Acadia, BLTA pleasure ride

Thursday
Another wonderful adventure! Ten of us ladies headed up to Acadia for a four day camping trip with our horses. Bonnie and I headed out Thursday morning sometime between 9:30 and 10:00 AM. We had been up there last year so we weren't worried about how to get there. We soon proved that two heads are not better then one. Last year we drove separate vehicles. Bonnie was hauling the horses and I drove my truck with the camper. We just camped in the trailer now as it saves the cost of driving a second vehicle. Well, we were gabbing away and missed the exit for I-395 in Bangor. About 15 minutes out of Bangor I came to the realization that things didn't look right. I told Bonnie she had better turn around at the next exit. We did and headed back to Bangor. There were signs for the exit nearly as big as a house, it was hard to believe we missed it. Oh, well, that was really no big deal. Then, right as you drive onto Mt. Desert Island, Rt 3 splits and goes both ways and circles the island. We needed to stay right. But, we were gabbing again and went left. That takes you right through the very busy tourist town of Bar Harbor. Oops. Bonnie did great driving through town. Then, at the bottom of the island, Rt 3 takes a hard right and we went straight ahead, which is a dead end with no real good place to turn around. AAAGGGHHHH..... Bonnie did manage to get the trailer turned and we finally got to Wildwood Stables. Susie, Maura, Ann, Nancy, Joanie and Sue were already there and had taken all the good stalls near the campsite. (rotten buggers!)

Joanie's horse, Porsha, has been a bit lame so Joanie just came to spend the night with us. Bonnie, Halla, Missy and I had to take stalls on the other side of the grounds. Not that far really, we are just lazy. We got set up quite quickly and headed right out for a ride. Bonnie, Ann and Missy didn't go, they wanted to just hang out and relax. Susie, Sue, Maura, Nancy, Halla and I went. Joanie also went riding on Ann's horse, Ted. We tried to ride slow and stay together but Susie couldn't stand it and before you knew it, Susie, Sue and I had left the other girls in the dust. We had quite a crazy ride. Marie is in great shape and was quite excited, for her. We took a small side trail that isn't maintained and found a jump. It was a downed tree a little higher then a horse could step over. We could have gone around it but when Susie saw it, she got so excited that she forgot to think that maybe Sue and I might not be comfortable jumping. I've never jumped Marie before and didn't know what she would do. Susie took off and sailed over it. Sue went right behind her. So, I screwed up my courage and headed Marie straight for it. Marie didn't hesitate for a second and sailed over it like a pro. I was sooooo proud of her.

Marie actually over did it at the start of the ride and was just a hair tried by the time we got back. Susie's horse Cody is in terrific shape and Sue's horse, Sassy, is a wonderful Standardbred mare that easily kept up with us. She could trot faster then either Cody or Marie could run. We actually did a bit more galloping downhill then I was comfortable with. I just let Marie have her head and trusted her. She is the most amazing horse and managed fine. She was even doing some flying lead changes. She's never done that before. When we got back, the girls that had stayed behind had wine all chilled and ready for us. Ann and Nancy pretty much took charge of all the cooking for the weekend. Lobster was served the first night. YUCK! I had a can of soup. I did eat a small piece of Susie's lobster just to say I had. Joanie made some roasted red pepper with garlic which we spread on French bread. We had my 'guitar' sugar cookies for desert. Susie, Sue and I broke out the guitars later and we had quite a sing a long. We went a bit past quiet time. Thankfully, the two other campers liked our singing and playing and didn't complain

Friday
We were all up fairly early. Nancy, Ann and Joanie had coffee ready. We had bagels, cantaloupe and blueberry buckle. Poor Joanie was sick as a dog. That poor woman vomited for hours. We think she had too many lobster bodies. UGH! We decided to split up into small groups to ride. Susie, Sue and I went out together. Sue and I are the only ones that want to try to keep up with Susie. Bonnie, Ann and Missy went out together. Nancy, Maura and Halla made up the third group. We had a great ride. We did the 'Around the Mountain' loop. We passed Bonnie's group about half way out. Bonnie looked like she was doing fine with Max. When we got back, Bonnie's group was already there. We knew right off that something was wrong. It seemed that Max got real upset after he had seen Marie and then panicked at a group of bicycles. He reared up and spun around throwing Bonnie. One of the bicyclists were deathly afraid of the horses. She jumped off her bike and ran into the woods crying. Bonnie was laying on the ground afraid her horse had somehow done something to hurt this woman. Max had never touched her. The whole incident scared Bonnie to pieces. She got back on to ride back because they were too far from camp to walk. She was a bit bruised and scraped up. Poor Bonnie. That afternoon, Bonnie drove me up to the top of Cadillac Mountain. It was a clear day and we had a great view from there. It was very windy though. Later that afternoon, I took Max out with Susie and Sue to see how he would behave with me. We did a real short easy ride. Max was quite good but we didn't see any bicycles though we did pass four big wagons. Cody did a big spin though and twisted one of his shoes and made it very loose. Wildwood Stables called in a farrier to put it back on the next day. They said he would be coming sometime between 10:00 and 11:00 AM. That night Ann and Nancy made Tortellini with peppers and onions. It was great. We played guitars again until about 10:30 PM then headed to bed.



Saturday
Another nice morning. I finally, with great difficulty, persuaded Bonnie to ride Marie that morning and let me take Max. I told her I would wait with Susie until the farrier came then go riding with her. Bonnie really wanted to wait and go with me. I didn't want her to even be around Max. If I had any trouble with him while she was there, it would spoil the ride for her. She finally agreed to go with the morning group. The farrier showed up a little before 11:00 AM. I took Max out and lounged him a little. He seemed a bit uncomfortable on one side. Missy had also stayed behind to ride with us. It didn't take long for the farrier to reset Cody's shoe and we were on our way before noon. Just as we headed out of camp, Bonnie's group was headed in. I was hoping Max would not see Marie but no such luck. He didn't give me any problem about it though. Max did spook at the bicycles. I kept him under control but it was not very relaxing. We finally all agreed that he was definitely feeling some discomfort on one foot or leg. I decided to just get off him and walk him back to camp and let the other two get a good ride. We were only about two miles from camp so that was really no problem. Max was very good at first. Even letting bicycles go by without a problem. Until we were in sight of camp. We had gotten to the corner where you turn to go down the hill into camp. The road is kind of narrow with a big drop off on one side and rock ledge on the other side. Max heard the horses in camp and got really excited. A large group of bicyclists were coming down the hill behind us. I didn't think it would be any problem as he'd been ignoring the bicycles for a while. WRONG! He started to pull me and then spun around. The group of bicycles all came skidding to a halt and when Max heard the sound of the tires skidding on dirt he just lost it. There were at least 10 bicycles with some small kids. They had nowhere to go and Max started to spin right into them. Thankfully, one mother stayed very calm and kept telling the kids quietly not not move. I threw myself into Max to keep him from spinning into the kids. He slammed into the rocks bordering the drop off and thankfully stopped dead. I managed to get Max going and led him back up the hill past the group so they could go on their way. That is when I knew that Bonnie needed to take Max back to Hemphills. Bonnie was at the stalls when I got him into camp. I told her what I thought about him and what I thought she should do. She is feeling very disappointed right now. She thinks maybe it's her fault and that she's failed in some way. I am glad we are here in a group of women that have all been through this same situation and know what she is going through to help her out. We have all unanimously agreed that this is not the horse for Bonnie. Bonnie told me it took her almost half of the morning ride to gain her confidence back. Max had given her that much of a scare. She said about halfway out it suddenly clicked and she got her confidence back. She and Sue took off and had a great wild ride. Bonnie was very impressed at how fast Sassy can trot. The girls took her over the jump with Marie!! I was so proud of them both. Bonnie has never really done any jumping and is nervous about doing it. She said that Marie once again handled it like a pro. Bonnie realized that this kind of fun is what riding was supposed to be. I think she is in love with my horse, and why not, Marie is a great horse. I had a little snack after the ride and was tired so decided to take a nap. After all, It's my vacation, I should be able to nap when I want. Bonnie and Missy went into Bar Harbor to poke around. Some of the other women went to Jordan Tea House for tea time. We were planning to take a moonlight ride to the top of Day Mountain since it would be a full moon.


