T.R.O.T. Sleigh Rally February. 2010

I went to my first ever sleigh rally Sunday. I trained my horse, Marie, to drive years ago and though I had not hitched her in years and she had never pulled a sleigh, I decided to take her and give it a try. Marie is such a good dependable girl I was quite sure it would be no problem.

The rally was held at my friend Amy's home. The first problem was I don't have a sleigh. Amy said not to worry, she would find me one to use. Ok, problem one solved. Second problem, there was very little snow with the fields being nearly bare. We waited and listened to the weather report all week hoping for some snow, but no such luck. While the rest of the east coast, mid-west was getting buried under record breaking snow falls, not a flake was falling in Maine. Even TX and FL were getting snow!!!!! Amy said it looked like it would be changed to a carriage rally. But, Saturday, Amy's husband, Gary, was determined it would be a SLEIGH rally so he started trucking in snow from every snowbank around and he used a manure spreader to spread the snow over the field. Then he had a snowmobile grooming machine come and groom the field. By Sunday morning, the sleigh rally was on! So, my (reluctant) husband, granddaughter and good old Marie headed out early and were the first to arrive. One of the Beem's barns was heated and it was all set up with the food, tables and chairs and the registration table. A nice place to get out of the cold. It wasn't a bad day but it was cold with a bit of a biting wind out in the open field.




Amy showed me my choice of sleigh's to use. There was a metal road cart that had removable wheels and runners you could put on. Then there was the absolutely adorable Portland Cutter. I could not resist the cutter. Maire was feeling a bit lonely and wondering were everyone was and being quite vocal about it. That is between bites of hay because nothing puts her off her food. I harnessed her up and took her over to the sleigh. She was a bit of a pill to get hooked up at first as people were starting to arrive and she wanted to know if any of her buddies were around. But, we finally managed. Then the big moment, I knew she had not forgotten how to drive, but would she mind the different feel and sound of a sleigh. I climbed in, took a deep breath and asked her to walk out. No problem at all. It was like she'd pulled a sleigh all her life. GOOD GIRL!!! I called Susie R. and left her a message to tell her the hitch was a success!




I took a spin around the field alone then took Madison, my granddaughter, for a spin around the field. I then unhooked Marie and tied her back at the trailer as it was a while before my first class. I went into the barn to warm up. Someone had brought some Yellow Lab pups that were for sale and that was the highlight of Madison's day. She could not take her eyes off those puppies for the rest of the day. Before I knew it, it was time to hitch back up again and get ready for my first class. This time Marie was much more cooperative and in no time I was ready. Marie was a bit fidgety so I had to keep her slowly walking around at first but then she settled down. A lot of people had shown up and there were also quite a lot of spectators. There was some beautiful draft teams giving sleigh rides and a few that were there just for the show. No mules though.




My first class was pleasure driving. It was a big class. Marie was wonderful and did everything asked. We didn't place though so apparently I didn't ask all the right things. Next was the reinsmanship class. That was done one at a time in the ring. You had to go in, stop at a cone for 4 seconds, then do a figure 8 pattern and out. I had a total brain cramp and managed to do a figure z or maybe a figure x or...... but it was NOT a figure 8! DUH! Oh well, once again Marie was great and did just as I asked. At this point, Susie called me back and said she and David were coming up to watch. Next I did the obstacle course. I did manage to get that right! Then on to the marathon course which I once again managed to do right and Marie was great and really getting into it.

I was asked by several people if I'd entered the 'half & half' class. That was the obstacle course done with two drivers in a sleigh. The first driver would go once around the course and as you came around by the start/finish line, you would hand the reins over to the other driver and then would drive once around the course. Well, I didn't have anyone to go with me. Amy said she would but just about then, Susie showed up. I grabbed her out of the audience and she was thrilled to help me out. Susie did great as did Marie of course. The obstacles were set up near the end of the field by the woods where there actually was some snow and there were a few spots that were getting a bit scary as it was a bit deep and getting rutted up with all the sleighs and a few times we were afraid we might tip, but didn't.



