|
The members of the Southern Indiana Draft Horse and Mule Association met
at Danny Sommer's deer camp on German Ridge Rd near Tell City, IN over the weekend before July 4th for a wagon ride. Several of us arrived on Thursday
afternoon. Kelly Robbins had volunteered to handle the cooking duties and he got us off to a fine start with a great Friday morning breakfast. We had 1 buggy
and 3 wagons when we left out Friday morning for a ride. During the ride down to the town of Derby for lunch, we did surprise
a bobcat who came out of the woods and quickly decided he didn't want anything to do with us. Unfortunately, he was too far away for me to be able
to capture him on film. We returned to Danny's camp in the late afternoon just in time to welcome several more arrivals. There was one rain shower that passed
through on Friday evening, but otherwise, the weather for the weekend was beautiful. It was a little hot and humid, but that is to be expected in the middle of
summer. The only negative about the weekend was the abundance of horseflies which seemed to be everywhere we went.
By Saturday morning, the group had expanded and we had 1 buggy and 6 wagons ready to go out and continue touring the area although Chuck Painter's team were worn
out from their Friday efforts and he took them home. Danny led the way again on Saturday with his buggy
horse Larry and we completed a leisurly day long circuit of this area which is located in the middle of the Hoosier National Forest. The highlights of the day were when Crash's
mules had to be helped up a gravel hill that caused them to spin out and when Roger tried to mow over a road sign after one of his lines came unsnapped during a break.
The menu for Saturday evening included pork chops and burgers along with lots of side dishes. On Sunday, we had two new wagons join us and a couple of the other members headed
back home. Also, Roger Carver decided to take his family and use their truck to go visit some of the local landmarks. So when we headed out on Sunday, we had 1 buggy
and 4 wagons, two of which were new to the group. Danny observed that he and the photographer were the only ones in the group who had ridden every day of the weekend.
Overall, Sunday was a repeat of Friday and Saturday with lots of beautiful scenery and very little excitement which is a good thing when you are driving horses and
mules out on the road.
As always, it was great to be able to spend some time with this group. Unfortunately, a few of the regulars were missing due to health problems and other committments.
Lets hope that they are all better and able to spend time with us when we meet again at Jim's next month. Thanks to Danny Sommers for a great event and for allowing me to ride in his buggy with him
on Friday. I rode with Kelly Robbins on Saturday and with Rob Braun on Sunday. It was great to get to know both of these gentlemen a little better. Click on the link below
to see the photos from this fun weekend.
|
