I was up early on Thursday morning, loaded up Ruby and headed to Susie’s house. We were going together to the ride. The haul to the ride was uneventful. It took about 4 hrs. Both Ruby and Susie’s horse, Spark, were relaxed and ate plenty of hay in the trailer. Though Ruby did manage to poke out the screen in Susie’s trailer. She loves to ride with her nose stuck out the windows as far as she can get it.
The weather for the ride was going to be fabulous. No rain in the forecast at all. It was going to be in the 70’s during the day and 40’s at night. Low humidity. When we arrived and checked in, I had been $1 short on my entry when I sent it in. I only had 90 cents and had to borrow 10 cents from Susie. How pitiful is that. The ride was held at the GMHA ground (Green Mountain Horse Association) in South Woodstock, VT. It is a beautiful place. Many types of Horse venues are held here and they are high level events from carriage driving, eventing, dressage, endurance and CTR’s. As well as many pleasure trail riding events. There are 4 shed row barns as well as another huge barn for stabling. A covered arena, numerous outdoor arena, a complete high level cross country jumper course. There are also buildings for indoor gatherings and meetings. The grounds are beautifully kept and maintained. Woodstock Vermont is a beautiful area of hills and farms. It is a very wealthy area. The cows in Woodstock live in better accommodations then my house. Many of the homes border on being palatial and many of them are just second or summer homes of the wealthy. There are miles and miles of dirt roads there and that is the way the town wants to keep it. As well as the roads are miles and miles of wonderful trails. There are no public lands in Woodstock so all the trails are by the grace of private landowners. But the town is very equine oriented. There is also an ordinance against camping on Woodstock. You can’t set up a tent in the town. How strange is that. So, for most events at GMHA, you have to find a hotel, B&B or such to stay at. At this ride, GMHA members were allowed to camp on grounds but ONLY in self contained rigs and there could be no awning, campfires or such. There is also NO cell phone use in Woodstock as there is also a town ordinance against cell towers on private land. And there is no public land.
Anyway, the area is absolutely gorgeous. When we arrived, we first went to the GMHA office, got our ride packets and our stall assignments. We were in Barn “C” brook side. We quickly unloaded our stuff into our assigned tack stall. I had meant to bring my own shavings but forgot. So, had to pay their $10 fee for a bad of shavings. ECK!!!! In the next stalls down from us were Basi and Chris who Susie had met at a previous ride. They are a married couple and both compete in distance riding. As well as distance biking and swimming. Marsha Deleware was on the other side of us and we were very happy about that. She is a wonderfully sweet woman. Esther Fiddes was also on our side and she is just a riot. Once Ruby and Spark were settled into their stalls, Susie and I sat by the stream and had PB&J sandwiches. Then I walked Ruby and Spark while Susie set up “house” in her trailer. One woman we passed us made the comment about Ruby that “that certainly isn’t an Arabian”. I told her that wasn’t true as Ruby’s mother was a registered Arabian. The woman walked off with a puzzled look on her face. I passed the same woman a while later and she stopped me and asked me, “Ok, really, just what is she?” She had to be mule educated.
It was finally time for vetting and we headed up to the covered arena. The vet judge for the ride, Art King, had seen and vetted Ruby at a number of rides. He is a Ruby fan. The hands on went well with Ruby being a real lady. So, then the trot out…..We headed straight down to the end of the arena. At the end was a platform that is actually part of a deck connected to the meeting hall. There were a bunch of people sitting on the deck watching. Just as Ruby got half way around her first circle, she really noticed all the mule eating humans sitting up on that platform. At the same time she also noticed the open arena gate nearby. She immediately decided to exit the arena. THANKFULLY, she is not a bolter and when she got to the end of her lead line, she spun around to face me. She then got her head together and decided to trot her circles. She looked good and passed to start the ride. YIPPPEEEEEE!
