Pine Tree 30 mile LD Endurance Ride Waterford, Maine June 2011

Louie’s first endurance ride had arrived, the Pine Tree. I had only entered the 30 mile LD ride but still a big step for Louie. My friend Ival McDermott was coming to this ride from NJ. I was so excited about seeing her and looking forward to riding with her if Louie and her horse Clover were paced well together. I had to work Thursday night. I planned to come home Friday morning, take a nap then head out to the ride. Ival and her group came up Thursday. I called her Friday morning to make sure they had made it ok. It had rained all day Thursday, through the night and was still raining Friday. Ival and her group were at the ride and she said they were doing a great imitation of drowned rats. She said they had gone through all the dry shoes and most clothes they had and were heading to Wal-Mart to purchase some dry items to wear. I headed out around 10:00 am. Louie was a little reluctant to load on the trailer but not a big deal. Though he started fussing right away once in with pawing and moving around. I got caught in some construction work on Rt. 26 on they way and had to sit and Louie was pitching a fit the whole time and rocking the whole truck and trailer. Bone head! When we got to the fairground, I wasn’t sure where Ival was parked. I had to get out and look for them. The whole time Lou-ASS is again pitching a fit in the trailer. I finally found where Ival’s group was parked, and parked fairly close to them. Just as I got parked, The NJ group arrived back from their exertion to Wal-Mart. I unloaded Louie and tied him to the trailer with a bag of hay. He was much happier once out of the trailer. After joyful greeting with Ival and Wendy, I was introduced to the rest of the NJ group.

Ival, Dom and Christine.


I set Louie’s pen up right beside Clover’s pen. I’ve never put Louie in a portable electric pen before and hoped all would go well. As I suspected, the batteries in my fence charger were dead. But, there was a store nearby so I could buy some if needed. I put Louie in the pen with water and some hay. He walked around the pen, checked out Clover then went to munching grass. He was very calm and relaxed much to my relief. I was still raining and though I was wearing water proof shoes and rain coat, my pants were getting quite wet and my socks were starting to wick the water from my pants. I put a rain blanket on Louie. He’s seldom ever had a blanket on but didn’t seem to mind wearing it at all. I then set up camp. Margaret Farnum had generously offered to crew for me and was bunking in my trailer. Ival brought me a chicken sandwich, granola bar and soda. (I have such good friends…) Ival wanted to see Louie fetch so I got out his rope bone and he was very happy to fetch for us. He did not want to bow with the blanket on though. He tried but seemed to feel too restricted in it for bowing. We all went up to get vetted in at 3:00 pm. Art King vetted Louie in. Louie was quiet and well behaved and did a nice trot out. His pulse was 32 so he was obviously very relaxed! He had all A’s on his vet card. A woman I’ve seen at other rides approached me and asked me if I would possibly sponsor her 11 yr. old daughter, Kayla, in the 30 mile ride as she was riding in the 50 mile ride. I had seen Kayla ride at the Crooked River CTR and knew she was a good little rider with a nice horse. So, I was happy to do this as long as our equines got along well. I just wanted to check with the rest of the NJ group I was riding with. They were all more then happy to have Kayla along with us.

Louie in his pen Friday




Louie, Clover, Jimmy and Razor in their pens Friday evening


We all went out for supper at Melby’s and as usual, had a wonderful meal there. When we got back, I fed Louie, picked out his pen and then visited with friends. The riders meeting was at 7:30 and was in a building out of the rain. After the riders meeting, Ival asked me if I’d fed Louie as he was mewling at her most pitifully trying to convince her that I was neglecting him. I told Ival he was making up stories. We didn’t stay up long as we were all eager to settle into our trailers and get into dry clothes for the night and stay there. Margaret had brought a bottle of wine which she shared with me and we chatted for quite a while. During the night I woke up numerous time to the sound of pouring rain on the trailer roof as well as thunder and lightening. I felt so bad for the animals having to stand outside in it.

Cindy with Louie just before the start of the ride


Cindy, Dom, Kayla and Ival ride start


I was up at by 5:00 am. I was relieved to see the rain had stopped, at lest for the moment. Louie looked no worse for the bad weather over night and was calm and happy to see me. I fed him, picked his pen, then went and had breakfast. When I came back to the trailer, Ival was up and about and asked if I’d fed Louie as he was once again telling her sad tales of how badly I was neglecting him. It still was not raining but we dressed for rain as it looked like it might very well do so. The 100 mile riders went out at 5:00 am, 50 mile rider at 6:00 am and we were going out at 7:00 am. I got Louie to saddle him up around 6:30 am. He wasn’t bad at all about being separated from his new NJ friends. We mounted up about 6:45 am and checked in with the timer. As it is a mass start and we had several newbie equines and a junior with us, we were going to hang back and let those that were going to race go out first. But, it was quickly apparent that everyone else was doing the same thing so we went out right away with only one other rider ahead of us. Louie was a ball of fire right at the start. He was strong but he never locked up and he was listening to me. For the first 3 or 4 miles, it was like riding Ruby! Yeeehaaaa! Kayla was doing great but it was apparent she could easily go faster. Dom was also pulling ahead of us. Within 5 miles, Dom left us and Kayla went with her. Ival, Liz and I rode the entire ride together with Louie and I leading the way. Louie did great. Once he settled down, we were no longer setting any speed records but he was steady and willing. He had a couple spooks at downed branches (his new phobia) but they weren’t big spooks and caused no problem. The rain held off and it was turning out to be a good riding day being cool with no bugs. The ride was much more challenging then I expected. But the trails were in much better condition then expected also. I though it would be bad with mud with all the rain we’d had but the trails weren’t bad at all. We went over French Hill in the first loop of the ride. That is a tough hill but thankfully it was done the opposite direction then last year. It is a 600 feet elevation gain in less then 2 miles. They way we went up was good in that the up hill had some short flatter sections to break up the climb. The downhill side is steep all the way with no break. We got off and led the equines down to give them a break. I think Tom, the ride manager found every hill in Waterford and put the trail over it. It’s the kind of trail I enjoy riding. Not sure Louie was as impressed. Though I have to say that he seemed perfectly happy out on the trail. We got into the hold in 3 hrs. We rode in slow so we able to go straight to the vet gate for pulse. All three equines were good on pulse and vetted fine. Louie pulsed 44/52 with all A’s. Margaret had everything ready for me. What a luxury to have such an experienced crew person! Louie ate well and was still very calm and relaxed. I had a snack bar and some mineral water. When I was done drinking my water, I dropped the water bottle on the ground and I asked him to fetch it. He could not quite get his mouth around it but he spent the longest time trying. It was a good way to keep him occupied, silly mule. He munched some hay and grass, ignored the water Margaret had lugged from her car for him but did drink some of Wendy’s NJ tap water. There no accounting for taste I guess. I left my rain pants at the hold. I took my rain coat off also deciding to leave it at the hold. So, I had to empty the pocket and find a safe place for all the things I was carrying such as my vet card and cell phone. I have Margaret my phone to hold onto. Then I changed my mind and decided to wear my jacket and took everything back. Margaret was very patient with me.

Ival with Clover walking into the hold


Ival trotting out Clover at the hold


Cindy trotting out Louie at the hold


We were out of the hold right on time. We continued to keep a very moderate pace taking it easy on the hills and in any rocky sections. A few riders passed us. Tom, the ride manager, had originally planned to have us cross a river. But, due to high water he decided for the sake of safety to reroute the trail to avoid the river crossing. This put us out on Rt. 118 for a mile or so. A very busy road. Louie is very good about traffic and none of us had any problem with this. Though when we turn onto a secondary tar road, Louie did spook out INTO the road to give a mule eating rock a very wide berth. Louie was doing very well and keeping a very steady pace. We were definitely not breaking any speed records but it was a pace that would get us to the finish in plenty of time. It was also a good pace for Liz's horse. Clover could have certainly gone much faster but seemed content to poke along behind Louie. 5 miles or so from the finish we spot a rider towards us. She asked us if we were riding the 30. We said yes and she thought we had missed the trail somewhere. I was quite sure we were on the right trail so we all continued the way we were going. Soon some 50 mile rider came up the trail towards us. They had already ridden loop 3, the loop we were supposed to be on and they confirmed we were ok. We did indeed finish the ride with time to spare. We did the last few miles quite slow so we wouldn't have to wait around long to pulse down. I went right to my trailer to strip Louie's tack. I was VERY pleased that he did not fuss about being separated from his riding buddies. He was fairly dry and not hot so I gave him a quick sponging just to clean him up a bit then got in line for vetting. There was a bit of line for vetting but it's always a good opportunity for socializing. One young man came up to admire Louie and he told me his dad wanted a mule. Louie just loves the attention. Louie's final vetting went fairly well. He pulsed at 48/60. He was reluctant to trot at first. I swung my lead rope behind me to smack him on the butt to get him to trot and he was absolutely outraged at the indignity! It is so funny how mules will humbly accept any correction that they think is delivered fairly. But if you correct them when they don't think it is deserved, they will be totally offended. So, he swung his butt away from me and did trot, but sideways with his ears back glaring at me something fierce. And while his return trot was much better, he still glared at me the whole way. SOOOOOO, on his vet card, he got a B for "attitude" and a B for "impulsion". He also got a B for "wounds" as he had interfered behind and dinged his fetlocks. But, he got an A- for the overall score. So, we had officially completed our first LD endurance ride! Yipppppeeeeee! I was very proud of my little brown mule. And thankfully he quickly forgave me for my unjustified (in his mind) behavior at the trot out.

