IRON OAK CLINIC & NOVICE RIDE/DRIVE

By Jane Licht

You might think that cold and windy weather would discourage attendance at the Iron Oak Clinic and Novice Ride/Drive held April 23^rd at Loeb’s Farm near Lodi, Wisconsin.  But members of the Midwest Distance Driving Association (MDDA) who sponsored the event were very pleased at the turnout of novice riders, competitive riders, clinic participants, and especially the number of distance drivers.  MDDA president Wes Licht served as the event manager with Jac Deweese as assistant manager.  They gave part of the morning clinic presentations along with Roger Houk, Sandy Rudstrom, Elinore Tonsor, Romona Radtke, and Dr. Howard Ketover.  Pauline Stollenwerk, Gail Gutzmann and Jane Licht (this writer) registered those participating in the 6 and 12-mile drives, the 12-mile novice ride and the 25-mile competitive ride.  Marguerite Deweese and Dana Houk organized the impressive lunch buffet and made accommodations for those who ate early, at noon and late depending on their ride or drive schedule.

Linda Jacobson and Romona Radtke led the riders’ meeting for the 25 mile competitive riders and Romona held the meeting with the novice riders.  Veteran distance riders Jennifer Baker and Allison Goetz each guided a group of novice riders on the trail.  Earlier in the week, Linda had set up the 12-mile riders’ trail while Jac marked the 6 mile drivers’ trail.  Two loops would be used for the 12-mile drivers’ trail with a midpoint vet check.  Sandy Rudstrom and Richard Loeb did safety checks for the drivers.

Both riders and drivers commented very favorably on the well-groomed and well-marked trails.  They appreciated the natural beauty of the wooded areas that were sheltered from the wind.  Most of the riders’ horses took advantage of the filled water tank positioned along one part of the trail.

This writer volunteered for crossing guard duty where the trail crossed Highway J.  I cautioned riders and drivers to wait if traffic was coming and I also used the opportunity to take some photos.  Everyone seemed to be in good spirits.  However, I noticed that one of the 6 mile drivers on my list never made my road crossing.  Pam Catlin suffered an accident early on the trail and broke a bone in her leg.  Our group was very responsive and Pam was taken to the hospital for immediate attention, while others recovered her horse and carriage.  All were able to return home that evening.  Pam’s husband Mike asked for the names and addresses of the many people who provided assistance to Pam and her horse Titan, who only received a minor cut.  We hope all is going well with Pam and her horse and hope to see them back on the trails in the near future. 

Elinore Tonser checked pulse and respiration while Romona scribed for Dr. Ketover.  Gail Gutzmann and Jack Shea helped scribe and number horses early in the morning.  Gerry Millard and Karen Kroll were timers, which means they told the participants when to start and recorded their times in for the midway vet check and finish.  This was a challenging task because of people and horses coming and going, due to so many divisions.

Several of the competitive riders volunteered to compile the scores.  Dawn Haas, Sheryl Levin and Barb Gardner added the number of points off as determined by the P&R readings and Dr. Howard Ketover’s evaluations, and subtracted these sums from the possible 400 points on the score sheet.  With the exception of three horses that did not finish (Titan and two others whose drivers got off course) all horses finished and had acceptable metabolics.  Their riders and drivers were invited to pick up participation awards to the applause of everyone else at the event because in this sport, to finish is to win.

The results were as follows:

6 mile drivers
1^st – Glenn Garbisch and Akhea (Arab) – 394 points
2^nd – Karen Osterby and Serr (Pintoabrabian) – 392 points
3^rd -  James Clay and Pepe (POA) – 383 points
4^th -  Laneta Robinson and Annie (Morab) – 382 points
5^th -  Bruce Thayer and Dayle (Morgan) – 378 points
6^th -  Pat Jarocki and Rocky (Mini) – 371 points

12 mile drivers
1^st – Sharon Brunzlick and Junior (Standardbred) – 392 points
2^nd -  Randy Rudstrom and Buddy ( Standardbred) – 391 points
3^rd -  Derrick Dupler and Rhia (Morgan) – 390 points
4^th -  Deb Dixon and Magik (Saddlebred-Quarter cross) – 387 points
5^th -  Roger Houk and Jazz (Morab) – 386 points
6^th -  Jac Deweese and Scooter (Morgan) – 379 points

12 mile novice riders
1^st – Beth Foat and General (Arab) – 397 points
2^nd – Sue Tabot and Champ (NSH) - 395 points
3^rd – Vickie Peterson and Apache (Paint) - 389 points
4^th - Terrie Treland and Annie (Ten. Walker) – 388 points
5^th – Amber DeLap and Royal (Arab) 382 points
6^th - Litzy Nowobielski and Genius (Arab) – 379 points

25 mile competitive heavy weight
1^st – Jim Haas – 372 points
2^nd – Ellyn Rapp 371 points
3^rd – Dawn Haas – 367 points
4^th -  Barb Gardner – 366 points
5^th -  Sheryl Levin – 365 points
6^th - Joslyn Seefeldt – 356 points

25 mile competitive light weight
1^st – Linda Jacobson – 385 points
2^nd – Paula Rapp – 375 points
2^nd – Shirley May - 375 points
4^th -  Kathy Schauer – 362 points
5^th – Nancy Smaglick – 360 points
6^th – Gena Seeling – 355 points

25 mile competitive junior
1^st - Rachel Rudstrom – 399 points
2^nd – Jessica Rudstrom – 379 Points
3^rd – Paula Seeling – 369 points
4^th -  Jordan Fleege – 302 points