Fryeburg 2 day 50 mile CTR, Fryeburg, ME July 2007

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The weekend of the Fryeburg 50 and Ruby’s first CTR had finally arrived. Fryeburg is my absolute favorite ride. It is held at the Fryeburg fairgrounds, which are lovely. The shed row barns are wonderful and well maintained. Water is piped in between every 4 stalls and you get to camp right in front of the stalls. There are also nice bathrooms and … SHOWERS! And the meals served at this ride are worth coming for alone!!!!

I had to work the night before the ride. I got home at 6:15 AM, fed Ruby and Marie and cleaned stalls then had a quick breakfast and finished packing up. Barbara got to my house around 9:15AM. I was going to take Marie’s saddle out of my trailer to make room for Barbara’s saddle but decided to just crowd things in. You never know when you might need some spare saddle parts. Ruby was a bit more reluctant to load then usual but still didn’t take too long. Soon we were on our way. We took a bit of a round about trip to Fryeburg. I wanted to stop in at Adams Horse Supply to pick up some girth ring protectors. Barbara wanted to buy a real sheep skin girth cover. I had been using my mohair girth on Ruby but didn’t like where the metal rings sat against her. So had switched a few weeks back to my felt girth. That seemed to be working ok, but I didn’t like the way that was bunching up where her leg were hitting it though it didn’t seem to be bothering her and was not causing any rubs. I wanted to switch back to my mohair girth. I was able to find the girth ring protectors but all the girth covers were too wide for Barbara’s girth. Because of going to Adams supply, I headed to Fryeburg down Rt. 202 to Turner. Then out Rt. 117 to Waterford. There was major construction along a long stretch of Rt. 117. The pavement was torn up and one lane traffic. Stop and go for MILES. It was hot so I had Barbara jump out at one point and drop down the windows for the horse and mule. There are grills so they can’t stick their heads out and I wanted them to get as much air though the trailer as possible. It took about 3 hrs. getting to Fryeburg when it normally takes no longer then 2. But, I had Barbara’s good company and it was still a pleasant trip.

When we got to the fairgrounds, our favorite spot was available. I pulled up and situated myself to back up in front of the stalls, which are numbered. I called out to Barbara I was going to put my trailer in front of stall #14. I back around and expertly put the trailer squarely in front of stall #15. Hahahaha. Good enough! Hahahahaha.

Zephyr


I brought my dog, Zephyr, with me. Shavings were already in the stalls, so we quickly got Ruby and Marie off the trailer and into the stalls with water and hay. Both were very thirsty! It was sooooooo hot and muggy! Then I got Zephyr hooked were he could get some shade. Barbara and I had planned to go for a short ride before we vetted in to stretch the girls legs. It was just too hot and we decided against riding! We didn’t see anyone else going out for pre-vetting rides either. As soon as we got camp set up and the animals all settled in, we went to the ride office to check in and get our riders packets and numbers. I was #66. Barbara, who originally only entered one day of the ride, was #6. Hummm, #66 and #6, this was a little disconcerting. Then, when the ride secretary realized Barbara had “upped” to the 2 day 50 mile ride, her number was changed to #70. Much better! After putting the numbers on the girl’s butts, we collapsed in front of the stalls. We were drenched in sweat! Barbara brought something very yummy tabouli for our lunch. It was cold and and really hit the spot. She also brought home made blueberry muffins made with blueberries I had picked in my yard. Marie’s right eye had been “boogering” up for a few days. I was not sure what was causing it and had just kept wiping it clean. It was getting a bit worse so Barbara was diligently keeping it clean.



Someone called out that the vetting was starting so Barbara and I brushed and cleaned Ruby and Marie and headed up to get in line. Susie and Joanie arrived just as we were heading to vet in. Susie and Joanie brought their dogs also. Joanie’s dog, Olie, is a very nice Black Lab. Susie’s dog, Callie, is a Lab cross that is a bit neurotic and barks a lot.



I went up ahead of Barbara for vetting. Ruby squirmed just a bit when the vet approached her. Dr. Perkins is a real nice vet and was great with Ruby. Dr. Perkins did the “skin pinch” first and I think Ruby thought she was getting a shot. And you know all animals seem to know a vet when they see one. Ruby settled quickly though and was very good. The vet judge checks pulse, respiration, gut sounds, legs, muscles tone, and hydration by skin pinch and pressing the gums. Ruby still thinks she is supposed to pick up her feet every time you touch her lower legs so it took the vet a minute to check her leg thoroughly. And all my work getting Ruby used to the stethoscope paid off. She was fine all weekend about this. Then we went to the lay judge. She checks their entire body for cuts, scrapes, bumps and any signs of tack problems. Ruby didn’t even wiggle for this. Then came the trot out. I am so ashamed to admit that I was very ill prepared for this part of the vetting process. I had concentrated on getting Ruby to trot in hand in a straight line for the Pine Tree endurance ride. You only have to trot a straight line for endurance vetting. And Ruby is fine with this. But lounging in circles I have not practiced much at all. We trotted down fine. I stopped, set her up for her first circle and Ruby was immediately confused about what I wanted. About half way through the first circle, Ruby decided she would rather be with Marie standing back with the vet then with this woman asking her to do something she didn’t understand. I felt Ruby stiffen up to head back so I had to yank her around to avoid getting dragged off. Consequently, Ruby spun around and just stared at me like I had two heads or something. Now I was in front of her and in the totally wrong position and scrambling to get behind her shoulder to start her again. After another failed attempt to circle Ruby, I just reeled her in and paused to reconsider the situation. It was not at all Rubies’ fault, she just didn’t know what I wanted and did know where her pasture mate was. I did not want to confuse her any more then I already had. I decided to just trot the circles “in hand”. Ruby was not real happy with me at this point and didn’t really want to trot with me at all, but grudgingly did and we got the job done. Poor Ruby. I promised her (and the vets) I would make sure to work on this. Ruby got over it immediately. Thankfully, she does not seem to be the grudge holding type of mule! I was really embarrassed. I usually make a point of never showing up at a ride unprepared to do the things we have to do. Marie vetted in fine and did a great trot out. Marie is an old pro at this having been in competition for the past 8 years.



After everyone was vetted in, Susie and Joanie set up Joanie’s screen house. They were going to sleep in there rather then the trailer because of the heat. We then settled in by the stalls with some beer and had supper. Barbara had brought some delicious sausage pasta soup I heated up. Later we walked the horses, mule and dogs before settling in for the night. The black flies were horrible and limited the amount of time we could let them graze.



It was very hot still when we went to bed. It cooled off to a comfortable temperature quickly though. Someone turned on the barn lights during the night and they were shining right into the trailer and woke me up. Apparently the lights woke others also because Susie eventually got up and turned them off. I woke up again at 3:30 AM to the smell of bacon. Nice way to wake up! The owners of the horses stalled next to us drove in about 4:30 AM. Ruby started grunting when she heard them so I got up and fed her and Marie. Breakfast was being served by then. I had a breakfast sandwich and fruit salad. Did I mention I love the food at this ride? Hahahaha.

The riders meeting was at 5:30 AM and first riders were out at 6:00 AM. We were having an early start due to the hot weather predicted. It was already getting quite muggy. We were all thrilled to find out we would be crossing the Saco river twice each day. Yippee. The past two years the ride had not been able to cross the river due to high water. Riders are sent out in pairs 2 minutes apart. Barbara and I were going out near the end so had plenty of time to saddle up and warm up our girls. Susie and Joanie were starting well ahead of us. Ruby was very calm and relaxed. Seems she is already starting to figure this all out. Soon, we were called and off we went. Ruby headed out very strong, but still calm and relaxed. I let her go on a lose rein and she settled in to her strong trot and was wonderful!!! We caught and passed a few other riders and got to the river, which was 4 miles out. There were a lot of ride volunteers there. The Saco River is lined with deep sandy beaches in is a VERY popular camping and canoeing spot. The volunteers directed us though the city of tents on the beach and pointed us to the crossing. Ruby led the way and didn’t bat an eye at all the tents, camping equipment and canoes. It was fairly quite since most people were still in their tents sleeping. (or passed out in alcohol induced comas...) She marched right into the water and crossed like a pro! Good mule!!!!! We were then directed though the city of tent on the other side and soon were back on the trail. We came out of the woods and had miles of agricultural road though HUGE corn and potato fields. Ruby must have thought she was home to see the acres and acres of agricultural fields! Except we were in a big valley with mountains all around us. Soooooo beautiful! I just let Ruby choose her pace around the fields and we did the most relaxed wonderful canter for several miles!!! Yeehaaaa!!! We went though one field where there was no road on the edge of the field. We had to ride between rows of corn that were waist to shoulder high. We were told to NOT let the horses eat in or around the fields because of the pesticides sprayed on the crops. So, we had to keep them trotting along to distract them from wanting to eat. The cornrows were not quite as wide as we were and it was really funny trotting down the row with the corn hitting our legs. We passed a few more riders and about 9 or 10 miles out, caught up to Susie and Joanie. The equines were all as happy to see each other as we were. We traveled together into the hold. Ruby was still traveling strong but calm. I didn’t know how Ruby would pulse down in this heat. They extended the hold time from 20 to 30 min. and raised the pulse parameter from 60 to 64 due to the heat. So, we had to pulse down to 64 or less within 10 min. Barbara and I sponged Ruby and Marie a ton. At 10 min. we called for our P& R. Marie just made it at 64. Ruby pulsed at 47!!!! Respiration was 36. That is super for such a hot day. The vet check and trot out went great. While waiting in line for the vetting, one of the other riders little girls was there with her dad. The little girl was maybe 4 yrs. old and kept insisting Ruby was a donkey and not a mule. After the vetting, we fed the girls some grain mixed with water to make it wet and soupy with carrots in it. They both gobbled that right down. The girth ring protectors were sliding down the girth and not doing much good. I wasn’t too happy with that. Ruby seemed fine though. We left the hold 3 min. late. Leaving the hold late is no problem. You just have to make up any time you lose at the hold on the trail. But, thanks to Ruby’s pacing, we had plenty of time. Susie and Joanie were just getting in line for the vetting so we could not wait for them. Ruby was still going very strong yet relaxed so I let her choose her pace. When we came back out on the fields, it was VERY hot, with the sun blazing and not a breath of a breeze. Ruby didn’t seem to care at all and I let her pick her pace once again. She alternated between cantering and a strong trot. I was a little worried it might be too much for Marie being a heavy muscled QH. She was panting a bit but seemed to be traveling comfortable so I let Ruby go. When we got back to the river crossing and beach, it was quite different. Everyone was up. There was lots of noise and activity. People were swimming and canoes in the river. Ruby still didn’t bat and eye and once again led the way though and crossed the river with no trouble at all. SUPER GOOD MULE!!



