Lily, The Lovely Bright Molly: October 2011

The Maine Rides was the last competition of the season here in Maine. I hate to see the competitions season end but my wallet is thankful.....

This ride was held at the Waterford fairgrounds and was a 2 day 50 or 1 day 25. They also held a 10 mile CDR (conditioning distance ride) Susie and I trailered to the ride together. We chose to take her trailer as she has LQ and HEAT! It was to be a warm weekend but Friday night was going to be cold. Susie picked me up just a little after 10:00 am. I had worked that night and in the morning after taking care of Louie and Marie, I piled brush in the future riding arena so that Fred could move it. (We are putting in a riding arena in what was recently just a section of woods) I didn't quite get that finished but did get most of the brush piled. I then quickly packed what I would need for Louie for the weekend. When Susie arrived I was ready to go. For some reason Louie loves Susie's trailer and hopped right in. When we arrived at the Waterford fairgrounds, there weren't all that many people yet. The 25 mile ride and CDR were being held on Sunday so that was part of the reason. This was nice as we had our pick of where to park. We parked and set up camp right in the central area where the camper hook ups are. The first thing we did was set up pens for Louie and Spark. We unloaded them and tied them to the trailer while we set up the pens. It didn't take us long and we soon had them settled in with hay and water. Then we got the trailer all set. Susie hooked up the electric and got things all set. We also set up 2 stalls in the barn for Louie and Spark. We decided to put them in at night and as it was supposed to be a hot weekend, we wanted a shady spot for them to be at the end of the ride to cool them off for the vetting. We put hay and water in the stalls so they would be all ready for that evening. We then went and registered for the ride. Peg Dockham was there and I was going to be riding with her. She is the woman I rode with at the Western Maine 250 and our equines traveled well together. She and I decided to walk down to Melby's restaurant for some lunch. Susie had packed a lunch and stayed at camp. The Jacks arrived and parked next to us. We were glad to have such good neighbors. We just hung out and relaxed for a while. Soon it was time to vet it. Larry Buggia was the vet judge. Linda Glock was the lay judge. All went well at the vetting. Louie was quite well behaved as he knows the routine now. I trotted out Susie's horse for her as her hip has been bothering her. Both Spark and Louie were good to start the ride. We put them back in their pens and fed them then hung out and realxed and visited with friend until supper time. We went down to Melby's for Supper. Rhonda Bachelder went with us. After we got back from supper, it was quite chilly so we blanketed Spark and Louie then put them up in the stalls in the barn. Louie was a bit restless right at first and pushing a little bit on the 2x4 boards that were the stall gate. Then he started chewing on the boards. AGH. We decided to just leave them to let them settle in. I checked on them a bit later and Louie was quiet and Spark was chewing on boards. We ended up going to bed quite early as it gets dark early and I was very tired from working the previous night. I tried to read for a little while but found myself reading the same paragraph over and over and gave it up. Susie got up and checked on Louie and Spark one last time and said they were both quiet. I slept like a log.

