Monday, August 18, 2014

Soggy Hogs and Purple Riders - Cuyahoga Valley National Park

This past weekend I finally got to go camping with my pony in tow for the fourth time this year.  (pathetic)  This time out, we attended the annual State Hog Roast held at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park - hosted by Medina County OHC.




Friday night was COLD.  I believe the temps went into the low 40's.  It stayed cold until Saturday afternoon, and after some early morning shenanigans in camp, we finally headed out for a ride around 1:30 after eating breakfast with the neighbors.


WONDERFUL people.  Love them.


Headed out of camp, just myself and Mom.  About a mile and a half into the ride, we met up with some friends of ours.  Things started out ok, but quickly disintegrated because of mixed herd dynamics and adrenaline.  We have ridden with these friends in the past with no problems whatsoever, but for some reason this year our horses have decided that this cannot be done anymore without much rearing, racing, spinning, and all sorts of other undesirable behaviors.

At one point a massive tree fell in the woods as we were riding by.  After quickly assessing my horse's ability to handle said scary situation, I bailed and ended up getting hung up on the saddle horn in the process.  Thus, the Purple Rider:




Mom ended up splitting off from the group, as one of the mares really didn't like her horse, and I believe that the feeling was mutual.  The rest of us took a break to let the horse's adrenaline wear off, and then started out again once the horses were about to fall asleep.




The ride was cut short, because we had all had enough of the stress and mess and were pretty well beat up.  I only ended up riding a total of just over 5 miles.  (pathetic)

Saturday evening was the much anticipated hog roast, which was fantastic, as usual.  A few fellow horsemen are members of an old timey blue grass band, so they got out their instruments and played for us after the feast.  They were really good!  

I'm always intrigued when I observe people participating in other hobbies that are unrelated to their normal activities.



Sunday morning we awoke to rain, so we packed up and headed home.  I'm really disappointed that we didn't ride more.  Oh well.  Maybe next time.

Ride safe all!


~The RoadQueen

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