The Bridges of Washington County

Last Trail Ride story - I promise!

So we're riding along on Sunday, maybe 45 minutes after "the incident" and we all stop.  We're wondering what's going on and hear a Scout on the walkie-talkie saying it's the first of the plywood bridges.  Huh?  Plywood bridges?  That doesn't sound like a good match for Tex!

I'm looking ahead and I see horses way in front of our wagon flipping out ... they're slipping and sliding and getting frightened by the sound of hooves on plywood.  They couldn't seem to get a grip with their metal shoes.  When their wagon crossed, the noise really got them scared and riders started getting off to walk their horses across.  So I ask Jerry if he thinks we should walk Tex across.

One of the experienced riders with our group was riding a younger horse - a beautiful dappled gray - and he said "I can tell you that my horse hasn't ever seen a plywood bridge and I'm walking him across".  After hearing that,  my mind was made up that we should get off even though it was hard for Jerry to get back on with his injury.

We gave our wagon some room and went one-by-one without any trouble.  Jerry was able to pull himself up on the other side of the bridge, but it was painful.  We couldn't understand why they had put plywood over a bridge, but when we got up there we could see that it was a metal grate and the horses couldn't have walked across it without some type of cover.  It was loud, but the plywood worked.

Later in the day - after lunch - we came upon the second plywood bridge.  Some walked and some rode from the groups ahead of us and when it came time for us to go, we went.  All of our horses walked the bridge with us in the saddle.  No issues - even for Tex!

For our first trail ride, we learned a lot.

Salt Grass Sunday

Sunday morning was beautiful and, having exercised better judgement than the younger members of our group who stayed out at the Wagon until WAY too late, Jerry and I felt good and were ready to go. Having the Circle Ride under our cowboy belts, we felt a little less like "newbies" but would once again start the day on an unfamiliar horse. Cameron and Haley had to leave early Sunday morning and Barkely didn't feel like riding. Our crew from Saturday was down to Joe, Jerry and me.

The Sunday ride is 13.3 miles from the Washington County Fairgrounds to the Kopycinski Pasture just outside of Chappell Hill

We met Smokey and his team at 8am and were in the saddle by 8:30 ... my horse was named Eli and was very enthusiastic about getting the ride under way.

Here we are at the trailer and before I go on, I'll share a little bit about how this works. The horse owners have huge trailers that are stationed around the Fairgrounds. They saddle up, make stirrup adjustments and then you're on your own until the end of that day's ride. I felt a little guilty, after owning horses and taking the time to unsaddle and brush them out after every ride, to ride up to the trailer, tell the horse thank you and good bye and leave all the work to someone else. The owners say "that's what you're paying for". Both days, our horses were taken to larger pastures (or home) so that they could stretch their legs and relax before the next day's journey. Many trail riders own custom campers where they sleep in the front and the horses are either tethered to the trailer with food and water or spend the night in pretty plush accommodations inside the trailer.

Joe riding Flash

Jerry was riding Tex and as he mounted up, Smokey says "this is a good horse, but he doesn't like to stop ... ride him around a bit and if you don't like him, bring him back." Hmmm

Tex was a LARGE, strong horse and Jerry liked him - so off we went to join the rest of Wagon 7. I was happy to have a few minutes to ride around and get used to Eli before heading out on the road. 9am and we were called to line up.

Once all of the wagons and their riders are in position, the National Anthem is played - with excited horses whinning in the background - followed by a prayer. It felt great to be a part of the tradition and our knees felt fresh and flexible!

Wagon 7 is positioned near the front of the ride, but many, many wagons and horses were behind us!

Here we are on Old Chappell Hill Road ... site of the incident.

As we exited the Fairgrounds and headed out on the highway, Eli wanted to burn off a little energy and he really liked to be in the lead. We were ahead of Jerry and Joe, but Joe and Flash soon came trotting up beside us. We rode this way for some time with Jerry and Tex just behind us. As we were moving along, there were people on 4-wheelers who had come out to the road to watch and wave and from time to time we would pass things in the road ... hub caps, metal scraps ... but generally the Scouts had cleared the way. We were supposed to stay on the pavement - our horses were wearing metal shoes.

