Ruby and I had a good weekend. We headed out early Friday morning for ride camp. Ruby was not too keen on getting into the trailer without her pasture mate. But, didn’t put up too big a fuss. She stomped around a bit in the trailer on the ride up but she has been far worse. Orland is a 2 hr. drive from home. I was a nice sunny warm day. There weren't many people at ride camp when I arrived so I had my choice of spots. I pulled in next to Irving McNaughton. A seasoned and crusty old timer who all know and can’t help but love. I was going to set up Ruby’s pen beside his horses pen. He quickly informed me that he was saving a spot for a couple of woman who he would be mentoring through their first ride. That left me with setting up my pen on the living quarter door side of my trailer. Which actually worked out great since I could step right out into Ruby’s pen to take care of her and feed her. And go out the back door if I didn’t want to go over her pen fence. Though I still managed to “test” the fence at least 3 times over the weekend. Apparently the batteries in the charger are good since it was working great. Ouch! I quickly set up Ruby's pen and settled her in with hay and water. She could not see any other horses at first so did some hee hawing in protest of her loneliness. Soon others began arriving. Heather showed up at noon time and Ruby’s new boyfriend, Maddy, was soon camping beside her. She was a very happy mule with her boyfriend nearby. The vetting in went quickly. There were two vets for the ride. Art King and Ron Miles. Ron vetted Ruby. He loudly announced that he was the specialized mule vet and would be judging all the mule while Art handled all the horses! Too funny. Of course Ruby was the only mule there. It's amazing how quickly Ruby has become an old pro at the vetting. She knows what it's all about and what is expected of her and is such a good girl about it. No more fussing about the stethoscope. You can see her still trying to control her twitching but knows it is ok and won’t hurt her. She still wants to pick up her feet when the judges run their hands down her legs but that is minor. When I first went up to get Ruby vetted in, Ron was talking to me while scratching and patting Ruby’s face. Ruby decided this meant they were now friends and quickly spun around and requested a “booty scratch”. Of course Ron immediately jumped out of the say asking, “Hey, why is your mule trying to kick me!” and he was wondering why I was laughing. I then enlightened him about the mule addiction to booty scratches. I’m not sure he believed me but he carefully went back to Ruby, got behind her and started rubbing her butt. When he was how much Ruby liked that, he got a good laugh about it.
Tracy Bradford came with her husband and their horses. I can't wait until her mule, Prize, is old enough to ride. There was a pot luck supper that night. Heather did not bring anything for the supper nor did she want to unhitch her truck and go out to eat. Nor did she bring any food. So she ended up with my bag of Dorito’s. There was lots of good food at the pot luck and I ate too much. After supper I sat talking with Heather and had a beer. The lack of sleep and the beer did me in and I went to bed early. I had worked Thursday night into Friday morning.
Sat. morning was cloudy and very foggy. It was not hot, but quite humid. It kind of stayed that way all day with periods of light drizzle. The humidity did drop through the day though. The ride was supposed to be 30 and 60 mile distances. But, the ride manager changed the trail at the last minute to keep us off pavement and on more trail. So, the 30 mile ride went to a 35 mile ride. The 60 mile riders went out at 6:00 AM. Ruby is getting so much better with everything and did not pitch a big fit when the 60 mile riders went out. She was bright and alert and you could tell she would like to be with them, but she knows now her turn is coming. We 35 milers headed out at 8:00 AM. The trail was TOUGH. The hardest ride I've done. I had planned to race this ride a bit but within the first 3 miles there was a hill we climbed that was so steep, I nearly had to cling to Ruby’s ears to stay on her back. This was NOT going to be a racing kind of trail. There were several members of the US endurance team at this ride. When one of the “big time” riders and her husband went by us, he commented it was the tougher rides he's ever done. They have ridden a LOT of rides so know a tough trail when they see one. This ride was very hilly. Some VERY steep sections. And sections of rocky, rooty, woods trail that was slow going. I rode with Tracy and Heather most of the ride. The horses got along fairly well. Ruby