Once done with the vetting, I put Louie in his pen with fresh hay and gave him some grain. I packed up what I could. As I was heading over to pick out Louie's pen, Ival asked me if I had fed Louie. He was once again mewling pitifully at her trying to convince her he was starving. I assured Ival that he was not being grossly neglected but did relent and allow her to give him some dengie. He LOVED that stuff. After I dumped the manure bucket and was returning to go visit with Wendy and Ival in Wendy's trailer, I saw that Louie had eaten a hole in the ground to get every scrap of that dengie. When I got in Wendy's trailer I told Ival that. A few minutes later Ival went out to look and was amazed to see I was not kidding when I said he ate a hole in the ground so she gave him a little more dengie. We sat, rested and visited for a while in Wendy's trailer. Dom came in an joined us.

Margaret had offered to work the ride once that I no longer needed her so she was busy up with the vetting crew. When lunch was ready, the NJ crew and I all sat together and ate. What a fun group they are. After lunch Ival headed for the showers and I drifted around a bit visiting with people and taking some pictures. We all gathered for the awards around..... 5:30 or 6:00 pm. There really aren't any awards for the 30 mile LD ride. But we all got nice towels with "Pine Tree 30/50/100 stenciled on them. And they had the awards for the 50 mile ride. A man and his son had come over to Louie's pen to admire him and Louie was happily soaking up the attention. Ival told them that Louie could fetch and they just has to see that. So, out came the rope bone and Louie happily showed off his fetching and bowing. He is such a ham. Once he was done with his performance, I tied him to the trailer so I could pack up his pen. He was pretty good. Margaret was done with her job and came down to say goodbye. I had to make a circuit of the fairground to find Ival and say goodbye. I then loaded up a reluctant Louie and headed home. Louie was SUCH a good boy the whole time at the ride. He was only naughty on the trailer. He just seems to be having so much fun at the rides which I love to see. I is amazing to see the transformation in him as he is growing up and maturing. He is turning into a top notch trail mule.

Irving with Peaches and Teddy (of Running Bear Tack)


Margaret, my excellent crew person


The vetting crew


Char Jewell (riding the 100)


Janet Brunjes-volunteer worker


Louie resting after the ride


Louie resting after the ride


Clover after the ride


Ival with Clover after the ride

Big Grin!

Pine Tree 50 endurance, Waterford, ME June 2010

This was a ride I didn't think I'd be doing this year. My little mule had a set back with lameness issues early in the year so I knew I would not be competing him. Then at a competitive trail ride in late may, my horse sustained a suspensory injury in her left front leg. So, she was also out for the season and I was now basically horseless/muleless. A good friend of mine, Ival, from NJ was planning to come to the ride and I had talked her into entering the 50 mile distance so we could possibly ride together. About a month before the ride, Ival fell off her horse and broke her wrist. That put a crimp in our plans and she was not sure she would be able to ride so likely would not come. Ival then asked me if I would like to ride her horse Shorty in the ride. I was thrilled for this opportunity and quickly agreed. Then, just 2 1/2 weeks before the ride, I fell off my mule, bruised my hip and busted some ribs. I was sure I would not be able to ride. I held off on making any decision though in the vague hopes that somehow it would work out. The bruised hip started feeling much better within a week. Not great but it seemed to work fine though was a bit painful. The ribs were miserable. Sleeping was nearly impossible as there was no position that did not cause pain in some part of my body. Sleeping in my recliner worked best though my ridiculously long legs hung over the end and my feet would go numb. But, day by day I got a little better and a little more mobile. The week before the ride I started to think I might be able to do it and I had to make a decision so Ival could know in time to decide what she wanted to do. So, I called my good friend Susie and asked if she would let me ride her horse, Spark. He is a good horse but just forward enough to put me to the test without being too much. Susie quickly agreed and said she would pick me up to go riding on Tuesday.

Tuesday came and Susie and I headed out. Susie was wonderful and helped me tack Spark up and made sure he stood still while I mounted. Soon we were off. While riding wasn't painless, it sure wasn't nearly as bad as a lot of other things LIKE SLEEPING! The worst was bending to duck branches but the riding itself wasn't too bad. So, I decided to give the Pine Tree a try though I'd have to think about possibly dropping to the 30 mile limited distance. But I could wait to make that decision once I got to the ride. I emailed Ival and told her I was up for giving it a try and was excited to see her and ride her wonderful horse.

I took Thursday night off before the ride in hopes of possibly getting a good nights sleep. That didn't really happen but I did get some sleep. Not bringing a horse, I didn't have much to do to get ready except pack clothes and some grocery items. I did take my horse trailer as I needed a place to sleep anyway. I headed up to Waterford a little after 6:00 AM and got there just before 7:30 AM. Ival spotted me as soon as I pulled in. After a joyful greeting, I parked my trailer. I didn't park near Ival as she was with her friend Wendy who had a LQ trailer where the electric and water hook ups were. I couldn't take a space there so parked up behind the back barn next to Irving McNaughton. He and I chatted for a while then I set up camp. I saw that Wendy was tacking up her horse Jimmy so I quickly changed into riding clothes. It was a lovely, warm sunny day. Ival was going to take a quick spin on Shorty first. She had not ridden since she broke her wrist and wanted to see if she could. Wendy and I helped her get on and the two of them headed out for a short spin. They were soon back and Ival was all smiles. It had gone well and she knew that she would be back in the saddle once she was back home. I then mounted up and Wendy and I headed out to ride the last loop of the 50 mile course. This was a 6 1/2 mile loop. I liked Shorty right away. She was forward but didn't pull. And she was very steady on the trail. Shorty trots much faster then Wendy's horse so Wendy told us to just go ahead and just get to know each other. So, I put Shorty into a trot and off we went. She eyeballed a few things at first but just a little leg pressure kept her moving forward without missing a beat. I soon caught up with Kyle Nielson and a few others. I rode with them for a bit, then fell back and waited for Wendy. The last few miles Wendy and I stayed together. There was a logging operation going on that we passed with chain saws going and lots of big machinery and semi's hauling logs. Shorty looked but didn't do a thing and walked right past. GOOD GIRL! It was a fun ride and I was now sure I could do the 50 mile distance. Shorty's trot was so smooth and steady.

Cindy Ross riding Short's Flame



When we got back, we settled the horses into their pens. Jimmy rolled and got caught in the electric tape. It was not electrified and he spooked and tore down some wire and broke a pole but then stopped and stood still while Wendy got him out of the wire. We packed up the majority of what we'd need at the hold and drove over to drop the stuff off. That way Ival would know where it was and we could save a good spot. On the way back, we stopped at Melby's store/restaurant to get some ice then went back and had some lunch and relaxed at Wendy's trailer. While we were gone, Shorty had put both of her front feet over the bottom wire between her and Jimmy. She was just calmly standing there waiting for someone to get her out. Ival raised the wire so she would not be able to do that again. Vetting started at 2:00. We got in line for vetting and it didn't take long to get through. Art King and Nick Kohut were the vets. Shorty vetted in fine though her trot is hard to keep up with during the trot out! I'm used to my slow, poky horse. After we vetted in, we once again settled the horses in then went down to Melby's for supper. Amy Beem and her daughter Sierra went with us and Sondra Day joined us also.

The ride meeting was at 7:30 PM. We did not stay up long after the meeting as we had to get up early. The 100 mile riders would be starting at 5:00 AM. We would start at 6:00 AM and the 30's would go at 7:00 AM. I managed to actually get a fairly comfortable position to sleep. I had brought the foam wedge that Nancy had loaned me. I also had an extra sleeping bag that was in a large carry bag so was loose and fluffy. With the wedge under my head and back, the sleeping bag under my legs to prop them up a bit at the knees and some back packer pillows I had in the trailer wedged under one side of me, I was pretty good. Then some Advil PM to finish the job and I actually got some sleep. Not perfect but the best I'd had in a while.