After the class, I took Susie for a spin around the whole field, then Susie helped me unhitch and remove Marie's harness. I gave Marie lots of hay which she attacked with her usual gusto. We all went in for lunch. Susie and David left before they gave out awards. That was too bad as Susie and I got 6th place in the 'half & half' class!!! And I got 2nd place in the marathon.

It was a wonderful day and I am so glad I went

Acadia 2 day 50 CTR Seal Harbor, ME June 2003

Bonnie and I were very excited to be heading off to our favorite ride. Actually, I was going to be driving Marie in the cart. Bonnie was going along with me as my groom. A groom is not required for driving a single horse but is allowed and a good idea. Bonnie is a brave soul. Bonnie and I headed off at 7:00 AM Friday. We decided to try a different route to Acadia that someone had told us about. We were taking Rt. 3 out of Augusta. It was a real nice drive but took us the same amount of time as the route we usually take. And we did not go by Dysart's which is our favorite place to stop and eat. It is so nice hauling now with the new truck. We arrived at Wildwood Stables at 10:00 AM. No one was around to check in with. There was a sign on the fist Barn that all the driving horses were to be in Barn A and the riding horses were in Barns B and C. This would work out well. Susie was coming with Cody. since she was riding and I was driving, we wouldn't be able to travel together on the trail. It was best that Marie and Cody stay as far away from each other as possible for the weekend. I was still expecting to have a hard time with Marie. She is so in love with Cody. As long as he was on the grounds at all, she would know it and probably cause a fuss wanting to be near him. We picked a stall and Bonnie got it set up while I unloaded Marie and the cart. Then, we picked out the campsite we liked. We didn't set up right away. We wanted to wait until we checked with ride management to make sure we were ok where we were. Bonnie had packed us a lunch and we relaxed at the picnic table by the barns to eat. Marsha Deleware arrived and joined us as soon as she got her horse settled in. There were still no signs of any ride management after we ate. Apparently, they were out marking the trails. I hooked Marie up to the cart and Bonnie and I went out for a little test drive. We did the Day Mountain Loop but didn't go up to the summit. Marie was wonderful. Soon after we got back, Janice Hatch, who was helping with the ride, arrived and we were able to check in. I was hungry again so Bonnie got out the rest of the lunch we hadn't finished earlier. We settled in once again at the picnic table by the barns. Heather had arrived and was walking her horse, Mariah, around. She came over and sat with us. Mariah kept coming over and blowing horse boogers all over the table. ECK! Bonnie and I went back to camp to set up and settled down to relax for a bit. Mary Batt showed up and decided to go for a ride after she got her horse settled into a stall. She'd had a problem with the stable manager, Ed Winterburg, on a previous trip. Well, she wasn't there more then 30 minutes when she was getting in trouble with Ed again! No horses are allowed in the camping area and not realizing this, Mary had led her horse into camp. Now to access the trails you do ride the horses on the road through the campsites but are not to take the horses into the campsites. When we told Mary how to access the trails, she didn't believe us and instead rode up the alley between the work horse paddocks. During the operating season this is not allowed. But, since the work horses had not yet arrived, they let us do it so Mary was saved from getting in trouble a second time.

Mary Batt & Midori

Mary Batt with Midori and Susie Reinheimer with Cody

Susie lunging Cody


Vetting was to start at 3:00 PM. The lay judge showed up on time but the vet judge was quite late. He was coming from CT so had a long drive. He arrived around 4:30 PM. Marie vetted in nicely. Susie arrived while we were waiting in line to vet in. Marie recognized Susie's trailer right away but just called once to Cody then went back to munching grass. After vetting in, Bonnie and I settled Marie into her stall with her grain and lots of hay and water. She was drinking a lot which was good. Rich Gamester was catering the food for the ride. We had hamburgers, hot dogs and salad that night. He does a good job with the food. I took Marie out for a little walk after we ate and then settled her in for the night. Bonnie and I got talking with another woman that was driving. Her name was Kathie and her horses name was Shadow. Her mother had also come along to the ride with her. Kathie was telling us how strong and "naughty" Shadow could be. I told her that Marie was usually very quiet and steady. Kathie asked if she could possibly drive behind me figuring that Marie's calm steady pace would keep Shadow quiet. I told her that would be no problem at all. After Susie got Cody settled in, she came over to relax with us at camp. After the riders/drivers meeting, Susie and I went back to camp and got out our guitars. We played and sang until nearly 10:00 PM. by the light of......the flashlight. We had quite a few people gathered at our camp before we were done. we checked the horses one last time before going to bed.

