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[RC] The Sun didn't shine on the Sunflower Classic! - Lucie HessSorry for any possible double posts, my first post from AOL didn't get to everyone. Hillsdale, Kansas was NOT the place to be on Friday and Saturday of this weekend. I must first give a great deal of thanks to Susan and Dan Kiel who put this ride on. Susan had marked 3 different courses for us to use. Each time the weather got worse over the previous week, she went out and changed the trail! She wanted so much for this ride to go on. I left my house in Columbia about 150 miles away to a dry drive. We were almost to KC before the rain started. Rounding the south outer loop of the highway system was a huge bear, traffic stopped and slow, rain was really heavy. Once we got within 30 miles the rain started to look a little "squishy" when it hit the windshield. Oh, no... Snow! There was a forecast for snow showers starting at midnight and this was 4pm! Well, the rain and snow were coming down and all of the drainage ditches were full and running hard by the time we arrived at the campground. I made the best of it and got the horses settled in. I had my horse Buddy, and my grandkid's horse, Rebel, who was going to be ridden by a friend. My friends who were going to camp next to me had gotten there a little bit ahead of me and we weren't there longer than 30- 40 minutes before they decided to go back home. They were concerned about the horses being cold, not enough blankets, etc.. so they took Rebel, whose rider was coming from St. Louis, they called her, (5 or so hours away) told her of the weather conditions and advised her not to come. I was concerned about the road conditions, getting worse with all the snow, so I decide to stay put. There were some permanent pens on the east side lower down on the ridge that had a pretty good windbreak so I put Buddy there. Plus the floor of the pen was gravel as he was already in fetlock deep mud just standing at the trailer. The ride meeting was to be at 7, so it was pretty close to 6 by the time I and the horse got checked in. I was soaked by that time. At the time of the ride meeting the trail had been remarked the 3rd time and all the ride was to be on gravel and some asphalt roads. The plan was to change the 55 to a 50 and have the 30 and 75 mileage stay as planned. Dr. Dane Fraiser was VERY concerned about the health of the horses, he said he has seen some of the sickest horses ever at very cold and wet rides. So he advised folks to ride carefully. During the ride meeting, it lightning ed and thundered. Oh, no Thundersnow.. always makes for deep wet snow. The friend who went with me and I went to dinner in town, the roads were just getting covered, but by the time we left for camp, you couldn't see and the roads were covered completely. Did I mention the snow flakes were as big as your fist? Folks literally were driving at this time trying to get into camp. Louise and Bruce Burton and Susan Young, both got in around 11:30, they told me the next morning, how bad the road conditions were, a real White out, and they were in front of the snow plow! I went to bed after taking Buddy for a walk and giving him his late night snack. I was soaked again by then. I think I was in bed by 11 or so, snow was just coming down. I got up around 6:30, fed Buddy and then went to talk to Management around 7 to see what was going on. I was told the ride was cancelled, as we had 2-3 inches of snow on the ground and after driving the course, management decided the footing conditions were too dangerous, not to mention it was still kinda raining and snowing and the temps were hovering around freezing. The main concern was that the gravel roads would cross asphalt roads and there were some asphalt roads that needed to be ridden or ridden on the side next to the road, but since you couldn't tell what was gravel or pavement, management was VERY worried about horse slipping and falling during the transition from gravel to asphalt, since you couldn't see enough to slow down! Susan was so disappointed, she was so apologetic, but she had to make a decision and she made the right one, in my opinion. I had asked her if it could be held on Sunday, she said that logistically with her help, and the vets, she couldn't make it happen.. plus her husband was leaving for Paris, France on Sunday. Unfortunately some riders, particularly one, who I won't mention names, were trying to talk Susan into changing her mind. They weren't very nice about it either. One girl said well, I'll pay the vets and put on the ride. There were threats to protest! How ridiculous.. some folks just need to get a life! and CHILL! The ride was cancelled for the best of reasons, so don't try to brow beat and threaten the ride management to attempt to make them change their minds. We waited around for it to warm above freezing before hauling home, around 11 the sun came out and it started to melt. The drive home was unremarkable, except we stopped at a Mennonite food store and had a handmade sandwich of very fresh meats and cheeses and Mennonite pastries.. Yumm So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Susan and her help did the best they could do in the most unfortuante of situations. And I greatly appreciate them. I do think that ALL riders need to either put on a ride or be part of management, before they start to question decisions made by management that are made to protect the horses and the riders. Just my opinion! Hopefully, this ride can be rescheduled for a later date. It's a great location, nice campgropund and an excellent trail! Columbia, Missouri NATRC Region 6 AERC # 65 AERC Central Region OCER member __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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