Tag Archives: Pine Tree

Pine Tree Endurance Ride 2024

August 13, 2024 Rob 4 Comments

Last week we completed our annual pilgrimage to Fryeburg, Maine for the Pine Tree Endurance rides. The event is held at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds and includes 4 days of competition with a 25 and 50 mile offering each day. New riders can choose to do an Intro ride for experience that doesn’t count for AERC credit but is helpful for getting new horses exposure to the sport. We first attended Pine Tree in 2016 and other than 2017 and 2020 (when it wasn’t held) we have been there every year. This year, Quinn was the ride secretary so Rob and Quinn drove to Maine on Saturday and Anna, Alex, and Amanda drove the horses up on Sunday. Rob’s parents, Ken and Liz, made their annual trek from Alabama to Maine to spend time with the family.

The horses that went were Mojo, Amira, JJ, and Fiona. JJ did 2 LD rides before we owned her (1 in 2017 and 1 in 2018) and had a lot of time off since. Fiona had never competed and Quinn has been working with her over the past 2.5 years to get her ready. Wanda Clowater was present and we purchased a number of her photos. You can view all the images on her site at https://www.clowaterart.com/.

Monday morning, all 4 horses were tacked up for a ride down to the Saco River. The kids had a goal of riding JJ and Fiona separately and we weren’t sure if they would cross the river without Amira or Mojo who are quite experienced with the water. The water wasn’t very high, but the bottom of the river was very unstable. The flooding over the past year+ has really changed the sand deposited in the river. The crossing requires going into the middle of the river, turning upstream for about 200yds, then exiting. The horses hit some holes in the bottom and on the way back Mojo went down into the water and really struggled to get back up. However, no one got hurt and JJ and Fiona did fine.

After the river drama, all the horses still vetted in fine and we were ready for the week.

On Tuesday, Anna went out alone with Amira for 25 miles. The kids had decided (with some guidance from Mom and Dad) to include Mojo’s experience with JJ and Fiona. Anna ended up riding the first loop with Kate on her Mustang, Fez. Unfortunately, when they arrived at the hold 13 miles later, Amira was lame. At Pine Tree in 2023, Amira injured a tendon on her left hind and was pulled from the ride. Since then, she got 2 months of wrapping and poultice, 6 months of rest, multiple rounds of ultrasound imaging, and PRP injections into the tendon sheath area. The swelling had never fully gone away but she was sound in all the rehab work that started in the spring. Unfortunately, the reappearance of this means Amira’s endurance career is over. With another winter of rest we expect her to return to trail riding soundness, but she will never compete again.

On Wednesday, the kids rode together: Alex on Mojo, Quinn on Fiona, and Amanda on JJ. Of course, no ride would be complete without some stress and drama. This year, JJ provided that as she was lame at home on Saturday. As Quinn and Rob drove to Maine, Anna sent a video of JJ off on her right hind. The digital pulse and heat in the hoof indicated an abscess and it was treated as such. By Tuesday afternoon, JJ was sound and not showing any issues so we sent her out on Wednesday. By the end of the week, you could clearly see where the abscess had erupted at some point from the coronary band hair line.

There were 23 riders on Wednesday and the kids waited for all the other horses to leave before they started. Unfortunately for the front runners, a whole group of riders made a wrong turn and ended up off course. It took a while for them to get back on track, but the kids arrived at the hold much higher in the placings than expected. During the hold, all three horses vetted in just fine. The vets check the horse’s pulse, gut sounds, hydration, soundness, and other factors. None of the horses needed cooling before making the pulse criteria and all three were happy to eat whatever we offered. 45 min later the kids left the hold.

Alex and Mojo, Amanda and JJ trotting for vet check

At the finish, the kids were in a 3 way tie for 3rd. We decided to have Mojo and Fiona stand for Best Condition and Fiona ended up tying for High Vet Score at her first ride! I guess she is well conditioned (genetics helps).

On Thursday, Alex took Mojo out for another 25 miles and Amanda got a catch-ride on Millie Turner’s horse Skippy Doo. Millie Turner owns Turner Tack and one of her many items we love are the wash bags for saddle pads and other horse items. It keeps the horse hair from getting all over the inside of your washer and Anna uses them for standing wraps too.

Skippy and Mojo had never ridden together but both are quite experienced and had no trouble working together throughout the day. They finished the day tied for 8th and we both horses stood for Best Condition. While they didn’t win BC or High Vet score, we were very pleased with Mojo’s overall condition after back-to-back 25s. He had ended Pine Tree 2023 lame and Alex worked hard to ensure Mojo was properly conditioned.

Friday was the last day of riding and it was raining overnight Thursday and predicted to rain most of Friday morning. A lot of people decided not to ride for various reasons so the field was very small on Friday. The kids had enough fun and didn’t want to go out again, so Anna rode JJ and our friend Caitlin rode Fiona. Anna had only been on JJ once prior so it was an adventure for both riders. We didn’t take a lot of pictures because it was raining almost the whole time.

Both horses completed with no issues and JJ presented for Best Condition with a 28 pulse (the vet was shocked) and won both BC and High Vet Score.

Anna and Alex took the horses home Friday evening as the rain was going to get worse overnight. Rob, Quinn, and Amanda stayed until lunch on Saturday to help around camp and for Quinn to finish ride secretary duties. Before everyone left, we did the traditional bubble blowing and family photo.

There has been an anonymous donor that has paid for entries for juniors/young riders. Our kids benefitted from that generosity yet again this year. If you are reading this, we thank you for your donation.

endurance, goats, horse, kids

Sawyer Summer Update

September 21, 2023 Anna 1 Comment

It’s been a summer. You know how some years it doesn’t seem like things align and happen like you planned? Sh*t happens everywhere you turn? Well, this summer has been a bit like that. We tried to make the best of it. We haven’t blogged in a while, because really who wants to write about life when life gives you lemons? Anyways, here it goes, a summer update as we move into fall.

Let’s start back with the last weekend of July when Quinn and Amanda participated in the Windham County 4-H fair. It was a very small fair compared to New London County, which is our home county. The New London County 4-H fair was moved to the second weekend in August, due to a popular local fair changing their dates. This is an ongoing conflict for us with our annual trip to Fryeburg ME and the Pinetree Endurance Ride. The kids are deciding on changing counties, moving clubs and/or going independent. Attending another county’s fair makes them miss out on club challenges and other participation at the fair, such as being a superintendent of an event or species show. They are also not eligible to compete in Premier Showmanship, even if they win top showman for their project animal. It turns out Quinn and Amanda had the only goats at the Windham 4-H Fair. The judge still gave them decent ring time and practice for their showmanship, even though they were only competing with each other. Phaylene won best senior doe (duh) and Pepper was best junior doe. Quinn and Amanda enjoyed entering the obstacle course challenge with two of the goats. A massive storm swept in Saturday night and the goat barn flooded, so Rob brought the goats home to stay dry.

In the week between the 4-H fair and leaving for Pine tree, we lost two animals on the farm. Amanda’s 8 year old Rhinelander rabbit Pretty Paw and our barn cat Barbie. Barbie had developed a massive tumor, and was getting really skinny so we decided it was time.

