Jumping Around CHP

 The weekend after Labor Day, we had a rare free weekend. I reached out to Eryca to see if there was anything she wanted to do. She quickly suggested Christie Hoffman, which is always lovely. It was Booger's turn and she hadn't been there yet. This was perfect. I figured we would do some little jumps and get a few easy miles in. We ended up doing a little over six miles. I was having a brave jumping day, and Booger took me out of my comfort zone successfully, which was awesome.

I really need to invest in a jumping saddle. (Add it to the list of expensive things on my wish list at the moment.) I also need to shorten my stirrups about nine holes. Booger does a good job making up for my failures though.

Adventure at Stephens

 The weekend after Fair Hill, it was Booger's turn for an adventure. Sandy and I were overdue for some shenanigans. We have been wanting to go up to Stephens State Park together for a while so when Sandy asked if I wanted to do that trail, I replied, "Sure, send me a pin to the parking lot."

She did. Then she added, "Don't panic when you see the ninety degree turn over the one lane bridge into the parking lot. If I fit, you'll fit."

Now. Sandy and I have been on some Adventures together. She has never given me any kind of warning about parking before. 

I checked out the street view. Not so bad:

Redemption Ride

 At my NACMO ride, my new friends, Sarah and Joe, expressed interest in coming out to help me take the course down. They referred to it as their chance to get a redemption ride. They wanted to see the plates they missed and learn more about how the sport works. I was all for it!

Originally, Sandy and I were planning to go on Monday, but the day got away from both of us. We rescheduled for Thursday, and included Sarah and Joe in those plans. Then Sandy's camping trip up to Bear Springs got moved at the last second. She was leaving Thursday night! I decided I would go with Sarah and Joe anyway.

"I might bring the Bad Horse™," I said in my message to Sarah.
"I want to bring my young stallion," she replied. 

What could go wrong?

It turns out, nothing went wrong. It was a perfectly glorious night with people who I really want to ride with more!

Setting Up NACMO

 A Post in Three Parts

I had one weekend between Muckleratz CTR and my NACMO ride. This meant I had to buckle down and set my course, finalize my maps, and tie up all the loose ends. Of course, because this is me, the forecast for the following week included a hurricane. I knew I would need to check the course the day before to make sure nothing blew/washed away. The good news is I now know this half of the Assunpink really well.

Moonlight in Vermont 2024

 The second Booger completed her first 50 last year, I started day dreaming about rides I'd like to do with her one day. Moonlight in Vermont quickly went to the top of the list. Long time readers know how much I adore this ride. When I started planning the 2024 season, Vermont became my secret goal ride. Well, spoiler alert, we got there! There were a lot of ups and downs along the way, but Booger completed the 50. Details below (a month later). 

Photo by Ben Kimball. 

Muckleratz LD 2024

The short version of the 2024 Muckleratz endurance ride is as follows:
I was going to do the 50. The temperature was in the mid 90's with high humidity. I had a crappy week. My motto for the weekend was, "I don't even want to be here." I ended up dropping down to the 30 to ride with Christine. It ended up being the best endurance ride Booger and I have had to date.

AVTA Moonlight Pace

 On the last Friday in June, the Amwell Valley Hounds held their annual "moonlight" hunter pace. They held it at a private farm on the other side of the Valley, where we have not ridden before. I knew it would be a short course, but our trails are so far gone that I was willing to pay for the opportunity anyway. I figured I would take Booger for a change. A short, easy ride would be a nice change of pace for her. Eryca and I met after work and had the girls trailered around the corner in no time.

Nockamixon with Christine

 I am soooo behind on blogging. Like, a full month behind. Ugggghhhhh. 

Ok. Enough whining.

In the last year, Christine has become one of my all time favorite people. The only downside is that we live over two hours apart, which is inconvenient. We had so much fun riding at the CTR together that we really wanted to do it again. 

The next ride on the calendar was Muckleratz. I was planning to do the 50 with Booger. Christine and I slowly hatched a plan. When we rode at Green Lane together, Booger went really well. Christine pitched the idea of starting the 50 together, to see if Booger would be better with calm, steady company right from the start. We agreed that our best bet was to take Gracelyn and Booger out for another conditioning ride together. My hope was that Booger would start to recognize Gracelyn as a buddy, which would inspire her to wait for her friend at Muckleratz. 

We agreed to meet at Nockamixon on the 16th. We wound up doing almost 14 miles and it was lovely.

New York Adventure 2024

 After Booger ripped my arms out and would not walk for 30 miles at Rabbit Run, I decided I was just going to enter her in a 50 next. I took Lucy to Foxcatcher and No Frills got cancelled. That meant New York Adventure would be the next ride on our list. I did the 30 with Booger at NYA last year and struggled with her pulse. I told Mike, "Either she'll have her first pull, or we'll get year two of our decade team under our belts..."

I'll say one thing about this ride. It was New York Adventure. Emphasis on Adventure.

Photo by Carien Schippers of ImagEquine. Used with purchase.

FLSS Spring Pace

 Tor and I went to the Lord Stirling pace last fall and had the time of our lives. When the spring pace came up on a day that I was free, I was eager to do it again. I reached out to Julie and Tor to see if they were also available. 

Originally, the plan was for me to ride Lucy with Tor on Julie's mare, Amira. Julie and her daughter would ride Dude and Charm respectively as a separate team. As the pace date approached, it became clear that Dude wouldn't be up to the task. Julie would need Amira for herself. 

Of course, I was happy to provide a horse for Tor. Last year, she rode Lilly. This year, Lilly isn't really fit enough to do faster paced rides. Plus she had been on/off lame in April and I didn't want to push things. Instead, I would bring Lucy and Booger. 

