Iron Oak

By Jac Deweese

Driving through the downpour on April 25^th, I wasn’t at all sure how our Iron Oak Novice Ride/Drive event might fare this year.  Unlikely as it seemed at the time, we were able to mark the trails at Black Hawk Ridge near Sauk City, without getting wet and the trails were in excellent shape.  After returning home near Wyocena, I was once again in doubt as a tornado took several trees out of my pasture and destroyed most of the outbuildings on a farm just down the road.

I was still concerned when I arrived early on Saturday morning and realized that most of the plates marking the trail at the trailhead had been blown off their posts.  I filled the water tank and with the help of Jack Shea, proceeded to retrace the trail.  Most of the signs were easily found and replaced.  Those that were more protected in the woods were still in place and nothing more than a couple of branches were across one section of the trail.  Reassured about the trails, I waited for the participants to arrive.  They trickled in at first, but soon everything was buzzing and we had a total of 31 riders and drivers participating.  Registrations were handled by Jane Licht and Jack Shea.

Our veterinaries for this event were Dr. Howard Ketover, Dr. Sabrina Braun, and UW vet students Rachael Rugen and Carrie Vogel.  Scribes were Kristen Metcalf, Sue Garbisch, and Ray and Alice Hubert.  After vetting in between 7 and 10AM, the Competitive 25 milers were started by timer Gerald Millard.  At the same time, the Novice riders and drivers gathered for an abbreviated clinic where Roger Houk explained the rules and trail etiquette.  Dr. Howard Ketover explained the vetting procedure and discussed the importance of electrolytes for the horse’s welfare.  Wes Licht then explained the score sheet and how the veterinary’s observations are used to develop the score.

Vicky Peterson and Sheryl Levin were introduced as leaders for the novice riders and the riders were divided into two groups.  Jac Deweese used a map of the trails to explain how they were marked and how they were to be ridden or driven.

Everyone was released to partake of the excellent food prepared by various MDDA members and presented by Dana and Roger Houk.

The 25 milers arrived at the mid-ride vet check and while they were waiting to start their 2^nd half, the novices were started on their 12 mile ride.  The drivers prepared to go by hitching and presenting their turnouts for a safety check prior to being released at 5 minute intervals.

The driving competition was interesting this year because we had two miniature horses, Lil’ Guy, driven by Ann McCombs and Mighty Chief, driven by Linda Low.  Mighty Chief was only 30 inches tall and carried a lot of his winter coat.  Lil’ Guy was a good deal larger and appeared to be free of most of his winter coat.  Lil’ Guy ended up in 1^st place out of 7 participants with an outstanding score of 396 (only 4 points below a perfect 400).

After everyone was on the trail, we received a call that one of the horses seemed to be in distress.  He was about a mile from camp and we sent a trailer and a vet out to check on the horse.  The horse indeed showed evidence of tying up and it was decided that he should be hauled back to camp.  This created some additional interest when the truck pulling the trailer bogged down in a muddy area of the trail.  After unhitching it was possible to get the truck free of the mud and replacing it with a 4 wheel drive truck solved the problem.

By 4PM all the competitors were in and the scores had been computed so it was time for the awards.  Each competitor that completed the ride/drive was given the choice of awards provided by our sponsors, Advanced Biological Concepts, Equi-Shine, Lodi Veterinary Hospital, Madison Equine Clinic and Iowa Valley Carriage.  Jeannie Newman received special recognition for completing her first 25 mile ride at Iron Oak.

Winners included Barbara Gardner, 25 mile light weight, Tom Gower, 25 mile heavy weight, Jenna DeWitt, Novice, and Ann McCombs, 6 mile drive.

The sun came out and reflected the smiles of the participants as they enjoyed the rewards of the competition and prepared to head for home.