We headed out on the last ten miles. Luna and Brita had never gone this far
before. They trucked right along. No complaints from Brita and no refusal or
balking from Luna. I am really proud of both of them!
We walked in the last mile to come in with our horses' pulses down. All three
horses looked and acted like a million bucks. When we pulsed down, we discovered
that Luna was tenth and Mary had also come in top ten on Badar earlier. Maybe
not much to some but for two green horses, 4 year olds, I think the experience
we had was exactly what LD is about and though neither of them won BC, they
"won" and made us proud just in the doing of it. Being able to see their BC
scores was a big help. Luna needs to work on drinking (though she still had an A
on hydration at the end!) and trotting out and circles and Badar needs to work
on syringing into her mouth and getting her capillary refill and mucous
membranes checked. Brita needs to come and ride with me again and we need to fix
her up with water on the saddle. She didn't much like a fanny pack. Jenny has to
toughen up if she thinks she can do 5 fifties in a row at Shore to Shore. J She will. And I have to rethink seriously the rest of my
ride season. I can't reinjure that hamstring. The doctor told me I couldn't ride
75 miles (as had been the original plan) and I didn't do that (I only rode 25).
But that may be all I can ride this year and I may have to forego Shore to Shore
for another year. It galls me and makes me want to cry but Nelson is right. What
good does it do me to take such good care of Malik so he can still be going down
the trail when he's twenty if I don't take enough good care of myself so I can
be the one going down it with him? It bites, that's for sure!
So, Jenny will be on Malik in some of the upcoming rides. Maybe if Max is not
ready, she will do all or part of the Shore to Shore on him. Maybe I can do a
couple of 25s and still ride into Lake Michigan with Jenny on the Shore to
Shore. Maybe I can be ready to ride 50 at Tin Cup Springs and win a third BC in
a row there in September. That will all depend on many things. But we will still
be at the rides, even Shore to Shore. We have made some wonderful new friends
and on a positive note, all those who did not get to go out on the trail or
finish, went out and rode part of the ten mile loop including the bluffs that
overlook the Au Sable River. Diana hopped on Max and had a jiggle, jiggle ride.
After her big Thoroughbred, Joey, riding an Arab must have been a humorous
experience for her! But she came back all smiles as they all did. Lisa Oles took
her daughter and the other Pearson girls out with them. Brita was quite willing
to stay in camp though she never uttered a complaint! Nelson reports to me that
he saw her do a little dance when she walked into camp and her family started
cheering for her. J Sorry I missed that. But I did
get to watch her backside for most of 25 miles and caught an occasional huge
grin. That's good enough for me!
P.S. In light of the number of newbies we have had this year, Jim Yell and I
have decided that we will have a ten mile novice fun ride/clinic at the
Wolverine this year. Jan Kennedy is going to assist us in this and will lead the
newbies out on the trail. Nelson will try to fit in a "pit crew" session for
those in the family who don't ride but would like to learn and participate with
the riders in the family. We have not yet decided if we will do it on Saturday
or Sunday. The cost will probably be between $5 and $10 and I promise some cool
stuff that newbies will be able to use. Let me know if you are interested or if
you know someone who might be!! Juniors and newbies are the future of our
sport!!!
