Fryeburg 2 day 50 CTR Fryeburg, ME July 2001

Another wonderful ride. This one a bit more adventurous then some others. I headed out to the ride after I got out of work Friday morning. It's a two hour drive to Fryeburg but the trip was uneventful. I made good time through the dreaded stop light infested Lewiston/Auburn, and arrived at the fairgrounds by 9:30 AM. There weren't many people there yet so I had a good choice of stalls. The stalls are great except for the cement floors. I wanted to put in enough shavings to cushion Marie from the hard floor, but, I also knew whatever I put in, I would have to take out before I left. But, Marie's comfort is most important so I ended up putting a lot of shaving in her stall. Marie settled in quite contentedly. She did call a bit as usual but was fairly relaxed. Susie and Mary were coming so I put some stuff in front of stalls next to Marie's to save them. I was quite tired so decided to climb in my trailer and take a nap. It wasn't long after when I heard a trailer pulling in not far from mine. I peeked out to see if it was Susie or Mary. It was Heather, she parked about 7 stalls down from me. I could see she was wondering where I was but I was too tired to go out and visit and settled in for my nap.

I woke up about 2:00 PM. I was feeling a little fuzzy headed, and Marie was getting a little restless so I decided to go for a quick ride before vetting in. After vetting in at a CTR, you can't ride other then the competition itself. I had time as vetting didn't start until 3:00 PM. Heather came right over as soon as I stepped out of the trailer. Just as I finished tacking Marie up Susie pulled in. Marie knew immediately that her boyfriend had arrived and started hollering to him. He, of course, answered making Marie more excited. I decided to go ahead and ride anyway. I knew Marie wouldn't be very happy about leaving now that the love of her life had arrived but tough! I said hi to Susie and told her I was going for a quick ride and wanted to head out before she unloaded Cody and Marie actually laid eyes on him. Marie was a bit naughty when I mounted up, dancing around and refusing to stand still. I had to really get after her to get her attention and get her to stand. After that, we had a great ride. I must say Marie was very light on her feet and a bit excited but behaved perfectly. I could feel that she wanted to buck but she didn't. When I got back, Susie was just getting ready to head out on a quick ride herself. I would have waited if I'd known she wanted to ride also. I just hadn't thought she'd go out that close to vetting time. That's ok, it's good for Marie to learn she doesn't need to be glued to Cody when we are at rides. Susie headed out and I brushed Marie and headed over to get vetted in. There are a lot of horses at this ride. More then I think I've seen at any ride so far. Twenty horse in the 20 mile ride and over forty in the 50 mile ride. Colleen didn't need to limit the ride entries as there is plenty of room on the Fairground for a lot of people and horses. Poor Colleen was rushing around like a crazy woman wondering how she was going to manage it all though. But, that's not unusual and she always manages to put on a great ride. I got in line for vetting early, so, didn't have to wait all that long. Marie vetted in fine. By the time Susie got back from her ride, there was a long line for vetting. Susie wanted me to keep Marie with Cody so he wouldn't get upset. So, I ended up hanging around in the vetting area forever anyway! I didn't mind though. Good opportunity for socializing. Mary showed up quite late and we told her she was on her own. By the time Susie was done vetting, we'd hung around the vetting area long enough. It was 5:30 PM when Susie finished vetting in.
Mary and I had bought meal tickets for the meal provided by the ride. Susie hadn't bought a meal ticket and they didn't have anymore. But, while hanging out in the vetting area, another woman gave Susie her meal ticket so that worked out. We did wait for Mary before getting supper. We checked on the starting order for the ride as Susie wanted to ride with Mary and me. Susie was only doing the 1 day 25 mile ride and was told at first by ride management that the 25's and 50's were being kept separate. Later, she was told that since she was at the end of the 25's, Mary and I would be put at the beginning of the 50's and they would let us start together. After we had settled Cody and Marie back in their stalls, Heather came back over and the two of us filled Mary's stall with shavings. I knew if we didn't, we'd have to wait that much longer before getting supper and I was getting hungry. Susie was off socializing as usual. Supper consisted of a steak sandwich with grilled peppers, onions and cheese. It was VERY good, but then I was VERY hungry. There was also watermelon and potato chips. After supper, we walked the horses. The riders meeting was at 7:30 PM. After the meeting, Heather and I walked our horses around the race track. I like walking there since there is no grass and Marie isn't constantly trying to drag me around to eat. Marie is such a chow hound always thinking about food (like her owner...)Later we sat around in front of the stalls and chatted until we realized it was getting quite late. We then hurried off to bed as the ride was starting at 6:30 AM.


I slept very well Friday night. I was up a little after 4:00 AM. I went out and fed Marie as quietly as possible trying not to stir up the other horses. I heated up some water for coffee and oatmeal and cut up a banana into the oatmeal. There were donuts, bagels and muffins for us in the office, but their coffee pot was broken so I was glad I'd made my own. It was quite cold this morning. I had to rummage around the trailer to find a pair of gloves. And this was JULY! Luckily, I did find some gloves. And it turned out to be a beautiful day. The ride was right on schedule and the first riders went out at 6:30 AM. Marie was very excited this morning and got very upset when Cody got out of sight for even a second. Once again she was twirling around as I was trying to mount and I had to really get after her. She even shocked Susie when she reared up while I was tring to make her stand still. The trails on today's ride were absolutely awesome. Miles of agricultural roads through potato and corn fields. Colleen now has permission to ride through a private campground that cut off almost all of the road riding we'd had to do in previous years. The water in the Saco river was very low this year so the crossing wasn't as exciting as it's been before. But, it was still fun and much better then riding over the bridge on the road. It is unbelievable how many people camp along this river. The shore on both sides is sandy beach and entire tent cities will apperear overnight. There is also much partying and drinking involved. We got to the hold in good shape. Marie is in such good condition now that I don't have to wait the entire 10 minutes for her pulse to come down. She was down to 50 in 5 minutes today. Her trot out was fine also. We fed the horses and were on our way again on time. On the trail back, we passed a short side trail going down to the river that was marked as a water spot. So, we went down to let the horses drink. The horses had a good drink and just as we were heading up out of the river back to the main trail we heard this loud screeching and the sound of thundering hooves. We look up and just saw the tops of two helmets flash by. Our hearts went into our throats. Either someone was fooling around dangerously, or there were a couple of run away horses. We hurried up the side trail back into the fields and the main trail. We soon came upon Margaret Farnum laying on the side of the trail. She was just getting up as we approached. She said her horse Promise, and Heather's horse, Mariah had bolted and they could not stop them. Margaret had jumped off intentionally. Unfortunately she had landed hard on one hip but said she was ok and could walk out to the road which wasn't far. She told us to go on ahead and let ride managment know she was walking out and ok. When we got out to the road, we sent someone with a car to go get Margaret. Heather was already sitting in another car. Apparently, when she and Mariah came to the tar road, Mariah took a sharp right and fell, rolling over Heather's legs before scrambling up and continuing down the trail towards the fairgrounds. Heather had some bad scrapes from the tar, and her left elbow and wrist was a bit swollen. Nothing seemed to be broken and overall she seemed ok considering. Since the horses were headed in the direction of the fairground, no one was too worried about them. Tom Hutchinson went out to the one busy road between where we were and the fairground in hopes of catching the horses or at least alerting traffic so there was no accident. But, the horses never made it to the road crossing. When we got back to the fairground, we were told the Margaret's horse Promise had been found. He had come almost all the way back, but at the last turn there is a horse farm just up the road and he'd stopped there and was found quietly grazing along the fence line near the horses there. Heather's horse Mariah was still missing. We all thought it odd that the horses had separated. It made me worry that something had happened to Mariah. Heather, at this time, was sitting in a lawn chair calmly stating that she was going to stay for the second day of the ride even though she wouldn't be riding. Meanwhile Tom and several others were out looking for her horse.

