Lone Fir Road - and adventures with Sue

For one reason or another Sue and I have not gotten an opportunity to ride together again until today. Sue had done some scouting and thought Lone Fir Road might be a decent place to ride. We met at Cottonwood and Hood roads and went about a mile from there to Lone Fir to park. The road turns to gravel there and it is wide enough to park on the shoulder. It is not a road that sees much use either, which was nice.

We rode up and found that many surrounding fields had been wheat which was harvested, so we were able to ride on the edge of the field for better footing. Quaker, Sue's horse was barefoot so it was easier on him than the gravel, although the gravel was not bad compared to some I've ridden on.

Once we got up a ways and could see over the valley we took some photos.

Sinwaan is already sweaty in this photo and it is only a couple miles up.

There was a lot of climbing but it was more gradual that Cache Hollow, and there were more level areas as well.

This photo was probably about 4 miles up and you can see the road is harder-packed and more dirt than rock. It was great footing. The views (to the left) were spectacular. Sue pointed out other trails that she had ridden on from a neighboring ranch for the last ACTHA ride that she had helped with.

Another view of the road heading up. It was addicting, to keep going and see what was around the next bend. I felt like a kid again, exploring.

A couple of times we started trotting and I sensed Quaker lagging so I asked Sue how he was doing. She thought he was feeling a little off, so we stopped to put on his boots. After that he did better, but we still turned around once her GPS said we had done a little over 5 miles.

The only drawbacks about this area that I experienced today were 1) The bees. There were a lot of them in the last mile as we gained elevation. They did not bother us but I could see a lot of them on the edge of the road and flying around.

2) The stickers. Heading back down the trail Sue had Quaker on the edge of the road in softer footing. It looked like just weed grass growing along the edges. I stopped to wait for Sue and as she walked up I looked down and saw Quaker had lots of little stickers/burrs on his boots and fetlocks. Trying to remove them by hand was tough because they would stick into your skin! It hurt, and then you couldn't get them off yourself. I dug a tool out of my saddlebag and it had a plier-type end on it that Sue was able to use to get all those darn stickers off her horse. While waiting, Sinwaan tried to eat them. All I could think about was him depositing the seeds in his paddock and having a new weed to deal with next year, NO THANK YOU. So I pulled them out of his mouth, crazy horse.

Some of the fields were seeded, and we stayed out of those, but the fields that looked barren we did ride along the edge of. We were making better time on the way back because the horses knew they were headed for the trailers, and it was downhill. We walked a lot on the way up, we did more trotting on the way down.

When we were about 1 1/2 miles from the trailer we were moving out pretty good, Sinwaan was cantering but I had him fairly collected and Quaker was not far behind us at the trot. I slowed him down because I knew a culvert was coming up to our right. We passed it and Sinwaan did not seem to notice but then he started bucking! I ATT ATT growled at him and got him back under control only to hear Sue yelling also. I turned him around and saw Quaker in the midst of bucking and Sue falling to the ground. Yikes! Thankfully she landed in nice soft dirt and quickly was up on her feet but Quaker.... ah he was hightailing it OUT OF THERE. I don't think I have seen a horse run that fast, that far. He ran full throttle until he was just a speck in the distance. Of course this upset Sinwaan and he started spinning around. I heard Sue say "you better get off" and I had the same thought but was waiting until it was safe to do so. Finally he stopped for an instant and I took the opportunity for a quick dismount. Sue commented that she hoped Quaker could find the trailer!

We started walking together through the field, trying to keep an eye on Quaker. Sue said "He's found the road" and then "Oh, there's a car." (The first car we'd seen all morning). Thankfully there was no collision and the car (a pickup) kept coming up the road towards us. It pulled over when it reached us. The driver and his companion said "Did you lose a horse?" and then offered Sue a ride. She asked if I would be ok on my own. I said yes, go catch her horse! They continued on up the road until they could turn around and then came back past me. Sinwaan was being a little anxious - after all his new buddy just galloped off like his tail was on fire. We walked a short distance and I decided to get back on.

