And it was deliberate. 2 riders on a dirt road, and the arrow hit the tree
behind the 2nd rider, the 2 riders were talking the whole time so not a case
of mistaken identity.
They called the game warden and by the time he got there the hunter was long gone.
Luckily no one was hurt but please if you ride there, report and suspicious hunter
activity to the game wardens :
877 2HUNTNJ is the number you should call.
Sounds like some idiot thought his hunting was being disrupted. Hope it ends there. Arrows don’t go that far, that hunter was close by.
There has been a problem with people moving ribbons for the hunter paces
in that area to, putting them in places that purposelly get them lost.
Word is that it’s teens playing pranks but who knows.
Thank you for sharing this information- I’m out there quite a bit with my friends. We’ll pass the word along and keep our eyes open.
Keep that phone number handy and use it !
What date and time of day?
What date and time of day did this happen? I have trail ridden there over 15 years and never had an issue with the hunters. The hunters are usually out before sunrise, gone to lunch by 11:30-noon and return around 3pm. I rode today, Oct. 4 9am to 11:30 am and saw NO hunters. Would like to know more specifics; date, time, location on the dirt/mitchell road.
I hosted many hunter paces in Assunpink and anytime you offer MONEY as a prize, the ribbons are moved by the previous RIDERS who want an advantage. The MCH hunt was offering some cash prizes and unfortunately, this always will happen.
It’s sad how stupid people can be. Arrows can be just as deadly as any bullet, ever seen some of those points they use? they look wicked. Wouldn’t take much of a hit to cause some serious damage. And then if cross bows are allowed, they can have some extra power behind them.
As for the ribbon moving, I am surprised at such things, seeing how many seemingly honest law abiding citizens are actually dishonest at heart. Do they actually think they would enjoy winning when they knew they won dishonestly? I suppose the event organizers will have to resort to some kind of difficult to move trail markers. Or some spy system so they can disqualify the marker movers. Just announcing that there will be hidden cameras on some of the trail corners might be enough.
reubenT:
those people don’t ENJOY winning. They WIN. Any way they can.
I was at a ride which had gates. A rider rang in to say she couldn’t open a gate, which she had seen a rider go through while she was a fair distance away. We had to send an official out to open it. It was quite easy to find out who it was, and he was disqualified even though he protested that he had just closed the gate as he found it.
Other people knock markers down so they can’t be seen in the distance. Nothing is sacred to such people, but they’re everywhere.
[QUOTE=Assunpink trail rider;7198439]
What date and time of day did this happen? .[/QUOTE]
This was on Saturday, September 28th in the morning. The person who got shot at is an aqauintance, not prone to exaggeration or hysterics. We were arriving as they were leaving. It occured on the dirt road heading toward Agress, going away from the corner in Roosevelt, but fairly close to the corner.
[QUOTE=Roxyllsk;7197831]And it was deliberate. 2 riders on a dirt road, and the arrow hit the tree
.[/QUOTE]
So they found the arrow? They also have a pretty good idea of who did it, just no proof…
i thought that arrows have markings that id the hunter. or maybe it’s only among certain bow arrow hunters?
i’ve been a multi-user at assunpink for years (dog walking, horseback riding, running) and never encountered hostility from hunters. i’m sure it’s just one bad apple but then that’s all it takes.
i volunteer at what used to be known as canal ride at 6 mile run (now known as the ride for the ribbons) and for 30 years there was no marker vandalism. then two years ago not only were markers vandalized prior to ride day but the morning of, after i went through to make sure all was fine, someone went after me and removed some of the markers. i think as the parks get more users of all types, these types of incidents become more common. it’s unfortunate. on one hand we all benefit from the parks’ popularity because of funding but on the other hand you get mean people, or ignorant people, or some with their own agenda who interfere with the ability of other users to enjoy the park 
[QUOTE=apprider;7202563]
So they found the arrow? They also have a pretty good idea of who did it, just no proof…[/QUOTE]
I heard that it hit a tree by the 2nd rider. Did not hear if they recovered it or not.
I have been on many hunter paces over the years, and the only place that I have
heard of markers being moved was at Assunpink. And in one case (this spring) I know they were moved PRIOR TO the start of the pace, as I was helping set the time and we were out before anyone else on the day of the pace. So it could not have been
by riders who were being dishonest.
There has always been some tension between the hunters and riders up there. Most
hunters are very considerate and safety concious, but then there are others that are not.
Many years ago I was riding with a group on my very green horse, and there were hunters
walking across the road in front of us. We asked them if we could pass as they were
blocking the road. They did, but as soon as we got in front of them, they shot their
guns into the air behind us and laughed. Seriously. My horse bolted and I was lucky
to have stayed on.
The intent of my post was to let people know that this happened, and to share the
contact number for people to report anything suspicious while riding up there.
[QUOTE=Assunpink trail rider;7198440]
I hosted many hunter paces in Assunpink and anytime you offer MONEY as a prize, the ribbons are moved by the previous RIDERS who want an advantage. The MCH hunt was offering some cash prizes and unfortunately, this always will happen.[/QUOTE]
I am not understanding how a team can meet time to win if they are taking the time to remove/move markers.
[QUOTE=trubandloki;7203575]
I am not understanding how a team can meet time to win if they are taking the time to remove/move markers.[/QUOTE]
Exactly, I think it would be difficult to do that. It’s not the fastest time, it’s the time closest to ideal that wins.
[QUOTE=Roxyllsk;7203586]
Exactly, I think it would be difficult to do that. It’s not the fastest time, it’s the time closest to ideal that wins.[/QUOTE]
Oh I realize that it is closest to optimal. It just does not seem logical as it would be pretty time consuming to remove and relocate trail markers.
I truly have a hard time believing that horse people would put winning a small purse at a hunter pace over the safety of the other riders out there.
The paces I go to the riders are more the type to wait until you are close enough so they can warn you that there is a hole that the marker flag might not be obvious on or such.
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