The following weekend we packed up and headed out to the Pinetree endurance ride. Our friend Sonja came up on Saturday and stayed over at our place for the night. The next morning we loaded Amira and Mojo and headed for Fryeburg. About an hour out from the fairgrounds Sonja started having some engine trouble with her truck. We sent the kids and horses on to camp (Quinn was driving the horse trailer). It turns out Sonja’s aux fuel tank was low on fuel and was sucking air each time she went up a hill. Rob stayed with Sonja and we drove on to camp on her main fuel tank. Excitement before the ride even started! We got camp set up and all was well.

Monday we went tubing, it was cold, like low 60s, the river was high due to all the recent rains and then it started raining while we were still on the water. A lot. We were frozen by the time the tubing shuttle got us back to the car. We were quite thankful for nice hot showers in camp.

Liz and Ken made it to camp that evening, just in time for the torrential rains to continue. We stalled the horses and Amira was not happy (understatement), we had to literally close her in with the dutch doors shut and she kept spinning in circles. We had vetted in to ride Tuesday, but decided not to in the morning, because the rain was cold, Amira had not been drinking well, and we didn’t want to feel like the previous day and have wet saddles for the rest of the week. I know, we are fair weather riders…

On Wednesday we got up and sent Alex on Mojo and Quinn on Amira out on trail in the 25. The trail was wet and slick. They made it to the vet check and vetted through. Unfortunately at the finish check back at camp, Amira was lame. She had a cramp on her hind left leg in her inside groin area. We worked on her for an hour, but she was still off. So, Quinn did not get a completion. It became clear, in the next 24 hours that she had a tendon sheath injury to her left hind based on the swelling that built up.

We planned to send Amanda out on Mojo Thursday morning, however, Mojo was lame when he was checked before the start. It appeared to be in his shoulder. It’s been 5 weeks of rest and he is still not quite right so we are investing in more diagnostics to see what we can figure out. Since we didn’t have any horses to ride, the family spent time volunteering at the away hold and with vet checks or anywhere we were needed.

On Friday, Amanda got a catch ride offer from our friend Jenn Jacobson. Jenn’s young Arab, Haley, had already done 2 days of LDs and Jenn wanted her to go out for a 3rd. Amanda rode with Mary Palumbo as a sponsor. Unfortunately, at the end of the ride, Haley was lame with the same symptoms as Amira 2 days prior and they also didn’t get a completion. Haley did recover after a couple of days, so we are glad that wasn’t a bigger problem for her.

Ken and Liz have a tradition of blowing bubbles with the grandkids and any bystanders get sucked in to participate as well.

In late August, goats went to the Brooklyn Fair. Quinn didn’t attend this show due to orientation at Eastern Connecticut State University. Rob and Amanda showed 10 of the goats in the 1 day event and came home with a decent amount of premium money.

Labor Day weekend meant camping with goats at the Haddam Neck Fair. There were over 80 goats at the fair and I believe 39 of them were Lamanchas. Quinn spent a fair amount of time studying for college classes, while Amanda enjoyed hanging out in the pens, teaching the public about the goats.

Rob’s company, Sonalysts, had their 50th anniversary party in September. We got all dressed up for an evening out.

This past weekend, the Connecticut Valley Driving Club put on a driving demonstration at the Berlin Fair. The agenda included introductions of the various horses and ponies, some background on their breeds, discussions about different carts and carriages, how to harness, and of course, driving demonstrations. The space being used was between the tractor pulls and an amphitheater, so it was quite loud. The event was being held on the go cart track which has a clay track and grass inner circle. Rob and Amanda were driving Huey when the nearby concert stage reved up and spooked Huey. He bolted across the field and as he hit the clay, Huey crashed and Rob was thrown from the cart onto the track.

Amanda was able to jump while still on the grass; she is bruised but otherwise ok. Huey bolted out of the area but was caught with some assistance from the rest of the club. He was stiff afterwards but not injured.

Rob was taken by ambulance to a trauma center with 4 broken ribs and a collapsed left lung. They put in a chest tube for the collapsed lung and to drain fluid build up from the broken ribs. He also has a severely bruised hip. He spent 3 nights in the hospital. He is back at home, but it will be 6-8 weeks for full recovery.

Our immediate plans include an end of the 4-H year trip with the goats to the Big E next weekend. Amira looks sound, but still has a bump on her tendon where the fluid accumulated so she will get another ultrasound to check things out. Mojo will get some diagnostics to figure out why is still lame and a path forward, hopefully to soundness. Fiona is doing well, walk-trot in the arena and about 50 miles of walking on the trails. Not having friends for her to go out with lately has put a damper on trail riding. Huey will rest for a week, get some trail walks by hand in the forest next week, and we will evaluate whether we put him back to work or not. We definitely want to rule out any pain reasons for the wreck last weekend.

The goats will all get bred next month, fingers crossed, for late Feb-March babies. We have a few changes happening to the goat herd, but that will be another post. Maybe after the big E. Stay tuned.

endurance, fitness, horse, kids, ride and tie, running

Pine Tree Endurance Ride and Tie 2022

August 18, 2022 Rob 1 Comment

Last week was the second week of August, which means it was time for our annual pilgrimage to Fryeburg, Maine and the Pine Tree Endurance Ride.

But before we get to the ride, we should do a little catching up. The last weekend of July is always the New London County 4-H Fair. Unfortunately after over 2 years of avoiding the ‘Rona, Amanda came home from 4-H camp with the big C. That meant she was still in isolation and unable to attend the 4-H Fair. Quinn and Kaylin (Amanda’s friend that leases our goats) were still able to attend and enjoy a weekend showing the goats. I also took some amateur radio equipment and got some kids interested in radio activities.

While Amanda was definitely disappointed to not attend the fair, she was focused on getting better for the trip to Maine. Since the rides didn’t start until Wednesday this year, Amanda and I were able to run in the Griswold Sunflower 6k road race on Sunday before going to Maine. Yes, 1 week post-Covid, Amanda ran a road race (with the assistance of her inhaler). With over 500 participants, it was the largest race she has done to date.

Monday morning, we got up at 3:30 to get horses and goats fed before hitting the road. With temperatures rising into the 90s, we wanted to get the traveling done before the heat got too bad. We made it to Fryeburg before lunch and got to work setting up camp. We decided to take a nap through the heat of the afternoon and then hand grazed the horses. Not too many people were in camp so it was a nice easy start to the week.

Tuesday morning included a tack ride to take the horses across the river and check out the first few miles of the trail. This was our 5th trip to Pine Tree and the river was the lowest we have ever seen; Rusty could walk all the way across. Here is a short video of the horses crossing the river. It was another hot day so they were all enjoying splashing water up on their bellies. Huey and Mojo decided to drop and roll in the sand on the other side of the river. Luckily, no one got rolled on, and horses were caught and remounted. After the ride, we went swimming before vetting in the horses and attending the ride meeting.

Wednesday morning brought a wake up at 0400! Alex and Quinn had a start time of 0600 for their 50 mile ride and Anna and Amanda followed at 0630 for the 25 mile start. There were 12 riders in the 50 miler and 13 in the 25 miler.