I'd set my alarm for 4:30 AM. I didn't hurry and warmed some water for oatmeal. As I was getting dressed, Ival came to see if I was up. I went down the the ride office in hopes of getting a cup of coffee but all that was left was about 3/4 cup from the bottom of the pot. I drank it and am sure it caused me to grow some hair on my chest. I put my drinks and food in Wendy's cooler in the back of her truck for the hold. At 5:30 AM Ival and I tacked Shorty up. Ival told me that Shorty had gotten loose during the night. She hadn't gone anywhere and was found grazing close by. Wendy and I mounted up and rode around the fairgrounds to warm the horses up. Shorty was a bit excited and did a little bit of bucking. But, as soon as we hit the trail Shorty was all business. The first loop was 13 miles. We rode with a number of people along the way but didn't stay with anyone for long. Shorty has such a fast trot that we passed a number of people. We made it to the 1st hold in good time. Wendy was right behind me. Ival was a crew person extraordinaire and had everything ready for us. Wendy went right up for her pulse. Ival and I stripped Shorty's tack and sponged her off a bit first. Shorty does not pulse down all that easily. Ival had a hand held heart rate monitor and as soon as Shorty's pulse came down enough we headed to the pulse gate. All went well with the vetting. The hold was 40 minutes so there was plenty of time to relax and take care of Shorty. She ate well and drank a little. Soon, it was time to tack up and head out again. The second hold was in the same place. The second loop was nine miles. I mounted up and headed off again. Shorty threw in one buck to let me know she was still feeling pretty good. We did this loop in pretty good time also. But, Shorty was starting to get tender on the rocks. Ival doesn't have a lot of rocky trails where she rides so Shorty's feet aren't conditioned to it. Had Ival known how rocky the trail would be in places, she would have had her shod with pads. Nothing we could do at this point but ride carefully. There was quite a bit of rocky trail on this loop and I slowed right down. I rode with Amy and Tracy for a while but they went ahead of me on one of the rocky sections of trail. Wendy passed me just before getting into the second hold. In a field just before the hold, Shorty suddenly went into the field and dropped her head and told me she was HUNGRY! I pulled her head up and told her the hold was just a few feet down the road and she could have all the food there she wanted. Once again, Ival and I stripped Shorty's tack but because I had ridden into the hold quite slowly, Shorty's was ready to go to the pulse gate right away. At this point Ival and I both had a brain cramp and I got in line for pulse but neither of us thought to call for a pulse time. There was a line so by the time we got to the vet and realized we had not called for a pulse time as soon as we got in line, we'd lost a good 20 minutes. Drats! Shorty did pulse in fine. Art King watched her trot out and was a bit concerned that she might look a bit lame. He had me trot her a second time with Nick Kohut watching. Nick thought Shorty looked fine and we were passed to continue the ride. Yippee!!!! This hold was also 40 minutes. Wendy was out of the hold nearly 30 minutes ahead of me thanks to Ival and I forgetting to call for our pulse time. Oh well, that's life. We weren't running for top 10 anyway so it didn't really matter. The 3rd loop was a long one of 23 miles and the 3rd hold would be back at the fairground. At this point, Shorty was drinking, eating, pooping and peeing like a ...... race horse....oh yeah, she WAS a race horse..... Anyway, I was very glad to see her taking such good care of herself.



We were off again on the long loop. The day was overcast and looked like it might rain. That's what the forecast had called for as well as some severe thunder storms. I was praying I'd get this loop done before this happened. We made great time on some of this loop, but on others, we had to go real slow. Shorty was quite tender on the rocks now and I didn't not want to risk a stone bruise. We also had one hill to climb that was a killer. It was extremely steep. Shorty was struggling a bit with the hills and I just could not maker her lug my fat butt up the hill. So, I dismounted and led her up. There was some grass along the side of the road up and we took plenty of breaks for me to catch my breath and Shorty enjoyed the grass. The last 5 miles or so to the last hold was good footing and we moved right along. We caught up with Stephanie Buckley and her daughter. They ride Welsh ponies that are just wonderful. Despite their diminutive size, they actually were keeping up a fast enough pace for Shorty to be comfortable with. She even cantered up one sandy hill behind the ponies. Shorty doesn't often canter. There were quite a few place to water the horses on this loop and Shorty drank everyplace there was water. And someones crew was sharing water with everyone at all the pit crew stops which was so nice and very much appreciated. Shorty drank at every opportunity. I rode with Stephanie and her daughter into the last hold. We all dismounted and led our horses in the last 1/2 mile. So, when I got in, Shorty was ready to go to the pulse gate right away. We didn't strip her tack as it was only a 20 minute hold. And this time we called for our pulse time right away! Shorty vetted fine. Wendy was a little over 30 min. ahead of me. Shorty continued to drink, eat, poop and pee just like she should. The last loop was 6.3 miles and I know was mostly all good footing. Just one short rocky section. Now that we were back at camp, I though Shorty would be reluctant to leave. Boy was I wrong. When I was time to head out, I mounted up, told Ival that I would likely be taking it real easy on this loop. But, when I turned onto the trail Shorty was off like a shot. It seemed she had gotten a second wind and she was full of energy. It was one of the fasted 6 1/2 miles I've ever ridden I think. Shorty was a trotting machine and we passed a number of people on this loop. Once again, I got off and led her in the last 3/4 mile into the hold and we still did the loop in under 30 minutes. It was quite an exhilarating ride! Ival was shocked to see me come in soo soon. I thought that it would take a while for Shorty's pulse to come down. We stripped her tack and checked her pulse and she was ready. Walking in the last 3/4 mile had done the trick. Shorty vetted fine for her final vetting and we had a completion!!! I was thrilled. Shorty had been such a good girl and was a fun to ride. The rain and thunder storms never did happen so we'd had a great day. Once we got Shorty taken care of, I cleaned up a bit and we sat down for dinner. The awards were held shortly after we'd eaten. I had a ride time of 7 hrs. 48 min. (I think) Not bad. And we'd have done very well if we hadn't messed up the one pulse gate and if Shorty had pads on her feet. At least Ival will know for next time she comes up this way. I stayed a for a while to visite with Ival and Wendy as I don't get to see them often. Although Ival and I have been having a few adventures together this year. Kind of getting to be a fun habit. It was a great ride and I am so grateful to Ival for letting me ride her wonderful horse.

Western Maine 55 mile endurance ride, Fryeburg, ME July 2008

I decided to go to the Western Maine endurance ride. This is a five-day ride with 50 to 55 miles each day. Each is a separate ride. There is also a 30 to 35 mile limited distance ride each day. And if you rode the same horse for 3 consecutive days, Wed, Thurs & Friday, then you would be eligible for the “Pioneer ride” awards. Since Ruby had done so well at the Moonlight 50 in VT 10 days earlier, I decided to try for the Pioneer ride.

The day I was heading out to the ride, the farrier had to come to my house to replace a shoe on my boarder’s mule. Now my shoes were only 11 days old but with so many miles to be ridden over the next few day, the farrier wanted to check Ruby’s shoes to make sure they were all good and tight. He found a broken nail on Ruby’s left front shoe. He pulled one end of the nail out the top of her hoof with no problem. But, when he pulled the nail head end out of the bottom of her shoe, Ruby just about jumped through the ceiling! That nail had been moving around and created a bit of a hole and she was a little sore from it. He pulled the shoe off and reset it. She was fine with that. He did not put another nail in that area of course. He only puts in 3 nails on each side, the first 3 from the toe. So, he used the 4th nail slot behind where the broken nail was. When he was done, we trotted Ruby out and she looked sound. The farrier was worried but didn’t see any reason not to go to the ride. So, I loaded Ruby up and off we went.

The ride was located at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds. It is a large and beautifully maintained fairground with nice shed row stalls. Water piped in between every 3rd stall. You can park your trailers and camp right in front of the stalls. And the big bonus is there are nice bathrooms and showers. This is my favorite place to ride from.

Ruby loaded right up with no problem at all and we had an uneventful trip to the fairgrounds. I arrived around 3:00 pm. The weather was lovely. It was in the 80’s with a nice steady breeze. As soon as I got Ruby settled into her stall, I registered for the 3-day Pioneer ride. When I presented Ruby for her vetting, I explained about the broken shoe nail. Art King was the vet. Art has seen Ruby many times now at rides and just loves her. He was at the first ride Ruby and I ever did and was the first vet to “vet” her in for a ride when she surprised Art and me with a mortal fear of stethoscopes! She is very much over that now. Ruby was slightly off on her trot out. But very slight and the vet didn’t feel there was much to worry about and passed her to start the ride.