Unfortunately, the fog rolled in very thick that afternoon and we decided to ride at around 5:30 PM since we wouldn't have any moonlight with all the fog. Bonnie took Marie and I rode Bally. Maura had gone home that afternoon. She was getting a bit home sick. She has two children and one is just a baby. Bally is a big Thoroughbred. I was a little put off when I saw the postage stamp that Maura calls his saddle. It is a close contact saddle and not much to it. I decided if Maura could ride in it, so could I. Bally was horribly rude while I was tacking him up and I had to get help. I felt stupid but Ann said he is like this even with Maura. I climbed aboard and off we went. Bally is big, strong and forward but despite that and the saddle, I soon got the hang of riding him and had a great time. We even did the jump. It was fun watching Bonnie ride Marie. I don't often get the chance to see how my horse travels. Bonnie was having a wonderful time with my little mare. I was so glad. Halla didn't really want to go to the top of Day Mountain, she's afraid of heights. We told her not to worry since with all the fog, she wouldn't be able to see over the edge of the trail anyway. It was true. We met two of the big wagons up there on the sunset ride. They stopped and let us go by. All the horses were pretty good about that. When we got back to camp, Missy, Nancy and Ann had a tarp set up over the table because it was drizzling and they had supper all warmed up. Bonnie, Susie and Missy went over to Ed Winterburg's campfire for a while to get the story on the whole stable closing deal. When they got back, we all sat around the campfire and chatted. Halla and Missy headed to bed early. At around 10:00 PM the fog suddenly started to clear out. We all started wishing that we had waited to go on our moonlight ride. We hemmed and hawed about doing it but didn't really want to take the horses out for a third time in one day. A few of the horses hadn't been out twice and we thought about taking them. But, finally Susie and Sue decided it wouldn't work. Then Nancy said that if someone would go with her bareback, she would go. I looked at her and asked if she was serious and she said yes. I told her I'd go with her if I could take Abby. She had only been ridden once today and I knew she was comfortable to ride bareback. But, I haven't ridden bareback in years. I really didn't think I could do it. I decided to give it a try. I hesitated because Missy had gone to bed and I didn't want to wake her up. I also was not going to take her horse without her permission. I finally couldn't stand it and went to her tent. "Missy...are you awake?" "Missy?". No answer. " Missy..." Finally, "uuugh?" in answer. "Missy, are you awake?" As if I didn't know the poor woman was sound asleep. Halla woke up and asked what was wrong. I told her I wanted to take Abby for a moonlight ride. "You're going riding now?" she yelled. That woke Missy up. Missy told me to go ahead and take Abby and have a good time. Susie and Sue didn't believe we were really going to go. Bonnie went over the the barn with me to help get Abby out. Susie and Sue helped Nancy. Someone else that was there feeding their horses shone their car lights into the Barn for Nancy. They thought we were crazy. When I got over there with Abby, Susie had given Nancy a leg up onto Cabbot. She gave me a leg up onto Abby and off we went.
You could tell that the horses were wondering what was going on but they soon got into the spirit of it. We walked and trotted them to the top of Day Mountain. All the way the fog continued to clear and it got more and more beautiful. There were times when we came out from under the trees and the moonlight was so bright we had to shade our eyes. We could hear the buoys clanging out on the ocean and see all the lights of the town down in the valley. The horses were awesome. Not a single spook or wrong step. At different times along the trail we had clear views for what seemed like miles. I thought I was seeing some clouds when Nancy pointed out I was seeing islands out in the ocean. She was right, I could see lights on them. The ride was, as Nancy said, magical. We had left camp at 10:00 PM and got to the top of Day Mountain at 11:00 PM. On the way back Nancy asked if my legs were hurting. I said yes and she said her were killing her. She then said that we had to be able to tell the girls back at camp that we galloped the horses along the moonlit trails, could I handle it? I told her to go for it and off we went. We galloped for a bit both of us giggling like a couple kids. We entered a dark spot under some trees and Abby broke into a hard trot. Between that and giggling so hard, I nearly slid off her and I yelled to Nancy I had to stop. Abby was taking good care of me and slowed then stopped on her own before I came off. There we were, giggling, laughing, breathless and in pain. We were having the time of our lives. We got safely back to camp about midnight. I hurt so bad when I got off Abby I thought I was going to have to crawl back to camp. It was pain joyfully earned. Susie and Sue were in their tent when we got back but still awake. They had to have all the details. They said Bonnie hadn't wanted to go to bed while we were out as she was worried about us. She finally did go to bed around 11:00 PM. When I got to our trailer, Bonnie had left a light on for me. What a wonderful friend I have. Bonnie told me that it drove Susie and Sue crazy that we went and they almost followed us. Now I have something to lord over Susie. HA! It really was a great chance to get to know Nancy. What a nice woman she is. My magical moonlight ride to the top of Day Mountain with Nancy is going to be a memory to last me a lifetime. It took me a while to go to sleep. It was so excited and happy when I got back. the fog rolled back in sometime after we got back. How incredible that we had that few hours of clear moonlight for our ride.



Sunday
We got up and packed everything. Everyone was going out for a short ride. Bonnie and I decided not to bother. We decided to head for home since we had heard we were going to be running into some bad weather on the way home. I would have been happy to ride if Bonnie had wanted to. I had Bally I could ride but Bonnie didn't really care. And nothing was going to top last nights ride for me so we headed out as soon as we got packed up. We did encounter strong winds and heavy rain on the way home but got home safely.

Waterford 30 CTR Waterford, ME May 2000

Susie and I decided to ride the Waterford 30. They are running the Maine 80 also but Susie didn't have the time to do it. I didn't feel I'd gotten Marie in good enough shape yet. The Maine 80 is a three day event. 30 miles the first and 2nd day and 20 miles the last day. Bonnie decided not to bring her horse to this one. She wants more time to get more weight and conditioning on him. Bonnie did haul us up though. Bonnie didn't have to work Friday so she came over and picked me up about 10:00 AM. I was ready to go so we just needed to hook up the trailer and load Marie on. We then went over and picked Cody up. Susie had to work so she was meeting us in Waterford later. We had an uneventful trip there. We were set up in short order. We used my and Bonnie's portable fence. We were going to separate Marie and Cody but she is so in love with him that we didn't need to. As a matter of fact, Marie is so in love with Cody that whenever he got out of her sight for just a second, shd acted like an idiot. It only took a few minutes to clean up the horse trailer and set up our cots in there. Using the trailer for our living quarters is so easy. I wish we'd thought of doing this earlier. the vet was supposed to start the vetting at 11:00 AM. he didn't show up until 3:00 PM. Bonnie and I went down to Tut's restaurant for lunch since we had plenty of time before the vetting. We both had chicken salad Italians. They were huge and very good. Great coffee there also. Susie arrived at about 2:30 PM. There were a lot of horses to be vetted but they got us through in good time. Susie's husband, David, came up for the weekend. He drove up after he got out of work. I ended up taking a nap in the afternoon. I didn't intend to but the bed kept calling to me and I'd had a full night at work. Later, Bonnie and I went back down to Tut's for supper. Susie and her husband had gone down earlier. Bonnie had not wanted to wake me from my nap so had decided to just wait for me. I forgot to bring my guitar and Susie almost killed me. We both took turns playing her guitar and singing up a storm. David was very nice but kept smiling at us like a parent smiles fondly at their children doing something cute. We went to bed when it got dark and had a nice quiet night.