Quinn and Alex had a 16 mile loop to the first hold, the same loop Amanda and Anna would also follow. The first hold was an away hold at the Hemlock covered bridge which gave the horses a 45 minute break. The kids rode at a reasonable pace, keeping in mind that the goal was to finish and not to race; they had no trouble clearing the first vet check.

Quinn on Missy, Alex on Mojo in the fields close to the hold

Anna and Amanda riding the 25 mile distance had the same 16 mile loop starting out. There was a bit of a pile up of LD (limited distance) riders at first, but the field of riders managed to space out as the ride went along. Anna and Amanda made it to the hold, and vetted through with no issues.

Anna and Amanda coming out of the first fields

First loop Day 1 in the fields close to the hold

The second loop for Alex and Quinn was 22 miles. The first 7 miles of the second loop was the same for both groups of riders, however after crossing the river for the third time, the 50 milers went back into the fields and forest roads. Both groups crossed the river a fourth time for their second vet check and 45 minute hold at the fairgrounds.

Anna and Amanda had only 9 miles back to camp with three river crossings and the trails were nice, mostly back woods snowmobile trails that allowed a little faster pace. There was a little bit of gravel road and some winding through a local campground. Anna and Amanda made it back to camp with a ride time a little over 5 hours and vetted through for a completion.

So, what happens at an endurance vet check? First, your horse has to pulse down to whatever the pulse parameter is within 30 minutes of arriving. For the hold it is usually 64 beats per minutes (bpm), sometimes 60 bpm. For the finish it is almost always 60 bpm for limited distance. Your hold time doesn’t start until the pulse is reached. At the finish, your time doesn’t stop until the pulse parameter is reached (for limited distance riders). After checking pulse, the vet checks your horse for soundness, by watching the rider trot the horse in-hand out and back, as well as the CRI (cardiac recovery index), by retaking pulse a minute later after the trot out. Ideally, the pulse should stay the same or be lower. A 4 beat increase is usually acceptable, 8 is questionable, but more than that indicates your horse is really tired and you may have over ridden your horse. Amira was 60/48 at the finish, which means she needed to move around to get the cooled blood circulating and once she did, her heart rate dropped more. The vet also checks hydration parameters such as gum capillary refill, jugular refill, skin tenting, gut sounds in all four quadrants, and anal tone. The also checks for wounds, back soreness, tack galls, and other swelling. If your horse fails something other than pulse, you have 60 minutes to try and rectify it and do a recheck.

Alex and Quinn made it back from their second loop and the horses passed the vet check. They went to have some lunch in the trailer while we tended to the horses, fed them mash, cleaned off their sweat and let them graze. Alex and Quinn then headed out on their third loop of 14 miles, with 4 more Saco river crossings (bringing the total for the day to 8).

The kids made it back to the fairgrounds a little after 5 pm. The allowed time to complete a 50 mile ride is 12 hours including holds, so they made it. The horses were already at pulse having walked in so both Mojo and Missy vetted through with no issues. Eleven out of twelve riders finished the 50. While Alex and Quinn came in together, Alex stopped short of the finish line by 10 yards to allow the official clock to tick over by one minute to take the coveted last place “turtle” award which was a pair of turtle socks.

The goal for Anna and Amanda was to complete the Trifecta, three days of LD rides, so the next morning we got up and tacked up Huey and Amira for a 6 am start. Ride management had decided to start the 50s and the 25s at the same time to help manage time well at the away hold. The horses were a little less enthusiastic about heading out, but it was a nice morning and not too hot. The loops were the same as the previous day and Anna and Amanda got to the hold within 10 minutes of the previous elapsed time.

The second loop was uneventful and Amanda and Anna had their 2nd day of the Trifecta in the books.

Friday morning brought another 4am wakeup and 6am start. Anna, Amanda, Amira, and Huey were all feeling the effects of 2 previous days of 25 mile rides, but they hit the trail with a dwindling group. While 6 or 7 riders initially started the Trifecta, only 4 were still in it on day 3. The entire field of 50 and 25 mile riders was only 18 horses. As before, Amira and Huey had no problems with the course and still showed up at the away hold within 10 minutes of the first day elapsed time. While we didn’t capture any photos of it actually occurring, Quinn spent the day scribing for the vets.

Amira and Huey both enjoyed their mash and grazing with Ken and Liz. Rob’s parents made the drive from Alabama to Maine for the 4th time to spend the week at Pine Tree with the grandkids and crewing for the ride.

At the finish, Amira and Huey both made pulse easily. The wear of 3 days of 25 miles each was showing as both horses got a few B’s on the ride card in areas such as back soreness, hydration, and impulsion. BUT, both horses completed the Trifecta of 3×25 miles in 3 days! As if that wasn’t enough, this completion put Huey over the 500 LD mile mark, which was Amanda’s major goal for the season!

Missy and Mojo had been resting on Thursday and Friday after their successful 50 milers on Wednesday. On Saturday, it was back to work for them. Temperatures were in the 50s on Saturday morning, so we actually used rump rugs to keep the horses hind end muscles warm at the start. This time, Quinn headed out for a 25 mile ride on Missy while Mojo was in for 25 miles of Ride and Tie with Rob and Alex. If you haven’t read our previous explanations of Ride and Tie (R&T), it’s 2 people and 1 horse. Someone is running and someone is riding. Basically, the first rider sprints ahead, jumps off the horse, ties the horse to a tree, and takes of running. The second teammate starts on foot, runs until they find the horse, unties the horse, and rides the horse to pass the first teammate. They keep alternating like this for 25 miles.

The ride attendance on Saturday was very disappointing. There were only 2 riders in the 50 miler, 3 in the 25, and 1 R&T team. Quinn rode with our friend Caitlyn and they both had a plan to just complete the ride. With such a small field, there was really no reason to push the horses to race. Rob and Alex wanted to push themselves to get the R&T done in the best time they could. Since R&T doesn’t have a time limit, there is usually flexibility in the start time. We elected to start only 5 minutes after the rest of the field, but that turned out to be a mistake. You see, Mojo could see Missy and kept wanting to catch up. Quinn and Caitlyn were having a very leisurely first 2 miles of walking which meant we had to walk with Mojo to prevent overtaking them. Mojo doesn’t like to be held back at the start.

Once we finally had some separation, Alex and I were able to settle into a rhythm. Rob would ride Mojo around 3/4 of a mile and then tie him. Alex would come along and untie and start riding. By the time Alex would catch Rob, it had been far enough that they would do a “running tie” or basically just swap without tying Mojo. In the end, Rob and Alex did 23 exchanges (the minimum is 6 exchanges). At the hold, Mojo got excited because he saw the other horses again and he was super enthusiastic on the second loop.

Missy vetted through the finish with no issues. Mojo arrived just a few minutes later and also vetted through. Mojo clearly could have done 50 miles on Saturday based on how he was at the finish. Rob and Alex completed the 25 mile R&T in 5:20 for their 3rd R&T completion.

I made a video along the trail about R&T and how we leave Mojo in the woods. Check it out here!

