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I woke up about 2:00 PM. I was feeling a little fuzzy headed, and Marie was getting a little restless so I decided to go for a quick ride before vetting in. After vetting in at a CTR, you can't ride other then the competition itself. I had time as vetting didn't start until 3:00 PM. Heather came right over as soon as I stepped out of the trailer. Just as I finished tacking Marie up Susie pulled in. Marie knew immediately that her boyfriend had arrived and started hollering to him. He, of course, answered making Marie more excited. I decided to go ahead and ride anyway. I knew Marie wouldn't be very happy about leaving now that the love of her life had arrived but tough! I said hi to Susie and told her I was going for a quick ride and wanted to head out before she unloaded Cody and Marie actually laid eyes on him. Marie was a bit naughty when I mounted up, dancing around and refusing to stand still. I had to really get after her to get her attention and get her to stand. After that, we had a great ride. I must say Marie was very light on her feet and a bit excited but behaved perfectly. I could feel that she wanted to buck but she didn't. When I got back, Susie was just getting ready to head out on a quick ride herself. I would have waited if I'd known she wanted to ride also. I just hadn't thought she'd go out that close to vetting time. That's ok, it's good for Marie to learn she doesn't need to be glued to Cody when we are at rides. Susie headed out and I brushed Marie and headed over to get vetted in. There are a lot of horses at this ride. More then I think I've seen at any ride so far. Twenty horse in the 20 mile ride and over forty in the 50 mile ride. Colleen didn't need to limit the ride entries as there is plenty of room on the Fairground for a lot of people and horses. Poor Colleen was rushing around like a crazy woman wondering how she was going to manage it all though. But, that's not unusual and she always manages to put on a great ride. I got in line for vetting early, so, didn't have to wait all that long. Marie vetted in fine. By the time Susie got back from her ride, there was a long line for vetting. Susie wanted me to keep Marie with Cody so he wouldn't get upset. So, I ended up hanging around in the vetting area forever anyway! I didn't mind though. Good opportunity for socializing. Mary showed up quite late and we told her she was on her own. By the time Susie was done vetting, we'd hung around the vetting area long enough. It was 5:30 PM when Susie finished vetting in.
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Mary and I had bought meal tickets for the meal provided by the ride. Susie hadn't bought a meal ticket and they didn't have anymore. But, while hanging out in the vetting area, another woman gave Susie her meal ticket so that worked out. We did wait for Mary before getting supper. We checked on the starting order for the ride as Susie wanted to ride with Mary and me. Susie was only doing the 1 day 25 mile ride and was told at first by ride management that the 25's and 50's were being kept separate. Later, she was told that since she was at the end of the 25's, Mary and I would be put at the beginning of the 50's and they would let us start together. After we had settled Cody and Marie back in their stalls, Heather came back over and the two of us filled Mary's stall with shavings. I knew if we didn't, we'd have to wait that much longer before getting supper and I was getting hungry. Susie was off socializing as usual. Supper consisted of a steak sandwich with grilled peppers, onions and cheese. It was VERY good, but then I was VERY hungry. There was also watermelon and potato chips. After supper, we walked the horses. The riders meeting was at 7:30 PM. After the meeting, Heather and I walked our horses around the race track. I like walking there since there is no grass and Marie isn't constantly trying to drag me around to eat. Marie is such a chow hound always thinking about food (like her owner...)Later we sat around in front of the stalls and chatted until we realized it was getting quite late. We then hurried off to bed as the ride was starting at 6:30 AM.