and Maddy are definitely in love. And both were being kind of crabby with Tracy’s horse, Fanny. Fanny was a good girl and minded her own business. Maddy did manage to give her a good kick right square in the chest in the beginning of the ride. No harm done thankfully. We all 3 leapfrogged leading throughout the ride and all the equines were good about that. A couple times Ruby had to lead past some horse eating boogers! It took us 3 hrs. 15 min to get to the hold. We went straight into the vet check before we even pulled tack. Ruby pulsed right down to 40. Ruby had not started to drink yet but I am finding this is normal for her. She usually goes 20 miles or so before drinking. She ate well. Heather didn’t bring anything for her horse so I shared my alfalfa cubes, dengie and hay with her horse. I had brought extra. And I shared my food with her also. Tracy had come well prepared and also shared her hay with Heather’s horse. We were out of the hold right on time. It was an "up and back" trail so we knew what we had facing us on the return trip. A few miles out of the hold the first of the 60 mile riders caught up with us. It was Connie Walker. A top competitor who has represented the US and won international rides. We thought she would want to pass us but we were coming up on the worst part of the trail and she said she would be happy to follow us though the "nasty stuff". Soon, two more riders came up behind us. One being on the US endurance team and her husband. They also were happy to let Ruby lead through the tough trail. So, Anthony can now brag that his Ruby mule led part of the US Endurance team through "the nasty trail!" Once we got out on dirt road, they were all off and gone! Ruby started drinking good about 20 miles out. Near the end of the ride, Heather and Tracy were getting a bit tired. Heather was suffering from an undergarment malfunction so refused to trot or canter any more. Tracy was just getting sore legs. So, I went on ahead of them. Ruby sure hated to part from her boyfriend but only expressed her displeasure by hee hawing her way down the road. She did not resist going nor did she try to turn around. Good girl. Ruby and I crossed the finish line alone. I took her straight to my trailer, pulled her tack and quickly sponged off the worst of the dirt. Then I took her straight up to the vet to get our completion. Ruby was pulsed down fine. She trotted out nicely and we had now officially won the limited distance ride!
After the ride, I settled Ruby in with food, water and hay. Later the wind really picked up and got chilly so I put a light blanket on her. I stayed for the award ceremony. When they called Ruby and my name as the winners of the 35 mile ride, I heard on person comment, “A mule won the ride?” Then they added, “Well, it was a tough trail and a real mule kind of ride!” I sure am proud of Ruby!
Hot Toddy Hustle I 6/S-F
1. 7:15 Cindy Ross on McAllister's Ruby
2. 7:20 Heather Bonniea on SA Mr Madazsin
3. 7:30 Tracy Bradford o LS Simply Fantastic
4. 7:50 Angela Gore on Megal
5. 7:50 Belinda Crose on Ruckus
6. 7:50 Irving McNaughton on RC Neon
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Scribners Mills 25 mile CTR Harrison, ME September 2007
Well, here we are heading into the fall riding season. The week prior to this ride had been very cool and fall like. Then, listening to the weather report just a few days before the ride, I hear we are going to have a heat wave with possible record setting high temperatures just in time for the ride. So much for lovely cool fall riding! Thankfully Friday morning Ruby loaded into the trailer quite well. She did hesitate just for a second when she realized Marie was not in the trailer but didn’t make a fuss really. And she was very quiet on the trip. It was an uneventful trip, or so I thought anyway. There weren’t many people at the ride when I arrived. I was soon glad I arrived early since I could see parking was going to be a bit tight. I picked a good spot and got parked without problem. I unloaded Ruby and as I was tying her to the trailer, I see that there is some damaged to the fender of my trailer! They are fiberglass and thank goodness for that! I crossed a bridge just before the ride site. It is on a dirt road and quite narrow with a sharp turn onto it. Apparently, I did not quite make the turn since I could see were it looked like two rails had scraped down the side of the fender. It cracked the fender. Had it been metal, it would have bent it into the tire! Yikes! In all the years I’ve been hauling, I’ve never hit anything before. I was horrified! The damage is not bad and does not affect the operation of the trailer but …… my new trailer.....