We got back to camp and the finish too soon. The ride time was 4 hrs. and 20 min. to 4 hrs. 50 min. You have to cross the finish line in that 30 min. time window or take time penalties. So, we had to stop and let Ruby and Marie graze some grass in the field before the finish line to kill some time. When our 4 hrs. and 20 min. were up, we wandered across the finish line. Ruby was already developing a fan club and she was cheered across the line! We now had 20 min. to get them pulsed down. P&R’s were to be taken at the stalls. It had gotten cloudy so we tied them to the trailer in front of the stall. It was very stuffy in the stall and better outside. We sponged them down like crazy, and let them drink. Ruby did not drink much on the trail but I am finding this is normal for her and did not worry too much. Marie almost always drinks like a fish all the time. At 20 min. we called for P&R’s. At the end you have to pulse down to 44 or less. Rosemarie pulsed at 48 and Ruby pulsed at 32!!!! With respiration of 20. My horse could be dead and not pulse that low!! WOW!!!! Those of us riding both days only had to do a quick trot out (no circles) to pass for the next day. That went fine for both Ruby and Marie. We were good to go for the second day. Yippeeee. Marie’s eye had continue to keep “boogering” up so we asked the vet if she would take a look at it after she was done with the vetting. We put the girls in their stalls with lots of water and hay. They were both drinking a lot at this point. They ate a little bit of hay then all took a long snooze. Marie lay down for a while. We humans felt about the same. Tired, hot, sweaty. We were served a wonderful lunch of several different salads and make your own BLT’s or Italian sandwiches. And deserts to die for! After lunch, Susie and I headed down to take showers. There are only two so we just hoped they were empty. They were. They are single small shower stalls with separate outside doors. I remembered from previous years here that they were small and quite airless. You want to dress quickly once out of the shower and get out or you end up as sweaty and hot as before you went in. I had threatened to run out naked and dress outside! They made me promise not to do that. I brought clothes that I knew I could get on quickly. I went into one stall, closed the door, went to lock it with the hook and eye ….. and realized it had latched on the outside and I was locked in. I immediately pictured swooning from the heat and dying in there. I started banging on the wall between the stalls and yelling for Susie! I had to do this quite a few times but she finally heard me. “Help, Susie, I am locked in this airless cell and can’t get out…” She, of course, thought it was quite funny but released me from my prison! Once unlatched from the outside, I was able to carefully latch it with the hook and eye, which was long enough to keep the door from latching from the outside! PHEW! I then had a lovely shower. We all took naps after showering. We all went to the awards for the one-day 25-mile riders. Then went back and snoozed some more. While snoozing in my chair, Louise Townsend called out to me that she needed help. And by the tone, I could tell something was wrong. I followed Louise around to the other side of the barn. A horse had gotten cast in its stall. The owners were not staying on the grounds and were not answering their cell phone. So a couple of us carefully went in and got some ropes on the horse’s legs. We managed to roll the horses over and get it up. The horse seemed fine so one of the other riders took the horse out and walked it for a while to make sure the horse was ok. We were mostly worried since we didn’t know how long the horse was cast before being found. The horse was fine. Just a few minor scrapes.

After that excitement, we snoozed some more. The vet did come look at Marie’s eye and said she didn’t see any real problems and said if any of us had contact lens solution, to keep it rinsed out with that. We did so Barbara rinsed her eye out good with that several times that evening. The weather forecast called for strong thunderstorms. And in the many years I’ve competed this ride, I’ve seen a lot of very strong thunders storms here. They really circle the valley and can get quite nasty. So, we took down the screen house. It had started to cool down a bit since noontime and was getting much more comfortable. After napping, Barbara and I tied Ruby and Marie to the trailer so we could clean their stalls. Ruby was all rested up and quite perky at this point. She was even a bit bored and looking for something to do. Our riding shoes had gotten very wet in the river crossing so were sitting on the wheel well of the trailer to dry. Ruby kept picking up one of my sneakers and shaking it like a dog and then tossing it! It was very funny and I ran to get my camera. Of course, she had tired of that game by the time I got the camera and had decided she wanted a booty scratch. Barbara was standing between Ruby and Marie reapplying the rider number on Marie's butt. Ruby started edging over step by step until he bumped Barbara with her butt. Barbara started giggling because she knew what Ruby wanted. Ruby squeezed Barbara out from between her and Marie and got her booty scratch! Silly mule! We walked and grazed the horses and mule again before supper. And supper was another wonderful meal. Taco bar, more nice salads and more deserts to die for!! At this rate, Ruby was going to collapse when I mounted her the next time!!!! We walked and grazed the horses and mule one more time before we went to bed. We also took the dogs out to run in the field. My dog Zephyr was having such a good time running with the big dogs. He is a 20 lb. short legged dog but thinks he is a big guy. There were no thundershowers but it had cooled just enough for comfortable sleeping.







I woke up to the sound of hoof steps on concrete. Hummmmm….. not something I should be hearing. I looked out my window and there was Frannie out of her stall grazing between the trailers. I jumped out of bed to get her. She let me walk right up the her and I tried to see if she would let me lead her back to the stall with just my hand on her head. Nope, and I could not quite reach her halter that was hanging nearby on a post. I had to let her go to get the halter, when I went to put the halter on; she took off, but not too far. I was hoping to catch her without alarming the whole camp. At this point Susie and the dogs comes stumbling out of the trailer. “What’s wrong, what’s going on?” and then she starts urgently calling for the dogs that are running everywhere all excited. I tell her Frannie is loose, I think I can get her, please get the dogs…… Frannie did let me catch her and put her back in. Just as I got her back in the stall, Joanie stumbled out to see what the commotion was all about. Frannie had busted the latch on her stall door. The latches are just blocks of wood with a nail in the center to swivel over the closed door. There are second metal latches on all the doors also that you put a clip on to hold the doors shut. I did this on Ruby and Marie’s doors not trusting the wooden latch. So, I was able to use the second latch to secure Frannie’s door. And we were all soon back in bed.

