Tis the season - to ride

I've been remiss in my postings - not because we haven't been riding, I guess it is just the busyness of the season.  Some of the gang has been bugging out some - but still trying to get in two rides each weekend if we can. 

My new horse, Spirit arrived safely from Virginia on Friday December 6.  I rode him December 8th with Caren Stauffer at the Chuluota Wilderness for the first time.  He did really well despite his long ride and his furry coat in the heat. 

Heaven is making a full recovery from her accident right before Thanksgiving when she decided to slam herself and her hip into the barn.  Thought I was going to have four days to ride and got none, on her.  I did ride Caren's Slim twice during that time period though.

We had a great ride out at Liz Kanan's house.  We hadn't been to Beck Ranch in a long time so it was really fun.  We probably got in about 15 miles.  I thought someone took some pictures but apparently it wasn't me.
Caren, Lisa and I rode at Christmas Creek one day.  Also had not been there in a long time but we were getting bored of all the same places.

Lisa and I also got in a ride together at standby favorite - Little Big Econ State Park.  It was fun for me because I rode my long time favorite, Shalizar.  I started riding Shalizar when he was 5, now 25 and still going strong!

This past weekend, I rode Heaven with Lisa around the Lake Pickett Estates neighborhood.  It was rainy and we decided to visit neighbors on our ride.

Sunday, Gayle King and I rode at Little Big Econ.  Coup had an excellent ride the weekend before at Suwannee where he was 2nd in the 50.  Congratulations to Gayle and Coup!

Spirit did awesome on our ride, but he clearly is going to require a strong rider and a lot of miles.  He is a little go-go Mighty Mike.  Wants to be first, wants to go fast.  The first five miles I thought my arms were going to be pulled out of the socket.  Hopefully when he gets used to our routine - he'll settle in.  Didn't spook at a single thing!

Till next time, Happy Holidays - enjoy the season and ride!

 

Boggy Creek 27 2013

I've been neglecting my Riding with Friends blog lately.  It doesn't mean we haven't been riding, just that I haven't been efficient enough to get the information posted.

Last Sunday was the Boggy Creek 27 Competitive Trail Ride.  We arrived on Saturday in the midst of some pretty ugly, rainy weather.  Turned out to be completely worth it though because Sunday could not have been prettier.

We got an extra hour of sleep, the ride went off about 6:45 a.m. and because Kirsten and I did the fun ride - a new SEDRA division - of only 15 miles, we were back before 9:30!  I did take my first tumble off of Heaven - it was bound to happen some time - about 1/4 mile from the finish.  They say that  "most accidents happen close to home" - it's true.

Friend Kirsten was visiting from Columbus, Ohio.  She is an avid rider but this was her first RV overnight and fun ride.  She rode Lisa Dietrich's horse, Shalizar, a 25 year old Arabian who thinks he's 5.

Lisa Dietrich was on her horse Kai, still relatively new to limited distance endurance and competitive trail but always ready and willing to go.

Gayle King was on Coup.

And we met a few other friends on the trail.  We were all able to ride together for the first 7 miles, then the fun riders had to turn off and the rest of the gang went on to finish the full 27 mile ride.

Overall, it was an excellent day - we had a ton of fun.  This is one of the very best rides and this year was no exception.  The Friday pot luck is always awesome, tons of raffles and silent auction items.  Congratulations to Linda Winkel for her fund raising efforts - she brought in more than $2,000!  Way to go Linda.  A big thank you to the volunteers who make this ride possible - let's do it again next year!

SEDRA announces introduction of introductory distance rides and drives

 I thought this was important to share with people who may be considering distance riding but aren't sure the sport is for them.  I was introduced to long distance trail riding by friend Gayle King a number of years ago.  I didn't own an Arab, but thought I'd condition Sierra (a draft cross) and see how it went. 

We had seven really good years and had recently completed our AERC and SEDRA 500 mile award.  Now, with a new horse, Heaven, an Anglo Arab I'm ready to get started again.  Only, this is brand new to Heaven so I'm taking advantage of the introductory distance rides program. 

We had our first ride at Spruce Creek a few weeks ago.  The introductory ride was perfect for her.  It gave her a taste of what limited distance endurance riding would be all about, but without having to complete a 25 mile ride. 

Our plan is to ride the introductory program for the 2013-2014 year and then move up in the 2014-2015 year to full rides. 

INTRODUCTORY DISTANCE RIDES (IDR) AND DRIVES (IDD)

A Great September Riding Weekend Saturday the 14th, Sunday the 15th

Today was a good day to ride the Little Big Econ. We had a nice, but small, group. Elizabeth Fromel joined us for her first time riding with the Chuluota Chicks! She was a natural. Her dressage training along with her fox hunting experience stood her in good stead. It was muggy, but we still had a good time.
Sunday morning we headed to Orlando Wetlands Park for an early ride at one of our most favorite spots.

It's Hot! But We Are Still Riding!

Here's a few photos from last weekend at Orlando Wetlands Park!
On Saturday the gang included Kim Huck, Caren Stauffer, Lisa Dietrich and me - we had a great time. 

In fact, we had so much fun, that Molly Smith and I did it again on Monday to celebrate the holiday!
Note:  OWP closes this year on October 1 until the end of January 2014 - so if you plan to make the trip, do it soon!

This weekend Lisa Dietrich, her niece Savannah Conley and I rode at Little Big Econ.  We thought we were going to have a bigger group or we might have gone back to the Wetlands.  Still, we had a nice ride.  It was Savannah's first time riding with the "old ladies!"  She did great, as did her trusty mount, Charm. 

