Fingers Crossed 2024

 My first foray into the world of mounted orienteering was at the Fingers Crossed ride in April of 2023. This year, Fingers Crossed was held in September and I got to go back to where it all started (plus camping.)

Hector Half Hundred 2024

 The last (only) time I did Hector was in 2015. That was my cursed season. I rode Wendy's lovely Asgard gelding, Fleuron. It poured rain. We did 55 cold, wet, miserable miles. At the finish line, the vets (who were new to the sport) played 'not it' while Fleuron stood around waiting to be vetted. By the time someone drew the short straw and came out to vet us, Fleuron had cramped up. Mike and I worked hard to work out the knot in Fleuron's hindquarters. When he represented, we all thought he looked good. The vet disagreed and we were pulled at the finish. It was honestly such a miserable experience that it took me nine years to want to go back. 

I have to say I'm super glad we went. Booger and I had an absolutely brilliant experience and Hector is on my do-again list (assuming the weather is good).

Photo by Kelsey Eliot.

Jumping Around CHP

 The weekend after Labor Day, we had a rare free weekend. I reached out to Eryca to see if there was anything she wanted to do. She quickly suggested Christie Hoffman, which is always lovely. It was Booger's turn and she hadn't been there yet. This was perfect. I figured we would do some little jumps and get a few easy miles in. We ended up doing a little over six miles. I was having a brave jumping day, and Booger took me out of my comfort zone successfully, which was awesome.

I really need to invest in a jumping saddle. (Add it to the list of expensive things on my wish list at the moment.) I also need to shorten my stirrups about nine holes. Booger does a good job making up for my failures though.

Xamping

 Last year, there was a NACMO ride at the Tuscarora State Forest. We did not manage to go, and I was sad to miss out on camping and new-to-me trails. When Dodie invited us to go camping with her and Melissa at Tuscarora over Labor Day weekend, I was all over it! Then Melissa invited Sandy and Sandy invited Emily. As luck would have it, there are only five campsites at the equestrian campground, so we had the whole place to ourselves! Dodie put the trip in her calendar, only she misspelled "camping" as "Xamping". By the end of the weekend, we had turned xamping in to a whole thing. 

Pulling Plates at Green Lane

 The day after my Stephens adventure with Sandy, I met Dodie and Jen at Green Lane to pull pie plates from the NACMO ride back in June. It was Lucy's turn, and she happily volunteered herself when I pulled in with the trailer.

September

 The year is rapidly winding down. September was packed. I still have to blog about Green Lane with Dodie and Jen (though that was technically August), fun camping in the Tuscarora Forest, an awesome jumping day with Booger at Christie Hoffman, another endurance ride, another NACMO ride, and an epic adventure with Sandy. Here are a million other things that have happened recently, but won't make it into their own blog posts.