Saturday morning was very chilly. It was in the low 40's. It sure was nice having the heat in the trailer. We got up and brought Louie and Spark down to the pens to feed them. We then went to the "food shack" for our breakfast. I had my usual oatmeal and coffee. There were also bagels and fruit and pastries available. I then went and got into my riding clothes. It was hard deciding just what to wear as it was cold but predicted to get up to near 80 degrees. So, I dressed in layers. Susie and I tied Spark and Louie to the trailer and tacked up just before the riders meeting. The meeting was near our trailer and I could see that Louie was restless. He had a hay bag in front of him but he is not a big eater and didn't care about that. During the meeting he was fidgeting and kept spinning around and getting under Sparks lead rope. Thankfully Spark just put up with it. I did finally go over and get after him to stand still and in his own spot and he did. after the meeting we mounted up to get the equines warmed up. Peg, Sue Niederoda and I were to be the first out. So, I walked around warming up with them. Susie and Lee Alexander were warming up together and we kept passing them and that was stressing Louie a little bit. He was already excited knowing it was a competition. And the repeated seeing then separating from his buddy Spark was almost more then his young mule mind could handle. At one point Louie was prancing sideways across the grounds, looking quite impressive I'm sure. One rider commented that she didn't know a mule could do that. I'm not sure if she meant the prancing, lovely side passing or both. I know she wasn't saying she didn't know a mule could be naughty as that is usually automatically assumed about all mules. Louie never got out of control though and really handled the situation very well for his age and experience. Soon it was time to start and we were on our way down the trail. Louie was eager and started out strong. He really wanted to go faster then I would let him go. He was wondering where Spark was but was not being bad about it. And he is just getting stronger and stronger with every ride. He did a good strong trot all the way to the hold. He did not offer to canter, just kept up a good strong trot, even on the hills. I was thrilled! When we got into the hold it was a bit of a rush as usual. I had Louie's pulse taken early and it was down to 48 so that was great. Peg needed the full 10 minutes to get her gelding's pulse down. Then we got caught in a line for the trot out. The trot out went fine and I did have a few minutes after to feed Louie. He didn't drink and had not yet on trail either but was fine. Susie and Lee had come into the hold right behind us. Louie had gotten a bit excited when he saw Spark but wasn't too bad. I grabbed a sandwich after mounting to eat on the trail when we headed out. Unfortunately, Peg needed some help mounting up when it was time to go and Susie and Lee went out of the hold right ahead of us and Louie saw them go. So, when we headed out, Louie was very excited and wanted to catch up to his buddy. He was doing a bit of sideways prancing but was listening to me and not pulling hard. After all, I was only using one hand on the reins and was eating my sandwich so that tells you he wasn't being to bad. For a few miles we kept seeing Susie on the straight stretches then they would be out of sight, then we would see them and again out of sight. This was getting Louie pretty wound up. He was really listening to me well but I was having to hold him and had to keep checking him back. At one point we did catch up with Susie and Lee and when they pulled ahead I went with them and left Sue N. and Peg. We were all actually traveling too fast for our time so had to slow down the last 5 miles. Peg and Sue N. passed us and then in the end we all came in at the same time. Susie and I went straight to the trailer and stripped tack, then took Louie and Spark up to the barn and sponged them down. They were not all that sweaty or hot so we didn't put too much water on them. In 20 minutes we took them for their P & R. Louie's was 40/12 which was good. We only had to do a quick "up and back" trot out this day so no circles. Louie did a fine trot out and we were cleared to ride for the 2nd day. Susie and I settled Louie and Spark into their pens with plenty of food and water. Louie's first priority of course was to roll about a million times first before eating or drinking. We relaxed by the trailer for the afternoon. A lot of people came over to sit and visit so we ended up with quite a crowd. It was nice except for the over active bees that persisted in bothering us. Susie and Kelly Jack both got stung. Char's dog Otis was great though as he eats bees. And I mean he really hunts them down and eats them. He cut the bee population in our area considerably. I was quite impressed. People were arriving throughout the day for the 25 mile ride. Marcia Deleware and Kyle Nielson were in camp when we had finished our ride and it was great to see them both. This was the first ride for Marcia's horse Frankie that she had bred for, raised and trained. We were all so excited for her and Frankie looked like he was taking everything in stride. Kyle was riding Marcia's horse Piper who is Frankie's mother. Susie and I walked down to Melby's store just to pick up some drinks. The supper provided was very good. Chili (ok, that's not good because anything that has beans in it is not good.....) but there was also a delicious vegetable beef soup and salad. And for desert there were some wonderful cookies from Melby's restaurant. After supper as it was just getting dark we put Louie and Spark in their stalls in the barn. I didn't blanket Louie as it was cool but not going to get cold. We were then going to head to bed and realized it was only about 7:30 pm. and that was just to early to go to bed. So, we got out Susie's travel Scrabble and played a game with Sue Niedoroda and Kathy Brunjes. Susie and I then headed for bed. We both read for a while.