Overall, we had an extremely successful week. 10 starts and 10 completions. 2 horses completed the 25 mile Trifecta and the other 2 did a 50 followed by a 25 3 days later. 75 miles for all 4 horses in 4 days. Huey got his first ride at Pine Tree and 19 completions later, he crossed the 500 miles in competition mark at Pine Tree. We have to thank Susan Niedoroda, the ride manager, and vets Art King and Joan Hiltz for making the event happen!

As is the tradition in our family (started by Liz and Ken), the last night in camp was spent blowing bubbles around sunset. We were able to convince a number of the others who were still in camp to join in.

Some of the photos in this post were purchased from Wanda Clowater. All the ride photos can be viewed on her website.

endurance, horse

Pine Tree 2021

August 18, 2021 Rob 3 Comments

Last week we made our annual trek to Fryebrug, Maine for the Pine Tree Pioneer Endurance ride. The event is held at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds and includes 5 consecutive days of endurance rides. 2 of our kids had their first endurance rides at this event in the past, so this is a special event for our family and is the big “vacation” before school starts. This is a long post, but here are some stats up front:
11 starts and 11 completions
325 miles of competition (all 4 of our horses rode 75 miles and we borrowed 1 horse for 25 miles)
61 hours and 16 minutes of saddle time

Some of the photo in this post were purchased from Wanda Clowater. You can see all her ride photos on her website at http://www.clowaterart.com/. Support your ride photographers and buy the images you want to share on social media!

My parents left Alabama on Friday and got to our house late Saturday evening. This is the 3rd time they have driven their travel trailer up from Alabama to join us for a week in Maine. We hit the road Sunday morning about 7:30 and made it into ride camp at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds at 12:30. We were able to get the horse pens set up and camp established by mid afternoon. Monday was a day off, so we went for a 3 hour float down the Saco River.

Monday evening, we vetted in the horses and tried to get some sleep.

Tuesday morning we got up at 4:00. Rob and Quinn started the 50 mile ride at 6, while Anna, Amanda, and Alex started the 25 mile ride at 6:30. This season has been great for Eli who already completed 3 30 mile rides with excellent vet card marks and great recoveries. Quinn decided it was time to try a 50. Quinn had attempted a 50 previously on Duchess, but was pulled for lameness in the first loop so there was definitely a little anxiety going into the ride.

Our first loop on the 50 was 20 miles and we averaged 6.6 mph. Mojo and Eli did great and passed the vet check with ease. They both ate and drank during the hold before we headed out on loop 2. The second loop was 14.9 miles and our average for that loop was 5.4 mph. The horses were slowing down some as the temperatures rose, but nothing to be concerned about. It was hot in the fields and we were happy to cool off a little crossing the river headed back to camp.

Sponges aren’t just for cooling your horse

During the second hold, everything went well except I got distracted and forgot to give the horses electrolytes during the hold. Anna realized this as we were saddled and heading back out on course. I thought both were still eating and drinking well so we would just give them another dose mid-loop. In hindsight, I should have given them a dose before we left camp, because Mojo in particular was starting to fade. I ended up stopping about 3.5 miles into loop 3 to dose the electrolytes. I have started taking a quart ziplock of senior feed and Outlast and the horses eat it right after the electrolytes. I think this helps prevent issues with the electrolytes causing an upset stomach. Mojo didn’t drink on the 3rd loop until we had been 10 miles, while Eli drank at every water stop along the way. Mojo finally started drinking and was perking up, so we were able to increase speed. We had only managed about 4.0 mph for the first 10 miles, but by the end of the 16.8 mile loop, we had come back up to a 4.7 mph average.

We finished our 50 miler at 5:50; we had 10 minutes to spare. Both horses passed the vet check and were “fit to continue.”

While Quinn and Rob were tackling the 50, Anna, Amanda, and Alex were riding a 25 miler. Alex was “catch riding” on a 20 year old Appaloosa mare named Cinco de Mayo that our friend Lilly Becker brought from NY for him to use. Alex is old enough that he can ride alone, but he still prefers to ride with the family. About 5 miles into the first loop of 11 miles, one of Alex’s stirrups broke. Anna got out some vet wrap and they did a temporary repair to try and hold it together. During the repair, Rob and Quinn actually came along and joined the rest of the family, as both distances overlapped for another 6 miles. 2 miles later, the second stirrup broke. At that point, we had to split up. Anna and Amanda had already ridden ahead, because they had the least slack in the day to make up time. Rob and Quinn headed out while Alex continued on foot. It’s a good thing he has been doing some running recently.

Anna had called our crew (Rob’s parents) who had gone back to camp to get a bin of spare tack. Ken was able to meet Alex along the road so he could switch the stirrups and get back into the saddle. Alex made up time coming into the hold. While Anna and Amanda departed the hold ahead of Alex, he caught up to them about 3 miles into the 15 mile second loop. Everything held together for the second loop and they finished with about 10 minutes to spare.

Tuesday evening we learned there are skunks in the field outside camp…Rusty took off after something in the dark and came back covered in skunk smell. A quick trip to Walmart for supplies and a few baths later, he was not as stinky anymore. Phew!

We took Wednesday off of riding, but Rob, Liz, and Amanda volunteered at the ride. Amanda walked around the hold area assisting any rider who didn’t have crew by holding their horse while they untacked, took a bathroom break, or just had a few minutes of rest.

Anna and Amanda rode in the 25 mile ride on Thursday. The day started out overcast, hot and humid and ended sunny/bright, hot and humid. The ride out to the hold in the fields was in dense fog and it was hard to see. Anna was glad to be wearing contacts as many glasses wearers were complaining they could not see a thing due to the humidity at nearly 100%. We keep a steady long rein trot “mustang shuffle” except when the munchkin calls out for “a little faster”, or we have to walk. Our typical average speed is somewhere between 6-7 mph. We got to the hold after 12 miles in a little under 2 hours. The last few rides Anna has started adding potassium chloride to Amira’s regular electrolytes and dosing her immediately upon arriving at the vet check. This practice has helped Amira pulse in and cool down much faster at holds. After a near elimination midride at NY Adventure earlier this year due to electrolyte issues, Anna has been experimenting with different protocols for Amira during training rides and this new strategy appears to be working. This week Amira consistently pulsed at 48 or even 44 bpm.

Anna and Amanda on Thursday morning in the fog

Anna and Amanda headed back out on trail the 15ish miles back to camp after the 50 minute hold. This 25 miler was actually more like 27…The second loop consisted of a mix of fields, gravel road and forest trails, thankfully mostly in the shade, as the sun was starting to beat down the closer we came to mid day. The pair stopped at “the house in the woods” where a couple has a tub and a hose out for cooling horses, and electrolyted mid loop. Anna and Amanda finished the ride and the horses completed with no issues. Ride number two done for Amira and Huey.

Since we only have 4 horses, we have to take turns with the riding (although Amanda gets Huey to herself). On Friday, Rob on Mojo and Alex on Eli rode the 25 miler. Alex has only ridden Eli a few times, but like on his catch ride, he just gets on and goes. We planned to ride a slow ride and just make sure we got completions on both horses since they had done a 50 miler on Tuesday. The horses had other plans. Right from the start both Mojo and Eli were ready to race. They were at the front of the pack and showed no signs of fatigue from earlier in the week. We didn’t let them overdo it, but we completed the first loop of 11ish miles with a 7.9 mph average! Both horses made the 60 bpm pulse criteria in under 5 minutes and ate and drank throughout the hold.