I took Ruby out in a big field to graze for a while then settled her back in her stall with lots of hay. Some of the riders that had ridden that day were giving me warnings about how tough the trail was for the 55-mile ride. They said there was a section of very rocky trail with some bad mud holes. A few riders withdrew from the 55 mile ride and changed to the 35 mile ride so they wouldn’t have to go through that section of trail a second day. Oh, great! Bill Rice was one of the riders that switched from the 55 to the 35. What have I gotten Ruby and I in to? Well, tough trail is a mules specialty. I asked Bill where his wife was and if she was riding at all. He told me that she had been kicked by a cow the previous day and had to go to the hospital! Poor Stephanie! She was going to be fine but had a bad bone bruise and had to take it easy for a while.

Later as I was sitting in a chair resting in front of Ruby’s stall Elliot Bridges came by. He told me he heard a mule braying and knew it must be me. Ruby was being very vocal. There were no horses in any stalls close to her so she was talking to everyone. I rode with his Elliot's wife Jean at the Crooked River CTR this spring. As usual, I had the only mule at the ride. Elliot and his wife Jean are from Canada. I was thrilled to see them. Jean is 71 years old and an inspiration to me. She rode the Fryeburg 2 day 50 mile CTR on Saturday and Sunday, and then stayed to ride the Western Maine 250 through the week. She was riding the limited distance rides and planning to do 4 of the 5 rides.

The ride provided a very good spaghetti supper and then they had the award ceremony for Tuesday’s ride. I had a nice time visiting with Janet Brunjes and Irving. Janet was scribing for the vets and Irving was doing some of the LD rides. After the awards ceremony, I took Ruby out to graze again. A lot of people were out grazing their horses and it is a fun time for humans and equines alike to socialize. And there were few bugs! This was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. I settled Ruby back in her stall and fed her. Then got everything ready for the ride and packed into my hold bag. I did not have anyone to crew for me on this ride. This would make things harder but I’ve found everyone on these rides to be so helpful and ride management will provide what “public” water they can at the holds for us crewless competitors. And will get your hold bags to the holds also. Before I went to bed I gave Ruby a buffet of dengie, beet pulp with carrots and alfalfa cubes to munch on during the night and buried her in lots of hay. I also gave her some loose minerals and loose salt in separate pans. She really went for the minerals. And though she still had no neighbors, she was quiet through the night.





I slept fitfully and was up at 4:00 AM to feed Ruby. The ride start was 5:30 AM. I was quite chilly. I heated up some water for oatmeal with fresh wild blueberries. And got coffee at the ride office. Ruby was very eager to go and danced around some when I was saddling her up. I decided to start out riding her in her hackamore. She has just been so good at all the rides this year I did not foresee any problems controlling her with just the light hackamore. We warmed up for about 10 minutes then we heard the anticipated “trail is open”. Ruby and I were second out of the gate. I just let Ruby choose her pace and she took up a big lovely trot. She quickly passed the rider in front and we led the race for the first 45 minutes. The first 10 miles were flat and easy. There were long stretches through agricultural fields where Ruby would get on a nice easy canter for several miles at a stretch. A couple riders passed me, then I was doing well maintaining a 3rd place spot. At the first few Pit crew stops, some other riders pit crew would always offer Ruby water or ask if we needed anything. This is what I mean about everyone being so supportive and wonderful that endurance rides. Kathy Brunjes dumped water over Ruby as several pit crew stops. And it shows what a pro Ruby as become that she is no longer startled by a stranger running up to her and pouring a bucked of water over the top of her neck. I was going along at a good canter when suddenly I came out of the fields onto a road and realized there were no marker ribbons. Dang!!! When had I seen the last one???? I realized I was off trail and had to backtrack. RATS!!!!!! As I was heading back, I came across a rider, Cindy Nelson, coming my way. I told her there were no markers down this trail and I was sure we were both off trail. She turned around also and we went back. Not far from where I met her, we found the trail and got back on course. But, 3 riders had passed us while we were off trail. Cindy’s horse and Ruby were well matched in pace and we stayed together the rest of the ride. Cindy was a lot of fun to ride with. We hit some long hills just before coming into the hold. The first loop to the hold was 16 miles. It was warm now and a bit humid but not bad at all. The first hold was 45 minutes and we had to strip tack. Ruby passed her vetting fine and the vet thought she looked better then when she vetted in the previous day. I offered Ruby beet pulp with some grain, carrots and apples in it. As well as some dengie and alfalfa cubes. She ate well. She had not taken a drink yet.





Cindy and I headed out together for our second loop. This loop was 22 miles and very tough. We started right out on some long hills. Then we went onto national (or state?) forest land and what were really hiking trails. This was very rough. There were lots of short but steep hills. It was very rocky and a few very nasty mud holes. Ruby was in her element here and did fabulous often leading the way. Cindy commented a number of times how nice she thought Ruby was and it was making her want a mule. We caught up with Steve Rojeck and 2 others riding with him at a river crossing. Steve is on the US Endurance team and has been competing all over the world…… forever I think! There was a bad bridge that could not be crossed by horses and we had to go around. Steve and those with him and gone to the right side of the bridge to cross and it was not a good spot. It was soft and muddy with no good way out on the other side. They floundered around and had a hard time getting out. The left side looked better. The footing in the water was good and the far side had a nice place to get out. But there was a straight drop off into the water on the near side and none of their horses would jump off that bank into the water. I pointed Ruby at it and she didn’t even hesitate. She gave it a quick look, and jumped right off the bank into the river! GOOD MULE! Ruby and I came through with no trouble at all. Cindy’s horse followed Ruby. You should have heard all the “Wow, did you see that!” “That mule didn’t even hesitate”. “What a great mule”. I was so proud of Ruby that my head was swelling so bad it’s a wonder I didn’t fall out of the saddle from being so top heavy!

Cindy’s husband took care of Ruby as well as his wife’s horse at all the pit crew stops. The second hold was at the same place as the first hold. This was another 45-minute hold where we had to strip tack once again. Ruby passed the vetting just fine. And she was drinking well now. She ate well too.

The last loop back to camp was the same 16-mile loop we came out on. Ruby was getting a little tired now but it didn’t take much encouragement from me to get her to keep up with Cindy’s horse. And a few times, when Cindy’s horse lagged a bit, Ruby would take the lead and get him though. In that last loop I suddenly got so thirsty I was ready to jump off Ruby and suck water out of a road ditch! I had brought water with me but apparently not enough. Cindy offered me her last swallow of Gatorade and it was a lifesaver! Cindy and I crossed the finish line tied for 6th place. And we were cheered across the finish line by no other then IVAL! I was so glad to see her! I immediately stripped off Ruby’s tack and sponged her with lots of cool water. You could tell that Ruby had had enough. That was the longest distance we’ve done and faster then we’ve gone before. Our ride time was 7 hrs. 28 min. Ruby and I could have stood for the Best Condition award. But, Ruby was tired and I knew there was no way she was going to do a trot out in circles that would look good enough to win the BC award. And, at the end, her pulse was down, but not steady. I had a long talk with the vet and we decided it would be in Ruby’s best interest if I didn’t ride the next day. I would give her a day off and ride again on Friday. I kept a close eye on Ruby for the next hour or so to make sure she was fine. She snoozed for a while but was drinking, pooping & peeing. You know, all the things you want to see a tired but healthy equine doing. I visited with friends between checking on Ruby. First Jean & Elliot, then Bill & Stephanie. Finally, I went over to visit with Ival. She and Wendy were very busy getting ready for the next days ride so I didn’t bother them for too long. Though I did have Ival take me to meet Shorty. She is a very nice horse. I really liked her. Later I took Ruby out to let her graze for a while. She was huffing down grass like she had never eaten before. She looked very good and was her usual alert self interested in everything going on.

Dinner was great. Pulled pork with beans (yeck!) and salads. Steve Rojeck sat at my table. He mentioned how impressed he was with Ruby at the river crossing and was interested in her breeding and previous experience. He wanted to know if all of Anthony’s mules are as nice as Ruby. The awards ceremony followed. After taking Ruby for one last walk and letting her graze on some more grass, I settled her in for the night and went to bed early.