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I slept very well Friday night. I was up a little after 4:00 AM. I went out and fed Marie as quietly as possible trying not to stir up the other horses. I heated up some water for coffee and oatmeal and cut up a banana into the oatmeal. There were donuts, bagels and muffins for us in the office, but their coffee pot was broken so I was glad I'd made my own. It was quite cold this morning. I had to rummage around the trailer to find a pair of gloves. And this was JULY! Luckily, I did find some gloves. And it turned out to be a beautiful day. The ride was right on schedule and the first riders went out at 6:30 AM. Marie was very excited this morning and got very upset when Cody got out of sight for even a second. Once again she was twirling around as I was trying to mount and I had to really get after her. She even shocked Susie when she reared up while I was tring to make her stand still. The trails on today's ride were absolutely awesome. Miles of agricultural roads through potato and corn fields. Colleen now has permission to ride through a private campground that cut off almost all of the road riding we'd had to do in previous years. The water in the Saco river was very low this year so the crossing wasn't as exciting as it's been before. But, it was still fun and much better then riding over the bridge on the road. It is unbelievable how many people camp along this river. The shore on both sides is sandy beach and entire tent cities will apperear overnight. There is also much partying and drinking involved. We got to the hold in good shape. Marie is in such good condition now that I don't have to wait the entire 10 minutes for her pulse to come down. She was down to 50 in 5 minutes today. Her trot out was fine also. We fed the horses and were on our way again on time. On the trail back, we passed a short side trail going down to the river that was marked as a water spot. So, we went down to let the horses drink. The horses had a good drink and just as we were heading up out of the river back to the main trail we heard this loud screeching and the sound of thundering hooves. We look up and just saw the tops of two helmets flash by. Our hearts went into our throats. Either someone was fooling around dangerously, or there were a couple of run away horses. We hurried up the side trail back into the fields and the main trail. We soon came upon Margaret Farnum laying on the side of the trail. She was just getting up as we approached. She said her horse Promise, and Heather's horse, Mariah had bolted and they could not stop them. Margaret had jumped off intentionally. Unfortunately she had landed hard on one hip but said she was ok and could walk out to the road which wasn't far. She told us to go on ahead and let ride managment know she was walking out and ok. When we got out to the road, we sent someone with a car to go get Margaret. Heather was already sitting in another car. Apparently, when she and Mariah came to the tar road, Mariah took a sharp right and fell, rolling over Heather's legs before scrambling up and continuing down the trail towards the fairgrounds. Heather had some bad scrapes from the tar, and her left elbow and wrist was a bit swollen. Nothing seemed to be broken and overall she seemed ok considering. Since the horses were headed in the direction of the fairground, no one was too worried about them. Tom Hutchinson went out to the one busy road between where we were and the fairground in hopes of catching the horses or at least alerting traffic so there was no accident. But, the horses never made it to the road crossing. When we got back to the fairground, we were told the Margaret's horse Promise had been found. He had come almost all the way back, but at the last turn there is a horse farm just up the road and he'd stopped there and was found quietly grazing along the fence line near the horses there. Heather's horse Mariah was still missing. We all thought it odd that the horses had separated. It made me worry that something had happened to Mariah. Heather, at this time, was sitting in a lawn chair calmly stating that she was going to stay for the second day of the ride even though she wouldn't be riding. Meanwhile Tom and several others were out looking for her horse.
There were sandwiches available for us when we got in from the ride. The trot outs were done first so we were done with the first days ride. Susie had to also do her hands on since she was only riding the 25. Marie did a great trot out and we were cleared to ride the second day. After Susie finished her hands on, we had supper. They completed the scoring quickly and soon had the awards for the 25 mile riders. Susie got a 4th place. About that time, Tom arrived back at the fairground to get a quick bite to eat and ask for volunteers to help search for Heather's horse. He wanted a few to go out on horseback, but they would have to be 25 mile riders as those doing the 50 mile ride couldn't take their horses out without withdrawing from the competition. Susie considered going but really wanted to get home before it got too late so she left. Tom mentioned there were some naked men swinging off a rope swing into the river so naturally Mary and I quickly volunteered to go out and search on foot. Not many people volunteered to go out. Just 5 men and 4 women. We piled into Tom's car and went as far as we could with that. Tom told us he's seen some faint tracks leading towards a swamp and that is where he wanted those of us searching on foot to look. He told us to make sure to cover ourselves because we would be walking through a lot of brush and prickers, not to mention the voracious mosquitoes. We all piled into Scott Hatch's truck and went as far as the truck could take us. When I saw where Tom wanted us to look, I thought for sure he was crazy. I could not imagine any horse going out in that swampy, brushy mess. We formed a line and walked in, trying to stay just within sight of each other. I was on one end of the line. The brush and grass was chest high to me and you could not see where you were putting your feet. There were brush tangles, small ravines and swamp holes. And the mosquito's were so thick you could nearly part them with your hands! Mary and I were both wearing mosquito net jackets and I was sure glad we were. I was even more sure we were crazy looking here the farther we went in. I came upon a faint path through the brush and started to follow it as the walking was easier. I figured it was likely made by some moose. I came to a ditch filled with water. On the far side of the ditch in the exposed dirt, much to my surprise, was a clear hoof print! That foolish horse really had come into this swamp! I kept following the path until I came to open water. There was just one more thin bar of brush out in that water then there was an open pond. I could go no farther. I could see where Mariah had milled around trying to decide where to go and I figured she must have turned back. I turned around and started back, then, turned around for one last look out over the open swamp and suddenly spot a big white blaze sticking out of the last bar of brush before the open pond! It was Mariah! She had actually crossed that first section of open swamp to the last bar of brush. She had turned around and was facing towards me but apparently had been too scared to try crossing the open swamp again. She was standing like a statue with nothing but her head above the brush. If she did not have a big white blaze, I would not have seen her. At this point I started yelling for the others. The first woman to get to my spot had fallen into the water and was wet from head to toe. She said that since she was already soaked, she would try wading across to Mariah. I didn't argue with her. She had a hard time getting through the mud and water but she made it eventually. Mariah still had her saddle and bridle on. The woman took the reins and headed back into the water. It took a bit of encouragement to get Mariah to follow her, but finally, she took a huge leap. The mud was so deep that Mariah had to do a lot of thrashing to get through. I thought the poor woman would get trampled to death trying to stay ahead of Mariah and away from her flailing legs. By some miracle, they made it. Mariah was terrified, exhausted and trembling all over. Others had joined us and Mary had brought a halter. We removed the horses bridle and put the halter on. Someone else had brought a long rope. We needed it. It took two people, one on each side of Mariah with separate ropes to hold her. She was so scared she kept trying to bolt. We slowly walked her out of the swamp. Then we still had to walk her quite a way down the trail until we came to a road wide enough for the horse trailer to get in to pick her up. Two people rode in the trailer with Mariah to help keep her calm. The vet checked her over carefully as soon as we got her back to the fairground. Mariah bowed the tendons in two legs and has some cuts and puncture wounds. None were too serious. the vet stitched and bandaged her up. The vet told Heather to keep hosing her legs to help keep the swelling down. Mariah is going to need a long rest but the vet thinks she will be fine. I was just so Glad we had found her.