We were up early. I heated up some water for coffee and oatmeal. The ride provides coffee and donuts but I needed more then that to start the day. The ride started right on time and we got off to a good start. I started ahead of Susie. Marie did not like this at all. She hollered and called constantly, but she behaved otherwise. It didn't take Susie long to catch up to me. I didn't realize that my Easyboot had fallen off my saddle. Susie saw it on the trail and had picked it up for me. Susie said Cody was doing great until she stopped to pick up the boot but he squirreled out after that. This ride was one tough ride. The toughest I've been on yet. A lot of hills and one downright mountain that was extremely steep going. Some very bad mud also. At one point, while traveling down a steep hill that was knee deep in mud with a lot of large rocks mixed in also, the woman riding behind me lost control of her horse and the horse bolted forward and rammed right into Marie. It ran us right off the trail. She got her horse backed off and I got Marie back on the trail and then her horse bolted and rammed us a second time. The woman did an emergency dismount that put her right between her horse and Marie. I was so afraid that Marie might kick out and kill the poor woman but she didn't. The woman was mortified that her horse had done that. She apologized profusely throughout the whole ride. I'm just glad she wasn't hurt. Her horse is an adopted wild Mustang. He'd run wild for eight years. He's thirteen now but still needs some training obviously. At the hold, Marie's P&R were well within limits. Cody's was borderline high. The vet checked him a second time to make sure he was alright, which he was. David was working the ride as a timer. He was doing the time into the hold and Bonnie was doing the time out. The hold is a mandatory 20 minutes though you can stay longer if you wish. You just end up making up the time while riding. The trot out for Cody and Marie was fine and we were out of the hold only two minutes late. We took it easy going back over the mountain. It was a beautiful day with great views from the top. It was a tough climb but well worth it. When we got down to the bottom of the mountain, Marie started stumbling and limping. I was so afraid she had pulled something on the steep terrain. Thankfully, she had only lost one of her front shoes and we were on some pretty stony ground. I had to stop and put the Easyboot on her. I was sure glad Susie had picked it up when she found it on the trail! I had tied it so tight onto my saddle that I had to cut the tie strap to get it off and once again Susie saved me by having a pair of cutters in her saddle bag. Two miles later Marie lost her other front shoe. By then we were on soft ground and it was good the rest of the way back to camp so we managed to finish on time. Poor Marie!She did such a great job. I used Bonnie's endurance saddle on this ride as I've been having some troubles with mine. It seems to fit her well. I don't know if it has anything to do with the saddle but she traveled better today then she ever has. She was doing great extended trots and keeping right on Cody's tail. She usually has trouble keeping up with him. I am suspecting that my saddle has been pinching her in the shoulders making her unwilling to do extended trots. She passed the final vetting with flying colors and we placed first in our division. Susie got reserve champion. We were both thrilled, it was a great ride.

Waterford 30 5/27/00 11/S-F
Junior
MCO Ali Darkness / J Wazelle
Adult
2 Xavier Sunnyacres / S Reinheimer
3 Briwds Mardi Gras / S Corr
4 Marie / C Ross (score 92.00)
5 Otis / A Beem
6 Mighty Frankie / T York
7 ? / S Day
8 FR Canadian Pilgrim / S Vieria
9 Little Beau / S Leavitt
10 Travelers Midnight Shadow / S Booth

Bog Brook 25 CTR Standish, ME May 2000

Bonnie and I headed out for Bog Brook 25 on Saturday morning. We got there around 11:00 AM and quickly got the portable fence set up. Bonnie and I are getting the routine down very well now. Bonnie has a new horse, Max, and this was his first camping trip. I thought he might be a bit nervous with all the other horses around but he was mostly just curious. He was very quiet and relaxed in the paddock. Bonnie and I decided to try camping out in the horse trailer this trip. It would save the time of setting up a tent or driving an extra vehicle to bring the camper. I had a fold out cot that I had set up in the trailer at home to see if it would fit. It just made it in one half of the trailer. Bonnie was happy as she had a similar cot. After sweeping out the trailer and wiping the walls down, we got my cot out and set it up. Then we got Bonnie's cot and .....uh, oh, it was a little bit wider then mine. What a time we had cramming it in there. We had to do some very serious cramming but we did manage. Bonnie has decided she will look for a new cot that is a bit more narrow.

There was a long line for vetting in. Max behaved very well while waiting. Better then Marie! they did the vetting in an indoor arena. Neither Max or Marie were used to that, they both behaved kind of badly for the hands on and trot out. Marie was spooking at the walls because there were mirrors on them. After, we fed the horses and settled them in for the night. Bonnie and I went down to the local convenience store and picked up Italians for supper. We went to bed fairly early. It poured buckets during the night. We felt bad for the horses out in the rain but at least it was warm. We were very comfortable in the trailer. I was up early and got the stove out to heat up water for oatmeal and coffee when I realized we'd forgotten to bring matches to light the stove with. Bonnie went out and borrowed a lighter from someone. Bonnie knows I can't start my day without my oatmeal. We had to hustle to get the horses ready after the pre-ride meeting as we were rider number's 1 and 2. Max was a little excited when we started out but not bad. After all, he had no clue what was going on since this was his first ride. When the first riders passed us, Max did get a bit upset and he tossed his head a lot for a while. Bonnie did a great job of keeping him under control though so it was no problem, just annoying for her. We had a great ride. We went nice and easy for Max but made our time with no trouble. Max and Marie were both a bit naughty at the final vetting. (sigh) We finished in good shape though.