We got up at 4:30 AM to feed since we were to have an early start again due to predicted heat. Marie’s eye was definitely much better. Barbara gave it another good rinse that morning. Nancy Weeks, the woman serving breakfast had overslept and was not out yet. The ride manager woke her up and she came out all in a fluster! Poor woman. Coming out to a crowd of hungry riders. She did an amazing job of getting us coffee immediately. Before we knew it, the fruit salad was out as well as donuts and bagels. In record time we had breakfast sandwiches off the grill. We had the riders meeting at 5:30 AM. We were riding in reverse order from the first day so Barbara and I would be starting at the front of the ride today. This meant we didn’t have a lot of time to get ready after the riders meeting. As we were quickly saddling up, I hear a very worried Barbara exclaim that her saddle is torn! I walk around Ruby to look and sure enough, her fender had torn just above the stirrup about ¾ of the way through!!! There was no way she was going to be able to ride like that! Good thing I had decided to leave my saddle in the trailer. We didn’t need spare parts; we need a whole spare saddle! Now we were a panic to get ready on time. We grab out my saddle and throw it on Marie. We had to adjust the stirrup length since Barbara is a LOT shorter then me. All the rushing got both Marie and Ruby a bit excited and Ruby was prancing around a bit by the time I got on her. We made it and were ready to go on time. Ruby felt great and headed out strong. But, once again, calm and not pulling at all. The first 8 miles were the same as the first day’s trail with the river crossing 4 miles out. This time Susie and Joanie started well behind us and they never did catch us. Though Ruby was traveling strong, she was a bit reluctant to do her big “Arab” trot. She snaked her head a few times when I asked for the big trot so I felt there must be a good reason she didn’t want to extend and I stopped asking. In the short time I’ve had Ruby, I trust her so I let her chose what she wanted to do. She chose to do a lot more cantering and her trots where much shorter strided. She felt fine otherwise and not lame at all, so I just trusted her and let her choose her pace. We came into the hold in good time. The hold the second day was held in a lovely shady wooded area by the river next to an old covered bridge. It was hot the second day also but not quite as bad as the first day. So, we only had the normal 20 min. hold. Ruby pulsed at 40 with 20 respiration. That is fabulous!!! Marie pulsed in at 57. This is good for her. Trot out went fine. We fed the same grain “soup” and were on our way just a few minutes late. Marie had a sudden burst of energy after the hold and took the lead for 3 or 4 miles doing her big “Arab” trot that is amazing to see a QH doing! Ruby chose to canter once again rather then extend her trot. I let her. At one point we had to repeat a section of the trail to make a loop to get enough miles. I was in the lead and Ruby was very sure we were going the wrong way and let me know. She was easily convinced to go the way I wanted but you could tell she wasn’t sure I know what I was doing. We had to do a loop around a big cornfield and caught up with the front riders here. We ended up slowing down just a bit and letting them get ahead of us again because we were getting choked in a cloud of dust. But, we knew we weren’t going to have as much time to spare as the first day and had to keep moving right along at a good pace. After the ride we all agreed that the mileage on the 2nd day was off and that it was longer then 25 miles. The river crossing went great once again and we came in sight of the finish line with 15 min. to spare before our maximum time was up. So, we let Ruby and Marie relax and graze just a few minutes before crossing the line. That would help their pulse come down. The sun was out and very hot so we decided sponging them in their stall was the best option. Marie pulsed at 48. Ruby pulsed at 40. GREAT with a respiration of only 4!!! When the P&R person was trying to count her respiration, Ruby was requesting a booty scratch! The woman was a bit startled at first until I explained what Ruby was doing. Before I got a chance to correct Ruby, the woman reached out and started scratching Ruby’s butt with on hand, while watching her watch and Ruby’s breathing. I think that is why Ruby’s respiration was only 4. She was holding her breath in ecstasy. The trot out at the end went much better. I did not ask her to lounge in circles and confuse her again. I simply trotted her in hand the whole way and took the chance that I would pass out from running that far in the heat. Neither Susie nor Joanie made it in on time and both took a 9 minute time penalty.

Susie & Joanie at the hold

Cindy on Ruby at the hold


After the trot outs were done, we took a break for lunch. More wonderful salads, with chicken and green beans. More delicious deserts. We then did the “hands on”. Ruby was a perfect lady. The vet just loved her and told me: “You have grand champion material here.” Everyone was soooooo impressed with Ruby. Her looks, her good behavior, her athletic abilities. Ruby did absolutely wonderful for her first ride.

Ruby lost ½ point for scuffing the hair off an old interference mark. She lost 1 point for windpuffs. 3 points for “mechanical fatigue”. (not trotting as lively at the end as at the beginning). Not sure how they could decide that considering how bad the initial trot out went but…. And Ruby was indeed a bit tired. She only has 11 weeks of conditioning on her unlike my horse that has 8 years of conditioning and experience. Ruby also lost ¾ point for sore girth area. Right were those stupid cinch buckles were sitting against her. She did have wrinkled skin there and was sore to the touch. THAT was why she did not want to extend her trot!!!! Those cinch buckles were digging in to her there and bruised her a bit! ECK! Poor girl. I was so glad I had not pushed her to do her big trot and had just let her chose her own gaits. I knew there was a good reason she had shortened her stride.

Ruby had now successfully completed her first CTR! She was an absolute pleasure to ride and could not have been better! No one laughed at this mule I can tell you. Not even from the first sight of her. Ruby sure is the total package of looks, brains, ability and a huge heart!!

We packed up camp while waiting for awards. I was very proud that my little mutt of a QH got 1st place. Ruby got 6th out of 20 riders. It was a great weekend and I can’t wait for our next ride!!!!



Fryeburg 2-day 50 July 27/28, 2007 20/S-F
Judges: B. Perkins - S. Day
J1. AJ Morning Star Wakita / Wright, Caliegh
1. Sault / Rojek, Dinah
2. Beaujolais / Rojek, Steve
3. Marie / McGovern, Barbara (97 pts)
4. Omars Montana / Greenall, Sue
5. Trijas Confection / Butterfield, Patricia
6. Apollo / Tenggren, Traci
6. Thunder / Stygles, Amanda
8. Tappedanick / Lester, Louise
9. Rotan of Craggy Lea / Glock, Linda
9. SPD Carousel / O'Connor, Colleen
9. Robin's Nest Allegra / Stacy, John
12. McAllister's Ruby / Ross, Cindy (92.75pts)
13. Highcountry Piper+ / Deleware, Marcia
14. Rockin Rudy / Hall, Kathy
15. Frangelica of Foxden / Mitchell, Joanie
16. Xavier Sunnyacres / Reinheimer, Susan
17. Patenaude Vulcan Gazelle / Gardener, Jeffrey
18. Sebec / Been, Amy
c. Thisspotsforyou / Peloquin, Cate

Fryeburg 50 CTR, Fryeburg, ME July 2006

Well, another great ride. But aren’t they all. My plan had been to ride Emma Jane in the 2 day 50. She had already done 2 one day 30 mile rides. I was pretty sure she could both mentally and physically handle a 2 day ride. Of course there was a catch in this plan. She came up slightly lame after the 2nd competition. She had gotten new shoes put on the day before the ride. On the lame foot, there was one very high nail and I blamed that. Over the next few weeks, she seemed to get better and come sound. When she got the next set of shoes 4 weeks later, she was lame again. There was another high nail. I really don’t know if this was the problem either time but, I pulled the nail out. I called the farrier and he thought the shoe would stay on without that one nail. Next ride, (a long one) the shoe came off and Emma Jane was very sore by the time I got her home. I had to walk part of the way since she was stumbling so badly. The farrier came and put that shoe back on and I gave her a week of rest. But Emma Jane continued to be a bit off. I rode her one week before the Fryeburg ride and she was definitely not sound. So, I figured there was no way I would be taking her to the ride. Barbara had entered Marie in the ride. So, we got arguing back and forth about who was going to ride Marie at the CTR. “well, it’s your horse, you should ride her.” “Well, you pay to lease her and you paid to enter the ride, you should ride her.” Back and forth this went with no real resolution. Meanwhile, I was trying to line up another horse to ride so we could both go. I had plenty of friends with horses I could use but none of the horses were conditioned for this kind of riding. Meanwhile, Susie Reinheimer had knee surgery Monday before the ride. She was sure she would be recovered enough by Saturday to do it. Barbara, who has had the same surgery, was sure Susie would not be able to do the ride. Susie said I could ride Cody if she couldn’t ride but was sure she could. Tuesday and Wednesday go by. Susie is in a lot of pain with her knee and still on crutches and getting worried. But still sure she will have a miraculous recovery. I gave up trying to line up another horse. Barbara and I were back to our ‘discussion’ on who was going to ride Marie but not pursuing it too hard since we were both sure Susie was not going to have the miraculous recovery she was counting on.
The Farrier came the day before the ride to put new shoes on everyone. He and I had a long talk about Emma Jane’s shoeing. I told him she was still lame and asked him to really look at her and see what he thought. I trotted her for him. She was actually looking quite a bit better but not sound. He put the hoof tester on her and found the soles of her front feet were a bit soft on the inside. He was very surprised and we decided to put pads on her. I also got him to shorten up her toe a more then he has been. She stumbled a bit and I wanted to see if this made a difference. He also wanted to shorten the trailers he had been putting on her at the request of the vet. He felt the vet had just not seen enough mule feet to realize that they just don’t look quite the same as horse feet. I agreed and that is what we did. I lunged Emma Jane Thursday evening and she was definitely much better.
Friday morning, Susie called me and she was VERY upset. She was still on crutches and there was no way she was going to be able to ride. She had been looking forward to doing this ride so much. Another friend of ours, Joanie Mitchell, was going. Once of Susie’s best friends and it was going to be a fun weekend. Susie was so disappointed about not being able to ride. She told me I might as well take Cody. At this point, I had already decided to take Emma Jane and had everything all packed and ready for her. The Fryeburg Fairgrounds had wonderful safe stalls so I had decided that if Emma Jane did not make it through the vetting, I would be able to safely leave her in a nice stall and just help work the ride. I told Susie that I would lounge Emma Jane again before leaving. If she really looked off, I would come and get Cody. When Barbara go to my house, I lounged Emma Jane and had Barbara watch also. We both thought she looked pretty good. So, I decided she would go.
We got the horses ready. It was going to be hot so I wanted to put their fly masks on since I was leaving the trailer windows down and it would protect their eyes from any flying hay or dirt. Now, Emma Jane was VERY ear shy when I got her. But, over the months she has finally let me handle her ears. And has gotten very good about letting me put on her fly mask. But, several days earlier, I was stroking her ear and there was a scab on it from a fly bit. I accidentally knocked the scab off and she thought the world was coming to an end. Emma Jane is such a weenie about that kind of thing. She was holding a grudge and would not let me touch her ears. It took me about 20 minutes to get her mask on. I finally bribed her with treats. So, we got a slightly later start then planned but had an uneventful trip to the ride. At this ride the barns are wonderful with shed rows stalls back to back. The trailers can be parked right in front of the stalls for camping and there is a water spigot every 4 stalls. We got the spot we usually get every year. Near all the activity so we always know what was going on.

