Thanks for adding me to the derby! I'm Claudia and live in Wasilla, AK. I was riding until my early twenties on school or other people's horses. Then I focused on dogs until twenty years or so later I started riding tourist horses on my vacations. Long story short, after one of those vacations my hubby Frank who missed having farm animals and liked these tourist trail rides got us two Icelandics. This is Katla, named after a volcano in Iceland. You probably can imagine her mane glowing in the sunlight! She's 23 this year and we enjoy trail riding. We have the horses since two years now.
I am from the Kenai! Tough for me to figure out the tech portion of GDD but it's cool anyway! I wasn't able to find you either... Or find you again at least!
Sunday, 3/6/16: 7.42 miles riding Knik River. 28-35F, ground softening by the hour, still rock hard in places and icy patches. Water crossing (little slough).
Hi Claudia - I'm in Kenai - you are getting some great miles in! We are struggling to get 4 miles on a ride. It's so great to see so many Alaskans doing this. Happy trails!
Hi Claudia - I'm in Kenai - you are getting some great miles in! We are struggling to get 4 miles on a ride. It's so great to see so many Alaskans doing this. Happy trails!
Hello H. What's your team number and name? Yes we're lucky to have one good area at Knik River. Everything else is still iffy here, too. And we always have to trailer over 20 miles one way to get there. I was surprised to see so many Alaskan teams too, sure happy! Have met Patty Duncan on one of our trail rides. She's in DD too. Claudia
3/27/16: 3.73 miles ride around Fairview Loop subdivisions. Total: 80.77 miles Today without the foals. Barefoot. It's getting muddy plus the ATVs tearing up the trails along the road. They break the ice surfaces too, and that's good. Hopefully it dries up fast without more rain.
Our ol' mares are loaded! They want to run as much as possible, any direction (home or away from home). They're now 23 and 25 years, but you can't tell by their spirit and condition.
So wonderful to hear about your senior gals! Hope your break-up is going better than ours - that period of MUD between winter and summer really annoys me!
It's drying up. We're actually thinking of trying the trails along the road later today. It seems the peninsula has a strong group of equestrians in the DD! All doing awesome! I'm tired of flat trails, but don't think the mountain trails are ready. Don't want to ruin anything.
3/30/16: 5.69 miles ride at Knik River. Total: 86.46 Today the ground was soft, all ice slushy and little left. Mucky areas. Last stretch was very windy! First airboat on the river.
3/31/16: rode 6.83 miles at Knik River to Jim Creek. Total: 93.29 Lots of everything - rocks, gravel, sand, dirt, mud, puddles, slush. Horses were doing great without boots. They loved racing through the sand and walking over the dunes.
4/3/16: 4.00 miles ride at KRPUA to Jim Creek. With studded boots. Had company today! Deanna and Kenny with Gus and Ty. Awesome weather, sunny and 50F.
4/14/2016: rode 3.31 miles at Palmer Old Railroad Tracks. New rockslide this winter too difficult to pass. Had to turn around. Trail would be 13 miles long. Will try from other end another time.
4/16/16: rode first 0.51 miles in the outside arena and then in the afternoon 3.20 miles on the oval track. Fun! Today's total is 3.71 miles. 55F and warm sun.
4/27/2016: rode 10.26 miles at Mat Lake. Trails are already dry. Few moist spots and soggy spots at the bottom as usual. We mostly ponied our foals today, including trotting sections! They did awesome! Total now 154 miles even.
5/4/2016: rode 6.90 miles at Matanuska Lake trails. Stayed in the woods to avoid the wind. Still nice and dry. Ponied the foals the full 2.5 hours, they did great! Total: 160.90
5/7/16: Rode 10.24 miles with June on Gjöf at Matanuska Lake trails. Break at Crevasse Moraine trailhead. Beautiful day, mostly sunny but breaks with clouds and light wind for the horses. Fields and trees getting greener each time we go there!
Missed counting miles on day two of the clinic, plus I had no service in the arena (yesterday we rode outside). 5/19/16: rode 5.89 miles at Jim Creek with June riding Gjof and the foals coming along today.
5/22/2016: rode 6.86 miles with a group. Eight horses. Four TWH and four Icelandics. Our friend Elaine rode Gjof. More hills than usual, good workout. 60F and partially sunny. Total: 187.51
5/25/2016: rode 5.54 miles, mostly walk but still faster average with less breaks. Very demanding terrain and lots of stream crossings. Need to change my boots and socks now! Fun ride!
5/28 - 5/30/2016: Rode at a three-day horse clinic for Icelandics. 5/28: morning groundwork 0 miles, afternoon walking exercises in small arena 1.76 miles 5/29: morning tracking equipment failure, afternoon 2.65 miles 5/30: clocked morning and afternoon at bigger arena and oval track at a total of 4.91 miles New total miles: 202.37! Who thought I'd cross the 200 miles barrier with arena miles! Plus jump into the top 20 at the same time. Miles and smiles!
