Adventures for Rachel and Grandma and Arabian Horses at the St Jude's Children's Hospital Ride Part 6

Part 1
Unfortunately, the turnout for the ride was small. As much as we had wanted to raise a bunch of money for St. Jude's, this wasn't going to be the year. Most of the riders who did show up were Daffodil board members and a few friends.

Crystal had come all the way down with her son, Gavin, and two horses to search for Dandy. They had given up their plans for the day figuring they would be combing the woods for our missing horse. There was no way they were going to make it to do what they had originally planned so they decided to stay and do the ride. It turned out that one of the other riders was Crystal's neighbor she had been wanting to meet so they rode together in one group and got acquainted.

We had advertised the ride as first rider out at 8 am and last rider out at 11 am. We offered a pancake breakfast and hot dogs for lunch for a donation in the clubhouse. All riders checked in there with their forms and releases for the ride. So part of the time the riders were out on the trail we spent at the clubhouse keeping track of number of riders and times out etc so we knew how many riders we were monitoring.

During this time a woman showed up with her donation envelope. She had raised over $300 for St Jude's but then had had a stroke. She was unable to ride but still wanted to be sure that the funds she'd raised made it to St Jude's. How cool is that!!

Looking across the big open field we thought we had seen all of the parties return. We waited for them to check back in at the clubhouse, which most did. Most, but not all, finally we went to find out what was keeping the members of the Daffodil board. Would you believe we found those people out next to one of the horse trailers having a margarita party complete with a spicy hot artichoke dip?

Lilli and I would have crashed their party but all we really wanted was to sweep the darn trails, take down the flags and go home. Crystal was just getting ready to load up and go home when she decided to ask about leaving a horse for Colleen to ride. I have a three horse trailer, so I had room but the mare was in full blown heat. Legs is good but frankly I didn't want to deal with it. So instead I asked Lilli if she'd let me haul her gelding so she could take the mare.

By now Dandy was looking good so we all saddled up and headed out. Dandy was a different horse than he had been the day before. But then Rachel was a different kid than she had been the day before. She had been so scared about the horse being lost she had gotten over being mad.

We started off down the trail with Legs out in front. It was funny to see how cautious the horse was. His walk was about half the speed of the day before and I'm pretty sure it was because he was unsure. He wanted to keep his nose right down on the trail checking out all of the smells. It's really weird going downhill without a head and neck up in front of you but I let him smell away.

Dandy followed right behind happy and content. Behind him came Lille and the two girls with Colleen bringing up the rear. It's been years since Colleen went on her one and only big ride. She's learned a lot since then. At first she thought maybe she shouldn't be in the back but then watching what was in front of her, she decided she was best where she was. I think part of her confidence came from knowing her horse was a broke as Dandy and this was her second go round on this trail today.

We were going along pretty well, except for a few minor disagreements between the two sisters. They'd been building up a head of steam at each other over night and it was beginning to spill over a bit. I think Lilli finally moved in front of them because she was tired of listening to them bicker. I was glad I was out of earshot.

With Legs still in front we were heading down a steep hill that ended with a sharp U-shaped bridge and then a steep ascent on the other side. Just before the bottom, there's a big mound of brush that muffles the sound of the water rushing under the bridge. As we came past that mound, Legs got slammed with the noise of the brook.

The big brave stallion wheeled around and tried to charge back up the hill. Horses scattered in all directions trying to make way for the frightened horse. But I caught him in mid-stride and backed him down the hill and into a nook in the corner instructing Rachel to go by me quickly.

Up on the hill, the two sister's had trouble controlling their horses. Neither would do as instructed. The younger girl's horse refused to move while she asked him to back. The older girl's horse stepped off the edge of the embankment with both hind legs but easily maintained his balance.

This had been exactly the spot where the rider had looked over yesterday and become terrified of falling off. Today, she had met her demon head on. It all happened so fast, I don't think she even noticed. They were all too bush keeping an eye on Legs trying to figure out what might be coming next.

Dandy was great, the trail horse extraordinaire I know him to be. He did exactly as Rachel directed and calmly walked across the bridge with Legs right on his heels. I knew the Arabian horse would follow his brother. Even though his tail was tucked tightly between his legs and his butt tucked tightly under his back, he didn't rush a step. He calmly followed Dandy across the terrifying obstacle while the riders behind howled at his demeanor.