There were sandwiches available for us when we got in from the ride. The trot outs were done first so we were done with the first days ride. Susie had to also do her hands on since she was only riding the 25. Marie did a great trot out and we were cleared to ride the second day. After Susie finished her hands on, we had supper. They completed the scoring quickly and soon had the awards for the 25 mile riders. Susie got a 4th place. About that time, Tom arrived back at the fairground to get a quick bite to eat and ask for volunteers to help search for Heather's horse. He wanted a few to go out on horseback, but they would have to be 25 mile riders as those doing the 50 mile ride couldn't take their horses out without withdrawing from the competition. Susie considered going but really wanted to get home before it got too late so she left. Tom mentioned there were some naked men swinging off a rope swing into the river so naturally Mary and I quickly volunteered to go out and search on foot. Not many people volunteered to go out. Just 5 men and 4 women. We piled into Tom's car and went as far as we could with that. Tom told us he's seen some faint tracks leading towards a swamp and that is where he wanted those of us searching on foot to look. He told us to make sure to cover ourselves because we would be walking through a lot of brush and prickers, not to mention the voracious mosquitoes. We all piled into Scott Hatch's truck and went as far as the truck could take us. When I saw where Tom wanted us to look, I thought for sure he was crazy. I could not imagine any horse going out in that swampy, brushy mess. We formed a line and walked in, trying to stay just within sight of each other. I was on one end of the line. The brush and grass was chest high to me and you could not see where you were putting your feet. There were brush tangles, small ravines and swamp holes. And the mosquito's were so thick you could nearly part them with your hands! Mary and I were both wearing mosquito net jackets and I was sure glad we were. I was even more sure we were crazy looking here the farther we went in. I came upon a faint path through the brush and started to follow it as the walking was easier. I figured it was likely made by some moose. I came to a ditch filled with water. On the far side of the ditch in the exposed dirt, much to my surprise, was a clear hoof print! That foolish horse really had come into this swamp! I kept following the path until I came to open water. There was just one more thin bar of brush out in that water then there was an open pond. I could go no farther. I could see where Mariah had milled around trying to decide where to go and I figured she must have turned back. I turned around and started back, then, turned around for one last look out over the open swamp and suddenly spot a big white blaze sticking out of the last bar of brush before the open pond! It was Mariah! She had actually crossed that first section of open swamp to the last bar of brush. She had turned around and was facing towards me but apparently had been too scared to try crossing the open swamp again. She was standing like a statue with nothing but her head above the brush. If she did not have a big white blaze, I would not have seen her. At this point I started yelling for the others. The first woman to get to my spot had fallen into the water and was wet from head to toe. She said that since she was already soaked, she would try wading across to Mariah. I didn't argue with her. She had a hard time getting through the mud and water but she made it eventually. Mariah still had her saddle and bridle on. The woman took the reins and headed back into the water. It took a bit of encouragement to get Mariah to follow her, but finally, she took a huge leap. The mud was so deep that Mariah had to do a lot of thrashing to get through. I thought the poor woman would get trampled to death trying to stay ahead of Mariah and away from her flailing legs. By some miracle, they made it. Mariah was terrified, exhausted and trembling all over. Others had joined us and Mary had brought a halter. We removed the horses bridle and put the halter on. Someone else had brought a long rope. We needed it. It took two people, one on each side of Mariah with separate ropes to hold her. She was so scared she kept trying to bolt. We slowly walked her out of the swamp. Then we still had to walk her quite a way down the trail until we came to a road wide enough for the horse trailer to get in to pick her up. Two people rode in the trailer with Mariah to help keep her calm. The vet checked her over carefully as soon as we got her back to the fairground. Mariah bowed the tendons in two legs and has some cuts and puncture wounds. None were too serious. the vet stitched and bandaged her up. The vet told Heather to keep hosing her legs to help keep the swelling down. Mariah is going to need a long rest but the vet thinks she will be fine. I was just so Glad we had found her.
By the time we got back from the search, Mary and I were so hot, muddy and wet that we headed right to the showers. Then, as were were about starving too, we headed into town for something to eat. The restaurant we had always gone to before has gone out of business so we stopped at a gas station and asked about a place to eat. The man sent us to a pizza place. It turned out to be far more then just a pizza place. All kinds of Italian food was served and it was very good. There were a number of riders there having supper. I got quite the hero's welcome for finding Mariah. Mary and I pretty much went straight to bed when we got back to the fairground.

I was up at 4:00 AM Sunday morning. Same routine as Saturday. Feed Marie, make coffee and oatmeal for myself. The riders meeting was at 6:00 AM in front of the office. First riders were out at 6:30 AM. Everything went well to the hold. I had no problem with Marie but the vet was a bit worried about Mary's horse thinking she might be a little lame. She had Mary trot her several time but in the end decided to let her finish the ride. The second half of the ride also went well. We went as slow as we could for Mary's horse but finished on time. We were one of the first one's to finish so it did not take long to do our trot out. Marie did fine but Mary's horse was definitely lame when circling to the left. Mary was just sick over it. She's had so much trouble with lame horses over the past year and every thing had finally seemed to be going well this year.

With so many riders, we knew it would be a while before the trot outs were done. So, we put the horses back in their stalls to rest and eat. Mary and I sat and rested also. Then, we packed up as much as we could so we wouldn't have so much to do after the award ceremony. Finally it was time for our hands on. Marie had a small sore in her girth area poor girl. First time this has ever happened. Possibly something had gotten under the girth. Supper was served at 3:00 PM. The awards weren't presented until 5:00 PM. Marie lost points for the girth sore but that was all. Mary lost a lot of points for lameness but at least she did get a completion. I was very excited because with this ride, Marie had now earned the year end versatility award.

I had a little bit of unwanted excitement on the way home. After going through Waterford on Route 118, there is a long downhill grade coming into Norway (I think). I was nearly at the end of the long downhill, when the car in front of me slowed to make a right hand turn. I slowed to nearly a stop when suddenly I hear a horrible screeching behind me. I look in my rear view mirror and see a tractor trailer truck flying down the hill out of control. There was still a car in front of me, one behind me and several coming in the opposite direction. There was nowhere to go. The truck must have lost it's breaks and in an effort to not hit us, the driver swerved sharply to the left onto a dirt road. The truck flipped onto it's side and was still coming down the road towards up. The truck rotated all the way around so that it was now facing up the hill and finally slid off into the ditch. It came so close to hitting the car behind me!!! What a scare, I was shaking so hard I nearly couldn't drive! I was sure glad to get home safe and sound.

Fryeburg 50 ME 7/28-29 43/S-41/F
Judges: Shively-Leville
Junior:
1 Travelons Two Times Two / M Kohler
Adult
1 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
2 Shyrocco Lyric / J Kimberly
3 DAR Dutch Treat / S Greenall
4 Especial Addition / L Prentice
5 Czar Nickolas / L Lester
6 Shaham Ka Tara / S Hardy
6 GH Jesse Jolody / D Houghton
8 SR Gibralter / S Rojek
9 BAF Cubic Choice / Ll Pederson
9 Borong / ?
11 Aziza / L LeVitre
12 AFX Polaris / C Metayer
13 Stormy / K Hall
13 Lord Darshan / E Szeliga
15 Picasso / D Rojek
15 SR Katherine / ?
15 Gladgay's Crescendo / V Bentley
18 Mac Callan / C Dermick
Completions:
Electric Smoke / J Brucker
Sherrington / K Redente
Bask n Serafix / S Ackerstrom
Merlin / J Broome
Sage / S MacDonald
Gallant Fireglo / E Fiddes
Pretty Action / J Stratemeyer
Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
Sylvea / J Brunjes
Amali Spunk / L Kholer
Sir Narionn / S Corr
Pardons Protege / C Navoy
Marie / C Ross (score 93.75)
Shaker / J Hesselbacher
? / E Hesselbacher
Willows Rahmaan / I McNaughton
FR Midori / M Batt
Willow Mis-K / C Lang

Pine Tree 50 endurance Waterford, ME 2001

I left for the Pine Tree ride Friday morning about 8:30 AM. I had a great drive there since I fairly sailed through Lewiston/Auburn barely hitting any red lights which is unusual. The Pine Tree 100 this year is the last of a series of qualifying rides for the US endurance team. I knew the fairgrounds would be packed very early since many of the riders trying to qualify were from all over the country and had arrived earlier in the week. I arrived about 10:30 AM. As I suspected, it was quite crowded already. Heather spotted me as soon as I arrived. She was nice enough to take Marie up the barn she was in and put her in a stall next to her horse. I had to turn my trailer around and park it in at the bottom of the fairground. I was quite proud of myself, I'm getting much better at backing the 'big rig' now.

All the horses in the qualifying ride have to be stabled in the same way. Since there were not enough stalls in the barn for them, they all had to be kept in portable corrals. That left the barns to us 50 and 30 mile riders. I ended up with a small stall but Marie didn't seem to care. As a matter of fact, she seemed quite content from the time we arrived. If she only knew that I was going to ride her 50 miles tomorrow....ignorance is bliss I guess. I didn't even have to put up electric wire across the end of her stall. I usually have a hard time keeping her in these cattle stalls, but she was very happy next to Mariah. Marie kept reaching under the stall divider and stealing Mariah's hay. It was fresh cut and therefore much better then her own. I put the stuff that I would be needing at the barn into the truck and drove it up to drop it off. My camping spot was just too far from the barn to lug it all up. Heather's father showed up just after I got camp all set up. Heather, her father, Abby and I went down to Tut's for lunch. After we got back we sat by Heather's trailer and just hung out until it was time to vet in. Endurance riding is quite different from CTR's. There were 5 vets as opposed to the one vet at a CTR. They don't go over the horses like they do at a CTR. Just a quick check and a quick trot with no circle. So, all the horses were vetted in quite quickly which was nice. Just as I got done vetting in, Bonnie showed up, she was my crew person. There were a couple of vendors at the ride. Bonnie and I shopped for a bit. I bought a trailer door organizer. Then Bonnie couldn't stand it any more and just had to go to Tut's. I was still full from lunch so I just had a 'premie' ice cream. I was starting to feel like I was coming down with a cold or some other such nasty thing. Sore throat, headache, stuffy nose and all. I got some Nyquil at Tut's to hopefully help me sleep. When we got back, we searched around for Mary Batt. I was going to be riding with her. I had seen her truck and trailer so knew she was around. We finally found her. Her husband, daughter, daughter's boyfriend and another friend had come with her to pit crew for her. Apparently I was understaffed..... Bonnie would get the privilege of driving my special old truck. It has many quirks that are fun for someone that has never driven it such as not being in the gear it says it's in, the speedometer being 15 mph off, the heater blower having to be hooked up with two wires, having to use a spray bottle and your arm out the window for windshield wiper fluid and so on. Hey, it runs good!