Susie Reinheimer and Bonnie Hinz relaxing in camp


I slept great as usual in my home away from home. I got up around 5:00 AM, fed Marie and started looking around for where they were serving breakfast. Bonnie joined me and we had to wander around for a while before we found that they had set up the breakfast table in barn C. There was hot and cold cereals, muffins, donuts and coffee. I had the usual oatmeal and a donut to hold it down. Marie was a bit anxious while I was harnessing her up. Bonnie held her while I hitched her to the cart. Marie kept fidgeting around but Bonnie did a great job of keeping her under control. Marie had put on some weight and the shafts of the cart were a bit tight. There was one team being driven. They were very impressive all hitched up. The drivers safety inspection was at 6:45 AM. The ride/drive was starting at 7:00 AM. I thought I had everything I needed in my cart but boy was I wrong! I had everything that I'd had at my last competitive drive but obviously they hadn't done as thorough an inspection. I was missing a quarter sheet, hoof pick, hammer and a spare halter. I don't even own a quarter sheet. Luckily Bonnie does and it happened to be in my trailer. I raced to the trailer to gather the things I needed while Bonnie was left holding one very anxious Marie. By the time I got all the required items together and passed the safety inspection, it was time to head out. Marie was very happy to finally get moving. It didn't take long for Kathie and Shadow to catch up with us. Marie was very curious about who was behind us since she couldn't see them with blinders on. Marie soon settled into a nice steady pace and all was going well until another driver came racing up from behind and flew past us without much warning. Then, just up the trail a little way, the same drive was poking down the trail at a slow walk. So, we came up on her and slowed to a walk. She kept at a slow walk so we asked if she would mind if we passed her. Kathie and I went by and were on our way down the trail. Well, within a few minutes the woman came racing by us again. Then, within a few minutes we once again came up on her poking slowly down the trail. We passed her a second time since we wanted to keep up a steady pace. This pattern went on for a while with this driver racing by us then slowing down. By the sixth or seventh time Marie started pulling and getting a little strong with me. I had to really get after her to pay attention to me. Then we came up on all the other drivers lined up on the trail going nowhere.

Cindy Ross with Marie

Kathie Robbins with Alert's Shadow

Robin Cuffey with Golden Rule & Long Hill Soprano

Anita Jack with Deacon

Clara Hendin with Rohan Nimloth

Sondra Day with Ben Putnam


The Jorden Pond House gate was closed and locked and we couldn't get through. We all waited a while and finally the first rider came along. It was Heather. The gate is only a few miles from camp so we told Heather to let Colleen know that all the drivers were stuck at the gate. There is an archway beside the gate that the riders can go through. We waited about 40 minutes for someone to come open the gate. Many of the riders passed us in this time. I tried to really distract Marie when Susie and Cody went by. It seemed to work. When the gate was opened and we started going through, the woman who had kept racing by us started having trouble with her horse. The horse was backing up and getting upset. She couldn't stop him and he ended up backing into someones pickup truck. Due to the back up at the gate, all the driver came into the hold at the same time. This makes it hard for the ride workers to get everyone through the hold and out on time. If they can't, we are credited for the time we are held up. Kathie and I got an extra 15 minutes. We headed off on the second half of the drive in good shape. One of the things I had told Bonnie to remember when she agreed to come with me was that if anything happened, to bail out of the cart as quickly as possible. Well, at one point we were passing another cart and we were on the drop off side of the trail. Bonnie must have felt we were getting too close to the edge of the trail because she suddenly started climbing over me getting ready to bail out. I could see she was taking my advise to heart and it was going to be every woman for herself on this drive!

