Sand Creek

[Ajsclassgs@aol.com]

Friday morning we left for the Sand Creek ride near Jordon, Montana.  Drin 
Becker had come over to Bozeman on Thursday evening with her horse Bo, so we 
got an early start on the road.  We stopped momentarily in Livingston to 
hitch-up with Ellen Snoeyenbos as well, and then drove to just the other side 
of Billings where we unloaded the horses at a lovely rest stop on a hill.  It 
was a perfect day for traveling.  The air had a coolness to it, so the horses 
were never hot in the trailer and we could use the 
"rear-window-air-conditioner" in the truck to stay comfortable ourselves.  
Passed through Miles City, where they were having a big Rodeo this weekend, 
and then turned north toward Jordon.  Drin and I were visiting and I missed 
seeing the sign at the base of the little hill for the camping area until it 
was too late to stop and turn that quickly.  Ellen just chuckled and having 
seen my brake lights easily made the turn.  "Oh - Great"  I thought as the 
roads are VERY long in eastern Montana and the turn arounds can be few and 
far between.  we drove on till we saw a field road to our left and turned 
into it and managed to turn the trailer around and get back to camp.  Suzy 
Hayes asked me if my brakes were working of course.  We set up camp next to 
Suzy and Lynne and then broke out our super and settled down to visit with 
some old friends at the ride.  

Saturday we woke up at 3:45, as the 100 milers were starting at 5:00 and time 
seems to fly in the morning when you're getting ready.  Dyskrete and Guy 
whinnied incesently as Bo and Kooter left for the 100.  That ensured that 
Ellen and I were also up and I imagine everyone else as well.  The other gal 
riding the 100 was Rachel (from Australia) who was riding a horse belonging 
to Bill Stevens.  She was qualifying herself and the horse for the Australian 
team at Pan Am.  

We started the 50 at 6:00 and it was certainly a lovely summer morning on the 
plains of eastern Montana.  The horses started out of camp to the sounds of 
Killdeer and Meadowlarks.  I had decided to let Dyskrete move out from the 
start and avoid the usual fight with her that I've had when trying to hold 
her back.  We ended up traveling mostly by ourselves, but for Dyskrete that 
was a good experience.  The first loop was 25 miles, followed by two 12-1/2 
mile loops.  The trail took us up a steep butte to a sandstone outcropping 
that appeared to almost be a fortress from a distance.  Although we didn't 
have time Saturday to do so, I think it would be a great place to explore.  
The locals call it the Indian Caves, so I imagine there may be pictographs 
etc there.  We then noted the lone tree in a coulee off to our right.  Yep, 
only one tree.  A hugh old cottonwood growing in an old wash.  Makes me 
wonder if at one time there was an old homestead there and someone had 
brought that one cottonwood sapling in and planted it.    Then came the stone 
ruins.  This is the ruins of an old settlement all built out of flat stones 
piled upon one another.   We trotted right between the two clearest remaining 
buildings.  I marvel that people took such care and precision to build these 
walls.  Each wall was close to 1 and 1/2 feet thick.  Karen (helping with the 
ride) said she has located the remains 7 buildings and an underground house 
in this location and several more buildings at various other locations not 
too far away.  These kinds of things always get my imagination working and I 
wonder who the people were who lived her in this wild country.  Why did they 
leave after all the work they had gone to.   The other feature I noted at 
various points along the trail were that you could look high a top of a 
sandstone rock formation and there would be a carefully stacked pile of flat 
rocks precariously perched.  These are known in our part of the world as 
"shepherds monuments".  The old shepherds would spend time building these 
"monuments" to while a way the hours.  Who knows, maybe there were contests 
between them to see who could get his rocks piled the highest,  and to see 
who could  get his to perch on the most unlikely spot.  This is how I whiled 
away the miles with my horse in this vast prairie that looks much the same 
today as it must have 150 years ago.  The sun shown brightly all day in this 
"Big Sky Country", but the prairie wind kept us from ever getting too hot.  
There was plenty of water available in tanks for the horses.  It was best to 
stay out of the run-off ponds, as the edges can have very deep gumbo mud.  
One horse that did try to go in sunk very deep and twisted a leg resulting in 
being pulled.  My friend Ellen's great little horse Guy also slipped 
somewhere Saturday and was finished at 25 miles.   

The winning time on the 50 was 4:42 by Brittany Clegg, but Best Condition 
went to Mary Burgess whose time was 5:17.  Dyskrete finished this, her third, 
race with a time of 6:08, and I was very pleased with her ride.  

Rachel was first on the 100, followed by Suzy Hayes on Kooter, and the Drin 
on Bo.  All finished with plenty of daylight and horse left.  Sorry, I don't 
have the sheet with the times for the 100's.  

The hospitality from Carla Christensen and her friend Karen and their 
families was wonderful.  They had many nice awards and I think everyone had a 
good time.  There were even great consolation gifts for the 2 people who had 
to pull.  

We're off to the Big Horn next, if all goes as planned.

Anne & the Horses in Montana
Dyskrete, Stuffy, Hadia & Tifla


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