Crooked River 30 mile CTR May 28th 2011

Cindy on Louie

It was a slightly crazy week at work so I did not get very much sleep the day before heading to the ride. So, I decided not to go up first thing in the morning and opted for sleeping instead. I got up just a little bit before noon time, quickly packed and headed out around 2:00 pm. My friend Barbara was riding Marie in the competition but was not able to get the day off work. So, she was riding up to Waterford with Susie who also had to work.

It was a hot day in the high 80's and quite humid. Blah! When I arrived at the Waterford fairgrounds I checked in with the ride manager, Janet Brunjes, on where to park. We have had a LOT of rain this spring so the grounds were wet and parking was limited. Janet told me I could try parking in the pulling arena. One trailer was

already in there and he warned me the sand was softer then it looked. He was right, I did get temporarily stuck when trying to back into where I wanted to be. I unloaded Louie and Marie and a couple kind ladies offered to hold them while I worked on getting my rig out. I did get it out and eventually parked though not quite where I originally planned. Once I was parked, I then got Louie and Marie settled into stalls. The stalls are in cattle barns. They are open sided with quite low walls. This was only Louie's second camp out in his life. So, I was sure hoping he would be a good boy as he could easily jump out of that stall. I really didn't think he would try to go anywhere without Marie though. Louie seemed fine. He was alert and very curious but calm. Marie was the perfect babysitter for Louie as she's done this so many s. I settled them both in with full hay bags and water and both seemed content.

My friend Margaret was coming up to work the ride. She had asked if she could bunk with me in my trailer. I had not seen her all winter and was thrilled to have her company. I walked down to Melby's store/restaurant to get some drinks. When I got back, Margaret offered to help me get Louie and Marie vetted in so I wouldn't have to wait for Barbara and Susie to arrive. Louie was such a good boy. He remembered the vetting process from last weekend at the Acadia ride and was very calm about it. His trot out was pretty good though he did look a little bit.....uneven. Not lame in any one leg but just a slightly uneven stride. Hummmmmm. He did get new shoes the previous day. The farrier and I had decided to put a slightly rolled toe on him so maybe he was just getting used to the new shoes. The vet noticed and started him with a grade 2 lameness on his score card but was not worried. Marie vetted in just fine. Margaret and I settled them both back into their stalls. I had Janet set up a stall next to Louie for Susie's horse. When Susie arrived, she did manage to get her rig parked next to mine with a bit of cautious advise on driving in the soft wet arena sand.

Vet judge Peg Sheivly, Ride managers Louise Lester and Janet Brunjes, ride secretary Jane Graffam

When Susie was was done getting Spark settled into his stall, we were told the judges had gone down to Tut's for supper. We decided to go to supper also. If we waited for the judges to come back, it would be getting kind of late to eat. It was a little after 6:30 pm when we got to Tut's and we found out that the riders meeting was at 7:00 pm. Usually the riders meeting for this ride is held in the morning. Susie was very anxious about missing the riders meeting and was going to take her supper to go. I was not really worried as I knew we could get the information from someone when we got back to camp. Susie did stay and eat with us though she worried.

When we did get back to camp, the riders meeting was just over but I did get the map and directions we might need from Bill and Stephanie Rice. We took the horses and mule out to let them walk and graze and get in a good roll in the arena sand. Louie was still very calm and very interested in all that was going on. I was so happy to see he was not nervous or worried about anything. He was like a kid at his first slumber party. Once we settled the horses and mule back into their stalls for the night, I packed my hold bag and we all headed for bed. Scattered thundershowers had been predicted. We didn't get any where we were but we got a very impressive light light show from storms circling all around us.

I woke up quite a few times during the night. It was still hot when we went to bed but at one point I woke up chilly and had to pull a blanket over me. I was up by 5:30 am. Ride time was 7:00 am. I fed Louie and Marie and Louie still seemed very calm and happy. I then went to get breakfast that was provided by the ride. I was a bit early so sat and had coffee and visited with other early risers until breakfast was ready. Breakfast was French toast with strawberries and bacon. It was much cooler this morning and overcast. It was still slightly humid but a pretty good riding day for the equines.

Waiting to start Barbara on Marie, Susie on Spark setting her watch and Cindy on Louie

And We're OFF! Susie on Spark, Cindy on Louie and Barbara on Marie

We brought Louie, Marie and Spark to the trailers to tack them up. We didn't want to lug all our gear up to the barn. Louie was on high alert and did paw a bit when tied to the trailer if I walked away from him. But, when I mounted up, he stood still and was very good. We walked around for a little to warm them up. Louie was still alert but calm. And then we were called to start and we were off. We had started on Louie's first official CTR!!! Louie was quite excited and was trotting fast. I needed to rate him back this time because this would be the longest ride he's ever done but he didn't know this. Susie was struggling to hold back her horse Spark to a pace I thought was good for Louie. Susie has been having trouble with her hip and knees and I hated to see her struggling with her horse that was causing her pain just to stay with me. So, after a few miles, I told Susie to just go ahead of Barbara and I and she did. This was a good decision for everyone though Marie got very upset at first. She hates it when her "herd" splits up. She pulled Barbara for 15 or 20 minutes but then resigned herself to her fate and settled down. Louie too wanted to keep up with Susie and Spark but didn't pull or fuss and allowed me to rate him back.

