A big Thank you to Wesley Crowe and his wife for hosting and
managing the Million Pines ride this weekend! He and his wife are such
gracious host and we always enjoy his ride so much. The trails were
wonderfully marked and as always the food was outstanding. I believe many
people go to his ride just to eat the Saturday night awards dinner! J
I rode the 50 along with 3 friends, one of which was doing
her first ride ever, and another doing her horses first 50. We enjoyed
the trails and had fun in the swamp water crossings. We came in 49th
through 52nd. It was a great ride for us all and God blessed
us with great weather. Jesse Jarret won the 50 on one of Blaney’s mares
and there was a 5 way tie for second. Cheryl Van Deusen won BC, she was
one of the second place riders. It was a huge ride this year with 125 30’s
and 87 50’s.
I really love our sport and part of it is because of
wonderful caring ride managers like Wesley and all the nice people in our sport
like my friend Max Hipps. Max always helps anyone who needs it on or off
of the trail. There was a lady whose horse got into trouble a few hours
after she competed who was camped right beside of us. We did not know
her. Max had started looking at the horse and noticed some bad
signs. He got the vet for them and helped them care for the horse. He
also helped riders who had to leave early unexpectedly and Max helped them pack
up all of the their stuff and moved my rig for me to help them get out
quicker. He also mentored a new rider this weekend in the 30, and after
he finished riding the 30 he was there to help us vet through with the 50.
He also helped a new endurance rider get water and hay to her pen and made sure
she and her horse were ok after they finished. I wish all riders could
have a friend like Max.
It was a great ride and myself, my daughter and our new
puppy had a great time!