Ruby and Promise
Anyway, I decided to set up a pen for Ruby this time. I did not get much sleep either time I put her on my Spring-tie. She keeps trying to reach the grass when on it and pulls quite hard. And then has little temper tantrums when she can’t reach what she wants. So, you hear her “springing” and pulling all night. Setting up a pen is more of a pain but I decided it would be worth the sleep if she was happier. And she was VERY content with a pen. Never challenged it at all. Even if it was not electrified, I don’t think I would have had to worry.
Kyle Nielson with Wakita and Caliegh Wright with River
Caliegh Wright with River
Kyle Nielson with Wakita
It was soooooo hot when I got to camp. By the time I had the pen set up and Ruby settled in, I was ready to pass out! But, no time for that so I went and registered. Then set up a cot in my trailer for Margaret. I had invited Margaret to bunk with me since she always sleeps in the back of her pickup. It has a cap on it. But, she packs everything she needs in there. Then, when she gets to camp, she has to move everything to the back of her trailer so she has room to sleep. And then put it all back to go home. This takes her a lot of time. I thought it would make things a lot easier on her if she just bunked with me. She was happy to take up my offer.
Irving McNaughton & Judy Sewell
After I was all set up, I went to visit with Terry, Judy Sewell and Irving. Judy had brought a friend of hers along that is interested in trying a CTR sometime. She seemed very nice and asked tons of questions. Soon Heather showed up and she parked very close to me. She brought her horse Maddy. We hung out in what shade we could find and I had some lunch I had brought with me. By the time Susie arrived, there were already a lot of people and she could not park near us. But, the field was not so big that she was that far away either.
Maddy, Heather Bonneau's gelding
Ruby was drinking very well and eating lots of hay and seemed very relaxed in her pen. When the vet arrived, we all got in line to get vetted in. Ruby is starting to figure this all out now and was very relaxed in line. The grass is very dry and burned right now so there wasn’t much for the horses do though Ruby did her best to grub up what she could while waiting. The vetting went fine. Ruby was nice and relaxed and let all the judges and vets crowed around and work on her at the same time. She trotted out fine. Good girl! After vetting I settled her back in her pen.
Kathy Brunjes
Stephanie Rice with Prymtym
Margaret Farnum with Promise and Tom Hutchinson
Margaret Farnum with Promise
Tom Hutchinson
At feeding time, I went to my trailer to get Ruby’s grain. I opened the grain container and came to the sudden realization I had not packed any grain! What an idiot. I have camped with my horses and mules for years and years. I have NEVER forgotten to pack grain. I did have beet pulp but no grain. I set some beet pulp to soaking and went around the campsite begging for Ruby’s supper. Surely someone had extra grain near enough to the kind I feed Ruby. Before I knew it, I had a smorgasbord of grain and I swear enough to last me a week! Ruby was not going to starve for sure! LOL. I did have one baggie of her regular grain I keep in the trailer since I always put a handful of in on her hay when traveling. So, I was careful to use this to mix with the grain given to me so I would not get her sick from a sudden change in feed.
Susie Reinheimer waiting in line for vetting with MacKenzie
Susie Reinheimer vetting in with MacKenzie. Char Jewell, lay judge (at head) Dr. Tirrell vet judge (right)
Susie Reinheimer doing her trot out with MacKenzie
That evening the ride managers, Jan and Scott, had us in their house for a nice little meal and wine. It was very nice and fun to just relax and socialize with everyone. The ride vet happened to be the woman I had out to see Emma Jane for lameness. This was the woman that was a bit intimidated of Emma Jane and was not able to draw any blood from her. I was very tired since I had worked all night before coming to the ride so soon headed for bed.