Susie and I were up by 5:30 am. We brought Spark and Louie down to their pens and fed them. It was going to be another nice day. It was a cool morning but predicted to get up to near 80 degrees by the afternoon. It did get that warm later but there was no humidity and a nice breeze so it turned out to be a lovely day. I went to the "food shack" for my usual breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and I sat and visited with the others there having breakfast. Susie and I tacked up just before the riders meeting. We were going to be riding 60% new trails that we've never ridden here before so I wanted to make sure to be at the meeting. But, a call of nature and a malfunctioning toilet foiled that plan. The 25 mile riders were the first to go out so we had a bit of a wait. I was riding with Peg Dockham again. We would be the first of the 50 mile riders out. Sue Niedoroda was also going out with us as well as Sarah Jack. Sarah was still officially a junior rider so she had to have a sponsor. Sue was sponsoring her. Sarah is 18 yrs. old but turned 18 after January 1st. ECTRA rules go by what age you are on January 1st. It is kind of funny that she needed a sponsor since Sarah has more miles and experience then the 3 of us. For the first few miles Peg's gelding was strong and moving at a pretty quick trot. We got just a little bit ahead of Sue and Sarah but not out of sight of them. Thankfully we didn't get out of sight of them as Peg and I almost went the wrong way 3 times and were called back by Sue and Sarah. So much for two heads being better then one. Louie was also moving out strong and eager. The new trails were very nice. We ended up doing a few miles on tar road due to mistake on the trail managers part but it was not a big deal. Susie and Lee passed us about a mile before the hold. That got Louie pretty jazzed up and he pulled and pranced into the hold but didn't get out of control. For the first 5 minutes or so Louie was very obnoxious about trying to get to his buddy Spark. So, his pulse wasn't as low as yesterday but it did come down to 56 before 10 minutes so good enough. I had meant to put his lead line with the chain in my hold bucket but forgot. I was just about to put is bit back on when he got his head together and calmed down and accepted not being with Spark. Then, just as I was starting my trot out for the vet, Susie and Lee headed out of the hold riding right by me. I though I was going to be in trouble but Louie only looked but didn't make a fuss. Peg and I were just a bit late getting out of the hold. By the time we got through the vetting line, we didn't really have any time to feed so we mounted up and headed out. Louie was much quieter on the 2nd half of the ride but still traveling well. We passed Susie and Lee at one point and Louie hardly gave Spark a glance when we went by. Susie caught up with us again in the last mile or so and we all rode in together. Susie and I went straight to the trailer to strip tack. One they way up to the stalls, both Louie and Spark rolled. We then sponged them down and then went up to wait for our P & R. Louie's final P&R was 44/13. A bit high for Louie but it was very warm and Louie is quite fuzzy already. It was low enough to not get any points though so that was fine. We then waited in line for our trot out. Louie was a tad naughty about this as he tried to go right back to Spark instead of trotting a nice circle for me but we got the job done. Susie and I put Spark and Louie back in their pens to wait for the hands on. We cleaned their stalls and packed up as much as we could. Once the hands on was done, we didn't have much left to do while waiting for supper and awards. So, we relaxed and visited with friends. Supper was served fairly early and was a very good beef stew, salad, and rolls. As well as some wonderful cookies form Melby's restaurant again. Soon after supper was the awards ceremony. Louie and I didn't place but I am so proud of how well my boy did. Rhonda Bachelder won the 50 mile distance and we were so excited when Marcia Deleware won the 25 mile distance. We quickly took down the pens after the awards ceremony and were soon ready to go home. Kind of sad though knowing we would not be competing again until next year.

Maine Rides 2 day 50
J1. Clukey, Amber on Angel

1. Batchelder, Rhonda on Ashmoro Billy Alan
2. Jewell, Charlotte on My Last Nickle
3. Dockham, Peg on Attala
4. McPheters, Patti on Ivany Mahara
5. Reinheimer, Susan on TC Spark
5. McKenna, Monica on SLF Benn Fortunate
7. Gibbon, Kyle on Salt (Sault)
8. Alexander, Lee on Bedrocks Handsome Fello
9. Ross, Cynthia on Little Louie
10. Lasher, William on Spice Girl
11. Lasher, Joanna on Teeze Mee PW
11. Rojek, Steve on Miro (Chi-Hi)
13. Niedoroda, Susan on Zynfandel C F
MO. Brunjes, Kathy on Theatric

