His and Her Rides

 Mike and I have a rule of thumb around here. We call it the one motorcycle per horse rule. It's a joke. Mostly. Kind of. Maybe not. In any case, I got a baby horse and then Mike got a dirt bike to even out the score. (Lucy= supermoto, Booger= sport bike, Chip= dirt bike) The whole idea is that Mike can come with me when I condition in the Pine Barrens and ride the sand trails on his bike while I clip clop around on Booger (or whoever). He can also bring the bike camping and ride trails and/or gravel roads as the laws allow. This dream has been a long time coming. 

Going into winter was not the ideal time to get a motorcycle, but his favorite dealer let him know that this was the last year for the model he wanted. Long story short, they pulled some strings and got him the last one in the northeast that checked all the boxes and wasn't a California model (whatever that is). So Mike brought the bike home. Then the holidays happened, it snowed, etc. 

Last weekend, Mike made some small modifications to the trailer to securely transport the dirt bike in the passenger horse slot. We loaded the bike and the horse, and headed down to Colliers Mills for Mike's first official trail ride with the new gal. (Meanwhile, I took Lucy and took down my NACMO course.)

Ponying Pictures

 Of course, I wasn't going to miss a chance to have Mike take pictures of Lucy and the baby while he was at the barn. We killed two birds with one stone and I took Lucy out to pony Chip. (It's rare all three horses get worked in one day.) This was Chip's third time being ponied and he's being very good about it. He also seems to enjoy it. Lucy? Maybe not so much. She gets compensated for her trouble in the form of extra snacks, however. Mike took a ton of pictures (nearly 300), but we were only out there for 20 minutes (lest anybody think I'm working my weanling into the ground). Here is a not-so-small sampling of my favorites.

Driving Photos

 I hope y'all are ready for a couple dozen nearly identical photos of my horse in her new harness and cart. On Saturday, I didn't have much of a game plan. The day started off incredibly windy, but cleared up later on. I did not have a riding buddy (though Mike offered to come do whatever I wanted). It was technically Booger's turn, but I wanted to take it easy on her after her puffy leg thing last week. Mike suggested bringing the camera to the barn and getting updated photos of everyone. I will never say no to that! Mike took over 400 of these so you should all be glad I narrowed it down. (Best of all, Booger looked forward and sound for the duration of our drive, and her legs felt normal afterwards. Phew!)

I love her expression in this one. She's so bright-eyed. This was Booger's second time in the blinders. She is being very good and they definitely make her less reactive to my movements in the cart (something she did not mind in the jog cart). It is taking some getting used to. I have always driven her in an open bridle and she likes to be able to see her surroundings. I may go back to the open bridle, but I think this is a good skill set to have (and blinders are mandatory in some forms of competition... not that we're competing in anything any time soon.) On a breezy winter afternoon after most of two weeks off, she was definitely sensitive to things appearing suddenly in her field of vision. I'm interested to see what she thinks of driving on trail with and without the blinkers. (I wonder if a Kant See Back bridle will be a good option...)

I couldn't pick just one preview image. I love how balanced and uphill she looks in this one. She looks relaxed and happy, and I really enjoy driving her.

Birthday Ride with Mike

 Today is Mike's birthday. He is not a birthday kind of guy. Still, I kept asking him what he wanted to do today. To my surprise, he said he wanted to go for a ride. No need to twist my arm! We ended up going to Horseshoe Bend and doing six miles in the snow. It was very pretty.

Inaugural Shiver in the Pines CMO

 I stubbornly hosted my second NACMO ride in the face of an oncoming winter storm. It was aptly named Shiver in the Pines.

Long course map because I'm quite proud of how these turned out.

Setting up for NACMO

 I hosted my second NACMO ride on Sunday (yes, in the face of an incoming snowstorm because... well... *gestures at life*). I decided to apply for the permit right before Christmas, which means I had pretty much exactly one month to get my act together. I learned a lot from hosting my first ride last summer, and I have to say most things were easier the second time around. 

Of course, this means I had a good excuse to do a lot of trail scouting and exploring and riding. I spent every weekend of January at Colliers Mills with various people. And, of course, there was the actual setting of the course, which Mike and I did by car last weekend. 

Originally, I was going to do a separate post for each ride, but I'm feeling very inspired to get the blog back to real time (ish). I WILL reserve my ride with Booger on Saturday for its own entry. It was one of my favorite rides on her to date. But I'm going to dump the rest here in chronological order for the sake of brevity. 

Eryca and I seem to do some version of this photo every winter and I love it.

Festivus CMO

 Sandy hosted the last NACMO ride of 2024 at Round Valley in December. Of course, I was in for the long course. 