6/1/2016: rode 6.76 miles today. Exhausting terrain, lots of stream crossings and uneven terrain through the wilderness without much of a trail. Beautiful and confidence building!
6/2/2016: rode 18.70 miles with a group. Four other horses. Lots of uphill and rocky in between. Beautiful and our ol' mares did awesome! No slowing down in sight! Used boots today.
Hope your summer is going well! Doesn't look like I am going to make the CTR (grrrr!) but looking forward to meeting you on some trail soon! Katie @KC Adventures #144
Thanks for adding me to the derby! I'm Claudia and live in Wasilla, AK. I was riding until my early twenties on school or other people's horses. Then I focused on dogs until twenty years or so later I started riding tourist horses on my vacations. Long story short, after one of those vacations my hubby Frank who missed having farm animals and liked these tourist trail rides got us two Icelandics. This is Katla, named after a volcano in Iceland. You probably can imagine her mane glowing in the sunlight! She's 23 this year and we enjoy trail riding. We have the horses since two years now.
ReplyDeleteSunday, 2/7/16: 3.32 miles riding at Knik River. Temperature was 25F.
ReplyDeleteSunday, 2/14/16: 4.95 miles riding at Knik River. Temperature was 35F.
ReplyDeleteWednesday, 2/24/16: 6.01 miles ride at Nancy Lake. Temp was 40F.
ReplyDeleteThursday, 2/25/16: 8.62 miles ride on Nancy Lake Parkway. Temp was 40F
ReplyDeleteNice to meet you Claudia! Isn't this an amazing winter we are having :-) Happy Trails!
DeleteHello Katie, where do you live? I'm from Wasilla. Happy riding to you, too!
DeleteI am from the Kenai! Tough for me to figure out the tech portion of GDD but it's cool anyway! I wasn't able to find you either... Or find you again at least!
DeleteMonday, 2/29/16: 7.53 miles riding at Knik River. Temp was 35F, home bound was windy!
ReplyDeleteWednesday, 3/2/16: 5.23 miles riding Matanuska Lake trails. 35-40F, ground still rock hard in most places, icy patches.
ReplyDeleteSunday, 3/6/16: 7.42 miles riding Knik River. 28-35F, ground softening by the hour, still rock hard in places and icy patches. Water crossing (little slough).
ReplyDeleteWednesday, 3/9/16: 6.89 miles riding Matanuska River. 40F, rocky with patches of sand and ice, downriver still a lot of snow.
ReplyDeleteTotal now: 49.97 miles
Delete3/13/2016: rode 5.62 miles at Knik River. First trailering ride while leaving the two foals at home.
ReplyDeleteHi Claudia - I'm in Kenai - you are getting some great miles in! We are struggling to get 4 miles on a ride. It's so great to see so many Alaskans doing this. Happy trails!
ReplyDeleteHi Claudia - I'm in Kenai - you are getting some great miles in! We are struggling to get 4 miles on a ride. It's so great to see so many Alaskans doing this. Happy trails!
ReplyDeleteHello H.
ReplyDeleteWhat's your team number and name?
Yes we're lucky to have one good area at Knik River. Everything else is still iffy here, too. And we always have to trailer over 20 miles one way to get there. I was surprised to see so many Alaskan teams too, sure happy! Have met Patty Duncan on one of our trail rides. She's in DD too.
Claudia
I'm really excited about the DD. I would never have this many miles in without it. It's been a good winter too. I am team 17. -Hara
DeleteI'm really excited about the DD. I would never have this many miles in without it. It's been a good winter too. I am team 17. -Hara
DeleteGreat Job on keeping your log on your Team Page!
ReplyDeleteSmile & Mile On!
3/16/16: 6.06 miles riding at Knik River.
ReplyDeleteNew total: 61.65 miles.
40F, ground soft, snowing!
3/23/16: 15.39 miles ride at Nancy Lake Canoe Trails. 50F, barefoot, lakes still frozen. 6 hours in the saddle!
ReplyDeleteTotal miles now: 77.04
3/27/16: 3.73 miles ride around Fairview Loop subdivisions.
ReplyDeleteTotal: 80.77 miles
Today without the foals. Barefoot. It's getting muddy plus the ATVs tearing up the trails along the road. They break the ice surfaces too, and that's good. Hopefully it dries up fast without more rain.
Our ol' mares are loaded! They want to run as much as possible, any direction (home or away from home). They're now 23 and 25 years, but you can't tell by their spirit and condition.
So wonderful to hear about your senior gals! Hope your break-up is going better than ours - that period of MUD between winter and summer really annoys me!