We got back on trail for the second loop and slowed down some, but the horses were still flying down the trail. We completed the 25 miles with a 6.9 mph average, which is one of the fastest LDs we have ridden. Again, both horses cleared the vet check. Mojo had some minor girth rubs and Eli had some minor back soreness (which may have been from the deep footing), so we decided not to take a risk with another ride and gave them Saturday off.

Friday evening it was time for the annual lobster dinner. Anna, Rob and Quinn all had lobster. Also included was corn on the cob, salad, potatoes, and butter. Yum!

Friday before the lobster dinner Rob and Anna got Amira and Huey out and evaluated their movement and attitudes. We agreed that Anna and Amanda would try to ride a third day. Amira looked slow and pokey as usual, but sound, and alert, while Huey really looked same as always, with a little ‘tude to go with it. We said “Let’s give it a go”.

Saturday morning came and Amanda was dragging a bit getting up and Anna’s hips and knees were complaining, but both got on their horses and rode off on the first loop. The fields were not as foggy as on Thursday morning and there was even a rainbow as we came up from the river.

At the hold the horses pulsed down, passed the vet check and ate mash and grass. Rob and Alex helped crew, along with our friend Mary.

The ride back to camp was uneventful. We kept on keeping on and finished the ride in a pretty steady manner. The horses were pretty tired, but somehow we managed to be in the top ten coming in. Both Amira and Huey finished three rides of 25 miles this week at Pinetree, which for them is quite the accomplishment! In fact, each ride through the week was faster than the previous!

We always enjoy going to Pinetree for the friendly, easy going, and encouraging environment. This week we saw some old friends, rode 11 rides, helped out others, made some new friends and acquaintances. Our family would like to thank all the vets and volunteers, along with those special people (you know who you are), who help us out when we need it. A special thank you goes to Susan Niedorora for keeping the ride going despite all the headaches.

Thank you also to Liz and Ken, for coming to see us all the way from Alabama, filling in the needed gaps and feeding the family(and getting the peroxide, baking soda and dish soap to clean the Rusty).

Now the horses get some time off before heading out to Northeast Challenge at the end of the month.

endurance, horse, kids, running

Pine Tree 2019

August 12, 2019 Rob Leave a comment

All year, we knew the Pine Tree endurance ride in Fryeburg, Maine would be our big summer vacation. After all the problems around our kitchen fire in July, we needed a getaway. The week before we left was spent putting new shoes on all the horses and packing. In addition, Gem, the palomino 1/2 Arabian we got in April was sold because she wasn’t working out in our herd. My parents left from Alabama on Friday evening and were meeting us in Maine on Sunday. So, on Sunday, 8/4, we left for Maine with 5 horses (Mojo, Amira, Teddy, Duchess, and Huey) on the trailer, 3 dogs in the trucks, and the travel trailer loaded for a week of camping and riding.

Pine Tree is a special ride. It has 5 consecutive days of competition at the Fryeburg fairgrounds. There are stalls available for horses, electric and water hookups for trailers, a dump station on-site, showers and even a laundromat. This was our 3rd time at Pine Tree in the past 4 years, and it is a family favorite. The people are great (especially Sue, the ride manager) and there are plenty of things to do outside riding for the week.

When we arrive around 3:30 Sunday afternoon, you could tell it was going to be a busy week. Ride camp already was filling up fast and the first rides weren’t until Tuesday! We blocked out our area next to our CT friends, Rob and Mary Palumbo, and 2 down from the Coffey family. Everyone got to work setting up camp. I’m sure most of the people knew we had arrived, because 5 people configuring electric fences doesn’t always go smoothly and it’s possible, there was some yelling. A mere 3 hours later, the horses were settled into their pens happily munching on hay.

Horses settled in at ride camp
Anna taking a break from cleaning to give Amira a good scratch

Monday morning we had a leisurely time around camp and went out to Walmart to pick up a few things for the week. Amanda got to find a friend for the week; Laney was another 9 yo who had driven up with her Dad, Jesse, from North Carolina. Laney and Jesse were in first place for the AERC family award with over 1100 miles already ridden this year. In the first 3 days, Laney rode 2 50 mile rides and 1 25 mile ride. It definitely inspired Amanda to step up her game and train Huey for more riding next season.

Monday afternoon, we saddled up the horses for a tack ride (a short test ride to make sure all the tack was set and ready for competition) and to check the river crossing. This is when things started to go awry. During the tack ride, Amira was HOT and giving Anna lots of attitude. All the horses were spunky and ready to run. There may have been some more elevated volume conversations (aka yelling) as we disagreed on how to handle the situation. Crossing back through the river, Vicki decided to work on sponging Duchess with a sponge on a rope. When the sponge floated in front of Duchess with a line trailing, I’m pretty sure Duchess thought it was a snake and promptly ditched Vicki in the river. She didn’t run off, and other than getting a little wet, Vicki was fine.

Headed out on the tack ride – calm before the storm
Crossing the river the first time
A much lower river than last year
Crossing the river the first time

Coming up out of the river back to the trail, Amira decided to jump a log instead of going around it like the rest of the herd. Anna wasn’t expecting this and lost her balance in the fray. She got dumped and I’m pretty sure she hit her head on the log. This resulted in a minor concussion that ended Anna’s riding for the week. As we all jumped off our horses to help Anna and grab Amira, Teddy got scared from the commotion and threw Alex into the brush. We recovered all the horses headed back to camp. Needless to say, it wasn’t the successful ride we hoped for the day before competition.

That evening, we decided that we would not send 5 horses out on the trail together for competition. We have consistently attempted to obtain the goal of all 5 riding together, and it just hasn’t worked. There are too many demands of individual riders and horses to manage 5 in a competition. It does work if the 5 are split into separate distances, but we didn’t plan to ride any 50 milers during our week.

So, on Tuesday morning at 7:30, we started the 25 mile ride with me on Mojo, Alex on Teddy, and Vicki on Duchess.

Waiting for the start
Headed out for 25 miles
Headed out for 25 miles
Not a bad way to start the day
Riding with the kids
River crossing on Mojo

The 25 mile course at Pine Tree goes out to a covered bridge that is about 11 miles from camp. The riders then go through a loop into what is known as “Fern Gully” before returning the to the covered bridge for the 45 minute hold and vet check. We did some cantering on the first loop as all the horses were feeling good. Here is a short video.

Covered bridge
Covered bridge
Old Saco River from the covered bridge

All 3 horses, Mojo, Teddy, and Duchess, made the 64 bpm pulse criteria with no problems and then we headed back on the return 11 miles. When we arrived back a base camp, Duchess was in 5th place and Mojo was 6th. Unfortunately, Teddy was lame on his right hind and didn’t get a completion. Teddy has been having problems on his right hind for a number of rides. This time, an extended discussion with one of the ride vets who assessed Teddy’s issue to be a hock problem. It looks like some hock radiographs and injections are in his future, because Alex and Teddy are a great team.