I had just fallen asleep when I heard the shout of “ Loose horses!” You just hate to hear those words at a ride. Because even if it is not your own horse that is loose, with so many electric pens set up, a loose horse will often run though someone else’s pen or pens and it can get bad in a hurry. Sure enough, two horses got loose and ran through someone else’s pen and we had three horses running. They all went down the road. Thankfully it is a quiet dirt road. I didn’t take too long to get the horses back and they were all fine. About an hour late, another shout of loose horses wakes me up. Two more pens had come down but once again horses were quickly secured and all were fine. Geesh, I was sure glad I had arrived early and chosen a spot in a quiet corner of the field. The noise and running horses got all of them excited. Ruby was a good girl and just watched with interest. The rest of the night went quietly and I slept very well with Ruby happily and QUIETLY in her pen with lots of hay and water.
It was still dark when I got up and already feeling muggy. Ruby was nickering for her breakfast. She eaten a lot of hay during the night and drank a full bucket of water and seemed very relaxed. As I was picking out her pen, she was very insistent on getting a booty scratch. I finally gave in and as I was giving her booty a good scratch, the guy camping next to me looks over and says, “ I really wish you would stop scratching your ass in public”. LOL. After taking care of her, I went over to the house for some breakfast. There was a lot of good stuff to eat!
Susie Reinheimer on MacKenzie and Cindy Ross on McAllister's Ruby
We had the riders meeting at 6:45 AM. The ride was to start at 7:15 AM and Susie and I were going to be the 3rd pair out. We weren’t expecting that since we were #20 and #22. We thought we would be out at the end so were expecting more time to saddle up. We both rushed off after the meeting to get ready. I know Ruby could sense I was in a hurry and that got her a little bit fidgety. But, she was pretty good and we were soon ready to go. Soon, it was time and we were off. Ruby was feeling great and set off leading with her huge ground covering trot. In only about 15 min. we had caught up to Margaret and Heather, the pair that went out ahead of us. We rode together for a while but Susie’s horse was getting very wound up riding in a group of 4. So, she pulled up and let us go in front of her. Ruby was still leading the way very strongly. At the first water stop we caught up with the lead riders and passed them there. For the rest of the ride, we kept swapping spots with those riders. Susie caught up with us and rode with us but soon had to drop back again. The trails were wonderful. It was a mix of dirt road, woods roads and some beautiful single track through the woods. We crossed the Crooked River early in the ride. You actually ride up the river a short spell to get back on the trail, which is real fun. We got to the hold in good time and were the first riders in. Despite the heat, Ruby pulsed down to 40 very quickly. Her trot out when well. Her gut sounds were slightly diminished but we had been traveling quite fast and Ruby had not had much opportunity to snack along the trail. Susie gave me some Dengie to feed Ruby and she loved that. I will have to buy some for when I compete. I had also made her a wet grain mash and she devoured that quickly. Ruby had not had anything to drink yet but checked out fine for hydration. And I am finding it is normal for her to not drink much until 15 or 20 miles into a ride. Soon, we were off on the second half of the ride. Ruby was still traveling strong. Susie caught up to us again. Her horse was finally starting to settle down and she rode the rest of the way with Margaret, Heather and me. At one point on a single track trail, we heard someone racing up behind us. It was Kathy Brunjes. She was tying to finish the ride in under 3 hrs. And trying to complete the last 12 miles in under 1 hr. She knew it would disqualify her from the ride since that was way too fast. She was just using this ride as a training ride. She is on the US Equestrian team to represent the US in the World Equestrian Games next year. She is going to Malaysia next month for a big international endurance ride. We got out of her way and let her pass us. And she did do the last 12 miles in 55 min!
