Crooked River 60 CTR, Waterford, ME May 2008

First ride of the season! YIPPEE. I've been getting jealous hearing of all the fun Ival has been having for months now down in NJ. I headed out Friday about noon for ridecamp. Just by luck, I ended up getting a prime parking spot with a level spot for the trailer and good place to set up Ruby's pen. AND close to the food and bathrooms. It was a cool day. I got the pen set up quickly and then took MY mule Ruby right up for vetting. All went well (except for a brief downpour!) and she vetted in well with a very good trot out. I settled her in her pen then some friends and I went out for supper.

After supper I walked Ruby for a while and let her graze for a while. After visiting with friends, I headed for bed. Very soon ANTHONY'S mule Ruby started braying...... and stomping up and down in her pen. That is going from end to end without turning. Walking forward to one end and letting off a kick or two, then backing straight up to the other end, and letting off a kick or two! I hadn't ridden her in over a week with going to Texas and she was excited and didn't want to hang out in a pen. She was very disgusted. ANTHONY'S mule Ruby kept this up all night. Letting out a good full bray every few hours ALL night long. Bet my neighbors enjoyed this.

Cindy on Ruby and Jean on Sky at start of ride

Cindy on Ruby and Jean on Sky at start of ride


By morning Ruby was very excited. But, quite good while being saddled. I was riding with a friend from Canada that I hadn't seen in a few years. She has a nice Morgan mare named Skye. My friend is 71 yrs. old and can outride me I think. She is in incredibly good shape and an inspiration. We were the first team out and ANTHONY'S mule Ruby was very hyped up and danced sideways down the road at first. Then, after only about 1/2 mile, it suddenly came to her how long and hard these rides can be and MY mule Ruby settled right down and went to work like the good mule she is. It was a fabulous day. Not too warm and with a slight breeze. Ruby and Skye traveled very nicely together. There were lot's of black flies but that is normal for the time of year. We got into the hold in good time and through with no problems at all. We actually went a bit too fast at the start of the ride so had to slow right down and walk a lot of the last five mile to keep from coming in too early. Ruby didn't drink at all through the ride. She never has drank much at any of the rides but has never had a problem with being dehydrated so I didn't worry too much about it. P & R's went fine as well as our trot out. We were both good to go for the second day.

MY mule Ruby was a perfect lady Saturday night. Tired enough to behave herself until 4:30am. And then she just started the stomping forward and backward across the pen. But NO braying thankfully! Guess she was ready for a second day. Once again Jean and I were first ones out. We were riding the same trail as the previous day so were relaxed and not worried. We promptly got lost! DUH! We got back on trail but added about 3 miles to our ride. And now we were behind everyone and had to make up some time. We moved along at a good pace. A few miles before the hold we finally started catching and passing riders. All went fine at the hold. Except for ANTHONY'S mule Ruby snatching a leafy twig out of the P&R persons (Janet Brunjes) hat! The leafy twig was to help keep the black flies from landing. MY mule Ruby was super for the second half of the ride and we came in on time. All went very well for the vetting. Ruby got a score of 96. VERY GOOD MULE! Oh, Ruby also won high point grade horse. HUMPH! Anthony will be insulted that the supersonic mule he bred with his very special and cleverly planned breeding program got lumped in with the grade horses! It was a wonderful weekend and Ruby was a star. She was so well behaved (after Friday night!) and everyone was very impressed with her. And I was real proud of her. Great weekend!

Cindy on Ruby and Jean on Sky out on trail

Jean on Sky and Cindy on Ruby out on trail

Jean on Sky and Cindy on Ruby Coming into the finish

Cindy on Ruby coming into the finish

Jean with Sky and Cindy with Ruby at final trot out

Crooked River 60 May 25, 2008
Judges: Sheivly/Day
J1. Linkk / Jack, Sarah Jane
J2. Paula's Major / Soule, Leanne
1. Shryocco, Lyric / Kimberly, Jenny
2. Tyger Dann / Greenall, John
3. Omar's Montana / Bottesi, Marlene
4. SRF Atlas / Rojek, Dinah
5. Langwoods Lorelei / Stratemeyer, Joan
5. Johna Saffire / Bridges, Jean
5. Little Acre Prince John / Alexander, Lee
8. Finch / Rojek, Steve
9. Nick of Tyme / Fisk, Deb
10. Patenude Vulcan Gazelle / Gardener, Jeffrey
11. McAllister's Ruby / Ross, Cindy (96.00 pts)
11. Zehphyr's Elegant Gift / Levasseur, Sharon
13. Braeden / Welles, Allen
14. JB Roman Tarbask / Warner, Kerry
15. Midnight Satin / Lasher, William
15. Jahyr Jamlin / Jack, Kelley
17. Apollo / Tenggren, Traci
18. Amber Mist / Christman, Patty
Completion - Teeze Me PW / Lasher, Joanna
MCO - Aleser / Greenall, Sue
MC0 - Theatric / Brunjes, Kathy