Cindy on Louie out on trail

Barbara on Marie and Cindy on Louie out on trail

Because of all the rain the woods trails usually used for this ride were very muddy. So, the ride was kept to dirt roads and some tar roads. No one minded as none of us wanted to slop through mud. We got to the hold in very good time. This was Louie's very first experience with a hold. He did great. There is SOOOOOO much confusion at a hold and though Louie did get a bit anxious about keeping glued to Marie, he didn't loose his head. We took the full 10 minutes allowed to call for P&R. Marie needs the time as she is heavy muscled horse and pulses down slow. Louie's pulse was 44, Marie just squeaked in at 64. Louie ate the beet pulp slurry offered. He didn't drink anything. Neither did Marie. Louie didn't want to trot away from Marie for the vetting but thought about dragging me when going towards her! Louie did make an attempt to roll with his saddle on that I loudly and vigorously discouraged. We were a bit late leaving the hold but still were doing well on time.

At the 20 minute hold feeding while waiting in vetting line

Louie was wonderful on the 2nd half of the ride. He was now doing more miles and moving faster then he ever had in his life. He did get to the point were he didn't want to do so much fast trotting but was more then happy to canter and was still eager to go. I did not argue with him. He knew what was most comfortable for him and so we cantered a lot of the 2nd half of the ride. About 4 miles from the finish Marie suddenly put her nose to the ground and started sniffing. She then went into power walk mode. She never walks fast so we wondered what had gotten into her. She then started nickering and withing a few minutes we saw Susie and Spark up ahead! So that is what she was so excited about. We caught up with Susie so we were able to finish the ride together which was nice.

Barbara on Marie, Cindy on Louie and Susie on Spark about 4 miles from finish

Janet Brunjes, Cindy on Louie and Susie on Spark

Cindy on Louie

Barbara on Marie

We finished 10 minutes too fast so we stopped in a field just outside of camp and let the equines graze. Then we crossed the finish line right on time at 5 hrs. Louie was still bright and eager. We took them straight to our trailer to untack. We then took them right up to the barn to sponge them off and wait our 20 minutes for our final P&R's. Marie and Louie both pulsed at 48. Normal for Marie. I expected Louie to be a bit lower but it was not high enough to worry about. We then went for our trot out. Louie put on quite a show. He decided to do a "canter out" with a few bucks thrown in! Vet's said maybe he needed to do another 30 miles. Silly mule. AND, so far there is no indication that Louie's tack is not fitting well. Marie looked just a little off on her final trot on the circles. Once done with vetting, we settled them into their stalls with lots of hay and water to wait for the hands on part of the vetting. I gave them both some more wet beet pulp. Marie was happy to have it but Louie turned up his nose and didn't want it. But he did FINALLY drink some water! We went down to the snack shack for some lunch. We weren't quite done eating when they called the 30 mile riders for the hands on so we huffed down our lunch and hurried to get our equines. Louie stood nicely for the hands on. When the judges were done, I asked him to thank the judges and he did a lovely bow. They got such a kick out of that. We were done!!! And I knew both Louie and Marie had gotten a completion!! The vet commented that she thought Louie looked great for his first CTR and hardest ride he'd ever done. What a great feeling to have both my "kids" finish this ride after all I'd been through with injuries with them last year!!! I felt like a winner no matter what our final placing turned out to be. We packed up what we could and then hung out and visited with friends while waiting for awards. We checked on Louie and Marie several times while waiting. Marie snoozed. Louie was relaxed, munching hay and looked very good.

Coming into the finish, Susie on Spark, Cindy on Louie and Barbara on Marie

Susie on Spark, Cindy on Little Louie and Barbara on Marie

Cindy on Little Louie

Barbara on Marie

Susie on Spark

Cindy on Little Louie

Marie placed last with a score of 89.5. Louie tied for 2nd with a score of 98. They broke the tie in favor of the other rider so we were officially 3rd place. I was so pleased with Louie's score. He finished 100% sound. He lost 1/2 point for a scrape on his face, 1/2 point for slight filling in 2 of his legs and 1 point for his final pulse. The on trail comments on his score card were "calm and cool" and "forward and willing". And that was exactly so. Louie was very willing the whole ride and seemed very happy the whole way. I could not have been more pleased with how he did. Once again I underestimated my little brown mule.

Waiting a few minutes to cross the finish line as we were a little early

Barbara on Marie, Cindy on Louie and Susie on Spark

Acadia 15 mile CDR May 21st 2011

Barbara on Marie and Cindy on Little Louie (Bubble Pond trail)


The moment had finally arrived! Louie did his first official ride today. My friend Barbara rode my horse Marie. Another friend Susie rode up with us to work the ride. We only did the 15 mile CDR (conditioning distance ride) and there are no awards for this distance. But, as both of Marie and Louie had injuries last year, I thought this would be a good distance for them both. The ride was at Acadia National Park which is a 2 1/2 hr. drive. Acadia is a lovely place right on the coast and the the trails are groomed carriage roads that were originally built by the Rockefeller's. It's such a beautiful and unique place to ride with beautiful stone work bridges and many sweeping views of the ocean.

