And this one
was to celebrate two gutsy horsewomen, Messanie Wilkins, also known as Jackass
Annie, and Sea G Rhyder a present day Long Rider, so, how awesome is that?
On November 8, 1954 Jackass Annie left her
home in Minot, Maine on her pony Tarzan and traveled by horseback, homeless and
indigent, all the way to California. On
November 8, 2013, Sea G Rhyder arrived in Minot on her pony Mr. Jesse James
after traveling, homeless and indigent, all the way from California.
What incredible women! What fortitude! What perseverance! AMAZING!![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ87ubS34knxm1UWph9IDKa14GdyGFE1-xyZnz8eBPLKn_k4MeuAf77DoHBuUJz9i6MbTDvGoiSwTdicPV4U4C5ffzaSQEXNMjfmsMhLWirbTzlSwgIJafVNumiAdPjlojC8IUzvDH33U/s320/ontheway.jpg)
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Ah-D-Das and
I were blessed to be able to participate in the parade last Saturday along with perhaps twenty other horses and
riders, including Sea and Jesse James. A
great friend of Sea's, Gryph Wulfkil, also rode in the parade upon her Fjord
pony Saint Finehorn,
who had been Sea's packhorse on most of the journey. Gryph
had accompanied Sea for the first five months of the trek and had also
journeyed a few more months alongside Sea at another time, so it was very
fitting that these two women were rejoined at the culmination of this trip.
Now, my AhD
has never actually been in a parade, but
I knew he'd be fine because of all the groundwork and cool contest challenges
we have faced together in our years in the RAC.
The wind was blowing a gale, but the sun was out , and that is a
blessing in itself in November in Maine.
The start of the parade was about seven miles from my house which is a
ride-able distance but we trailered in because it was not a ride-able route in
my opinion. Besides, there was just not
enough daylight at this time of year for us to hightail it home after the
parade and subsequent ceremony at the cemetery where Messanie is buried.
My husband
Dana agreed to be the chauffeur, so I loaded up AhD and we drove to Kate's
house to pick up her and Jax. Both horses loaded, trailered and unloaded like a
dream. We had previously taken out the
inner dividers of our stock trailer to accommodate Jax because he most
definitely prefers to walk off trailers (not back off) and that preplanning is
what made that trailer ride so uneventfully SLICK!
My tummy had butterflies in it, I was so
excited. We had well over an hour before
parade time, but since we had a chauffeur who would be leaving with the truck
and trailer before the start of the parade, Kate and I set to tacking up.
Kate had a few feathers to decorate Jax and
even an orange boa. She loaned me a few
feathers as I had decided not to dress up in anything fancier than my
embroidered fleece RAC Reserve Champion jacket because I wanted to promote Curlies and invite people
to ask me questions. (It worked! Or, it
might just have been that wonderful
winter curly coat that AhD has grown in the past month.)
My husband Dana the Chauffeur tormenting Kate |
The variety
of equines was incredible. There were,
of course, Quarter Horses, but also, TB paints, Morgans, Arabians, a Tennessee
Walking Horse, a Saddlebred, and even a draft Appy mule! (I wish I had been able to talk more with the lady who had the big black mule - because, how cool is that?) I met the NICEST
people! There was not one single horse
that acted out in the parade. A local farrier and endurance rider Colleen brought
two Arabs, riding one and leading the other one that was obviously green. You could tell that these people knew how to
ride, but not one was braggy or boastful about it at all. We admired each other's horses, and AhD
received many compliments. I was
beaming! He was so well behaved. It was kind of crazy, with flags flapping
madly in the wind and kids hiding and darting along the edges of the road. We passed at least two sets of goats. AhD is really not too comfortable with
goats...he looked but didn't miss a beat.
One of the
riders had ridden with Sea in Texas, and vowed she would ride with her at the
end of the trip.
She carried the Texas
flag on her borrowed QH. Others drove their horses in from all over Maine and
New England.
Joanie
Mitchell, the actress who played the part of Messanie Wilkins in a documentary
film, and her horse were dressed as a leopard/tiger cross. There were
Long Riders participating as well, including Lucy Leaf who inducted Sea
into the Long Riders League that day.
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We made our
way off the main road onto Jackass Annie Road and trekked the mile up to the
homestead cellar hole. All the horses
seemed fine with moving up or falling back in the herd. There was a camera crew there and an
Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker recording it all for posterity. I think he interviewed each one of the riders
beforehand. The filmmaker interviewed me
as I stood by AhD, who was tacked up and
tied to my trailer. He asked me a few
questions, so I gave a short description of Curlies and told him my Curly was
very smart and personable but a bit fresh.