Bog Brook 25 5/14/00 24/S-22/F
1 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
2 ? / S Nash
3 Especial Addition / L Prentice
4 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
4 BAF Cubis Choice / L Pederson
6 ? / L Lester
7 Shiloh / S Niedoroda
8 Jewelys Gem / C Bechstrom
9 HFA Silver Savanah / M Deleware
11 Desert Falcon / J Graffam
12 Rolling Stone / Heidi Moss
12 Maxwell / B Hinz
15 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
16 Inde Khaldair / L Crowley
17 Marie / C Ross (score 90.50)
18 Silvera / J Brunjes
Comp Travels Midnight Shadow / S Booth
Comp Mardi Gras / S Corr

Crooked River 30 CTR Waterford, ME Oct. 1999

The last competition of the season. Bonnie's horse has come up lame and my truck is broken down so I am traveling with Susie. Crooked River is a one day 30 or a 2 day 60 mile ride. I would have loved to do the 60 mile ride but Susie could only do one day and when you are hitching rides, you can't be picky. The trip started out great when I realized I had never sent in my entry form. I managed to get in touch with the ride secretary and she said there was still room in the ride and to come. PHEW! The ride in at the Waterford Fairgrounds. It is a very small fairground and about 1 1/2 hr. drive from home. The vetting in started at 1:00 PM. Stalls could be had on a first come first serve basis. Susie had to go to a convention on Friday so she could not leave early. We decided that Joanie and I would haul the horses up in the morning so we could get a good camping spot and stalls. I dropped my little truck off at Susie's house on the way home from work at 6:00 AM and picked up her truck and trailer. Susie just got a new truck and it is very nice. I went home, packed up, loaded Marie then went back to Susie's house to pick up her horse, Cody. He is a gray gelding and had just rolled in the mud by the looks of him and what a mess he was. I brushed him and cleaned him up the best I could then loaded him on the trailer. Marie was thrilled to see him and it was soon obvious she was in heat. Hussy..... Joanie was late getting to Susie's so we didn't get as early a start as I'd hoped to but that was fine. There was still plenty of room when we got to Waterford. The stalls are open cattle type stalls with no doors. I set up a line of electric fence across both stalls and that worked fine. I knew nothing short of electric would keep Marie in. Joanie and I lounged both horses to get them warmed up and relaxed after the trailer ride. Cody has a little problem with being a little stiff until he warms up and moves around some. We wanted to make sure he'd look good for the vet. We got in line to vet in hoping that Susie would show up before our turn came. She did and Cody vetted in just fine. Of course, stupid me had forgotten to bring my coggins papers and the ride secretary, Louise Lester, thought it over and told me she could not let me enter without the papers. Then she thought about it some more and decided to let me enter if I wrote a statement on the back of my entry form stating that Marie was current on everything with my vets contact information. I could have kissed the woman. Marie was very good for her trot out. Nice and quiet like you want. We settled the horses into their stalls and then set up our tent.
Susie had brought a 13 year old girl, Katie, with her that rides one of her horses sometimes. She seems to be a real nice girl and has been extremely helpful. We sat around for a bit and snacked on some cheese and crackers and had apple cider. Then we went around the grounds and checked out Jean and Elliots Bridges trailer. It was a nice two horse gooseneck with living quarters. Though the real reason we went to check it out was because it had heat and it was getting very cold out. Colleen Hoyt is here. Her son goes to the same school as Susie's son. both of their sons were in a football game tonight. And they got the bright idea to go to the game. We went to Tut's restaurant for supper. It is within walking distance of the fairground. The place was packed. By the time we got seated, Coleen and Susie realized they didn't have time to eat and get to the game so they left. Katie went with them. It would be nearly a 2 hr. drive for them to get to the game and a 2 hr. drive back. By the time they got back, they would not get much sleep before the ride. I thought they were crazy and Joanie agreed with me. Jean and Elliot came into the restaurant and sat with Joanie and me. They are such a nice couple. Elliot does not ride. Jean has been competing for about 8 year. Joanie and I picked her brain for useful information. That's one of the things I like so much about CTR, the people are so nice, and always willing to give you help and encouragment. Just a real fun group of people. After we had supper, we went back to camp and checked on the horses, then headed for bed. We didn't know when Susie and Katie would be back and didn't wait up for them.

I woke up about 1:30 AM. I was warm enough in my sleeping bag but I just couldn't get comfortable. I must have been sleeping good up until then because I never heard Susie and Katie when they got back to camp and went to bed. Susie was still awake. She and Colleen had only been able to see 20 min. of the football game before they had to leave but she said it was well worth it. I finally gave up trying to sleep as I had to go to the girls room anyway. I dressed and climed out of the tent as quietly as I could. I headed down to the dance hall where the bathrooms are and it seemed like a long way in the dark! When I got back, I just did not want to go back in the tent so I got in my little Mazda truck, reclined the seat snuggling into my sleeping bag and managed to sleep for a while. I was actually quite confortable and I probably should have just slept there in the first place.
About 5:00 AM I heard Susie up and around so I got up also. We fed the horses, much to the distress of the other horses in the barn who's owners were still sleeping. It was very cold out. I was dressed warmly enough but my feet were cold. Susie and I went down to the kitchen for donuts and coffee. The riders meeting was at 7:00 AM. We tacked up the horses immdeiately after the meeting. The first riders were out at 7:30 AM. We knew we were going to be the last riders out so had plenty of time. Susie did want to make sure to warm Cody up well. We went out last at 8:00 AM. It was the most beautiful ride. The trails were beautiful. Almost all of it on nice wide dirt roads or nice sandy trails. It was somewhat hilly but with such great footing for the horses that was no problem. We had to go by the hold and go around a five mile loop and come back to the hold for the hold ... is that confusing...after we we passed the hold and were on the 5 mile loop, Susie decided it was taking us too long to get back to the hold and got very nervous. She was sure we were off trail and had missed the hold. I thought I was going to have to thump her one to calm her down. I knew we couldn't have as we were still seeing trail markers. It wasn't long after then when we came into the hold. She was thinking it was only a 25 mile ride rather then a 30 mile ride and was getting confused everytime we saw a milage marker. Everything went fine at the hold. Marie's pulse was at the maximum allowed but not over and her respiration was fairly low. She has to work a little harder to keep up with Cody then she did with Shannon. We actually got out of the hold on time for onces thanks to help from Joanie and Katie who were working the ride.
Another friend of Susie's also showed up and helped out. We did the second half of the ride in great time and had to walk the horses the last three mile in order to not come in too early. Marie's P&R's were low at the final vetting and she did a great trot out. She was just a bit lazy about trotting circles in one direction. We took care of the horses and settled then into their stalls to rest while we went to get supper. They were serving a nice supper of ..... BEANS!! YUCK!!! There was also mac & cheese, ham, rolls and a nice home made apple crisp. It was all good and I didn't go hungry despite the beans. Joanie and Carol helped us pack up the tent and then had to leave. Not long after that the ride committee called us down for the award presentation. The first thing they awarded were the breed awards. When I didn't get the hight point grade horse, I knew the big ribbon was once again out of my grasp. But Marie did get a score of 99 1/2 which was great. I was delighted and proud of my little mare. She has just gotten better at each ride.

Crooked River 30 10/16/99 17/S&F
1 Crystal Mint / L Alexander
1 Czar Nicholas / L Lester
1 Kofaxx / A Wells
4 Izusu / S Niedoroda
5 VH Pahzon / I McNaughton
5 Marie / C Ross (score 99.50)
7 Desert Falcon / J Graffam
7 ? / K Downs
10 Olympia Gold / J Hunt
12 Mighty Frankie / T York
13 Xavier Sunnyacres / S Reinheimer
15 Rolling Stone / H Moss
17 Count Canaskis / K Brunjes