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By the time we got back from the search, Mary and I were so hot, muddy and wet that we headed right to the showers. Then, as were were about starving too, we headed into town for something to eat. The restaurant we had always gone to before has gone out of business so we stopped at a gas station and asked about a place to eat. The man sent us to a pizza place. It turned out to be far more then just a pizza place. All kinds of Italian food was served and it was very good. There were a number of riders there having supper. I got quite the hero's welcome for finding Mariah. Mary and I pretty much went straight to bed when we got back to the fairground.
I was up at 4:00 AM Sunday morning. Same routine as Saturday. Feed Marie, make coffee and oatmeal for myself. The riders meeting was at 6:00 AM in front of the office. First riders were out at 6:30 AM. Everything went well to the hold. I had no problem with Marie but the vet was a bit worried about Mary's horse thinking she might be a little lame. She had Mary trot her several time but in the end decided to let her finish the ride. The second half of the ride also went well. We went as slow as we could for Mary's horse but finished on time. We were one of the first one's to finish so it did not take long to do our trot out. Marie did fine but Mary's horse was definitely lame when circling to the left. Mary was just sick over it. She's had so much trouble with lame horses over the past year and every thing had finally seemed to be going well this year.
With so many riders, we knew it would be a while before the trot outs were done. So, we put the horses back in their stalls to rest and eat. Mary and I sat and rested also. Then, we packed up as much as we could so we wouldn't have so much to do after the award ceremony. Finally it was time for our hands on. Marie had a small sore in her girth area poor girl. First time this has ever happened. Possibly something had gotten under the girth. Supper was served at 3:00 PM. The awards weren't presented until 5:00 PM. Marie lost points for the girth sore but that was all. Mary lost a lot of points for lameness but at least she did get a completion. I was very excited because with this ride, Marie had now earned the year end versatility award.
I had a little bit of unwanted excitement on the way home. After going through Waterford on Route 118, there is a long downhill grade coming into Norway (I think). I was nearly at the end of the long downhill, when the car in front of me slowed to make a right hand turn. I slowed to nearly a stop when suddenly I hear a horrible screeching behind me. I look in my rear view mirror and see a tractor trailer truck flying down the hill out of control. There was still a car in front of me, one behind me and several coming in the opposite direction. There was nowhere to go. The truck must have lost it's breaks and in an effort to not hit us, the driver swerved sharply to the left onto a dirt road. The truck flipped onto it's side and was still coming down the road towards up. The truck rotated all the way around so that it was now facing up the hill and finally slid off into the ditch. It came so close to hitting the car behind me!!! What a scare, I was shaking so hard I nearly couldn't drive! I was sure glad to get home safe and sound.
Fryeburg 50 ME 7/28-29 43/S-41/F
Judges: Shively-Leville
Junior:
1 Travelons Two Times Two / M Kohler
Adult
1 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
2 Shyrocco Lyric / J Kimberly
3 DAR Dutch Treat / S Greenall
4 Especial Addition / L Prentice
5 Czar Nickolas / L Lester
6 Shaham Ka Tara / S Hardy
6 GH Jesse Jolody / D Houghton
8 SR Gibralter / S Rojek
9 BAF Cubic Choice / Ll Pederson
9 Borong / ?
11 Aziza / L LeVitre
12 AFX Polaris / C Metayer
13 Stormy / K Hall
13 Lord Darshan / E Szeliga
15 Picasso / D Rojek
15 SR Katherine / ?
15 Gladgay's Crescendo / V Bentley
18 Mac Callan / C Dermick
Completions:
Electric Smoke / J Brucker
Sherrington / K Redente
Bask n Serafix / S Ackerstrom
Merlin / J Broome
Sage / S MacDonald
Gallant Fireglo / E Fiddes
Pretty Action / J Stratemeyer
Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
Sylvea / J Brunjes
Amali Spunk / L Kholer
Sir Narionn / S Corr
Pardons Protege / C Navoy
Marie / C Ross (score 93.75)
Shaker / J Hesselbacher
? / E Hesselbacher
Willows Rahmaan / I McNaughton
FR Midori / M Batt
Willow Mis-K / C Lang