Thursday dawned very cloudy. I fed Ruby who had begun nickering insistently at around 4:00 AM. Everyone was disappointed when they found out I was not riding. Ruby has built up quite a fan club. Her wonderful work ethic on the trail and sweet disposition has won the hearts of everyone. I decided I would crew for Ival and Wendy. I didn’t tell them but would surprise them at the first pit crew stop. I unhitched my truck, filled my water tank with water, loaded up buckets, sponges, carrots and all else they might need and headed out. At the first pit crew stop, I cheered them on, quickly sponged Shorty, gave her a carrot and they were off. They all came into the hold looking great. This was a 45-minute hold with mandatory tack off. It took Shorty a bit longer then Wendy’s horse to pulse down but she is a bigger horse and it is her first 50-mile ride. Shorty was fine and was soon passed through the vet check. And I was once again impressed with what a sweet horse she is. I did what I could to help Ival and Wendy then. Making sure they had their hold bags, holding horses so they could take care of themselves. Just before they left the hold, the rain started. And it rained hard. Ival had a raincoat with her but decided not to wear it. It was quite warm out and she figured she would probably get just as wet sweating in it. Wendy did put a raincoat on. They left the hold right on time. There were 4 of them riding together. By the time they got to the 2nd pit crew stop, we were in the middle of a nasty thunderstorm. Once again, I offered water and carrots to the horses but none of them needed to be sponged for sure! At the 3rd pit crew stop, Lynn Heartman was just waiting there with her horse that was very unhappy and bouncing around. I finally got out of my truck (I was hiding in there staying out of the rain) and asked if everything was ok. She said she had lost her riders card and she knew the rider behind her had picked it up. So she was waiting for her because she had to have the card when she got to the next hold. I told her I would get the card for her and I would be at the hold by the time she got there. She was very relieved and headed out. Ival and her group came though soaked to the skin but looking great and everyone was still smiling. The 4th pit crew stop was out in a cornfield and you had to drive through the field and across a river to get there!Only those of us with trucks could go to this one. And I sure recognized the spot because it was where I had gotten lost the previous day. Because not all the crew vehicles could get to this stop, I offered water and carrots to all the riders that passed me here while I was waiting for Ival to come through. The rain would let up at times but then come down in buckets again. I was so glad I was not out riding and could have kissed the vet who talked me out of it! The 5th pit stop was not far from the 4th and they almost beat me to it. When I got to the second hold, it was raining buckets once again. I hid under a tarp with the vets and scribes until I thought it was close to time for Ival to arrive. Then I got everything ready for them setting food and water out for the horses. They came into the hold still looking good. Wet but good. Shorty was doing great. Ival was getting tired but doing just fine. Due to the rain, the hold time had been shortened to 30 minutes and no tack off. Ival was too worried about taking care of Shorty that she really was not taking care of herself enough! Most of us do that though. It was still raining as they headed out on the last 16-mile loop. The trail had to bypass the agricultural fields this day. They were having a problem with some kind of potatoes blight and were spraying some heavy-duty chemicals on them. I met them at the last pit crew stop and they were all still looking fine.

When I got back to camp the rain had finally stopped. I dropped off all of Ival and Wendy’s things at their trailer and went to check on Ruby. Boy was she terribly offended at having been left behind and me not being there all day. She nickered to me when I pulled up, but when I came up to her stall, she went to the back and was just giving me a very offended and hurt look. She wouldn’t come to me until I opened the door and went in. Then she came right over and loved up to me. I took her out and grazed her until Ival came in. Ruby and I escorted Ival and Shorty across the finish line. Shorty looked great. Ival was very tired but fine. I was so happy for her.

Just a little later I took Ruby over to be vetted out for Friday’s ride. She was quite lame at the trot! Her left front pastern was a bit swollen. Both vets looked her over and had me trot her out a bunch of times. One vet thought she was lame on the left front and the other vet said it was the left rear. They checked her with a hoof tester but didn’t really get any reaction out of her. They poked and prodded and felt her legs back and front. She stood quiet and calm. One vet held up her back leg to do a flexion test. And he told everyone that was standing around us that this was a rare moment that you would ever catch him bent over near the back end of any mule holding up it’s back leg. And he said that was how impressed he was with Ruby’s disposition and manners. Ruby was no worse with the flexion test. They both palpated her all over and did find she was a little sore in her left hip. So, they came to the conclusion that the broken shoe nail had made her sore in the left front and she was taking more weight on the left rear causing that hip to get a little sore. In any case, I was not going to be riding Friday. And I was not going to make her stand around in a stall another night. So, I decided to pack up and bring Ruby home. While I was packing up Cindy Grant and her daughter Emily came over to say hello. I felt so bad that I would not get more time to visit with them. It was so nice to see them. But, they don’t really live that far from me so we will just have to get together some time.

So, I had a great ride and Ruby was a super star. But, now I will give her some time off and make sure she heals up. I will soak her foot as it may very well develop an abscess. Poor Ruby has had a tough year so far with first the pulled shoulder and now the broken shoe nail. I should have just kept riding her barefoot!!!! Both problems were caused by shoeing!

Western Maine 55 July 30, 2008 12/S-11/F
1. 6:16 Godwin, Claire R. on PL Mercury
2. 6:51 Rojek, Stephen on Julio
2. 6:51 Sleeper, Meg on Syrocco Reveille
2. 6:51 Reynolds, Jeremy on Sambet
2. 6:51 Bentley, Kelly on Lazaarr
6. 7:26 Nelson, Cindy on Arek Sunset Traveler
6. 7:26 Ross, Cynthia on McAllister's Ruby
8. 7:54 Hershberger, Barbara on Anydaynow
8. 7:54 Keilholtz, Karen M. on Tsunami Storm
10. 8:17 Walker, Constance on VSF Otis+/
10. 8:17 Sherman, Joyce on JOD Proud Zorro
Lame - Akerstrom, Sharon on Tonkakola Gold

Western Maine 30 mile limited distance endurance ride Fryeburg, ME August 2007

Ruby’s 2nd endurance ride of the season! I hadn't planned on doing this ride since it was so close to the 2 day 50 I had just done with her. This ride was the Western Maine 250 mile ride. A 5 day ride. Each day being 50 to 55 miles. Each day was a separate ride and on 4 days they also had 30 mile Limited Distance Rides. I went to the ride to work as a volunteer. After a few days scribing for the vet and talking to him, he convinced me it would do Ruby no harm to do another ride so soon. As long as I only did the 30 mile Limited Distance ride. And many others that had seen Ruby at the Pine Tree ride were bugging me to go get her. They all wanted to see her again. So, Friday evening after I was done scribing, I went home and picked up Ruby.

The ride went great! Ruby was a real star! She didn't bray until 4:00 AM. But, since we had to be up at 3:30 AM that was ok! I rode with Bill Rice. That is who I had ridden with at the Pine Tree ride. Ruby and Bill’s horse Potoca travel nice together. He was real happy to have Ruby to ride with again. The woman I got Emma Jane from was there with her new horse but she knew she would be going too slow to ride with me. It was hot and humid. We didn't have to do any circles at the vetting, so Ruby did a beautiful trot out and vetted in with all A's. No one can believe what a beautiful trot Ruby has. One woman there that was from PA, said her friend competes with mules. They are also Arab mules and she says none of them trot beautiful, or as willingly as Ruby. The 30 and 50 mile riders all started together at 5:00 AM Ruby was very wound up when I was trying to saddle her and it took a few tries to get the saddle on! (naughty mule!) Stephanie (Bill's wife) offered to hold Ruby while I got on but Bill told her to stay from Ruby because "she's a mule". Yeah, so? Didn't matter, Ruby wasn't bad when I got on. She was a bit excited when we first headed out but not even close to how excited she was at the Pine Tree. Bill and I quickly settled into a good pace. Not far into the ride we caught up to Heather Hoynes. She is a vet and a world class competitor. It was a first ride for her horse and he was a nut case! So, Heather was holding back from a pack of riders ahead of us. Her horse went nicely with Ruby and Potoca. People that saw us on the trail could not believe what a fabulous big Arab trot Ruby has. That was one of the things I got so excited about when I first rode her in Illinois.

The first loop was 18 miles. When we got to the first fly by, the crew people there said we must be setting a fast pace, we were the first riders they had seen. ?????? We knew there was a big group ahead of us????? We look down the road the way we had come and here comes Steve Rojek and another rider. You have to know Steve to appreciate this. Steve is all excited, "Oh, yeah we got lost” he says, “but, look what I got! We stopped at a yard sale and I found this great jacket! It was a bargain! Only $5!". And he is holding up a red, white & blue leather jacket proud as can be! It was too funny! Of all people to be excited about such a bargain. Like he can't afford to buy a leather jacket. And this is also a man who has on several occasions been on the US Team and ridden in the world equestrian games.

