Obstacle Course for Best of America By Horseback Ride

I headed for my favorite place in the world, Leatherwood, with one mule and a trailer full of stuff! The TV Show Best of America By Horseback was having a national ride this weekend and they had asked me to host a Trail Challenge for Sunday afternoon. The place was a buzz of people, vendors, riders and good food smells! Friday night was a nice dinner and people getting to know each other or seeing old friends. It was rainy and drizzly and cold, yuck! That night it poured rain on and off and in between the rain storms the wind blew and blew! I had to get up and put my awning away. Poor Sadie was tied to the trailer in this lovely weather but she was partly under a tree and had a warm winter blanket on too!

Saturday morning was a much different story, clouds pulling off and the sun!! We all saddled up for our group ride to leave out at 9AM! The ride went well and I was glad that I had a t-shirt on as it got rather warm. The group stopped at different times for various reasons and my group got separated from the rest so I got to lead them up the mountain. Best of America had cameras along the way to film us as we rode by.

After Lunch and Beverly arrived I started loading things into the arena. At dinner we sat at a table in the back and got a few more people to sign up for the trail course!

Sunday AM Bev and I met Abbie for breakfast. Bev had told me Abbie wanted to have breakfast with us and then Caroline from the resturant also gave me a hard time about not yet eating at the resturant yet. Well I was surprised at the end of breakfast with two cakes and a singing of Happy Birthday! Apprently Carolin and Bev could not remember which cake was my favorite so she made both! Boy was I surprised!

After several mad hours of setting up the course it was done! All my extra work had paid off as I must say the course looked good. I could not wait to see how the horses and mues did with it!

Sadie Mae was a pack mule for the advanced group. They had to take her from a handler and lead her between some cones and return her! She did very well, esspcially not knowing the horses or people who were leading her.

Everyone seemed to have a good time and once the scorces were added up and awards given it was time for a mad clean up! Lots of people helped get the things taken down and out of the arena. Lucky for me and Bev her friend Mike stayed and help us actually get the things loaded back on to my trailer! Sunday night was a nice dinner and cake!! Then Bev left for home!

Monday AM I took my truck and drove around the roads outside Leatherwood to see what I could find! I found lots and lots of wild turkeys and one beautiful mountain view!