ECTRA year end awards
Marie 180 - Cindy 180
Bonze medal middle distance

Mountain Valley 25 CTR Turner, ME Oct. 1999

This adventure might not be as exciting as previous ones. I had to set off alone for this one. Bonnie's Shannon is having problems of some sort that hasn't been figure out just yet. The vet was coming this afternoon to look at her. Shannon has been going off her feed occasionally and having mild lameness problems. Poor Bonnie. Susie and I were going to drive up to the ride together but her son had a football game she didn't want to miss so she got permission to vet in on Saturday morning. I was a little worried about taking Fred's truck because I'd heard him say it needed a new battery. But, he told me it would be fine and not to worry. Turner isn't really very far so shouldn't be a problem. I found the ridecamp with no trouble. It was in a large field on the side of a hill. It was a really lovely spot with nice views. Marie was very stressed out about not having any of her buddie with her. This would be her first over-nighter without Shannon. I tied her to the trailer while I set up the paddock. This took me about 20 minutes after suffering a few brain cramps over it. Marie kept calling and hollering and rearing and swinging back and forth. She didn't go as far as actually pulling herself off the side of the trailer so I mostly just ignored her. When I finally got the paddock set up and put her in it, she was still having a fit. She rushed the fence a couple time like she was going to run through it but skidded to a stop at the last minute each time. She finally settled on just bucking like an idiot. Meanwhile, it was very windy and I was trying to set up a tent alone. I had not wanted to bother loading on the truck camper for only one night. I've set the dome tent up many time with no trouble but the wind was getting the best of me. While I struggled with the tent, six or seven people were all sitting in a camp nearby and not one offered to help me. I'm guessing they were having far to much fun just watching me. I guess I should have just asked for help but I eventually managed to get the tent set up on my own. Marie was still acting foolish so I decided to lounge her a bit before taking her to be vetted in. She jumped, bucked and dashed about and I had to get after her big time to get her to settle down. I didn't have much hope of having a good time getting her vetted in. Much to my surprise, she was absolutely perfect for the vetting. I put Marie back in her paddock and she settled down pretty well other then her constant hollering. I'd brought my little back packing stove and heated myself up some soup for supper. Mary Batt invited me to go out to eat with her and her neice but I didn't dare leave Marie alone with her being so unsettled. I was too afraid she might go through her fence. Later a bunch of us did get together to hang out and visit.


I went to bed fairly early last night. My wonderful horse called and yelled all night long. I'm sure everyone appreciated that. At least she stayed in her fence. I almost overslept. I'd brought a nice pad to sleep on and had my sleeping bag that was rated for -15 degrees so I was very comfortable and toasty warm. The only good thing about sleeping later then planned was that when I woke up and realized what time it was, I shot out of that sleeping bag with no thought to how cold it was. It was only in the high 30's, burrrrrrr. I fed Marie and made myself some oatmeal and coffee. The ride had some nice pastries they provided. Susie arrived just as I was finishing breakfast. Bonnie was with her to help us out and work the ride. I was so glad she had come. Bonnie and I went to get some pastries and find Susie's paperwork. The riders meeting went a little longer then planned and we were a little rushed getting tacked up. Especially Susie who had to get vetted in. Cody was almost not allowed to start the ride as the vet thought he looked a little bit lame. She finally decided to let him start and just keep a close eye on him. Susie and I managed to get ready on time with Bonnie's help. Marie was very bright and eager all day. I didn't think she'd be able to keep up with Cody but she did wonderful. At the hold Cody trotted out fine so we figured he must have just been a little stiff this morning from the trailer ride. Marie was fine at the hold. Bonnie was there at the hold and helped us out, but we were still 7 minutes late getting out of the hold. Ugh, there is just not enough time at the holds! The footing on the trail for the 2nd half of the ride was very rough and slippery due to recent rains. We had to walk through a lot of it but we did make it to the finish on time. We came very close to our maximun time allowed but didn't feel it was worth risking our horses. Marie vetted in great at the end. We didn't win any big prized but that's ok as she had the highest score yet. She will likely never be a grand champion due to the odd way she travels. But as long as she finishes sound and healthy, she is a champion to me. We had a wonderful meal after the ride. It was buffet style with lot of wonderful dishes and deserts. We all ate like pigs. It didn't take long to get packed up and ready to go. When I went to start the truck.......nothing....DEAD BATTERY!!! I was so mad at Fred. Not that it was that big a deal. We just jump started it but still.... Anyway, Marie and I got home safe and sound.


Mountain Valley 25 10/2/99 29/S 28/F
Junior
1 Indian Smoke Sign / A Cataneserah
2 Prince Aragorn / L Batt
Adult
1 Isuzu / S Niedoroda
2 Willows Rahmaan / I McNaughton
3 Midori / M Batt
3 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
3 HFA Silver Savanah / M Deleware
3 Czar Nicholas / L Lester
3 Sir Narionn / S Corr
9 Czaar / S Nash
11 Kineo / P Snow
11 Ben Putnam / S Day
11 Kahlua / P Bell
11 SA Lady Nevada / H Bonneau
11 Xavier Sunnyacres / S Reinheimer
17 ? / K Downs
17 SA King Hofflin / V Austin
Comp Count Canaskis / K Brunjes
Comp Marie / C Ross (score 95.75)
Comp Olympia Gold / J Hunt

Fryeburg 2 day 50 CTR Fryeburg, ME July 1999

Another exciting adventure. Susie and Bonnie came to this ride. Joanie was also supposed to come but a few days before the ride, her horse Porsha slipped and tore a tendon while out on a short training ride. Bummer! Joanie had not had very good luck this year. We followed Susie to Fryeburg since she claimed she knew the best 'short cut' to get there. I'm not sure it was actually any shorter then the way Bonnie and I usually go but it was certainly no longer. And it was a very nice drive. We got to the Fryeburg fairgrounds around 3:00 PM. The Fryeburg fairground is very large and beautifully kept. We had the option of renting stalls or setting up portable pens for the horses. We chose to rent stalls. It is just so much easier and less worry if we leave camp for any amount of time. The barns are lovely. They are shed row type barns. The one we were in has just been built. There are a lot of stalls in each barn. We were able to back our trailers right up to the barn in front of our stalls and camp there. Everything is so handy with water spigots every 3rd stall and even electric hookups. We arrived early enough so that we could let the horses settle in for a while before taking them to be vetted in. There are over 40 riders here between the 2 distances offered making this the biggest ride we've been to so far. The vetting in went fine. The usually back end sloppiness and stabby right leg of Marie was noted by the vet judge but the judge was not too concerned about it. This time it was Shannon they were concerned with. I couldn't see anything wrong with her but they felt she was striding short in the back. Oh no......Susie's horse Cody vetted in fine and we were all cleared to start the ride in the morning. When I took Marie back to settle her into her stall, I found a chicken egg in a corner of her stall. There are a bunch of bantam chickens running loose here.


I had not realized that tonight's supper was included in our entry fee but it was. We had a wonderful meal of baked ziti, salad, bread and drinks and several home made deserts. It was soooooo hot out today. The forecast for tomorrow is for even hotter temperatures. Ride management decided to have an early start time of 6:00 AM so we can get a lot of the ride done before the worst of the heat. I have decided I am going to try to give Marie some electrolytes in the morning because of the predicted heat. Bonnie will give Shannon some also and we'll see how it goes. After supper we took the horses out and walked them then let them graze a bit, then settled them back into their stalls for the night. We loafed around in front of the barn until dark. It was still a million degrees and Susie decided she just had to have a shower right then and there. She just stripped out of her clothes right in front of the barn and took a shower with the water hose between the stalls. Next thing I knew Bonnie was buck naked and showering too. Good thing we were the only ones camping on the back side of the barn, and there were no lights. Though I'm not sure those two streaker would have cared anyway! I showered also, but a bit more discretely and without stripping naked. Go ahead, call me a prude. I didn't know I'd be camping in a nudist colony! I had brought a little fridge and Bonnie brought some booze to put in it. So we had a few beers and wine coolers then headed to bed.

