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Updated September 16th, 2002
How refreshing the cooler days of September are after the searing heat we endured this summer. Its now much more pleasant to walk behind Libby as we long-line down the road -- although she still continues to carry my water bottle in the mesh bag looped onto the harness terret. Now two and a half years old, and 12.3h, she was attached the other day to the tire drag, and pulled it around the field with such a blase attitude (even with a neighbor's visiting pony standing in the field watching, adding a distraction) that I'm sure she'll be ready to go into the shafts in no time. However, we're going to take our time since she still can get momentarily confused with the blinders. This is probably the hardest thing a baby has to handle, since their wide field of vision is suddenly reduced to just the road in front. But... she's a real trooper, and is quickly becoming acclimated to the change.
Already my neighbor and I are starting to leg-up her two hunters, since cubbing season (foxhunting) begins for most hunts in the area this week. Our local hunt has already begun their informal, or "ratcatcher", season, and the delightful cry of working foxhounds is a sweet sound to awaken to in the morning. A few years ago I sold (or gave away) most of my old hunting attire, figuring I probably wouldn't be hunting anymore since my thoroughbreds had now been replaced by Welsh ponies and an endurance horse. However, my neighbor has two foxhunters, one being a marvelous old 16.3h dressage horse who is a beautiful jumper, and an absolute gentleman to ride -- and she wants me to take him hunting with her. The other day we took both her horses to a hunt trail ride with over 80 horses in attendance, and had a ball, enjoying the foxhunting lecture afterwards, plus the yummy picnic dinner and the chance to chat with the delightful members of the hunt field.
So, now I'm having to dust off and polish my dress boots, dig through the drawers and find my old hunting stock, root through the stack of britches for ones that are the right color and fit, and make room in my closet for the new Melton hunting jacket. My old canary waistcoat seems to have shrunk over the years (imagine that!) so I'll be taking it to the local tailor to be let out a bit ... or maybe a lot!
As it is, I encouraged Karen to come riding with me and watch me do some hill work on the gallops behind Myrtle Hall. To complete our trio, a young neighbor, Maggie, rode Rocky. The three of us rode the lovely wooded and tree shaded paths 5 miles over to foot of the Blue Ridge, and into the open field gates of the estate. This 18th century property is simply beautiful, and has almost 300 acres of fields and pasture lands extending halfway up the Blue Ridge mountains. Most of the eventing crowd in our area (of which there are quite a number!) use these gallops for conditioning their upper level event horses.
We followed the mowed runs across the fields, and through the woods, until we came to the bottom of the gallop. Two options awaited us there -- an intermediate slope, and an advanced (read as "very steep"!) slope. I opted for the intermediate, and took off at a gallop. Karen and Maggie followed suit, but at a slower pace. No sooner did Karen get to the top where Itch and I were waiting, when she looked at the magnificent valley spread below, and declared she could get a nose-bleed up here! I had told her earlier there was a nice sitting bench at the top, which she was delighted to use while her hunter caught his breath, and while she took photographs of Itch and I going down the hill, around the fields, and back up the slope two more times. His heart monitor was hammering in the high 220s by the time we reached the top -- which meant he was really exercising muscle, wind, and heart. Since going downhill is his forte, his heart rate would drop to the 90s on the descent at a trot, then advance to the 130s to 160s as we turned and began going back upward on the rolling stretches of fields leading back to the base of the slope. I always slowed him down just before the gallop up in order to get the heart rate down to 110 before we powered up the slope again.
I've been thrilled with his increasing level of fitness each time we work these slopes, knowing it will serve him well in the upcoming endurance rides. This slope will be great to condition the foxhunters, too, so Karen and Maggie are looking forward to coming back with me. Anyway, by the time Itch and I finished our third run up the mountain, both Rocky and Woods had caught their breath, and were happy to pose for a photograph with the beautiful valley below, before we turned their noses downhill and enjoyed a relaxing walk down to see the manor house. Then it was off towards home, taking a different route through a magnificent Thoroughbred breeding farm down in the valley. There was more opportunity to catch a few running streams in this direction -- something that was becoming more of a difficulty as many of the local streams were drying up. It is not unusual in the early fall here in Virginia to pass by quite a few empty creekbeds, and makes it a bit more of a challenge to plan a ride that incorporates streams that still contain clear, drinkable water for the horses.
We're also taking the opportunity to enjoy driving the pair of ponies around the countryside. Last week we were out for a pleasant Sunday drive, and were spotted by a local author who photographed us for his upcoming book on horses. How exciting! Of course, our favorite pasttime in the carriage is spotting which trees are beginning to dress themselves out in early autumn colors. Most trees, however, are still lush green -- as are the fields -- owing to the extreme good luck we've had this summer of being in the "rain belt", while areas all around us were starving for water.
We were happy to see a two day stretch of rain the other day come through and soften the ground, just in time for a delightful ride over the Blue Ridge to the Shenandoah River. My endurance riding friend, Adrienne, and her groom, Liz, had asked me to take them. Liz had never ridden across the mountain, but had savored our tales of those adventures, and was dying to make the trip herself.
So, we arranged a time and day, and set out from my farm on a glorious morning, the trees still moist and dripping from the early morning fog. This ride was the first time I would have Itch in fast moving company in his new bitless bridle, and I was curious to see how well he would do. In the past few endurance rides I'd been fascinated by the number of riders who rode in these bitless bridles, and couldn't help but notice that their horses tended to travel with a light, long stride, and each and every horse seemed to be quite happy and mannerly. (Please note: these bitless bridles are NOT hackamores. A hackamore exerts pressure on the nose and pol, and can be rather severe in their usage. An endurance bitless bridle is actually a simple halter with the reins attached to the brass fittings on either side, but also has couplings that allow a bit to be added or removed with two simple snaps.)