In the ride package, there is a list of all the riders and their horses. I quickly noticed that Marie was the only QH in the ride. It was mostly Arabs and a few Morgans. AAAGGHHH, the pressure was on! Mary and I had already decided we were not going to try for the top 10. Since this was my first endurance ride, I just wanted to get a completion. I am trying to earn the versatility award this year with Marie. for this you have to do one each of a 1 day ride, 2 day ride, 3 day ride and an endurance ride in a season. I already had a completion in a 1 day and a 3 day ride and I didn't want to ruin my chance for the award. The pre-ride meeting was at 6:30 PM We went back down to Tut's for supper after the meeting. We all went to bed soon after we got back to camp as we had to be up by 3:00 AM. The 100 mile riders were starting at 5:00 AM and they had 24 hours to complete the ride. The 50 mile rider were going out at 5:30 AM and we had 12 hours to complete our ride. The 30 mile riders would go out at 6:30 AM. I was feeling pretty lousy by the time we went to bed but the Nyquil did help me to sleep.

I woke up just a little before 3:00 AM. I was feeling a little better. I heated up some water for coffee and oatmeal. After I ate I headed to the barn to feed Marie. She had a quite night it seemed and she actually stayed in her stall all night! A woman who had a horse across the aisle asked Bonnie what breed of horse Marie was. Bonnie told her a QH. The woman was horrified. "You can't use a QH for endurance riding!" Bonnie really didn't say anything to that, but I got a laugh out of it when she told me. In an endurance race, there is a 'shot gun' start. The 100 mile riders went out right on time. It was fun watching 30 horses race out of the fairgrounds all at the same time in the pre-dawn light. That sure makes some of the horse crazy. I saddled up as soon as the 100 milers left and warmed Marie up. We were out right on time at 5:30 AM. Marie was a bit mystified at so many horses racing across the fairgrounds and up the road. we were in the lead for a whole minute! My 60 second of glory!! There is a lot of up hill climbing on the first 14 mile loop. There were several pit crew stops before the first hold. Bonnie was right there at every one sponging Marie down and getting her cooled off. The first hold was at the pumping station. It was a 30 minute hold. Your hold time doesn't start until your horse pulses down to 64 or less. So, you don't want to come racing into the hold too fast or you just end up waiting around for the pulse to come down. Especially with a QH. Marie was a little hot when I first came in so we pulled her saddle right off and sponged her down good. Then her pulsed dropped nicely. Bonnie took Marie through the pulse gate and then for her trot out. Bonnie forgot that when you trot Marie, you can't get up in front of her. She knows you can't make her trot from that position and will play games with you. After much pulling and tugging, I finally yelled over to Bonnie to get beside Marie and tap her with the lead rope. Then Bonnie was able to get Marie to trot. So, Marie got a few B's on her card for impulsion, attitude, and overall impression with a comment of 'real lazy on trot out' with the word lazy crossed out and 'distracted written' in it's place. Otherwise, Marie got all A's. We got out of the hold right on time. The second hold was at the pumping station also after a 16 mile loop. So, at the second we had completed 30 miles. That's as many miles as Marie has ever done in one day. The terrain wasn't too hard on the second loop and Marie's pulse came right down. I did the trot out with her. Bonnie took care of everything else, stripping Marie's tack, sponging her and feeding her while I rested and got something to eat. Mary brought water but no bucket her horse could drink out of. I was glad I brought lots of buckets because Mary ended up using mine. We got out of the hold on time. The next loop was 15 miles with the last hold back at the fairground. We had the mountain to go over in this loop. I got off Marie and tailed up it all the way. Mary and Margaret tried this also but their horses wouldn't cooperate. Tailing is when you dismount, and walk behind your horse holding their tail so they can pull you up the hill. It is easier for a horse to pull you then carry you. You cannot get off your horse in a CTR, but you can in an endurance ride. Marie has been up this hill enough times now to know it is a long one. I think she was just so glad to have me off her back and walking that she was going to go along with anything that kept me off her and we tailed up that mountain like old pros. the other two horses were puffing quite hard when we reached the top but Marie wasn't at all. I'm glad I gave her the break. At about 40 miles out, Marie started acting like she was finally getting a little tired. I wondered how things would go at the last hold with it being at the fairground. The poor horses would think we were done and then we would be making them go back out for a last 5 mile loop.


The last hold was just a 20 minute hold so I didn't pull Marie's saddle. Bonnie did sponge her off thoroughly though. Marie's pulse came down fine and she vetted in well. Once again some B's under impulsion and attitude as her trot out was a bit sluggish but all A's otherwise. When we headed back out, Marie didn't seem to mind at all and even seemed to get a second wind. She moved right along like we had just started the ride and we finished the last 5 miles in good time. At the final vetting she did great and ended up with straight A's on her card. I was so proud of my little mare. Who says you can't do endurance with a QH. The vet told me her recovery's were so good that I could have safely ridden her a bit faster. I had a ride time of right around 8 hours.

At this point I knew I had a nasty sinus infection and I was feeling seriously lousy. Supper was served soon after I finished with awards quickly following that. I placed 20th out of 29 horses that started. The woman with the horse across the aisle from Marie had to ask me if Marie really was a QH. I told her yes. She expressed disbelief and walked off muttering. Bonnie and I decided to stay over until Sunday morning. I just didn't feel well enough to drive home that night. Mary stayed also. We went down to Tut's for coffee and desert that evening. Mary went to bed as soon as we got back. Bonnie and I sat in the barn and watched the 100 milers coming and going until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

I slept until 7:00 AM. By then I really wanted to check on Marie to make sure she was doing ok and of course get her fed. Marie was in great shape. Very content. The woman across the aisle informed us that she's had to feed our horses, Marie and Midori, some hay because they were acting like "dorks". Whatever...... We threw all the stuff we had in the barn into Bonnie's car, stripped Marie's and Midori's stall and headed out.

Pine Tree 50 ME 7/14/01 29/S-27/F
1 Country Major / D Grillo
3 Bie-Kin / W Bejarano
4 Shyrocco Troilus / D Augustine
5 Hydaway SSJ Sox
9 KA Shiloh / S Niedoroda
12 Especial Edition / L Prentice
14 Sir William Naczar / V Stanislawski
15 Izusu / B Lester
16 Harbor Flyte / H Stacy
17 Briwds Mardi Gras / S Corr
18 ? / L. Snook
Completions:
FR Midori / M Batt
Marie / C Ross
LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
Boomerang / J Sapira
Batals Gypsy Rose / B Horstmeier
Baskin Serafix / S Ackerstron
Alert's Shadow / K Robbins
Silvea / J Brunjes
DLA Cassidy / J Hatch

Maine 3 day 80 CTR Waterford ME May 2001

At last I've made it to the Maine 80. After two long years of conditioning and training. There were no pre-trip adventures this time.. thankfully! Actually, that is not quite true. Marie didn't want to get in the trailer and I had to have a little talk with her about that. After about five minutes of negotiations, I convinced her it would be better if she went in and we were on our way. I don't know why she has been doing this lately. She has always been good about loading on the trailer. I'll have to work on this when I get back home. The truck is fixed and running fine and the trailer is ready. Bonnie is coming to help us and work the ride. She ended up having to work half a day Friday. Susie had to work a full day. I headed up first thing in the morning. I managed to leave home about 7:30 AM. The drive up was uneventful. I got to the Waterford Fairgrounds at 9:00 AM. I was surprised to see quite a few people already there. We had stalls assigned to us. I've never seen that done before but it worked out fine. Susie and I did end up in the same barn with the smallest stalls due to our late entry but it was fine. Stall gates were provided this time which was great. I got Marie settled into her stall first thing. She was already making a fuss and calling like crazy. She was wondering where all her buddies were. Aside from the calling, she was behaving fine. I set up our portable fence and divided it into two areas for Cody and Marie. That way we could turn them out in it when we had the chance so they would have more room to move around and roll if they wanted. I also brought my screen house since we were going to be here for three days. It has been so long since I've set it up, I kind of forgot how. I knew that you had to stake down the four corners first. I did that but it just didn't look right. Then I realized that I had staked down the roof! What a goof! After I got that straightened out, I got up set up quickly. After that, I had lots of time to lounge around and get a little rest. I napped for a short spell in my trailer, then again for a while in the screen house. I took Marie to be vetted in as soon as the vet arrived. Marie vetted in fine. I then went down to Tut's restaurant for some coffee and to pick up a few cold drinks. Bonnie Showed up right after I got back. Susie wasn't far behind her. Marie was sure glad to see Cody. We put Marie and Cody out in the paddocks so they could stretch their legs. When Susie went to put Cody in, she asked me if the fence was off, I told her it was....HEY, I really thought it was! .... oops.....Poor Susie got a big zap off it and was then paranoid of the fence the rest of the weekend.