Acadia National Park wouldn't allow Colleen, the ride manager, to put up any marking ribbons on the trees or any of the usual paper plates with arrows on them that are traditionally used at the rides to mark the trails. She was only allowed to put up little white arrows on the signposts at the intersections. That was fine except someone thought it would be funny to remove a few of the markers. So, as you can guess, Kathie and I got to an intersection, saw no marker and assumed we were to go straight. A little further on Shadow started indicating he was thirsty. We stopped at a little stream. We couldn't get the horses to the water in the carts. Kathie saved the day with her collapsible bucket she had with her. Bonnie held Shadow while Kathie got water for Shadow. Then Bonnie held Marie while I got water for her. Both horses drank a lot. We were soon on our way again with much happier horses. We were almost to the end of the "Around the Mountain" trail when we met up with a group of riders coming down the trail in our direction. That was not supposed to happen. And I don't know why they call this particular trial the "AROUND the Mountain" trail since it so obviously goes OVER THE MOUNTAIN!! We had already done this trail once on the first half of the dive. The riders told us that we had all taken a wrong turn and had to go back to the last intersection we'd passed. This was going to add about 8 miles to our ride/drive. The riders took off at a fast pace in an effort to make up for the time they lost. Kathie and I turned the horses around and headed back. It was going to be far harder for Kathie and me to make up our lost time since we couldn't safely travel as fast as the rider with our carts. We hadn't gone very far when we came across Heather coming down the trail in our direction. Her horse, Mariah, started freaking out when she saw our carts heading towards her. Heather jumped off and started yelling, "I've been lost twice today, I've fallen off, I've been dragged and I'm not going to turn around again! They will just have to come pick me up with a horse trailer!" Well, since no motorized vehicles are allowed on the trails, we knew this was not going to happen. We got Heather calmed down and back on her horse and she headed back with us. It wasn't long before she started saying she was very thirsty. I looked back and she truly did not look well. She hadn't brought any water with her and was getting dehydrated. Bonnie and I gave her our water. We ended up going over the mountain on the "Around the Mountain" trail three times that day. We just couldn't make up all our lost time and actually came in 5 minutes past our disqualification time. We didn't know how ride management would handle this situation since it wasn't our fault the markers had been removed. Colleen rode out to confirm the markers were gone and we were not disqualified. YEAH! Bonnie and I got Marie unhitched and sponged her down outside. Then I put her in her stall to cool down. Marie passed her P&R and trot out with flying colors despite the extra miles going over the mountain. The only problem was the shafts of the cart had rubbed her sides and there were swollen sore spots on each side of her. I felt sooooo bad when I saw this. Marie had never given me any indication that she was feeling any discomfort. I applied cold water to her side to make her more comfortable and keep the swelling down. Bonnie and I had to figure out something to do with the cart or we weren't going to be going out for the second day of the ride. Luckily, my cart has metal shafts and we were able to bend them out. If only we had thought to do this to begin with. Sigh.... The woman that had been racing by us all day had broken the frame on her cart. She had one of the men look at it to see if he could patch it up so she could go out the second day. Bonnie, the sweetheart that she is, cleaned out Marie's stall for me. We took the pads off Marie's harness, hosed them down and cleaned the harness. Then Bonnie and I went back to camp and hug out relaxing while munching on snacks. Susie had taken a couple of people to the public showers to clean up. Bonnie and I didn't go since driving the cart doesn't make you hot and sweaty like riding does. Supper was great that night. We had a choice of lobster or chicken. There was salad, rolls, clam chowder, potato and corn on the cob. After supper I walked Marie around for a while before going back to the trailer for the night. It wasn't long before the guitars came out and we had another sing-a-long. We didn't stay up quite as late as the previous night since we were all tired.

We were up early again. It had rained during the night and was still very foggy with a heavy mist. The rider/drives meeting was at 6:30 AM. It ran a bit last since people were a bit paranoid about getting lost again. We drivers had to really rush to get the horses harnessed, hitched and through the safety inspection on time. The shafts of my cart are fine now that Bonnie and I have bent them out. Marie's sides looked ok except for some missing hair. I went out a couple minutes late. Kathie was right behind me. Since the second day of the ride/drive is only 20 miles, there would be no hold. Things were going well so Kathie asked if I would mind if she and Shadow led for a while. That made Marie very happy as now she could see her driving partner.

