[RC] Mentoring new riders or Momma Duckie and the Ducklings - Lucie HessI guess I can now be called Momma Duckie (not to be confused with THE DUCK!) I mentored 2 new LD riders at the State Fair Express and had one 2ND time rider with me for the LD. I rode Spanky, who did very well and was sound at the finish and Diane Conklin rode her Appy Mare "Big Mare". Unfortunately Diane's mare had a minor issue with an easy boot at the turn around point so she wasn't able to finish the ride, she pulled at the Vet Check. <Darn the Luck> We were all having so much fun and I know she was disappointed. 3 Natrc riders were the ducklings, Experienced riders, Bobbie Bedsworth on her Foxtrotter, April and Mary Stanford on her Peruvian, Artie, and Juliette Ritzman, (who is a new NATRC competitor), rode her Foxtrotter, Joe. With some explanation of the vet checks and the differences between NATRC and AERC, Bobbie and Mary took off.. Those gaited horses can fly. They didn't want to ride with slow old Momma Duckie! I was very cautious and didn't want to overstress Spanky's leg with the old injury, so I rode slow and cautious. Diane, Juliette and I had great fun trotting interspersed with periods of walking. Jennifer Finley caught up with us early on and rode the rest of the ride with us. We were quite a sight I'm sure. A Sabino paint foxtrotter, a big Appy, a 1/2 Arab-Appy, (Spanky had his Rump rug on, so I'm sure folks just thought he was an arab something-- kinda mix) and a really cute flea bitten Arab with the Typiest head.. He really is a gelding! Jennifer says he gets called "She" all the time! (I'm not sure if Jennifer completed, I had heard her horse was off at the final check.. But I'm not sure about that, so could be wrong.) I'm proud to say all the new riders completed the ride and their horses all had A's on their vet cards. Juliette completed her second LD ride with all A's. Mary and Bobby had a great time..all smiles. It was great to see Bobby back at a ride, life circumstances have kept her away for a few years. <I hate when that happens> Bobby is planning on riding more AERC rides this year, so she joined AERC and OCER.. I GOT MINE! The next set of ducklings will be my Granddughters.. there are 2 of them, so one will ride novice NATRC and the other LD's. I had them out conditioning this weekend. Just 4- 5 miles.. don't want to overwhelm them, well work up to more miles slowly. The girl who will be the LD rider was unhappy, because "We didn't trot enough, Nanna". I think I made the right picks for each girl! The girls are new AERC members, OCER members and NATRC members (family membership).. so do new Jr. Riders count in getting more members? So stay tuned for more Momma Duckie and the Ducklings stories.. <Quacking sounds heard in the background!> Columbia, Missouri NATRC Region 6 AERC # 65 AERC Central Region OCER member ____________________________________________________________________________________ You rock. That's why Blockbuster's offering you one month of Blockbuster Total Access, No Cost. http://tc.deals.yahoo.com/tc/blockbuster/text5.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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