There were 31 entries in the Maine 80 and 8 in the Waterford 30, so a good turn out for the ride. We went down to Tut's for supper. A couple from Cumberland, ME sat with us. They were very nice. We all forgot that Tut's serves HUGE portions and we all ordered more then we could eat. We nearly had to be rolled out the door! After supper we came back to camp and Susie and I played guitars in the screen house for a while. Later we walked the horses around a couple of times during the evening. They aren't used to standing in stalls. Actually, we walk them so we get to socialize with everyone as everyone walks their horses in the evening. We headed to bed just a little after 9:00 PM. The people next to us told me Marie provided them with entertainment when she was turned out in her paddock. I guess she had laid down to roll and stuck her head in her feed Pan and was rubbing around in it. Silly mare! We went out to check on the horses before going to bed. Cody and Marie were hanging over the stall Walls rubbing each other's necks. Cody was obviously a bit 'excited' about this activity with a pretty mare. We got such a laugh over it because Cody is 14 years old and has never given any mare a second look. He is totally dedicated to his athletic career. Marie has been in love with him since she first laid eyes on him. She had finally, after three years, gotten his attention! I teased Susie that Cody's athletic career was ruined now that he had thoughts about mares!

I slept like a log Friday night never waking up at all. That's unusual, I usually wake up at any little noise assuming it is Marie getting loose. She's known for doing that. I woke up just a little before 5:00 AM. Bonnie was awake also. I heated up water for coffee and oatmeal. It was a little chilly but not too bad. Everything was right on time this morning. A light breakfast was served at 6:00 AM. Riders meeting was at 6:30 AM. First riders were out at 7:30 AM. I was #23 and Susie was #24. We were out at 7:50 AM. The day turned out to be quite warm. Marie had been drinking a ton of water from the time we'd arrived. Cody wasn't drinking a lot but then he often doesn't. The trails were fairly dry overall. We had a couple areas where we had to muck through some mud. And there is one spot that is short but really deep. I managed to find just the right place there and sunk Marie in it up to the base of her tail! Same spot I sunk her in last year. Poor horse. She remembered the spot and didn't really want to go through. I felt guilty for making her but there was no other way around. We had to climb the mountain again this year. It is so beautiful at the top but what a climb! Cody had trouble with going uphill that steeply and kept stopping. Marie just puts her head down, digs in and goes without stopping. Marie may not be fast but she sure is steady. Susie was calling her "The Little Engine that Could." We went almost a little too fast the first day. We had to wait a few minutes before we could cross the finish line. Both horses did a great job and vetted out fine and cleared to ride the second day. Marie did get a tiny sore on her withers. I don't know what caused it. Maybe something under the saddle pad. I knew I'd have to be careful with saddling the next day. Norma House, who was the P&R person for our barn, went home and got me a gel pad to use so the sore wouldn't get more irritated over the next few days. That was so nice of her to do. that afternoon was the 'banquet' that we paid and extra $8.50 to attend. Well, to use the word banquet was a big stretch of the imagination. The meal was very good. We had ham, corn. potato, bread and salad. There was only lemonade to drink and no desert. It was the same sort of meal we usually get that is included in the price of the entry fee. We decided we'd have been better off going to Tut's for supper. Bonnie and I did sneak down there in the evening for coffee and desert. We hung out in the screen house house for a while. Norma and Irving joined us and we had a nice time chatting. They are both such characters and fun to talk to. Irving is amazing. He's in his 70's and and is at all the rides and still does one day 50's and 100's. He rides an old horse and travels around with his ancient dog. He is amazing and such a wealth of knowledge on this sport. The mosquito's were fierce so I was glad I'd brought the screen house. Susie and I played guitar for a while. Then we did the usual walking of the horses and socializing.

Sometime during the night it started to rain. we got up Sunday morning in the rain. It was just a light rain. The ride goes on no matter what the weather is so we just set about our business as usual. Everything was right on time this morning again. We were doing the same trails today as we did yesterday. Susie and I went out at 7:45 AM. There were fewer horses this morning. The 30 mile riders were gone and a few horses had been pulled from the 80 mile ride. It rained all day, sometimes quite hard. Once we got going though, we didn't mind it. It wasn't really cold and the rain kept the horses cooled down. Marie had to lead Cody up the mountain again. Two miles from the finish, Cody suddenly bolted without warning. Marie leaped into the air and gave and good buck, then also bolted. Both Susie and I were caught off guard. Both horses got running pretty good before we got ourselves together and got them under control. We decided they couldn't be very tired if they had the energy for that kind of behavior! It is very unusual for Marie to do something like that at all. We did the ride in great time today. I got though the vetting fine but Susie was told she would have to bring Cody for a re-check in the morning. I was so proud of my little Marie getting through 60 miles so far without problem. We went down to Tut's for an early supper. Heather went with us. Her horse got pulled the first day but she stayed to work the ride. Susie left to go and take a shower at a friends camp. She invited Bonnie and I to go but we decided we had been out in a 'shower' all day, we'd seen all the water we wanted to see. Now that I have a sink in my trailer, it's easy to take a sponge bath anyway. Bonnie and I hung out in the screen house to keep out of the rain. Later we went back down to Tut's for some desert and coffee. We just love that place. After we got back, Bonnie and I took down the paddock . We would be leaving the next day and with all the rain, knew we would not be putting the horses out again. We also took down the screen house. Heather helped me with that which I appreciated. Then, we went out to the barn and hung out in one of the empty stalls to play guitar and sing. Susie was so worried about possibly not being able to ride the last day. So was I, Marie would be so upset if Cody couldn't go.

Monday morning was overcast and misting when we got up. The riders meeting was a little late this morning due to the horses that had to be re-checked. Susie was nervous but Cody was cleared to start the ride! We were both very relieved. Monday's trail was easier but we had to ride faster to make the time. There was no hold either. The ride went great and we finished in great time. We rode the last five miles or so with Liz Szeliga from MA. She was very nice and fun to talk with. She had done the ride three times before but this was the first time for the horse she was riding. Marie was a bit sluggish at the trot out. And she was slightly sore in her shoulders when they did the hands on. Not surprising considering the mountain we had climbed two days in a row. Overall, she was in great condition for having just finished 80 miles. Susie was in a tizzy wanting to leave. She didn't want to wait for awards. Bonnie and I gave her such a hard time about it. We were served hamburgers, hotdog and potato salad for supper. The scoring was done quite quickly and awards were ready to be presented before Susie left so she stayed. It was such a great ride!

Maine 80 5/26/01 ME 31/S-23/F
Judges: Davis/Lorimer
1 Lord Darshan / L Szeliga
2 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
3 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
4 Jericho . C Sadowski
5 Willowbrook Precious / L Crowley
6 Hawks Neopolitan / M Coleman
7 Scatri / D Schrader
8 Rushcreek Equal / G Pawlowicz
9 High Country Piper / M Deleware
11 Kineo / P Snow
13 ? / J Stratemeyer
14 Brios Kavalier / K Duggan
15 Marie / C Ross (score 86.75)
16 Czar Nickolas / L Lester
17 Baskin Serafix / S Akerstrom
18 Xavier Sunny Acres / S Reinheimer
Comp PS Sir Sedgewick / S Corr
Comp sillows Rahmaan / I McNaughton
Comp Silvea / J Brunjes
Comp EJ Sheik / D Meldrum
Comp RKL Echo's Image / B Vanderminden