For Marie, this was just another ride. She has done this so long now and it is no big deal. Though she seems to love seeing all her friends she has made over the years as much as I do. She calls and talks to them all. Emma Jane amazed me. Though she has only done 2 rides, she knew right away what was going on. She was calm and relaxed and looking very happy. We settled them in their stall and set up camp. It wasn’t long before Joanie and Susie arrived. Susie decided to come and just hang out for one day. Another friend of hers, Kathy, was coming to work the first day of the ride. Susie would go home with her on Saturday. Barbara and I had our lunches we brought with us then sat and relaxed under the overhang by our stalls. When Susie arrived, Marie got very excited. She is SOOOOO in love with Susie’s horse and associates Susie with seeing Cody. Marie called and hollered. Poor girl was very disappointed when she realized Cody was not there. I had worked Thursday night so I was getting quite tired by noontime. I fell asleep in my chair much to everyone’s amusement. Joanie brought a screen house and they got that set up while I was sleeping. Joanie and Susie were going to sleep in that. Joanie and Susie both brought their dogs. Susie was sitting by Marie’s stall and at one point took a big drink of water, threw her head over the stall door and slobbered a ton of water all over Susie. We decided Marie was letting Susie know what she thought about her not bringing Cody.

As soon as the vet arrived, we got in line to get vetted in. Emma Jane was perfect for the vet and judge both. She wouldn’t let them touch her ears but other then that, no problem at all. She stood calmly and quietly. YEAH. She really WAS figuring this all out. Emma Jane is so bit up by the bugs it is actually embarrassing. Especially on her front end and face. She is a mass of scabs and scrapes from scratching. The judge has to record anything they find on the animal before the ride. They were going crazy trying to identify and record all the bumps, scabs, and scraped areas. The scribe finally said that if someone shot her with a pellet gun during the ride, they would never notice it. She trotted out just fine. No signs of lameness and I was cleared to ride. YIPPEE. All went well with Marie and Joanie’s horse, Frannie. We were all going to ride. We all went back and hung out in Joanie’s screen house. That is until a nasty thunder shower rolled in and it rained buckets. It quickly flooded the screen house and we all quickly retreated under the barn overhand. We were sooooo glad we had gotten vetted in early. There were some very close lightening strikes.

Emma Jane really seemed to be enjoying herself. She was watching everything that was going in with avid interest. Marie, who is very vocal, kept calling out to everyone. Every time she would call, Emma Jane would bray. I’ve never heard Emma Jane bray other then when she was stressed out over being left behind on a ride. And it was definitely a social bray. She makes such a strange sound. She doesn’t really sound like anything you would expect. The best I can describe it is the bugle of an elephant with a sore throat. It was freaking people out because they didn’t know what it was. Thankfully, I didn’t see any horses having a bad time about it. I can’t count the times I heard, “what the heck it that?” Every time people would walk by her stall, she would greet everyone with her Harley Davidson nicker. You can identify that as a nicker but so different from a horse because it is so much deeper and…… well, different. She attracted a lot of attention. Most people didn’t take her very serious. Many people though she was “so cute”. Some people just didn’t get it at all and just don’t find mules very attractive. Emma Jane is a pretty mule. But, among all those beautiful Arabs…… well, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Only one person mentioned that she was having trouble with their horse due to my mule. She was not unkind or rude about it at all. Just told me she needed to stay clear of me when possible. I told her I would make sure not to ride near her if at all possible. Most horses either just gave her the hairy eyeball or just stared and sniffed at her in curiosity. Emma Jane is very good and well behaved in a large group of horses. A group of teen aged girls fell in love with her and followed her around like groupies. It was so cute. Emma Jane didn’t know what to think of this at first. But soon figured out the girls gave out lots of “mule loving” and kisses on her nose when they walked by. She got to really liking this attention.
The thunder shower didn’t last to long. The rain was hard enough to leave ponds of water everywhere. We took the horses and mule out for a walk and to let them graze on some grass. The black flies were so bad that none of us could stand it for very long. The girls wanted the grass but actually seemed relieved to be back in their stalls.

Meals are provided at a ride but not always for Friday night. This ride had a Friday night meal but you had to request it on the entry form and pay extra for it. The entry form said it was going to be hot dogs and hamburgers. Not exciting fare but Barbara and I don’t like to cook and didn’t want to have to leave the grounds to go out to eat so we both signed up for the Friday night meal. Joanie, Susie and Kathy did not. They brought food with them. Well, there was a new cook hired at the last minute for the ride we had never had before. It was someone I know from another club I had belonged to years ago. I knew she was a wonderful cook but boy did we get a pleasant surprise! No hamburgers and hot dogs for us that night. A taco dinner with all the fixings. Several wonderful salads. And the deserts…….4 or 5 different homemade deserts that are beyond description! Our friends sure were sorry they didn’t sign up for the dinner then! The supper was served quite late so we did not stay up long after eating. Susie and Joanie slept in the screen house, Kathy in her truck and Barbara and I were in my trailer.

Ride management decided to start the ride early due to the predicted heat and humidity. We were starting at 6:00 AM. So, we were up at 4:00 AM to feed the horses and mule. Actually, Barbara was sleeping like a log so I left her alone to sleep. Then I went over for what was supposed to be, and always has been, a continental breakfast. But, much to everyone’s surprise and delight, it was a full breakfast. Eggs, bacon, omelets, pancakes, French toast, fruit salad…… absolutely wonderful. I had French toast and fruit. I think it’s the first time I haven’t started the ride on oatmeal! What a treat that breakfast was. Barbara and Joanie were up and came over to breakfast before I was done. The riders meeting was at 5:30 AM. We had plenty of time after the meeting to get ready. The ride started at 6:00 AM. But that is 2 horses at a time 2 minutes apart. We would be going out around 6:30 AM. Emma Jane was very quiet and relaxed when I saddled her up. Once again, she knew what was going on and that there was nothing to worry about. We walked them a bit to warm them up. Then, it was time to go at 6:28 AM. Frannie is a 6 (?) year old Morgan mare. She has a huge trot on her and set a quick pace. Marie has no trouble keeping up with this. Emma Jane would rather not trot that hard and fast so would go a bit slower and then canter to catch up. This was working fine. The first half of the trail went well. We went off trail once but not far thankfully. There is a LONG stretch through some agricultural fields. It is like a race track. The rain of the previous night had laid the dust down but it was not slick. We cantered the whole length. Emma Jane did great. I had to ask her several times to keep going since we have never done a long continuous canter like that. But she did it for me. We got into the hold in good time. Emma Jane pulsed down early. It took Marie almost the full 10 min. But all three were fine. Emma Jane is now good about being sponged. She still isn’t sure she likes it but can’t seem to come up with any real reason to object. So she stands quietly with a sour look on her face. We got in line for the trot out and metabolic check. We took their feed pans of beet pulp and carrots with us and just slid them along the ground as we moved up in line. They both ate well and finished up their food. Everyone trotted fine. We were still 6 min. late getting out of the hold. That is not a problem except you then have to make up that time along the trail somewhere. Though it was still early in the day, it was already getting very hot and humid. We had some long stretches along tar and dirt roads without shade the second half of the ride. Now, you are supposed to go faster in the sun. This creates a cooling breeze. And then go slower in the shade. Well, Emma Jane was not convinced of the soundness of this theory and was not buying into it at all. When we were out in the blazing sun, she slowed right down. She did agree to stay at a trot, but slow. No amount of persuasion was going to speed her up. We would hit the shade and she would take right off at whatever speed I wanted. Barbara and Joanie got quite a way ahead of us several times. Emma Jane didn’t care at all. She would NOT draft off any of the horses. She would watch them go by with a look like, “go ahead and run yourselves into heat strokes you dumb horses.” I eventually caught up with Barbara and Joanie. I told them they didn’t have to wait for me. I didn’t want to be the cause of them getting time penalties because of Emma Jane slowing down in the hot places. They said they didn’t mind. Marie would get very worried when her buddies got split up. She wants them all together or is not happy. She will behave and deal with it but she really frets. Joanie had also felt Frannie take a bad step and was worried she might have gotten a stone bruise. We ended up finishing with 10 min. to spare. Everyone did fine on their P&R. Marie was a bit high but not a problem. Emma Jane did great. And she was breathing so slow that the P&R person said if she hadn’t just taken Emma Jane’s pulse, she would have thought she was dead. She only got a respiration of 2 in a minute count! We went up for our trot out. Emma Jane did great. She trotted willingly though her expression said she still thought this trot out thing was stupid. Marie was also cleared for the second day. Frannie had to be checked again in the morning. Frannie also developed some large fluid filled swelling in her girth area. Joanie was very worried about this. She felt there was no way she was going to be able to saddle her with that. She was using the same cinch she always did. I had that happen to me once on a ride. I’ll never know what caused it but I just put some cold water on it. You can only use the water out of the hose applied with a cloth or sponge, you cannot actually use the hose on a CTR. Neither can you use ice. No artificially cooled water is allowed. By the next morning it was nearly gone. By the end of the ride, you could hardly tell it had every happened. So, I told Joanie not to worry too much.