We'll be headed out again next weekend if anyone wants to join us!  The first ride of the season, Scenic Spruce Creek No Frills Fall Rides are Saturday September 21 (Endurance) and Sunday September 22 (Competitive Trail) with a fun ride each day!  Heaven and I will be on the fun ride on Saturday! 

Catch me if you can

This week's post is going to have to catch up the riding adventures of the past couple of rides - didn't get them posted in time but still want to share. 

Last weekend we had a nice group out at Little Big Econ - 7 of us at 7:30.  The trail wasn't too buggy and we enjoyed splashing in the river.  We had a couple of first timers with the group and we were happy to welcome them to the gang.  We hope they will want to join us again! 

 On Sunday August 18, 2013, long time friend Lisa Senecal and I rode at the Charles Bronson Forest.  We had hoped we would have a few more people but it seems everyone decided to sleep in.  Still, we had a nice ride out on the ranch, made a big loop and headed home. 

This past weekend on Saturday August 24, 2013, Lisa Dietrich, Caren Stauffer and I rode at the Orlando Wetlands Park.  We got a later start than expected because Heaven decided to escape, put on a bucking show, toss my new saddle, and run away sans anything to catch her with.  We "chased" her  around the parking lot for nearly an hour before she decided she had enough fun and let me quietly walk over and put a rope around her neck.  Needless to say, it didn't stop us from riding and we actually had a very nice ride.  Love the Wetlands Park!

To finish off the weekend, we headed back to Little Big Econ with a nice group - Lisa Dietrich, Caren Stauffer, Kim Huck and me.  A few more bugs than we would have liked, Heaven had a swollen leg from her antics the day before, but any day riding is better than a day doing anything else!  A great time was had by all.

Anoter Day in the Park (Wetlands Park)

Today, Sunday August 4, 2013,  it was only Caren on Slim and me on Heaven.  We had no other early risers.  Lisa is out of town and Gayle is also gone - this time to pick up Coup who has been in training.

We went out early - before 7:30 as it has been really hot and I had to be somewhere by 11:00 and didn't want to be late.  I'm planning an afternoon with friend Kerul at the shooting range, a first for me.

We rode the short side of the Park first and saw two really nice young bucks.  They were just beautiful.  I hope they stay on the Park side and off the Seminole Ranch.  Hunting season is right around the corner.

Representative sample - not the actual deer we saw

Then we headed over to the main part of the Park and rode a few loops in there.  We were mostly headed for the splashing pond so the horses could get a drink and cool off.  Caren and Slim splashed around for a while but Heaven was more interested in eating.

Another great ride - no major incidents although Slim did "the big spook" right at the end.  Really gave Caren a jolt - she couldn't even get out a single bird call!

Heaven gets next weekend off as I'm headed to Maryland to pick up my new puppy.  The ladies are on their own without me.   I'll see you in two weeks! 

Little Big Econ August 3, 2013

It was a great day for a ride at the Little Big Econ (LBE) with Caren on Jake, Kim on Nikki and me, of course, on Heaven.  It's Heaven's 8th ride, but who's counting?  I promise I'll stop after she's done 10 - that will be close to a 100 miles under saddle and that will be a great start. 

LBE was a little buggy but not as bad as we've seen it.  It was also very wet and the river was very high.  Still, a very nice ride with good friends.  Caren and Kim swear they saw a baby bobcat - I didn't see it so you'll have to take their word for it. 

We had a chance to splash a little at the river - fun.  Heaven walked right across the wood bridge like she'd been doing it all her life.  Even led across the bridge on the way back.  She really seems to have a pretty good brain - especially on the trail.  Thank you God. 

Caren and I have another adventure planned for tomorrow.  See you then!

A muggy weekend

Wow!  This weekend sure was hot and muggy.  The daily rains cooled everything off at the end of the day, but the mornings were hot!  So were the trail rides.  Luckily, not too many bugs so not really complaining. 

Lisa Dietrich was on Kai and I was on Heaven as we took off Saturday morning, July 27.  Today was to be the first day we "trailered" Heaven to a ride.  In case you haven't heard, Liz Kanan did work her magic and Heaven is getting on the trailer like a champ.  She is enjoying her breakfast there each day and we are working on backing off quietly - some days better than others, save for the one when she flew off so fast she hit her head.  I thought that might be the end of our trailer loading streak but Heaven managed to overcome and decided she could get back on. 

So we took a nice short ride to the end of the road, had a nice ride out on the Lee Ranch (Charles Bronson State Forest) using our open gate method to decide where to go.  Ultimately we ended up at a dead end and decided to turn around - we are still figuring out all the best trails out there and we were also trying to stay out of the very wet areas. 

Sadly, no camera so no pictures to share.

Sunday July 28, Heaven loaded right up into the trailer and I went over and picked up Caren Stauffer and Slim.  Heaven did really well on the short ride over and even better on our way to the Wetlands.  She is still backing off a little erratically but hopefully that will come with time.  She would prefer I let her turn around and walk out head first.  I may, but I really want her to do this quietly before I give in. 

My view from Heaven

Caren and I had really missed the Wetlands Park since we had been confined to the neighborhood for a few weeks.  The Wetlands really is one of our very favorite places to ride because of all the various wildlife you can see there.  It was very hot and humid, but not buggy and that's saying a lot.  We only rode about 6 miles - the large perimeter trail around the main park.

We did take a small detour onto a little known shady trail but the branches really need to be trimmed and too many spiders!  Yuk!

One thing I did think was amazing was the number of buzzards we saw.  We jokingly say that all the buzzards in Central Florida live in Wetlands Park and they dispatch from there but there were truly more buzzards than I have ever seen - they were everywhere.  I got this one great picture of a bunch of them drying their wings in a tree.  Kind of spooky looking. 

Have a great week - see ya next weekend!