Crooked River 60 CTR Waterford, ME October 2002

Another minor pre-ride adventure. First and most devestating was the news that Tut's restaurant in Waterford was closed!! That was almost enough to make me cancel my entry. Thankfully, the closing is only temporary. In August I went to the Northeast Challenge endurance ride to crew for Heather. The ride is held in Buckfield and I noticed that I was on RT. 117. Now, Rt 117 goes to Rt 26 in Norway which is on the way to Waterford. I asked Heather how RT 117 was between Buckfield and Norway. She said it was ok. So, I decided the next time I went to Waterford, I would try the back way and avoid going through Lewiston/Auburn. I don't mind driving through Lewiston/Auburn except for the million traffic lights. I decided to wait for Bonnie to get out of work so she could ride up with me. Bonnie wasn't taking her horse, she was working the ride. Bonnie got to my house a little after 1:00 PM. I was ready to go so we just tossed Bonnie's stuff into my trailer and we were off. Keep in mind that my muffler is falling off my truck and it is getting quite loud. Another reason to avoid Lewiston/Auburn. I was familiar with the back roads to Buckfield. We had no problems to that point. Then, from Buckfield on Rt 117 was new territory. It wasn't long before we started climbing. We went up and up and up.....and just when we thought we couldn't possibly go up anymore, there was a sign warning of a "steep incline ahead" !!! I though we WERE on a steep incline. We went around the next corner and I had sudden visions of a roller coaster! The incline did get steeper! Somehow poor "Old Blue" got my trailer to the top of the hill. We were down to about 15 mph by the time we reached the top but we made it. So, now I'm a bit worried what the down hill side is going to be like. Thankfully, it's long and quite gradual going down the other side. Phew! "Old Blue" is too old to be abused like that. Bonnie and I decided we would take our usual route home. We got to the fairground without problems. Heather was the first one to spot me when I drove in. "Gosh," she said, "I heard you coming before you even turned the corner by Tut's. I knew it was either you or Margaret. You two are the only ones that haul with such old trucks." The ride was low on entries so we were able to park where ever we wanted. We parked next to Heather near the camper hook-ups. I put Marie in the nearest barn in a stall right across from Heather's horse, Mariah. I took a chance and used ropes across the front of Marie's stall hoping she would leave them alone and stay in. It was misting when we got there. There was no line for the vetting so I took Marie up got her vetted in right away. Then, Bonnie and I set up camp. Bonnie had brought all kinds of goodies to snack on. We sat around a picnic table with Heather and snacked in the mist for a while. Margaret showed up and Heather went off to talk her into parking near us. Bonnie and I went to get our supper. The ride provided a meal tonight for an extra $6.50. It was prepared by Rich Gamester and was very good. half a chicken (nicely cooked) salad, bread, potato and green beans. Zpehyr was with us. He thought the supper looked quite good also and begged his hardest for some scraps. He got a few. Margaret put her horse, Promise, next to Marie. Marie was giving him dirty looks but not making much of a fuss otherwise. I walked Marie around later, then went up to the barn with our chairs to sit with some others out of the rain. Scott Hatch was in the barn with a group of people and spotted Heather's horse Mariah. He proceded to tell them the tale of the Fryeburg ride when Mariah and Promise bolted in a field. Margaret jumped off Promise, Mariah fell and Heather was thrown. Mariah got lost in a swamp and a search party had to gou out to find her. He described the terrain and conditions and then told how "we all" saw Mariah at the last minute. I don't think Scott realized that Heather, Bonnie and I were sitting in a stall at the other end of the barn. I almost jumped up and corrected his story to point out that it was "I" that saw Mariah at the last minute. We finally headed off to bed around 9:00 PM. Zephyr had his usual spazz out spell when we put him up in the gooseneck to sleep with us. We just hid inside our sleeping bags until he settled down. It is really funny watching him. We talked for a while before falling to sleep. I was raining quite hard by this time.