Originally, I was supposed to ride with Terra and loan Lilly to Dodie so she could join us. Then I found out that Tor was available and I hooked her up with Terra because I was out of horses and trailer spots. Terra agreed to loan Pride to Tor. Then Dodie decided to ride with Jen on the short course because Jen didn't have a team. Then Melissa reached out and Jen reportedly found a team. Dodie said she would be up for a foursome including her new mare, Lillie (also a gray), but we would have to go slow. I felt like four might be a crowd and wasn't sure Lilly could actually do 14-ish miles of tough terrain at Round Valley. 

In the end, Dodie did the short course with Melissa, Jen, and Angela. Tor, Terra, and I stuck with the long course.

A few days before the ride, I looked at the season points for our region and realized that I was in second place right behind Jen S, the leader of the Four Horsemen. At first, I thought she was too far ahead of me to catch. Then I did the math and realized that if she didn't show up and I had a perfect day (finding all ten objectives and coming in first) I could beat her by one point.

If you've been reading this blog for more than thirty seconds, you can probably see where this is going. I was on a mission.

Jersey Devil 2024

After Hector, my ride season came to an abrupt halt. We missed Chautauqua. After that, I set my sights on Mustang. Originally, I was planning to take Lucy and do her first LD. I was going to ride with Sam on Puma. Then Mustang got cancelled. We regrouped and planned for Jersey Devil. The plan was to ride Lucy in the 25 with Sam. Then Sam mentioned that she wanted to do the two day 50. It would be her first multi day. I decided to enter Lucy in back to back 25's. This way, if she completed one day and not the second, the miles from day one would still count. It would be more expensive, but since I ride pass fail, I was all for it. 

After the Essex hunter pace, I had my doubts about Lucy being able to do both days. Booger, meanwhile, was still rip roaring fit. I had no doubt she could do 50 miles in two days. It would be our first multi-day as well. In the end, I decided to enter Booger in both 25's. My train of thought was to ride the first day and see how it went. If I wasn't having a good time, I didn't have to start the second day. I was interested to see if she'd be quieter on the second day. I keep telling myself "no more sand rides for Booger" because she treats them like really long race track. But I had such a good time riding with Sam last year. I figured it was worth a try.

It turns out, Booger wasn't the problem that weekend. 

I seriously love this mare so much.

Columbia Trail (with Mike and Booger)

 The last Saturday in October presented with beautiful weather, with clear skies and temperatures in the mid 60's. I found myself without any plans, and none of the usual suspects were available for a last minute adventure. 

Any time this happens, Mike offers to come ride with me, which is very sweet. I appreciate this, but I also know Mike would rather ride his bike than a horse. You may remember that he accompanied me to the Assunpink this way when I was setting up my NACMO course. That time, I rode Lucy. This time, we decided to take Booger and Mike's bicycle and revisit the Columbia Trail. He has been wanting to ride there, and Booger had enjoyed our outing with Sandy earlier this fall. Plus a rail trail is a great place to take bike and horse together. 

We wound up doing almost eleven miles and it's definitely something I would do again. 

EFH Fall Pace

The day after the cow clinic was the The Essex Fox Hounds fall pace, which is always one of my favorites. Eryca was not available to do it this year, so I reached out to Tor and asked her if she'd like to come down. I told her she could have her pick of horses.

"Well, you know I love Booger best, but I'll take whoever."
"You can have her!" 

This was the first time I let someone other than me ride Booger at any kind of event. Tor was the first person other than me to ride Booger, and has done so on several occasions since. She was also the one to accompany me to Booger's first pace, so this felt fitting. The two of them get along really well. My biggest concern was that Tor was going to make her look easy and I was going to be left second guessing my ability as a rider. (I already know most of Booger's problems are, in fact, my problems.) 

Short version: it was an awesome day. I loved getting both mares out together.

Introducing: Harvest Hill Serenchipity

 Things were too peaceful around here so I decided to upset the apple cart and throw a foal into the mix. As one does.

Chip at three months old, the first time I met him.

Camping (and horse shopping) at Moshannon

 When we last left off, Sandy and I were plotting...

Sandy has had Fina for almost a decade now. (Where does the time go?) In that time, we have been on some truly fabulous adventures. While Fina doesn't show any actual signs of slowing down, she is getting older. Sandy has casually been thinking about her next horse. Her unofficial plan was to maybe get a young horse for her 40th birthday (next year). 

In the process, Sandy has been talking about the things she does and does not want in her next horse. The abridged version is that she was looking for a young horse, preferably a mare, preferably gaited, with a pretty blank slate. 

Sandy has loved Lucy since the first time they met, and the more we talked, the more she was pretty sure she wanted a fox trotter. I have to giggle at the number of fox trotters that seem to come into my life these days. Before I met Lilly in 2012, I had never met a MFT before! Now I own one and a half and Lilly is still very much in my life. Sandy and I even talked about going to Missouri to try some (this would have been an epic adventure, I am sure.)

As all my readers probably know, horse shopping can be a real roller coaster. Sandy sent me ads for potential horses, and I dutifully looked at them with scrutiny. I nitpicked and weighed pros and cons. Some of them, I flat out typed "NO" to. 