Once the ride ended, things went South for Duchess. We got her back to camp and she wouldn’t drink any water or eat any food. We offered her grain, carrots, and apples. She wanted to drop and roll. She wouldn’t eat fresh grass. It was clear we were dealing with a colic, likely from being dehydrated. During the hold we gave Duchess more senior feed and beet pulp than she normally gets. Our theory is, we didn’t have the feed wet enough and it sucked the water out of her gut, leading to dehydration, despite the fact that she kept drinking during the ride. So, 5 hours after completing, Duchess was checked in to an equine hospital and hour and a half from ride camp where she got a full colic exam to check for impaction or other problems, and 10L of fluid overnight.

Anna and I got back to camp about 9:30 pm, showered, took care of horses, and climbed into bed. Hauling Duchess to the vet wrecked our plan to do anything on Wednesday. Around 11:30 pm, as we were just climbing into bed, we heard a commotion outside followed by the sounds of a herd running – not what you want to hear in ride camp. It turns out, a stallion camping 2 spots down broke out, went running through some of our electric fence and into the next one over. That resulted in at least 3 more loose horses which then went back through our fencing and took down 4 of our 5 pens. In the end, Teddy and Mojo were still in camp and too scared to leave their electric fence (despite it being on the ground). Amira and Huey were running loose in camp with at least 3 other horses. Needless to say, many people were awakened by the commotion and lots jumped into action to help catch the loose horses. A little after 1 am, we had the fencing back into place and horses back in bed. At this point, I was definitely not having fun.

On Wednesday, Duchess got the all-clear at the equine hospital, so I made the drive back to get her. My Dad joined me for the ride and we had the chance to spend some quality time talking. When we got to the clinic, Duchess pinned her ears at me and spun her butt towards me. I could tell she was feeling much better. Vicki was happy to have her back in camp.

Vicki happy to have Duchess back in camp

So, by Wednesday evening, Anna had a concussion, Teddy had been pulled for lameness and wasn’t going to ride again, and Duchess had spent the night in an equine hospital. We strongly considered packing it up and heading home. After a family conversation about the options, we decided to stay a little longer and hope that things got better.

On Thursday morning, there were heavy thunderstorms which delayed the ride start to 8 am. Alex, Amanda, and I went to the hold to help crew for Jesse and Laney. When we got back, we had a quick lunch and then headed out to go tubing on the Saco River. Each year, we think we will go tubing, but it never seems to work out so we made it happen. It turns out, tubing down the river is exactly what the family needed to relax. We got back to camp and vetted in the horses for Friday’s ride.

Since Anna had finally come to terms with a minor concussion, Vicki rode Amira, Amanda rode Huey, and I rode Mojo on Friday morning when we started the 25 miles at 6:30 am.

Waiting for the start
Headed out for 25 miles
Crossing the river with other horses
Crossing the river
Riding through the fields

The first 15 miles of the ride went well. Vicki really enjoyed riding Amira and it brought her to terms with the fact that Duchess isn’t her long term endurance mount. When we rolled into the hold and vet check, Amira and Huey passed just fine. However, Mojo had some back soreness, which has been another recurring problem. We gave him some massage work and food and he cleared the vet, but I was concerned about him passing at the end of the ride. I made the quick decision to ditch my tack and do the 11 miles back to camp on foot.

Headed out on foot for 11 miles back to camp
Running and riding back to camp
Running and riding back to camp

It turns out, running in Ariat Terrain boots and long pants is challenging. The footing in the fields was deep soil with a wet top layer, which is hard to run on. Additionally, Mojo likes to invade my personal space when we run; he managed to step on my heel once and the side of my foot twice. It was hot and I consumed 2L of water in the first 10 miles. Before the hold, we were in last place and only had 2.5 hours to cover the 11 miles back to camp, which basically meant I needed to maintain at least 13:00 min/mile.

Running in the fields with Mojo
The kids riding while I ran with Mojo

We made it back to camp with 7 minutes to spare and all 3 horses passed the final vet check. The vets agreed that Mojo’s back was better at the finish than the mid-ride vet check.

Friday evening was the traditional Pine Tree lobster dinner. We decided to head home on Saturday and give us a day to recover before starting the work week.

One of the reasons we switched to endurance was after a ride, the family was always excited about the next event. Even after our rough week, at dinner on Sunday the whole family was talking about what we learned during our week at Pine Tree 2019. We talked about what we learned about our horses and what we needed to changed before the next ride. We talked about modifying our training for future rides. But in general, we talked about the next rides. You know you are doing something the family loves when everyone is looking forward to the next event, even if that last one wasn’t perfect.

So, thank you to the ride management (especially you Sue) and all the volunteers at Pine Tree. We look forward to next year!

endurance, horse, kids

Pine Tree Endurance Ride, 2018

August 16, 2018 Rob Leave a comment

5 riders, 5 horses, 3 dogs, 2 trucks and trailers, 8 days in Fryeburg, Maine. Team “No Child Left Behind” completed a total of 10 Limited Distance 25 mile rides in 5 days of competition.

All year, our family has been looking forward to the Pine Tree endurance ride week, which is held out of the Fryeburg Fairgrounds in Maine. It was the family’s top priority for “vacation” this year. The logistics associated with packing for an 8 day trip with 5 horses, 5 riders, and 3 dogs is daunting. We maintain a packing list that gets tweaked with each trip and customized a little depending on the location. We departed CT on Sunday, 8/5, but we started packing and loading trailers. on Wednesday. Luckily, a local rider offered to deliver hay to the Fryeburg Fairgrounds. We took 8 bales with us and purchased another 15. The weather on Saturday was heavy rain, so it was good that we decided to move up our timeline and have most of the packing done by Friday.

Horses never seem to completely cooperate with plans. Rumor has it, Vicki whispered to Duchess on Friday that she was going on a big trip to ride lots of trails. Duchess apparently wasn’t fond of that idea and came in out of the pasture limping on Saturday evening with a twisted shoe on her left hind and a swollen fetlock.

I replaced the shoe and Duchess got legs wrapped. We didn’t give her any anti-inflammatory medications in hopes that she would be sounds enough to ride before the week was over.

Sunday morning, we got up and hit the road by about 10. Since we were taking both the travel trailer and horse trailer, Anna and I both drove. We managed to cover the 230 miles with only a single 40 minute lunch stop, that included feeding all members of the family, walking all 3 dogs, refilling horse hay, and offering the horses water (which they wouldn’t drink). The temps were over 90F so we kept on moving to get to the fairgrounds. We arrived at camp at set up the electric fencing for the horses and our area. The rides didn’t start until Tuesday, but we went up a day earlier to ensure we had a good spot and enough area for our team.

It’s time to explain that the crazy is actually genetic. My parents, Liz and Ken, joined us in Maine. From Alabama. With their travel trailer. The full story is, back in the spring, they asked for our summer schedule to figure out when they could visit. I gave it to them. They quite astutely noted that EVERY weekend was booked with something. I suggested it might be a good adventure for them to join us in Maine for a week of horse riding/camping. They decided to take us up on the offer. It turned out to be a huge help for us when dealing with 4 riders on trail at a time. And Amanda was happy to move into their trailer. So were the dogs.

