Hi all,
I would love to try and make it on the 2nd, but am not yet sure if I will be able to, because I am going to be starting a new job. I will be sure to stay in touch!
FWIW, I am not anywhere near you guys, but my endurance buddies speak glowingly about Hard Labor. I haven’t been up there yet, but it is definitely on my to-do list.
LMH – if you are thinking of a first camping trip, Hard Labor would probably be ideal.
But, be WARNED. If you start this stuff, you will be forever captured and taken to the dark side. I have 125 miles in LD on my TB event horse now and am having a BLAST.
Also, fwiw, I am quite intimidated by a CTR – I found starting in 25 mile limited distance much less scary – fewer rules to remember but also a fabulous group of very fun folks! 
Best of luck and have a blast!!
Libby
A good portion of the orange loop is gravel road. I am sure your horses have wonderful feet, but I thought I’d warn you in case you wanted to take boots along. I haven’t ridden it since Labor Day, though. I did ride part of the blue trail a couple of weekends ago. We made it to the river crossing and my friend (who has has issues being dumped a few times lately) decided she wasn’t up for the river crossing. I do think the blue trail is more enjoyable.
Not sure if I can make it up, but I hope you all have fun.
Thanks for the gravel tip! I am packing by Old Mac’s for sure…how steep are the hills? Big creek crossings?
Is there anything on the orange trail that a TB show horse should be aware of…he isn’t exactly the most outdoorsy of horses!:lol:
Hmmm…
Re: gravel and horse boots. I was just speaking to the CTR guru at the barn about that and she said anything but easy boots are illegal in competition - so no Boa boots, no Old Macs. (No splint boots, no bell boots either.) I’m not sure which organization she does and I don’t know if the Dawson Creek ride is “recognized”, or is it “sanctioned” in the CTR world? 
But you should probably check the rulebook.
Also I have a map of Dawson Forest with the trails clearly marked (simply and in color - it’s the one you can pick up at the park) but I can’t find an equivelant online. LMH (or anyone else) if you PM me your snail mail address I’ll make copies and send you one.
CTR has the boot restrictions but endurance does not. THe June 23rd is endurance not CTR so boots will be ok.
The boot regs for CTR are kind of a bummer!
Hey gang - I started a Georgia Trail Riding board so we could start planning trail riding get togethers, shall I post the link here, or PT everyone with it?
How about posting it here in case others want ot join?
currently trailerless and south of I-20
But boy o boy could we show you trails. And dirt roads. And country roads that lead to dirt roads. We (buddy Susan and I, plus my horses and maybe someday her foxtrotter) have been tearing up the woods around here, which is north of milledgeville, south of sparta, next door to hancock county, and WAAAAAAY out in the woods. We rode about 15 miles today and crossed a fun wooden bridge over a railroad track, got spooked but good by a trio of yearling mules, and all in all had more fun than humans and equines should be allowed to have. My TNW has endurance or CTR potential, and we would like to do some training rides or enter a CTR but the trailer thang is a big obstacle. It is SO hard to convince a DH that I need a trailer when I can literally ride out my driveway and get swallowed up by miles and miles and miles of dirt roads and powerlines…
Oh jeano want some company one day? I have a trailer and am CERTAIN I could convince someone to join me for the drive 
Yes!
We ride most Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. We can pretty much stick to dirt roads but there is some crossing of pavement and such to be negotiated–horses need to be traffic-wise. And we are 50+ fatties who have to find a stump, a ditch, or a couple bubbas to give us a boost when we mount. And we have gaited nags, but that hardly matters since the walker walks faster than the racker racks, so she has learned to trot since we got the walker, and she has taught him the wicky wack–in other words, whatever you ride, the speed will be all wrong, and your horse will pick up terrible habits from our cut-throats. You would be most welcome here in Redneck Paradise!
Just bumping this back up to get more folks and to share more info.
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Deer Fly season is upon us. Trust me, if you don’t have a crochet-ear-net-thingy for your pony, you’ll wanna buy one.
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If you’ve got a barefoot pony (yes, LMH I know you do): you may want to consider hoof boots. Some of the trails are quite rocky and rife with tree roots.
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If you are even slightly sensitive to poison oak, be prepared to wear long sleeves. There are places where you could get brushed by it and I’d hate to see anyone get the itchies.
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Helmets are mandatory… just had to say it.
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Here is a list of the common spookables. If you believe that your horse just can’t handle them, I’d totally understand your desire to back out:
–Bikes of all kinds: most riders are courteous and let you know they’re coming up behind you on the left. However, the average shmo isn’t courteous. Also, lotsa of kids ride their bikes. Many have pinwheels, sparkles, streamers, etc. decorating their two-wheelers. The only bike that’s ever caused one of my mares to jig is the recumbent bike. They’re low to the ground and that coming up behind them would bring a little heiny tuck-n-jump.
