Another ride on a borrowed horse. This time I had the honor of riding my good friend Susie's horse, Cody. He is an “energetic” half Arab gelding that not a whole lot of people are willing to ride. He is a great horse and an incredible athlete as well as an experienced competitive trial and endurance horse. He also has some incredible moves that can make it a challenge to stay on him. I had previously only done a few short rides on him over the years that I’ve known Susie. Unfortunately, Cody was available due to Susie finding out she had breast cancer and having had surgery. Susie was doing well but not ready to do a ride yet. This was certainly going to be a year we would remember. First with me almost losing Rosemarie to Purpura from her Strangles vaccine, Susie having breast cancer. Bonnie’s horse, Isabelle, sick for 2 months with the nastiest case of flu I’ve ever heard of. And there are also the triumphs such as me placing 3rd over all at the Acadia 50 on the borrowed horse, Koram. (And then nearly losing him in the river at the Pine Tree ride.) The weekend before Fryeburg, Barbara McGovern and I went on a long ride to see how things would go with Cody and me. Barbara was also going to the Fryeburg ride. She was using Susie’s other horse, Monty. It would be her and Monty’s first Competitive Trail Ride. We went out for nearly 4 hrs. It was a hot day but all went well. Cody only did one of his classic “drop and spin” moves and I managed to hang on. The Wednesday before the Fryeburg ride, we went out for a shorter ride. Joanie joined us. She was also going to the Fryeburg ride and it would be her and her horse, Frannie’s first Competitive Ride. I also talked Bonnie into playing hookie from work and going with us on Wednesday riding Marie. It didn’t take much arm twisting. We rode over in Richmond and had a great ride except that Joanie lost her work pager. Cody tried a couple of his classic “drop and spin” moves but once again I managed to stick with him. I told Cody he would have to do better then that to keep me from the ride! We were ready Fryeburg!
Friday morning I picked up Barbara and the horses at Susie’s. We headed out around 8:30 am. Joanie followed us up. I brought Zephyr along. Zephyr fell in love with Barbara immediately. Joanie also brought her dog, Moxie. The ride was held at the Fryeburg fairgrounds. It is the greatest place. There are great stalls. You can park and camp right in front of the stalls. There is a water line every 4 stalls so you never have to lug water far. Shavings were delivered right in front of the stalls. There are nice bathrooms and showers. What more could anyone ask for. After we arrived and got the horses settled in, we checked in and set up camp. The state 4H camp was being held there that weekend also. So there were a lot of horses and other critters on the grounds that weekend. There were 70+ entries in the Fryeburg ride. The 4H had a food booth that was open to the public. We took advantage of that for lunch. We had a great salad, hamburgers, and a choice of wonderful home made deserts. Poor Joanie was coming down with a cold and was not feeling very well. She really wanted to take a nap after we ate lunch but we also wanted to get the horses out for a little ride. We had to ride before we vetted in. After vetting in you aren’t allowed to ride other then the competition itself. So, we saddled up and headed out. We put Zephyr and Moxie in a stall. We were afraid it would be too hot in the horse trailer if we left them in there. We didn’t ride for all that long and Cody was a monster. Pulling, bucking, spinning, shying. I don’t know how I managed to stay on him but I did. When we got back Barbara just shook her head and told me she would understand if I decided not to ride the next day. I was very concerned about it myself. I didn’t know if I could handle him for 25 miles if he was like that. Joanie tried to get a nap after we rode. There was a sign up for vetting in. That was nice so we wouldn’t have to stand in long lines waiting. We signed up before going out on our ride so we were in the first half to be vetted. The vetting was being done right in front of where we were camping so we had a great view of all that was going on. My good friend Margaret Farnum was a scribe for the 25 mile ride. Margaret had previously had some bad experiences at this particular ride so chose to work the ride rather then ride in it. The Lay Judge was Vicky Austin. She owns King, the half brother to Cody. Both horses are very much alike and have all the same moves. Vicky looked me right in the eye when I came up for vetting and said, “you do know what this horse can do don’t you?” I assured her that I did know what I was getting into