When I woke up, it was still raining. I had been having the strangest dream about Bonnie and a trailer. I dreamed her new trailer was parked in our yard and Fred was doing something with it. When he was done, he didn't chock the wheels and it rolled down the driveway and hit something. Bonnie was very upset and crying and she ran down the driveway and got underneath the trailer and pushed it back up the hill. when she got it to the top of the hill she couldn't hold it and it rolled back down and dragged her. That's when I woke up and I didn't know what happened to her. Strange.....I fed Marie and then went down to the building where breakfast was set up. I had coffee and oatmeal. The riders meeting was in the dance hall because of the rain. Marie and I were starting with Margaret Farnum and Promise. The ride was scheduled to start at 7:30 AM. It was raining so hard at 7:00 AM it was decided to push the start time forward to 8:30 AM. I was still raining at 8:00 AM, 8:15 AM still raining, 8:20 raining, 8:25 AM raining, 8:30 AM, Just like someone turned off a faucet, it stopped raining. YEAH! Margaret and I were numbers 10 and 11. We got off to a good start. The trails were good. I thought the rain would make them muddy but it didn't. Just a lot of puddles good for the horses to drink from. We set a fairly slow pace the first few miles of the ride due to rocks and hills. It quickly got warm and muggy. Then a breeze came up and it was much more comfortable. Margaret and I got into the hold in good time. Bonnie had all my stuff ready. Marie pulsed down well and passed the vetting without problem. Bonnie sponged her and fed her while I grabbed a sandwich. Just before I mounted up, I checked Marie's girth. It wasn't too bad but I tightened it up one more notch, and we left the hold. We met Marsha Deleware walking up the trail towards us leading her horse. She was wet from head to toe. Her horse had spooked and backed off the side of a little bridge into a stream and got caught in some cables with Marsha pinned under her. By some miracle, Scott Hatch was there on his ATV on his way to fix a trail marker and was able to get her and her horse out ok. Marsha was a bit shook up but mostly unhurt. Her horse got some scrapes but nothing serious. Marsha pulled from the ride. Heather's horse also spooked and Heather was thrown but she also was fine. Somewhere along the way Irving's group passed us and Margaret and I were last. Irving rarely passes anyone. We finished the ride on time but were humiliated at being passed by Irving! Bonnie had water and sponges out. I untacked Marie and sponged her off. I took her pulse several times and it wasn't going down like it should. Hummmm, the Bonnie lets out a groan and tells me to check behind Marie's elbows. Poor Marie had huge swollen ...... I don't know what it was ....huge swollen fluid filled pockets. I don't know what caused them. They were in front of the girth. They were not rubbed or raw looking. Just big swollen fluid filled areas. She was in pain and that was most likely why her pulse wasn't coming down like it should. Her pulse was still 54 when she was checked. She wasn't interesed in eating either, just hung her head. Her trot out was horrible, she was really hurting and didn't want to move at all. I thought for sure this was the end of my ride. The vet told me not to give up. I was not going to be eliminated. I was told to apply lots of cold water to the area and just come for a re-check in the morning. I agreed to this but didn't think for a minute Marie would be ok to ride in the morning. Bonnie and I spent a lot of time that night holding cold cloths behind each elbow. Then I would walk her a little, then more cold clothes. Her pulse stayed up around 58 for quite a long time. She was finally eating and drinking good though. The supper that was provided was very good. Spaghetti and meatballs, salad, bread and pie. We went down to the award presentation for the 30 mile riders. Then, more time putting cold cloths on Marie and walking her. Later we went over to Rich and Marcy's trailer to just hang out and socialize. Marcie was telling us of all the ECTRA rules she has managed to break. I checked Marie's pulse one more time before going to bed. It was finally down to 48 but that was still higher then normal. Char Lester came over to see how Marie was and offer some advise. She asked when the last time was that I had given Marie electrolytes. I know I got a bit defensive with her but I was just worried about Marie and didn't want to get into the "electrolyte debate right then as I was sure that was not any part of Marie's problem. I did apologize to Char later. I felt bad as I know she was just trying to help. When Bonnie and I went to bed, I had made a tug of war toy for Zephyr by tying some knots in a piece of rope. Boy did we get him wound up! We thought we would never get him settled back down so we could get some sleep.