Appleblossom I 25 CTR Groton MA May 2001

Yeah, competition season begins! But, as usual, this story begins days before the ride. Several weeks ago, I noticed that the breaks on my horse trailer were getting a little grabby. Since it is a three hour drive to Groton, MA, I called Will's trailers to have the trailer serviced before the ride. I took it in on Monday before the ride weekend, explaining to the mechanic what was going on with the trailer. I had planned to just drop the trailer off for the day but the mechanic asked if I could leave the truck also. He thought there might be more going on then just the trailer breaks. So, I called Fred to come pick me up. When Fred got there, I was out on the lot looking over all the trailer, as I just can't resist looking. Fred scared the poor mechanic with his...... Fred-ness. Fred is such a wonderful man but some people don't know quite what to think of him when they first meet him. That evening, the mechanic called and said the truck and trailer were ready so we went to pick it up. The mechanic said the electric break system had not been properly grounded and he'd fixed that. He said all was fine with the trailer but the truck needed new breaks! AAAGGGHHHHH. I only drive it when I haul the trailer so I was blaming the trailer for the breaking problems. The mechanic thought I'd be fine to go to the competition, so I didn't worry about it. The Wednesday before the ride, Fred pulled the trailer out back to install a cabinet and sink. He did a wonderful job with it and it looks great. Then, on Friday morning, Fred came home from work and told me he noticed a squealing in the front end when he pulled the trailer out back and he's worried the wheel bearings need to be re-packed. He doesn't feel I will be safe to take the truck on such a long haul!!!! I was just about beside myself. I've got all this money into entry fee, shoeing and health papers for going out of state and NOW he's telling me he's worried about the truck! I told him he'd better start calling some garages. Poor Fred, I was trying not to get too excited but I was quite upset. I was supposed to be leaving at noon and follow Susie and Mary to the ride. Fred called the garage we usually go to and they said to bring the truck in. So begins the waiting game. I called Susie and told her and Mary to just go without me and to just try to save a place for me to park when I got there. They were both worried for me. At 10:30 AM the garage called to tell us that it was the breaks that were making all the noise, the ball joints were bad, the wheel bearing were loose and did need to be re-packed. But, he told me, none of that was really at the dangerous stage yet. The problem was that one of the tie rods was about to let go and that was dangerous. I would loose my steering if that went. He said he could replace the tie rod that day but nothing else. So, that is what we had him do. The truck wasn't ready until 4:30 PM. I rushed over, got the truck then rushed back to the house, hooked up and off I went. Mary gave me very good directions to the ride thankfully. I left the house at 5:30 PM and got to the ride at 9:00 PM. I had no problems with the truck other then the trailer breaks grabbing. I had reserved a pen for Marie so I wouldn't have to set anything up when I got to the ride other then giving Marie some hay and water. Susie and Mary went to bed soon after I got there. I stayed up a little longer and made myself a sandwich. I had left in such a hurry I hadn't really had any supper. I was really appreciating my new trailer. The living quarters, home made as they are, make for little to no set up when you arrived at camp. I didn't have the best night sleep because some horses in a pasture adjoining Marie's pen kept crashing through the bushes all night trying to check her out and they were all squealing at each other. I was afraid Marie might get loose if one of them kicked through the fencing. Nothing did happen and I woke up for good around 5:00 AM. I heated some water and had oatmeal and coffee. When Susie got up, we fed the horses. When I stepped out of the trailer and saw the barn at this place, I couldn't believe my eyes. I hadn't seen it when I arrived as it was dark. I've never seen such a heathen structure in my life. It was....well...hard to describe. It looked like it was thrown up with all scrap material. Lumber, plywood, carpeting... and nothing was cut to fit. I was just sorry I didn't have my camera with me. There was an outhouse in the middle of one of the paddock by the barn. But, otherwise the place was very nice. Vetting in was done the morning of the ride. The vet was late getting there are there were 31 riders. Needless to say we got a very late start on the ride. I will say the vet was very quick with the vetting. At the pre-ride briefing, Gail was describing the trail and what the markers would look like and it sounded complicated. Susie was totally stressing out. "It sounds hard, we're going to get lost..." etc. I wasn't worried. It always sounds harder then it actually is. It turned out to be no problem. It started to rain while were were vetting in, so, we broke out all the rain gear and resigned ourselves to a wet ride. By the time the ride started, it was clearing off and the weather turned out beautiful. The trails were outstanding. Very flat and easy with little pavement. Some of it was along an old railroad bed where we had to go through a 'tube' which was just a huge culvert that went under a road. the horses were very brave and went right through. They sped up towards the end of the tube but that was it. We followed a wonderful trail along a river for a while which was lovely. The first and second loop were the same nine miles then a hold back at camp. Marie was traveling very strong and was in good shape at the hold. The last seven mile loop was lovely also.We went through a state bird sanctuary with maintained trails, then through a cross country jump course. We were strictly told to not try any of the jumps going through there. Not to worry, these jumps were seriously huge Olympic caliber jumps and I would not even have considered trying one. The whole ride was great. After the ride, Susie got fretting about wanting to get home and didn't want to stay for the awards. By the time we'd had dinner they were ready with the awards so Susie ended up staying. The vet judge didn't like the way Marie traveled so she took off points for lameness. Just before my trot out, Marie had nipped me looking for a treat and I had given her a sharp slap for it. So, she was sulking when we went to do our trot out and was reluctant to trot. So, more points of for 'fatigue'. That was ok, it was a great ride and will be worth coming back to. We had a safe and uneventful drive home. The truck goes back to the garage tomorrow morning to have the rest of the work that it needs done. I'm not going to haul again until everything is taken care of.

Apple Blossom 25 CTR MA 5/5/01 24/S-23/F
Judges Newell/Stratemeyer
Juniors
1 Travelon's Two Times Two / M Kohler
Adults
1 Sir Narionn / S Corr
1 willowbrook Precious / L Crowley
3 Izusu / C Lester
3 Sherrington / K Redente
6 Czar Nickolas / L Lester
7 High Country Piper / M Deleware
8 Society Olympic Spot / R Johnson
9 FR Midori / M Batt
10 Peppers Bold Glory / R Bryant
10 Xavier Sunny Acres / S Reinheimer
12 ? / D Barrington
13 Lord Darshan / E Szeliga
13 Miss Pinata Bar / M Stuller
15 Oliver / A Quill
15 Kadets Charm / C Di Marzio
17 Marie / C Ross (score 91.50)
18 MBF Rifasa / M Guild
Comp Stormy Prairie / D McClary
Comp Jewely's Gem / C Breckstrom
Comp Marjas Majestic Breakaway / D Johnson
Comp Amalie Spunk / E Kohler

Boo 25 CTR W. Sumner ME Oct 2000

Well, this ride has a little pre-drama that I must add before telling about the ride. I was sitting in my living room last Friday, looking through the latest Uncle Henry's and reading the ads by the horse trailer dealer where Bonnie and I bought our present trailer. They had just gotten in some trailers with living quarters and I wanted to go take a look at them. They were out of my price range but I still enjoyed looking at them. But, I did find a trailer I fell in love with. It is a 2000 Bison 3 horse slat load gooseneck with rear tack and front dressing room. It was a used trailer but had only been used three times. I inquired about the price and it seemed very reasonable. I asked them to give me a ball park figure on what the payments would be and it was very reasonable. I went home and casually mentioned the trailer to Fred. The next day, when Fred got home from work, he looked at me and said, "well, what are you waiting for?" I gave him a funny look not knowing what he was talking about. "So," he said, "I thought we were going to look at that trailer." I was out the door like a shot. We went down and looked. Fred liked the trailer and told me to go ahead and get it if I could work things out with Bonnie with the trailer we have. Bonnie came over to ride that afternoon and we discussed it. She said to go ahead and trade in our trailer on it. So, Monday, I called the dealer and set up an appointment for 11:00 AM on Thursday to have them look at our trailer to give us a trade in price. The dealer had been out of state and couldn't do it sooner. I took the trailer in and was given a trade in price that was more then I expected. So, I did the paperwork for the loan. The dealer said it would be a couple of hours before we heard from the bank so I headed back home. By the time I got home there was a message on my answering machine telling me that the loan had been approved. I was asked when I could pick the trailer up. I laughed and jokingly said tomorrow morning as I had a competition to go to tomorrow afternoon. I was told fine, no problem. I was speechless. I told her I didn't have a hitch and one would have to be installed. I was told to bring my truck in right away and they would get the hitch installed tomorrow morning. So, back I went with the trailer. My mom followed me down so I could drop the truck off and not have to wait. I didn't hear anything from the dealer that night so I assumed everything was ok. Fred and I headed over Friday morning to finish up the paperwork and pickup up the truck and new trailer. Sure enough, they got the hitch all in and fixed and electrical problem with the wiring on the truck we had been having. Then, when the new trailer was hooked up, there was some problems with the wiring. It took a while to get it figured out so Fred went home. Meanwhile, I'm getting nervous about getting to the CTR too late. I knew Bonnie was at home waiting for me. They got it all taken care of before 11:00 AM so that wasn't too bad. The trailer hauls real nice. I took it right over Oak Hill to see how the truck handled it. We usually avoid Oak Hill when hauling and go around by Rt 126. The trailer is certainly a bit heavier then the 2 horse trailer but not bad. When I got home, Bonnie was not there. I went in the house an asked Fred if he had seen her. He said she had gone out to meet me on the road. I had not seen her and I knew she would not have missed seeing me with the trailer. Then I realized that she would not have expected me to go over Oak Hill Rd. and that is how we missed each other. I started loading the trailer and eventually, Bonnie got back. She thought I must have stopped for gas when she hadn't seen me. We just heaved everything into the trailer and figured we'd sort it out when we got to the ride. We got the horses and prayed they would load into the new trailer without trouble. When we'd gotten our other trailer, our horses had refused to load the first time. There was nothing to worry about, the horses loaded right in. The ride was in West Sumner. I have never been there before but we figured it would take us about an hour or so to get there. We went by the directions we were given. 1 1/2 hrs......2 hrs......2 1/2 hrs.......and we're still driving??? 2 1/2 hrs and we're still seeing signs for Turner, which isn't all that far from my house. The directions we'd gotten took us the looooooong way around. We finally did find the ride camp. We set up the portable pen and got the horses settled in. We had to divide the pen because Marie and Tamara do not get along. Then we took the horses up to be vetted in. Larry Buggia is the vet judge. He is our regular vet. The vetting went great. Bonnie did a great job on her trot out. Tamara was a little fussy about having her mouth messed with but Larry managed. Just as we were getting finished, Susie arrived. She didn't know about us getting the new trailer. We could see her looking around for our trailer and wondering where we were. We flagged her down and pointed toward where we were parked. She looked over there with a puzzled expression, then suddenly recognized my truck. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head, she was very excited.