though I could not convince her I was in full possession of my sanity! All three of us vetted in without problem. It was now official, we were going to ride!!! We were sitting in front of our stalls watching the trot outs and got more action then we wanted. Stephanie Rice was trotting out her horse when someone started up a big truck and the horse lost his concentration and bumped Stephanie. She slipped on the grass and fell under the horse and he managed to accidentally step on her head and elbow. She started to get up but then just fell back onto the ground. Joanie is an emergency room nurse so went to see what she could do. When Joanie got back, she said that there was a lot of blood but that Stephanie would be ok. They had to call an ambulance. Stephanie’s husband was also in the competition so was there. We did hear later that Stephanie was going to be ok. Then, a nasty thunderstorm rolled in and it poured rain for a bit so the vetting had to be delayed for a while. There were supposed to be two vets at this ride due to the number of entries. One couldn’t make it at the last minute. So, it was one vet and 70+ horses. After the storm passed they resumed the vetting until dark. The remaining horses had to vet in Saturday morning. Rich Gamester was providing the food for the weekend. Friday’s supper was hamburgers, pasta salad and chips. After we ate, I took Cody out into the field to lounge him hoping he would blow off some of that excess energy. Joanie came out to let the dogs run for a bit. Cody certainly did blow off some steam. The bugs were horrible so we could only stand it out there for a short time. I just hoped it was enough for Cody. We all went to bed shortly after that. Zephyr was beside himself when he was allowed up to sleep with Barbara and I in the gooseneck. He completely spazzed out as he usually does when Bonnie is with me. Luckily, Barbara has two Jack Russell’s and knows how little dogs can be and was very patient with him. Though we did draw the line when he tried to get into her sleeping bag like he does with Bonnie!
I didn’t really sleep very well. Probably because I was worried about riding Cody. We were up early and got the horses fed. We took the dogs for a quick walk then had some breakfast. Soon it was time to saddle up. For better or worse, I was going to go. We mounted up and just walked the horses around until our numbers were called. They let the three of us start together since I was “mentoring” Barbara and Joanie. Cody was a bit excited at first but manageable. At one point, Irving McNaughton rode up beside me and stated, “My lord, I have never seen Cody going so slow in my life! You know what your problem is, you aren’t talking enough, you have to keep up a steady stream of talk and he will move much faster!” And off he went. We got a good laugh out of that. Poor Susie, poking fun of her when she couldn’t defend herself! We didn’t go across the Saco river this year. The ride manager said the water was too high and the horses would have actually had to swim. So, we had to go up on the road and cross the bridge instead. That is a bit scary. It is a fairly long high bridge on a very busy road. The Saco river is a very popular canoeing/partying place during the summer. Just standing in one place, you will literally see hundreds of canoes on the river at any given time during the day. No, not any given time. Usually more towards noon since everyone usually has a hangover and doesn’t get going all that early. When we got to the agricultural roads along the potato fields, Cody got a bit strong so we kept it down to a trot. He really wasn’t too bad and actually settled down about half way through the fields but I still kept it down to a trot to be on the safe side. . Go ahead, call me a chicken. We were doing great on time and arrived at the hold in good time. Frannie was incredible, she was walking right out and doing big monster trots. She was giving Cody a run for his money. Frannie was also leaping over the smallest stick and puddles. She was just having a great time. Monty, in his usual fashion, was just following along behind wasting no extra energy. At the hold, Monty pulsed right down to 40. Cody and Frannie’s pulse were higher but fine. Despite the number of riders and only one vet, we got through the vetting fairly quickly. We did take an extra 5 minutes to feed the horses. Then, off we went for the second half. The trail markings were a bit confusing on part of the second half. We ended up doing one loop twice. Ooops. Cody took that opportunity to do one of his special moves. To his credit, the only one during the entire ride. Once again I managed to stay on. Riding the loop twice put us a little behind on time. When we