Crossing the bridge his eyes darted with each hoof sound but he stayed in tune step for step with Dandy. Once safely across the horse settled right back down. By the time we were half way up the hill you wouldn't have known anything had even happened. From that point on Rachel rode out in front on Dandy, I could almost see the darn horse smile.

The kid was happy, the horse was happy, Grandma was happy and mom bringing up the rear was happy. Three generations out there in the Capital Forrest riding the trail and chasing a dream. A pretty darn good way to end the day if you ask me. What better way to end this segment on Rachel and Grandma and the Arabian horses


OK, be warned! This is a cheap commercial. If you've noticed over to the right there is a new addition. It is my r panel. One of my blogfriends told me about zazzle and suggested I might design a few things. Since I have had requests for items with the twins I started off with a few t-shirts and other things of the twins. If there are other pictures anyone would like to see in t-shirt or another form, just let me know and I'll make it up. Hopefully this will generate some funds for my twins debt.


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Adventures for Rachel and Grandma and Arabian Horses at the St Jude's Children's Hospital Ride Part 5

Part 1
When the sun finally came up, I began making phone calls again to the last numbers I had on my list of Backcountry Horsemen. Again and again I found myself talking to people who weren't anywhere near my area.

My very last call turned out to be to the director of the Capital Hills Riders. While he was unable to help with a search because he had to work, he did give the phone number of someone very near the park.

He also told me he had lost horses a couple of different times at this location. The man said that his two horses had run off on a lark just like Dandy and that by morning both of them were tired of the game and ready to come home. He figured Dandy was probably trapped somewhere unable to figure out his way back.

He also thought if you had to loose one this was sure the best place to do it. Because the trails are ridden so extensively sooner or later someone was bound to find my horse. The only problem was I didn't think my horse had gone the direction of the trails, whether or not he would find his way to them was a big question. Even this man admitted that could be a big problem.

Finishing up that call, I moved onto the number he had given me. This time I was relieved to reach someone who thought she could help. She was going to make some phone calls to see if she could round up some others to come search for my horse.

In the meantime, there were still signs to be put out for the ride. Lilli had not gotten them done the night before and she was pushing me to go along. Reluctantly, I rode with her placing directional signs along the rode leading to our location. The whole time I struggled with my sense of responsibility for this darn ride and worrying about my horse.

About half way through posting our signs I got a call back from Cindy from the Backcountry Horsemen. She had five horse and rider teams that would be coming our way between 9 and 9:30. Finally I knew I had searchers coming who had experience doing this kind of thing and who knew the area like the back of their hands.

Not long after Colleen called and she was on her way into the gun club. Crystal Baker was not far behind and she had others following her. We would have about ten horse and rider combinations searching for my gelding. I was breathing a little better but still scared to death after all of this we would not find him.

By the time we got back to the gun club, Lilli was still trying to get me to help with more signs but I bailed. As soon as I saw Colleen I flagged her down to get a ride and told Lilli she was just going to have to go up to the clubhouse and get one of the other Daffodil members to help. I had to be at the basecamp for our search. I was suprised that she was so adamant that as long as I had my cell phone I was the base camp but I wasn't buying it. I was going back to the last place I had seen my horse.

We got the girls up and checked the other horses. Legs needed more food and water and so did I. Once that was taken care of I went looking for Colleen. She had been behind our campsite and had spotted tracks she thought might have been Dandy. The only problem was she lost them in the brush.

Once Rachel was dressed, the three of us went to the last place she had seen the horse as he ran away from her. As we were standing there talking we were all looking around for places he could have gone. The brush was dense and there was a huge pile of downed trees right in front of us.

Just about at the same time as Rachel said, "There he is!"
I spotted the gelding behind that pile of trees. He was stretching up as far as he could to look over at us. We could tell by the look on his face, he was equally glad to see us!!

I called his name and he began talking back to me. You could just tell from the tone and all his talking he was telling us he had had quite a night. Afraid that he might decide to move, I looked around for the closet route to him. That meant climbing through a barbed wire fence around the mound of trees and back through more of the barbed wire fence.

Dandy followed me with his eyes turning to face me as I worked my way around to him. Thankfully he wasn't moving from that spot he just didn't want to let me out of his sight.

I walked up to him carefully reaching for his halter. I didn't breathe a sigh of relief until I knew I had him. But even then, I didn't trust that it was over. Not until we had the horse safely back in camp would I believe this nightmare was over.