Sinwaan was controllable, and I think glad to be trotting once again. Another half-mile or so and I saw Quaker, still running, but not to the trailer, away from it, along a vineyard. Not far behind the pickup was 4x4'ing it into the field, bouncing and speeding along. Just then Lone Fir turned left and there was a steep bank in front of us. By the time I found a low spot to get into the field, I saw the truck had passed Quaker and had stopped, Sue was out walking towards him, and he had slowed to a walk himself.

Sue seemed to catch him without any trouble and led him back along the vineyard the way he had raced in. We trotted to catch up and walked along with her back to the trailer.

Sue said the people in the truck were the Nibblers and that they owned most of the land here. She had been worried about the speed he drove through the field, commenting that "there's a ditch around here somewhere, hope we don't run into it." She was glad for her helmet.

Despite the rodeo adventure at the end, I had a great ride and look forward to going out there again. I've made a discovery - I am a bit of a mileage junkie now, 10 miles didn't feel like much and I want to go back, ride farther, see what is around the next bend. I might get into riding 50s yet. First I have to be competitive at LDs, but a longer distance doesn't scare me anymore.

Mountain Ride

I got incredibly lucky this weekend and fit in two rides in a row!

Today Ruth and I trailered out to Cache Hollow Road, my old stomping grounds, to have ourselves a mountain ride. It was 3 hours of long slow distance (LSD) as we climbed up up up Cache Hollow, stopped at the top for a breather and to enjoy the 360 degree view of the surrounding valleys. Onward to the connecting Kinnear Rd and more climbing... hmmm I remembered this road as being flatter than we experienced today.



Our horses seemed a bit tired from the sandy ride yesterday but they gave a good effort. When it seemed Kinnear would never end, finally we spied cattle, and the stock/holding pen with the cattle chute, meaning we had reached the intersection with Lincton Mountain Road. I told Ruth it was all downhill from here. Well I ate those words as we turned left towards home and had to climb another hill before the road took a turn downward.



It was a hard ride, I quickly went through both of my water bottles before the end. When we were about a mile from the trailer it started to rain, just cooling little sprinkles, but a warning of what was to come. Hooray, we finished just in time! I told Ruth I thought I had mapped this ride out before at about 10 miles but in doing the math once I got home I found it was either a 10.9 or 11 mile loop.

Cache Hollow Rd 2.7 mi
Kinnear Rd/Lincton Mtn Rd 3.6 mi
Lincton Mountain Rd. 4.6 mi

The math above adds up to 10.9 but if you draw out the loop on Google maps it comes up as 11. My GPS has a dead battery currently, I'll have to ride it again and try it out to see what it says.

Friday Ride

Today Matt was gone most of the day to film the 100th anniversary parade in Pendleton, so I took off work to look after the kids. It was a good day, and when Matt got home Ruth and I loaded up and went riding at Madam Dorian!



We probably did at least 5 or 6 miles, hard to tell without a GPS. The sand was pretty deep in places and Sinwaan wore himself out fairly quickly. I shot two photos of Ruth and Topper on the way back to the trailer as the sun was setting. (We rode back on the gravel road). A beautiful ride and what a way to end the day!

And it's a 1.2!

Checked out Sinwaan's Achievement Award progress on the AHA site tonight. Looks like he earned 1.2 points for our Klickitat placement. That is exciting. I don't know what I will do with .2 points but it's better than .0! :)

We still have a long way to go to get to 75. Not for sure we can do it in his lifetime, but it's a goal. Next year we are planning to be more competitive, aiming for Top Ten placements instead of just going along, so perhaps we can pick up more points that way.

Bennington Lake, Labor Day

This afternoon Ruth picked me up at home and we went out to where Otto lives. I helped her hook up the horse trailer and we had him loaded up in no time. Went and picked up Sinwaan and I was astonished by the tight turning radius of her truck + trailer. I loaded the tack and she fetched the horse and we were soon on our merry way.

