All posts tagged blue ridge pony

Simon Cannot Stand on 2 Legs

Wednesday afternoon I was picking out Simon’s hooves when he tried to stomp a fly with one of the three hooves he still had on the ground. Normal he is quite talented at standing on two hooves, but he got something wrong this time and started to fall over. To catch himself he smashed the hoof I was holding up into the ground, with the pointy, iron shod toe, smashing directly into my big toe (I did have jodhpur boots on)

Ouch.

No really, major ouch!

I hopped around for a few minutes, feeling like I was going to barf, but managed to get him tacked up and climbed on for a ride. I cut is short as my boot started to feel uncomfortably tight in the toe region, and pulled my boot off.

Here is a photo of my broken big toe, which is very hurty but appears straight and a little purple, but is otherwise in good order.

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by riderofchaos on June 1, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Pony Stuff

Tagged blue ridge pony

Posted by riderofchaos on June 1, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/06/01/simon-cannot-stand-on-2-legs/

Cub Run ~ Runkles Gap, After the Burn

Simon happy to greet us in the morning.

Simon spent the night in the dog yard and nickered at the house every time he heard me or Rich in the house. Rich put up a saw horse and bin of dirt to keep him from pushing his way into the actual house.

I find it a funny that Simon is in the dog yard, and Daisy is in the background outside of the dog yard. You can also see part of our garden in the background behind the dogyard in its own fence.

In the morning we got tacked up and headed off to one of our regular quick ride spots, Cub Run at Runkles Gap. It had burned due to arson recently and had just opened back up.

This is what Cub Run looked like while it was burning.

Upon entering National Forest there is a fire road that bares off to the right. Below the road is mostly private property. Above the road is National Forest. It mostly burned above the road. The fire only hopped the road in a few spots, and we could see evidence of the forest service cutting the forest to prevent it from spreading on that side where it did skip over.

It was a nice, relatively short ride. I am interested to return sometime this summer and see how the forest recovers.

Rich took a turn riding Simon.

We saw this turtle crossing the fire road.

There is a lot of dumping at Cub Run. You can see tons of bottles here that survived the fire. Gross.

We stopped at this swim spot on our way back out.

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by riderofchaos on May 17, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Trail Riding

Tagged blue ridge pony, cub run, national forest, runkles gap, trail ride

Posted by riderofchaos on May 17, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/05/17/cub-run-runkles-gap-after-the-burn/

Teaser

I have been busy getting in lots of ride time, and have a couple adventures to write about. But to hold you over until I actually get time to compose these posts, here are some photos of Simon and I at MGAA Mid-Atlantic #1 at PG Equestrian Center the weekend of April 28th. Photo credits to Ryan Crowley who is kind enough to share his art and include Simon and I in it.

Enjoy!

Photo: R Crowley

Simon and I taking it easy in the Bottle Shuttle Race. We are picking up that bottle from the top of the barrel as we turn around it.

Photo: R Crowley

Simon and I in the Litter Race. We ride down the field, turn around the litter and scoop one up with the stick, then ride back towards the start, dropping the litter into a waste bin. The litter are old style water bottles with the ends cut off. Its much harder to do that it appears.

Photo: R Crowley

Simon and I completing the 4-Flat Race. We had collected a colored flag, and need to slide it into a small slot that matches the color of the flag.

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by riderofchaos on May 14, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Mounted Games

Tagged blue ridge pony, mgaa, mid atlantic #1, mounted games, mounted games across america

Posted by riderofchaos on May 14, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/05/14/teaser/

MGAA Mid-Atlantic #1 ~ 2012

Team Old School
Zoe, Carol Ann, Linda, Krista, Kim
Photo: Genevieve Arens

This past weekend was the big season opener for the east coast mounted games season. We kicked it off with the first edition of the MGAA Mid-Atlantic Series held at the Price George’s Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Simon and I rode with our team, Old School, including usual team members; Linda, Kim and Carol Ann. We also asked our friend Zoe to join us for the weekend with her pony Cheyenne.

I started off the weekend with a lengthy hack around the grounds and then joined up with teammates and friends for a a nice little practice on Friday afternoon to help work out some of the silliness.

Photo: Genevieve Arens

Apparently it wasn’t enough because the first session on Saturday started out with Simon a little full of himself. This is typical of Simon, and something I just need to expect and work through until he grows out of it. He did a few little rears (I suspect his hooves are only going one or two feet off the ground) and some leaping starts and a few slow take offs when receiving hand offs. We also took out the end barrel in bottle shuttle, which I am blaming on Simon’s silliness and lack of focus. I managed to reset it relatively quickly without needing to dismount, and proceeded on. The rest of the session was pretty clean with very few mistakes team wide.

Photo: Genevieve Arens

Simon took a little lunch time nap in his portable corral while I took my turn as an assistant referee for the intermediate division.

Nap Time
Photo: Me

Photo: Genevieve Arens

We returned for the afternoon session with Simon in full effect. He moved out, he stopped, he turned, and I felt like we were a well matched pair with great communication and a worthy member of our team. I did miss a flag put in the 3 Pot Flag race. It was totally my fault and Simon was right there, ready to help me pull off a quick correction. Otherwise the session was pretty clean for Simon and I, with just a few other mistakes throughout the team.

Zoe lookin good in Navy and Yellow
Photo: Genevieve Arens

That night we had a fun potluck and social affair at our camp site. We got in lots of laughs and took down some good eats. We also took the moment to invite Zoe to be an official member of the team and she accepted! Yea!

Simon first off the Line
Photo: Ashley Desjardins

Zoe fits right in with the four of us and is such an upbeat, easy going person. She is fun and a real joy to have around. She is also a good rider and an asset to have in races. I am thrilled she accepted and is going to be sporting navy and yellow with us. So yea, Old School is now a 5 man team!