The ride was being held at the home of a couple that have horses. Their home is an old farmstead (1736) on a dead end road. The home and main barn have been restored. It is a really beautiful place owned by Steve & Laura Falconer. There are acres of fields which we are camping in. The farm is up on a hill with great views of surrounding mountains."Snacks" were provided for us in Steve and Laura's house. 'Snacks' was a bit of an understatement though. It was a regular meal with soup, finger foods and lots of baked goods. We were stuffed and decided we did not need to go out for supper. When we got back to the trailer, we could hear all this screaming coming from a house across the field. It was a large field so the house was not all that close, yet we could clearly hear a woman screaming, " stop, you're hurting me, someone help me." Over and over again. Even the horses were all staring. Susie called 911. We don't know what happened but the screaming continued until the police showed up. It was very scary. The riders meeting was held at 6:00 PM in the house. It was nice having the meeting in the evening so we didn't have to rush around in the morning. When I walked into the house, I noticed Laura sitting on the floor writing in a notebook with her feet. She wrote, turned a page, wrote some more then tore the page out of the book. She then picked up some pens and pencils, but them in a box and placed them on a shelf all with her feet. I did not realized until then that Laura has no arms. It is absolutely amazing what she can do with her feet. Laura rides and Susie asked her how she controls her horse. Laura said she uses a lot of leg signals. And she has a harness that goes around her upper body and which the reins attach to. So, she has some control of the horses head this way.

Vicki, the ride manager, had us all sing a Halloween song done in rounds. No one had heard of the song before so we did a pretty poor job of it. It was kind of fun anyway. After the meeting, Bonnie, Susie and I went over to visit with some of the riders gathered at one of their trailers. Around 8:30 PM, we heard Vicki yelling that there was a bonfire at the house. We wandered over and it was really only a campfire but very nice and cosy. And, they were serving wine. It was interesting watching Laura holding wine and a cigarette with one foot and even flicking off the ashes. That's more then I could managed with 2 hands. Around 11:00 PM we wandered back to our trailer and went to bed. Bonnie and I are really going to enjoy this trailer.

We were up plenty early in the morning. Breakfast was served at the house at 6:00 AM. It was very good. Hot and cold cereals, baked goods, fruit and all sorts of drinks. Bonnie, Susie and I wandered over to check out the barn. It's a big old barn built in the 1730's. It's been nicely restored. While we were there, the resident rooster came in and decided to defend his territory. Bonnie and I beat a hasty retreat with Susie covering the rear with a large barn broom for defense. Stupid rooster! The ride started right on time and the first riders were out at 8:30 AM. They let Bonnie, Susie and me go out together. Bonnie was at first worried about riding with Susie. She was afraid Susie would set a pace that was too fast for Tamara. Tamara was quite pumped up at first and was quite a handful. We held back and let Susie go on ahead of us. Of course that didn't settle well with Marie. Tamara was so excited that she was trotting along quite fast so that Susie wasn't really getting that far ahead of us. On a straight stretch, we would catch sight of Susie, Marie would start calling to Cody, then Cody was answer and start fussing. Finally, I told Bonnie we might as well ride together. Tamara was moving as fast as Cody whether she liked it or not. So, we joined up and all the horses were happy and did just fine together. Tamara settled down then fairly quickly and was great. we did a 12.5 mile loop and the hold was back at the camp. Marie's P&R's were very good. So were Tamara's. We were about five minutes late getting out of the hold but the trails were great and the time was easily made up. We did the same loop again to complete the ride. The vet judge, Larry Buggie, didn't waste any time with the final vetting. Marie's trot out was good. And Tamara's looked good to me also. Cody looked like he always does. We got the horses settled into their paddocks and went to see how supper was coming along. Supper was being catered. It was ready when we got over there and we were first in line. The meal was great. Grilled chicken, mixed veggies, baked potatoes, fresh bread and apple pie. Bonnie and I sat on the lawn near the house. One of the riders, Becky Lester, was sitting on the lawn near the barn. I noticed 'the rooster' coming out of the barn behind Becky. I pointed him out to Bonnie. Sure enough, the rooster attacked Becky. After trying to kick him a few times from a sitting position, Becky tried to jump up but tripped and fell dropping her plate of food. Becky jumped back up and kept kicking the rooster trying to keep it off her. Finally Steve saw what was happening and ran to her rescue, grabbing the rooster and putting him in a pen. Poor Becky!

The awards followed the meal. Bonnie got a sixth place in her division. Susie got a 5th and I got a 3rd. Marie and Tamara had both done wonderful. Tamara lost point where her girth had rubbed the hair off behind her elbows. It didn't take us long to break camp thanks to the new trailer. We headed out and NOT the way we had come. We went home through Turner and within 40 minutes were in Lewiston. It was starting to get dark at this point so I turned on my headlights. Soon, I noticed I had no interior lights. Then I lost my headlights, then the trailer lights. Now I was quite worried. I knew I could not keep driving in the dark with no lights so I pulled into a gas station in Sabattus. I pulled up to the pumps as I needed gas anyway, and turned off the truck. This was a big mistake as the truck wouldn't start again. A couple girls getting gas helped me jump the truck so I could pull it out of the way. While we were doing this, Bonnie called Fred to come help us. He came, took a look at the truck and said the alternator was shot and there was nothing we could do about it that night. So, I called Susie and she came out with her trailer to get the horses and hauled them home for us. What a pain! Fred and I went back the next morning to get the truck and trailer. We jumped it and headed home. We got about half way and had to jump it a second time. We did get truck and trailer home safely.

Boo 25 ME 10/21/00 28/S-27/F
Junior
1 San Sierra / A Catanease
Adult
1 Silvea / J Brunjes
2 SPD Carousel / C O'Conner
2 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
4 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
5 Talzrianon / N Okun
5 HVA Silver Savanah / M Deleware
7 Briwds Mardi Gras / S Corr
8 Willowbrook Precious / L Crowley
9 Marie / C Ross (score 93.75)
10 ? / T Hutchinson
10 Willow Rahmaan / I McNaughton
12 Xavier Sunny Acres / S Reinheimer
13 SA Lady Nevada / ?
14 EA ABadi Jasara / ?
14 Mighty Frankie / T York
14 Nerzans Lady Mariah / H Bonneau
17 Travelons Times Two / M Gamester
Comp Rolling Stone / H Moss
Comp ? / J Hatch

2000 ECTRA Year End Awards
YTD milage Marie-370 Cindy 370
Middle Distance - Adult (10 rides - 99 horses)
Bronze
Beau Socks Bette Laug MD
HFA Silver Savanah Marcia Deleward ME
Imperial 'O' Munif Joann Farman MD
JJ Sandra Hoffacker NJ
Junior Henry Smith VAonnie Snodgrass MD
Son Bob's Tony Reiner Sandra Draus NJ
VAnitys El Hadiya Jan Larson
Silver
HV Terdakis Bean Doran VT
I C Double Kathy Schiermeyer NJ
Indevincable Dinah Rojek VT
Little Hi Jinks Betty Bannerot PA
NLF Moonstruck Carl Lange NY
Narizar Renee McNamara NJ
SHS Shoo Fly Pie Susan Doucette NJ
SR Spirit Steve Rojek VT
Stoneybrook Lyric Stephanie Muncy VA
Stormy's Raini Day Drozan Mahon NJ
Gold
Aleser Sue Greenall Vt
Anchor Hill Alan Marcy Gamester MA
Briwds Mardi Gras Sue Corr RI
Crystal Mint Lee Alexander VT
Marie Cindy Ross ME
Otter Brook Sonata Lance Lochary MD
SR Zeppelin Steve Rojek VT
To The Moon Greg Senseney MD
WW Risky Business Barry & Louise Schimel MD

Crooked River 2 day 60 CTR Waterford, ME Oct 2000

The weather forecast was for cold and rain for the weekend. It takes more then that to stop Bonnie and I from going to a ride! We set off early Friday morning. Bonnie took the day off work. She isn't riding in this competition. She is just coming along with me for moral support. She will be working the ride. She is such a great friend and good sport. It was raining when we left. We had an uneventful trip. We took a camping spot where we could have electricity. Bonnie brought a heater so we would not freeze to death. There weren't many people there when we arrived. The Rojek's were there with there enormous bus. We parked our puny little trailer right behind them. Talk about extremes, it was pretty funny. It was raining lightly when we got there and while we were setting up camp but thankfully, no downpours. We got Marie settled in first. The competition is at the Waterford fairgrounds. It is a small fairground and not the most well maintained. The stall are open cattle pens. I brought along some boards and the hardware to put a gate across the front of Marie's stall. I used my electric unit last year. That was a bit of a nuisance, I thought the board would work better. After we set up camp, Bonnie and I headed down to Tut's for some lunch. This is a great restaurant and within walking distance of the fairgrounds. After lunch, we took a tour of every one's horse trailers. We like looking at all the different ones and hearing what people like and dislike about them. We would really like to get a gooseneck trailer sometime in the near future. It would make camping with the horses so much easier. The Rojek's brought the pony mare, Cavaletti, that Bonnie is interested in. Steve just hasn't committed himself to selling her yet. Nor will he tell Bonnie what his price will be if he does sell her. Bonnie is going crazy with wanting something definite. It didn't take long to vet in the horses. The vet was one I didn't know, Matt Holden. He was very quiet and didn't say much. Bonnie and I went back down to Tut's for supper. After supper, we took Marie out for a walk and let her graze for a bit.