Cindy Ross and Bonnie Hinz with Marie on trail

We had to stop once when Shadow broke his tie down. Bonnie tied it to his breast collar to keep it out of the way. While we were stopped we all took the opportunity for a quick trip out into the woods to.......to check out the wildlife.... Bonnie, once again, was a big help with holding the horses. Because of the mist, Kathie and I had both taken off our glasses. We had to be very careful at the intersections watching the markers. At one point we did take a wrong turn but realized it right away. We turned around which put me ahead of Kathie and Shadow. It was just a short stretch back to the intersession where we had gone wrong. I pulled down a side trail to get out of Kathie's way so she could take the lead again. Marie thought I wanted her to go in the opposite direction of her new friend Shadow and had a temper tantrum. She reared up when I wouldn't let her turn around immediately. Luckily, I had my whip in hand and quickly gave her a smack on the butt. It surprised her and she bolted forward a short distance. Bonnie was already half way out of the cart when I got Marie stopped. Bonnie was obviously taking no chances. Marie behaved after that. I guess she can't be perfect all the time. Shadow had been getting strong with Kathie and she was getting tired of fighting with him so Marie and I took the lead again. Shortly after that, along came the "racing woman". She flew by us without warning in a rather narrow spot narrowly missing us and startling our horses. And, sure enough, we soon came up on her poking slowly down the trail in front of us. We just slowed way down to give her time to get well ahead of us. That worked since we didn't see her again until just before the finish line. About 2 miles from the finish, Bonnie was in the process of cleaning my glasses for me when we heard Kathie yell, "Help me, I need help!" We had just rounded a sharp corner and for some reason Shadow decided not to finish the turn and had gone into the ditch. There was a huge rock right in that particular spot and it had jammed between the wheel and body of the cart. The cart stopped and threw Shadow into the rock gashing one back leg. He jumped back out of the ditch but couldn't go anywhere with the cart wedged on the rock. Bonnie immediately jumped out of my cart and went to Kathie's aid. Bonnie really kept her head and approached Shadow calmly and quietly taking hold of his bridle. Kathie, of course, was a bit shook up and wasn't sure what to do at first. They couldn't back Shadow out of the ditch and off the rock without risking further injury to Shadow. Kathie got out of the cart and was able to lift the wheel over the end of the rock while Bonnie slowly led Shadow forward and back onto the road. Once again, Bonnie saved the day! I don't think I will ever do a competitive drive without a groom! The gash on Shadow's leg looked nasty but he didn't seem at all lame and it wasn't bleeding much. We were close to camp and running short on time so we decided to move right along as quickly as we safely could and just get back. We finished with only a few minutes to spare. Bonnie and I got Marie unhitched and Bonnie took her in her stall to sponge her off. Marie's pulse was a bit higher then desired but her respiration was low and she was fine. Her trot out was great. I knew I'd lose points for the missing hair from the shaft rubs though. We had another great meal provided by Rich. Honey ham, baked potato, asparagus, and cookies. Susie, as usual, was rushing around trying to get everything packed up as quickly as possible so she could bolt for home. We had the award ceremony right after the meal. If I had fixed the shafts on my cart for the first day of the drive I would have won the driving division!! AARRGHHH! I was so mad at myself. Well, we all knew how well Marie had done. She is an amazingly tough horse with a big heart. We did get high point rookie driver, high point rookie horse as well as high point grade horse. It didn't take long for Bonnie and I to pack up. Bonnie, the woman sent from heaven, stripped down Maries stall while I packed up the trailer. What a great ride/drive. I really enjoyed driving with Kathie, she was so much fun. I hope to see her again soon. Her mom was so nice too.