The day was overcast and quite chilly. It had rained every day for a week so we just prayed it would stay dry today. We made good time and arrived at about 7:45 am. Our ride out time was 9:00 am so I was in no rush. But, we had no sooner unloaded Louie and Marie when we were urgently called to vet in. So,Susie grabbed a brush and we did a speed grooming. Meanwhile the 2 day 50 mile riders on their eager and excited horses were all milling around and just starting to be sent out on trail. This was a new atmosphere that Louie has never been exposed to. After our speed grooming, we rushed up to get them vetted in. There were 5 or 6 volunteers as well as vet and lay judge suddenly grouped around Louie he had a temporary mental overload. When the vet approached him Louie said "Nope, no one is touching me, no sireee!!!" This took me by surprise as Louie is dog gentle and loves people. But, we were rushing him and giving him no chance to process all this new stuff. The judges were great though and left him alone and vetted my horse first. When they came back to Louie, he'd gotten his head back together and was once again the sweet mule we all know and love.

Louie did a great trot out throwing in a couple bucks for good measure. On his score card he got the comment "playful". Marie vetted in fine. She is such an old pro at this I think she could vet herself in. After vetting in we had lots of time to finish grooming and saddle up. By the time I mounted up, there were few horses on the grounds and Louie was pretty calm. But boy oh boy did he hit the trail like a ball of fire! He was excited and very forward but well under control.

Just out of the stable we met up with Kyle Nielsen and Louise Townsend coming off the Day Mountain trail. Barbara and I settled in just behind them and we started out towards Bubble Pond. Kyle and Louise were setting a pretty quick pace and Louie was pretty determined to keep them in sight. We did the loop by Bubble Pond. The first water stop was where the trail crossed the Park Loop Road just before Eagle Lake. This was 3.1 miles out. Louie didn't want to drink. Marie only sipped little so we pushed right on. We then went around by Jordan Pond passing the landslide, onto the 7 bridges trail (that I love) and on down to Seal Harbor where the 2nd water stop was at about 10 miles. We had kept up a steady trot and canter and did this in 1 hour. And I was checking Louie back the whole time. Marie was fabulous and totally in "the zone". Barbara was holding her back also. Once again Louie didn't drink but Marie did. We were well ahead of our time and had to slow way down for the last 5 miles. Louie did slow down on his own and we trotted and cantered a couple more miles but on a loose rein.

Cindy on Little Louie (Bubble Pond trail)

Barbara on Marie (Bubble Pond trail)

Barbara on Marie and Cindy on Little Louie (Bubble Pond trail)



There were bikers, hikers and carriages on trail and I was very pleased to find that Louie wasn't the least bothered by them. He did spook at a couple ROCKS....... but nothing to speak of. We had to slow down to a walk for the last few miles and we still came in too early. We waited on trail by the barn letting Marie and Louie graze for 10 minutes. I thought we were then good on our time but as we approached the finish line, the timer was yelling at us we were still 20 minutes early sent us back out. So, we went back up by the barn and let Marie and Louie graze for another 20 minutes so we wouldn't be disqualified. Though there were no awards for the 15 mile distance, the miles do count towards life time mileage and I wanted to get that for sure.

Barbara on Marie and Cindy on Little Louie (Seal Harbor)

Little Louie (Seal Harbor trail)

Barbara on Marie and Cindy on Louie (Seven Bridges trail)


When it was time, we joyfully crossed the finish line. We went to the trailer to wait for our final P&R. Marie had a big drink at this time. Louie only sipped a little but was quite and relaxed yet still bright eyed and looked good. Louie's final P&R was 34/12 and Marie was 44/8. We had a little short wait for hand on and final trot out. When we went up for our hands on, Louie was more then happy this time to "play" with the judges. He was schmoozing with them shamelessly. At the final trot out he was reluctant to trot away from Maire and when I got after him to go he threw in a little attitude buck in protest and was a little silly about his circles. But still trotted quite well....silly mule.

We decided to stay for the awards so we could hang out for a while and visit with friends. We tied up Marie and Louie at the trailer with hay and water and we had our lunch. There were some wonderful soups, sandwiches and home made deserts. After eating we walked Louie and Marie letting them graze. I led Louie up to the lay judge and told him to thank the judge for being so nice and cued him to bow. I didn't know if he would do this in public with so many distractions. But, much to my delight he did a beautiful bow. The lay judge had to call the vet over and Louie bowed for her also. They got such a kick out of that and had to see Louie bow several more times. Louie was a wonderful mule ambassador today. Marie was amazing too for a 20 year old girl. They were both ready for more miles and I was so pleased with how they both did. We did get score sheets though there weren't awards for the 15 mile CDR. Louie had a perfect score. Most important to me is he started with a "0" for lameness and ended with a "0"!!! Yeeehaaaaa!! His on trail comments were, "bright and eager", and "Interested and watching but quiet and alert". And he finally took a pretty good drink before we headed home. Marie's score was 98. We headed right out after the awards. It was a great day and so nice to see riding friends not seen all winter.