It would be a good last leg stretcher before Booger's 50 the following weekend. I was mildly concerned about how Booger would behave on a flat, grassy course with a ton of other horses around, especially since the pace at this event tends to be fairly fast. Still, it would be a good precursor to ride weekend. 

We wound up having an absolute blast!

Crossing the finish line and grinning ear to ear. Love this photo of the four of us. ❤

Fair Hill Camping Trip

 Fun camping with the horses has been on the list for a very long time. Apparently Sandy and Alexis have been going to Fair Hill every year for a long weekend of riding, drinking, and relaxing. This year, Sandy extended that invite to us and I jumped right on it. I took Friday off and booked two nights at Fair Hill Stables (the process was super easy and quite affordable). I decided to bring both Lucy and Booger. I wanted to see how they would do traveling together, and a site with stalls was a safe way to experiment. This will probably turn into a mega-post because the weekend kicked ass. 

Green Lane with Christine

 Three weeks ago, Christine and I met up at Green Lane for a ride. I really enjoyed riding there last year with Dodie and looked forward to going back with Booger. There is a NACMO ride coming up at Green Lane, so I'd like to get to know the trails a bit. Christine and I live about three hours apart, so this was a good halfway point. Christine had never been to Green Lane and was looking forward to seeing some new trail. Gracelyn tends to be a good influence on spicy Arabians, and I was looking to do some slow miles. Gracelyn hadn't been out in a few months so this was a plan that suited everybody. It wound up being an awesome day. 

I have been ordering Willit breeches from Amazon and I freaking love them. They're like thirty bucks and are sturdier than the Kerrits tights I've been wearing. Plus they come in all kinds of fun colors!

A Meeting of the Bad Girls Club

 Alternate title: Trail Rides and Tacos

Rabbit Run 2024: First Ride of the Season

Just like that, it's ride season again. Booger and I did the LD at Rabbit Run. The short version is she has another 30 miles on her ride record, and I have a fire-breathing dragon on my hands.

Return to Leaser Lake

 After the NACMO ride, I was determined to get back to Leaser Lake to see the rest of the trails. I was very excited when Dodie invited me back the following weekend for another ride. With ride season right around the corner, I decided to bring Booger. We wound up doing ten miles. As usual, there were some ups and downs (literally and figuratively).

This was the first time it felt like spring.

First HSB Ride of 2024

 On the 11th, Eryca and I did our first trip to Horseshoe Bend for the year. It was one of those weekends where I found myself wishing that the home trails were what they used to be. I love the freedom of having my own rig, but it's a lot of work to haul out all the time. I miss being able to do a ten mile loop right out the barn door. Sadly, I think those days are gone forever. HSB is the closest park with designated horse trails that are actually maintained. 

The endless rain from last year seems to have rolled over into 2024 so everything is a soppy mess, but we were pleasantly surprised at the footing at the park. 

It was Booger's turn to haul out, but she did not seem enthused about the idea. I'm not sure what crawled under her skin that day, but I actually debated taking Lucy instead. Booger came in willingly enough, but when I started packing tack, I actually thought she was going to jump over the outside stall door. She was spinning in circles and half rearing and flinging her head. 

"I hope I'm not making a mistake by bringing her," I said out loud. 

Still, she self loaded right into the trailer without hesitation and settled to eating her hay. The drive up was uneventful and everything was quiet in the back so imagine my dismay when Booger unloaded with scuffs on two hooves and a superficial cut on one coronet band. The divider in the trailer was also scuffed. I am not sure what happened back there (and this is a reminder to get my trailer cam) but I worried again that Booger wasn't in a good head space for a ride.

She proved me completely wrong. She unloaded happily and stood stock still while I got her booted and tacked up. (I had a new pair of Scoots to break in, with nice visible marigold toe and mud straps.) We went on to have a perfectly lovely ride. Booger was on her best behavior and seemed happy to be out. She walked out on the buckle from the get go and was relaxed and perfect all afternoon. 

This photo has FEBRUARY written all over it.

14 Miles of Moguls

 Two weekends ago, Eryca and I took the horses down to the Pine Barrens and rode out of  Carranza again. February was off to a muddy start and we had gotten a ton of rain again the previous week. I just wanted to go somewhere that wouldn't be a swamp. 

Riding along the abandoned railroad.

Riding at Carranza

 Hiking in the Pine Barrens with Mike and Julio got me itching to get back down there for a ride. The pines and winter are synonymous in my heart. These days, I usually head down to Colliers Mills a couple of times in the winter. I haven't ridden out of Carranza since 2017, and I've never been brave enough to ride down in Wharton State Forest without someone who knows the way. 

Over Christmas weekend, Eryca and I took Booger and Lilly down to Carranza and did ten miles. Nothing exciting happened. It was a Christmas miracle.

Booger paying her respects to Emilio Carranza. 

HSB: Falling Trees

 It's hunting season, which means whatever remains of the home trails is only accessible from 10-2. It also means short days and lots of mud. None of this has left me feeling very creative about where to ride. Still, if we want to get out of the ring for more than 20 minutes, we have to trailer out. 

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Eryca and I met up for a ride. We decided to just head to Horseshoe Bend. It's the closest place that has well-maintained horse trails, and we know the park well. I hadn't ridden there since the 50 in August. It was Booger's turn and I was curious to see how she would do at this particular venue after doing a ride there.

That morning, I woke to the wind howling outside the bedroom window. I almost scrapped the ride entirely. Eryca and I decided to head up and just stick to the field on the north side of the park. 

Jersey Devil 25

 One year to the day after Booger's first CTR, we went back to where it all began, finishing the season at the Jersey Devil. 

This was the moment she spotted Mike waiting for us at the in timer.