crossed the bridge there were tons of canoes down in the river. When we were about half way across, someone started setting off fire crackers. Cody hates popping sounds. I really thought I was going to eat pavement. Cody jumped and hopped just a little. I stayed quiet and talked to him and we managed to get over the bridge in one piece. At the end we were running short on time. I decided that we should speed up to make our time and take the chance of getting points for a high pulse rather then take certain points for coming in late. Cody got a little excited with that and got a bit strong but nothing serious. In the end, it wasn’t a bad gamble. Frannie and Cody each took one point for being slightly over on pulse. Monty pulsed down just fine. And he was the horse I was worried about! Once again the poor lone vet did a great job in getting the horses all vetted in. Those that were doing the two day ride only had to do a quick trot out so that helped speed things along. We got things packed up while waiting for supper and awards. Joanie tried to take a nap in her trailer since she still was not feeling too well. Moxie and Frannie just would not cooperate with that idea. Moxie barked wanting to be with her and Frannie kept calling for Monty when he was taken out of his stall. We found out that here were a couple of tragic events just after we had gone out on trail that morning. Apparently, someone’s horse started to act up and buck waiting at the start. The rider dismounted in an attempt to get her horse under control but he got so strong that he pulled away from her and got loose. The horse jumped into an electric pen with another horse, when the horse jumped back out, he became entangled in the wire and then managed to take out a second pen also in his panic. The horse, dragging all the wire, poles, and charger ran straight for a mounted rider. This rider quickly dismounted and her horse stepped in front of her and took the full force of the running horse. The rider was knocked down and both horses ran off towards the track. Another rider was also thrown when her horse spun and bolted to get out of the way. When the first horse settled down, they went out on the track and got him. They figured the second horse would also be out there grazing in the area inside the track. Unfortunately, the mare had jumped the track fence and skidded into the chain link fencing that surrounds the fairgrounds and was dead! Then, Sue and John Greenall went off trail in the beginning of the ride. They went over a snowmobile bridge that was not designed for horses. The boards were spaced too far apart. One of the horses slipped on mud and went through the bridge with three legs. One of the riders husband had to get a chain saw and cut through the bridge to get the horse out. Others came to help with boards and they managed to get the horse out mostly unharmed. It gives me the chills just thinking about all of it.
Now, after all that gloom and doom, our personal rides turned out very well. Barbara won first place in the lightweight division and first place rookie rider. Joanie got 2nd place in the middleweight division and the high point Morgan horse award. I won sixth place in the heavyweight division and the 1st place ½ Arabian award. I also completed and earned my first 1,000 miles of competitive trail riding. Narie had already earned her 1,000 miles. In the club, ride and drive miles are split for the rider/driver but not for the horse. Marie and I have done 75 mile of drives. So, starting the year I was 75 miles behind in earning my 1,000 mile ride award. I got 50 miles at Acadia on Koram. Cody had earned me my last 25 miles. I can’t think of a better horse to have earned it on since he had been by Marie and my side through so many of those miles. We had so many prizes we could barely carry them back to the trailer! I was so happy that my friends had done so well on their first rides. On my score sheet, Vicky wrote in the trail comment section, “cute, cute, cute.” We got a chuckle out of that. I think she may be a bit partial to her horses half brother! Hahahaha.
Thank to Susie for letting me borrow her wonderful horse Cody and thanks to my friends for trusting me to help them through their first ride.
A few weeks after the ride, Joanie, Barbara, Susie and I went on a little ride from Joanie’s. It was nice to have both Susie and Marie with us. After the ride, we had a little celebration for me earning my 1,000 miles and for Joanie and Barbara completing their first ride. Susie wrote a poem for the occasion. It was about the Fryeburg 25 sung to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillys. It was absolutely hilarious and I will add it to this as soon as I get a copy.
