The National Drive 2009!! - UPDATE!!!

[Ashemont]

We arrived late last night. It was raining lightly but pretty much stopped while we unloaded (thank you!). For two old physically challenged drivers, Joe and I did quite well unloading the two horses, two ponies, two carriages and all of their accoutrements. Horses and ponies were all happy to be off of the trailer and bedded down - except for Maya (one of my ponies). She wanted to be in the stall with Maggie and kept hollering and hollering. Of course none of the other three would answer her because they were all lhappily munching hay. Even Mehru, our 'baby' 4 year old horse, took it all in stride.

We got settled in the campground after cleaning out the back of the trailer (Joe even brought a power washer along for the task) and walking the dogs. Slept well but woke up to a chilly but bright and clear morning.

All critters are fine. Ponies, Aussie puppy and me had a great drive on the White trail, which includes two water crossings :D Joe took a couple of friends for a drive with the horses and then lent the horse pair to our friend Jackie for a lesson with Bill Lower.

It's been fun seeing old friends and making new connections. Have met some folks from the CD-L but so far no COTHers. We're in the uphill side of Barn 18 facing Barn 19 if any of you are here. C'mon by and go for a drive with us :)

[justslide]

Wish we were there with you! Have a great time and keep us updated!

Pam

[Cartfall]

There you are !!! Was rather concerned we hadn;t heard from you!!

Keep us informed of all the activities!!! ONe day I will make it!!!

[Ashemont]

Another fun day at TND :) This morning was just PERFECT! Cool and sunny. Took the girls out with a friend who was most impressed with the progress we've made (she's known the girls since I got each of them and she's a dressage judge). Then I swung by the vendor area and took one of the gals from Gloria Austin's out to see the Park. Amy thoroughly enjoyed the drive - especially the hazards and the water :winkgrin:

After lunch we hitched the horses and Joe drove. It was getting cloudy and chilly but we still had a great drive, doing hazards and water. Phoenix is such a different horse from 3 years ago! Can't wait for Mehru to mature 'cause they are going to be an awesome pair!! :)

We unhitched as the rain hit. Didn't have to wash the carriage as Mother Nature took care of that. It was a deluge! Hosed horses off and put them up with coolers.

Leia was to have a lesson with the ponies with Bill Lower but totally got rained out :( We were willing and girls wouldn't have minded the rain but Bill decided against it. So Leia helped me do horse chores. Of course, then the rain let up and it was nice.

At 4:30 Shelley from Pleasurethyme (Kutzmann carriages) hosted a wine and cheese party in the pavillion with a bluegrass band. We sat with Lyle Peterson and his wife and had a nice visit.

Now back at the trailer and getting ready to shower and turn in. Sure hope the rain by-passes us the rest of the weekend. But even with wet weather it's still a good time because the folks are all so great :yes: :D

BTW I thought we'd be the only ones with an Aussie here but there seem to be more of them than anything else! Kate's the only red merle I've seen so far but there are blue merles, red tri's, black tri's and a few others. Maybe we can start a trend for a new standard in carriage dogs???? ;)

[Ashemont]

Well yesterday was simply miserable :( Rain, cold, gray, yucky! There was the occasional break and folks would get hitched only to get soaked a few minutes later. Some hardy soles drove anyway but the Trace Pace was canceled. And I think the vendors sold out of rain gear and sweatshirts!

I went down by myself to feed and tuck the kids in, and the rain stopped! It looked hopeful so I hitched the ponies and we had great fun. Finally got onto the cones course and did two runs - the second at mostly a gallop! The footing was sloppy but not slick and the ponies really enjoyed themselves :)

Walking back to the barn we passed Leia who asked for a ride. Her lesson with the ponies had gotten rained out the day before and she ended up having a wreck with a mini :( Spent over 3 hours in the ER but was just a bit banged up - nothing broken. Today she was back driving again so I'm sure she's going to be fine - and so is the mini.

Last night Harvey Lagasse of Journey's End Carriage was mugged in the Taco Bell parking lot!!! His quick reaction saved him and nothing was taken. But Harvey took a couple of good sucker punches and wasn't quite his usual spry self today. We took him out for a ride with the horses and the bumps in the fields were too much for him, so we stayed on the road. Never would've expected that in Georgetown!

Had a couple of nice drives with the ponies today after the Parade Through the Park (we were the leaders!). Then we did lunch and returned to take the horses out. It was nice to see some other COTHers, folks from my CarolinaHorses Yahoo group, and the CD-L. No more rain but the temps have dipped. Sure hope tomorrow is sunny at least.

[Cartfall]

Poor Harvey, tell him Les and I send hugs and kisses.

Poor Leia!!! Hope she is okay.

Sounds like you and Joe are having fun !!

[Ashemont]

Well wouldn't you know it... the last day was just gorgeous! Started out a bit chilly but otherwise lovely :)

Harvey is fine and so is Leia, thank goodness! Heard of a couple of other wrecks but it seems no one was seriously injured.