We kept up a good pace and came into the hold at 7:15 AM. We stopped at our trailers, stripped tack and as soon as Potoca's pulse was good by Bill's heart rate monitor, we went up to the vet gate. Ruby was pulsed right down to 52. And Ruby did a lovely trot out. She got straight A's on her vet card. In the heat and humidity, that was impressive. We had a 45 min. hold. Ruby was not drinking yet. She did eat some grain and was devouring grass. We got out of the hold on time with only 10 miles to go. We kept up the same pace though it was getting steadily hotter. Heather was still with us and all three equines seemed fine. We kept up a pretty quick pace until the last mile and walked them in. Bill and I went straight up to the vet gate. Ruby pulsed at 48!!! Wooooohoooooo!!!! And she did another lovely trot out once again getting straight A's on her vet card. Outstanding! After having scribed for the vet for 3 day, I knew it was rare for any of the horses to get straight A's throughout the entire ride. Our ride time was 4 hrs. 13 min. Nearly an hour faster then her Pine Tree ride time. (the milage was actually slightly shorter)

Once again everyone was extremely impressed with Ruby and both vets agreed that Ruby really does have some potential to be very good at this sport

Western Maine V August 4th 2007 8/S-F1. 3:34 Mestemaker-Harris, Catherine on Phlairr
2. 3:46 Hartmann, Lynn on Syrocco Blair
3. 3:59 Mruphy, Hanna on WWA Gypsy Sun
4. 4:00 Murphy, Frank on Desparaddo
5. 4:13 Ross, Cindy on McAllister's Ruby
6. 4:14 Rice, Bill on Potaca
7. 4:15 Hoyns, Heather on Zainal
8. 5:45 Robbins, Kathleen on Aramis

Pine Tree LD 30 mile endurance ride Waterford, ME June 2007

Ruby's first competiton finally arrived. We had a good start right off. Ruby, who has let me know that she is not thrilled with my trailer, loaded right up Friday morning without hesitation! (we have been working on this.) Yippee. So, off we went. The ride is usually held at the Waterford fairgrounds where stalls are available. This year, the ride was at a new ride site. We were in a big field on a quiet dead end road. It was a very lovely site. The only things we were going to miss about the fairground was the "real" bathrooms and our favorite restaurant being within walking distance.

I arrived around 10:30am. There were 68 riders between the 3 distances so there were lots of trailer and spaces marked off for each trailer. It is always nerve wracking camping with a new equine for the first time. I unloaded Ruby and put her on my spring-tie. She has been high-lined before so I didn't anticipate any trouble with her on the spring-tie. I gave her lots of hay and water and she settled right in.

I work 3rd shift and I had not slept the previous night. So, once I saw Ruby was quiet on the spring-tie, I went in the trailer and took a quick nap. I woke when a nasty but thankfully brief thunderstorm rolled though. I poured rain for a short spell. When it passed, I went out and gave Ruby a rub down and toweled her dry. The storm circled back a while later and I put a rain sheet on Ruby. I was afraid of hail. The wind was VERY strong and a few people loaded horses into trailer worried about hail. But, it was just another brief downpour.

Tracy Bradford, from the MulesOnly list, came to the ride. She was going to crew for me. Though she ended up working the ride. They needed her more then I did. It was so nice meeting a list member and she was sooooo nice! When my friend Susie arrived, we went out for a quick ride to stretch the equines legs. Susie's horse, MacKenzie, is new to her and it would also be this horse first ride. Ruby was a bit jazzed up when we rode out of camp. We got out on a long open stretch of pipeline and I let Ruby go and she settled into a wonderful extended trot. MacKenzie was a handful. We didn't go very far. When we headed back, Ruby slowed right down like she didn't want to be done but MacKenzie stayed all jazzed up and jigging.




Once back, we cleaned our girls up and headed to the vetting. I have been practicing trotting in hand. As well as doing skin pinches, poking gums and such. Ruby wasn't bothered by any of that anyway. She WAS afraid of the stethoscope! I check pulses by hand under jaw or tail and don't use a stethoscope. Ruby got all twitchy and squirmy and did NOT want the vet touching her with that cold hard thing! Because of this, the vet, Art King, thought she was girth sore. "How come your mule is so sore? Look how sore she is!" (because now she didn't want him touching her girth area at all) "I bet she is lame from being so sore". EEEEEKKKKKKK!!!! I knew she was not sore! He told me to go ahead and trot her out first. Ruby did a gorgeous trot out. After trotting, I showed Art I could touch Ruby's girth area with no reaction. Then, Art put the stethoscope on other parts of Ruby's body and she tried to twitch it off anywhere he put it. "Oh, she is just scared of the stethoscope." PHEW!!! So, all was well and Ruby vetted in with straight A's on her vet card. I settled Ruby in back at the trailer. A group of us then went over to Susie's trailer. She had made a birthday cake for Barbara and me. Then, a bunch of us went out to eat at Melby's, our favorite restaurant.



The Riders meeting was at 7:30. I was getting very tired by now and slept though part of it. I'm just glad my pit crew and other friends were awake. After the meeting, we readied our hold bags for the ride. Filled water buckets, snacks for the hold for both people and equines and put everything in the truck that Barbara would take to the hold.

Ruby was getting a lot of attention and just loving it. The only problem was her addiction to booty scratches. She would greet everyone with a sniff and let them pat her head. Then, she would swing right around and present her booty! Which caused everyone to run for the hills! Until I explained what it was Ruby wanted. Though I didn't want anyone to just assume it was safe to be behind Ruby either. One woman came over to admire Ruby and when Ruby swung around, this woman didn't even hesitate but put her hand right under Ruby's blanket and started scratching her booty. When she noticed my amazed stare, she laughed and said, "I have 3 young mules at home. I recognized a booty scratch request when I see one." I got a good laugh at that.

We went to bed around 9:30 PM or so. Ruby was very quiet the first part of the night. I woke up around 1:00 and went out and refilled her hay bag and water. The camp was blessed with a 3.00am wake up call by Ruby. She started braying. She was bored and wanted some attention. Thankfully, she didn't bray much but she sure was loud! The 100 mile riders were getting up around this time anyway. Their ride started at 5:00am. The 50 mile riders were starting at 5:30am and we 30 mile riders were starting at 7:30am.

Buy 4:30am, Ruby was getting restless. A lot of horses were now saddled up and being ridden around warming up. I got up and fed Ruby her grain and made myself some breakfast. At 5:00am, the 100 miles headed out and the 50 milers were warming up. Ruby was really getting upset now. She was really pulling on the spring-tie and braying. She was NOT happy about all the horses heading out without her! Not a relaxing time for me. Ruby bounced around and was kicking out at absolutely nothing. No one was near her. She was just getting mad and having a bit of a temper tantrum! (see, she is not completely perfect! hahahahaha) Once the 50 milers headed off, I took Ruby out to graze on some grass. She was still pretty unhappy at first but finally settled down to graze. I assured her that next year we would be heading out with the 50's and she would not have to wait.

Cindy Ross on Ruby, Margaret Farnum on Promise and Kendra MacDonald on Mystic


It was a LONG 2 hr. wait for our start time. At 7:00am, we saddled up and started walking around to warm up. Then, at long last, we heard the anticipated words, "trail is open". Yippeeeeeeee. Susie wanted to go slow and so did I. So, we let most go ahead of us. Ruby and MacKenzie were both VERY jazzed up. They were both jigging and pulling and dancing sideways. We had a stretch of tar road to start off and did not want to be going fast on this. We managed to hold them both until we hit the trail. At first I tried to hold Ruby back at the pace Susie wanted to go but I soon realized this was just not going to work for Ruby and I. Ruby was going to go nuts if I did that. So, I gave her some slack and off we went. Ruby was awesome. She did not run away or get out of control. She would do whatever pace I asked. Walk, trot or canter but she just had to do it at her speed. I caught up with Margaret and Kendra and rode with them for a bit. But, still too slow a pace for Ruby. So, at the first "fly by" (where you meet your crew for water) I rode on ahead. Ruby was incredible alone. She does not need another equine for inspiration like my horse does. We passed several more riders and finally caught up with Bill and Stephanie Rice. They were riding at a very good pace for Ruby so I stayed with them for the rest of the ride. Ruby would have passed them also, but I had to draw the line somewhere on speed and Ruby agreed it was a reasonable compromise.