Barbara with Marie at the final vetting

Cindy and Little Louie waiting for final vetting

Cindy and Little Louie doing the final trot out

Little Louie schmoozing with the vet at the final vetting

Crooked River 3 day 80 CTR Waterford, ME May 2010

I’ve decided to attempt the 3 day 80 mile ride with poor old Marie. She is in good condition. But, I’m quite sure she is developing some arthritis as any older hard working horse is likely to. So, I would just take it a day at a time and see how things went.
I headed off to the ride at about 8:45 AM and arrived at the fairground at 10. I brought Zephyr with me. Few people had arrived so I had a good choice of places to park. I decided to park where I could have an electrical hookup. I pulled into the best spot for me and realized I was going to have a hard time reaching the hookup with my cord unless I turned my truck around. I was just getting ready to turn around when Scott Hatch came over and thought I would make it with my cord if I just unloaded Marie, then backed up as far as I could. This worked and I could just reach with my cord. But, then I realized that I could not put Marie on the Spring Tie which I was planning to use as it would put her up against the side of a building and there was an exposed waterline pipe there that wasn’t safe. So, I just set up my electric pen for her. She’s probably happier with that anyway since we will be here for three days.



I got Marie settled in, set up camp then made myself a sandwich. Amy Beem had arrived and she asked me if I wanted to go for a quick ride. So we went out for about an hour at a quiet walk. Amy is riding Weezie her Appy mare (that I think is awewome). Allie Marie was riding Amy’s horse Washburn. Allie was not riding Washburn in the competition, she was just here to work the ride. Another friend of Amy’s, Rhonda, was coming to ride Washburn in the competition. Kyle Neilson had come and he was riding one of Kathy Brunje’s horses. It was nice to see so many familiar faces here at the ride. Marcia Deleware, Kathie Brunjes, Tom Hutchinson, Irving McNaughton, Jean and Elliot Bridges, Kyle Nielson, Steve Rojek, Sondra Day, Peg Dockham, Mindy Veinneau, Bill and Stephanie Rice, Kelly Jack, Jeff Gardner, Scott & Jan Hatch, Stephanie Buckley, Char Jewell, Janet Brunjes & Louise Lester who are running the ride and many others.



Marie was quite restless because she did not have a buddy near her. I tried to take a nap but Susie arrived and Marie started hollering and hollering non-stop wanting to be with Susie’s horse Spark. I finally got up and went over to visit with Susie while she set up camp. Marie continued to fuss over not being near Spark despite the fact that Steve Rojek had come and set up near me so Marie did have company. But, not to her satisfaction apparently. We all headed up to get vetted in. The Vet judge is Heather Hoyns and the lay judge is Sondra Day. Dr. Hoyns did not like the way Marie looked at the trot so asked me to bring her back again when everyone else was done vetting in. She was not happy with how Amy’s Washburn looked either. So, I waited and took Marie up again later and I was passed to start the ride though Dr. Hoyns was still not happy with how she looked. Washburn also passed. We all sat at Amy’s trailer for a while and visited then eventually went down to Melby’s for supper. I had the haddock dinner which was very good. Later I walked Marie and ran into Mindy Vinneau doing the same. I have not seen her in a while and it was good to talk to her. While we were chatting it was announced the riders meeting. There was strawberry short cake for everyone which was a pleasant surprise. After the meeting, I asked Char Jewell if she could put me in the starting line up near Marsha Deleware. I was hoping to ride with her as I knew her horse would set the same pace as Marie. I checked with Marsha to see if this would be ok. She didn’t mind but she was already riding with Cathy Demick and said we’d need to check with her as her horse could get a bit competitive. Cathy said we’d try it and see how it went. Then we all went back to Amy’s trailer to relax and visit some more. We did not stay up very late and I was very tired from having worked the previous night. It was a bit overcast so I put Marie’s rain sheet on her in case it rained during the night. It turned out the overcast was from smoke from very bad forest fires in Quebec in Canada and it hung over us all weekend. Zephyr was thrilled when I put him up in the goosneck with me for the night.