Acadia 50 ME 6/7-8 6/S-F
Judges: Dr. Gorra - J Lorimer
1p. long Hill Soprano / Cuffey, Robyn
1p. the Golden Rule
1s. Rophan Nimloth / Hendin, Clara
2s. Ben Putnam / Day, Sondra
2s. Marie / Ross, Cynthia (score 94.50)
4s. Deacon / Jack, Anita
5s Alert's Shadow / Robbins, Kathie

Boo 25 Ride & Drive West Sumner, ME Oct. 2001

The last big adventure of the season. I decided to enter this competition as a driver. Marie has been doing so well with her driving. I wanted to have a 'groom' for this ride as a driver. So, I invited Holly to come along with me and she agreed. I was very surprised she could go since she works two jobs, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask. She took the time off both jobs to go. I was so excited! Holly and I haven't done anything together in a long time. Fred picked Holly up Friday morning on his way home from work. I had packed the trailer Thursday. Halla arrived at my house at 8:25 AM. Fred helped us load my cart into my little Mazda truck. Bonnie was going to pick up the truck when she got out of work and bring it up to the ride. I was hauling her horse, Lady up for her. Holly and I put shipping boots on Lady and Marie, loaded them up and we headed out. Halla led the first half of the drive up. She was familiar with a shortcut that would take us around Lewiston/Auburn. Once we got to Turner, I took the lead. When we arrived at the ride site, there was only one trailer there so we had our pick of where to park. We parked as close as we could to where the food and vetting would take place. The farm where this event is held is so beautiful. It sits on the side of a hill with great views of the surrounding mountains. Leaves were at their peak color. We each set up our portable fences. Holly bounced back and fourth helping both me and Halla. I put a line across my pen to keep Lady and Marie separated. Lady picks on Marie occasionally and I figured we'd have a more peaceful weekend if they were kept apart. The horses all stood quietly in the trailers while we were setting up the fencing. We just opened up their windows so they could stick their heads out and watch. After we got the horses settled into their pens with hay and water, we headed down to the house to sign in and get our riders packets.




Laura, the owner of the farm was there. She was in her kitchen, sitting on the floor cleaning her harness. The ride manager had not arrived yet so we had to wait to sign in so we decide to go out for lunch. There is a little place to eat less then two miles from the Farm. Halla and Holly had breakfast. Holly had been sick and still wasn't feeling her best so wasn't very hungry. Bonnie arrived at camp around 2:30 PM. When I went over to my truck to unload my cart, I noticed something wrong. The seat to my cart was not there. I asked Bonnie where she had put the seat, she just gave me a blank look. The stupid seat had blown out of the truck somewhere along the way! AAAGGGHHHHH! We quickly unloaded the cart and all jumped in my truck to go looking for my seat. We drove all the way back to my house scouring the sides of the road getting more and more sure we had seen the last of my seat. Just two miles from my house, there it was laying on the side of the road. The seat is not that light and it was right near where Bonnie pulled out from the road I live on so couldn't have been going very fast. I was really surprised it had blow out of the truck. Weird. Anyway, I was just glad to have it back! By the time we got back to the ride site, a lot of people had arrived. Susie had wanted me to save her, Joanie and Mary a place but since we were out looking for my seat, we'd been unable to do that. We hurried to the house to sign in and get our rider/driver packets. Then, we got the horses, put their numbers on them and got them vetted in. All the horses vetted in fine. I trotted Porsha for Joanie. Joanie's foot is giving her trouble again and she has to go back in for surgery. Poor Joanie. Once done vetting, we headed over to the house for 'snacks'. Just like last year, 'snacks' turned out to be a full meal. There was ziti, chop suey and goodies of all descriptions and was absolutely delicious. After we ate, we fed our horses. Then went to the barn where there was line dancing. Susie was teaching the dances. Holly took charge of the music and it was a lot of fun. We danced from 8:00 to 10:00 PM. We took one short break in the house to get refreshments. Steve and Laura, the farm owners, built a big campfire and those not dancing to sit around. Everyone enjoyed themselves. After we all went to bed, Holly, Bonnie and I talked a long time in the trailer before finally going to sleep. I was so worried we would freeze to death camping out this late in the year. I had brought all my warmest sleeping bags and a down comforter. It wasn't actually all that cold that night and even warmed up some through the night.