Then Sandy sent me a handful of photos of some fox trotters that were about four hours away in Pennsylvania. There was a breeder with a handful of horses for sale, ranging in age from six months to seven years old. The photos were mostly of the horses hanging out in their pasture, but there was something that drew us both in. There was a black pinto mare, five years old, that specifically got my attention.

"I think they're worth looking at," I encouraged Sandy. "It's not that far of a drive and there are multiple horses to make the trip worth it."

When we rode the Columbia Trail together, we were both looking for something to do the following weekend. Sandy agreed to go home to see if the MFT owners were available to show her their horses. 

Coincidentally, the Moshannon State Forest is near the farm the sale horses were at. There is equestrian camping at Moshannon, and it was on our list of places to check out. On Thursday, Sandy and I were still hemming and hawing. I checked the camping website and found that the sites at North Run were wide open. Sandy was still on the fence.

Finally I texted her. "I just booked site #4 for tomorrow through Monday." That was all the encouragement Sandy needed. 

So, with less than 24 hours notice, we went into the forest for four days with a side of horse shopping along the way. It was brilliant.

A change of scenery in more ways than one.

Fingers Crossed 2024

 My first foray into the world of mounted orienteering was at the Fingers Crossed ride in April of 2023. This year, Fingers Crossed was held in September and I got to go back to where it all started (plus camping.)

Hector Half Hundred 2024

 The last (only) time I did Hector was in 2015. That was my cursed season. I rode Wendy's lovely Asgard gelding, Fleuron. It poured rain. We did 55 cold, wet, miserable miles. At the finish line, the vets (who were new to the sport) played 'not it' while Fleuron stood around waiting to be vetted. By the time someone drew the short straw and came out to vet us, Fleuron had cramped up. Mike and I worked hard to work out the knot in Fleuron's hindquarters. When he represented, we all thought he looked good. The vet disagreed and we were pulled at the finish. It was honestly such a miserable experience that it took me nine years to want to go back. 

I have to say I'm super glad we went. Booger and I had an absolutely brilliant experience and Hector is on my do-again list (assuming the weather is good).

Photo by Kelsey Eliot.

Xamping

 Last year, there was a NACMO ride at the Tuscarora State Forest. We did not manage to go, and I was sad to miss out on camping and new-to-me trails. When Dodie invited us to go camping with her and Melissa at Tuscarora over Labor Day weekend, I was all over it! Then Melissa invited Sandy and Sandy invited Emily. As luck would have it, there are only five campsites at the equestrian campground, so we had the whole place to ourselves! Dodie put the trip in her calendar, only she misspelled "camping" as "Xamping". By the end of the weekend, we had turned xamping in to a whole thing. 

Fair Hill Camping (Redux)

 Originally, I was planning to do the Horseshoe Bend Boogie in August. I was going to take Lucy and try the LD. Christine and I planned to ride together, like we did at the CTR. 

As the ride grew closer, however, neither one of us was feeling particularly gung ho about it. It was a lot of prepping, planning, and pressure. The more we chatted about it, the more lukewarm we felt about the whole thing. 

Finally I offered, "Or we could just pick a quiet spot and go fun camping instead..."

SOLD. 

We quickly decided to do Fair Hill. We made last minute reservations. I booked the same stalls Sandy had last time. I was looking forward to a weekend of just relaxing with no concrete goals or timelines. 

The week leading up to our trip, the forecast looked abysmal. It was supposed to rain pretty much the entire weekend. I was fine taking our chances. Worst case, we would leave the horses in their warm, dry stalls and hang out in the LQ, drinking and snacking and chilling. 

The weekend wound up being a great time.

Inaugural Horse Days of Summer CMO

 (aka the Peer Pressure Ride)

The morning of the NACMO ride dawned with glorious weather. Cool, clear, sunny. The entire reason I planned my first ride for August was because I would be guaranteed to have no desire to ride in the sweltering summer heat. Joke's on me. I was thrilled nonetheless. 

Short version: the day was a success over all. There were a lot of ups and downs, but I would totally do it again. Most people seemed to have fun.

Eryca and Bryce ended up cancelling their trip to DC at the last minute. She came out to help me with registration, which ended up being a godsend since I had a much bigger turnout than anticipated.

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.

Muckleratz CDR 2024

The weekend after Vermont was the Muckleratz CTR. Spoiler alert: I did not quit horseback riding. 

Mike and I agreed to being the photographers a year ago. Even before his camera died at the endurance ride, Mike was encouraging me to bring a horse. His logic was that we had to bring the trailer either way. Might as well pack a pony. 

"Plus you can get a hang glider photo with both mares," he reasoned. 

Sold!

I decided to bring Lucy and do the CDR (one loop) and just have fun. It was frankly genius.

And, honestly, after this photo, do I even need another shot at this site?

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.