Bear River Ride story (long)

["Maggie Mieske" <mmieske@netonecom.net>]

Hi Ridecampers,
I am going to write an official story of sorts for those who enjoy them. 
For those who do not, please delete now.  It is kinda long....sorry!

I first want to mention that this trail was where I rode my first 15 mile
CTR last year at the Wolverine Ride. It was so great that I rode the 25
mile CTR the following day!  It was a tough trail but I had met enough
people and had enough fun that I was hooked!!  I went back this year to the
Wolverine Ride planning (wanting desperately) to ride 50 miles there!  It
was sooooooo hot and humid that (even though I had that 25 LD BC under my
belt from 3 weeks previous) I decided I couldn't do it...we did another 25
CTR instead.  Which I enjoyed but that is not Jonathan's calling!  So I had
another opportunity this weekend to ride a 50 on this trail with my 14 year
old daughter on her horse, Max.  

What a beautiful weekend for a ride!!  Hey, it's northern Michigan
(Petoskey), not far from Lake Michigan.  We were the first to arrive on
Thursday afternoon...Nobody in sight.  My husband thought I was out of my
mind!  I pointed out that someone had already started preparing the rider's
tent and someone had already marked off their "spots".  We chose ours, not
too far from the vet area and not too far from the porta potties and water!
 A very nice spot...we usually end up across the field (so far from the
potty that I have to DRIVE to it or risk humiliation!  I haven't figured
out why they don't put one at each end of the field!).  Anyway, the ride
managers showed up (sisters Shannon Weston and Shayna Steffel...thanks
ladies!!) that night so we weren't all alone!  We enjoyed their company
around the fire!  

Except for not drinking as well as I would have liked, the horses did well
in their corrals and vetted in without incident on Friday afternoon. 
Jonathan did have Bs for gait and impulsion...he often does.  (Haven't
figured that out yet.  He almost always has straight As through the ride. 
And I do take time to warm him up and ride a bit in camp!)  Jenny and I
tacked up and warmed up Saturday morning...cold and crisp.  Mist rising
over the fields and trees.... just a gorgeous day for a ride!!  We put our
gloves on to start!!  We let the pack gallop off before we headed out at a
trot.  It was wonderful....the first time Jonathan has been relaxed and not
all hyped up!!  The buddy system was a great strategy and much more fun
than riding alone!!  I was able to ride him the entire time in his
sidepull.  We made it up Heartbreak Hill (a mile of climbing a pretty good
grade!) and then off we went to tackle more sand and rocks and hills...it
is a tough trail.  Which is what makes it so interesting, I think.  We were
so exhilarated by the smell of ozone in the forest and the frost in the
fields and the rising mists, we didn't feel the chill!!   We made it
without incident to the first vet check at 12 miles.  Jonathan was not
ready to stop....he refused to eat or drink anything!! He kept looking in
the direction that the horses were leaving out.  He doesn't understand why
we need to stop.  Max is slurping (literally slurping) up his goodies (beet
pulp, some sweet feed, pelleted feed, apples and carrots with a dash of
electrolytes)... in fact, he ate his AND most of Jonathan's in that 20
minute hold!!   I lyted Jonathan with AccuLyte hoping to get him drinking
and eating.  We tacked up, trotted out, we're good to go and we're off....
the next few miles is fairly flat.  A couple miles out, my stirrup leather
tears on my saddle.  Did I mention I am riding in a saddle that I haven't
ridden in in years, fresh from the Amish harness shop for some repair
(missed this strip of leather though!)?  I know, I know...but my McClellan
was REALLY broke and my only other option was my english saddle, no thank
you!!!  I duct taped it and rode very carefully until my husband pitted us
again where another wonderful pit husband had some zip ties which they
fixed me up with right away!!  ANYWAY!!!  After that vet check, Jonathan
realizes he is a special kind of thirsty.  He stops and drinks at EVERY
water hole and creek and pail, even pausing at other's buckets as if to
say, "Hey, got some for me??".  Back in camp for the halfway check, he eats
everything in sight and drinks like a champ.  We walked the last mile in so
they are down right away.  We have a nice lunch, the horses munching the
whole time....I am so happy.  The vet is so happy!!  My husband actually
MADE sloppy joes for us...a hot meal!!  The three of us are having fun (we
usually have friends and family with us totalling about 6-8 so this is a
different kind of ride for us!).  The 40 minutes is up in a flash and we
ride out 3-4 minutes behind schedule....big deal!  Who cares?  
COMPLETION!!  That's what it's all about!  We're a little quieter this time
out...starting to feel those hills up and down.  Part way up Heartbreak
Hill the horses stop and look back at us as is to say, "Hey, wait a minute!
 We're doing this AGAIN???"  We urge them on and when they decide it's for
real, they're going like troopers again!  Max has this amazing way of
putting his tail in the air and his ears forward that just shows how much
he loves going down that trail (Jenny has a bounce in her butt, too but she
wouldn't want me to write about that!) and his and Jenny's presence on this
ride make it the best ride Jonathan and I have ever had!  Memories of the
other rides on this trail kept popping into my head....this is where so and
so broke their stirrup leather,  this is where we caught up to you know
who, this is the spot with the view of (fill in the blank)....and I had a
wonderful time sharing those with my daughter.  The 2nd half of the ride
was a review of the memories of the first half with her and I can't wait to
ride it again next year and review them all again!!