As we were moving along the road, I see a shattered windshield folded in half and laying just to the side of the road. Eli passed it without notice and Joe and Flash were on the inside, so he probably never saw it. Maybe a minute later, we hear a "thud", look back and see Jerry on the ground with Tex bolting across the street. A Scout grabbed Tex by the reins and as Jerry was getting up to his knees the Scout is shouting at him to "take your glasses off". Jerry told him he was OK and that he didn't hit his head, but the Scout was insistent on making sure he didn't have a head injury. I was concerned about his back and Jerry was concerned about Tex.

A woman Scout had taken Tex from the first guy and brought him to me and we pulled over to be sure Jerry was OK before getting back in the saddle. He said he had landed on his shoulder and it ached, but otherwise felt he was OK. He got back in the saddle and we took off. By this time, we were mixed in with the Desparados - Wagon 8 - and a Scout told us we could move around them and make our way back up to Wagon 7. Eli was thrilled and Flash and Tex were pretty excited too. Jerry, not so much. The trotting on the pavement was painful and he realized that it hurt when he took a deep breath. He persevered and from time to time would move his shoulder around to loosen it up.

Jerry said that he was trotting to catch up to us and was near the right side of the road he didn't see the windshield before Tex did and the next thing he knew Tex was rared up in the air and his back foot slipped off the pavement onto the shoulder of the road and that was it ... he was off. After we rejoined the Wagon 7 group, Jerry was the talk of the ride. One guy behind us said "I've never seen anything like it - he rolled off that horse and never even lost his hat!"

Here we are - the three amigos!

Jerry with Tex happily trotting along - with Joe just ahead of them.

As the miles wore on, Jerry figured out all of Tex's hang-ups ... he doesn't like to stop and wait and you'd better have something for him to do or he'll figit and back up and generally be a menace. He likes to have his head scratched and isn't shy about using your knee or another horse he likes as a scratching post. Just like Elvis, when he gets bored, he will walk up to another horse and put his face 1/4 inch from the other horse's face and look them directly in the eye. Like a little loving head-butt. Eli seemed to like this too so that's how we made the rest of the ride - with Jerry anticipating and managing his antics.

The funniest thing was watching these horses interact - sometimes a perfectly nice horse would walk by or come up to us at a stop and it was obvious that Tex HATED him. Bad vibes, I guess. Then another horse would come up and he would have no reaction. The one thing we were sure about was that he did not like having any other horse run up behind him - it made him nervous and he would turn and try to bite Flash.

Looking forward to Wagon 7 at a rest stop ...

As we neared what we thought was our lunch stop, the Scouts told us to ride six abreast - we were clueless - but as we turned the corner we relized we were riding through Chappell Hill and they had turned it into a parade ... sort-of. It was fun to see the little kids faces as the horses passed by. I'm sure I have the same look on my face when I see a horse! I wouldn't say we would win any contests for perfect formation, but in general we pulled it off.

Several miles down the road, we had another rest stop before turning into the Chappel Hill Fire Dept & pasture for lunch.

Brenda and Barkley, Jr. to the rescue! Just like real trail riders, when you stop for lunch you're still responsible for your horse - with nothing to tie him to. After being in the saddle for five hours, we wanted OFF and they held our trusty mounts while we wolfed down some delicious chicken salad and other goodies. One-by-one we led our horses to the trough for a cool drink of water. They enjoyed snacking in the pasture as we ate.

I have to say that Tex is "the Elvis" of horses. Jerry takes him to the trough and another horse puts his head in so he backs out and will not drink. Later I took him back and he stuck his head in, got a deep drink, rested and stuck his nose in again. At that minute, a horse on the other side accidentally dripped on his head and he was finished. What a personality this one has!

Here is Eli - looking much more tired than when we left Brenham!

Jerry with Tex and although his head is down, you can see that his withers (shoulders) are almost as tall as Jerry's shoulders. Big horse.

Getting Jerry back in the saddle after lunch was more difficult than after the fall - the injury was taking hold - he finished the ride and upon arrival at Kopycinski Pasture he even said he was going to ride the next day. Monday is 18.3 miles from outside Chappell Hill to Waller County Fairgrounds and after some consideration we said we'd ride until the lunch break and Dallas offered to pick up the horses from us there. We had a great mexican food snack, but the weather was turning colder and we'd had enough to eat so we took our patient back to the Holiday Inn Express for a good nights sleep.

