MDDA GLACIER TRAILS DISTANCE RIDE & DRIVE

By Jane Licht

You never know what to expect for weather during the Month of May in Wisconsin.  Last year, the Glacier Trails Ride enjoyed fairly good weather on Saturday, but the rides and drives held on Sunday were pretty dismal due to cold temperatures, wind and rain.

This year, the weekend of May 15 and 16 was near perfect for the distance riders, drivers and their horses that participated in Glacier Trails, sponsored by Midwest Distance Driving Association (MDDA).  The mornings were cool and the sunshine had a cheery, warming effect.  The riders left at dawn both days.  The drivers had a more leisurely schedule.  They vetted in the night before, or beginning at 7 AM Sunday morning.  The driver’s meeting was at 8 AM and the first driver started at 9 AM. 

The ride manager, Romona Radtke, began assigning numbers on Friday, giving the first rider #1 and kept going all the way through #78, which indicates the turnout was quite good.  Assistant ride manager, Elinore Tonsor, got the coffee pot going, made sure the veterinarians were well-fed, and supervised the pot-luck supper Saturday evening.  Both ladies registered participants, answered questions, assigned duties and got pulse and respiration (P&R) readings for countless horses.

A number of MDDA members who normally drive, came on Saturday to volunteer for the endurance, limited distance, and competitive riders.  Pauline Stollenwerk collected the DNR money for camping and trail fees.  Roger and Dana Houk and Jane Licht were timers.  Wes Licht helped with P&R checks.  Jac Deweese and Theresa Burns were scribes. 

Howard Ketover and Kris Welter were our veterinarians on Sunday.  We hope Howard’s back is okay after all the times he bent over to check each leg for each horse, at the initial vet check and after the drives.  The care and attention that Howard and Kris devote to our horses is much appreciated.  All 10 of the driving horses passed their initial vet checks and were pronounced fit to continue the drive.

Chuck Gray led the driving meeting.  He explained that the drivers were to follow the pink and red markers along the trails.  The 10-mile drivers were to follow the trail for five miles and make a u-turn.  The 20-milers had a somewhat different route, and a midpoint rest stop and P&R check.  Theresa Burns did the safety checks and also released the drivers to begin their drives at 5 minute intervals.

Since I was free to take photographs, I tried various locations along the trail.  Sometimes the drivers came up on me quietly and I barely had time to snap a photo.  Sometimes horse riders came by and asked about the carriage drivers since they were concerned that their horses might not react well to these strange “creatures.”  I explained that yes, there would be horses hitched to carts coming through every five minutes or so.  Our MDDA carriage drivers did their best to be considerate.  They slowed down and even stopped, depending on the wishes and best suggestions of the riders.  Would it be best for the rider to go ahead and the horse in harness to wait or vice-versa?   This level of courtesy proved to be troublesome for Paul Wasielewski.  Each time he stopped his horse to let riders go by, it was difficult to get Dude moving forward again.  Finally, Paul turned his horse around and discontinued the drive.  The rest of the driving horses seemed to have no difficulty with the other drivers, riders, or the trail. 

After losing his best driving horse in April, Jac Deweese had been conditioning his pony, Ashes, in hopes that the little guy could manage a 10 mile distance drive.  Jac discovered that Ashes was eager to go and Jac let him.  As I waited along the trail saw a white blur go by with Jac holding onto the reins and laughing and smiling the whole time.  I wondered how long Ashes could keep up that fast pace.  He would face considerable sand on the trail and some rough terrain ahead. 

When it was about time for the ten milers to be coming back to the finish, I found another spot near the end of the trail.  I heard a commotion down the trail and then saw a “parade” led by Pauline and her horse Tony.  Immediately behind was Jac.  Ashes was so close to Pauline’s meadowbrook cart that he was hidden from view.  Behind them were three riders on horseback.  As they went by me, I could finally get a glimpse of little Ashes.  He was pulling that cart for all his worth, determined that Pauline and Tony would not get away from him.  Again, Jac was smiling and laughing, delighted that his pony was so willing and capable of keeping up with the big guys.

Later we all enjoyed teasing Jac that “drafting” Pauline’s cart was not allowed in distance driving.  Jac just laughed some more.  And her continued to be in good spirits, especially when Ashes earned a very high score of 389 points and a second place ribbon.

There were two horses who participated in the drive that you normally don’t think of as distance horses.  Deb Radtke and Irv Wetzel brought Deb’s beautiful black Fresian, Pietje.  Sherry and Tony Bilus brought their sturdy Norwegian Fjord, Solfest.  These horses are obviously in good condition and both garnered very respectable scores. 

Everyone enjoyed the awards ceremony at the end.  The audience cheered for all the participants as they received their score sheets and their participation awards.  Romona read off the scores while Elinore handed out the ribbons.  Then Wes and Theresa appeared and presented special “Meritorious Service” and MDDA life-time membership awards to these two ladies.  Neither one drives and yet they both volunteer a great deal of their time to MDDA and the sport of distance driving.