About halfway to the 3rd check we catch up to a couple of riders who
complain that they got off trail and went 10 miles out of their way.... I
don't understand it as we did the same loop that morning and we had no
trouble staying on the right trail.  (Follow the horse tracks!!!)  Every
time we got too close they were hollering at us about how they lost so much
time...I wonder if they thought we would just stop and let them have 10
miles of time ahead of us????  Well, we were keeping up a brisk pace...I
think they would have preferred to go slower.  They never offered for us to
pass.  We didn't ask.  We made it into the check, got off and walked in. 
The horses looked GREAT!!!  They chowed down everything in sight...in fact,
they had to eat out of the same bucket.  Slop, slop, slop like hogs!!   I
don't care!!  :)  They were drinking and peeing and pooping so good (no
nervous diarrhea stuff which is normal for both of them!).  The other
riders went out a couple minutes ahead of us and it wasn't long before we
caught up to them as they stopped to let their horses drink.  They were
pushing it, I thought, but I wanted our horses to come in in top form!  I
had been concerned about the Appy because he had refused to trot out for
the CRI.  Apparently he has to be FORCED to trot out in hand.  With a whip
or a rope.  My well meaning husband loaned the lady a rope which she used
like a whip and the vet slapped him on the butt for her and he eventually
moved (barely).... I don't think that a horse that refuses to trot out for
a CRI can give an accurate measurement for comparison.  Oh, well... I guess
I better get used to seeing those kinds of things.  I'll do MY thing so I
can feel good about MYself and MY horse!!  

ANYWAY, back to catching up and drinking.... our horses are still drinking
at every stop and we are right on their tails.  At least in sight. 
Jonathan started flagging up one of those nasty hills so I got off and
walked...he acted as if he wanted to stop and pee but he'd stop and then
NOT, so I kept him going (he finally did pee when we finished and he was
back in his corral).  Jenny was just itching to catch up and race in.... I
wouldn't let her do it and I think she was mad at me.  But I felt those
horses were already being pushed enough and one of them (a junior was
riding) was an old pro and was conditioned on these trails... she wasn't
going to beat the old guy!  I held back more until they were out of sight
and the notion passed and we eventually walked in the last mile or two. 
Since 3 of the 11 original starters had pulled, we were in top ten....we
trotted in side by side but I let Jenny and Max nose me out for 6th and I
ended up in 7th place (what a mom!).  Our horses vetted out with all As...
(I truly don't remember anything less than an A-).  We felt soooooooo good
about our ride!!  We were so tired!  But it is truly the best ride I have
had yet!  Jenny and Max earned 2nd junior, 6th over the line and Best 1/2
Arab.  Jonathan and I earned 2nd heavyweight.  They did do best condition
scoring but did not announce placings....my husband went back and asked for
the scoring and found out that Jonathan scored 2nd in Best Condition
placing to Gene Dake's KTP Simply the Best who took BC.  And that was what
mattered to me most.  Gene was in a loooooong time before I was and I was
right on the tail of the 3 ahead of me and my horse scored better in BC.
(Jenny placed 4th... the girl on the old pro was 3rd!)  Am I right to feel
so good about this???  My horse was in better shape POST ride than PRE ride
(can't say the same for the husband)!!  I think that is sooo cool!!  So, I
hope those of you who live vicariously through the ride stories of others
will at least share some of my aches and pains tonight (how about footing
some of the entry fees sometime??) and feel a good portion of the happiness
I feel for our achievement.  Many thanks to the above mentioned sisters who
took over this ride so that it would continue....they did a great job and
this is a ride I will return to again and again as long as they have it!! 
Also many thanks to trail boss Jim Yell and his wife, Theresa... we camp on
their land and ride on their trails....they put a lot of hours into those
trails!!!  Don't forget those ride managers AND their volunteers who put so
much time and effort into the ride BEFORE the flyer even goes out!!!  Sorry
so long!

Maggie and Jonathan (the farrier's wife and the wife's horse who doesn't
care much for the wife's husband                                  except
when he has that bucket of water and slop at the pit stop!)
Beautiful northern Michigan


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