In which the Spring Ride was so much fun that we joined the Fall Ride as well

It was raining at home last Friday morning, but I didn't care:

Fiddle and I were heading over to the Dry Side to ride

with the John Wayne Pioneer Wagons and Riders again!

The skies got bluer as I crossed Snoqualmie Pass and headed down the hill towards Thorp

Our first camp was a familiar spot:  the park surrounding the old grist mill in Thorp, only a few miles from the famous Thorp Fruit Stand.

I stopped at the fruit stand to buy apples, blueberries and pears to eat during the trip

We stayed at this camp on Day #3 of the Spring Ride, riding here about 18 miles on the Palouse-to-Cascade Rail Trail from Cle Elum.

The grazing was even more lush in this camp than it was in May!

This time, my friend Jenni wanted to do the ride with me.  She brought her horse Piglet, aka Sir Pig, aka Piggie.  He is an excellent camping horse, but (as you will see) his trail manners still need a lot of work.

Jenni and Piglet did some trail maintenance/pre-ride at the Crazy Daze ride in 2017
--that was the time that we both decided to opt out of the event.

Since I last saw them on the trail together two years ago, Jenni and Piglet have done a lot more training together...

Piglet is becoming quite a talented dressage horse!  (photo stolen from Jenni's facebook page)

...HOWEVER, Piglet's behavior on trails is still not stellar.  As he demonstrated the next morning...

In camp at Thorp, meeting up with friends old and new

Dinner in Thorp was catered by a group of people from Spirit Therapeutic Riding Center in Ellensburg.  

Fried chicken & fixin's!  Sooooo good.

The routine for camp is pretty much the same as it was in Spring:  we saddle horses early, tie them to a tree or something, and drive our rigs forward--westward this time.  In Spring, we went east.

Then we hop on the camp bus and head back to our horses, who are (hopefully) waiting where we tied them.

Ours were waiting just fine.  THAT wasn't the problem.

The problem was Piglet.

I have written several times about fear and stubbornness and horses on this blog.  I tend to be more stubborn than rational at times--and sometimes it pays off for me.

Fiddle was not a good citizen when we first joined forces in 2006.  I've put a lot of work--and stubbornness--
into building her into the solid citizen she has become.  A smarter person would have abandoned her years earlier!

Jenni loves Piglet, but he also scares her.  She has put a ton of work into building her toolbox for riding him--and in the arena, that toolbox is sufficient. 

On a new trail, surrounded by new horses, it wasn't.  Longing him didn't help--she ran him in a circle for more than 30 minutes in the pouring rain without diminishing his knuckleheadedness.

Dr. Kris (DVM) offers advice...and some real help

20 minutes after the vet administered some Real Help, we were able to move down the trail safely.

I was really glad to see Jenni smiling again.  And Piglet was happy to be moving forward!

This leg of the journey contains a few short tunnels.  This is the 57-breath tunnel.

It takes 57 breaths to get through this tunnel--I counted them last time we went through it.

Here's what it looks like from horseback:




Jenni started getting a little nervous mid-way, so she started singing "Mississippi One, Mississippi Two..." until they got out into the light.

Daylight again!

Tunnel survivor

Further down the trail, we found treats.

Feral apple trees!  Of course, I picked a few for myself and a few for my friends.

The weather was less rainy at the end than it was at the start.  I was very glad for the Dragonwalker coat that Joyce built for me a few years ago--it kept me dry and warm!

Prettiness along the trail.  Hoofprints and wagon tracks decorate the sand.

Finally, we reached the next camp:  Cle Elum!  This time I knew enough to park beside a tree, so I'd have a tie-spot for the horses in the morning. 

Home sweet corral.

Next stage:  Cle Elum to Easton.