We missed a lot that we wanted to see and do because of the bad weather. TND tried to still fit everything in with the result that the scheduled went out the window. Those of us who didn't get up in time to make the drivers' meeting in the morning were out of luck. Not only did we miss the coffee and donuts but we also missed the schedule :( Consequently no Mimosa Drive for us :( :(

It was a perfect day for driving and we sure took advantage of is. Hitched the horses first and gave some acquaintances a nice ride. Then Bob Giles was itching to take the reins so we went with him through the cones and around a hazard. He kept saying "Cadillac! This pair is a Cadillac!!!" When Bob was finished I drove the SUV for a bit. Quite a change from the Sportscar I'm used to :lol:

The ponies got out after lunch and again it was just a delightful drive. We did cones, practiced our dressage test for Pine Tree CDE, did some conditioning trots then practiced hazards and water. Surprisingly the girls STILL didn't want to return to the barn ;)

We said bye as we watched the vendors pack out one by one. Then we got our stuff organized for the trip home tomorrow.

We did manage some last minute shopping at Horse Threads and Journey's End. Even got to order a new seat for my carriage - you should see the new ergonomic design from Kutzmann! Perfect for my aging body :winkgrin:

Always kinda sad when TND comes to a close. It was especially sad today because of the rain which intruded on so many things and cause cancellation of others. And then TND will not be in KY next year due a conflict with WEG, So we won't get to go again for two years. Maybe by then we'll have sense enough to bring fewer animals :D Ya think????

[pricestory]

This year was definately colder and wetter than the past, and I have been to them all. But I had a great time. Besides driving Poppy, I got to ride with Pat's horse pair and Amy's hackney horse. All very fun. I also went to Leslie's for a day with the Gotlands between the CDE and the ND which gave me even more respect for the Gotlands. Wish I could have seen the 4 she did on Sunday but I was headed home.

[hobbyhorse23]

Yes, life was definitely interesting at the Drive this year. The mini I got to borrow for the Drive was awesome but something stung her or bit her on the right hind as we were driving the perimeter of the park with friends on Thursday night and she started violently kicking and bolted. (Of course I had taken off the precautionary kick strap just that morning.) We still would have been fine but she managed to land a kick on my shin and pushed my foot off the roadster stirrup, causing me to lose my balance and tumble out of the cart. I got caught up in the wheel and reins and dragged for a bit until I got free and she continued to run, eventually getting stuck in one of the only trees/shrubs in the entire however-many-acre field. She broke the singletree and the stitching on the backstrap of her harness but the damage was really pretty minimal and we both walked back to the barn under our own limping power. By the time I got back to the barn my left wrist was swelling and turning funny colors and my friends insisted I go to the ER as they figured I'd fractured it. X-rays proved it was only soft tissue damage but my right shoulder was severely wrenched and I could barely walk for the bruising on my right leg. Pain meds and splinting are good!

We got rained out again on Friday but I did end up driving for a few minutes although my right shoulder would give out any time I tried to take up the right rein so I used a lot of Achenbach. Saturday I was better and so was the weather so I long-lined the two minis as a tandem for the first time and Sunday the sun finally came out for real and we put them together in the cart and joined the last part of the Mimosa Drive as a honest-to-goodness tandem. That was such a blast!! The girls really got it as we went cross-country and within fifteen minutes were doing simultaneous transitions and straight immobile halts and all sorts of things I wasn't expecting them to master yet. It was really neat!

Like Ashemont I missed a lot of things I had planned because of the weather and I missed the CD-L get-together due to the ER trip but it was still really fun and I'm so glad I went. Pat's girls are LOVELY and I think Mehru and Phoenix are going to be awesome when Mehru grows up a bit. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again in 2011!

Leia

[Yip]

Oh, wow, I'm glad you weren't seriously hurt.

I long-lined the two minis as a tandem

I've never even heard of anyone doing that!

How di you do it? How did you couple them during the longlining? How many lines does it take? How did you hold the lines?

Yip

[hobbyhorse23]

It seemed sensible to me to try it out of the cart before we did it with the cart. I think that's normal procedure but maybe I'm wrong! *LOL* I hitched the two horses the same way you do when driving a tandem- the leader's extra-long reins were run through rings on the wheeler's bridle and saddle then back to my hands. I used bailing twine to extend the leader's traces and then connected them to the wheeler's breastcollar with snap shackles so we could release them quickly in an emergency. For ground-driving I connected the wheeler's breastcollar to her tied-down tugs with carabiners and then ran the holdbacks through the tugs as well so the leader couldn't pull the breastcollar forward off the wheeler's chest. The only thing I didn't have was a tandem whip so the horses' owner walked beside the leader and popped her every time I gave a voice command until she learned to move up from my voice alone. This is definitely not something you attempt by yourself, even with minis!

I held the lines the way I'd been shown, which was with the leader's lines coming over the top of my hand and the wheeler's coming up from the bottom as normal. I took loops to turn and could definitely see the importance of learning Achenbach for tandem before trying this again- it was very difficult to shorten and lengthen rein as quickly as necessary when you couldn't just slide your hand! Still, it worked, and for a maiden voyage for both me and the horses it went quite well. The biggest problem we had was the leader wanting to hang back and become a pair when I made her go by an arena gate or barn aisle she wanted, but she forgot that when she did that she brought herself within reach of my whip. *LOL* The problem resolved itself shortly after I reminded her of that.

Leia

[Yip]

Wow! I wish I had a video of that, beginning with the harnessing you described. You certainly had it well-planned!

Yip