Barbara on Marie and Cindy on Little Louie (Bubble Pond trail)
The moment had finally arrived! Louie did his first official ride today. My friend Barbara rode my horse Marie. Another friend Susie rode up with us to work the ride. We only did the 15 mile CDR (conditioning distance ride) and there are no awards for this distance. But, as both of Marie and Louie had injuries last year, I thought this would be a good distance for them both. The ride was at Acadia National Park which is a 2 1/2 hr. drive. Acadia is a lovely place right on the coast and the the trails are groomed carriage roads that were originally built by the Rockefeller's. It's such a beautiful and unique place to ride with beautiful stone work bridges and many sweeping views of the ocean.
The day was overcast and quite chilly. It had rained every day for a week so we just prayed it would stay dry today. We made good time and arrived at about 7:45 am. Our ride out time was 9:00 am so I was in no rush. But, we had no sooner unloaded Louie and Marie when we were urgently called to vet in. So,Susie grabbed a brush and we did a speed grooming. Meanwhile the 2 day 50 mile riders on their eager and excited horses were all milling around and just starting to be sent out on trail. This was a new atmosphere that Louie has never been exposed to. After our speed grooming, we rushed up to get them vetted in. There were 5 or 6 volunteers as well as vet and lay judge suddenly grouped around Louie he had a temporary mental overload. When the vet approached him Louie said "Nope, no one is touching me, no sireee!!!" This took me by surprise as Louie is dog gentle and loves people. But, we were rushing him and giving him no chance to process all this new stuff. The judges were great though and left him alone and vetted my horse first. When they came back to Louie, he'd gotten his head back together and was once again the sweet mule we all know and love.
Louie did a great trot out throwing in a couple bucks for good measure. On his score card he got the comment "playful". Marie vetted in fine. She is such an old pro at this I think she could vet herself in. After vetting in we had lots of time to finish grooming and saddle up. By the time I mounted up, there were few horses on the grounds and Louie was pretty calm. But boy oh boy did he hit the trail like a ball of fire! He was excited and very forward but well under control.
Just out of the stable we met up with Kyle Nielsen and Louise Townsend coming off the Day Mountain trail. Barbara and I settled in just behind them and we started out towards Bubble Pond. Kyle and Louise were setting a pretty quick pace and Louie was pretty determined to keep them in sight. We did the loop by Bubble Pond. The first water stop was where the trail crossed the Park Loop Road just before Eagle Lake. This was 3.1 miles out. Louie didn't want to drink. Marie only sipped little so we pushed right on. We then went around by Jordan Pond passing the landslide, onto the 7 bridges trail (that I love) and on down to Seal Harbor where the 2nd water stop was at about 10 miles. We had kept up a steady trot and canter and did this in 1 hour. And I was checking Louie back the whole time. Marie was fabulous and totally in "the zone". Barbara was holding her back also. Once again Louie didn't drink but Marie did. We were well ahead of our time and had to slow way down for the last 5 miles. Louie did slow down on his own and we trotted and cantered a couple more miles but on a loose rein.
The moment had finally arrived! Louie did his first official ride today. My friend Barbara rode my horse Marie. Another friend Susie rode up with us to work the ride. We only did the 15 mile CDR (conditioning distance ride) and there are no awards for this distance. But, as both of Marie and Louie had injuries last year, I thought this would be a good distance for them both. The ride was at Acadia National Park which is a 2 1/2 hr. drive. Acadia is a lovely place right on the coast and the the trails are groomed carriage roads that were originally built by the Rockefeller's. It's such a beautiful and unique place to ride with beautiful stone work bridges and many sweeping views of the ocean.
The day was overcast and quite chilly. It had rained every day for a week so we just prayed it would stay dry today. We made good time and arrived at about 7:45 am. Our ride out time was 9:00 am so I was in no rush. But, we had no sooner unloaded Louie and Marie when we were urgently called to vet in. So,Susie grabbed a brush and we did a speed grooming. Meanwhile the 2 day 50 mile riders on their eager and excited horses were all milling around and just starting to be sent out on trail. This was a new atmosphere that Louie has never been exposed to. After our speed grooming, we rushed up to get them vetted in. There were 5 or 6 volunteers as well as vet and lay judge suddenly grouped around Louie he had a temporary mental overload. When the vet approached him Louie said "Nope, no one is touching me, no sireee!!!" This took me by surprise as Louie is dog gentle and loves people. But, we were rushing him and giving him no chance to process all this new stuff. The judges were great though and left him alone and vetted my horse first. When they came back to Louie, he'd gotten his head back together and was once again the sweet mule we all know and love.
Louie did a great trot out throwing in a couple bucks for good measure. On his score card he got the comment "playful". Marie vetted in fine. She is such an old pro at this I think she could vet herself in. After vetting in we had lots of time to finish grooming and saddle up. By the time I mounted up, there were few horses on the grounds and Louie was pretty calm. But boy oh boy did he hit the trail like a ball of fire! He was excited and very forward but well under control.
Just out of the stable we met up with Kyle Nielsen and Louise Townsend coming off the Day Mountain trail. Barbara and I settled in just behind them and we started out towards Bubble Pond. Kyle and Louise were setting a pretty quick pace and Louie was pretty determined to keep them in sight. We did the loop by Bubble Pond. The first water stop was where the trail crossed the Park Loop Road just before Eagle Lake. This was 3.1 miles out. Louie didn't want to drink. Marie only sipped little so we pushed right on. We then went around by Jordan Pond passing the landslide, onto the 7 bridges trail (that I love) and on down to Seal Harbor where the 2nd water stop was at about 10 miles. We had kept up a steady trot and canter and did this in 1 hour. And I was checking Louie back the whole time. Marie was fabulous and totally in "the zone". Barbara was holding her back also. Once again Louie didn't drink but Marie did. We were well ahead of our time and had to slow way down for the last 5 miles. Louie did slow down on his own and we trotted and cantered a couple more miles but on a loose rein.