Susie Reinheimer on MacKenzie, Cindy Ross on Ruby, Margaret Farnum on Promise and Heather Bonneau on Maddy
Cindy Ross on Ruby
About 3 miles from the finish we crossed the river again. Ruby finally drank. And she took a good long drink! Good girl. We let the horses rest and drink in the water for a few minutes. Sponging them off good. Ruby is not bothered about me tossing out my sponge and pulling it in dripping wet from the saddle anymore. Not that she was ever bad about it, but now she pays no attention at all. At the end, we had to slow down and walk the last mile or so or we would have finished too soon and also been disqualified! During the ride, Ruby had fallen in love with my friend Heather’s horse. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen her pay much attention to a strange horse. But, she was obviously taken with him. We crossed the finish line on time and headed right to our trailers to cool our animals down. Ruby is now quite used to all the sponging and is actually starting to like it. It was still very hot of course and I sponged her a lot though she didn’t seem to be in the least stressed out from the heat. 4 riders had dropped out due to the heat. Ruby pulsed down just fine. Heather and I headed up together for our trot out. Heather trotted out first. Then asked me if I wanted her to wait. I told her no. BIG mistake. I trotted the straight line fine, but, as we went to make our first circle, Ruby spotted Heather’s horse (and her new boyfriend) walking away and headed down the road in that direction. After a few seconds of being the "dope on a rope" I was able to pull her up and stop her but I sure could not convince her to do a good circle after that. She wanted her boyfriend! Silly girl! After the 2nd unsuccessful attempt at a circle, I heard a comment of “Typical mule” from the sidelines. Now I was mad because I’ve seen a million horses do the same thing when they are worried about where a buddy is! I pulled Ruby up, stared her in the eye and told her “you WILL do a circle if it’s the last thing you do!” I swear she must have understood me for she did then do a circle. Not a very round circle and quite reluctant but we did it! Of course by now I feel like I’ve run a mile in the heat and am ready to have a stroke! But, I don’t care. There was no way I was going to let them see a mule get away with that and perpetuate their silly prejudices.
I took Ruby back to the trailer to rest for a while. Then I walked her for a little bit waiting for the hands on. Ruby was a complete perfect lady for the hands on. She really is starting to understand what this is all about and getting very comfortable with it all. After the hands on I took Ruby back to the trailer and settled her in with lots of hay and water. I was sooooooo proud of Ruby. She did a great job on the trail and was so much fun to ride. Heather and I then went down to the river to cool off for a bit while waiting for the rest of the vetting to be completed. After the vetting as done, there was a great meal served. A real live pig roast! Beans, cole slaw, potato salad, rolls and every kind of pie you can imagine. After the meal was the award ceremony. Ruby lost 8 points for swelling of the inside tendon sheath on both rear legs. I couldn't really see any swelling but I’m not the judge. She also lost 1 point for a “slight nick”. It was a tiny old scar that the vet missed when I vetted in. (sigh) She lost ½ point for a raised bump in the girth area. That was accurate. Ruby had no points take off at all for lameness, metabolic fatigue or mechanical fatigue! (Good mule) It was all in all a great ride. Fabulous trails, great food, Ruby was awesome and a blast to ride. Lots of good friends. What more can you want!
Sribners Mills 25 Sept 8, 2007 29/S - 24/F
Judges: J. Tirrell/ C. Jewell
J1. Linkk / Jack, Sarah Jane
J2. AJ Morning Star Wakita / Nielson, Kyle
J3. Asa / Kortz-Rossi, Allegra
J4. Cry Me A River / Wright, Caliegh
1. Thunder / Stygles, Amanda
2. RC Neon / McNaughton, Irving
3. DB Prophet / Fisk, Debra
4. Prymtym / Rice, Stephanie
5. GBA Karakoram / Sewell, Judy
6. LWF Paljoe Promise / Farnum, Margaret
7. Classic / Ward, Dianne
8. SPD Caruosel / O'Connor, Colleen
9. Jahyr Jamlin / Jack, Kelley
10. SA Mr Madazsin / Bonneau, Heather
11. Tektonic / Hutchinson, Tom
12. McAllister's Ruby / Ross, Cindy (89 pts)
13. SS Polar Ice / York, Theresa
14. Potaca / Rice, Bill
15. Enshalla Fakama / Niedoroda, Susan
16. SRF Atlas / Rojek, Dinah
17. Travelon's Times Two / Gamester, Marcy
18. Beaujolais / Rojek, Steve
Completions:
MacKenzie / Reinheimer, Susan
Wisp / Murray, Lindsey
Ruby and Promise
Anyway, I decided to set up a pen for Ruby this time. I did not get much sleep either time I put her on my Spring-tie. She keeps trying to reach the grass when on it and pulls quite hard. And then has little temper tantrums when she can’t reach what she wants. So, you hear her “springing” and pulling all night. Setting up a pen is more of a pain but I decided it would be worth the sleep if she was happier. And she was VERY content with a pen. Never challenged it at all. Even if it was not electrified, I don’t think I would have had to worry.