Wishful thinking. All that fresh air - and cedar pollen - had done a number on Jerry's sinuses and he suddenly had a lot of chest congestion and a bad cough. SEVERE pain when he coughed. At that point, we made the decision to hang up our saddles for 2013 and focus on next year. Jerry saw an Orthopedic Doc on Tuesday and learned that he has a cracked rib - hence the pain. Things are better now that the cough has subsided, but he won't be playing golf for 4 weeks. We are planning to go back to New Ulm and ride with Dallas and Lisee to see the bluebonnets and we may even head out to Fulshear for a reunion with Tex. He was a spunky devil, but Jerry liked riding him!

Here is the route we would have completed on Monday ... next year we'll knock out three days!

The Salt Grass Trail Ride

I don't really have a "bucket list", but riding the Salt Grass is something I've always wanted to do. For 62 years, members of the Salt Grass Trail Association have taken this path ... riding almost 100 miles on horseback from Brenham to Houston. Their purpose, "to encourage the love of horses, riding, good fellowship and to perpetuate the memory of the original riders of the Salt Grass Trail, while promoting the best interests of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, agriculture and livestock."

It is an amazing organization and an incredible experience. This year, organizers adjusted the route and returned to the original trail - or as close to it as possible - a change from recent years.

Before I get to the ride, let me begin at the beginning.  Our friend Joe Stubbs is married to a life-long member and current Director of Rodeo Houston and her family has ridden the Salt Grass each year for decades.  After an incident with a horse several years ago Brenda no longer rides, but set up Joe last year to ride one day - the Monday ride.

Joe said it was great fun, leading Jerry and me to say we wanted to ride this year.  Brenda made all of the arrangements, which includes joining the association, joining the Wagon, renting horses, getting hotel rooms, buying the proper attire and having it embroidered with the Wagon 7 logo.  There is a dress code on the Salt Grass Trail Ride - you must wear a shirt with a collar, a cowboy hat and boots.  Your membership "hang tag", with Wagon buttons, must be visible during the daily rides.  You don't just show up with a horse!

To comply, Brenda took on the task of outfitting her crew of City Slickers.  She also served as trail coach (we were clueless) and transportation manager.  It's like a finely tuned machine of service and support vehicles moving in and out to, literally, get this show on the road. 

The official jackets are Carthart - blanket-lined, fire-proof and stiff as a board when you first put them on.  They are PRACTICAL, not a fashion statement, but they keep you very comfortable in the cold morning air!

Our initial plan was to ride Saturday - a "circle ride" in Brenham, take Sunday off and then pick up Monday morning in Chappell Hill for day three.  Our horses were arranged through Dallas & Lisee Smalley, who we had ridden with in January at their ranch in New Ulm.  Just before the ride, Brenda talked with a long-time trail rider who said we were CRAZY to miss Sunday and should try to secure "day two" horses - Brenda jumped into action and lined us up with Smokey Davis out of Fulshear because Dallas' horses were booked for Sunday.

The Circle Ride on Saturday was 8.2 miles and, like a circle, we began and ended at the Washington County Fairgrounds.

Here we are ... City Slickers on the loose!  Joe Stubbs, me and Jerry.   We arrived in Brenham, dropped our bags at the Holiday Inn Express and headed to the Fairgrounds.  There wasn't much time for anything but signing releases, securing our credentials and getting in the saddle. 

Jerry and I had good horses, but they were grazing machines.  They had two speeds ... go and eat.

This is Cameron (Joe's son), Barkley, Jr. (Brenda's nephew) and Haley (Brenda's daughter)

 We had a big group and it was fun.  

Giddy up!  Wagon 7 with 53 riders heading out.   

I don't know how many wagons there were all together, but at least 19. There were hundreds of horses, which is an interesting situation. I've ridden horses since I was pretty young, but they've always been in a pasture or on a country road and have either been by themselves or with other "pasture buddies".  Socializing horses is tricky business. 

The Circle Ride on Saturday is "meet and greet time" for the horses and they're not always thrilled at the sight of another horse. As you're heading out you may see horses with a red ribbon on their tail ... that means they'll kick if you run up on them or get too close. Apparently, not everyone understands this - there are "newbies" on each ride.  There are also many, many cocktails served from the wagon while on the trail!