I was up early the next morning. I fed Marie then headed to the food shack for breakfast. They provided cooked breakfasts for this ride which was nice. Today was French toast and sausage. Then, it was time to tack up and get ready to ride. The ground was wet and it was a bit chilly so I put Zephyr in the trailer with is food and water. He was not happy about this. He does not like being shut in the trailer for some reason. Marsha, Cathy and I were sent out together. We were second out in the starting order. Cathy’s horse, Stetson, was quite excited but Cathy rode so well you couldn’t really tell. Marie hung back last in her favorite position. A few miles out, Stephanie Buckley and her daughter caught up with us. There was another woman riding with them who was new to the sport. Her horse was very worked up dancing and tossing his head continually. Stephanie’s ponies are quite spirited but well behaved. The larger group was getting Cathy’s horse Stetson agitated. Finally Cathy told the other the they needed to ride on ahead. The woman riding with them said no they didn’t. Stephanie immediately said “yes we do” as she understood what was going on a led the way ahead of us. Stetson was much happier once they were out of sight. A little further down the trail we came to a lake where we could water the horses. We walked them in and I looked down and saw something long and thin swimming around. At first I though it might be a small eel. Then I notice there are more. A LOT more, and that’s when I realized they were leaches! YUCK! None of the horses wanted to drink. Just as we were leaving the pond, Scott Hatch pulled up with his truck. We said hello and were on our way. Very soon we came up on the woman that had been riding with Stepanie and her daughter. She was walking and her horse was not with her. She seemed to be ok so we told her to go back to the pond and catch a ride with Scott Hatch.

Cathy Demick on Stetson, Marsha Deleware on Piper & Cindy Ross on Marie

We got to the hold in good time. Marie just pulsed down in the 10 minutes allowed. All else was well. Vet still wasn’t thrilled with how she looked but let me continue. We were a few minutes late getting out of the hold but not enough to be a problem. The second half of the trail was good and we made good time. We finished in perfect time. When we got back I took Marie right to the trailer to sponge her down and wait for my final P&R for the day. I debated keeping her with Marsha’s horse but decided to see if she would be ok on her own. She wasn’t thrilled but was ok. But, just as the P&R person was getting ready to take her pulse, Susie came into camp and Marie spotted Spark. Marie’s pulse shot right up to 60. ACK! The P&R person gave Marie a minute and her pulse came right back down so all was well. I went up for the trot out. We were passed to ride the 2nd day. Susie didn’t want to wait around for awards so she packed up as soon as she was done and headed out. After I took care of Marie I took a nap for a while.

Kate Rogers, Louise Townsend, Amy Beem, & Allie Marie

Zephyr and Chindi


Stuffed Ponies made by Amy Beem



When I got up, I went up to Amy’s trailer to hang out with her. Louise Townsend had stopped in to say hi to everyone. Zephyr was having a great time playing with Amy’s dog Chindi. Supper that night was very good. Barbecued chicken, green beans, corn bread, salad, and a wonderful selection of cakes for desert. After supper was the award ceremony. After supper I walked Marie, then settled her in to her pen for the night with lots of hay and water. I put a wool cooler on her as it was cool out. Then, Zephyr and I headed for bed.

I was up early again in the morning. I fed Marie and walked Zephyr. Then I went to the food shack for breakfast. This morning they were serving pancakes. I sat and talked with Lois Crowley and Alan Wells. After I ate I got Marie ready to go. The ground was dry this morning and it was warm so I left Zephyr tied out. He was much happier outside. Once again Cathy, Marsha and I were second out in the starting order. Today Stetson was much calmer and Cathy was very pleased with him. The ride when well to the hold. We were riding the same trail as yesterday but made better time. Marie pulsed down fine. When we went for our trot out, the vet was very unhappy with the way Marie looked and told me I could not continue. After further thought, she told me to come back in 10 minutes for a recheck. I told Cathy and Marsha not to wait for me, so they headed out when it was time. I took Marie for her recheck. She looked a bit better though the vet still wasn’t happy. She decided to let me finish the day.

Cindy Ross on Marie

I quickly got ready and headed out. Marie moved right along at a good clip and in a few miles I caught up with Cathy and Marsha. They were happy to see me. There were a few times on both day’s rides when we had come across horse boogers or ATV that had spooked Piper and Stetson and Marie had been the one to lead them safely by. We finished in good time. I actually had to wait at the end of the ride before I crossed the finish line as I’d had time added for the time I’d lost at the hold. P&R’s today were all done up by the vetting area. There were not enough P&R people to go to everyone’s trailers. Marie pulsed down fine. The vet was still unhappy with Marie’s trot out so told me I’d have to come back in the morning for a recheck. Sigh……..

After getting Marie settled in her pen, I took a nap for a few hours. When I got up, I headed down to Melby’s to get a sandwich. I got back to camp and walked Zephyr then walked Marie. Supper and awards for the 60 mile riders was at 6:00. Tonight we had spaghetti and meatballs, salad and bread as well as more delicious cake. Char Jewell won the 60 mile ride. I headed to be quite early. I was finally able to get an internet connection so checked my email then went to sleep.

Amy Beem's horses Washburn and Weezie



I was up at 5:00 AM, fed Marie, walked Zephyr then headed for breakfast. Today we had breakfast sandwiches. After the riders meeting, I took Marie up for her recheck. She failed the recheck so we were done. Marie definitely was a bit off and she had dsome mild swelling in her left front leg that was not normal. I quickly packed up camp and headed home wishing Cathy and Marsha the best of lunch.

Several days after the ride, I took Marie to the vet as the swelling just did not go down in her leg. She had a strained suspersory and will on rest for several months most likely.