I was curious to find out if Itch could be part of this unique company, and decided to find out. In his favor, I'd noticed he'd become so responsive over the past year by wearing the gag bit, that I had found that I rarely needed to employ much pressure on the bit on our training rides, and that the lightest touch on the snaffle rein was all he required for direction. Rarely was I having to employ the gag rein at all.
So... off came the bit last month, on went the bitless bridle -- and we both loved it from the word go!! He has been just fabulous -- so light and so highly responsive. He loves not having a bit in his mouth, and I love the finger-light control. I must say I was slightly nervous leaving the old bridle and bit hanging on the hook while I rode out that first time, and did carry the bit couplings and a snaffle in our cantle pack -- just in case, mind you -- but I quickly found that Itch actually performs better without a bit -- his gaits are more regular, steadier, longer, and more rythmic, and jumping (which he always excelled) was a dream. He was happy to maintain a consistant pace, and I found that I wasn't nagging him anymore -- something one tends to do with a bitted horse.
Adrienne is fascinated by the fact that he is so incredibly responsive and mannerly in just what amounts to being merely a halter, and kept looking for the "pressure points" that were the means of control. But the bitless bridle, unlike a hackamore, exerts only a tiny bit of pressure on the nose, and relies mostly on the sensitivity and bidability of the horse to listen to it's rider, and respond to the light direction of the reins.
As it was, Itch was a perfect angel in his bitless bridle throughout the whole ride, keeping pace with the two larger horses, yet happy to come immediately back into my hand, even at a canter and hand gallop, with only a gentle "tweek" of the reins. Adrienne was amazed to watch me open, and close, a farm gate from the saddle, with Itch responding beautifully in backing, sidestepping, and moving forward with barely a touch from the reins. Truly awesome!
As it was, it had been quite awhile since I'd ridden up the old Mt. Weather road, and worried that there might be some windfalls blocking the trail, but we were delighted to find it open with only one small tree that needed to be shoved out of the way before we could continue making our way up to the top of the ridge. There we stopped to admire the stunning scenery of the valley below before heading down the other side of the mountain towards the Shenandoah River.
One thing one learns from riding with endurance folks is...they can go ... and go ... and go ... and go. Our horses were feeling fresh and ready, and quite happy to trot and canter the several miles of beautiful trails and gravel roads leading down to the river. Once we arrived, and took the horses down to the river for a drink, we were ready for a break... and for a picnic. Out of the saddlebag and packs came delicious sandwiches, cookies, yummies, and (naturally) carrots for the horses. While our trusty equines grazed on the sweet riverside grass, we sat or stood around the picnic table up on the embankment, and enjoyed a well-deserved lunch. It was heaven!
I wanted to take the two further down the river and up a different road going back, but it had been awhile since I'd scouted out the route, and we accidently trotted past the driveway of the hunter/jumper farm I wanted to hack through. Fortunately, the former estate of a friend was the next farm over, and (knowing the property when I used to drive with that friend) ) I regaled my two companions with the history of the old manor house as we negotiated the new gates to the front and rear of the property that had been put in by the new owner. Our sojourn had taken us right where we wanted to be, and we enjoyed a delightful hack down a lovely, quiet gravel road before meeting up with the road that took us back up the mountain. The last two mile stretch of road leading to the crest of the ridge was perfect for giving our horses a real workout. Itch's heart monitor was really hammering by the time we reached the top, and all three horses were more than happy to take the next half-mile at a relaxed walk.
Rather than heading back down the old mountain road, I had asked Adrienne and Liz if they wanted to head south down the ridge and come off the mountain behind the beautiful estate of Llangollen. They agreed, and off we went, traveling the shoulder of the road for a few miles before we hit upon the trail that would wind us down off the mountain into Upperville. This trail had been less traveled this summer, and in several areas it was so overgrown that the trail was totally hidden. However, both Itch and I remembered the way, and guided our company down throught the peaceful woods, jumping over fallen trees, or finding our way around those that were too big, or too cumbersome, to jump, until we reached the end of the woods and the beginning of Llangollen's open fields.
At that point our horses told us they were ready for a nice trot. We obliged, and headed down the farm road at a good clip, relaxing into a walk just as the road split, one half heading down to the barns and stables, while the other swept towards the main drive of the mansion. The archicture and astounding beauty of the house never fails to draw me to a halt, just to admire it's beauty.
We opted to take the main drive, and Adrienne and Liz happily poised for a picture with the lovely manor house way in the background. The driveway itself is over a mile long, and was the same one used in the scene for Ashley's homecoming in the movie "Gone with the Wind." It's quite lovely, and the lower section has wide, grassy shoulders -- just perfect for a splendid hand-gallop to bring you to the public road at the bottom.
Our options for which direction to take home were numerous, but (by necessity and time constraints) we chose to hack through Corotoman's fields, bypassing the cattle who were spending the afternoon in the cool shade of the woods, and then through the gates and up the main drive. The Thoroughbred mares and foals that frequented the pastures during the spring and summer were not currently in residence, so we could trot through the property without disturbing anything other than the ducks and geese resting on the banks of the estate ponds.
We decided to head through the woods at Newstead Farm, rather than the fields, as the most direct route home, enjoying a flying trot down the dirt paths that wound their way past the manicured fields full of yearlings and broodmares. Stopping only to take a quick drink at a stream, we continued at a canter on the mowed outskirts of several wide, and as yet uncut, hay fields before finally hailing sight of my farm.
A fabulous 5 hours and 28 miles of great riding, and wonderful fun! We have plans to repeat this delightful ride towards the end of the month -- and before deer hunting season begins on the mountain.