–Wildlife: turkey, squirrels, woodchucks, chipmunks. They scamper and russle in the leaves… sometimes scurry down the trail.
–People: Walkers/joggers are no big deal. However, the rollerblader/skater can be.
–Overpasses: If we take the longest ride, we will be going under Hwy. 61 overpass. Penny herself sometimes needs a few circles to get through but she’ll do it. This could be the one thing that might make an inexperienced trail horse freak because the traffic overhead is very busy and loud. However, I’m quite confident in Penny that, with others in her presence, she’ll move forward just fine… showing them that it won’t eat them. 
I’d rather you all be prepared for the “may be’s” than be surprised.
Tomorrow is the big day!
I am so excited to meet Chocomare and HoneyB!
HoneyB and I are off to ride the Silver Comet Trail with Chocomare as our fearless leader and kind hostess!
I was looking over some trail sites and one actually ranks them as easy/moderate/strenuous.
Bull Mountain appears to have a nice easy/moderate ranking.
Has anyone ever ridden there? And would anyone like to meet there soon for a ride?
It is only 3 weeks until the 11 mile Fun Ride in Dawson so excited to clock some hours on some trails between now and then!
Only 12 more hours! I’ve got Deviled Egg Salad made to go on soft croissants with lettuce and tomato. Fresh fruit salad, bottled water, Gatorade and V8 Fruision (mango/peach) chillin’ in the fridge.
Should be a nice day for a ride!
Chck out this group http://www.ride-ctha.org/
Bull Mountain maps available: B/W printer friendly version
Colorful graphic relief version
wow…I am IMPRESSED!
Can I come every weekend?
Have fun you guys!!! Hopefully I will be able to tag along another day! Be sure to post on how very much fun it is!
It was fun! :yes:
LMH & HoneyB arrived right on time. Made the introductions and howdy-do’s, tacked up and headed down the hay field.
LMH and her handsome Julian totally looked the part, from her cha-cha GPS wrist gadget, to her new Barefoot Cheyenne Treeless saddle (which I secretly coveted ;)) down to her schnazzy stirrups. Ms. HoneyB was quite the classic, with just a wee bit o’bling on Jackson’s browband. Then there was me on big ole’ Clyde-X Penny with my grubby T-shirt, tights, skull cap and gloves. :rolleyes: Oh well!
Out of the whole ride (2-ish hours, 5.5 miles) the biggest thing that Julian LOOKED at was the narrow gap in the treeline at the bottom of the hay field that gets you onto the actual trail. He had to stand there a while and think about it. I turned Penny around and let Julian see her through the tree line and little hoof, by little hoof that good boy went forward.
We saw it all today: bikers galore, the Sheriff’s golf cart, baby strollers, a poodle, hikers and even mountain bikers off road (who very politely got off their bikes and waited for us to pass). Julian looked at all of it but never got really upset and by the time we exited the woods, he had relaxed and just enjoyed himself.
Jackson was the perfect gentleman the whole time. Absolutely nothing fazed that guy. HoneyB even had to get off twice: once when a small branch got stuck in his tail and again to reset/tie Julian’s ear bonnet. We were all glad we had those on our horses because the deer flies were HORRENDOUS!
Once we got back, we had a nice lunch of the above-described Deviled Egg Salad, fruit, chips and water. We had a nice chat, enjoyed the breeze and loved on the barn kitties. LMH almost took Callie Cat home with her but she wasn’t willing to pay the adoption fee. :lol: wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
All in all, it was a lovely ride and I truly hope that you both will come back again. :yes:
-Susan
Great summary Chocomare! All the way down to my new almost-kitty!
Only ONE little correction-this was my lovely Julian-I now know were it Milo my eyes would have been even BIGGER during the entire ride.
Chocomare was a wonderful hostess and her Deviled Egg Salad was the best I have ever had!
What a great experience and man does it give me LOTS to think about regarding exposing horses to these things…though I may start sooner than 9 years on the other horses!
Chocomare is also being ALL too polite-I think the first 30 minutes of the ride my backside could have compacted coal into diamonds!
It is funny the things you notice when new to all this…and I still have my question of the day…
When there is a dropoff how DOES a horse know not to fall off! I mean it is one thing when they are level headed but I kept thinking: If J freaks at a recumbant (spelling?) bike we are going OVER!:lol:
The poodle was hysterical! All in all I think it is was a very successful day! Jackson would have made Canter and the TB reigstry proud…and I never KNEW a Clyde cross could move so fast!
And how cool was it knowing we indeed did go 5.5 miles!
I also know now why Arabs are the endurance breed of choice—I think I would prefer to be a little lower to the ground!!:D:lol:
