's Two Times Two / M Kohler
Adults
1 Sir Narionn / S Corr
1 willowbrook Precious / L Crowley
3 Izusu / C Lester
3 Sherrington / K Redente
6 Czar Nickolas / L Lester
7 High Country Piper / M Deleware
8 Society Olympic Spot / R Johnson
9 FR Midori / M Batt
10 Peppers Bold Glory / R Bryant
10 Xavier Sunny Acres / S Reinheimer
12 ? / D Barrington
13 Lord Darshan / E Szeliga
13 Miss Pinata Bar / M Stuller
15 Oliver / A Quill
15 Kadets Charm / C Di Marzio
17 Marie / C Ross (score 91.50)
18 MBF Rifasa / M Guild
Comp Stormy Prairie / D McClary
Comp Jewely's Gem / C Breckstrom
Comp Marjas Majestic Breakaway / D Johnson
Comp Amalie Spunk / E Kohler