Amy on Washburn, Kyle on Moxie, Cindy on Louie and Susie on Spark

Amy on Washburn and Kyle on Moxie

I had a wonderful ride today and I soooooooo needed to get out. I've been working at the house picking rocks, and picking rocks, oh and picking more rocks...... and I needed a play day. Amy invited us to come up to ride with her in Garland and Susie and I were more then happy to join her. I was going to meet with Susie at the gas station in Richmond but my by parking brake cable broke on my truck and was dragging. I didn't really want to deal with it at the moment so Susie picked up Louie and me. We went to Amy's house and followed her up to where we park in Garland. Kyle was with us and was riding Amy's horse Moxie. We were also joined by another woman Kim who I'd never met before. She was riding her Appy stallion Reiny. What a nice boy he was. It is so nice to see someone using their stallion. So we had a nice mix of equines. Three gelding one mare and one stallion. An Arab, a mule, and Appy and two Morgans.

None of us are all that familiar with the trails in the area other then one very nice loop we've ridden a few times. So, today we did a little bit of exploring. It was a fabulous day. The bugs are gone now. It was sunny and in the low 70's with a slight breeze. At the start of the ride we went around some corn fields. It had rained the night before and it was just a little slippery. We decided to ride up to what we thought might be an overlook. There was on an ATV trail and there was a sign at the start of the hill that it was for experienced riders only. So, for sure we had to check this trail out. It was a fun climb to the top. There was a short section of some slick rock but we were able to manage it. Unfortunately, there was no view from the top. We spotted a trail going down a different way. It looked like a hiking trail but we decided to check it out. This trail was quite steep and went down, and down and down. We came to a spot were the trail had some VERY slick rock with a bit of a drop after the rock. The footing on this was dangerous with what we had for shoes on our equines and the footing on the side of the trails didn't look good at all. Not knowing if the trail would get better or worse, we decided it was not work risking injury to equine or riders to continue down this trail so we turned around and went back up. So, the ponies got quite a work out on that piece of trail.

Kim on Reiny, Amy on Washburn, Kyle on Moxie and Cindy on Louie

Amy on Washburn and Kyle on Moxie

Kim on Reiny

Cindy on Louie, Kyle on Moxie Susie on Spark and Amy on Washburn

What is fun about this ride is that there is such a nice mix of different kinds of trails. Dirt roads, roads around fields, tote roads and single track trail. So, there were some places we could move along at a good pace. Right from the start Louie was feeling his "oats" and was a little bit excited. Not bad and doing well listening to me but I could feel he was excited. Every time we sped up to a canter, he was a little wiggly, shaking his head and I could feel that he was just itching to let off a buck. I quickly corrected him each time and he held it together and kept his feet on the ground. While exploring another trail, we had to go around a big blown down tree. The go around was a bit tricky footing with mud and rocks. Louie went through this with a bit more enthusiasm then necessary. I was proud that he did not hesitate though he did some interesting leaping going through. He did not scramble in fear, he landed each leap very nicely and I managed to stick with him. Not much farther down the trail we came to a bad snowmobile bridge in a swampy area that we could not cross or get around safely. So, we had to turn around and go back. When we came to the blow down, I encouraged Louie to take the go around without the leaping. I was pleased that he toned down his enthusiasm at my request.

Towards the end of the ride as we were cantering up a dirt road, Louie finally could not stand it any longer and he let fly with both back feet. It was a very smooth motion that was no problem for me riding him but naughty all the same and I let him know he was bad. When we got back to the trailer we had planned to have a tail gate lunch. I had baked and apple crisp and brought it along. Our ride was longer then planned and Amy needed to go to make it to her daughters soccer game. So, we ate the apple crisp and then headed out. Susie and I had our lunch while driving home. Hey, nothing wrong with having desert first I say! It was a great ride.

Cindy with Kim's Appy/Arab stud Reiny

Lily, The Lovely Bright Molly

Thursday, October 27, 2011

It snowed this morning!!!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Saturday, October 8, 2011

The Maine Rides 2 day 50 mile CTR October 2011

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Another great ride in Garland