Lunch was being served by the time we got the girls settled down in their stalls. Once again the meal was outstanding. It was make your own Italians. But with several wonderful salads and all the deserts. I was definitely NOT going to lose weight on this ride. We took the girls out for a walk and let them graze out on the infield of the race track. The grass was very good here and the bugs were bearable due to a good strong breeze. The Fairgrounds have showers that we took advantage of. Then we all took a 2 hr. nap. Susie left with Teri York soon after we were done riding. Kathy was helping with the judging and stayed until that was done. The 25 mile riders had to have the full vetting and scoring done. Supper was at 5:30 PM. It was another fabulous meal. Teryaki chicken that melted in your mouth. More, and different, wonderful salads and the usual mouth watering deserts. We stayed for the award ceremony for the 25 mile ride. We had another wonderful supper spaghetti and meatballs, more wonderful salads and garlic bread. And, of course, deserts beyond description. We hung out for a while at camp after supper but headed to bed by 9:00 PM since we would have to be up early again in the morning. Barbara decided to sleep out in the screen house with Joanie.

I was up Sunday morning at 4:00 AM. I fed Marie and Emma Jane. Barbara got right up and helped with hay and water. Once again we had a full breakfast choice. I had French Toast and sausage and some fruit salad. The swelling in Frannie’s girth area was way down. There was some heat in the area but it didn’t look bad. Joanie took her for her re-check. The vet’s approved her to go! YEAH. We saddled up and were ready to go. Right from the start Emma Jane started to pace herself more carefully. We went through the agricultural fields again. Once again we cantered the whole length of them. Emma Jane agreed to do this but at her own pace and Joanie and Frannie go ahead of us. Emma Jane did not care. I caught up with them at the first water tub. The hold was at the covered bridge. That is such a beautiful spot. And the ride to it is wonderful. Through fields and dirt roads along a river. Barbara and Joanie got ahead of us again in the fields. Emma Jane was cantering nicely along and when we entered the woods, still on nice wide trail, there was a strip of rocks to hold a wash out. Emma Jane hit the rocks, slipped and did a face plant. Then she couldn’t get her front feet back up and down she went. She didn’t roll thankfully so I was able to stay on her back. She popped back up and off she went like nothing had happened. She felt fine though could have been bleeding to death for all I knew. I knew Barbara and Joanie weren’t far ahead so when I caught up with them I had them check her out. Not a scratch on her. PHEW. Everything went well at the hold. We were able to get out only a few minutes late. The trails out of the hold were also beautiful. We went though ‘fern valley’ which was a bit muddy but so pretty. For a while after the hold, there were some horses following us that Emma Jane didn’t know. That is the only thing that will speed her up is strange horses behind her. So, we made good time until they passed us. Eventually, we circled back to the agricultural fields again. Emma Jane started to hesitate as we approached them. I wondered if she was ok. Did she have to stop and pee? Hummmm. I let her stop a few times but she didn’t do anything. Then the light dawned. She did not want to do that long canter again. So, I told her it was ok, if she would just agree to trot along steadily, I would not make her canter. (not that I could have made her! Haha) She agreed to this compromise. Just at the very end of the field, I asked for a short canter and she gave it to me. Good girl! We finished in good time. A big group of us came in at the same time. So, I had Barbara and Joanie hold up and let our girls graze for a few minutes outside the finish line before going in since we had the time to spare. It helps the ride management to not have a big group come in at the same time. We went to our stalls and Emma Jane finally took a huge drink. She did not drink on trail either day. We sponged them some but it was not as humid as the previous day so they were not nearly so sweaty. Marie was fine on her P&R. Emma’s was a bit high. I put more water to her and she was fine at her re-check. And barely breathing at all once again with a 44/2 P&R. We went right up for our trot out. There was a bit of a line. Emma Jane trotted out fine. I though she would be reluctant since I could tell she was tired but she did great. Marie looked fine to me. Frannie was obviously lame. We had quite a long wait for hands on so we had lunch. A wonderful lunch of teriyaki or barbeque chicken, more wonderful salads, garlic bread and the usual wonderful deserts. I went to check on Emma Jane and noticed that her left hind leg was showing a definite larger windpuff. So, I told Barbara I was going to have to walk her to try and get it to go down. So, we walked, and walked, and walked. By the time we went for our hands on, the puff had gone down. Joanie had to work that night so she cleaned out her stall (not realizing you didn’t have to strip ALL the shavings out) and left before the award ceremony. After Joanie left Barbara and I cleaned out our stalls and packed up as much as we could. Then we took our chairs and hung out in the shade where they would be having the award ceremony.

Joanie was awarded a completion though she got the full 25 points off for lameness. Marie also got a completion. She got 8 points off for lameness. She was not lame but this happens sometimes with the weird way she travels. Then they started calling out the placings. Sixth, fifth, fourth, third…….. Low and behold, Emma Jane and I got a second place in a field of 38 horses! I was so proud of my girl. She only go 2 ½ point off for mechanical fatigue. Everyone we looking at my mule with more respect after that!

Tom Hutchinson checking how deep the Saco River crossing was. It was decided it was too deep for the safety of the ride.

Fryeburg 50 ME 7/29-30/06 36/S - 35/F
Judges: Dr. Karin Wilson - Sondra Day
J1. Katherine / Mutis, Christine
J2. AJ Morning Star Wakita / Wright, Caliegh
1. Casey (Prince Buddy) / Cameron, Pamela
2. Shrocco Lyric / Kimberly, Jenny
3. Bedrocks Handsome Fello / Alexander, Lee
3. Odie / Palmer, Judy
5. Paula's Major / Greenall, Sue
6. Enshalla Fakama (Ram-Zee) / Jewell, Char
7. Keeper / Brooks, Leslie
8. Emma Jane / Ross, Cynthia (score 97.50)
8. Wind Dancer / Tousignant, Mary
10. JB Roman Tarbask / Libby, Kerry
10. Theatric / Brunjes, Kathy
12. HFA Silver Savana / Deleware, Marsha
13. Shiliil / Cahill, Becky
14. Rockin Rudy / Hall, Kathy
15. Craggy Lea Jazzy Lady / Ring, Wilson
15. Leland / Savino, Anne Marie
17. Beaujolais (LJ) / Barbosa, Hernan
17. Klassi Azim / Ferland, Linda
Completions:
Talszrianon (Rianon) / Okun, Nancy
Hawks Nest Expedition / Wells, Allen
CR Monarchs Memory (Ellie) / Malkasian, Robin
BAF Cubis Choice / Pederson, Laura
Salt (Sault) / Rojek, Dinah
Ashmore Billy Alan / Bachelder, Rhonda
Marie / McGovern, Barbara (score 89.00)
Farley / Rojek, Steve
Araba Fable / Collins, Jan
Golden Girl / Smith, Suzanne
Quinszy / Fisk, Debora
Tappedanick / Lester, Louise
Travelin' Man Maverick / Tenggren, Traci
Moria NA / Hurton, Bonnie
Frangelica of Foxden Farm / Mitchell, Joanie