Kyle Nielson with Wakita and Caliegh Wright with River
Caliegh Wright with River
Kyle Nielson with Wakita
It was soooooo hot when I got to camp. By the time I had the pen set up and Ruby settled in, I was ready to pass out! But, no time for that so I went and registered. Then set up a cot in my trailer for Margaret. I had invited Margaret to bunk with me since she always sleeps in the back of her pickup. It has a cap on it. But, she packs everything she needs in there. Then, when she gets to camp, she has to move everything to the back of her trailer so she has room to sleep. And then put it all back to go home. This takes her a lot of time. I thought it would make things a lot easier on her if she just bunked with me. She was happy to take up my offer.
Irving McNaughton & Judy Sewell
After I was all set up, I went to visit with Terry, Judy Sewell and Irving. Judy had brought a friend of hers along that is interested in trying a CTR sometime. She seemed very nice and asked tons of questions. Soon Heather showed up and she parked very close to me. She brought her horse Maddy. We hung out in what shade we could find and I had some lunch I had brought with me. By the time Susie arrived, there were already a lot of people and she could not park near us. But, the field was not so big that she was that far away either.
Maddy, Heather Bonneau's gelding
Ruby was drinking very well and eating lots of hay and seemed very relaxed in her pen. When the vet arrived, we all got in line to get vetted in. Ruby is starting to figure this all out now and was very relaxed in line. The grass is very dry and burned right now so there wasn’t much for the horses do though Ruby did her best to grub up what she could while waiting. The vetting went fine. Ruby was nice and relaxed and let all the judges and vets crowed around and work on her at the same time. She trotted out fine. Good girl! After vetting I settled her back in her pen.
Kathy Brunjes
Stephanie Rice with Prymtym
Margaret Farnum with Promise and Tom Hutchinson
Margaret Farnum with Promise
Tom Hutchinson
At feeding time, I went to my trailer to get Ruby’s grain. I opened the grain container and came to the sudden realization I had not packed any grain! What an idiot. I have camped with my horses and mules for years and years. I have NEVER forgotten to pack grain. I did have beet pulp but no grain. I set some beet pulp to soaking and went around the campsite begging for Ruby’s supper. Surely someone had extra grain near enough to the kind I feed Ruby. Before I knew it, I had a smorgasbord of grain and I swear enough to last me a week! Ruby was not going to starve for sure! LOL. I did have one baggie of her regular grain I keep in the trailer since I always put a handful of in on her hay when traveling. So, I was careful to use this to mix with the grain given to me so I would not get her sick from a sudden change in feed.
Susie Reinheimer waiting in line for vetting with MacKenzie
Susie Reinheimer vetting in with MacKenzie. Char Jewell, lay judge (at head) Dr. Tirrell vet judge (right)
Susie Reinheimer doing her trot out with MacKenzie
That evening the ride managers, Jan and Scott, had us in their house for a nice little meal and wine. It was very nice and fun to just relax and socialize with everyone. The ride vet happened to be the woman I had out to see Emma Jane for lameness. This was the woman that was a bit intimidated of Emma Jane and was not able to draw any blood from her. I was very tired since I had worked all night before coming to the ride so soon headed for bed.