After vetting, we had to go weigh in. EEEKK! We had to be weighed with all our tack. I had to keep telling everyone that my saddle weight 100 lbs. I don’t think anyone believed me. Susie and I visited with Marsha and Tracy for a while enjoying a glass of wine. For dinner that night there was a dress up banquet at a country club down the road. So, Susie and I dressed up off we went. Chris and Basi rode with us. Open cash bar was at 6:00PM. But with the wine being $10 a glass, I decided I would skip drinks. 6:30PM was dinner and the food was absolutely fabulous. After the meal there were several speakers that talked of their experiences of riding 3 day 100 mile events. There was a man there that was being honored for his years of riding this particular event. The man was 85 years old. The last time he rode the 100 was only 5 years ago when he was 80 years. Old. And he still rides every day.
When we got back to GMHA, Nancy and her friend were there. The were doing the pleasure ride that was being held at the same time as the CTR. Susie and I walked Ruby and Spark and let them graze before heading to bed. It was a beautiful night. Clear with a full moon. As every night following it was while we were there.
Friday morning Susie and I were up at 4:30AM. The weather was perfect as predicted. We fed then went up to the office for breakfast. Breakfast was simple being muffins, pastries and breads but all made by a professional bakery and absolutely delicious. There was a bit of a mix up in the starting order and they had Susie going out 2 minutes ahead of me. We managed to get that straightened out. The riders meeting was at 6:15AM. Then we tacked and got ready to go. Ruby was VERY keyed up. Susie and I mounted and were walking around warming up, we notice on young woman trying to mount her horse with little success. Her mother was trying to help her but was on crutches and was limited in how much she could help. When we come around the next time, we were just in time to see that the woman had mounted with the assistance with a few men holding the horse and the horse immediately started bucking. And that horse meant business. The horse ran bucking towards on of the barns, she turned when she got to the barn and headed back the way she came and she was still bucking hard. At this point the woman was still on but had lost one stirrup and was laying over the horses neck. The horse came up right behind a parked car and swerved around it throwing the woman hard into the car. She landed very hard. She did get up but you could see she was hurting. It took a number of people to catch the horse. And if the grounds were not mostly fenced, the horses would have been long gone. The woman did remount the horse but was very dizzy and confused and was sent to the hospital. We later found out she was ok. We also found out that her mother was on crutches due to being thrown from the same horse a few weeks earlier.
Susie and I were finally released to start at 7:00AM. Ruby and Spark headed out like gangbusters. We started out riding through the cross country jump course. Geesh but those jumps are scary looking but lovely to ride through. The trails were very tough as you were either always going up or going down. Very hilly and the hill were long. The footing was beautiful though. About 10 miles out, Ruby started shaking her head, then started stretching it down. This is not normal for her and I knew something was wrong. Though she was still very eager to go and I was actually holding her back. Her stride did shorten and she wanted to canter more then trot. So, I slowed her down much to her disgust. At the first water stop, Ruby was panting more then usual. It was not that hot so I was really getting worried about her. She still was very eager to go but I just knew things were not right. We got into the hold in good time. Ruby did pulse down ok but at the trot out was definitely lame. It was her left front. The same one we had the trouble with last year. I was heart broken. And so was Ruby. We were pulled from the ride at 20 miles. It was definitely the right thing to do to pull her. But I’ll admit I cried as I watched Susie ride out. And Ruby seemed to feel the same. She bawled for Spark as he left. I was very proud of her though. Once Spark was out of sight, she was so well behaved and entertained the volunteers with her mule antics and enthusiastic rolling. Another woman had also been pulled from the ride and both equines were trailer back to GMHA. I settled Ruby into her stall. She was not happy about being alone in the barn but behaved well. Since I had nothing better to do while waiting for the other to finish the ride, I cleaned all the stalls on our side of the shed row we were in. Then I sat and relaxed in my chair and snoozed. I was peaceful sitting there by the stream. Around 2PM it was announced over the loudspeakers that the first riders were due to come in anytime so I went up by the arena to watch. Each rider was announced as they arrived. And each rider had to ride once around the arena. Marcia and Esther came in together. Susie came in just a few minutes behind them. Spark looked real good, he pulsed down great and had a wonderful trot out. After we got him settled into his stall with plenty of food and water, we had our lunch. Ruby sure was glad to have Spark back. After we ate, I got Ruby out and her left front pastern was slightly swollen and she was showing even more lameness. That evening there was a BBQ. It was great as all the food had been so far. After the BBQ, I asked Art, the vet, if he would look at Ruby again. He did. He asked me not to give her anything because he wanted the treatment vet to look at her in the morning. And since the swelling was minor and her pain did not seem bad, he didn’t think this would be a problem.