Fryeburg 25 CTR Fryeburg, ME July 2005

Cindy Ross on Cody and Barbara McGovern on Monty

Another ride on a borrowed horse. This time I had the honor of riding my good friend Susie's horse, Cody. He is an “energetic” half Arab gelding that not a whole lot of people are willing to ride. He is a great horse and an incredible athlete as well as an experienced competitive trial and endurance horse. He also has some incredible moves that can make it a challenge to stay on him. I had previously only done a few short rides on him over the years that I’ve known Susie. Unfortunately, Cody was available due to Susie finding out she had breast cancer and having had surgery. Susie was doing well but not ready to do a ride yet. This was certainly going to be a year we would remember. First with me almost losing Rosemarie to Purpura from her Strangles vaccine, Susie having breast cancer. Bonnie’s horse, Isabelle, sick for 2 months with the nastiest case of flu I’ve ever heard of. And there are also the triumphs such as me placing 3rd over all at the Acadia 50 on the borrowed horse, Koram. (And then nearly losing him in the river at the Pine Tree ride.) The weekend before Fryeburg, Barbara McGovern and I went on a long ride to see how things would go with Cody and me. Barbara was also going to the Fryeburg ride. She was using Susie’s other horse, Monty. It would be her and Monty’s first Competitive Trail Ride. We went out for nearly 4 hrs. It was a hot day but all went well. Cody only did one of his classic “drop and spin” moves and I managed to hang on. The Wednesday before the Fryeburg ride, we went out for a shorter ride. Joanie joined us. She was also going to the Fryeburg ride and it would be her and her horse, Frannie’s first Competitive Ride. I also talked Bonnie into playing hookie from work and going with us on Wednesday riding Marie. It didn’t take much arm twisting. We rode over in Richmond and had a great ride except that Joanie lost her work pager. Cody tried a couple of his classic “drop and spin” moves but once again I managed to stick with him. I told Cody he would have to do better then that to keep me from the ride! We were ready Fryeburg!
Friday morning I picked up Barbara and the horses at Susie’s. We headed out around 8:30 am. Joanie followed us up. I brought Zephyr along. Zephyr fell in love with Barbara immediately. Joanie also brought her dog, Moxie. The ride was held at the Fryeburg fairgrounds. It is the greatest place. There are great stalls. You can park and camp right in front of the stalls. There is a water line every 4 stalls so you never have to lug water far. Shavings were delivered right in front of the stalls. There are nice bathrooms and showers. What more could anyone ask for. After we arrived and got the horses settled in, we checked in and set up camp. The state 4H camp was being held there that weekend also. So there were a lot of horses and other critters on the grounds that weekend. There were 70+ entries in the Fryeburg ride. The 4H had a food booth that was open to the public. We took advantage of that for lunch. We had a great salad, hamburgers, and a choice of wonderful home made deserts. Poor Joanie was coming down with a cold and was not feeling very well. She really wanted to take a nap after we ate lunch but we also wanted to get the horses out for a little ride. We had to ride before we vetted in. After vetting in you aren’t allowed to ride other then the competition itself. So, we saddled up and headed out. We put Zephyr and Moxie in a stall. We were afraid it would be too hot in the horse trailer if we left them in there. We didn’t ride for all that long and Cody was a monster. Pulling, bucking, spinning, shying. I don’t know how I managed to stay on him but I did. When we got back Barbara just shook her head and told me she would understand if I decided not to ride the next day. I was very concerned about it myself. I didn’t know if I could handle him for 25 miles if he was like that. Joanie tried to get a nap after we rode. There was a sign up for vetting in. That was nice so we wouldn’t have to stand in long lines waiting. We signed up before going out on our ride so we were in the first half to be vetted. The vetting was being done right in front of where we were camping so we had a great view of all that was going on. My good friend Margaret Farnum was a scribe for the 25 mile ride. Margaret had previously had some bad experiences at this particular ride so chose to work the ride rather then ride in it. The Lay Judge was Vicky Austin. She owns King, the half brother to Cody. Both horses are very much alike and have all the same moves. Vicky looked me right in the eye when I came up for vetting and said, “you do know what this horse can do don’t you?” I assured her that I did know what I was getting into though I could not convince her I was in full possession of my sanity! All three of us vetted in without problem. It was now official, we were going to ride!!! We were sitting in front of our stalls watching the trot outs and got more action then we wanted. Stephanie Rice was trotting out her horse when someone started up a big truck and the horse lost his concentration and bumped Stephanie. She slipped on the grass and fell under the horse and he managed to accidentally step on her head and elbow. She started to get up but then just fell back onto the ground. Joanie is an emergency room nurse so went to see what she could do. When Joanie got back, she said that there was a lot of blood but that Stephanie would be ok. They had to call an ambulance. Stephanie’s husband was also in the competition so was there. We did hear later that Stephanie was going to be ok. Then, a nasty thunderstorm rolled in and it poured rain for a bit so the vetting had to be delayed for a while. There were supposed to be two vets at this ride due to the number of entries. One couldn’t make it at the last minute. So, it was one vet and 70+ horses. After the storm passed they resumed the vetting until dark. The remaining horses had to vet in Saturday morning. Rich Gamester was providing the food for the weekend. Friday’s supper was hamburgers, pasta salad and chips. After we ate, I took Cody out into the field to lounge him hoping he would blow off some of that excess energy. Joanie came out to let the dogs run for a bit. Cody certainly did blow off some steam. The bugs were horrible so we could only stand it out there for a short time. I just hoped it was enough for Cody. We all went to bed shortly after that. Zephyr was beside himself when he was allowed up to sleep with Barbara and I in the gooseneck. He completely spazzed out as he usually does when Bonnie is with me. Luckily, Barbara has two Jack Russell’s and knows how little dogs can be and was very patient with him. Though we did draw the line when he tried to get into her sleeping bag like he does with Bonnie!

I didn’t really sleep very well. Probably because I was worried about riding Cody. We were up early and got the horses fed. We took the dogs for a quick walk then had some breakfast. Soon it was time to saddle up. For better or worse, I was going to go. We mounted up and just walked the horses around until our numbers were called. They let the three of us start together since I was “mentoring” Barbara and Joanie. Cody was a bit excited at first but manageable. At one point, Irving McNaughton rode up beside me and stated, “My lord, I have never seen Cody going so slow in my life! You know what your problem is, you aren’t talking enough, you have to keep up a steady stream of talk and he will move much faster!” And off he went. We got a good laugh out of that. Poor Susie, poking fun of her when she couldn’t defend herself! We didn’t go across the Saco river this year. The ride manager said the water was too high and the horses would have actually had to swim. So, we had to go up on the road and cross the bridge instead. That is a bit scary. It is a fairly long high bridge on a very busy road. The Saco river is a very popular canoeing/partying place during the summer. Just standing in one place, you will literally see hundreds of canoes on the river at any given time during the day. No, not any given time. Usually more towards noon since everyone usually has a hangover and doesn’t get going all that early. When we got to the agricultural roads along the potato fields, Cody got a bit strong so we kept it down to a trot. He really wasn’t too bad and actually settled down about half way through the fields but I still kept it down to a trot to be on the safe side. . Go ahead, call me a chicken. We were doing great on time and arrived at the hold in good time. Frannie was incredible, she was walking right out and doing big monster trots. She was giving Cody a run for his money. Frannie was also leaping over the smallest stick and puddles. She was just having a great time. Monty, in his usual fashion, was just following along behind wasting no extra energy. At the hold, Monty pulsed right down to 40. Cody and Frannie’s pulse were higher but fine. Despite the number of riders and only one vet, we got through the vetting fairly quickly. We did take an extra 5 minutes to feed the horses. Then, off we went for the second half. The trail markings were a bit confusing on part of the second half. We ended up doing one loop twice. Ooops. Cody took that opportunity to do one of his special moves. To his credit, the only one during the entire ride. Once again I managed to stay on. Riding the loop twice put us a little behind on time. When we crossed the bridge there were tons of canoes down in the river. When we were about half way across, someone started setting off fire crackers. Cody hates popping sounds. I really thought I was going to eat pavement. Cody jumped and hopped just a little. I stayed quiet and talked to him and we managed to get over the bridge in one piece. At the end we were running short on time. I decided that we should speed up to make our time and take the chance of getting points for a high pulse rather then take certain points for coming in late. Cody got a little excited with that and got a bit strong but nothing serious. In the end, it wasn’t a bad gamble. Frannie and Cody each took one point for being slightly over on pulse. Monty pulsed down just fine. And he was the horse I was worried about! Once again the poor lone vet did a great job in getting the horses all vetted in. Those that were doing the two day ride only had to do a quick trot out so that helped speed things along. We got things packed up while waiting for supper and awards. Joanie tried to take a nap in her trailer since she still was not feeling too well. Moxie and Frannie just would not cooperate with that idea. Moxie barked wanting to be with her and Frannie kept calling for Monty when he was taken out of his stall. We found out that here were a couple of tragic events just after we had gone out on trail that morning. Apparently, someone’s horse started to act up and buck waiting at the start. The rider dismounted in an attempt to get her horse under control but he got so strong that he pulled away from her and got loose. The horse jumped into an electric pen with another horse, when the horse jumped back out, he became entangled in the wire and then managed to take out a second pen also in his panic. The horse, dragging all the wire, poles, and charger ran straight for a mounted rider. This rider quickly dismounted and her horse stepped in front of her and took the full force of the running horse. The rider was knocked down and both horses ran off towards the track. Another rider was also thrown when her horse spun and bolted to get out of the way. When the first horse settled down, they went out on the track and got him. They figured the second horse would also be out there grazing in the area inside the track. Unfortunately, the mare had jumped the track fence and skidded into the chain link fencing that surrounds the fairgrounds and was dead! Then, Sue and John Greenall went off trail in the beginning of the ride. They went over a snowmobile bridge that was not designed for horses. The boards were spaced too far apart. One of the horses slipped on mud and went through the bridge with three legs. One of the riders husband had to get a chain saw and cut through the bridge to get the horse out. Others came to help with boards and they managed to get the horse out mostly unharmed. It gives me the chills just thinking about all of it.
Now, after all that gloom and doom, our personal rides turned out very well. Barbara won first place in the lightweight division and first place rookie rider. Joanie got 2nd place in the middleweight division and the high point Morgan horse award. I won sixth place in the heavyweight division and the 1st place ½ Arabian award. I also completed and earned my first 1,000 miles of competitive trail riding. Narie had already earned her 1,000 miles. In the club, ride and drive miles are split for the rider/driver but not for the horse. Marie and I have done 75 mile of drives. So, starting the year I was 75 miles behind in earning my 1,000 mile ride award. I got 50 miles at Acadia on Koram. Cody had earned me my last 25 miles. I can’t think of a better horse to have earned it on since he had been by Marie and my side through so many of those miles. We had so many prizes we could barely carry them back to the trailer! I was so happy that my friends had done so well on their first rides. On my score sheet, Vicky wrote in the trail comment section, “cute, cute, cute.” We got a chuckle out of that. I think she may be a bit partial to her horses half brother! Hahahaha.
Thank to Susie for letting me borrow her wonderful horse Cody and thanks to my friends for trusting me to help them through their first ride.