DeleteIt's drying up. We're actually thinking of trying the trails along the road later today. It seems the peninsula has a strong group of equestrians in the DD! All doing awesome!
DeleteI'm tired of flat trails, but don't think the mountain trails are ready. Don't want to ruin anything.
3/30/16: 5.69 miles ride at Knik River.
ReplyDeleteTotal: 86.46
Today the ground was soft, all ice slushy and little left. Mucky areas. Last stretch was very windy! First airboat on the river.
3/31/16: rode 6.83 miles at Knik River to Jim Creek.
ReplyDeleteTotal: 93.29
Lots of everything - rocks, gravel, sand, dirt, mud, puddles, slush. Horses were doing great without boots. They loved racing through the sand and walking over the dunes.
4/3/16: 4.00 miles ride at KRPUA to Jim Creek. With studded boots. Had company today! Deanna and Kenny with Gus and Ty. Awesome weather, sunny and 50F.
ReplyDelete4/7/16: 7.26 miles ride at Knik River
ReplyDeleteTotal: 104.55!!! First time over 100 miles!
4/13/16: riding again, yippee! 13.16 miles at Jim Creek, took us 5.5 hours including some grazing breaks.
ReplyDeleteTotal now: 117.71 miles
4/14/2016: rode 3.31 miles at Palmer Old Railroad Tracks. New rockslide this winter too difficult to pass. Had to turn around. Trail would be 13 miles long. Will try from other end another time.
ReplyDelete4/16/16: rode first 0.51 miles in the outside arena and then in the afternoon 3.20 miles on the oval track. Fun! Today's total is 3.71 miles. 55F and warm sun.
ReplyDelete4/17/16: added only 0.39 miles today, but accomplished Icelandic/US basic rider badge level 2.
ReplyDelete4/21/2016: rode exactly 9.00 miles per GPS. I even stopped the workout while still on the horse before getting off and it was that!
ReplyDelete4/24/2016: rode 9.62 miles to get ice cream at the gas station :-)
ReplyDeleteTotal: 143.74 miles
Delete4/27/2016: rode 10.26 miles at Mat Lake. Trails are already dry. Few moist spots and soggy spots at the bottom as usual.
ReplyDeleteWe mostly ponied our foals today, including trotting sections! They did awesome!
Total now 154 miles even.
5/4/2016: rode 6.90 miles at Matanuska Lake trails. Stayed in the woods to avoid the wind. Still nice and dry. Ponied the foals the full 2.5 hours, they did great!
ReplyDeleteTotal: 160.90
5/7/16: Rode 10.24 miles with June on Gjöf at Matanuska Lake trails. Break at Crevasse Moraine trailhead. Beautiful day, mostly sunny but breaks with clouds and light wind for the horses. Fields and trees getting greener each time we go there!
ReplyDelete5/16/2016: Riding again! Took Katla alone to a centered riding clinic, day one of two. 3.62 miles outside arena riding.
ReplyDeleteTotal now: 174.76
Missed counting miles on day two of the clinic, plus I had no service in the arena (yesterday we rode outside).
ReplyDelete5/19/16: rode 5.89 miles at Jim Creek with June riding Gjof and the foals coming along today.
5/22/2016: rode 6.86 miles with a group. Eight horses. Four TWH and four Icelandics. Our friend Elaine rode Gjof. More hills than usual, good workout. 60F and partially sunny.
ReplyDeleteTotal: 187.51
5/25/2016: rode 5.54 miles, mostly walk but still faster average with less breaks. Very demanding terrain and lots of stream crossings. Need to change my boots and socks now! Fun ride!
ReplyDeleteNew total now: 193.05 miles (22nd)
Delete5/28 - 5/30/2016: Rode at a three-day horse clinic for Icelandics.
ReplyDelete5/28: morning groundwork 0 miles,
afternoon walking exercises in small arena 1.76 miles
5/29: morning tracking equipment failure, afternoon 2.65 miles
5/30: clocked morning and afternoon at bigger arena and oval track at a total of 4.91 miles
New total miles: 202.37!
Who thought I'd cross the 200 miles barrier with arena miles! Plus jump into the top 20 at the same time. Miles and smiles!
6/1/2016: rode 6.76 miles today. Exhausting terrain, lots of stream crossings and uneven terrain through the wilderness without much of a trail. Beautiful and confidence building!
ReplyDelete6/2/2016: rode 18.70 miles with a group. Four other horses. Lots of uphill and rocky in between. Beautiful and our ol' mares did awesome! No slowing down in sight! Used boots today.
ReplyDeleteHope your summer is going well! Doesn't look like I am going to make the CTR (grrrr!) but looking forward to meeting you on some trail soon! Katie @KC Adventures #144
Delete