Looking around I couldn't even figure out how he had gotten here. There was not an obvious route just lots of downed brush and trees and overgrowth. Rachel is the one who figured how to get to us. Once I saw her approaching I began walking the horse towards her.

Even after we got out from behind the huge pile of trees I still wasn't sure about the way back to camp but Rachel knew exactly where she was. So she led the way and Colleen, Dandy and I followed.

I had Colleen take my cell to begin calling the searchers off. Just as she placed her first call, Crytal called in on her cell. She was already on sight. I laughed as Colleen called the gentleman who answered Cindy's phone Cindy. It really showed how stressed we all had been. He said he'd call the searchers off and he knew they'd be glad to hear we'd found our horse.

Not until we got back to camp and I had a leadrope on him and he was safely tied did I begin to check him over to see if he was all right. He had a cut on his left front pastern, a hole torn on the inside of his blanket and rub marks on his face from his halter. He must have gotten caught many times through the night and pulled himself free.

The horse was also badly sucked up. It was clear he'd had a long hard night. Crystal gave him banamine and we withheld food until we knew that he was drinking well. We would watch him over the next couple of hours to see if it was even reasonable to use him to take down the markers from the trail ride. There was one thing we were all clear on............Dandy was definitely grounded!

To be continued.............

The cocky foal in the picture of above. That would be Dandy. If anyone has any questions how this horse could have run off away from the other horses, just look at that attitude! That is why!! lol



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Adventures for Rachel and Grandma and Arabian Horses at the St Jude's Children's Hospital Ride Part 4

Part 1

"There he goes!" were the words of the eleven year old as the big gelding made his escape. I wasn't five steps away from the Arabian horse when he fled the scene. Shannon raced along behind him telling him if she ever caught him she was going to beat him like he was her own. (Something she learned from the trainer at her barn.)Dandy was undaunted by her attempts to stop him. He just kept heading deeper into the woods.

In the meantime I hollered at the others that we had a loose horse and instructed them to head towards the other end of the pathway to see if they could cut him off. I, too headed around in that direction. I knew there was no way we were going to catch him coming at him from behind. The pathway was too narrow and all movement would be interpreted by the horse as pressure driving him farther away.

The girls reached the horse long before we adults. Rachel almost got a hold of his halter but he pushed into her nearly knocking her down and galloped off. The three girls followed until they lost him in the dark. By that time Lilli and I had gotten to where we thought the pathway the horse had been on intersected with the one we were travelling. We couldn't see a thing. We couldn't hear the girls or the horse. It was definitely too dark to be in the woods searching for a horse.

Thank God for cell phones. I called Rachel and told her she and the girls needed to come back to camp. We could not risk a person getting lost searching for this horse even if he was a very special horse. It just wasn't smart to be searching in the woods after dark. We would have to wait until morning light before we could begin searching again. In the meantime, I would make some phone calls to see if I could get some help on horseback.

The first thing I did was call 911. I knew they probably wouldn't help us find the horse. But if he did manage to find his way out of the woods onto the roads, if anyone found him and reported it, they would know how to contact us.

I was correct they would not come out and look for him. They did, however, take down an exact description of the horse, his last seen location and what he was wearing at the time. Yes, he was dressed!

The horse was wearing a Big D navy plaid blanket and a burgundy halter. Depending on how you look at it, the clothing could be good news or bad news. It would protect him from getting scratched up. BUT it would also be a means to trap the horse if branches or vines from this dense underbrush grabbed onto the fabric or got stuck up underneath or through it.

Then I had Rachel call Colleen. I knew that Colleen would be able to make calls for me and I could conserve the battery on my cell phone. Colleen managed to get a hold of Crystal. Crystal in turn called the people from her barn and her ex-cop husband had some contacts of his own. From there I was able to build a list of contacts for the Backcountry Horsemen. If anyone could help us find a horse on these trails, these were the people for the job.

Unfortunately, the Backcountry Horsemen had two big events that weekend. Most of them were gone to Packwood or to Buck Creek. Both locations were more remote than ours, these riders would probably not be accessible to us.

By the time I quit calling at 10:30 pm I still had only phone numbers on other Backcountry Horseman who might be able to help. Crystal would be coming in the morning for sure, as would Colleen, Crystal was still working on rounding up others from her barn. I knew I would have at least a couple of riders but no one that knew the area was available to help locate my missing horse.