A few weeks after the ride, Joanie, Barbara, Susie and I went on a little ride from Joanie’s. It was nice to have both Susie and Marie with us. After the ride, we had a little celebration for me earning my 1,000 miles and for Joanie and Barbara completing their first ride. Susie wrote a poem for the occasion. It was about the Fryeburg 25 sung to the tune of the Beverly Hillbillys. It was absolutely hilarious and I will add it to this as soon as I get a copy.

Fryeburg 2 day 50 CTR Fryeburg, ME July 2003

Well, I was heading off on this adventure alone. Bonnie decided not to ride and was staying home to take care of the horses. I headed off right after work at about 6:00 AM. I stopped at G&G store for gas and a few grocery items. When I went to put the grocery items in the ice box, I noticed that the passenger side rear tire on my truck was nearly flat! AAAGGGGHHHHH! There was no air hose at the store. I had a whole pack of local elderly gentlemen looking for one to no avail. I decided since it wasn't totally flat and I was only a few miles from home, I would just go back. I got back to the house without incident. I unloaded Marie and tied her to the side of the trailer. I unhooked the truck and went out back to the garage to put air in the tire. There was only 10lbs in it and it holds 80lbs. But now I wasn't sure what I should do. Head out for the ride with that tire or change to the spare. I waited for Fred to come home from work to get his opinion. His opinion was "I don't know what you should do." He doesn't seem to understand that since he's the man, he is supposed to be able to fix everything! He filled up the portable air tank for me and sent me on my way. I just checked the tire a few times on the way up to make sure it was holding air. The tire was fine and I arrived at Fryeburg without problem. I picked my usual spot at the end of the first barn. Marie was wondering where all her friends were and called a bit between stuffing her face with hay. I set up camp and had just settled down to read when Susie arrived. Very early for her. I was impressed. She brought along Libby, a 12 year old girl, and her new puppy, Callie. Marie was very, very happy to see Cody and made quite a ruckus. Susie and Libby quickly got set up and Susie and I decided to go for a ride. We tacked up and headed out on the trail that we always use for the ride. Cody was very excited and acting up. Marie was a bit light on her feet also. When we got to the road, a man pulled over and asked us if we had permission to be on the property we were on. He said that the man that owned the property didn't like people on it. We didn't know anything about it so we headed back to check with Colleen, the ride manager. Colleen told us that she had permission to use the trails. But, by this time we decided to just take the horses around the race track so we wouldn't be leaving Libby alone for so long. Both horses were very excited. We trotted around the track a couple times then worked up to a canter. Cody finally settled down a little. Then I saw something come off Susie's saddle and come flying by me? Susie started yelling, "Cindy, please stop, my stirrup fell off!" I stopped Marie and sure enough, Susie's stirrup was laying on the track behind us. Her stirrup leather had broken. Upon checking, the other one was ready to break also. Luckily, my English saddle happened to be in my trailer so I was able to lend Susie my stirrup leathers.


Susie wanted to ride with me on the first day but Colleen had the 25's and 50's going out separately. It just happened by chance that I was paired up to ride with Mary Batt. That would be good as Marie likes Mary's horse Midori. After riding, Susie and I went into Fryeburg to get some lunch. When we got back, we got our riders packets and I put the numbers on our horses. Then, the long waiting line to vet in. Cody and Marie both vetted in fine. Callie and Zephyr were getting along well. Rich Gamester was providing the meals for the weekend. We had hamburgers and hot dogs with all the fixings tonight. Mary arrived sometime after 6:00 PM. The vet told Mary that Midori was running a mild fever and she had a snotty nose when she came off the trailer. So, the vet wanted Mary to keep Midori away from the other horses for the night and re-check her in the morning. We walked the horses aound that evening out in the field where we could let the dogs run loose. Callie and Zephy had a great time playing. Callie is so uncoordinated still and Zephyr was running circles around her. It was very cute to watch them. The bugs finally dorve us back to the barn. We put the horses away and hung around for a while just visiting and chatting. We had the riders meeting this evening. colleen informed us that the trails had to be changed at the last minute. We do quite a few miles through agricultural fields and Colleen had gotten a call that the fields had just been sprayed with pesticides and we couldn't safely go through them. Scott Hatch saved the day by going out and rerouting the trail. He did a great job fiding an alternate trail and getting markers up. I don't know how he managed it! Everyone was tired so we turned in for bed early. It it going to be hot tomorrow so the ride was going to start at 6:00 AM. We would have to be up very early.

Susie was up before me and fed Marie for me. When I got up, I wandered over to the office to get my coffee and oatmeal. The coffee was ready but no hot water for the oatmeal. This is not like Colleen, she is usually so well prepared. I didn't want to wait so I got my coffee and went back to my trailer to heat water for oatmeal. Midori passed her vetting was was set to go on the ride. She was having a strong heat cycle and was just in love with every horse on the grounds. Mary and I were nearly the last one out in the starting order. There was only one groupo of four that hung back and went out after us. This was Mary Coleman's group. Mary and I alsmot got off the trail one right in the beginning but realized our error right away and turned around. Not before Mary Coleman's group got to yelling at us. It was good of them to be concerned about us and want to help. They got in front of us at this point. We passed them somehow at the river crossing. The water was hight this year. Not quite deep enough for the avarage horse to swim but close. A pony would have been swimming.

Several miles further down the trail, Mary Coleman's group caught up with us again at a water stop and informed is that we had gone off trail right after the river crossing shortening our ride by 1/2 mile or so. ????? Mary and I had seen tracks and markers the whole way. Mary Batt told Mary Coleman that possibly she had gone off trail and not us. Mary Coleman insisted she had stayed on the trail correctly. And so it went back and forth until finally I said to Mary Batt we were just going to have to go back because if Mary Coleman was right, we would be disqualified. We had to ride hard to make up the lost time. We had NOT gone off trail and we did get to the hold on time. Even though we'd ridden hard to make the hold on time, both horses vetted out fine. We finished the second half of the ride with no problem. Marie vetted fine at the end and was good to go for the second day of the ride. The vet wanted to check Midori again in the morning thinking she looked a bit lame. Susie said Cody had been real strong and pulled her most of the ride. Her hands were blistered! There were sandwiches when we got back from the ride. The, we had supper at 2:00 PM. Lasagna, salad and bread. It was very good. After dinner they had the award ceremony for teh 25 mile riders. I can't remember what Susie placed. Susie packed up quickly and headed out.
Mary was tired and laid down for a nap. Later, heather, Margaret, mary and I went into Fryeburg to climb Jockey Cap. A short climb up a granite dome of about 150 in elevation. The view is great from the top. Margaret had her dog Grizz with her. He is huge and it was funny watching Zephyr and Grizz playing together. Zephyr has no fear of other dogs no matter what their size. When we got back down from Jockey Cap we stopped for ice cream from the store at the trail head. We sat at the picnic tables with the dogs. Margaret bought a dish of ice cream for Grizz. he didn't eat it all and Zephyr was thrilled to help out finishing it. After we got back to the fairground, we walked the horses until we couldn't stand the bugs anymore. We then settled the horses in their stalls for the night. We decided to go to bed early. I went into my trailer and was playing my guitar when someone pulled up beside my trailer in a car. It was Bonnie!!!!! I was so excited to see her. She had decided to surprise me! Yippee! I got up and we took Marie and Zephyr for another walk while I told her all about the days ride. We then went back, put Marie in her stall then went to bed. We ended up chatting for quite a long time.

