The Best Ride Ever

Every time I think I have had the best ride of my life, I have another. How lucky am I? Although I know I will never, ever forget this ride for the rest of my life, I want to write it down while it’s still fresh in my heart.
This summer, Max, Jenny’s half-Arab gelding when she was a junior, came back to our family. He is 20 now and doesn’t look a day over 12. He has always been special and has introduced other juniors, or given grand rides to new riders in distance riding. He even finished the AERC National Championship 100 Ride in 2003. He is an extraordinary horse! Mykayla turns 5 this month and has been “riding” with Nana for several years now, in front of the saddle when she was small, and then behind the saddle on a special pad when she got bigger. She did NOT like riding behind the saddle, but her 45 pounds plus Nana’s fat butt simply put too much weight on Malik’s forehand. It was time for her to learn to ride on her own.
A week after Max came home, we practiced ponying Max from Malik. Being old ride buddies and having ridden side by side for years, it was a piece of cake (although Max is NOT keen on staying even, behind or having to drop behind on a single track). We fixed up a pony saddle for Max and Mykayla, removing the western fenders and replacing them with English leathers, small aluminum stirrups and rubber stirrup cages we fashioned from a mesh dog toy. You have to see it all to believe it! We added a sheepskin saddle seat to protect her little bottom and a cantle bag, essential for drinks, snacks and carrying apples picked off trees on the trail.
Our first trail ride was short and sweet near the Reedsburg Dam, about 3 miles total. Our next ride was near Moddersville, my old clinic site, and included one of our favorite sites we call Old Baldy, from the top of which we can see for miles. That ride was a bit longer than I intended and we were only walking as she wasn’t ready yet for much trotting. After 2 ½ hours, countless games and songs, we arrived back at the horse trailer hungry and tired. As we dismounted, she said, “Can we eat something and do it again, Nana?”
We also made a trip to Jenny’s for a horse camping trip and went riding on the Shore to Shore trail several times. Single tracks present their own issues, but we solved them readily. For example, the lead was too short, keeping Max on Malik’s butt which resulted in Malik’s tail clamped down on the lead…a little scary at first not knowing how Malik would react. Except for mincing a bit, he stopped and waited for us to fix the problem. I suspect Max knew exactly what he was doing. Mykayla wanted to practice trotting more and more and was practicing posting. She got pretty darn good at it.
So last week, we planned to ride from Houghton Lake to Vogel Center, about 25 miles via the snowmobile trails, seasonal roads and a small portion of dirt and paved roads. We gave Mykayla the option of 2 days of riding by camping overnight halfway. She has an aversion to sleeping in the horse trailer for some reason and decided she wanted to do it all in one day. She also wanted to ride at night, so our late start which caused us to finish the last 2 miles in the dark was a good deal as far as she was concerned.
It’s amazing what you can learn from a 5 year old in 7 hours of riding in the Great Outdoors. I can’t even begin to adequately explain everything we shared. The best thing we shared was FUN. Nelson acted as our pit crew, meeting us where the trails crossed or came out on the road. Mykayla was tickled pink when we called to Nelson and he answered. “Yooooooo hoooooooo,” I would yodel and she would add “Paaaaaapaaaaa.” Adding “Papa” was her own idea as the one Jenny and I used to use was from an old Bonanza episode (Hoss and the Leprechauns) which includes “Where are you?” When Nelson would answer, she would jump up and down so much in the saddle, I was afraid she would fall off!!! She always finds a way to make an experience her own though, usually prefaced by, “I have an idea!” or “Let’s try this!”
We saw turkeys and deer, flowers and birds, snakes and clouds shaped like boats. We played a gazillion games, including counting cattails, colors of flowers, and even “raced” each other, one version of which could be won by arriving in the sunlight out of the shade first (racing=trotting) and the other version of which could be won by “whoever gets ahead of Malik first.” Figure THAT one out! Her games and her rules. We sang the songs about the monkeys jumping on the bed, the interactive version where I sing the main song, she sings what the doctor says (No more monkeys jumping on the bed) and does the countdown from 10 monkeys to 1. As the sun started going down, we picked blackberries on the trail from the backs of our horses….”juicy and tasty” was Mykayla’s judgment on those. We tried to grab leaves above our heads to see who could grab the most in one hand. As it got darker and we couldn’t really see leaves to grab very well, we talked about the dark and fear. We discovered we weren’t afraid because we were together and our horses were so “brave.” We sang John Denver songs, Bon Jovi and anything else I could remember the words to. We sang “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” and she named who or what He had in His hands.
Two miles from home, Nelson met us at the pavement as the horizon blazed red and orange and pink and purple and put glow sticks on our breast collars. The horses could hardly stand still. Although they haven’t ridden these trails for many years, they knew exactly where we were going and how to get there. As we started out, she asked Papa if we were almost there and he said, “Yes, why?” She replied, “Because my head is starting to itch!” Nelson followed us with headlights and flashers as we crossed the bridge over the Clam River. The sprinklers at the house near the bridge were a bit of a surprise to all of us, but our horses were brave and listened to us (we know this because their ears turn back, you know). As we approached the Spooky Forest, as Mykayla calls it (otherwise Hoekwater Park), Mykayla wanted to ride through it (it’s about 2 or 3 acres at the corner where we turn for home and the drive goes through one road and comes out on the other). Nelson waited for us at the other side and we rode through with only our glow sticks and our brave horses to get us through. Such delicious fun!!
We finished (and of course the endurance motto is “To finish is to win,” and Mykayla is definitely a winner in my book) in the moonlight and the starlight. She never complained or whined once. We took at least 2 20-30 minute breaks to eat and stretch our legs, horses and people both. We trotted when the trail wasn’t “bumpy,” and she got pretty darn good at it! We picked apples from trees on the trail to put in their grain for a treat. We stopped at Moddersville Store for ice cream and a quick stretch about 7 miles from home. Jerry, the owner, thought we were out a bit late and wouldn’t make it. Ha! Guess what, Jerry? We made it!
The ride was done entirely at Mykayla’s pace and she always had the option of going with Papa if she got tired or didn’t want to ride anymore. This suggestion was always met with a look of contempt and incredulity….WHY would she NOT want to keep riding? Later in the shower, Mykayla showed me a red rub mark on her leg. She never mentioned it during the ride, never complained or admitted that anything hurt, even when asked. When I asked her why she didn’t tell us, she said it was because she didn’t want to stop riding. So, Mommy is shopping ebay for some purple half chaps, kiddie size.
This “best” ride will be followed by many more, I am sure, especially when we start attending official rides and competing. I later gave her a ribbon with Tinkerbell on it (Pixie Power is her favorite!) with the date and miles on it. She is quite anxious to try and win a ribbon at a real ride, though she’s still not sure what the difference is. Riding is riding.
As always, we must thank our pit crew for taking good care of us (Nelson!), but I think it’s important that we give credit to our brave and smart horses, Malik and Max. Except for them, this memory would be nothing but a wish in our hearts. Next summer, look for us on the trail! We’re gonna be there having the best rides and making the best memories!