MDDA
CLINIC AND RIDE/DRIVE
By Jane Licht
Several
members of the Midwest Distance Driving Association (MDDA) put in a long day of
trail work on Friday, April 23, the day before the Iron Oak Clinic and Novice
Ride/Drive event. Romona Radtke
drove the four-wheeled “gator” with Jac Deweese and Wes Licht hanging on in
back. Jac and Wes had both spent
time cutting up fallen trees and grooming the trails.
Then the three of them decided on specific routes for the 12-mile
distance ride, and the 6 and 12-mile distance drives. They arranged colored signs and ribbons strategically to keep
participants on the right path.
MDDA
members Pauline and Jack Stollenwerk arrived Friday evening to set up their
motor home and register and park participants who had elected to come to Richard
Loeb’s Farm and camp out overnight with their horses. Richard has been a
gracious host and helps out with this event in many ways. The Loeb Farm is
located just north of Lodi, Wisconsin, and offers some very beautiful scenery
and trails.
Most
of the participants attended the condensed clinic in the morning.
The clinic featured a panel of veteran riders and drivers which included
Jennifer Baker, Allison Goetz, Connie Gray, Randy Rudstrom and Elinore Tonsor.
They took turns sharing their thoughts on conditioning their horses,
feeding, hydration and using electrolytes - tips which they have found are
important for successful competition in competitive riding and driving.
Romona Radtke teamed with veterinarian, Dr. Howard Ketover,
reviewed the vet check and scoring process that occurs before and after the
distance rides and drives. This was particularly meaningful as all the
competition horses had just been vetted in prior to the clinic. Lastly, Wes and Romona shared valuable trail information and
starting times for the competitors who would head out right after lunch.
The
five novice riders to leave first were accompanied by experienced distance
riders, Jennifer Baker and Allison Goetz. Fifteen minutes later, the first of the 12-mile drivers, Randy
Rudstrum started his drive on a separate trail. Safety checks of harness and hitching were conducted by Chuck
Gray and Sandy Rudstrum just prior to all driving departures.
Timers Dana Houk, Christine Hyke, and Jane Licht, counted down the
seconds until each driver was allowed to go.
After all seven of the 12-milers had started, the first 6-miler, Lana
Santamaria, was released. In all, there were 21 drivers, which is a record attendance
for an MDDA drive. There would have
been even more participants but three people who had pre-registered called and
explained they were unable to attend because of circumstances beyond their
control.
Distance
riding and driving events are simply not possible without the help of many
volunteers. Besides the volunteer
members already mentioned, Glenn and Sue Garbisch and their daughter Kristin,
plus Duane Rose specifically came to help with the event.
Their horses were not quite ready for competition but they hope to
participate later in the summer. Sue
and Kristin learned how to “scribe,” which means they recorded information
on the score sheet for Dr. Ketover conducting the examination on each horse. Glenn applied entry numbers on the horses with grease paint
while Duane welcomed participants and directed parking trailers. Throughout the
morning Pauline and friend Diane Klamer handled registrations while Marguerite
Deweese organized the lunch buffet. In
the afternoon, Glenn and Duane, and Joanne Barker and Irv Dioijoid were crossing
guards for the two road crossings.
Following
are the results of the Iron Oak Competitive Novice Ride/Drive:
Fay
Van Camp and her horse Patch (grade) won first place in the 12 mile ride with a
score of 391 out of a possible 400 points.
Kris Blacklock and her horse Siboney (Rocky Mt) received second place
with 384 points. Susan Schnorr and Alex (Arab) were third with 381 points.
In the junior division, Heather Dix and Sunny (Arab) won first with an
impressive 390 points, and Eleanor Nesimoglu and LeRoy (Arab) were not far
behind with 387 points.
Connie
Gray and To Go (Arab) won the 12-mile drivers division with 386 points.
Randy Rudstrom and Buddy (Standardbred) earned a second place with 376
points. Roger Houk and Jazz (Morab)
were third with 376 points. Sharon
Brunzlick suffered through a migraine headache to finish fourth with Junior (Standardbred). Three 12-mile drivers inadvertently violated rules of the
event and disqualified themselves.
Lana
Santamaria and her trusty horse Noble (Arab) won first place in the 6-mile
division with 393 points. Chuck
Krenz and Spencer (Morgan) won second place with 392 points.
Ed Thielbar and Amber (Morgan), and Laneta Robinson with Lady (Morab)
tied for third place with 388 points. Laneta
is only 14 so as a junior driver, she had an adult who is an experienced driver
ride with her. Gary Jackson and his
Morgan Bethesda Horus tied for 5th place with Jeff Faust who drove
Bob and Mary Hathaway’s horse Donovan, a Friesian/App cross.
They both garnered 387 points.
All
the rest of the 6 milers were not far behind the ribbon winners and had very
respectable scores. Mary Ruth Marks
drove Memphis, a Holsteiner/Arab Cross, Sherry Bilus drove her Fjord Solfest,
and Pauline Stollenwerk drove Tony, a Standardbred. Marge Gettelman and her husband Loren Gettelman drove Trojan
and Bo respectively, both Quarter Horse crosses.
Marge was accompanied by son Tony and Loren was accompanied by son Dave,
who stopped by to visit them from his home in Hawaii.
Sandy
DeMaster drove Gabriellan (Morgan) accompanied by her husband Larry.
Jac Deweese recently lost his beloved Morgan mare, Nora, and so he drove
Jessie Jane (Morab) borrowed from Wes Licht.
Susie Weiss drove Donavan (Morgan) to give moral support to her friend
Chuck Kranz. Since all of these
people successfully completed their drives with horses that remained in good
condition, they all received completion awards at the awards ceremony.
In this sport, “to finish is to win.”
There are many pictures from the event on the gallery page of this website.
For
more information about MDDA and upcoming events, contact president Wes Licht at
608-838-8178 or go to the MDDA website: www.midwestdistancedriving.org