About 5:00 AM Saturday morning. Marsha Deleware knocked on our trailer door to let me know that Marie had gotten out of her stall. She said she had put her back in and everything was fine. Sigh, that mare can't leave anything alone!! We got up at 5:30 AM and fed Marie. She had leaned on the top board of her stall gate and broken it, which is how she got out. Marsha had taken the bottom one and put it on top to keep her in. I ended up using my electric fence unit to keep her in her stall. Rotten horse!!!I heated up some water on our new little stove for oatmeal and coffee. It wasn't nearly as cold as they had predicted. No complaints about that. The riders meeting was held and the ride started right on time. I was out at 8:06 AM. I was paired up with Lois Crowley. She took off like greased lightening. I didn't want to start out so fast so I held Marie back. Marie didn't like being alone. She behaved well enough but was so nervous that eventually, I let her speed up a bit. We then caught up with Marsha Deleware and Marcy Gamester. That made Marie immensely happy. She fell in love with Marsha's horse, Piper. I don't know why, Piper is a mare. I guess you have to be a horse to understand these things. About 5 miles out, I really had to pee. I just couldn't wait any longer so I told Marsh and Marcy that I was going to make a pit stop and I would catch up with them. I got off Marie and went off the trail into the woods. I climbed over a bank of dirt for a bit of privacy and to keep Marie from bothering me. Well, she was very worried about the other horses being out of sight and at the most inopportune moment, leaped over the bank of dirt almost on top of me. Here I am in the middle of doing my business when suddenly I have 1,000 lbs of very unhappy horse doing the Mexican Hat dance around me. I'm doing the crab scuttle with my pants down around me knees trying not to get trampled to death. I certainly could not stop what I was doing as I was now in fear for my life!!! I finally finished, jumped up and yelled at my horse to settle down and stop and by some miracle, didn't wet anything I shouldn't have. I was soon mounted up again and quickly caught up with Marsha and Marcy. The first 10 miles of the trail was rocky and kind of slow going. Then there was a 5 mile loop that was just wonderful sandy dirt road.Part way through this loop, we stopped to let the horses drink at a puddle. All of the sudden, I felt an awful pain on my right shoulder blade. I accidental kicked Marie while trying to swing around and see what it was and Marie jumped forward and ran into Marsha's horse. I was stung by a nasty yellow jacket! We moved right out of there quickly in case there was a nearby nest. We came into the hold and Marie's P&R's were good and her trot out was ok. We then repeated the nice 5 mile loop and another 10 miles back to the fairgrounds. Marie and Marcy's horse are very well matched in pace. I was glad to ride with her. We finished in good time. Those of us doing the 2 day 60 only had to do a quick trot out. Marie was fine and cleared to ride the second day. Heather, Jean and Dinah were told they would have to have their horses re-checked in the morning. The ride provided us with a nice supper but Bonnie and I still snuck down to Tut's for coffee and desert. We got back just in time for the award ceremony for the 30 mile riders. Later we walked Marie one last time and headed to bed.

We were up early. Marie was kind enough to stay in her stall last night. The vet was a little late showing up which caused a slight delay due to the horse that had to be re-checked. Bonnie and I did a little packing while we waited. The vet passed Dinah and Jean's horse but was a bit concerned about Heather's horse. Heather was not happy as she was working towards the versatility award. For this award, you have to do a one day ride, a two day ride, a three day ride and one endurance ride in one season. Heather's horse had been pulled at the last 2 day ride so this was her last chance to complete a 2 day ride. The vet judge finally decided to leave it up to her and she decided to ride. Marie has totally bonded to Marsha's horse Piper and has been a real nuisance about it. Today Marhsa and Marcy rode out ahead of us and Marie was very unhappy. Just barely managing to contained herself. About 12 miles out, we caught up to Marsha and Marie settled right down. Everything went fine at the hold and we finished in good time. The final vetting went a bit slow. Marie was very restless after the ride and didn't do the best trot out. I figured we would place poorly due to that. But, we placed first in our division and 4th overall. I was thrilled. Heather placed last but did get her completion and was very happy with that. Bonnie and I stopped at Tut's one last time for coffee before heading home.

Crooked River 60 10/7/00 11-S/F
1 Briwda Mardi Gras / S Corr
2 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
3 High Country Piper / M Deleware
3 Marie / C Ross (score 90.00)
3 Alora Danin / K Brunjes
6 Willowbrook Precious / L Crowley
6 S R Spirit / S Rojek
8 ? / D Rojek
9 ? / S Greenall
10 SA Lady Nevada / H Bonneau

Fryeburg 2 day 50 CTR Fryeburg, ME July 2000

Well, here I go again! Bonnie is not bringing a horse but came with me and will be working the ride. She is such a good friend for doing this. It takes so many volunteers to run one of these rides. Bonnie has returned her new horse, Max,to the dealer and traded her for a nice pony mare that I think she will have a lot of fun with. Since this mare is in her teens, Bonnie will still be looking around for something else but she wanted something to ride now while she was looking. Though I think this little mare will surprise her and do fine with this sport. I took her out a day after Bonnie got her and loved her. She is spirited but sane and steady. I must have looked quite a sight riding down the road on this pony with my legs handing nearly to the ground. I was hoping Bonnie would show up early enough Friday morning so we could sneak out for a quick ride before I dragged her away from her new pony for the weekend. She did arrive early enough and we had a nice little ride to the alpaca farm. Bonnie really like her new little mare.

I was a little apprehensive about going to this ride. We had to use my truck and I've never trusted it. We have had it in to two different mechanics and it still hasn't been running very good. We finally took it to a third mechanic. I don't like the man that owns the last shop we brought it to but his mechanic finally seems to figure out what was wrong and the truck is running great right now. Better then it ever has since we bought it. It's almost a 2 hr. drive to Fryeburg. We arrived at the fairgrounds about 11:00 AM. Not many people had arrived yet. They have opened up the new barn that they were just finishing last year when we were here. We had our pick of stalls. the fairgrounds are beautiful. It is in a valley with mountains all around it. the grounds are beautifully maintained and landscaped. The bathrooms are pleasant and clean and there are even showers. the horses stalls are roomy and there is water piped in between every two stalls. And the barns are lovely shed row barns. You can camp right in front of the stalls which is great and so convenient. I filled up Marie's stall with shavings while Bonnie cleaned out the horse trailer and set up our cots. Camping in our trailer is working out great. It is simple and it makes us keep the trailer spotlessly clean. It is secure and dry in bad weather and has nice window screens keeping the bugs out. When we get to a ride, we clean out the manure, rinse the floor, give the walls a quick wipe down and ta-da, our home away from home is ready. I even made some curtains that we put over the windows with velcro. Someday we'll have a trailer with living quarters but for now this is great. Anyway, after I got Marie all settled into her stall, I got a stall ready for Susie. She was planning to arrive between 3:00 and 4:00 PM. Bonnie and I went into town to gas up the truck and get lunch. We stopped at a nice little restaurant of which I can't remember the name. we both ordered the fresh fish sandwich special and it was SOOOOOOOOO good. Best fish I can remember having in a long time. When we got back, we walked Marie for a while so she wouldn't be stiff when we vetted in. The vet judge, Don McLean was an hour late. The vetting was supposed to start at 3:00 PM. Susie arrived at 3:30 PM and the vet at 4:00 PM. Don was the same vet that judged this ride last year. Marie is his worst nightmare. He just hates the way she travels. It really bugs him. Both Marie and Cody vetted in ok though I did see Don roll his eyes are Marie. He remembered her from last year, sigh. Bonnie got the job of scribing for the lay judge. I was jealous, that is a good job and such a great learning experience. The lay judge is Gaynor Coassin. She is a great lady and has been in this sport forever I think. Steve and Dinah Rojek are here this year. I believe they come to this ride every year. They are legendary in the sport of endurance riding. They are both on the US endurance team and have competed all over the world. They use CTR's as training rides for their horses. They travel around in this enormous custom bus camper with a slide out and pull a trailer behind. It is very impressive. Susie did ask Steve today what he did for work. He just replied that he was a business man. Steve and Dinah are both such nice people. They both make a point of talking to everyone and encouraging us newcomers in this sport. After Bonnie was done with her scribing job for the night, the three of us went over to the food trailer and had hamburgers, salads and cake. We set up my tent for Susie. She had hers with her but mine is easier to set up. We sat around camp for a while and chatted. The electrolyte controversy continues. Susie uses electrolytes on ride day mostly because that is what "everyone else does". I've read enough to feel that electrolyteing is not completely harmless and in some cases may be more harmful then beneficial. Especially if your horse does not drink well. And Cody is not the best drinker. I have read one theory suggesting giving electrolytes several days before a ride. Since you are likely resting the horse the days before the ride, you wont risk electrolyting when the horse is dehydrated and/or tired but will prompt the horse to drink and hopeful have him "super hydrated" before you get to the ride. Marie always drinks like a fish anyway. We invited Heather over to our campsite. She has been at all the rides and seems to be a very nice girl. She has a little Mustang mare named Lady. We headed to bed when we couldn't stand the mosquitoes anymore, they were ferocious. We had a quiet night.