Sunday morning I got up to feed Marie and approached her stall with a laden heart. I was so pleased to see her bright eyed and eager for breakfast. Her pulse was normal and the swollen areas had drained and were much smaller. She was moving comfortably and passed her re-check. I could hardly believe it. The weather was good and the ride started right at 7:30 AM. By the first water stop, Marie's swelling was completely gone and she was traveling great. Promise spooked and Margaret came off him but was unhurt. Margaret and I rode a little bit too fast on the 5 miles before the hold. We missed seeing the 1 mile to go sign so flew right into the hold. Oops.... I was afraid our P&R sould be too high but Marie just squeaked under within 10 minutes. Phew! We got through the hold fine and headed off on the final leg of the ride. We were really keeping an eye out for Irving. We were determined not to let him pass us again today. He got withing sight of us in the last mile. We did not want to speed up that close to the finish. Irvings horse walks faster then Marie and Promise and he keept creeping up on us. He passed us about 10 feet from the finish line! AGH! There was still one rider behind us so at least we weren't last. Bonnie once again had water and sponges ready. I untacked Marie and sponged her well. Her pulse was 48 after 20 minutes. Just a tad over normal but not bad at all. The swollen spots were completely gone but she was just a little sore to the touch there. All else was fine. Apparently 6 or 7 other horses had gotten the same swollen spots. None as bad as Marie's but still it was strange. Marie vetted out quite well. I settled Marie into her stall with lots of hay and water. Bonnie and I packed up most of our stuff and then got our supper. Tonight was soup and cheeseburgers. Then it was time for the award presentations. There was some comfusion with the paperwork and while we were waiting Margaret said to me, "I should go pack while I'm waiting and just have you let me know when they get things straightened out." I told Margaret that was a good idea and if she won grand champion, I would give her whatever I won and keep her prize and tell her I'd won the grand championship. She laughed and said maybe she would just sit tight and wait. Marie got a score of 91 which I though was great considering all she'd gone through. And don't you know Margaret did win grand champion! I told her she should have gone and packed up and left me to get her award! I told her it was Marie that inspired Promise to win. It only took Bonnie and I a few more minutes to finish packing up. While we were doing that, we got to witness Steve Rojek run over his riding helmet with his F550 truck. OOps..... We had an uneventful drive home.

Crooked River 60 ME 10/5 12/S-F
Judges: Creighton
1. LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
2. TC Spark / C Lester
3. Fagan Farah / A M Savino
4. GH Jessee Jolody / D Houghton
5. AFX Ploaris / S Rojek
6. Pygmalion / K Downs
6. Nerzan's Lady Mariah / H Bonneau
8. Araba FAble / J Collins
9. Marie / C Ross (score 91.00)
10. SR Katherine / D Rojek
11. DLA Cassidy / J Hatch
12. Willow's Rahmaan / I McNaughton

Crooked River 2 day 60 CTR Waterford, ME Oct 2000

The weather forecast was for cold and rain for the weekend. It takes more then that to stop Bonnie and I from going to a ride! We set off early Friday morning. Bonnie took the day off work. She isn't riding in this competition. She is just coming along with me for moral support. She will be working the ride. She is such a great friend and good sport. It was raining when we left. We had an uneventful trip. We took a camping spot where we could have electricity. Bonnie brought a heater so we would not freeze to death. There weren't many people there when we arrived. The Rojek's were there with there enormous bus. We parked our puny little trailer right behind them. Talk about extremes, it was pretty funny. It was raining lightly when we got there and while we were setting up camp but thankfully, no downpours. We got Marie settled in first. The competition is at the Waterford fairgrounds. It is a small fairground and not the most well maintained. The stall are open cattle pens. I brought along some boards and the hardware to put a gate across the front of Marie's stall. I used my electric unit last year. That was a bit of a nuisance, I thought the board would work better. After we set up camp, Bonnie and I headed down to Tut's for some lunch. This is a great restaurant and within walking distance of the fairgrounds. After lunch, we took a tour of every one's horse trailers. We like looking at all the different ones and hearing what people like and dislike about them. We would really like to get a gooseneck trailer sometime in the near future. It would make camping with the horses so much easier. The Rojek's brought the pony mare, Cavaletti, that Bonnie is interested in. Steve just hasn't committed himself to selling her yet. Nor will he tell Bonnie what his price will be if he does sell her. Bonnie is going crazy with wanting something definite. It didn't take long to vet in the horses. The vet was one I didn't know, Matt Holden. He was very quiet and didn't say much. Bonnie and I went back down to Tut's for supper. After supper, we took Marie out for a walk and let her graze for a bit.