Hand off to Kim
Photo: Genevieve Arens

Sunday we woke up from a night of rain to a warm sunny morning. We hit the field feeling good and the team rode very well. Simon and I had a snafu in the Ball and Cone race, which is generally a pretty strong race for us. He is a true fossil pony, and will stand nicely for me to complete technical tasks like balancing tennis balls on the tops of cones. But Sunday, although he was stopping and standing, he kept turning to face the cone when I would lean over to place the ball, thereby putting it out of my reach. We were eventually successful, but it took a few attempts to reach the cone and ate up too much time. I was rather disappointed in this race, but overall, we had a very clean session with just a few mistakes team wide.

Simon waiting for the call to the start line
Photo: Ashley Desjardins

The 15 race session blew past in no time and we found ourselves in a solid second place at the end. The other teams were fantastic. Particularly our friendly favorites, Time Flies, who rock the pink and black gear. They are a fantastic well practiced team, who have a few members that can pull off vaults and reach items floating in buckets of water without dismounting. Two important skills our team very much lacks. Time Flies gives us a real challenge. They push us to try harder, practice more, and push for additional speed and accuracy. And the best part, they are fun and friendly and nothing but enjoyable to ride with. Which is common in the adult division where teams cheer each other on, compliment well pulled off skills and give occasional high fives amongst each other.

Team Time Flies
Photo: Ashley Desjardins

An excellent weekend, with lots of friends, fun, ponies and games. Old School grew in members, and together we have a real challenge to push for this season.

Simon and I got home late Sunday, but I decided not to take our customary Monday off, and we had a nice hack and got in a little technique practice for myself.

Moving into the changeover box for the start
Photo: Ashley Desjardins

In general I am seeing improvement in Simon. After the first session I was very pleased with his starts, and noticed in some photos that he was out front of the other ponies quite often. He also has picked up the pace since last year and made the end of the lane in line with the other ponies, and even ahead on some occasions. His end turns have improved and he has not lost any of his excellent stopping or standing skills. He has also improved slightly in bending poles, which is one of his worst races. This weekend he did not drop his shoulder into any of the poles and he even had a lead change around one of them.

The next two weeks I will be going heavy practicing Ball and Cone, flag puts and turning around barrels.

With the first installment of the series behind us, we have four more to up our game and catch Time Flies.

Photo: Me

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by riderofchaos on May 1, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Mounted Games

Tagged blue ridge pony, fossil division, mgaa, mid atlantic, mounted games, mounted games across america, old school, pg equestrian center

Posted by riderofchaos on May 1, 2012

https://blueridgepony.com/2012/05/01/mgaa-mid-atlantic-1-2012/

Trail Report: Tillman Road – Hearthstone Lake Awkward Loop

Sunday 04/08/12 – Tillman Road, Hearthstone Lake, Awkward Loop

This is a very short loop, a little awkward, and not very direct or clearly developed as a loop.

Simon at the end of our ride

Park: I parked on the side of Tillman Rd where it wraps around Hearthstone Lake Damn.

The lake is stocked with trout

Loop – If standing on the road and facing the damn, ride right along Tillman to the first fire road on the left. It is on a sharp curve in the road and bears up hill. There is a fire road gate, closed.

Travel up the road, it is very short, and ends at the top of the damn. It appears to be a large field. It is earth that is used to create a damn.

Turn left and travel along the top of the earth damn, parallel with Tillman Rd. It will be visable after a bit on the left, down the hill.

The view of the top of the damn. View from the the end of the very short fireroad that loop starts out on.

The Lake will appear on the right. Continue to ride along the top of the damn to the hill. Turn go right and down the damn to the lake. It is a bit rocky under the grass, big rocks, so be weary. There are a few pathes, a few yards in length, that will put you on the trail around the lake. Some of them are rougher than others.

Ride around the lake and out to the fireroad. Follow the fire road up and then down to Tillman, make a left and you’ll be back to where you parked.

The little trail near the lake parking.

I made a few detours along the ride in the name of exploration. The first deviation I made was to pop onto trail #434. This is at the bottom of the fireroad close to the lake parking area. it tromps back through a flood area (which the whole lake area is). It was a neat little twisty trail through soft footing which ends shortly at a creek. You can see across the creek where the trail continues. I spotted one of the yellow blazed trees, but the creek is full of washed up fallen branches and trees. It would be a little difficult to cross on foot, clambering over the wash, but it was certainly out of the question with a pony in tow.

Itchy Pony

I also explored another trail. It was found by continuing just a bit father up the fire road from the lake. At about the crest of the fill is an unnumbered trail on the right. It had two small entrances just a few yards apart, one that was marked by a rather old and shot up “no vehicals” yellow sign.

A pretty photo of the sky that day

I followed this trail up for about 30 minutes. It was mostly up hill but eventially leveled out somewhat. It is cearly a used trail, though not heavily, and was rather over grown. There is currently no way a larger horse would fit on the trail without quite a bit of difficulty. I kept expecting it to pop out at an incredible over look or some super secrete mushroom hunting honey pot spot, but after 30 minutes I had enough of being beat up by the tree branches and over growth and decided to call it.

I turned around and hiked back down on foot with Simon following behind me. There were a lot of broken back branches and there were clear routs repeatedly used to navigate around most of the larger falled debree, although there were still a few newer ones that did not appear to have been previously navigated around.

Itchy Pony photo #2

Another neat feature to this loop, would be the damn over spill pool. It lays near the bottom of the damn, where the road curves around and there is easy pull over for parking. It is not possible to miss from the car while driving on Tillman.

I did not venture down to it on this trip, but it is very clear and blue and rather deep, with good sitting rocks around the edges.

And a bunch of other photos of the day’s adventure. Enjoy.