We were up before the sun this morning. Not before the rooster started crowing though. The rooster bothered some people but I'm used to hearing roosters crowing so didn't really notice it. We fed the horses by flashlight and I gave Marie some electrolytes. A nice continental breakfast was provided for us. Not quite as good as what we had in Acadia but pretty close. There were donuts, muffins, cereal, coffee and tea. We were tacked up in plenty of time. Susie was in the starting order just ahead of Bonnie and me. She decided to wait and go out with us. That is allowed but her official start time would not change and would be two minutes ahead of us. She wanted to start with us in the hopes that Cody would stay calmer. Soon we were called to go. We had not gone more then 1/4 mile when we suddenly heard this big snap. Susie's stirrup iron had broken!! Of all the odds things to happen. She could not do the ride with no stirrup so she turned back in hopes of finding someone that had an extra one she could borrow. Bonnie and I had to just keep going and hope she got things worked out.

It did not get nearly as hot as they predicted it would. It stayed overcast which kept the temperature down. Susie caught up with us before we got to the hold. There was a 4-H event being held at the fairgrounds and one of the 4-H kids let Susie borrow a stirrup iron. Susie tried to stay with us but Cody was too excited and she ended up going ahead of us. Marie didn't drink at any of the water stops and when we got into the hold she was a bit dehydrated. This is the first time she had not drank well and the first time I've ever given her electrolytes. I am not impressed.


Susie's horse was inverted at the hold. That is when the respiration is higher then their pulse. This can be a sign of a potential problem not not necessairily. Susie stayed in the hold over her 20 minutes to see if Cody's respiration's would come back to normal. It did and she left the hold with Bonnie and me. Bonnie and I were about 6 min. late getting out of the hold ourselves. There just didn't seem to be enough time to do all that needed to be done. Marie usually needs the full 10 min. to pulse down so that only leaves the last 10 minutes to take care of vetting, metabolic check, feeding, personal needs and getting the bridle back on. So, I knew at this point we were a little behind on time. And Susie was even further behind so once again she had to ride on ahead of us.

Bonnie and I nearly went over our time. We literally galloped across the finish line with just a minute to spare. We hated to to that and felt kind of stupid for not managing our time better. You should walk the last mile into camp to let their P&R's come down. I guess we have some tough little mares though as both still ended with acceptable P&R's. Susie had decided she simply was not going to make her time. But, Steve Rojek caught up with her. He is an international endurance rider with tons of experience. He encouraged Susie and pushed her to make her time and got her to the finish. She made it and Cody was fine. She was thrilled for the chance to ride with Steve and grateful for his help and encouragement. And Susie just happened to have one of her endurance riding books with her that had Steve's picture in it. She asked him to sign it for her. He seemed a bit embarrassed but was very gracious about it. Marie and Cody did fine with their trot outs. The vet judge still had come concerns about Shannon and told Bonnie they wanted to recheck her in the morning. Bonnie wasn't too happy about this but what can you do. I'm sure all will be fine. It turned out the early ride time was a good thing. Though the temperature didn't get as bad a predicted, we had quite a rain storm not long after we got done riding. It didn't last long though. We just hung out at camp. Susie and I played guitar under the barn overhang and it was fun. For supper tonight, we had a choice of hot dogs or hamburgers. There was also an excellent fruit cup, drinks and brownies. We went to the award ceremony for the 25 mile riders. Then we all went and took 'proper' showers tonight. No naked ladies running around camp. We took the horses for a walk around the race track then later around the barns and camp and let them graze a bit. The ride was going to start early again tomorrow so we headed to bed before it got too late.

We were up before the crack of dawn again this morning. Bonnie took Shannon for her re-check and was ok to start the ride. The vet judge was still concerned but could not actually justify pulling her from the ride. Today the starting order had Bonnie and Susie starting together and I was in the pair starting 2 minutes ahead of them. I considered waiting like Susie had yesterday. Then I decided it would be good for Marie to start without Shannon. She needs to stop being so glued to Shannon everywhere we go. I knew that Bonnie and Susie would likely catch up to me quickly. Marie was not happy by this turn of events. She hesitated about going at first, but I got after her and made her go. She was then wonderful and traveled along like a real trooper. Of course she hated every second of it and neighed, whinnied and moaned until Susie and Bonnie caught up to me but otherwise she behaved perfectly. Cody was much better today. He was calm and quiet so Susie was able to stay with us the whole ride today. We also paced ourselves much better today. It was misting and sprinkling for most of the ride. It was hot enough to the misting felt good and was nice for the horses, though the mist did keep Bonnie, with her glasses, blind for most of the day. I had my contacts in so was fine. Marie was doing great today and drinking like normal and traveling strongly. I did not use electrolytes today. Just before the hold, there was a spot that looked good to go down to the river. Susie want down to check it out and it seemed fine. I then went down beside Susie to see if Marie wanted to drink. Just then a few riders caught up to us and decided to join us. Marie didn't want a drink, so I went back up on the trail to make room. Just as I got to the trail, I heard a big splash behind me. The sand bar had collapsed on one of the woman that had gone down to the river and both her and her horse went right out of sight for a moment in the water. They both managed to get out ok and were fine but it gave us a good scare. At the hold I had to do an extra trot out with Marie due to concerns over her 'stabby' right hind. We were allowed to continue. We didn't get out of the hold on time today again. But, we had gotten into the hold in good time so it was ok. We headed out and set a perfect pace for the rest of the ride. We even had a little time to go down to the Saco river in a marked and safe place. We had to ride through a camp someone had set up on the beach but the occupants of the camp seemed too drunk to object. We were able to walk the last mile to the finish as we liked to do. At the end, our P&R's were good. We then went for our hands on and while we were waiting in line, we could see the black clouds rolling in. We had just finished with our hands on when it hit. It poured buckets. We all, along with our horses, quickly ducked into one of the barns where the 4-H kids were. That barn had a nice wide aisle for us to all fit in. We waited for the worst of it to pass but still ended up doing our trot outs in the rain. That's ok, a little rain wouldn't kill us. We decided we preferred this to bad heat. For supper tonight there was fish chowder which was delicious. Then there was the award ceremony. Bonnie got 3rd place in the light weight division. I got 3rd in the heavy weight division and Susie got 4th in the middle weight division. We then packed up and had an uneventful trip home. Another great ride!!