I slept longer then I'd planned but not to long to be a problem. I fed Marie then went to the office for breakfast. Colleen had everything ready this morning. Mary Batt's horse did not pass her re-check this morning and was pulled from the ride. So, I would be on my own for today. Bummer. I ended up riding with a woman from PA that was riding a very hot Paso Fino. Not many gaited horses are seen at rides in this part of the country. It was fun watching her horse move. She didn't think she would be able to ride with me because her horse is very competitive. It didn't take long though to see that Marie was actually having a quieting effect on her horse as she does with most horses. But, the Paso Fino was setting too fast a pace for Marie so I eventually fell back and rode with Louise Lester. Louise was riding her stallion Nickolas. Marie was upset about being parted from the Paso Fino and didn't care at all that she was now riding with a handsome stallion! Silly mare!I rode with Louise into the hold. Marie was still upset about the Paso and just squeeked in with her P&R. The woman with the Paso waited for me to leave the hold as her horse had also been stressed over being separated from Marie and we rode the rest of the ride together. Marie lost a front shoe and I had to put an easy boot on her. I had just had new shoes put on her three days before the ride and didn't think I'd have to worry about that! The pace the Paso was setting was still to fast and at the end I had to stop and hang around in the field before the finish line for about 15 minutes so I wouldn't get a time penalty. Marie was not to happy about this but managed to deal with it. The vetting went fine at the end. For dinner we had steak, potato, Italian Pasta salad and bread. The steak was a bit tough but everything else was very good. The award ceremony was after the dinner. I got a 4th place ribbon and was very proud of my little mare.




Fryeburg 50 ME 7/26-27 29/S-25/F
Judges: Dr. Glass - J Levellie
J1. Heart of Fire / Patty Simcox
1. Tyger Dan / Greenall, Sue
2. Czar Nickolas / Lester, Louise
3. Shyrocco Lyric / Kimberley, Jenny
4. GH Jesse Jolady / Houghton, Deborah
5. Finch / Rojek, Steve
6. CR Monarchs Memory / Malkasian, Robin
7. Blew Away / Down, Kathy
8. Langwood's Lorelei / Stratemeyer, Joan
9. Nikazem / Winslow, Roxanne
10. DS Easter's REplica / Simcox, Cindy
10. Queen of Argyll / Stuller, Marilyn
10. Marie / Ross, Cynthia (score 94.00)
13. Prince Buddy (Casey) / Cameron, Pamela
13. Shiloh / Seeams, Cynthia
13. Hawks Neopolitan / Coleman, Mary
16. HFA Silver Savana / Deleware, Marcia
16. Otis / Beem, Amy
18. Shyrocco Crisedyde / Hartmann, Lynn
Completions:
Amilie Spunk (Jamil) / Kohler, Elizabeth
Medallion Del Pardo / Hall, Brenda
Samid Ar Ras / Blittersdorf, Meoldy
DLA CAssidy / Hatch, Janice Conley
Nikita Bahar / Crowley, Lois
MCO
Inde Khaldair / Two riders

Fryeburg 25 CTR Fryeburg, ME July 2002

Another great ride, another pre-ride story. At least this one doesn't involve my truck. I had sent my entry in only a week before the ride. The entry fee was $67. One morning just before the ride, I was sitting at the table eating breakfast and noticed a couple of tickets on the table. It suddenly dawned on me that Fred had gotten tickets for the Maine State Music Theatre and it was for the same night I would be in Fryeburg! AAGGGHHHHH. Fred had bought the tickets ages ago. He so rarely makes plans like this and I knew that somehow I had to figure out how to be in two places at once so.....

I got up at 4:30 PM Thursday afternoon and packed up the trailer, took care of the horses and headed to work. I had to be into work early at 8:00 PM instead of 9:00 PM. I worked until 5:30 AM, drove home, fed the horses, ate breakfast then got the horses ready to go. When Bonnie arrived at 7:30 AM, she followed me to Fryeburg in her car. She brought her car so I would be able to use it later that night to come home to go with Fred to the theatre and not have to drive my big truck. We made good time getting to Fryeburg taking us a little less the 1 hr. 45 min. We chose our usual stalls at the end of the first barn. There was already plenty of bedding in the stalls so we just put in hay and water and settled the horses in. We then went to the office to register. Once that was taken care of we headed into town for lunch as it was 11:00 AM. Much to our surprise, there were no restaurants open in Fryeburg. We stopped at a gas station to ask about some place to eat. The station attendant told us our best bet was to go into Laconia, NH. Only about a 10 minute drive so we went. We found a great place there and had a nice lunch. On the way back to the fairground, we got lost. Not too badly though and a nice woman out walking gave us directions back to the fairground. We got back in plenty of time for vetting in. We went right up for vetting so were only 3rd and 4th in line. The vet wasn't real happy with the way Marie trotted so I would have to go back in the morning to have her re-checked. I forgot to tell the vet that Marie just had pads taken off her front feet so they might be a bit tender right now. She's had pads on front for four years and I'm sure her feet will take a bit of time to toughen up again. After vetting in, I hung out in front of the stalls and visited with Jean and Elliot. We walked the horses, then at 3:30 PM I headed for home. The traffic was quite heavy but I still got home in only 1 hr. 45 min. I took a quick shower then Fred and I went out to supper. We went to the new Chinese place in Topsham and it was quite good. The musical we went to see was "Ragtime". I was very good though I admit I snoozed through some of it. The musical was over at 10:30 PM. By now I had been up over 30 hours and still had the drive back to the fairground. I arrived back there at 1:15 AM. When I drove in, Heather's trailer was parked so close to mine that I wondered if I would be able to open my trailer door. I had told Bonnie I would likely get some sleep at home before driving back to the ride, so I was sure hoping she hadn't given my bed away to anyone. I saw that Heather was sleeping in her truck so my bed was empty. I tried to be as quiet as I could but I still managed to wake Bonnie up. She and Zephyr were quite comfortable together. Zephyr got all spazzed out when I crawled up into bed. Thankfully he settled down fairly quickly. Bonnie told me I hadn't missed anything by missing the supper that was provided that night. She said she had one nearly raw cheeseburger and a small cup of cole slaw. I'm glad I'd had Chinese! It sure didn't take me long to get to sleep.

We got up at 5:00 AM. That was only about 3 hours of sleep for me but I didn't care. The weather was cool, dry and overcast all day. Great weather for the horses. I went to the office for some breakfast. They had hot and cold cereal, bagels, donuts, muffins, fruit, juice and Coffee. I had oatmeal (big surprise) and a muffin. I walked Marie before taking her for her re-check. She passed the re-check. The riders meeting was held at 6:30 AM. The ride started at 7:00 AM. Bonnie and I took our time tacking up our horses as we were in the back of the lineup to start. There were a lot of riders this year. Over 30 horses in the 25 mile ride and nearly as many in the 50 mile ride. We had a wonderful ride. Both horses were just perfect and the trails were lovely. Lots of wide sandy agricultural roads and we got to cross the river this year. It was Bonnie's first time crossing the river which was exciting for her though the water was very low. We paced ourselves perfectly. Bonnie even led us in a lot of nice long canters. We only had one spook when a teenager popped up over a bank and surprised us. We finished in perfect time. When we got back we were sad to hear there were several accidents out on trail. Irving's horse and reared up and fallen on him. He had to be taken to the hospital. He had several broken ribs but would be ok. Dinah Rojek's horse fall and Dinah landed hard on her hip. She too was taken to the hospital. Thankfully, nothing was broken, just badly bruised. One woman fell off in the river. Another woman fell off twice and bruised her shoulder. I've never know so many people to come off their horses in a single ride. We did our final trot out and I remembered to tell the vet about Marie recently having her pads removed. After the trot out we put the horses away and relaxed until it was nearly time for our hands on. We walked them for a bit before the hands on and everything went well when they were checked. We settled the horses into their stalls with plenty of hay and water. We then went to get supper. It was way better then the previous nights fare with grilled chicken, salad, potato, sauteed summer vegetables, bread, fruit and cake. It was delicious. We hung out at the picnic tables and visited with everyone while the scoring was done. Bonnie took Zephyr for a walk then brought him over to the picnic tables were I was. It took a long time for the scoring to be completed. Bonnie and I both had very good scores. She scored a 98 and I had a 97.75. We cleaned our stalls, packed up the trailer and headed home around 6:30 PM. It was a great ride.

Fryeburg 25 ME 33/S-31/F
Judges: F. Gorra - J Levelle
1. Manyone Praise Song Furka / L Alderdi
2. Sage / S MacDonald
2. MCF Bijou / M Bittersdorf
5. ? / S Niedoroda
6. Glad Gay's Cresundo / V Bentley
6. Lady Bug / B Hinz
8. Disco dusst Bunny / C Nelson
9. Codeman / C Metayer
10. FFC Gremlin /
10. The J Man / F Raymond
12. Tonka Kola Gold / S Akerstrom
12. Marie / C Ross (score 97.75)
12. Aziza / L LeVitre
16. Mercedes Magic / S Whitcomb
17 Reczaar / D DeShon
17. Prymtyn / T Hutchinson
Completions:
? / M Demison
? / J McKittrick
Indian Halo / J Brucker
Hebet Betal / M Russell
Moria NA / B Hurton
Mariah Gene / M Paltrow
A Royal Holiday / L Walsh