Out friends that have come for the pleasure ride were staying at a local Inn. We went over there so Susie could take a shower. When we got back, we went walked Ruby and Spark on last time. Ruby was happy to get out of her stall. She is not used to being in one for so long. Ruby was getting tons of attention. Everyone loved her and she was accepting all the attention with her usual grace. Everyone was so sad she had been pulled. Everyone had really been rooting for her. It was so wonderful to have such open acceptance of her. Whenever I was walking around the grounds without her, people kept coming up to me and asking where “the mules” stall was so they could go see her. Quite time was at 9:00PM so we headed to bed then.
Saturday morning the alarm went off at 4:30AM. I fell back to sleep as I wasn’t riding. Susie said she would feed Ruby. I woke an hour late to the sound of Ruby braying because Susie had taken Spark out to walk. I got up and went up to the office for breakfast. The treatment vet came to look at Ruby. He was a very nice man. He had spent 20 years on a racetrack and had a lot of experience with lameness issues. Ruby’s left font pastern was still slightly swollen and she was still consistently lame when trotted. He asked her history and looked her over and really feels I am going to continue to have problems with Ruby. I must admit I only understood half of what he told me but it had to do with her ringbone and how it was affecting the ligaments in her pastern …. And so on. He said he would place bets that I will get two good rides, and one bad ride, and one good ride and two bad rides until she just broke down. He said he would guarantee she will develop arthritis in both pasterns as she has ringbone in both. He felt that riding would be good for her; endurance riding would not be so good. Just too hard on her joints with the speed and distance involved. Certainly not what I wanted to hear, but something I had suspected for a while.
After all the riders had gone out, I cleaned all the stalls on our side of C barn except for Joanie’s stall as her horse was still in it. I drove out to the hold to help out as a volunteer. I was soon very busy with my duties as professional horse holder and fetcher of food for hungry riders. The time went quickly and I had a good time helping. When Susie came in, she said the ride so far had been extremely hard with very steep climbing. It had taken them 2-½ hrs. to do the first 13 miles. That left them with time to make up on the 2nd half of the ride. And everyone else was on about the same pace. After all the horses had left the hold, I drove up to the top of Heartbreak Hill to watch some of the horses go by. I headed back to GMHA and got lost. But, not bad and soon found my way back. Once back I cleaned all the stalls on the opposite side of our barn. A man came over to tell me that he had been watching Ruby all day and wished the horses were half as well behaved as my mule. He just loved her and said he kept talking to her from his trailer while I was gone and she would nicker/grunt at him in reply. He was just so impressed with how well behaved she was with being all alone in the barn. I knew it wouldn’t be long until the first horses started to come in so I got Ruby out and walked her up toward the finish line. The swelling was out of her pastern and she was walking much better with only occasional signs of lameness at the trot. There was one arena up by the finish line with perfect mule rolling sand so I took her there so I could watch the riders come in. Ruby was in mule heaven there and rolled to her hearts content. By this time I realize that people are starting to follow me around with cameras when I had Ruby out. It was like hanging out with a movie star and being followed by the paparazzi!!! It was getting kind of bizarre. Ruby spotted some cows on a hillside across the road and was staring at them, ears pinned forward totally fascinated. The paparazzi went wild with all the beautiful posing. She would stare, head up, eyes bright, then prance a circle around me and pose again. Her antics spooked the first horse that came across the finish line so I quickly returned her to her stall. But, whenever I walked around without her, even more people were looking for her. I was thinking I would just make up some maps to her stall to hand out and start charging admission to see her. Overall I have received very positive reactions to Ruby in this sport. But this was over the top and really wonderful, if bizarre, to see. Susie, Marsha and Esther came in together on time. They were thrilled and exhausted. All three had great trot outs and were cleared to ride the last day. Susie, in her desperation to get clean quickly, took a bucket of water into her Sparks stall, stripped naked and bathed there with me guarding the door to keep people away.