Bill and Stephanie's horses were a bit spooky about some stuff. Every time they would hesitate about something, Ruby would go right to the lead and take them through. Ruby was as steady as a rock the whole ride. I was thrilled! And I was so proud of her. And every time we had to slow to a walk, Ruby would out walk those Arabs and they had to trot to catch up with her. Ruby powered up the hills like they weren't there. Floated though deep sand. Trotted down hills without a mis-step. Forded the rivers like a pro. At one point we were in a sand pit and walking so we humans could all take a moment to drink. Ruby thought she had found mule rolling heaven and started to go down! EEEEEKKKKKK. I wasn't really holding the reins so gave her a good kick and shouted a big "No!" Ruby jumped about 10 feet in the air and spooked both of the other horses. Oooops! Well, it saved us from going down though Ruby wasn't sure what she had done wrong poor girl.



We rode fast up to less then a 1/4 mile of the hold. We hopped off and walked them in that last short way and went straight to the pulse gate. You don't have to go straight to the pulse gate. You can take time to get the pulse down if you want. The pulse must be 64 or less for your hold time to start. If it is higher, you have to go to the end of the line and try again. I decided I would take a chance and go straight though. Ruby was not puffing and had not even broken a sweat. Ruby pulsed at 60. Then you trot them out and they check pulse again. If the heart rate goes up after a short trot, that is bad. Ruby trotted and pulsed at 52. Wooooohooooooo!!!! She was still not happy about the stethoscope but what a beautiful trot out she did.

Barbara and I checked that Ruby's tack was not rubbing anywhere. Offered her water, beet pulp and hay. Ruby didn't drink and didn't care for the beet pulp. She picked some carrots out of it that Barbara had added. She dug right into the hay though. Barbara sponged her down a little. Then, it was time to go. The hold was not in the middle of the ride. It was at 11 miles. So, we had 21 miles to go. A last minute change in the trail made it actually a 32 mile ride. If anything, Ruby was stronger on the 2nd half of the ride. She never slowed down and she showed no signs of tiring. We had two more "fly-bys". Ruby did not drink at either. Toward the end of the ride, we had 3 river crossing. At the 2nd crossing, Ruby finally drank like a fish. Phew! I was happy now. We had passed more people out on the trail so were in the front of the 30 mile ride now. We finished in great shape. We did the ride in 5 hrs. 1 min. (ride time). That is not super fast in terms of Endurance riding but just about the pace they want you to go for a 30 mile limited distance. You are allowed 7 hrs. 15 min. to do the ride.



I stripped Ruby's tack off and Barbara sponged her down. Ruby was still not puffing nor was she very sweaty. But, I didn't want to rush to the vet too quickly. I wanted to make sure we passed the check first time. I didn't wait long though. Just long enough to sponge her quickly. When I took her up, she pulsed at 60 again (still afraid of the stethoscope) did another beautiful trot out and pulsed at 48! Excellent! A different vet did our final vetting and gave her a B score on "tack galls". Only because of the way she was twitching with the stethoscope. The vet said he couldn't tell if she was sore or nervous. He thought she was probably just nervous but could not be sure. Ruby ended with straight A's on everything else. She looked like she could go out and do it all over again. The vets had all gathered around Ruby at this point and were really admiring her. They just were amazed at how lovely she moves. And how nice looking and friendly she is.



After giving her a good rub down, I put a fleece cooler on her as it was getting windy and quite cool. I tied her to the trailer with lots of water and hay. She was quiet now though bright eyed and watching everything. She did not look at all like she just did 32 miles! None of the horses what were camped near us were back from their rides yet so Ruby was alone at the trailer. She did fine, only braying a few times. When it was time to go home, she loaded right into the trailer like a good girl again.

I could not have been more proud of Ruby! She was the best of mule ambassadors!!!!

Pine Tree Limited Distance 30 mile endurance ride June 30, 2007
1. 4:44 Dorion, Lisanne on Nation's Glory
2. 4:51 Murphy, Frank on Desparado
3. 4:52 Linnell, Dianna on Half Moon's Majestic
4. 4:58 Rice, Bill on Potaca
5. 4:58 Rice, Stephanie on Prymtym
6. 5:01 Ross, Cindy on McAllister's Ruby
7. 5:14 Denardis, Kimberly on Omar
8. 5:15 Reich, Deborah on SA Zacks Comet
9. 5:15 Cader, Amos on FLF Blaze Star
10. 5:17 Bennett, Abbie on Juneson's Image
11. 5:18 McNaughton, Irving on RC Neon
12. 5:22 Cushing, Susan on Lappi Fra Curtis
13. 5:55 Reinheimer, Susan on MacKenzie
14. 5:57 Palumbo, Mary on Caspian Sea
15. 5:59 Dockham, Peg on Beckie
16. 5:59 Farnum, Margaret on LWF Paljoe Promise
Metabolic MacDonald, Kendra on Into the Mystic

Pine Tree 30 Endurance Waterford, ME June 2005

Cindy Ross with Koram



Well, I had quite and adventure at this past ride. And for once, Susie was not involved! hahahaha. It started out as an easy ride for me. I was borrowing Koram again. But, this time Terry, the woman I was borrowing him from, was bringing up her daughters horse so would bring Koram also. Terry and Kara were going up on Thursday so they could attend the big cookout. So, they would set up a pen for Koram and I wouldn’t have to worry about that. All Terry wanted me to do was bring some hay. This years Pine Tree 100 mile ride was a “qualifier” for the US Endurance team so there were over 100 riders from all over the country in all the distances combined. 20+ riders were in the 30 mile ride. The 30 mile ride was only being held as a clinic. We would not receive any awards or get any mileage credit. But, Koram was not conditioned well enough for the 50 mile ride.

Bill Rice vetting in. Larry Buggia vet

I arrived in Waterford at about noon time on Friday. I stopped to have lunch at Melby’s before going to the fairgrounds. While I was there Terry and Cara came in. We all ate and then went up to the fairgrounds. The Waterford fairground is not that large and with that many riders, the trailers were packed in like sardines. I was glad I didn’t have to worry about parking a trailer or setting up a pen. Irving McNaughton was riding the 100. Terry was crewing for him. This didn’t really make Cara very happy since she really wanted her mother crewing for her. When we heard how hot they were predicting it was going to be on ride day, Terry and I tried to talk Irving into dropping to the 50 but he wouldn’t hear of it. Stubborn man! Susie and Barbara arrived shortly after we got back from lunch. Barbara McGovern was with Susie. She was riding Susie’s new horse, Monty, in the 30 mile clinic. It would be her and Monty’s first competitive ride. Once they got settled in, we all went out for a short ride just to let the horses stretch their muscles after the trailer ride and before the vetting. Cara and I braided our horse’s manes. Getting the hair off their necks would help keep them cooler. Vetting went quickly and Cara, Susie, Barbara and I were all cleared to ride. Bill Rice wasn’t so fortunate. His horse failed the vet check due to lameness (I think) So, he loaded his horse up and headed home to pick up one of his other horses. The second horse passed and was cleared to ride.

The riders meeting was held that evening at 7:00. It was announced that the 100 mile ride was going to start at 4:30 AM instead of 5:00 AM. This was due to the predicted heat and to space the 100’s, 50’s and 30’s further apart in case the vets got very busy treating horses that might have trouble handling the heat.

Riders meeting. Left-Susie Reinheimer. Front-Terry York. Behind-Barbara McGovern



Sue Greenall did the yearly “Boiled Owl” presentation. Kathy Brunjes got the award this year much to her dismay. The “Boiled Owl” award is a funny little tradition that was started some years ago and is awarded to the person considered the “toughest” rider. The 30’s would still be starting at 6:30 AM. We all hung around Terry’s camp for a while. Heather and Margaret joined us. We didn’t stay up too long though since we all had to be up early. I had decided to just sleep in my truck since it was jut one night and I didn’t want to bother with setting up a tent. That was ok except for a spot light that was shining right into my window. I finally managed to get a shirt hung up in the window enough to block the light so I could sleep!

Kathy Brunjes being presented the 'Boiled owl' award by Sue Greenall and Irving McNaughton.

Kathy Brunjes displaying her Boiled Owl award t-shirt


I was up by 3:30. Coffee and donuts were available. I wanted to be up to see the 100 milers start. At 5:30, the 50 milers started. We 30 mile riders were not feeling bad about doing the shorter distance when we heard what the temperature was going to be. It was supposed to be record high heat with high humidity. The humidity is what will cause problems for the horses. After the 50’s were gone, I tacked up Koram. We started at 6:30 am. At that time it was still comfortably cool. An Endurance ride has a mass start and there was some concerns about who was going to ride with who and how it was going to effect the horses. Susie and Barbara were going to go slowly since it was Barbara and Monty's first ride. Cara, had arranged to ride with Stephanie Rice. This was a first ride for Cara's horse also so she and Stephanie planned to go slow. We knew that separating Koram and Laureado (my horse and Cara's horse) would upset them but Stephanie didn't seem to want me riding with them for some reason. They wanted me to go in front of them and stay way in front so Lauredo never got to see Koram for the entire ride. Well, I could make no promises on that. I wanted to ride with Susie and Barbara and if they went slow, we would run into each other. And with the heat, I couldn't promise to ride fast anyway.

