Doncaster Renegade 25/35 ECTRA CTR

["Snodgrass, Bonnie" <snodgrab@ncr.disa.mil>]

Once again I can't give any ride placings and believe me there were a lot of
placings since there was two distances, three weight catagories, novice
horse, novice rider, junior rider. However, the ride itself was great.
Kudo's to John and Helen Stacy for a well organized rider that had
everything a horse or rider could need except a shaved ice stand. I rode
River in her first 35 mile ride and was really happy with her. Gotta admit
that I only live 1/2 mile from this ride and know these trails very well.
Still, it hit a humid 90 degrees before we finished. After the first part of
the first loop (where I was getting sucked along behind some hot footing
Morgans) we got settled into our nice steady medium trot. We passed by
several horses at the midway vet check/hold  and continued on at a nice
sensible pace. Had to dwadle along towards the end and kill some time before
coming in. River finished with lots of energy to spare and excellent
hydration.  I fed wet feed for two days leading into the ride and gave a
couple of small sloppy feeds in the wee hours of the morning of the ride. He
manure was nice a wet all the way thru unlike some horses I observed.

The ride is basicly on flat terrain, largely forested single track trails,
some forest road. It really is a nice ride for the novice horse and rider.
Doncaster can have a reputation for mud but not this year! We've had a
drought down here in southern Maryland but the Stacy's had water tanks in
five locations, and two hospitality stations for the riders. The ride food
was the best I've had. Not only did they provide two large dinners but a
wonderful hot breakfast that enticed me to start the ride a little on the
heavy side. Don't miss this one next year if you're in the area.

Bonnie Snodgrass