Trail Ride Poker Run - 13th Time's the Charm

It's August and time for the monthly Poker Ride and Extreme Cowboy Race Weekend at the barn! I'll admit originally I wasn't going to do it, but then that Friday evening Bob asked me if I was coming along and before I could do anything my mouth went and said "Sure, I'll be there!". Stupid mouth!

By this time I'm pretty blasé about group trail rides, so I didn't hurry to get to the barn, I brought Quzqo in from the field, put him in his stall to enjoy a flake of hay while I organized my tack. I was still saddling him up by the time the indoor arena was full of trail riders warming up and familiarizing themselves with their loaner horses.

No Amish this time around!

Quz was sort of mellow about the whole affair as well. Maybe he does pick up on my emotions. I didn't even bother mounting up until everyone else was heading for the gate to go outside...I figure the less time sitting in the saddle, the happier my butt will be!

Despite the lying Weather Channel radar, there was a steady drizzle falling, probably that light stuff that doesn't show up on radar. But it was the lower 60's, I had enough layers on, and my tack is fugly, so who cares if it got damp. We ended up with around 14 horses and riders, and headed off!

Quzqo and I started out 4th in the line. As is usual, by the time we reached the road, about a mile's distance, we were dead last. I don't even worry about it any more, I know it's going to happen. I think he prefers it like that!

He also sported a bright red ribbon on his tail, and I was surprised at how many people assumed it was just decoration, and I had to explain to them about the kicking thing. Once they found out he kicks, they gave us wide berth. I recommend red ribbons even if your horse doesn't kick; it keeps people from letting their horses crowd you!

One of the riders compared Quzqo to the Arabian in "The Thirteenth Warrior"...I take that as a complement! And surrounded by all the big stock horses, he did sort of look like "Ahmed's" little Arabian! Jumps like him, too!

Hey, look, even their weather is similar!!

Quz, for the most part, behaved admirably, I was surprised! No kicking, no fussing, no drama queen temper tantrums. Maybe it was the grey day and drizzle that put a damper on things. In fact, most the horses behaved admirably. Must have been the weather!

The woods were amazing!! Normally this time of year, everything is dried and brown and dormant due to all the heat and lack of rain. This has been a unique summer, in that it's been much cooler than normal, with above average rainfall. As a result, the forest floor was carpeted with more diverse mushrooms and fungi than I can ever recall seeing! Bright fire engine red, bright yellow, orange with spots, black, white, creamy, splotchy, upright, flat to the ground, clusters, singles. If I was alone I probably would have dismounted many times to take photos, assuming I had my camera with me.

Unfortunately the heavy rainfall also meant that the Black Hole Of Sucking Death, i.e. the patch of mud at the bottom of a swamp on the trail, would be under water, and it was. The scene of our spectacular 13th-Warrior-Caliber leap on July's poker run came up sooner than I'd like, and I surprised myself by being absolutely terrified as we approached. It was bigger. It was wider. It was longer. It was deeper. It was six feet across and totally submerged in standing water. Fear gripped my very being, Quzqo became all wound up and antsy. Recall the trail here is about three feet wide with sharp drop-offs into swamp on either side. The front horses crossed without issue, being either too young or too stupid to know they should be afraid. The huge grey Quarter Horse in front of us was terrified, and proceeded to back his ample backside down the trail towards us, but we had horses behind us, and no place to go!

Last time some of the riders opted to go off the trail and lead their horses around the mud pit. The ground was uneven and soggy, but it wasn't a foot deep in black tarry mud and standing water. Bob's wife, Pam, dismounted and began to lead her horse off the trail. I felt like I was sitting on a water balloon filled with nitro-glycerine about to explode...Quzqo WANTED to go forward. He WANTED to jump the damned mudhole...I could tell he was rarin' to go, to go leaping skyward and kill Sue in the process!!!

He stood still for a split second, and I took that opportunity to jump off! As soon as my feet hit the ground I felt 1000% safer and calmer and more confident! Quzqo also settled slightly, and we moved aside to let the big grey Quarter Horse move back to the end of the line so his rider could calm him down a bit.

I tried to lead Quzqo off the trail and down into the swamp...he'd have none of it. He balked, he threw his head up, he refused. I turned my back on him and just began walking. True to form, he followed, but only after LEAPING off the trail and landing in the squelchy grass inches from my feet! The next step sucked my shoe right off my left foot as we headed into the bushes. Surrounded by saplings and branches, I had to stop and turn to get the shoe, with Quzqo blessedly patiently standing in the swamp, up to his fetlocks in muck and moss. Retrieving the shoe, we managed to wind our way through the tangle of branches and ferns and fallen trees, my stocking foot squishing in the mud...all I could think of was my tender little toes mere inches from Quzqo's mighty little Arabian hooves.

The other riders who were on foot followed by a different, longer route, but their horses were taller and I don't think they could have fit through the route we took. I stopped long enough to put my wet shoe on my wet foot, and with the help of a raised bank of dirt, managed to get back on Quz without further incident!

Can't tell you how RELIEVED I was to be past that damned mudhole! We all agreed we'd gladly donate money and labor to the Michigan Trail Riders' Assocation to build a bridge over that horror!! Gladly!!!

The rest of the ride was thankfully uneventful, other than the constant drizzle combined with occasional actual rain. One good thing, it kept the bugs down, and it kept the dirt bikers and rednecks in pick-up trucks home and traffic to a minimum.

Quz did surprisingly well. He didn't spook once, he didn't shy, he trotted when asked, he cantered when asked, he backed and side-passed when asked. He was even a little more patient when we stopped to receive our poker cards. I seriously think the weather had a lot to do with it!

As usual, the ride took over four hours. My poker hand was laughably bad and I only hung around long enough to grab a hot dog and a cup of coffee before heading home. But I was happy enough to have had an actually enjoyable ride on a sane, level-headed Arabian for once! Good friends, good horses, not too horrible weather. That's what it's all about!

Left to right: Lorraine (Pam's student) on Colby, Pam on Tru, and me on Himself.