I had just fallen asleep when I heard the shout of “ Loose horses!” You just hate to hear those words at a ride. Because even if it is not your own horse that is loose, with so many electric pens set up, a loose horse will often run though someone else’s pen or pens and it can get bad in a hurry. Sure enough, two horses got loose and ran through someone else’s pen and we had three horses running. They all went down the road. Thankfully it is a quiet dirt road. I didn’t take too long to get the horses back and they were all fine. About an hour late, another shout of loose horses wakes me up. Two more pens had come down but once again horses were quickly secured and all were fine. Geesh, I was sure glad I had arrived early and chosen a spot in a quiet corner of the field. The noise and running horses got all of them excited. Ruby was a good girl and just watched with interest. The rest of the night went quietly and I slept very well with Ruby happily and QUIETLY in her pen with lots of hay and water.
It was still dark when I got up and already feeling muggy. Ruby was nickering for her breakfast. She eaten a lot of hay during the night and drank a full bucket of water and seemed very relaxed. As I was picking out her pen, she was very insistent on getting a booty scratch. I finally gave in and as I was giving her booty a good scratch, the guy camping next to me looks over and says, “ I really wish you would stop scratching your ass in public”. LOL. After taking care of her, I went over to the house for some breakfast. There was a lot of good stuff to eat!
Susie Reinheimer on MacKenzie and Cindy Ross on McAllister's Ruby
We had the riders meeting at 6:45 AM. The ride was to start at 7:15 AM and Susie and I were going to be the 3rd pair out. We weren’t expecting that since we were #20 and #22. We thought we would be out at the end so were expecting more time to saddle up. We both rushed off after the meeting to get ready. I know Ruby could sense I was in a hurry and that got her a little bit fidgety. But, she was pretty good and we were soon ready to go. Soon, it was time and we were off. Ruby was feeling great and set off leading with her huge ground covering trot. In only about 15 min. we had caught up to Margaret and Heather, the pair that went out ahead of us. We rode together for a while but Susie’s horse was getting very wound up riding in a group of 4. So, she pulled up and let us go in front of her. Ruby was still leading the way very strongly. At the first water stop we caught up with the lead riders and passed them there. For the rest of the ride, we kept swapping spots with those riders. Susie caught up with us and rode with us but soon had to drop back again. The trails were wonderful. It was a mix of dirt road, woods roads and some beautiful single track through the woods. We crossed the Crooked River early in the ride. You actually ride up the river a short spell to get back on the trail, which is real fun. We got to the hold in good time and were the first riders in. Despite the heat, Ruby pulsed down to 40 very quickly. Her trot out when well. Her gut sounds were slightly diminished but we had been traveling quite fast and Ruby had not had much opportunity to snack along the trail. Susie gave me some Dengie to feed Ruby and she loved that. I will have to buy some for when I compete. I had also made her a wet grain mash and she devoured that quickly. Ruby had not had anything to drink yet but checked out fine for hydration. And I am finding it is normal for her to not drink much until 15 or 20 miles into a ride. Soon, we were off on the second half of the ride. Ruby was still traveling strong. Susie caught up to us again. Her horse was finally starting to settle down and she rode the rest of the way with Margaret, Heather and me. At one point on a single track trail, we heard someone racing up behind us. It was Kathy Brunjes. She was tying to finish the ride in under 3 hrs. And trying to complete the last 12 miles in under 1 hr. She knew it would disqualify her from the ride since that was way too fast. She was just using this ride as a training ride. She is on the US Equestrian team to represent the US in the World Equestrian Games next year. She is going to Malaysia next month for a big international endurance ride. We got out of her way and let her pass us. And she did do the last 12 miles in 55 min!