Fryeburg 50 Ride 7-24/25 23/S-19/F
1 Sir Narionn / S Corr
2 SR Finally / S Rojek
3 WCM Beaumark Morgan / J Greenall
4 Wildwoods Liralyn / J Sherman
5 Nakala / J Stratmeyer
5 Alesar / S Greenall
5 SA King Hofflin / V Austin
8 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
9 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
9 Marie / C Ross (score 94.00)
11 HFA Silver Savanah / M Deleware
12 Xavier Sunnyachers / S Reinheimer
12 Jericho / C Sandowski
12 Shannon / B Hinz
15 SA Lady Nevada / H Bonneau
16 Missoula Nac / G Coassin
17 Kofaxx / A Welles
18 Linkk / B Zsiga
Comp Inde Khaldir / L Crowley

Acadia 2 day 50 CTR Seal Harbor, ME June 1999

Well Bonnie and I are on another big adventure. The Acadia 2 day 50 mile ride. We didn't get off to the start we had orignially planned. Wednesday the 9th, I didn't really get any sleep. I was busy doing 'things' in the morning, then I had a P.E.T meeting for Adam in the afternoon. I went to work that night. The next morning Bonnie wanted to go riding. It really was a beautiful day so I went. I decided that I would call in sick to work that night. WRONG! When I called, the only person there was the new Lead Dock person. He is new to the department. Sonya, the Control Clerk had already called in sick, our team leader was on vacation and the performance leader was not going to be in until 1:00 AM. Clint, who had answered the phone, was in quite a panic. So, I told him I would come in and run the office. I had been nearly two days without sleep and I was way too tired to be safe operating a machine. Thankfully, I had already loaded the slide in camper onto the truck as at lunch time, I went out and took a quick nap in it. Then, on the way home in the morning, I had to stop at the Christian radio station where I volunteer and do the prize mailings. They have been having their 'spring cleaning' and have been giving away prizes like crazy. There was a ton to mail. When I finaly got home, I just had to catch a few hours of sleep before heading to Acadia as it's a three hour drive to get there. So, Bonnie and I headed out a little later then planned. This was the first time Bonnie and I have ever been to Acadia and Wildwood Stables. I led the way with my trusty map and we had an uneventful drive up. We stopped at Dysart's Truck Stop in Bangor and had lunch/supper. The 'vetting in' was from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM. We arrived at Wildwood Stables at 5:45 PM. There was one other rider that had not arrived yet so managment had us settle our horses in and wait to vet in when the other rider arrived.



Wildwood Stable is really neat and really caters to the carriage horses. There are horses there all season that are used for public carriage and wagon rides. There are three portable barns. The older one has a solid tin roof. the two others are canvas covered with six stalls in each of the barns. These were the nicer barns. We ended up in the older barn as we were nearly the last to arrived. And of course it was the barn farthest from camp. There were already two horses in that barn. The stalls are back to back with the doors all facing the outside. The two horses already in the barn were in the middle stalls. I assmed so they could easily see eachother. Wildwood provided the shavings. We picked two end stalls side by side, dumped in shavings and put the horses in. Well, there is a solid divider between the two stalls Shannon and Marie were in and Marie went right out of her mind. She couldn't see Shannon. It did not matter that Shannon was right beside her, she couldn't SEE her. We ended up moving Shannon to the other end so that Marie could see her through the bars. Though now there was a horse between them. But, all that mattered to Marie was that she could SEE Shannon. Silly mare!

We vetted in sometime around 7:00 PM. Everything went well. The vet judge, Denise Ross and the lay judge, Abby Bloxom, were real nice. So much better then judge at our first ride. They did a very thorough hands on and did not miss a thing. They found every bump, scrape, and missing hair. Which is exactally what you want them to do at the vetting in. Because if someting is missed on vetting in yet found at the final vetting, you might loose points for a change in condidion. After the hands on, we did our trot out. The vet judge said all looked good. Because I had such a problem at my first ride, I asked the vet if she noticed anything at all wrong with Marie. She told me that Marie stabbed out with her hind leg and didn't engage her hindquarters well. But felt it was due to her conformation and nothing she would call a lameness. That was exactally what I had been trying to tell the vet judge at Bog Brook. AGH.


After vetting in, we settled Shannon and Marie into their stalls, then settled ourselves into our campsite. I don't have a step to get into the camper. I've always just used anything handy and lately I've been using an old muck bucket. It's taller then a water bucket and works quite well. And the fact that I have ridiculously longs lets also helps. Well, the muck bucket had been full of rocks at home so I had grabbed my newer one as I was too lazy to empty the old one. The newer one, though the same brand, is obviously not as well made..... The first time I stepped onto it, I broke right through it. Bonnie and I scrounged around camp for something else to use as a step. We came up with a milk crate. That was fine for me and my long legs but it made for quite a long step for Bonnie from the crate into the camper. The first time she stepped out of the camper, she tipped it over and took a nose dive. I'm just sorry I didn't get a better veiw of it but I was in the camper and just saw her suddenly dissappear. Luckily she didn't hurt anything more then her pride. She has sworn that before we camp the next time, we will have a REAL step.

We didn't do anything fancy for supper, as if that is a surprise. We just heated up some cans of soup. We had enough snack food to last a week. And I had made up some of what is becoming our traditional trail mix to snack on also. I usually make it at home but this time had just thrown all the ingredients into the camper. This mix turned out even more outstanding then ever. The secret ingredients are (I should probably keep this a secret...) Gold Fish crackers, M&M's, dried cranberries, dried pineapples, dried mango, banana chips, dry roasted peanuts, mixed dried berries) Well there, now the secret is out.

The only other excitment we had that night was when Bonnie lost her tooth. She took it out when she brushed her teeth and forgot where she put it. She was outside with the flashlight looking all over for that thing. The ladies in the campsite next to us even came to help out but Bonnie wouldn't admit to them what she was looking for and declined their services. It turned out she had put the tooth in her bag in the camper. Phew! For a while I feared we would have to go to bed with that thing running loose just waiting for a chance to sneak up and bit us in the night.


We had a quiet night. I slept well but I was so tired I probably would have slept well if I'd put my sleeping bag right out on the driveway on the tar and used a rock for a pillow. We got up at 5:00 AM to feed the horses. The ride provided a breakfast of fruit, muffins, Bagels, hot and cold cereal, coffee, tea and juice. I, of course had oatmeal. The rider's meeting was at 6:30 to let us know the rules of the ride and give us our trail maps. The competitons was also for drivers but there was only one driver. The driver was the first out at 7:00 AM. Then, ten minutes later the riders started going out in pairs two minutes apart. Bonnie was number 12 and I was lucky 13. We got off to a good start. We traveled slowly at first. We were totally blown away by how beautiful the carriage roads are. There is over fifty miles of carriage roads. They are 16' wide with a broken rock surface. The stone work of the bridges, of which there are quite a few, is just fabulous. True works of art. Marie didn't appreciate the stone work quite as much as I did as she thought all those stones were scary horse eating boogers. She was not too bad though and mostly did some heavy gawking.

We had a great day. It was clear and sunny. We went over the summit of a couple mountains and the views were breathtaking. We had to stop several times along the way to take pictures like a couple of tourists. Needless to say, we had to move along a bit faster the second part of the ride to make up time. We rode 30 miles the first day and had 5 hrs. and 30 miutes to complete the ride that day. We made our time fairly easily. The hold was 15 mile into the ride and back at the camp. We then did a different 15 mile loop for the 2nd half of the ride. Both horses P&R's were excellent at the hold and at the end. Both horse also trotted out fine at the end a. Marie had already had a ridge of bumps on her back when we'd arrived. They were definitely worse at the end of the ride today. They didn't seem sensitive to the touch so I didn't think they were saddle sores. I am not quite sure what is causing them. We were provided sandwiches for lunch and all in all, things went well for our first day. That evening we were provided with a wonderful meal of grilled chicken, green beans, corn, rolls, baked potatoe, salad and pie. We all ate together which was nice. It gave us a chance to get to know some of the people doing this sport. Everyone has been so nice and supportive of us newbies. I took Marie for a walk this evening just to work on getting her used to Shannon being out of her sight. Marie did not like this at all. She whinnied and moaned her fool head off. She had every horse in the camp calling. She behaved pretty well otherwise. Silly, silly mare. She seems to be ok when she knows Shannon is not with us. But, if she is sure Shannon is nearby but can't see her, she panics.