The week before we arrived in Maine, it rained. In fact, it rained enough to create questions about the safety of crossing the Saco River, which happens twice on the 25 mile rides, and 6 times on the 50 mile rides. On Monday afternoon, we tacked up the 4 horses who were sound (Duchess wasn’t) and went for a short 3 mile ride to include two river crossings. It was good to let the horses stretch their legs, but we also needed to know if Huey would have to swim the river or could touch.

Huey only had to swim a little and the river was dropping quickly by the day. We were also a little concerned about the temperatures on Tuesday – highs were predicted in the mid 90s with high humidity driving the heat index well over 100F. The ride management moved the ride start to 5:00 to try to beat the heat as much as possible. We had some concerns about Huey’s fitness for handling those conditions, but decided that if we went slow, he could probably finish in the allowed time. So it was settled. Tuesday ride was Rob on Mojo, Anna on Amira, Alex (15 years old) on Teddy, and Amanda (8 years old) on Huey.

We you are starting a ride at 5 in the morning with 4 horses and kids involved, that means you get up at 3. On “vacation”. For “fun”.

The river crossing and fields were gorgeous as we rode during the sunrise. One of the challenges of Pine Tree is there is an away hold. That means that the vets do a check on the condition of the horses, but it’s not in base camp. This is where my parents came into play. They loaded up the horse feed and people food (along with tack and other items we might need) and met us at the hold to assist with cooling horses and refueling kids.

It turns out, there were not a lot of entries on Tuesday. Maybe because of the heat. As a result, our 5:07 ride time was good enough to place in the top 10. I should note, you only have 5:15 to complete the ride. We did exactly what we planned and made sure not to overdo it with Huey. Despite only having 8 minutes to spare, we didn’t turtle, which was surprising. In endurance, the “turtle” is the last rider who completes the ride in the allowed time (those who go over time are disqualified).

Since we made the top 10, we had 3 of the horses stand for “Best Condition”. Pine Tree elected to give out a “High Vet Score” award this year, which is one of the components of the Best Condition scoring. At the awards ceremony, we were completely shocked to find out that Huey, a 17 year old Dartmoor in his first ride, won High Vet Score; the prize was an amazing blanket donated by one of the other riders. Not only that, I got confirmation from AERC that Huey is THE ONLY Dartmoor registered in AERC.

The rest of Tuesday was spent recovering. Amanda fell asleep for 3 hours. We went to the river for a swim to cool off and everyone was ready for an early bedtime.

Wednesday was a day off. We needed to recover a little from Tuesday and the temperatures were still high. We basically hung out at camp and took care of the horses. The kids did go on a short hike with Grandma and Grandpa. While they were gone, I worked on Amira’s shoes. On Tuesday, she managed to lose 2 shoes (1 front and 1 hind) in the first 10 miles of trail. I had all my shoeing supplies with me in case we needed anything, so I pulled her remaining shoes and made some changes to her setup. She was only put into shoes for the first time ever 4 weeks before the ride. I suspected I needed to put her in a smaller size shoe, but on the trails at home she wasn’t interfering so I rolled the dice. I lost. In the ride, she was moving with a new level of determination and interfering whenever she was in the front of our group. Amira wasn’t exactly cooperative during her shoeing on Wednesday, but the change was exactly what she needed for later in the week.

We took the horses for a little evening hand walking and grazing.

Since Duchess was still borderline on soundness, we decided Vicki would ride Teddy on Thursday and Rob would ride Mojo. The start time on Thursday was 5:30. We got up at 3:30. On vacation. Again.

Mojo and Teddy were in great shape and had plenty of energy. More riders had arrived in camp by this point, so our 4:02 ride wasn’t in the top 10, but we had a blast completing our 25 miles. It was still hot in the upper 80s and Teddy was a little sore in his legs after the ride, but not enough to be a big problem. At least that’s what we thought at the time.

Over the course of the week, 2 other girls (with ponies) in Amanda’s age range (7-8 years old) had arrived in camp. The three quickly became great friends and even spent time grazing ponies together.

Friday was another day off. This time, I volunteered as a scribe for the vets. It was very educational because I got to see how the horses at the front looked compared to the middle of the pack. I also got to see what various problems looked like with soundness, tack galls, and dehydration.

Friday afternoon, we assessed Duchess and decided she was sound and could go on a test ride. We tacked up all 5 horses and went out for 4 miles. We needed Duchess to go through the river and do some faster work to make sure we didn’t still have a lingering problem.

Duchess looked great and had plenty of excess energy from not working all week. So, the plan for Saturday was all 5 horses and all 5 riders.

Saturday morning, we got up one more time at 3:30 for a 5:30 start. On vacation.

Unfortunately, during a quick trot out before the start, Teddy was lame. A quick probe of his hind leg muscles revealed extreme sensitivity and some residual cramps. Grandma noted Alex was actually smiling when he got told to untack Teddy and keep him in camp. Alex enjoyed his ride on Tuesday, but was fine with only doing 1 25 miler for the week. So, we headed out with Rob on Mojo, Anna on Amira, Vicki on Duchess, and Amanda on Huey.

Over the course of the week, Amanda had figured out that she could keep her feet dry if she took them out of the stirrups. Friday night, the temperatures dropped into the 50s and the highs were only in the low 70s during the ride. It was a welcome change after a week of heat, but the temperature drop likely contributed to Teddy’s tight muscles.

The 25 miles on Saturday were great for Mojo, but young girls who have been in camp all week and already spent a lot of time in the saddle can be challenging on the last ride of the week. We all completed the ride, but there were a few tears (from sore legs and kids who didn’t want to trot any more). We finished around the 5 hour mark. Again, the ride was small on the last day as many riders headed home, so all 4 of us were in the top 10. We competed for Best Condition, and this time, the shock was that Duchess won High Vet Score! Vicki also got a great blanket!

Throughout the week, Amanda insisted on handling Huey for her vet checks. She occasionally needed some assistance, but she did a great job with her pony.

On Sunday morning, we were not in a rush to get out of camp since it would only take about 6 hours to get home. As a result, we got hired by some other riders to clean their stalls before we left. We hit the road around 10 and did the drive home with only a single stop again. About 8 miles from home, Rusty got tired of laying in the floor and decided to sit with Vicki for the last few miles.

Overall, it was a great ride week. 10 rides, 10 completions. We look forward to next year!

endurance, horse, kids, Uncategorized

Pine tree Pioneer Endurance Ride 2016

August 13, 2016 Rob Leave a comment

Pinetree Pioneer Rides were held at the Fryeburg Fairgrounds over 5 days from Tuesday, August 9 through Saturday, August 13. There was a 50-55 mile event and a LD (Limited Distance) 25-30 mile event every day for 5 days. The Pioneer Ride is the three middle days, and totals 155 miles of riding. This was to be Vicki’s first distance ride. Alex was unable to ride; Dakota has been lame and Alex was still dealing with a double ear infection and sinus infection.