Susie Reinheimer on MacKenzie, Cindy Ross on Ruby, Margaret Farnum on Promise and Heather Bonneau on Maddy
Cindy Ross on Ruby
About 3 miles from the finish we crossed the river again. Ruby finally drank. And she took a good long drink! Good girl. We let the horses rest and drink in the water for a few minutes. Sponging them off good. Ruby is not bothered about me tossing out my sponge and pulling it in dripping wet from the saddle anymore. Not that she was ever bad about it, but now she pays no attention at all. At the end, we had to slow down and walk the last mile or so or we would have finished too soon and also been disqualified! During the ride, Ruby had fallen in love with my friend Heather’s horse. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen her pay much attention to a strange horse. But, she was obviously taken with him. We crossed the finish line on time and headed right to our trailers to cool our animals down. Ruby is now quite used to all the sponging and is actually starting to like it. It was still very hot of course and I sponged her a lot though she didn’t seem to be in the least stressed out from the heat. 4 riders had dropped out due to the heat. Ruby pulsed down just fine. Heather and I headed up together for our trot out. Heather trotted out first. Then asked me if I wanted her to wait. I told her no. BIG mistake. I trotted the straight line fine, but, as we went to make our first circle, Ruby spotted Heather’s horse (and her new boyfriend) walking away and headed down the road in that direction. After a few seconds of being the "dope on a rope" I was able to pull her up and stop her but I sure could not convince her to do a good circle after that. She wanted her boyfriend! Silly girl! After the 2nd unsuccessful attempt at a circle, I heard a comment of “Typical mule” from the sidelines. Now I was mad because I’ve seen a million horses do the same thing when they are worried about where a buddy is! I pulled Ruby up, stared her in the eye and told her “you WILL do a circle if it’s the last thing you do!” I swear she must have understood me for she did then do a circle. Not a very round circle and quite reluctant but we did it! Of course by now I feel like I’ve run a mile in the heat and am ready to have a stroke! But, I don’t care. There was no way I was going to let them see a mule get away with that and perpetuate their silly prejudices.
I took Ruby back to the trailer to rest for a while. Then I walked her for a little bit waiting for the hands on. Ruby was a complete perfect lady for the hands on. She really is starting to understand what this is all about and getting very comfortable with it all. After the hands on I took Ruby back to the trailer and settled her in with lots of hay and water. I was sooooooo proud of Ruby. She did a great job on the trail and was so much fun to ride. Heather and I then went down to the river to cool off for a bit while waiting for the rest of the vetting to be completed. After the vetting as done, there was a great meal served. A real live pig roast! Beans, cole slaw, potato salad, rolls and every kind of pie you can imagine. After the meal was the award ceremony. Ruby lost 8 points for swelling of the inside tendon sheath on both rear legs. I couldn't really see any swelling but I’m not the judge. She also lost 1 point for a “slight nick”. It was a tiny old scar that the vet missed when I vetted in. (sigh) She lost ½ point for a raised bump in the girth area. That was accurate. Ruby had no points take off at all for lameness, metabolic fatigue or mechanical fatigue! (Good mule) It was all in all a great ride. Fabulous trails, great food, Ruby was awesome and a blast to ride. Lots of good friends. What more can you want!
Sribners Mills 25 Sept 8, 2007 29/S - 24/F
Judges: J. Tirrell/ C. Jewell
J1. Linkk / Jack, Sarah Jane
J2. AJ Morning Star Wakita / Nielson, Kyle
J3. Asa / Kortz-Rossi, Allegra
J4. Cry Me A River / Wright, Caliegh
1. Thunder / Stygles, Amanda
2. RC Neon / McNaughton, Irving
3. DB Prophet / Fisk, Debra
4. Prymtym / Rice, Stephanie
5. GBA Karakoram / Sewell, Judy
6. LWF Paljoe Promise / Farnum, Margaret
7. Classic / Ward, Dianne
8. SPD Caruosel / O'Connor, Colleen
9. Jahyr Jamlin / Jack, Kelley
10. SA Mr Madazsin / Bonneau, Heather
11. Tektonic / Hutchinson, Tom
12. McAllister's Ruby / Ross, Cindy (89 pts)
13. SS Polar Ice / York, Theresa
14. Potaca / Rice, Bill
15. Enshalla Fakama / Niedoroda, Susan
16. SRF Atlas / Rojek, Dinah
17. Travelon's Times Two / Gamester, Marcy
18. Beaujolais / Rojek, Steve
Completions:
MacKenzie / Reinheimer, Susan
Wisp / Murray, Lindsey
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