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[RC] Cooley Ranch Ride - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: Kirsten kirstenzazz@xxxxxxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== I wanted to say thank you to Ruth for commanding such nice weather for the ride. It was beautiful as always. I forget that we see so much on horseback, that others will never see, on foot or by car. Jennifer Neihaus was wonderful in watching my little one Alec - 16 months and her 2 year old for the day so my husband and I could ride together. What a great treat, thank you so much..... There were 63 starters on the 50 and 25 or so on the 25. Vincent Howes came in 1st on the 50 and Tom Johnson came in 4th and was awarded BC. No horses had to be treated....no major issues or injuries....a good ride day. Many local bay area riders were there. Ruth & Ron(of course)Jennifer & Jon Neihaus, Nina Cooke, Katie Alton, Megan Doyle, Lori Olsen, Mike Berntsen, Mary Anderson, Pam Villa, Jazon Wonders, Elsie Geske, Jim & Cindy Brown, Connie Berto, Trilby Pederson, Margaret Graham, Marci Cook, Bob & Peggy Eaton and of course Maryben. Dick Carter and Sandy arrived without a rig or horses After running into trouble in San Rafael, then leaving their horses with friends in Novato while the horse trailer was repaired, they made it up to help out. Always an adventure. The ride started off great, cool weather and the sun broke out about 9:30am. It did make for a warmer afternoon. Ron was out there with his dog on his ATV relaxing and smiling as we trotted by. I had the pleasure of riding with my husband, Nina Cooke and two juniors (Katie Alton and Megan Doyle) What a crack up and good time we had. If you have never ridden with a junior I recommend it, always a new perspective. It is wonderful to go to a ride and see so many people smiling. On a different note, Trilby has some trouble with her saddle sliding, no crupier. She was off walking a lot before the first vet check. When she came in alone, we realized that her riding partner for the day left her. Pam Villa offered to ride the last loop with her, back to camp. Since there was a steep hill coming down, they dismounted and continued on foot. The front runners on the 50 started to pass them by. From Pam's comments all the top 10 asked if they were okay and needed help and more than willing to do so(what a nice thing to do). After the top ten, Pam said people asked if they needed help and then sortof trotted off. So they did their due diligence in asking. When they did need help holding the horses and getting back on, it took them an hour for someone to come along that would help. Not sure who that was, but that was good thing. They made it back to camp safe and horses sound. What a great place, great ride, great management and a great opportunity to have an awsome day........ Parting thoughts, always help someone if they need it, you never know when it is going to be you.... ===========================================================In my experience (22 year worth) most endurance riders are great people who will go out their way to help and be friendly. ~ Laura Hayes ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ===========================================================
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