Bonnie and I were up before 6:00 AM. We fed our horses and Halla's horse. Then we made a bee-line for the house for coffee and breakfast. Halla showed up for breakfast soon after we got there. We had plenty of time to relax, eat and socialize. Joanie and Ruthie West showed up a little after we did. Susie rushed in later as usual. Holly was still sleeping when I got back to the trailer to get Marie ready. Holly got up and went to the house for something to eat while I harnessed Marie. Bonnie and I knew that Lady and Marie were not going to be happy about being separated today. We were just hoping it wouldn't be too bad. The safety inspection for the drivers was at 8:00 AM. Then, ther was the costume judging. I didn't have a costume so I just drove Marie around trying to keep her quiet. She wasn't quiet. She was very unhappy about being separated from her buddies. She whinnied and called and danced around. I happened to look over at the pen were Bonnie and Halla's horses were. Halla's horse, Slick, was rearing up high and pawing the air. Lady was popping and bucking around. Bonnie and Halla's eye's were the size of saucers and they were both looking like, "Do we really want to get on these crazy horses!". I must say the horses looked very impressive. I managed to keep Marie under control until it was time to go. The first driver went out at 8:30 AM. Joanie was out at 8:31 AM and I was out at 8:32 AM. The first 4 mile or so were woods trails. It was very rough for driving. Marie wanted to catch up with Joanie very badly so was strong and pulling me. Because the trail was so rough, it took a few miles to catch up to Joanie. Once we did, Marie finally relaxed and was much happier. There was one spot on the trail that was so rough, I though Joanie and Ruthie were going to bounce right out of the cart. I was faring a bit better as my cart was narrower. After we got out of the woods, we had 8 miles of beautiful dirt roads. Joanie slowed down on a hill and I ended up passing her and going on ahead. A bit later as were were going down another hill, a dog came crashing through the woods just behind us and scared Marie half to death. Marie isn't afraid of dogs, but it never barked and was just crashing loudly through the leaves. Marie with her driving blinders on couldn't tell what it was. She bolted down the road! I pulled back on the rains and told her to whoa. At first she kept running and then was angling off towards the woods. I was having flashbacks to the accident I'd had driving my pony. I dropped my left rein and got both hands on the right rain so I could at least try to keep Marie on the road. Holly immediately picked up the rein I had dropped and helped me to stop Marie. She finally did come to a stop. When I tried to get out of the cart, Marie bolted again, I got her stopped quickly this time but now she was rearing. Holly quickly took the reins while I jumped out and ran to Marie's head. As soon as Marie could see me, she stopped and stood quietly. She was so scared though that she was shaking like a leaf. Marie has never spooked like that in all the years I've had her. I told Holly to get out of the cart until Marie was calm. I walked Marie back up the road in the direction we had come from. Eventually, Joanie caught up to us. Holly and I got back in the cart and I put Marie behind Joanie and Porsha so she would have the security of another horse in front of her. I was so proud of Holly for keeping her cool and not panicking. We finished the rest of the first loop with no further excitement. The last two miles into the hold were the hardest. All uphill and some quite steep. It was also muddy and rocky and very hard work for the driving horses. Marie dug right in though and pulled hard. Marie did fine at the hold. She was looking around for Lady and was a bit anxious but not bad. We were late leaving the hold as I was waiting for Joanie not realizing she had been pulled from the competition due to Porsha being lame.
As soon as I realized Joanie was pulled I headed right out hoping not to run into Bonnie on Lady coming into the hold. The last thing I needed was for Marie to actually see Lady. But sure enough, just as we were heading for the trail, along came Bonnie and Lady. I slowed down hoping Bonnie would get off the trail and up into the hold area before Marie saw them. Bonnie missed the hold entrance and rode right down the road towards me. AAAHHHHH!! I yelled and pointed, "Bonnie, you missed the hold, on your right!!". She stopped, looked around then saw where she was supposed to be. But, it was too late, Marie and Lady has spotted each other and started calling. Marie got very excited and started rearing. Larry Buggia, the vet judge, saw what was going on and hurried over to hold Marie until the trail was clear for me to go. Marie at least did go when I asked. Marie was not very happy through the whole second loop, which was a repeat of the first loop. She called the whole way around, but otherwise behaved quite well and we actually had a very nice drive on the second loop. I was worried about passing the spot where the dog had spooked Marie on the first loop. I thought she would be nervous and looking for the dog there. But, all went well and Marie was fine. About 5 miles from the finish, Holly and I realized we had a flat tire. We stopped and I put some air in the tire but I could hear the air leaking right back out. I pumped it up one more time before we went onto the woods trail but it didn't last. I just prayed the rim would hold out. As we neared the end of the ride, I realized I was very close to my maximum time. We hurried as much as we could. The trail was rough, uphill and muddy at this point. Holly was bracing herself on her seat and holding on for dear life telling me, "go Cindy,go, we can make it." We didn't quite make it. We were 4 minutes over so took a 4 point time penalty. Holly and I took Marie to the trailer and got her unhitched. Marie was once again very anxious and looking for Lady. I was worried that her pulse would never come down with her fretting like that. She finally calmed a bit about the time I had to have her P&R done.... and that was when Bonnie rode into camp. I urgently called to Bonnie and asked her to bring Lady over to stand by Marie while her P&R was taken. The P&R person was very understanding and gave Marie a minute to settle down. She did and her P&R was fine. Marie had a good trot out also. Halla's horse Slick didn't want to do his trot out. Tom Hutchinson had to get in the arena and chase him to get him to trot. I knew that wouldn't lead to a very good score for Slick. Lady's trot out was great. Once Bonnie, Halla and I had done our trot outs, we put the horses in their pens and went to the house to eat. As usual, the food was wonderful. We brought our food back to the trailer so we keep an eye on the vetting and would be ready when it was our turn for the hands on. Once that was completed, I hurried over to Susie's trailer to return some things I had borrowed. I knew she wouldn't want to wait around for the awards. She is always in such a rush to get home after a ride. Halla didn't believe me when I told her Susie wouldn't stay. I was right, she was in a rush packing up and getting ready to leave. Bonnie, Halla, Holly and I went down to the house to hang out and socialize while waiting for the award ceremony. It didn't take them long to get the scoring done. I won high point rookie driver, high point rookie horse. Anna, Susie's niece won high point rookie rider, high point rookie horse and oldest horse to complete the ride. Joanie won "most original costume". Halla's Slick won high point QH. After the awards, it didn't take us long to pack up camp. Halla had adopted Holly as her personal slave so Holly helped her pack up her pen. It was dark by the time we finally pulled out. Holly decided to drive my little truck and lead the way home. She was pretty sure she could find the way. She did take one wrong turn but we came out on a major road we were familiar with so got home with no trouble. We all had a great weekend. I am so glad Holly came, it was so much fun spending time with her.