The camper that had been left for Lilli to use had it's own generator so I was able to recharge my cell phone. Even with all the calls Colleen had made for me, my phone was near dead. The calls for the morning needed to be made by me, I was the only one with the information that was needed to get help. While the generator was noisy and kept everyone from sleeping, I had to have my phone recharged if I was to get any help at all that knew these woods.

I can't even tell you what it was like to try to go to sleep knowing that my first born Arabian foal was lost in the woods. While we hadn't told the girls both Lilli and I had seen evidence of bears, coyotes and cougars on our trail marking trip. These woods were teeming with wildlife and some of it was carnivorous. I felt guilty trying to sleep at all.

Racing through my mind were thoughts of my horse out there and what I would do if we didn't find him. The fact that I had just been posting here about the loss of his mother, Scandalous, had my emotions already raw. Now faced with the fear of losing Dandy, my heart seemed to be tied in knots. It was going to be a long night.

To be continued....................

Part 5


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Adventures for Rachel and Grandma and Arabian Horses at the St Jude's Children's Hospital Ride Part 3

Part 1

Rachel had decided the day before we were to leave for the ride that Friday was going to be a fun day at school so she didn't want to go on the ride. Since the plans had been made for about two months to do this together, her mother and I decided that she was going with me.

I hadn't realized that she was so angry about coming along on the ride but it certainly made it much clearer what all the jigging was about with Dandy. I have seen Rachel take her attitude out on the Arabian horse more than once (although I'd put a quick stop to it). As a matter of fact, I can usually tell at home when he's worried about her because he gets nervous.

It hadn't occurred to me that she was still mad about having to come along. I guess I had assumed she had accepted our decision and would just go with it an have fun. Now, it was obvious that was not the case. I'm not even going to go into how badly my feelings were hurt over her outburst. I'm just going to say it's the first time I've gone on one of these trips that I wished I was home.

So after her outburst, I told Rachel to get off the horse. I gave her instructions on cleaning him up because he was a sweaty mess from all the stress and jigging. I also had her give him a Vetrolin rinse to help with soreness.

Normally, when camping with horses, I highline them. For those who don't know what that is. You find two big strong trees a nice distance apart and tie a strong rope high overhead between them. Then the horse's lead is attached to that line. The horse can move back and forth but can't run off.

This last winter we had so many storms with gale force winds, there were downed trees and branches everywhere. Where there had been lots of good locations to highline horses before, I was unable to find even one good spot. So instead I tied a rope corral to keep Dandy contained. I used the horse trailer for part of my posts and trees for the rest.

Sometimes I do that here on my farm in the summer. My "yard" includes a big area to accommodate big rigs for hay and shavings etc. That area has a lot of grass and it seems a shame to mow it down when the horses could be eating, so I rope off part of the yard. I used to own a gelding that would figure out how to duck under that rope but other than that it keeps all of my horses contained. So I felt comfortable using it with good ole Dandy in the woods.

Legs on the other hand, I left tied in the trailer. I didn't close it up or even the partition so he had some room to move around. Then I kept food and water in front of him the whole time to keep him happy. He was a good boy. No one ever knew there was a stallion in those woods by his behavior.

Dandy, even with the run of his corral, still found the time to go in and steal hay from Legs. Legs must have been happy to have the company because he never did protest about Dandy taking any of his food.

Once the horses were all situated, Rachel put up the tent in the opening right behind one of the sides of the corral. Except for a narrow opening on each side, the tent made a barrier along that edge of the corral. There really wasn't much room for a horse to go or people for that matter.

By then it was dinner time. Rachel brought her own recipe of chicken that she cooked on the camp stove. Lillie shared a recipe of thinly sliced steak cooked in butter and soy sauce. Then we had steamed vegetables, potatoes, corn on the cob and stuffing. The food was wonderful. I can honestly tell you I've never eaten such great food on a camping trip before.

It was getting close to sundown by the time we finished with dinner. We all went off our different directions to make sure everything was in order for bed before we lost our light. As I made my final check on the horses, Dandy decided to run for it!
That's right, Dandy ducked under the rope, trotting between the tent and the dense brush and then literally ran off into the darkness with an eleven year old in hot pursuit!

To be continued..................

Part 4

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