We decided on the good ol' Lake today since it was nearby and would be a good workout for the horses with the occasional elevation changes. Safer than the road also.

It was gorgeous weather and I was surprised to see no other horse trailers there at that point in time. The boys were well behaved today and we had lots of good conversation and it was just really nice to have a friend to ride with again. I forgot how much I missed chatting it up on the trail!

We rode up from the bottom and around the lake, then at the parking lot turned down and came back on a dirt trail closer to the water. We probably rode close to 2 hours. It was a great ride.

Road ride, Saturday

Today I was determined to ride since the weather has been so nice lately - the days are getting shorter and my horse is getting fatter! Although plans at the moment are really up in the air about the new Elbe ride, in order to have a prayer of going and completing, he has to be in shape, so there is only one way to do that - ride!

I saddled up and - wow - he is fat! Hard to get the billet through the buckle initially. I thought about riding our 8 mile loop. It was pretty windy out and usually the wind doesn't bother us too much but he has had a lot of time off lately so I was ready for anything.

Heading out from the property he was good, walking and attentive. We made it about a 1/2 mile down the road and he zoned in on a gas tank in someone's yard. Then the wind picked up and we were next to a half-dead cornfield so it was rustling. Sinwaan froze and did not want to move. Then far off in the distance - a gunshot? He jumped in place. He had barely recovered from that when bam bam bam bam, a cluster of gunshots. They sounded miles away but that was all it took. He spun around and bolted, faster than I ever knew possible. before I knew it we were galloping down the center of the road for home. Well, I was ready for it, even though it happened that fast, I still had a deep secure seat and was able to bring him back down quickly. He halted and then refused to go forward. I had thought after the bolt that we really didn't need to be out in the road if he was going to act this ridiculous. So I urged him onward, back towards home. He started backing up. He was acting so psychotic that I dismounted. I really don't know what was in his head. Normally he loves heading for home. He was out of sorts and I wasn't going to take a chance riding him in that state. So I got off and led him.

I decided to try and see if I could get him past his fears and continue on the direction we aimed to go in the first place. He was being very bad, not respecting my space and surging past me and then trying to circle around me. If nothing else, it was a good opportunity to remind him who the boss was - ME! I had to pop him in the nose a couple of times (I have a popper on my reins) but once we worked that out he walked calmly next to me and regained his brain. Once we got past Jenee's he was being really good so I mounted up and we rode on. We did more walking than usual - there were some weird howling sounds coming from a pipe next to the telephone pole, and he had to look twice at things he usually doesn't see, but it was progress.

We went down the usual way until we got to the T intersection at Frog Hollow. Usually I go left for the "lollipop" of our 8 mi ride. Instead I turned him right, for a shorter (distance) but tougher (elevation changes) ride in a large country block. Even though the road was headed uphill, he took off in a big trot and I let him go. With the wind in our face, it felt like we were going 40 mph. There was flapping plastic, and a running tractor at the roadside but he barely gave them a second look. He was on a mission. I wasn't sure where all that gas in his tank was coming from. I talked him down to a slower trot a couple times but he was really wanting to go, and I find that with a outlet for his energy he is easier to manage. Give and take, like any relationship.

The road is up and down and up and down, significant hills for a back country road. I was glad that there was minimal traffic today. The roadside is rougher than I like to ride on for part of this block, especially at speed.

As we turned back down the road leading towards home, he started pulling on me again and even went into a collected canter. It was comfortable so I let him go through the field headed for the barn. When we got close, however, I turned him without allowing him to break gait, and made him canter back the other direction, towards the road. He wasn't too happy about that and fell down to a trot. I kept him to the trot the length of the field and then asked for a walk on a loose rein to return to the barn.

All told, it was a good training ride. 5.8 miles.