Dinner that night was at a tack shop right next door to GMHA. Nice shop and the food was great. After the dinner, we came back to the barn and the party continued right in front of Ruby’s stall. Well, she just loved all the activity and really hammed it up begging for pretzels, of which she got quite a few. She was the hit of the party. Quiet time was once again at 9:00PM so we had to break the party up early and head for bed.
Sunday morning, Susie was up once again before me and fed Ruby. I came out soon after and walked Ruby when she walked Spark. Ruby continued to look better. I went up for breakfast while Susie got ready for the ride. Susie was once again riding with Marsha and Esther and I cheered them as they left. They only had 20 miles to ride and no hold. So, they would be done before 10:00AM. Once all the riders left, I went over to visit with my friends that were doing the pleasure ride. Nancy’s horse had gotten a swollen spot on his back that hadn’t gone down. And her friend’s horse had gotten horrible girth galls the previous day. So, neither were sure if they were going to ride. Joanie did ride but was worried as her horse was recovering from Lyme disease and still on antibiotics. And she’d had a long day the previous day because she’d gotten lost and done a few more miles then planned. As the pleasure riders were gathering to get ready for their ride, I went back to C barn and I cleaned all the stalls on both sides of our barn. Then I brought Susie’s truck over to the barn and packed everything up that I could. By then, it was time for the first horses to come in so I grabbed my camera and headed up to the arena so I could take pictures of everyone as they made their ride around the arena. Right on time, Susie, Marsha and Esther came in. I was so excited for them!!! All three horses looked good and all three riders looked exhausted but happy. Ruby was very happy to have her buddies back. All three pulsed down fine. Hands on were done first. When Susie was done with that, I got Ruby out and walked with her and Spark. She needed to keep him moving so he would not stiffen up before the trot out. Ruby was thrilled to be out and with her buddy. We let them graze a bit also. When it was time for Susie to go up for her trot out, I put Ruby back in her stall much to her disgust and went up to watch. Spark and Esther’s horse, Pokey, trotted out very well. Marsha’s horse Piper was a little bit lame but would get a completion. Everyone was thrilled. All the horses were settled in their stalls with lots of hay and water to rest and eat. And then we all went up to have our brunch. It was, yet again, absolutely wonderful.
This CTR is unlike any other I’ve been to in that the award ceremony is done mounted and in the arena with much pomp and ceremony. Very cool though a pain in the butt to saddle up again after having just finished riding 100 miles in the past 3 days. I went up and sat on a hill above the arena with Joanie and Nancy to watch and take pictures.
Halfway through the ceremony, my name was announced over the loud speaker for winning an award! I was a bit shocked when I was brought down the arena and given the “on ground sportsmanship” award!!! Apparently my barn cleaning, horse holding and food fetching and been much appreciated. It was embarrassing but very nice. (blush) Steve Rojeck came up to me later and said he thought it was his wife that had been cleaning his stall every day and he was wondering why she was being so nice to him. He thanked me and many others also came up to say how much they appreciated coming back from the ride to clean stalls. Well, it’s not like I had anything better to do and I find stall cleaning quite relaxing.
The past 2 days that Ruby had been alone in her stall, she had been quite. But, during the ceremony, she knew all the horses were nearby and she brayed during the whole thing. THANKFULLY, she was just far enough away so it was no disruption and everyone actually got quite a kick out of it saying she was just cheering for all the winners.
Once the ceremony was done, Susie wanted to get going as soon as possible. We didn’t have much more to pack up and one of our friends on the pleasure ride that was staying to the next day said she would strip out stall for us!! So, we loaded up and headed home. Susie was tired so I drove and we got home safe and sound.