Crooked River 80 CTR 5/29/2010 14/S-12/F
Judges:
1. Shyrocco Lyric / Kimberly, Jenny
2. Leland / Savino, Ann Marie
3. Sammy / Rojek, Steve
4. Langwoods Lorelei / Stratemeyer, Joan H
5. Winn Star / Gibbon, Kyle
6. Texas Sonset SSH / Demick, Catherine
7. Bedrocks Handsome Fello / Alexander Lee R.
8. Patenaude Vulcain Gazelle / Gardener, Jeffrey
9. Charlestown Raphael / Daniels, Steven (Rich)
10. Lazaarr (Luke), Nielsen, Kyle
MCO Highcountry Piper / Delaware, Marcia E
MCO Theatric / Brunjes, Kathy
DNF Hawks Nest Expedition / Welles, Allen
DNF Marie / Ross, Cindy

VERDA Brown Bag 25 CTR Cornish, NH May 2010

It was the first CTR of the season. My new mule Louie is still on the injured list. This was supposed to be his first ride but alas, I had to fall back on reliable, good ‘ole Marie. Bonnie and I headed out for NH at about 10:00AM. We’ve never been to this particular ride before but with the aid of Martha (the GPS) we had an easy drive to the Cornish Fairgrounds where the ride was being held. It took 3 hrs. 50 min. The ride was The Cornish Fairgrounds was a very nice place. The weather was forecast to be rainy Friday night and Saturday so we reserved stalls for River and Marie and they were lovely big stalls. We got them settled in right away when we arrived, then set up camp. There were 30 + riders, but Saturday morning vetting was allowed so half the riders were coming in the morning. So, it didn’t take too long to get through vetting. River vetted in fine. But, the ride vet was a bit concerned over Marie. She doesn’t have pretty legs, and she isn’t a pretty mover.She never has been and never will be. Marie travels narrow behind and is stabby with her right rear leg. She has puff, and bumps and all sorts of other things that an older, hard working horse will get.  The vet judge for this ride has never seen my horse before. The vet judges that have seen my horse on a regular basis have gotten to know her and know that this is just normal for Marie and she always is fine. The vet judge did decide to let me ride but said she would be watching me closely. That was ok; I knew she had the best interest of my horse at heart. And she simply doesn’t know my horse like I do. After vetting in, we settled River and Marie back in their stalls and asked the ride manager if there was a decent place to eat nearby. She gave us direction to Windsor, VT. It was only about a 10 min. drive. We ate at a questionable looking little diner there. The food was fabulous! They had a buffet that night. We headed to bed soon after we got back from supper. We knew we’d be riding in the rain the next day so had come prepared. I have rain pants I ride in which work great other then they work up my leg over time, which is annoying. So, Bonnie donated a piece of elastic to me and I sewed stirrups onto the bottom of the rain pants.

I rained hard that night. We were sure glad our kids were snug in the nice stalls, and that we were snug in my nice trailer. It was still raining when we got up in the morning but not as hard. We were up about 5:30 AM. Bonnie heated up water while I went over to the barn to feed River and Marie. Then I went back over to the trailer for coffee and oatmeal. We set up our chairs in the trailer and were nice and dry there. There were 16 horses being vetted in this morning. So, we knew that would take a while. The ride would not be starting until 9:00 AM. When the rain slacked off a bit, we’d go out and socialize a bit, and then hide in the trailer when it rained harder. Because of the rain, I packed our hold gear into two buckets with waterproof lids. There is nothing worse then a wet, soggy hold bag. Bonnie and I were at the barn tacking up when I realized we were missing the riders meeting. I ran over to catch would I could, which wasn’t much. I did find out we were following pick ribbons and the hold was being shortened to 10 minutes due to the cold and rain. I was not happy about the 10-minute hold. Bonnie and I waited as long as we could to leave the barn but finally it was time to warm River and Marie up a bit so we ventured out of the dry barn out into the rain. Then, it was our turn and we were off. I knew this ride would be a bit challenging with hills. We don’t have much for hills at home so it is hard to condition for them. I had been out riding and conditioning more with Marie then Bonnie had with River, but Marie is more then twice River’s age at 19 years old. The first part of the ride was hilly but overall not to bad, I set a fairly moderate pace as I feared more hills and didn’t want to burn out Marie and River too much early in the ride. Much of the first part of the ride was on dirt roads. At one point, we came out of a woods trail into a field. We were looking around for the trail marker when suddenly Marie and River both just about jumped out from underneath us. Another rider had popped out of another trail into the field startling our mounts. She had taken a wrong turn and was looking for the trail again. There was a man in the field mowing and he pointed out where the trail was. So, the three of us rode on together. We came out on a tar rode and rode down this for a while. Eventually, we all realized we had not seen a trail marker in a while. We went on a little further until we came to an intersection. This came out onto a fairly busy road and there were no markers at all. So, we knew we were off trail! AGH. We turned around and headed back. On the way back, we came upon Vicky Smith and let her know she was off trail too and she turned and followed us back. Not far from where we met Vicky, we found the trail marker and headed down the trail. But, we had added at least two miles to our ride. The 4 of us stayed  together into the hold. There was a bit of a hill coming into the hold. Marie doesn’t pulse down quickly and this wouldn’t help. You are allowed 10 minutes to pulse down, but if the hold is only 10 minutes and you take all 10 to pulse down, there is no time left for the trot out. And forget about feeding yourself or your horse. The hold was held in a large field with lush grass. Though eating supposedly will raise a horses pulse, standing Marie on lush grass and NOT letting her eat will raise her pulse much higher as she frets hard about wanting to eat. So, I just let her eat. River was a little bit chilled and shivered just a bit. One of the P&R crew got a blanket for him. River’s pulse came right down quickly, but Marie took the usual full 10 minutes and then just squeaked in at 60 bpm. Then there was a line for the trot out so there was not chance of getting out of the hold on time. Though any time we lost that was not our fault, we would get back. River’s trot out was good. The vet still was not happy with Marie. She was now saying that Marie was looking uncoordinated in back placing her feet all over. She looked normal to me. The vet decided to let me continue but was worried. We headed out of the hold about 28 minutes after we arrived so I knew we should be getting an 18-minute credit. The second half of the ride was tough, tough and ummmmmm, oh, yeah, did I mention tough. We did a large section on woods trail. And we climbed a hill that just went on and on and on. It was very steep in sections and the footing was lousy from all the rain. Marie and River would try to dig in to climb but it was slippery. Marie was in the lead and she went slow and steady for a long time. River stopped a few times. Finally, even Marie was getting pooped and she stopped too and needed a breather. That hill literally went on for several miles seemingly without end. Then, of course, what goes up must come down. And the footing was the same going down, muddy…..not deep but slippery. Even when we did come to some flat sections of trail, it was just to slick to speed up. By the time we got back to the dirt road, I felt that Marie and River were too tired to push any harder and we walked the last 4 miles back to the fairground. There is no award that is worth risking my horse over and our ponies were tired. We did not make our time but we did not get disqualified. We were 21 minutes past our time and you are allowed 30 before disqualification. Had we not gotten off trail, we would have made our time.