Cara York with Laureado and Stephanie Rice with Micky



Before the start, Cara and Stephanie separated from us by going back up into camp to wait for the start. That got Koram very upset so I just walked him up and down the road and didn't mount up until the call of "The Trail is Open". Then, I quickly mounted and off we went. Susie, Barbara, Margaret and me started together. Quite soon, Margaret and I pulled ahead of Susie and Barbara and we didn't see them again until the ride was over. We decided to go ahead and make some time while it was still cool. Everything was going great. The horses were traveling perfectly together. We were in the front of the pack. Koram is a nervous horse and can be a challenge to ride. But, he was behaving perfectly and was not getting too upset when other riders passed us. I was having the best ride ever on him. Not far from the hold, which is the halfway point for the 30's, we came to the Crooked River. There is a nice spot right off the trail to take the horses into the water. There were a couple of horses in there already but plenty of room for Margaret and me. Now, I had been told that Koram doesn't like being sponged from the saddle but I had done it a couple of time without problems on previous rides before I got that warning. And I had done it a ton of times at the Acadia ride without problem. I went right out into the water and as it got over his knees he got a little nervous. Then, I tossed out the sponge and he eyed it and sidled away from it into deeper water. When the water got belly deep he exploded. (I think it was the belly deep water that set him off especially since I later found out that he bucked his owner off in the Saco River at the Fryeburg ride when he got to belly deep water.) Koram bucked hard and kept getting into deeper water. Which, believe me didn't slow down the bucking. Eventually, I flew off and took a head first dive into the river. Well, it certainly was a nice soft landing and felt rather nice on such a hot day so I was completely unharmed. The water was chin deep to me and with the current it took me a minute to get my feet under me. When I finally cleared the water from my eyes (thankfully, my glasses were still on my face) I looked around and…… no Koram! "Where is my horse?!" I frantically asked as I noticed that everyone was staring upstream. I was told that he had gone up the river around a corner and out of sight. My heart sank. I had just lost someone elses horse! One rider tried to follow Koram but soon her horse had to swim so she turned back. I told every one else to just continue on. There was nothing they could do for me and it would be better if they went on to the hold and alerted ride managment that there was a horse missing. I tried walking up the river but it was too deep to walk with steep banks on one side (sometimes both sides) and swamp on the other. Farther up river there was a ridge of dry ground between the river and the swamp. So, I walked up the powerline until I found a narrow spot in the swamp and I could get out to dry ridge running along side the river. Then, I went up stream hoping that Koram would come out on my side of the river. Eventually, I did find his tracks where he had come out of the river on my side. The brush was very thick but I was able to follow his tracks. He was caught between the river and the swamp so it wasn't hard to follow the tracks. Eventually, I saw where he decided to reenter the river rather then brave the swamp. I looked across the river and there he was, chest deep on the far bank with his bridle caught in a tree. WITHOUT MY SADDLE!!!!! He had tried to climb out on the other side where there was an extremely steep and high sandy bank and had fallen back into the river. There really weren't many good places on either side of the river to get out. It was mostly steep banks. of 3' to maybe 20' or more. I swam across to Koram. He seemed to be unhurt but he was on a bend in the river and there were lots of downed trees in the water on that side. I didn't know how I'd get him out through all the trees in the water without help. And he had no plans on going anywhere. Great! now what? I called a few time and a couple guys in kayaks heard me. They didn't know anything about horses but offered to make a call for help. I told them to call Melby's restaurant. No one's cell phones were working in the area so we were told to call the restaurant if we had any problems and that ride management would be checking in there every hour or so. So, off they went to make the call. I was stuck standing in the water with Koram since the bank was too steep for me to get out and stay with him. I knew I was not far from the road since I could hear cars passing by. About 20 minutes after the kayakers went for help, I heard a car stop and then heard Tom Hutchinson, the ride manager, call out. Tom and I have a history of finding lost horses and boy was I glad to hear his voice!! I called back and he heard me. "Is that you Cindy?" "Yes." "Are you hurt?" "No." "Do you have your horse?" "Yes." "Is he hurt?" "No." "Do you need help?" "yes." "Ok, I'm coming down." Tom came down and assessed the situation. The steep banks were a major problem. The only place to get Koram out was downstream a short way but it was through and around a particularily snarly knot of downed trees. And it was chest deep or more so you couldn't see much of the snarl of branches. But, it was the only way to go. Tom had me lead Koram since I am a bit taller then he is and we figured I had a better chance of keeping my head above water. Tom got behind Koram and made him move. It was not fun. We all stumbled, fell, swam and floundered our way through. But, we got Koram out. Except for a few minor scrapes on all four legs, Koram seems unharmed. Phew! Now, I just had to walk him into the hold and get him checked out by the vet. We hadn't been far from the hold when Koram and I parted company but he had traveled quite a way in the opposite direction during his flight. Tom told me it was only a "couple" of miles to the hold. But, I’m pretty sure it was more like 4 miles! When we got to the hold the vet's checked him and he was fine and got all A's on his vet card. The scrapes on his legs were all very minor. We could have continued the ride except that I had no saddle!!!! There were a lot of horses being pulled at the hold due to the heat so we had to wait for a while for our turn to be trailered back to camp. Once I got him there, he was not happy about being in his pen without his pasture mate. So, I didn't dare leave him until Terry got back and could keep an eye on him.

Cindy Ross with Koram and Margaret Farnum with Promise



So, about 3 hours after I had come off Koram, I headed back out to the scene of the crime to find my saddle. All I could think about was $800 for the saddle, $150 for the Deluxe sheep skin cover, $50 for the packs, $50 for the woolback pad $40 for the girth, $75 for the endurance stirrups.....$$$$$ AAAAGGGGHHHHH. And I knew the saddle must be in the river since I had tracked Koram from where he had come out of the river until I found him. I went back into the woods where I originally had but followed the bank downstream this time. I didn't go far when I looked over the bank and there was my saddle floating in the river!!! Yippppeeeeeee. Now I only had two problems. I had dressed in jeans because the woods were so thick and brambly along the bank. And they were the only dry pants I had. That problem was quickly solved. A quick peek up and down the river to determine that I was alone at the moment and off came the pants. Now I had at least a 3 foot drop into the river. It didn't look all that deep and the bottom was sandy. So, in I went. I had really done all the swimming I wanted to but what are you going to do! hahaha. The water was about waist deep making the bank about eye level to me. I grabbed the saddle, gave a heave, and thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head!!!! After 3 hours of soaking in the river, that nice big western style LEATHER endurance saddle felt like it weighted 800 LBS!!! I couldn't believe that it had been floating! And I had to lift it to the height of my head up a straight bank to get it out. Now, I know I can normally do this. After all, I've put this saddle on Bailey, a friends 16.3H horse!! hahahahahaha. I nearly killed my self getting it out. I truly thought I was going to have to get help. I finally got enough of it out to sit on the edge of the bank, then, I had to find a place where I could heave myself out. All the while I was expecting a hoard of kayaks or canoes to come down the river and catch me in my skivies. Once I was out, and quickly dressed, I examined the saddle for damage. There was none. As a matter of fact it was still cinched up! somehow, Koram had slipped right out of it. I then stripped everything off the saddle and wrung out all the water that I could from the sheepskin cover, girth and packs. Now I had it down to only 750 lbs! It took me a while to get the saddle out of the woods and back to the truck. It was truly so heavy that I could only carry it so far then I would have to put it down and take a rest. And the oppressive heat didn't help. But I eventually got it back to the truck. Minus the saddle pad and sponge which I didn't find. That was all right, I could live with those loses. I drove back to camp and put everything out to dry. Then I waited for Susie and Barbara to finish. Irving was back at the camp by then and had decided to pull from the ride. The heat was just too much for him and he wasn’t feeling well. Terry wasn’t feeling well either so I vetted Irving’s horse out for him. Cara finished the ride but didn’t get a completion. Her horse was 2 min. late getting his pulse down. Margaret also finished the ride but didn’t get a completion. Promise was having some metabolic trouble due to the heat also. He was put on an IV. He was fine after that. Susie and Barbara both got completions. There were many horses and/or riders that didn’t complete their rides due to the heat.
So, all in all it wasn't really a bad day. I was fine, the horse was fine, and I recovered most of my equipment undamaged. I got to take several nice swims on a horribly hot day and I got 15 miles of wonderful riding in before the "incident".