We had an uneventful morning. We were up early and got the horses fed. I heated up water for coffee and oatmeal. The ride provided coffee and pastries but just not early enough. we had a brief pre-ride meeting and the ride started right on time. Susie is only doing the 25 mile ride but we got paired up together for today. Four miles out, we had to cross the Saco River. It was chest deep to Marie and is quite wide. It was a lot of fun. I had to put my feet up on the saddle to keep them from getting wet. Marie had her head down in the water drinking all the way across. It was funny watching her. I was wishing Bonnie was here riding with is on her new pony mare, she would have had to swim! Last year we'd gone down the road and crossed the river on the bridge. This was much more fun. Marie has to work hard to keep up with Cody. She is so in love with him though, that she would follow him to the ends of the earth even if it killed her. We never saw the sign that the hold was coming up and we were moving pretty fast when we suddenly there it was. Oops! We waited for a couple minutes just outside the hold to give the horses time to cool down. We usually walk the last mile in. Marie was inverted at the 10 min. check. That can be a sign of trouble but not necessarily. The P&R person didn't think she looked at all distressed and wasn't too worried. He told me to let the vet know when I went for my trot out just to be safe. By the time I did my trot out, Marie was just fine and I was cleared to go. the vet was still rolling his eyes at the way Marie travels. I told him that I knew there was nothing wrong with her, just a matter of imperfect conformation, but he didn't look convinced. Susie and I rode with Carl and Irving for quite a while. Carl is new to the sport. Irving is a man in his seventies and had been doing this for quite a few years. He had a stroke last year but had made a good recovery. He is great to ride with and a wealth of knowledge on this sport. We passed one woman who was having a very bad time with her horse. She looked terrified and exhausted and her horse looked the same. She swore to us when we went by that she was not going to bring her horse home with her. Well, she was right. Carl offered her $900 for the horse and took her home. We forded the river again on the way back. We had to wait for some canoes to go by. Marie thought they looked quite scary. I heard that one woman got bucked off in the river on the morning crossing. She didn't get hurt, soft landing. At the finish, Marie's P&R's were good. I only had to do a quick trot to pass for the second day's ride. Well, the vet just couldn't' stand it anymore the way Marie travels. He made me trot, then trot again and finally he said I would have to come back for a re-check in the morning. The lay judge spoke up and asked him why. She said she didn't see anything wrong. They discussed it for a while and the vet finally relented and said I didn't have to come back for a re-check but he'd appreciate it if I would. I agreed and that turned out to be a mistake. After everyone was vetted and Bonnie was done scribing, we went over to the food trailer. They had a nice meal of baked ham, baked potato, salad, mixed vegetables, bread and cake. Steve Rojek sat with us for dinner. He wanted to personally thank Bonnie for being a volunteer worker at the ride. He knows how hard it can be to get enough volunteers. Bonnie and Steve got to talking about horses (imagine that...) and Bonnie was telling him about her first horse, Shannon and how Shannon had tendinitis and she'd had to make the hard decision to give her up to do this sport. Steve told her she did the right thing in deciding to move on to another horse. Bonnie then told her of her bad experience with her next horse, Max and she mentioned that she would prefer to have a pony rather then a big horse. Steve looked at Bonnie kind of funny and asked her if she was serious. She told him that yes, she was. He then asked her if she meant a real pony and Bonnie said yes, a pony. Steve asked a pony under 14H. Bonnie said definitely. Well, it seems that Steve has a pony that he just might be willing to sell. Bonnie got all excited. Steve told us that he had bought this very talented mare years ago. She'd won everything he'd entered her in. He'd tried for years to breed this mare without success. Finally, he did get one foal from her and it was a pony, even though both parents were horses. Steve didn't do much with this pony mare for her first five years. Then he broke her to ride and tried her as a hunter jumper thinking she would make a good pony for some 4-H kid. She did ok but finally someone talked Steve into trying her at endurance since that was what she was bred for and both her parents were champions. He got someone to ride her and she won a reserve championship on her first 100 mile ride. Then did it again on her 2nd 100 mile ride. This pony mare is now in contention for the Florida Cup. This is a ride that you are invited to if you get three high placings in three 100 mile rides in one year. The next qualifying ride is Labor day and if she places high in this ride she will qualify for the Florida Cup. After this is done, Steve said he might consider selling her to the right person. He wants Bonnie to come to his farm and try this mare out. I hope she does. Bonnie is quite excited about this.

After the meal, they had the award presentation for the 25 mile riders. Susie won reserve champion!! She got a score of 97 which is great. Susie was thrilled. She assured me that I would do well tomorrow but a lot of really tough competition is staying for the 50 mile ride so I'm not expecting much. I just hope to finish in good shape. Susie left right after the awards. Bonnie and I went back to town to the restaurant for supper. When we returned to camp, we took Marie out for a walk so she wouldn't get too stiff from standing in the stall. She isn't used to being confined in a stall. The ride committee decided to start the ride early in the morning so Bonnie and I went to bed fairly early. Neither one of us was really tired and we ended up talking until late.

Both of us were up plenty early and Bonnie went out and fed Marie for me. At the appointed time, I took Marie over for my 'voluntary' re-check with the vet. After watching Marie trot, he really wanted to pull me from the ride. I knew there was nothing wrong but couldn't convince him. And he couldn't decide if Marie was having trouble with her hindquarters, legs, shoulders.... I told him if he was that unsure, maybe he was nit-picking. The lay judge was on my side and told him to let me start the ride. They watch you the whole ride, he could pull me at any point if he could see a definite problem. The vet gave in and let me start the ride. I know that my horse is driving him crazy, but he is driving me crazy! Heather's horse got pulled this morning along with another horse.

The woman I started with today left me in the dust within minutes. Marie was kind of poking along wondering where Cody was. This is the first time she has ever gone out without one of her buddies. About 3 miles out, Another rider caught up with me. It was Marcy Gamester and Marie decided she liked Marcy's gelding and perked right up. Marcy has been competing for 24 years. Carl and Irving soon caught up and went by us. I thought Marie would want to go with them as we rode with them yesterday. But, she was very content traveling with Marcy's gelding. They are very well matched in pace. We passed one woman leading her horse out ot the road. We were afraid she'd gotten hurt. She said she was ok. She was having a back problem and just couldn't handle her horse for another day's ride. We forded the river again this morning without incident. We had to walk the horses through a city of tents to get to the river today. The horses didn't really like that but were good. At the first watering hole, the vet was there and really tearing his hair out over Marie. He asked me to voluntarily pull from the ride. He couldn't quite lay his hand on the problem and couldn't quite bring himself to pull me. I told him no. I told him when he saw something that he could point out as a definite problem, he could pull me and I wouldn't argue.

Marie was in great shape at the hold. Even the vet had to admit that he thought she looked pretty good. Marie was great on the way back. We left the hold before Irving and Carl. They caught up with us a little later. Irving went ahead of us but Carl was having trouble with his horse and let us go ahead of him. He ended up getting lost, then, when he got back on course, his horse slipped on a rock just two miles from the finish and went severely lame. The horse was trailered back to camp. Poor Carl, it's his daughter's horse and he said she was going to be very upset.

The pace that Marcy had set was just perfect for Marie and at the finish, she vetted out with flying colors. I ended up placing first in my division. I was so proud of my little mutt of a horse. The lay judge later congratulated me. She said because Marie is so laid back and not flashy, it is hard to show her so I could be proud of such a high placing. I was, I love my horse!!

Fryeburg 50 7/22-23 16/S - 12/F
1 Alesar / S Greenall
2 SR Spirit / S Rojek
3 Sage / S MacDonald
4 Marie / C Ross (score 96.25)
5 LWF Paljoe Promise / M Farnum
5 Indevincable / D Rojek
7 Anchor Hill Alan / M Gamester
8 FFC Brigadier
9 HFA Silver Savanah / M Deleware
10 Willows Rahmaan / I McNaughton
12 Sir Narion / S Corr

Fryeburg 25 7/22/00 10/S-F
1 Especial Edition / L Prentice
2 Xavier Sunnyacres / S Reinheimer
3 BAF Cabis Choice / L Pedersen
4 Izuzu / B Lester
5 GBA Karakoram / J Sewell
6 PS Sir Sedgewick / K Brunjes
7 Mighty Frankie / T York
8 Rolling Stone / H Moss