Mykal: Jenny got up early in the morning...nobody ever gets up that early at
our house so I knew something was up! She gave us some more beet pulp and
goodies. Whatever is up, it's good!! I LIKE all this extra special
activity.
Maggie: Saddling up and getting a warm up were pretty uneventful though I
know Mykal knew this was no ordinary trail ride. We hung around the start line
until everyone had gone out and it was just Jenny, Max, Jan Kennedy and her
mare, Ginger and ourselves. Mykal was intensely interested but didn't misbehave
one bit! Then off we went at a nice easy trot.
Mykal: There was a big crowd of horses and I watched everything, wondering
what was going to happen. Then after they all took off down the trail, I got to
follow them with Max and a pretty blond haired mare named Ginger...boy, she sure
is pretty and I enjoyed the view. I know she liked me but she pretended like she
didn't really. She is a much older woman but that doesn't matter to me!
Maggie: From the start to the finish, it was a pretty uneventful ride...Jenny
and Max stuck around for awhile until apparently Jenny was sure that Mykal and I
were "ok" and she went on ahead to finish 4th. We rode the first 15 mile loop
with Jan and Ginger. The only mishap we had was a stumble on some roots but we
were travelling slow and easy and I bailed off when he went to his knees so I
didn't hurt him. The only "problem" I really had with Mykal was his tendency to
want to turn around and go back.
Mykal: Well, it seemed like we were getting an awful long way from the
trailer and my food and water and my little pen. I still am unclear about WHY we
went such a looong ways.
Maggie: He would stop, look around at me and if I didn't urge him immediately
forward, he would try to turn around. He was very polite about it and when I
asked him to continue forward, he did.
Mykal: I'm a GOOD boy!
Maggie: Mykal was pretty excited at the vet check and took a few minutes
longer than Ginger to pulse down so I told Jan to go on ahead and Mykal and I
would finish the 10 mile loop on our own. He was doing so great! As usual with
loops that go back to camp, Mykal was reluctant to leave camp but did so anyway.
When the stopping politely and asking to go back didn't work, I decided to keep
him trotting and cantering to distract him. At that point, he started trying a
big circle in an attempt to go back.
Mykal: Maggie is insane. We were DONE and she made me go back out AGAIN.
Maggie: Once we got going though Mykal was a trooper. Nelson met us a couple
of times out on the trail with water and a slosh bottle which Mykal wasn't sure
about.
Mykal: It's really rude to pour water down one's neck like that! It felt good
but it was still rude.
Maggie: At the last pit stop about 4 miles from camp, Mykal drank well again
and we "sloshed" him. I turned him and asked him which way we should go....he
looked back down the trail the way we had come, then down the road in the
direction we should go and turned and walked back to the truck.
Mykal: I don't know where the horse trailer was but it is supposed to be
attached to the truck! I think I should have been able to get a ride back.
Maggie carried this ride a bit far if you ask me!
Maggie: We had a good laugh over Mykal's antics and then we continued on. It
wasn't far to the spot where we turned back into the woods about 2 miles or so
from camp and once we hit that spot and he recognized it from the 15 mile loop,
he hit a big trot and away we went. He knew where he was now. We met a USFS
officer at the 2 mile mark and exchanged some pleasantries...he didn't even
spook at her when she moved. I hadn't even seen her yet.
Mykal: Stupid thing to think that I would spook at a person!!
Maggie: We finished the 25 mile LD in about 4 hours and 15 minutes. A good
time for a first ride and Mykal was in good shape though definitely tired. He is
a good boy and as he gets older, I think he is going to give our competitors
something to watch out for. He ate and drank well during the ride. I couldn't
have asked for a better ride. As we approached camp, he let loose with a mighty
whinny...Nelson thought he was "announcing" himself the way Malik usually will.
I know he was actually saying "Where the heck has everyone been???".
Mykal: I'll let her think what she wants for now and it wasn't so bad after
we got done and Maggie gave me apples and carrots and lots of sloppy good stuff
to eat. I think I might like doing some more of this. It is fun to get out and
meet new horses and new people. That vet lady said some nice things about me and
I liked her, too. Malik tells me that he can go for FIFTY miles in almost the
same time it took me to do 25 but he's just a braggart. Someday I'll show
HIM!!
Maggie: And that scratch? He forgot all about it!! It didn't cause us a
moment's grief!