Brenda and Poppy (her step-Dad) as the horses were leaving the Fairgrounds

Cameron, Barkley, Haley & Joe ...

Cowboy Joe ...

One of the funniest sights are all the "cowboys", riding down back country roads with the newest technology in their hands.  I love this shot of Cameron with the sun glinting down on his iPhone!  A traditional camera would be too bulky, so most folks just used their iPhones to take photos.  This was a challenge for me because I was wearing riding gloves (it was cold and the reins will tear your hands up over a long day) so I didn't get as many photos as I might have.



Here we go - that's me in the back.

Cowboy Jerry ... he looks like a Texas Ranger, doesn't he?

"Roy & Dale" at one of our MANY stops along the side of the road.  With a new route and all of the horses getting used to each other, we had a number of traffic related stops, four accidents (not in Wagon 7) and a potty-break.  Trail Ride protocol dictates that you don't leave your fellow riders behind.  The wagons move through a rest stop without breaking formation ... you move up and wait ... move up and wait ... as each wagon has an opportunity to make a pit stop or deal with whatever might have gone wrong.  There are Scouts on horseback along the way who keep everyone informed of what's happening up and down the trail.

It was a great day and great weather.  My horse, Hammer, was a good sport although he preferred to be in front and would have loved to break loose and run free.  Of course, they don't realize how far they're going when you first start out and too much running early wouldn't make for a good finish at the end of the day!

We returned to the Fairgrounds over four hours later to find the Wagon Crew at our tent serving up BBQ quail, sausage, vegetables with dip and cheese and crackers.  We thought this was dinner and had a delicious plate ... along with a couple of glasses of McAllen to ease the aching of our knees after so much time in the saddle.  Purely medicinal, of course.

As I mentioned earlier, we were CLUELESS.  This was just the snack.  A couple of hours later, there was BBQ chicken, steak and all sorts of stuff, along with a band.  Dining tables were moved off of the (rented) dance floor, a camp fire was started in the big pit and everyone had a great time.  Of course, you all know that my bed time comes early and and since I was up at 4am and ran an hour before we even left for Brenham, I was beat.  Can you say PARTY POOPER?

Denny the Explorer

Denny enjoying the sunshine and warmer weather ...

Ever wonder what they do when they think you're not watching?

Yep, he's drinking from the concrete fountain!

An Elvis Valentine

On my weekly trip to the Central Market, I picked up a nice batch of tulips that they had on special for Valentine's Day.

Valentine's morning, Ray sent a photo of Jerry Lee, so I decided to take a picture of Elvis with a tulip

Look how sweet he looks ...

OOPS! The "real Elvis" came out and he couldn't resist tasting of the flower!

Elvis' Wrist

You all know that taking Elvis to the vet is an experience for EVERYONE, but we've gotten a system down that seems to work. A happy pill, his Thunder Shirt and I handle him unless it's absolutely necessary for someone at Memorial 610 Animal Hospital to lay a hand on him - other than Dr. Rose.

Last November, I noticed a pea-sized knot on the side of Elvis' right wrist (or whatever they call it in vet-speak). It was sensitive to the touch and felt as if part of the joint had come apart ... he was walking on it, but would stop and flick it in the air from time to time.

X-rays revealed damage to the bones - we have no idea what caused "the traumatic injury" - but the radiologist said it was healing. Dr. Rose felt that the bulge was cartilage that had been displaced from the joint and that we would just leave it unless it became a problem for him. They wanted to see him again in a few months to check the progress.

We went back in February and I thought I'd share some photos ... first the x-rays.

Getting these x-rays was a bit of a chore ... like the first time, I had to position him on the table exactly where he needed to be. Blythe would then step behind me and slowly put her hands where mine had been holding him - making sure he couldn't see her - and then I would leave the room while the other vet tech got the shot. Then I would come back to move him for the next view.  I'm happy to report that it went well and we got identical shots to November for comparison.

From the top ...

From the side ...

Exhausted and relieved to be heading home!

And when we got home, Denny gave him a quick "cat scan" and ear washing to welcome him back from his ordeal.