It was raining harder when we finished, and we could not go back to our stalls until the vetting was complete. So, we tied River and Marie to the trailer, untacked and put their rain sheets on them. Both had good P&R’s and I was so relieved. I knew they were tired, but I had made the right call to not push them harder trying to make our time so they were fine, yes tired, but in good shape. We let them both graze while we waited our turn for hands on. Marie was calling and nickering to all the gray horse. Marie just loves gray horses. Male or female! Hands on went fine. Marie had no changes in her tack area and her legs looked better then when she started the ride. We had some time to kill between our hands on and trot out so we tied the ponies to the trailer again with hay and water. Bonnie put a second blanket on River as the vet thought he was a bit chilled. I have to say, Marie has always seemed impervious to all weather conditions. She is such a tough horse. Bonnie and I went down to the snack shack and each had a couple cheeseburgers. Then, we packed up what we could pack so we’d be ready to go after the award ceremony. Then it was time for trot out. River did a very nice trot out. Marie’s was good in my opinion, very willing and steady. The vet was surprised at how good she looked as she had been expecting the worse. She did feel that Marie was dropping her right hip and dragging her right toe just a slight bit more at the end but she said it was just a slight change. So, Bonnie and I actually both scored quite well. Bonnie got a 96 and I got a 95 ½. But, we both had a 21-point time penalty. I was just thrilled with getting a completion though with a horse and mule in good shape and ready to do it again soon! We didn’t leave until nearly 6:00 PM. We had a long but uneventful drive home.

3320 VERDA Brown Bag 25 CTR 5/8/2010
# Start: 24 # Finish: 22
J1. Lutka / Thompson, Casey
1. Old Vermont Rebel / Kimberly, Jenny
1. Picaboo Street (Pica) / Walker, Courtney
3. Beckie / Dockham, Peg
4. Empiric / Blittersdorf, Melody
4. Sir Douglas / Phillips, Christina
6. Con La Gracia / Limlaw, Gene
6. Ashmoro Billy Alan / Batchelder, Rhonda
6. Charlestown Raphael / Savino, Anne Marie
6. Texas Sonset SSH / Demick, Catherine
6. Sundance Tatezi / Smith, Vickie
11. WBA Chanceful / Johnson, Ray
12. Omars Montana / Bottesi, Marlene
12. Canequin's Reach For The Stars / Gesler, Liz
14. LBF Hickory Smoke / Fiddes, Esther
15. Juneson's Image / Bennett, Abbie
16. Craggy Lea Jazzy Lady / Ring, Wilson
17. Kalis 2862 / Abbott, Melissa
18. Silver Britches / Brooks, Leslie
c River / Hinz, Bonnie
c Marie / Ross, Cynthia
DNF Rockin Rudy / Hall, Kathy
DNF Sadie / Thurber, Lorraine
J2. Calamity Jane / Abbott, Logan

GMHA 3 day 100 mile CTR, Woodstock, VT September 2009

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.