Later in the afternoon I had to interrupt my little vacation to sit down and do my homework for the business writing course I'm taking. Boring! There's been way too much homework with this course. Bonnie lounged around and read a book about endruance riding that Susie let her borrow. This evening, Bonnie and I took Shannon and Marie out walking and let them graze in the little field. Later we made some coffee and sat out for a while. Eventually, the no-see-em's drove us in. It was bed time anyway. Overall, the bugs have not been bad at all. The nice thing about having the camper is having a private place to take a sponge bath. After I had bathed, I jumped right into bed. I called out to Bonnie that she could come in to the camper now. Bonnie opened the door, started to step into the camper, then suddenly jumped back out like she'd just seen the worlds biggest spider or something. Well, I had quite rudely, though accidently, left my undies laying right in the middle of the floor. Ooops, but geesh, it was only underwear....... Bonnie plucked up her courage, carefully climbed back into the camper, gingerly picked up the undies and hurled them in my face! Boy, talk about rude. I may lose my undies but at least I always know where all my teeth are.


Another good night of sleep. The camper is very comfortable. We were up early again to get the girls fed. One of the two women with horses in our barn didn't think she would be able to ride today. When she had finished yesterday, her horses pulse had been high and didn't come down well. The vet also thought the horse looked a bit lame and wanted to re-check him this morning. The woman thought the horse did still look a bit lame and decided to just pull from the ride. They were very disappointed as it was there first competition. The ride manager came over and talked to them and convinced them to let the vet take a look at the horse. The vet thought the horse looked fine and encouraged them to stay and ride. She said they could re-evalute the horse at any point along the trail if there was a problem and she could pull then. They decided to give it a try and the horse finished the ride with no trouble at all.

We were once again provided with a nice breakfast, had our riders meeting and were soon tacked up and ready to do. Today we would do 20 miles with no hold. The bumps on Marie's back were still there and about the same as last night. We were a little later getting started this morning. The driver went out at about 7:20 AM. Ten minutes later the riders were started as yesterday in pairs two minutes apart but in reverse order. It was very overcast and foggy today. We only had 2 hrs. 30 min to 3 hrs. to complete todays ride so we knew we had to move along faster today to make our time. The ride started with a loop to the top of Day Mountain. I'm sure the view would have been great if we had been a clear day. The rest of the ride was on Rockafeller roads.
These roads go right down by the ocean and are just wonderful. We had to keep up a steady trot and canter the entire 20 miles to make time and we just barely made it at that. Bonnie and I really have our horses in great shape and they finished easily. When they took the horses P&R's 30 minutes after we finished, Marie's were lower then I'd ever seen it be. Strangely, the bumps on Marie's back were smaller. I thought they would be much worse after another day of riding. Now came the hard part of the day. It can take quite a while to get through the vetting on all the horses. You have to be ready when they call you but it can be a long wait. They did all the trot outs first in order of finish. Then they do the hands on in the same order. When we were finally done, we settled the girls into their stalls. We were then provided with yet another lovely meal of spaghetti and meatballs, salad, rolls and pie. Then came the award ceremony. They had the ceremony by the barn under an awning. Bonnie and I settled ourselves on the stone wall. They started out with 6th place ribbons and worked up from there. I placed 4th in my divison. Then they gave out breed awards. Bonnie got high point grade horse. She also won high point rookie. By now I was a bit confused and a little excited. After all, we both were riding grade horses and were rookie riders. But, I had already gotten a division ribbon but Bonnie had not. So, how could she have higher points them me in rookie and grade horse unless...........she was reserve or grand champion...... and she was GRAND CHAMPION!!!

When they announced Bonnie's name she was stunned. She nearly fell off the wall. I was absolutely busting with pride for her and her little horse. I must say it put some noses out of joint. Here was a rookie rider on a small 16 year old $800 mutt of a horse winning grand champion. It just totally made my day. Bonnie won a nice plaque, a folding camp chair, a spray bottle, a container of electrolytes, a coffee cup and, of course, the BIG ribbon. I think I was more excited then if I'd won myself. I always knew she had a talented and athletic horse. I did remind her that I had helped her pick out that champion horse. And that I take care of that champion horse so the championship was kind of half mine.... I'm just kind of surprised her head fit through the camper door tonight. Bonnie and I decided to stay over an extra day so we could relax and enjoy the evening. And we would sneak in another ride in the morning. It was our first time here and we didn't want to leave. Nor did Bonnie really want to drive home in the dark.

Bonnie and I cornered the vet and lay judge to let them know what a wonderful job we thought they had done. We ended up having a long and informative talk with them. Abby Bloxom was the lay judge and has been riding endurance and CTR for many years. She told me the bumps on Marie's back were pressure bumps. She said my saddle seemed to fit fine, but that I needed to stop riding like I was in a western pleasure class and adjust to this new sport. She said both Bonnie and I needed to sit a little more forward and lighter in the saddle. We needed to post to the trot and absorb more of our weight in our knees rather then on our horses backs. Both judges thought we had wonderful horses and had done a great job conditioning them. I asked Abby if she though Marie could do endurance riding. She said Marie definitely had the strength and ability but that I would likely never be a top ten finisher as Marie is not particularily fast. But, she encouraged me to try it when I though Marie and I were ready. She said it is very good to do 2 years of CTR before going to endurance riding. It takes a long time to build up bone strength. Muscle and cardio build quite cast but not bone. Abby also cleared up some confusion on the need, or not, for electrolytes. The said the horses don't really need electrolytes for CTR distance. But, if you did give them, at the end of the ride, you may have a horse that looks a little fresher and you may have a trot out that looks a little prettier for the judge. But, a horse will naturally replace electrolytes on it's own within hours. We were also advised to be more agressive with our sponging at the water stops. Still, with Bonnie winning grand champion, we can't be doing things too wrong.

It was foggy this morning. It looked like it might rain. We decided to take our chances and ride anyway. I'm glad we did, it turned out to be a nice day. We went back on the Rockerfeller roads since it was too foggy to get any views from the higher elevations. We just did a short slow ride to give the girls a break. They had already worked hard for us this weekend. Bonnie packed up the horse trailer while I cleaned out stalls. We had an uneventful drive home. It was extremely windy so we drove slower then normal. We stopped at Dysart's for lunch. We were smart enough to offer the horses water this time, unlike the trip up. Marie drank a whole bucket. Shannon didn't want any but when we got home she thought she was dying and made quite a scene at the water tub which was unfortunately empty. She hopped both front feet into it, tripped, the tub flipped over and tangled with her back feet. She ended up doing a summersault over it. She then jumped up and was outraged that the tub was STILL empty. After all, a grand champion should get better service then this!!! I had to go out and guard the tub so she wouldn't hurt herself or the tub and send Bonnie rushing to turn the water on! Silly horse!

It was a great weekend!


Acadia 50 ride 6/12-13 1999 19/S 17/F
1 Shannon / B Hinz
2 FR Midori / M Batt
3 HFA Sliver Savana / M Deleware
4 SA King Hofflin / V Austin
5 Merceedes Magic / S. Whitcomb
6 Callander Ocassio / K DiPietro
6 JJ ? C Doughty
8 Kahula D&D's Boy / P Bell
10 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
12 ? / Marnie Lord
12 Marie / C Ross (score 93.50)
14 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
16 ? / Mattie Lord
17 GA Abadi Jasars

Acadia 50 Drive
1 Ben PUtnam / Sondra Day