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What a great time ... here's my story:



Hoppin Through Hopkins Creek&

What an excellent weekend for a trail ride! When we arrived at the trail 
head there was such a good turn out we had a hard time finding a place 
to camp. The great ride managers of this event (Pam and Steve Rosendall) 
found a place for us to squeeze in, so we set up camp for the night and 
started making plans for the morning run. This is a hard course for the 
pit crews to meet their riders on the trail. There are only a few places 
where the road crosses the trail so a lot of miles are put on vehicles 
trying to catch up with the riders going across country. My husband went 
and talked to a few other crews to get a good idea on how to keep ahead 
of me on the trail.

Saturday morning start was set for 7:00 a.m. for about 25 horses. I met 
up with some folks from the White River Rides that paced well with my 
mare and Waynes gelding so a group of five started out on the first 15 
mile loop at the head of the pack. About halfway through Kathy and her 
Mustang slowed up at a water/bridge crossing and hung back. The four of 
us continued on  my part Arab, two purebred Arabs and a 
paint/thoroughbred cross. When we came into the first vet check Waynes 
gelding pulsed down immediately and my mare was soon to follow with the 
paint a minute or two beyond. Wayne headed out on the second loop for 
the final ten miles by himself. He had a really good time going, I 
didnt see him again until the final vet check. At the end he came in 
ten minutes before anyone else for the win and best condition award. I 
rode the second loop with Matt and his Paint cross  we had a good 
controlled pace and finished the ride with my mare coming in second and 
his stud claiming fourth after the pulse downs. We had great fun picking 
on Wayne at the weigh in after the ride  the scales broke when he got on!

Saturday nights potluck and awards was a nice social time for everyone 
to visit and catch up. I was happy to see a lot more junior riders than 
usual, they all had a great time on the trail. For a few of them it was 
their first competition and they all got a huge round of applause as 
they accepted their awards.

We were reminded to contact our state representatives about some of the 
new fees and regulations the DNR is imposing on endurance and trail 
riders across the state. The Hopkins Creek camp, and others like it, 
were cleared and set up by volunteers from Michigan Trail Riders 
Association, Great Lakes Distance Riding Association and Upper Midwest 
Endurance Competitive Riders Association. Now those associations are 
being charged outrageous fees to use the camps they set up for horses.

After the events of the evening we all headed to bed for an earlier 
start on Sunday  6:00 a.m. There were about 14 horses scheduled to 
start, I was glad to see Kathy and her Mustang stuck around for day two. 
The ride started with three of us in the lead group  Kathy, Tonna and 
myself. We all paced well together with Tonnas and my Arab at an 
extended trot while Kathys Mustang was at an easy lope. We were given a 
heads up that one of the bridges had developed a hole so we were very 
careful on all three bridge crossings. We had two opportunities to take 
our horses into the creek and play in the water for a few minutes. At 
the first vet check Tonnas gelding pulsed down first with my mare 
following a minute behind, I was hoping Kathy would pulse down close to 
us so we could finish the ride together. After our 40 minute hold Tonna 
headed out first and after I rode a mile or so I caught up with her. We 
stayed together for the final ten mile loop and had a great time. We 
pulsed down at the final vet check five seconds apart taking first and 
second place in our division. I was given a "Giddy Up" plaque at the 
awards later that afternoon, its already got a special place in the 
barn, (thanks Jeanie).

This area of the state is beautiful to ride in. If you get a chance to 
go you wont regret it. The camp is located east of the Manton exit just 
north of Cadillac. You can find directions at these websites: 
www.gldra.org, www.umecra.com or www.aerc.org.

Kari Hanes
Montalee Arabians
Holton, MI


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