Trails from the Crypt, Sumner, Maine October 2008

Cindy on Marie and Bonnie on River


The last ride of the season, and one of the best. I was taking my horse Marie. My friend Bonnie was going and it would be her mule, River’s, first CTR. The weather was predicted to be good, if a bit cool. We were excited though I was sure going to miss riding Ruby.

We headed out after Bonnie got off work and arrived around 3:00 pm. We quickly set up the pen and turned out Marie and River with hay and water. Though they were most interested in the lush green grass. As we were setting up camp, Terry York came down from the vetting area and asked if we could get up to the vetting as soon as possible since we were the last ones to be vetted and they could be done. So, we went up immediately. Bonnie and I decided to switch equines for the trot outs. River had not been previously trained to trot in hand or on a lounge line. I had worked with him a few times the week before the ride so we thought it would be best if I did his trot out. Marie is an old pro at trot outs so that would be fine with Bonnie. River did great. He was a bit confused but did fine. Bonnie and Marie did great also and we both passed the vetting with flying colors.

After settling River and Marie back into the pen, Bonnie and I finished setting up camp then headed over to the house. The Ride manager, Laura, opens her house for the ride. It is wonderful since it can be cold this time of year and nice to have somewhere warm to hang out and socialize. And, Laura always has lots of good food. We ate, then there was a brief ride meeting. Then we just visited with everyone until it was time to go to bed. It was cold overnight but Bonnie and I both came prepared with our 0º sleeping bag, down comforters and plenty of warm clothes.

The hard part was getting up in the morning……but not too bad. At least there was no wind. That makes a difference at this ride site at it is in a huge open field on the side of a mountain. There was ice on the top of the water buckets. River and Marie had been pretty quiet overnight and we slept quite well. We got up, fed the critters and quickly headed into the house for some breakfast and coffee. Before long, it was time to saddle up. We mounted up to warm up about 20 min. before out ride time. I could tell Bonnie was a bit worried about how River would handle everything. And when we went up to the drive way, where everyone was riding to warm up, River spun back once as it worries him just a bit to have thing coming at him head on. But, we waited for a quiet space and went up onto the driveway and he was fine. Pretty soon, it was our turn to head out. Susie was riding with us. At the last minute, Marsha Deleware asked if she could join us also. Ride management ok’d it and we all headed out together. We were glad to have Marsha along. Bonnie was very worried right at first. River was a bit excited and she wanted to keep it slow. But, we headed right off at a trot sure that he would settle right out in no time. He did and was wonderful the whole ride.

Cindy on Marie, Marsha on Piper and Bonnie on River



We made very good time. At the hold, I had some trouble getting Marie pulsed down. She wasn’t high enough to worry about but just over the max. FINALLY, she came down and it was a rush to get out of the hold on time. We didn’t make it and were about 5 min. over. But, the trail was easy and we were ahead of time coming into the hold so weren’t worried.

The second loop went great. We had to slow down a bit so we wouldn’t come in too early. And even then, we had to stop in the field near the finish line and let the horses and mule graze a bit before we could cross the line. That was good for Marie though. I would not have to worry about getting her pulsed down at the end. Bonnie and I traded equines for the trot out again. River was not worn out for sure and he was still a bit confused about the whole trot out thing. He took right off, bucked and kicked and cantered a few circles before settling into a trot! Silly mule! Marie did her usual lackluster trot. Though Bonnie added a bit of excitement by dropping her lead rope. Marie nearly completed the trot out on her own before realizing she was loose and wandering off across the arena. Hands on went uneventfully.

We settled River and Marie back into their pen with hay and water and went into the house for the meal and to wait for the awards. The meal was fabulous!! And then awards …. (drum roll) ….. Bonnie got 4th place overall with a score of 99 with River!! Yippee!!! And we later learned there was a 4 way tie for 1st place all with a score of 99. The mule did us proud!!!!





Cindy doing final trot out with River


Trail from the Crypt 25 Oct 18, 2008 20/S-F
Judges: L. Buggia DVM - J. Brunjes
J1. SA Mr Madazsin / Potter, Christina
J2. Dew Drops Te Party / Buckley, Sarah
1. Slar Alladins Storm / Seams, Peter
1. Alar Enchanted Safire / Seams, Cynthia
1. Attala / Dockham, Peg
1. River / Hinz, Bonnie
5. Innis Free / Palmer, Judy
5. Aramis / Robbins, Kathleen
7. Michabou KT Brigadear / Rice, Stephanie
8. SS Polar Ice / York, Cara
9. MacKenzie / Reinheimer, Susan
9. SPD Carousel / O'Connor, Colleen
11. Nikademus / De Falco, Sarah
12. Nerzans Lady Mariah / Bonneau, Heather
13. Marie / Ross, Cindy (93.75 pts)
14. Potaca / Rice, Bill
15. Kheme-o-Alexs / Fortucci, Ashley
15. Highcountry Piper / Deleware, Marsha
17. Miss Dixie / Abbott, Melissa
18. Cliffes Copper Penny / Buckley, Stephanie