About 5:00 AM Saturday morning. Marsha Deleware knocked on our trailer door to let me know that Marie had gotten out of her stall. She said she had put her back in and everything was fine. Sigh, that mare can't leave anything alone!! We got up at 5:30 AM and fed Marie. She had leaned on the top board of her stall gate and broken it, which is how she got out. Marsha had taken the bottom one and put it on top to keep her in. I ended up using my electric fence unit to keep her in her stall. Rotten horse!!!I heated up some water on our new little stove for oatmeal and coffee. It wasn't nearly as cold as they had predicted. No complaints about that. The riders meeting was held and the ride started right on time. I was out at 8:06 AM. I was paired up with Lois Crowley. She took off like greased lightening. I didn't want to start out so fast so I held Marie back. Marie didn't like being alone. She behaved well enough but was so nervous that eventually, I let her speed up a bit. We then caught up with Marsha Deleware and Marcy Gamester. That made Marie immensely happy. She fell in love with Marsha's horse, Piper. I don't know why, Piper is a mare. I guess you have to be a horse to understand these things. About 5 miles out, I really had to pee. I just couldn't wait any longer so I told Marsh and Marcy that I was going to make a pit stop and I would catch up with them. I got off Marie and went off the trail into the woods. I climbed over a bank of dirt for a bit of privacy and to keep Marie from bothering me. Well, she was very worried about the other horses being out of sight and at the most inopportune moment, leaped over the bank of dirt almost on top of me. Here I am in the middle of doing my business when suddenly I have 1,000 lbs of very unhappy horse doing the Mexican Hat dance around me. I'm doing the crab scuttle with my pants down around me knees trying not to get trampled to death. I certainly could not stop what I was doing as I was now in fear for my life!!! I finally finished, jumped up and yelled at my horse to settle down and stop and by some miracle, didn't wet anything I shouldn't have. I was soon mounted up again and quickly caught up with Marsha and Marcy. The first 10 miles of the trail was rocky and kind of slow going. Then there was a 5 mile loop that was just wonderful sandy dirt road.Part way through this loop, we stopped to let the horses drink at a puddle. All of the sudden, I felt an awful pain on my right shoulder blade. I accidental kicked Marie while trying to swing around and see what it was and Marie jumped forward and ran into Marsha's horse. I was stung by a nasty yellow jacket! We moved right out of there quickly in case there was a nearby nest. We came into the hold and Marie's P&R's were good and her trot out was ok. We then repeated the nice 5 mile loop and another 10 miles back to the fairgrounds. Marie and Marcy's horse are very well matched in pace. I was glad to ride with her. We finished in good time. Those of us doing the 2 day 60 only had to do a quick trot out. Marie was fine and cleared to ride the second day. Heather, Jean and Dinah were told they would have to have their horses re-checked in the morning. The ride provided us with a nice supper but Bonnie and I still snuck down to Tut's for coffee and desert. We got back just in time for the award ceremony for the 30 mile riders. Later we walked Marie one last time and headed to bed.

We were up early. Marie was kind enough to stay in her stall last night. The vet was a little late showing up which caused a slight delay due to the horse that had to be re-checked. Bonnie and I did a little packing while we waited. The vet passed Dinah and Jean's horse but was a bit concerned about Heather's horse. Heather was not happy as she was working towards the versatility award. For this award, you have to do a one day ride, a two day ride, a three day ride and one endurance ride in one season. Heather's horse had been pulled at the last 2 day ride so this was her last chance to complete a 2 day ride. The vet judge finally decided to leave it up to her and she decided to ride. Marie has totally bonded to Marsha's horse Piper and has been a real nuisance about it. Today Marhsa and Marcy rode out ahead of us and Marie was very unhappy. Just barely managing to contained herself. About 12 miles out, we caught up to Marsha and Marie settled right down. Everything went fine at the hold and we finished in good time. The final vetting went a bit slow. Marie was very restless after the ride and didn't do the best trot out. I figured we would place poorly due to that. But, we placed first in our division and 4th overall. I was thrilled. Heather placed last but did get her completion and was very happy with that. Bonnie and I stopped at Tut's one last time for coffee before heading home.

Crooked River 60 10/7/00 11-S/F
1 Briwda Mardi Gras / S Corr
2 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
3 High Country Piper / M Deleware
3 Marie / C Ross (score 90.00)
3 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
6 Willowbrook Precious / L Crowley
6 S R Spirit / S Rojek
8 ? / D Rojek
9 ? / S Greenall
10 SA Lady Nevada / H Bonneau