Kate and I exchanged glances and laughed. I am so hoping I can see the
film one day. Sea told me she is asking
him for not just the final product, but all the raw footage as well. Sweet!
There was a
ceremony for Sea at the cellar hole. The
Minot Youth Historical Society had been corresponding with Sea throughout her
trip, and those kids were so excited and proud to welcome her to Minot. It was fun!
I'm not sure if that is where Lucy Leaf inducted Sea into the Long
Riders League, or if that was done later that evening. We riders mostly stayed
out of the way and let our horses chill and graze.
Once the
ceremony was over, we headed further up Jackass Annie road to where it turns
into trail, and made our way down a steep and rocky trail into the woods. Our Trail Boss was Cathy Pressey on her TWH
Jazz.
I was very appreciative of the
fact that she and Jazz were decked out in orange and highly visible.
Sea and
Gryph followed us on foot because Mr. Jesse James was feeling sore (he has
arthritis and received his medication late).
After a couple of miles, we hit mud, so Sea and Gryph mounted and
continued. My friend Kate was also on
foot for quite a while because her Jax started behaving badly once on the trail. AhD and I hung back with them until Jax calmed
down and Kate was ready to get back on.
I am so thankful to our trail boss Cathy Pressey, who stood by us
stragglers and made us feel like it was perfectly ok to be lagging behind the others.
Back on the
road during the final section of the ceremony to ceremony ride, Sea removed the
bridle from Jesse James. She told me she
had dreamed of riding Mr. James bridleless when they were back in California,
and I am so happy for her that this dream came true for her.
The ceremony
at the cemetery was very emotional and moving.
Sea broke down and wept as she laid flowers upon Messanie Wilkins'
grave. I was all choked up, and I was
not the only one. My friend Kate cried
like a baby. Jesse James and Saint Finehorn roamed free behind Sea, Gryph and
Lucy Lee (a Long Rider also) as photos were taken at the gravesite.
At the
closing of the second ceremony, Cathy Pressey invited me and Kate over to her
house because it was just a hop, skip and a jump away. I called Dana to come pick us up, and Kate
and I had a chance to rest and let our horses do the same.
What an
incredible time I had!! I am so glad I
could be a part of this celebration, and I am so proud of my handsome AhD, who
took everything in stride and behaved like he had been doing parades his whole
life. p.s. Harold and Donna, I took 115
pictures; did I include enough of them here for you? :)![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw5gTCKVLbL9tnbpeY3Ex72A_yJJizbbFt8u3vkzdaQeH2dwMaMSntios91x3Dgnqo5tRuzKs0mtZW_EmMJvwJoGZtT_GpB4Z5dPuaZXYJ35533iGZ6y76rAz5sBr_fyXDSWYBFGGfRxQ/s320/jackass+annie+parade+066.JPG)
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Dear Susan,
ReplyDeleteI realy have to laugh about you!
At the beginning of RAC 2013 you told me you didn't have a lot off time so you would not join the competive part of RAC...
Look at you! You are leading/running this RAC...you are posting most and sending the most pictures...sorry for my bad language, hope you understand what i mean??
buy the way, love your story again!
greetings marjolein
Boy oh boy Susan, my eyes got totally tired from looking at all the pictures, Donna should take lessons from you,,, Very good piece of history I believe... Good story and why should you expect less from a great horse
ReplyDeleteOh WOW, WOW, WOW!!!!! Susan, I have been looking forward to this post for what feels like ages!! What an INCREDIBLE event you got to partake in!! And so awesome that you had no issues with AhD!! You guys are my inspiration for my upcoming parade and I SO hope I can have as positive a post as you just did. I am a huge softie and I have to admit I shed a tear reading about the memorial. The picture that did it for me is the one of Sea kneeling and laying flowers on the grave. You and Didder look awesome! Kudos to Kate and Jax too! We know from your previous posts that he can be a handful but sounds like he was a star for her other than that brief bit! He'll be even better next time! YAY for you!! Such an awesome post and loved ALL the pictures!!! I will have a camera on me Saturday and so will my husband so I am hoping for lots of good pictures too!! : )
ReplyDeleteAMAZING Susan!! What an incredible thing to be a part of! Wow. I loved the pictures and the story and the memorial..all of it. What a neat group of people and horses! Yay to you and AHD....whooo hoo!
ReplyDeleteThank you all; I am glad you enjoyed my tale and photos. It was an amazing experience, and I always love to share on the RAC!
ReplyDeleteWOW! I had no idea this horse and rider were traveling across the country and that it had ever occurred before! This is my history lesson for today! If something like that was to occur around here, I would be sure to be there! That must have been an incredible feeling and experience!
ReplyDelete