Cindy on Little Louie (Bubble Pond trail)
Barbara on Marie (Bubble Pond trail)
Barbara on Marie and Cindy on Little Louie (Bubble Pond trail)
There were bikers, hikers and carriages on trail and I was very pleased to find that Louie wasn't the least bothered by them. He did spook at a couple ROCKS....... but nothing to speak of. We had to slow down to a walk for the last few miles and we still came in too early. We waited on trail by the barn letting Marie and Louie graze for 10 minutes. I thought we were then good on our time but as we approached the finish line, the timer was yelling at us we were still 20 minutes early sent us back out. So, we went back up by the barn and let Marie and Louie graze for another 20 minutes so we wouldn't be disqualified. Though there were no awards for the 15 mile distance, the miles do count towards life time mileage and I wanted to get that for sure.
There were bikers, hikers and carriages on trail and I was very pleased to find that Louie wasn't the least bothered by them. He did spook at a couple ROCKS....... but nothing to speak of. We had to slow down to a walk for the last few miles and we still came in too early. We waited on trail by the barn letting Marie and Louie graze for 10 minutes. I thought we were then good on our time but as we approached the finish line, the timer was yelling at us we were still 20 minutes early sent us back out. So, we went back up by the barn and let Marie and Louie graze for another 20 minutes so we wouldn't be disqualified. Though there were no awards for the 15 mile distance, the miles do count towards life time mileage and I wanted to get that for sure.
Barbara on Marie and Cindy on Little Louie (Seal Harbor)
Little Louie (Seal Harbor trail)
Barbara on Marie and Cindy on Louie (Seven Bridges trail)
When it was time, we joyfully crossed the finish line. We went to the trailer to wait for our final P&R. Marie had a big drink at this time. Louie only sipped a little but was quite and relaxed yet still bright eyed and looked good. Louie's final P&R was 34/12 and Marie was 44/8. We had a little short wait for hand on and final trot out. When we went up for our hands on, Louie was more then happy this time to "play" with the judges. He was schmoozing with them shamelessly. At the final trot out he was reluctant to trot away from Maire and when I got after him to go he threw in a little attitude buck in protest and was a little silly about his circles. But still trotted quite well....silly mule.
We decided to stay for the awards so we could hang out for a while and visit with friends. We tied up Marie and Louie at the trailer with hay and water and we had our lunch. There were some wonderful soups, sandwiches and home made deserts. After eating we walked Louie and Marie letting them graze. I led Louie up to the lay judge and told him to thank the judge for being so nice and cued him to bow. I didn't know if he would do this in public with so many distractions. But, much to my delight he did a beautiful bow. The lay judge had to call the vet over and Louie bowed for her also. They got such a kick out of that and had to see Louie bow several more times. Louie was a wonderful mule ambassador today. Marie was amazing too for a 20 year old girl. They were both ready for more miles and I was so pleased with how they both did. We did get score sheets though there weren't awards for the 15 mile CDR. Louie had a perfect score. Most important to me is he started with a "0" for lameness and ended with a "0"!!! Yeeehaaaaa!! His on trail comments were, "bright and eager", and "Interested and watching but quiet and alert". And he finally took a pretty good drink before we headed home. Marie's score was 98. We headed right out after the awards. It was a great day and so nice to see riding friends not seen all winter.
Barbara with Marie at the final vetting
When it was time, we joyfully crossed the finish line. We went to the trailer to wait for our final P&R. Marie had a big drink at this time. Louie only sipped a little but was quite and relaxed yet still bright eyed and looked good. Louie's final P&R was 34/12 and Marie was 44/8. We had a little short wait for hand on and final trot out. When we went up for our hands on, Louie was more then happy this time to "play" with the judges. He was schmoozing with them shamelessly. At the final trot out he was reluctant to trot away from Maire and when I got after him to go he threw in a little attitude buck in protest and was a little silly about his circles. But still trotted quite well....silly mule.
We decided to stay for the awards so we could hang out for a while and visit with friends. We tied up Marie and Louie at the trailer with hay and water and we had our lunch. There were some wonderful soups, sandwiches and home made deserts. After eating we walked Louie and Marie letting them graze. I led Louie up to the lay judge and told him to thank the judge for being so nice and cued him to bow. I didn't know if he would do this in public with so many distractions. But, much to my delight he did a beautiful bow. The lay judge had to call the vet over and Louie bowed for her also. They got such a kick out of that and had to see Louie bow several more times. Louie was a wonderful mule ambassador today. Marie was amazing too for a 20 year old girl. They were both ready for more miles and I was so pleased with how they both did. We did get score sheets though there weren't awards for the 15 mile CDR. Louie had a perfect score. Most important to me is he started with a "0" for lameness and ended with a "0"!!! Yeeehaaaaa!! His on trail comments were, "bright and eager", and "Interested and watching but quiet and alert". And he finally took a pretty good drink before we headed home. Marie's score was 98. We headed right out after the awards. It was a great day and so nice to see riding friends not seen all winter.
Barbara with Marie at the final vetting
Cindy and Little Louie waiting for final vetting
Cindy and Little Louie doing the final trot out
Little Louie schmoozing with the vet at the final vetting
It is so fun to finally catch up on Louie's adventures. Congrats on this great ride to all of you!
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