The day dawned cool, gray & overcast - actually pretty typical weather for Western, WA - but not during August! Driving up to Burlington - I ran through a pretty good little rain storm outside Mt. Vernon. I'd been told that the ride would go on rain or shine & was at least hoping for dry! We all met-up at the stable then headed out for the trail-head. Lots of riders - about 18 & lots of rigs too.
Let the unloading begin!
Cindi Pendel, owner of Butlerhill had done her usual amazing job of matching horses & riders. Some - including myself - brought their personal mounts - but others had opted to ride horses provided by Butlerhill.
We're mounted up & ready to hit the trail!
Everyone was taking photos of everyone else! It's the age of smartphone cameras! :-) Tom & his crew were so gracious in allowing all these amateur photos - unusual in the professional world of TV. Our travel orders were given by head wrangler Patrick & no one objected. They were intended for everyone's safety. Farah seemed to know that this would be no ordinary ride for her. With only a few bucks on the downhill descents she settled in - giving Lee's beautiful 17 hand sorrel as much grief as he would bear from behind! :-) It was so hard to get photos - the pace set was good for all the horses & we didn't have to make as many stops as I'd imagined for the crew to ride out ahead of us & get set-up for filming. I did take the short video below.
Our group was so very l o n g - that it was difficult to make conversation with anyone but the riders near you. I did mention some of the native plants & noted the springboard marks on the old Cedars. It was a shame in a way that it's been so dry, as all the little beautiful waterfalls were down to a trickle. We had a lunch break at the small dry camp near the lake. Now Checkers knows that I'm the Cookie lady too! As usual Mark was riding bridle-less & when I opened my zip-lock of trail mix, I suddenly had a new Best friend in Checkers! :-) (Farah did remember Checkers too - after that snarl that he'd given her earlier this year :-)
Forgot to turn the GPS on for a little way at the start~
Of course, anytime you get the opportunity to hang around with Bill Richey - you'll get plenty of laughs! Bill's dry, New Yorkers sense of humor is never wasted on me! :-) We tossed a few quips each others way during the ride when one or the other of us would appear around a corner of the trail :-)
The "Cowgirl" & the "Cop" - PD too!
No speeding ticket for us! We talked our way out of it! Once we were on the gravel road & almost back to the trailers, I let Farah walk & walk she did - quickly finding her way to the front, we passed Patrick at a 5.1 mph - her fastest to date!
Tom surprised me back at the trailers, when just after I'd taken my helmet off - he interviewed me! We'll see if it makes the final cut - when the show airs, I believe in November. (Farah stuck her head in on the first take - so we had to do a second :-)
Everyone involved with the show could not have been nicer - it made me want to go & visit some of the amazing places that Tom told us about - so much fun listening to just the stories we had time for! He asked what my bucket list ride was - my response - Yosemite! He replied; "Just Do it!" Good advice from a man who does just that!
Sunday started with a short "Cowboy Service" by Mark. A nice way to start the day, enjoyed by all. After some work in the arena under saddle & over obstacles we headed outside into what was to be a beautiful afternoon.
Katie rides Farah through the water~
The "issue" was dropping back in!
With Mark & Checkers
Mark put Farah back on a lead & helped Katie put her back in the water from a lower point on the edge. Farah finally enters again -
She exits even faster!
Not what Mark wanted, she was asked to do it again!
With a snarl from Checkers - a controlled entry :-)
I was so appreciative of Katie's riding! She'd asked to ride Farah - so I picked a "golden moment" to put her in the saddle :-)
The suspension bridge was no problem :-)
I mounted up for the rest of the course. In photos this course looks very reasonable, but when you're in the saddle, heading down a steep downhill & Mark says; "Give her the reins!" I had a hard time turning them loose!
Heading down!
After Farah rushed it & took off at the bottom, which is something that she tends to do... Mark blocked her with Checkers & our next try - with loose reins - was much better :-)
Over the bridge~
Other obstacles were "easy" for us, thankfully. We were all so absorbed in our horses & what Mark was teaching us - that by the time anyone even looked up - it was past three in the afternoon! We'd started at ten in the morning!
Without doubt I find this new discipline challenging! It really shows
you what weaknesses you have & where your strength's lie. The goal
of completing this kind of course as a competitor & scoring well -
has been added to my bucket list! We'll go back!
When you're lucky enough to meet Great people, who own & operate a Super facility & plan a weekend for their guests as good as ours was... it makes for many happy memories!
When our Sno-King Saddle Up group posted a meet-up at Bolender Horse Park for Valentine's Weekend, we made our reservation. We usually plan a trip this time of year, it's our mutual birthday weekend & February can surprise us with decent weather. I first heard about Mark Bolender & Mountain & Extreme Trail Courses from a friend. When we pulled into the beautiful facility on Fri. afternoon, we were met by two interns who directed us to parking & had a stall ready for Farah! We soon met-up with Leigh & her husband Jeff who had already managed to get a recommendation for what I think must have been the best restaurant in the area for dinner! Yes! Our kind of people! I'd told Heather & George about the clinic - so they'd come too! We all turned in pretty early, excited to get started on Sat.
Mark & Lee could not have been more welcoming. On Sat. morning after we'd had breakfast, we met in the arena. Mark gave us an overview of his plan for the weekend. His low key, easy going attitude put everyone - including our horses at ease! There were obstacles set up in the arena & we were to work our horses in-hand - learning to "send" them through the obstacles.
Mark explaining our goals for the day~
There have been many times in my years of riding when I felt like the obstacles we managed to clear were "extreme" - so I was really excited to get out on the course & see how Farah would do. She was probably one of the younger & less experienced horses.
Mark taking Farah through the first of the obstacles~
Once outside, Mark asked me to send Farah through the first obstacle. She evaded... my intent was not clear enough! He took her lead & she did exactly as he directed the FIRST time. He handed the lead to me & she did it for me! Yippee!
Farah Loved the teeter/totter!
I could not believe how easily Farah did the teeter/totter! No problem! Both directions & even turning a 180 in the middle!
She rushed the suspension bridge, but soon accepted it easily!
We had so much fun & did so much that it would take a book just to cover what we learned about ourselves & our horses on this day! From the more experienced riders to we amateurs - everyone went away with a huge feeling of accomplishment!
That was far from the end of our day though - while we'd all be busy out on the course, Lee had been busy setting up for our "Valentine's Dinner"! How nice, to clean-up, sit down & enjoy the company of some really special people.
Super way to end a Super Day!
We were all excited for the next day & riding our horses on the course!
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