The logistics required to travel and camp with your horses for an endurance ride are not to be under estimated. When it is a whole family going to camp and leaving the majority of the herd at home, it takes a few days of prep just to leave the house. We started making our packing lists weeks ago. Leading up to this trip, I printed the lists and kept making updates as we figured out what we needed to add. Sunday and Monday were spent going through the camping gear to make sure everything was there and loading into totes. We also packed the horse trailer with hay, shavings, tack, extra tack, and everything we could imagine needing. Once all the camping gear was loaded into the truck bed (around the gooseneck hitch), clothing and sleeping bags in the horse trailer, and tack in the trailer, we were ready to leave.

We hit the road on Tuesday morning at 0900 and headed to Maine! The first stop was 35 minutes into the drive for a couple of items we needed at Wal-mart. The second stop was only 20 minutes later for a bathroom break. We decided to skip lunch and just finish the drive (with no more stops) to get the horses off the trailer faster. That turned out to be a mistake, because once we got to camp, it took over an hour to get the horses settled and to the point we could unload enough to eat. In the future, we will ensure we have eaten before arriving at camp.

Once things we set in camp, we vetted in the horses for the ride and took a break. Our campsite consisted of an electric fence paddock for the horses, canopy for the horses, canopy for our kitchen area, stove, coffee pot, 2 tents, folding table…. The chuck box we used for storing food and such was built by my Dad in the 60’s when he was in scouting. I would say it has gotten some miles.

Marking the horses with their numbers for the ride

Vicki and Alexandra (a horse friend who only lives 1 town over) hanging out in the paddock with the horses

Alex brought his laptop. He charged it in the truck whenever we drove somewhere

Anna and Amanda managed to wear matching shirts on Tuesday

The ride camp had a coordinated dinner that you could participate in, so we did. After dinner each night, the awards for the day’s ride were given out and then the ride brief was conducted for the next day. We arrived on Tuesday, so we got to see the first day awards and hear some feedback about the trails.

We have learned from previous rides, the endurance ride camps get quiet early. It seems everyone wants to go to bed early. Of course, since we had just traveled in, our crew wasn’t as tired, so we didn’t fall asleep quite as fast.

Wednesday morning, the 50 mile ride started at 0530. Our camp setup was right next to the vet area and the start/finish. Anna and I were up at 4:45 with Vicki only shortly after. Alex and Amanda slept in a little. We cooked up some eggs and sausage for breakfast. While there is typically muffins or doughnuts available for a ride breakfast, it is important to fuel your body for the ride, especially when 1 of the bodies is an 80lb, 10 year old girl.

Vicki and I were riding the 25 mile, LD ride. We started at 6:30 and 1 mile into the ride, you cross a river. On the other side, you enter some potato fields where you ride on sandy farm roads for the next 5 miles. While the potato fields were pretty, calm, and fast riding in the morning, they were hot and hotter once the sun started baking things. The first hold was 15 miles into the ride, and was away from base camp at a covered bridge. Anna, Alex, and Amanda met us there with snacks for the horses, snacks for us, and to simply help out. We quickly determined that at this age, Vicki can handle the distance, but needs the support of someone to crew at the holds so she can take a break and fuel up herself.

The vet check was done inside the covered bridge

The river under the bridge was a little low

When you arrive at the hold, your hold time doesn’t actually start until your horse has pulsed down below 64 bpm. In anticipation of that, Vicki and I walked in (us off and leading on foot) the horses for about the last 1/4 mile. Mojo can pulse down quickly, but we wanted to make sure Devil was ready to go. It worked great and Devil was below the threshold as soon as we arrived. 40 minutes later, we were back out of the trail for 11 miles back to camp, including the potato fields. We arrived at base camp and Mojo immediately met the finish pulse criteria of 60 bpm. 6 minutes later, Devil had cooled off and also passed a vet check as “fit to continue”. Vicki and Devil had their first completion with a ride time of 4:27 for 26 miles in the saddle.

Once the horses were taken care of, we hiked a mile down to the river and took a swim to cool off since the temps were in the upper 80s (I thought Maine was supposed to be cold?).

Some people at the Pinetree ride actually ride every day. However, many ride a day and then take a day off. Because we did our first ride on the second day, there were only 11 entries in the LD ride for our day. Even though our time wasn’t terribly slow, Vicki was the last finisher, which meant she won the “Turtle Award”. In the endurance world, the motto is “To finish is to win” and we have been teaching that to the kids as we train. Winning the turtle isn’t demeaning, because it is still a completion. There are actually some riders who compete to collect turtle awards. Vicki was all smiles at the awards ceremony as she collected her ride prize, her Jr rider award (a blanket she slept with every night since), and her Turtle.

No one in our family had trouble falling asleep on Wednesday. We took Thursday off, and I was glad we did! I listened to the sound of ~30 riders leaving camp at 0530 (all distances started at 0530 on Thursday and Friday due to the heat) and then I went back to sleep for another hour. After getting up and eating, I broke out the hammock. There were not a lot of trees available, but with the truck parked just so, the hammock fit nicely between the horse trailer ties and the stake pocket ties on the truck. Amanda and I tested it out for a nice hour nap. After, we walked the horses around for some grazing (Vicki decided to ride bareback).

Thursday was HOT! The camp thermometer broke 100F in the shade. We went out to get more ice for our cooler and some ice cream. We also went to a different part of the river for a swim to cool off again. In the late afternoon, Vicki and I rode the horses bareback down to the river. We took them into some deeper areas and Vicki and Devil actually got to swim (it wasn’t deep enough to cause Mojo to swim). Thursday night dinner was lobster night and after the ride brief, we went to bed for a 0400 wake up. While Vicki was very happy to have finished her first ride, she did talk to me about strategy before we fell asleep. She said, “Dad, can we ride a little faster tomorrow. I don’t want to Turtle. I want to Win.” I told her we would ride within our horses’ abilities and the priority was to finish with everyone in good condition, but yes, we could go faster. She was ok with that. On Friday, we were riding the same LD course as Wednesday.

Riding the potato fields to start the morning

Back at the covered bridge for a hold. Amanda is checking out the water

Mojo and Devil wading into the water to cool off and drink

The temperatures on Friday were definitely hotter than Wednesday. While we did ride a faster first loop, we slowed down some on the second loop and ended up finishing within about 5 minutes of our Wednesday time. Again, both horses were in excellent condition and we both had smiles at the finish. As Vicki and I hand walked our horses the last 1/4 mile, she was already talking about her plans for the next ride. To say she is hooked on endurance is an understatement.

While the temperatures were high, we had nothing but an amazing week. Amanda was talking with everyone about her pony Huey and how she planned to ride him at Pinetree next year. Alex didn’t get to ride, but is still interested in trying it out. Pinetree was definitely a top-notch, family friendly event. Our thanks go out to Tom Hutchinson and Sue Niedoroda for managing the ride and to all the volunteers who put it on. We will see you again in 2017!

Sawyer Family Farm

Tag Archives: Pine Tree

Pine Tree Endurance Ride 2024

Sawyer Summer Update

Pine Tree Endurance Ride and Tie 2022

Pine Tree 2021

Pine Tree 2019

Pine Tree Endurance Ride, 2018

Pine tree Pioneer Endurance Ride 2016

The story of our lives with horses. And goats.

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The story of our lives with horses. And goats.