After Margaret and I had such a fun time at the fall hunter pace, we opted to go again this spring! This time, while I rode Rejoice again, Margaret rode her horse Jester and had a friend ride Ladyhawke. All Kennebec Morgans!! Jester and Rejoice have the same dam and Jester and Lady share the same sire. Unfortunately instead of a lovely late spring day, we had one of the first intensely hot and humid days of the year. It was definitely a bummer, but the ride was mostly in the shade of the woods and we had a great time! most of the fences were 3' coops but we found a small log and this hay to jump haha Until we didn't. 😑 We brought along a third friend who rode Margaret's older mare, Ladyhawke. She's a good rider but hasn't known Ladyhawke for very long and didn't realize how much of a cranky boss mare she could be at times. She kicked Jester right in the front leg just about halfway through the ride, and while the cut itself ended up not being a big deal in the
To me, there are few horse activities that can compare to jumping cross-country and flying around in a roadster class. But marshaling at the racetrack is pretty close!
Yesterday, three of us members of the Standardbred Performance Society traveled to Bangor Raceway here in Maine to marshal the 13 races. It was the last day of racing at Bangor because the fair race season begins next week. We had an excellent time! :) I rode Dreamy, my friend Shelly rode her gelding McKeever, and Jessie rode Bruizer.
Bangor is quite a haul for me. First I left my farm at 8:15AM and drive to my friend Shelly's farm, which is an hour away. Then we loaded Dreamy into Shelly's trailer with her gelding McKeever. We trucked them up to Bangor, which is about two hours north. When we arrived, it was heavily misting, which is NOT good weather in which to spend four hours in the saddle! :( Thankfully it stopped about the time we decided to get the horses tacked up. I much rather marshal in overcast weather than sunny weather any day, and that is exactly what we got.
Dreamy and I have now marshaled races nine times since 2006. This was our first time at Bangor, as we usually marshal down at Scarborough Downs and at the local trotting park here in my hometown. Dreamy has always gotten "hot" at the track; while she has never been rude or dangerous, she would get VERY excited. Basically she would grow about a hand, sweat profusely, and lose her halt. LOL! Despite her excitement, she was always obedient. And in the last few times we have marshaled, she has been a cool customer. No problems. But still I had NO idea how she might be at Bangor...not only had she never raced there as a youngster, but she had never been there period!
I should have more faith in my little mare. She was PERFECT. We went out and crossed the track to the infield to warm up. She was relaxed, reaching down to the bit and happy as a pig in mud. She watched the horses warming up on the track with interest and got into that happy mode, much like she does when we do roadster under saddle. She genuinely seemed pleased to be there!
She especially loved how close the people on the apron were. They were actually leaning over the fence and she liked stopping to visit and see what they might have to good to eat. I swear every time we trotted by on post parade she had her right eye and ear cocked to see if she might swipe a hot dog or popcorn.
Here we are coming back after the post parade. Dreamy is on the far left.
Here we are cantering down!
The funniest part is what people will say to you. I mean, of course, we get the typical "what breed are they?, can I pet your horse?, how old are they? what are their names?" But sometimes you get the weirdest things...one woman told me my horse had pretty socks on (she was wearing maroon polo wraps on her front legs). LOL! Another man at the end told me during the first post parade that he had shaved his legs today. AAAAAAALLRIGHT! LOL! Another man kept calling me "honey", as in "You're bringing me good luck today, honey!" AHHHHH! Scary old men! X-P
Here Dreamy has found a tiny spot of grass near the winner's circle. She felt very abused for not being able to spend the day grazing in her field! LOL!
I had a fun day, even though by the end of the races I was tired and my behind hurt! LOL! Dreamy, on the other hand, was still happy as ever. At the end of the thirteenth race, when the track cleared, Shelly and I took our horses out around the track for some fun. Dreamy and I trotted about halfway around, going as fast as she could without letting her break to the canter. She does have a wonderfully fun trot, and I love feeling the wind whipping by us as she flies across the track. Then in the second turn (we went around backwards so as to NOT encourage our ex-racers to actually RACE!) I sat up and asked her to canter. She was SO much fun! There is nothing like galloping on a racetrack! :D The track photographer took some pics of us and I will post them when I get them. Yesterday, three of us members of the Standardbred Performance Society traveled to Bangor Raceway here in Maine to marshal the 13 races. It was the last day of racing at Bangor because the fair race season begins next week. We had an excellent time! :) I rode Dreamy, my friend Shelly rode her gelding McKeever, and Jessie rode Bruizer.
Bangor is quite a haul for me. First I left my farm at 8:15AM and drive to my friend Shelly's farm, which is an hour away. Then we loaded Dreamy into Shelly's trailer with her gelding McKeever. We trucked them up to Bangor, which is about two hours north. When we arrived, it was heavily misting, which is NOT good weather in which to spend four hours in the saddle! :( Thankfully it stopped about the time we decided to get the horses tacked up. I much rather marshal in overcast weather than sunny weather any day, and that is exactly what we got.
Dreamy and I have now marshaled races nine times since 2006. This was our first time at Bangor, as we usually marshal down at Scarborough Downs and at the local trotting park here in my hometown. Dreamy has always gotten "hot" at the track; while she has never been rude or dangerous, she would get VERY excited. Basically she would grow about a hand, sweat profusely, and lose her halt. LOL! Despite her excitement, she was always obedient. And in the last few times we have marshaled, she has been a cool customer. No problems. But still I had NO idea how she might be at Bangor...not only had she never raced there as a youngster, but she had never been there period!
I should have more faith in my little mare. She was PERFECT. We went out and crossed the track to the infield to warm up. She was relaxed, reaching down to the bit and happy as a pig in mud. She watched the horses warming up on the track with interest and got into that happy mode, much like she does when we do roadster under saddle. She genuinely seemed pleased to be there!
She especially loved how close the people on the apron were. They were actually leaning over the fence and she liked stopping to visit and see what they might have to good to eat. I swear every time we trotted by on post parade she had her right eye and ear cocked to see if she might swipe a hot dog or popcorn.
Here we are coming back after the post parade. Dreamy is on the far left.
Here we are cantering down!
Here Dreamy has found a tiny spot of grass near the winner's circle. She felt very abused for not being able to spend the day grazing in her field! LOL!
We mounted up at 1:15 for a 1:30 post and we were done by 5:15. WHEW! I hosed Dreamy off in the paddock and we stopped at Dysart's , a Maine landmark, for dinner and diesel on the ride home. Dreamy and I pulled in here at 10PM. I took care of her, took a shower, and was in bed by 10:30. LOOOOONG day, but SOOOOOO fun! :D
Here we all are.....back in the paddock to wait for the next race. Dreamy is on the left, McKeever is in the middle, and Bruizer on the right!
Sounds like a Reward, very long day! : )
ReplyDeleteHow fun! That is great that you can do that with your other STB owner friends...
ReplyDeleteLove the maroon/burgundy shirts/pads/polos combo - looks really nice!