Abandon Ship!

 

 

 

When I turned the Distance Derby over to Diane this year, I didn’t expect it to go as smoothly as it did.  Not that I didn’t think Diane could handle it but she had to learn Blogger and my rinky-dink spreadsheet plus stay on top of all the rides.  I expected to feel needed but let me tell you, this is one of the easiest transitions I have ever done!  Thank you, Diane, for taking over with the same passion that I had about the Derby last year.   You are doing a great job with it.   

 

What the heck is wrong with me this year?  I’ve fallen to the second tier of numbers and can’t seem to get up!  But let me explain.  I chased the miles last year.  All Year Long.  First, to see if I could get 1,000.  When I hit that in September, it was then my goal to hit 1,200 miles.  Plus I wanted to keep my position in the top 10 and finish that way.  I chased the miles the last week of the year to see if I could keep my 7th place standing.  I didn’t, but that’s okay.  There wasn’t a trophy saddle for 7th or 8th place; and I completed the Derby in the top 10.  

 

And now?  I’m just plain tired!  At least that was the excuse I used the first week or two.  Then it got cold again.  And its always windy, not to mention a few days of snow.  Then mud.  And its still windy.  And February came along and it is historically my poorest riding month.  Why change it up?  Before I knew it, ol’ #8 here was now #44 and I haven’t even logged 40 miles!  My Windy is going to get fat and barn sour.  She’s been wearing her stable blanket for weeks!

 

While I haven’t been out and about, I have been watching all of you.  I’ve been reading your comments with interest and watching you (virtually) ride.  It is so exciting to see so many new riders – and very serious ones at that – join our Distance Derby.  I can tell Diane is having fun with it and I think you are, too. 

 

I just wanted to drop in and say hello and tell you all I haven’t abandoned the ship but have been resting along the shore.  I’ll be back in the saddle and riding with you soon.  Daylight Saving Time is about here.  ~Tammy – Team 1

 

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Feb. 26th Updated Leaderboard

Feb. 26th, 2013 Leaderboard.  Don't know where my mind was on Sunday, completely forgot to update the board.  Probably because I didn't ride this week :-(  I really enjoyed reading all the posts this week of everyone who did ride.  Thanks for Sharing. 

How many drivers do we have in DD2013?

Enquiring minds want to know :-)

Here is a post I recently got from Brenda T.  Team 33 - Blitz 

Diane-

I loved reading through all the bios and it is great to see so many people driving horses this year!  Do you know how many drivers we have out there this year?

Attaching pic of me and Dinky going through the cemetery this past weekend.  My husband was a bit freaked out and worried we were going to get in trouble for taking the horse and carriage through there….lol. 

Brenda

Team 33 Blitz

All you drivers out there, please drop a post on Brenda's page and let her know!

Feb. 17th Leaderboard Update YTD

We are now on week 3 of February and it was a nice week in more ways then one.  Six teams got their first Derby miles in Feb,  everyone kept their horses between their legs this week and the weather was nice enough to ride most days.  Unfortunately, that is fixin' to change directly coming this Thursday for us here in Nebraska.   Hope all the rest of you around the country have great riding weather.  We want more miles posted next week :-)

Distance Derby 2012 in Trail Rider Magazine!

DD Riders are famous!  The Distance Derby 2012 is in the Trail Rider Magazine this month.  Article is written by Tammy Vasa.  The picture for this article was taken at Branched Oak back in October.  DD2012 Team 7 - Shoofly (Sheila) came back to Nebraska to visit family and friends and we all went to ride with her.  There were about 20 people on the ride and all of these pictured were in the 2012 Distance Derby.  We sure had a great time (any excuse to ride right?), oh and all the DD riders did use their GPS's  to track miles :-)

                      


Next month we will be even more famous because........DD2013 will be in Trail Blazer Magazine!  Bobbie Jo Lieberman-Weber who is Team 106 - All That Jazz, is also the editor of Trail Blazer Magazine.  She asked Tammy Vasa to write an article on the Distance Derby and it would be published in March.  Thanks Bobbie Jo and Tammy for making us all stars :-)  So be on the lookout for the March issue.  

Feb. 10th Leaderboard Update YTD

February 10th Leaderboard Update.  This has been a tuff week for alot of us.  Sure hope next week is better.  We have 94 riders out of 129 now on the board!  Awesome!

Hola Amigos! - Montar a Caballo

Here is a post from our own Team 80 - A Team.  Mike Anderson, down in Mexico got to ride a horse on the beach!

2-9-13 2.8 Miles on Diablo in Mazatlan Mexico

112.82 Miles total to date MDA

I rented two horses to ride the beach here in Mazatlan. I paid 480 Pesos ($40) for two horses for a one hour rental fee. Debra Ahrens who has been comming here many years but has never rode here decided to give it a try. I ask the amigos to give her a calm horse and boy did they! No Gallup, no lope, and yes no trotting. Just a nice steady walk. We rode north on the beach about 3/4 of a mile with our mexican cowboys walking a good distance behind us. Once they saw that the horses were in safe hands they turned around and walked back to thr area we were staying at. We then rode southpast our resort, The Inn At Mazatlan about 1/2 mile. About half 1/4 mile south is the "gate" where the public has beach access. My horse decided to balk and he wanted to gi home, so ithey act the same no matter where you are in the world. Anyway it was a good time and I did manage to get deep enough to get my boots wet.

Odious amigos!

Feb 3rd Leaderboard Update YTD

Here is the Feb. 3rd Leaderboard with Year-to-Date miles.  We had some slip-n-slide rides this week and Team 60 Montana Spots had to go to ER after her and her horse slide on ice.  Please join me in hoping for the best for her to heal quickly.  Team 4 MacKeogh also had a close encounter with ice this week.  Please everyone, stay safe out there!

Winter's Mirage by Team Grace

Here is a wonderful poem written by Team Owen after her ride today....and posted to her dear friend's page after their ride.  My mistake and I am apologizing to both Team Owen and Team Grace.  Still love the poem though and wanted to share it with everyone :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Winter’s Mirage
February 2, 2013

A place of sanctuary that is not what it seems
A mirage
Appearing in the hazy heat of hot white sands when all seems lost

And yet today
Not a desert oasis, but hidden worlds
Of a Winter’s Mirage appeared…

Blistering white snow hiding autumn leaves, tracks of all that had come and gone
Even as we made prints, new flakes falling to hide our pursuit of the day

From behind the stand of trees a flash of tan and white
Fawns grown big enough to survive the harsh winter…
Only to find dormant grass covered in tufts of snow

“Hey!” sharply calls repeatedly into the frozen air
echoing against the barren trees,
But I am the only person in these woods
“Hey!” I hear again
and laugh at the insistence of the squawking woodpecker hiding on the other side of the trunk as I round the bend

Rustling leaves, set into play as the wind blows overhead
Play their gentle tune
Winter woods’ orchestra

Sitting astride my gelding, my guide
Winter woods hide the truth of what is
Altering reality into what could be

And the hawk glides silently again in front of me
Swooping across my path, down and up again into the shelter
Of wooded sanctuary
Where he disappears
Until next time

And I know, once again,
That I am watched over and guarded 
In my wooded winter mirage