Glacier Trails

MIDWEST DISTANCE DRIVING ASSOCIATION
MOTHER’S DAY RIDE/DRIVE
By Jane Licht

The Saturday prior to Mother’s Day was a perfect day for distance riding. The fine weather was appreciated by participants and members of the Midwest Distance Driving Association who sponsored the Glacier Trails Distance Ride and Drive.  This event is held at Horseman’s Park near Palmyra, and features interesting trails through lovely scenery in one of Wisconsin’s state parks famous for its glacial terrain.

There was another ride set for Sunday and the drives were all scheduled for Sunday.  But Mother’s Day proved to be a miserable day to be outside with cold winds and rain threatening to spoil the event.  However, distance people do not acknowledge pain or poor conditions and many hardy souls were determined to press on with their sport.

A number of us volunteers and “crew” huddled together under the shelter house and felt sorry for the riders and drivers.  Little did we realize that they were protected from the wind and prepared for the rain so that they actually fared better than we did.

As riders and drivers appeared for their final vet check, our veterinarians stood out in the rain to examine the horses.  Howard Ketover, from the Madison Equine Clinic, and Kris Welter, who both farms and has her private practice near Whitewater, uttered not one word of complaint about their less than idea working conditions.  But those of us who were volunteers decided to give them some relief by pushing the picnic tables back and inviting the participants and their horses to come under the shelter for vet checks.  The horses did not seem to mind standing under a picnic shelter and the vetting continued until the last rider and driver were accounted for.

The youngest competitive rider was five-year old Brooke Koehn who rode her pony Pancho along with her mother Bettina on the 12-mile novice ride.  This distance event was truly a family affair with Jim Koehn also present to crew for the women in his family.  Brooke was dressed for the weather and wore her safety helmet, as is required of all distance riders and drivers.  Wherever she went and whatever she did with her pony, her mom and her dad, she wore a huge smile on her little face.  Regardless of the wind and rain, she was truly enjoying the day doing what she wanted with people she loved.  How could the rest of us not follow suit?