Boo! 25 Ride/Drive CTR ME 10/20/01 5/S-3/F
Judges: Buggia - Levillie
1 Ben Putnam / S Day
2 Marie / C Ross (score 91.00)

2001 ECTRA Year End Awads
Career miles Cindy - 605 Ride
Career miles Cindy - 25 Drive
Career miles Marie - 630

Versaility Open
Certificates
Czar Nickolas - Louise Lester ME
Cover Boy - Christina Sadowski MA
Baskin Serafix - Sharon Akerstrom NH
Serr Rascal - Edwin Reynolds VT
Silvea - Janet Brunjes ME
Hawks Nest Tradition - Alan Wells VT
Brios Kavalier - Kathie Duggan MA
Scatri - Mary Colemam (owner) PA
Marie - Cindy Ross ME
PS Sir Sedgewick - Sue Corr
Skys Orion - Barbara Gerstner VT

Bronze
Alora Danin - Kathy Brunjes ME
LWF Paljoe Promise - Margaret Farnum ME
Rushcreek Equal - Gracelyn Pawlowicz NY
SR Gibralter - Steve Rojek VT
Sea Hawk - Suzanne Novatny NJ
YR Nicodemus - Deena Smith MacDonald NH

Silver
Chelby - Joe Steele (NH) & Jenny Kimberly (VT)
Stoneybrook Lyric - Stephanie Muncy VA
Syrocco Blair - Dr. Meg Sleeper NJ
WCM Beaumark Morgan - John & Sue Greenall VT
Wildwoods Lira Lyn - Joyce Sherman NJ

Gold
Hawks Neoploitan - Mary Coleman PA