I just blogged below about our ride-a-thon but it is out of order so you'll have to scroll down to "Rivers Edge Ride-a-thon" title to start at the beginning. I tried, but it messed up...or I did. Either way...there is an order to the story :)

Also here is a link to see pics of Sierra's new (used) tack.
http://picasaweb.google.ca/jssepaterson/SierraSNewSaddleAndACouplePicturesOfCuteyPieMuddy#5481743084170294354

Happy! We did it!!

We were both VERY happy to stop for lunch. They had a campfire going, and the snow never stopped falling. We all stood close to the fire and let our clothes steam dry. Sierra got her boots off and tried to remind her feet that they were still alive. We had a great lunch of hot beans, cold cut sandwiches and hot chocolate along with chips and cookies. It was a bit less than an hour stop but it did the trick. Warmed us up and gave us the much needed encouragement and energy to keep on going. Our leader would have let us turn home then if we had all been too cold. But we persevered and had a great afternoon.









Sierra changed into her snowpants (in the tiny outhouse...with me trying to help...quite the funny experience...just ask her!) and was extremely happy that I brought them!! They kept her dry for the rest of the afternoons ride. We also got to canter and run around fields a lot which also kept us warm and inspired to go on.
During the ride we crossed rivers (and not shallow ones either) went up steep muddy hills, went down STEEP muddy hills, went down STEEP, MUDDY HILLS INTO RIVER'S and traversed many mountiansides filled with trees and fallen logs. The whole time in wet, heavy snow and -1 to 1 degree celsius weather.





When we got back to the lodge for our steak dinner all our layers were wet, the outer ones were so wet it was like we had dumped them in a bathtub, pulled them out and left them on the floor in a great puddle. However...It was great fun and we hope to do it again next year. We'll both bring better rain gear next time...Jackets AND pants!

Sierra and I layed down on the couch as supper was being fixed and both of us actually fell asleep cuddled up together (we got pretty chilled) Luckily when we woke up we got to eat a great meal and they started a fire in the fire place which helped us regain feeling everywhere. After supper they did a little raffle. Sierra won a 'bit warmer' and I won a pocket knife. Pretty cool I say! All that on top of what we got for fundraising which for me was a 25.00 gift certificate to their camp store (which I gave to Sierra as it was her birthday) and Sierra....

One of the highlights for Sierra was that she raised enough money (she raised $827.00 in only 8 days) to win the prize of an 8G IPOD touch. Pretty cool for a 9 year old.

When I first decided to do this with Sierra I read that we'd have to each raise 100.00. About a month later I realized that we needed to start and I needed to tell Sierra my plans so that we could get fundraising. So I signed us up and went online to get the info.

There I learned we'd actually EACH need to raise 200.00 as we were using their horses and I almost cancelled us out thinking it would be impossible to do that in the 8 days we had left (I procrastinated and then poor Sierra had to work with what was left...) But Sierra did so well and worked hard and by day 2 I knew we could do it! So I kept us signed up. She raised money by asking at school, going door to door in our neighborhood and even venturing downtown to ask businessess for their support (while her chicken mother sat inside the car waiting and praying that they'd say yes to her--once I had my 200.00 I quit and let her take the lead).

Tomorrow we will be working on our thankyou cards for all of you and the strangers too, who gave so freely to her (and me).

THANKS EVERYONE. JOIN US NEXT YEAR...on the actual ride!!

If you run into Sierra, get her to give you the story. She's in bed now so I didn't get to give you her version but it is WAY better and more in depth than mine. But I figured if I waited, I'd never get the pictures up. So...ask questions if you would like to know more. But the summary is 'fundraising for REBC, snow, horses, riding, snow, camp lunch, snow, loping, snow, loping, more snow, home again, soaked clothes, nap, supper, prizes, snow, truly excellent memories.'

Out in the cold

Sierra, naturally, got a bit bored during all the walking on her very well behaved horse "Bert" so decided to take a nap. Good thing he was so well behaved (though he got a big grumpy half way through, we're sure due to hunger, and was very rude (swung his butt around to threaten a kick...or actually did kick) to any horse that got to close...except mine :)










So...you can see here Sierra is beginning to wane. She was cold (her feet had been cold since before mounting) and wet and hungry. Shortly after this picture I forced her to eat chocolate i had brought along. She is one of those people who needs to eat regularly or she can get pretty scary. She did recover though and then I encouraged her to trot around more especially when the group would stop, so that it'd warm her up. It worked.

It was nice that the ride was relaxed and you didn't have to stay in perfect formation but could get out and in fields ride abreast of one another.

And then lunch finally arrived.

The River's Edge Ride-a-thon

Sierra and I took part in the River's Edge Bible Camp ride-a-thon this year. I planned to do it with her for her 9th birthday. You'd think end of May would provide us with a beautiful warm spring day...hmmmm, not quite, we saw the weather forecast a few days before the event and it didn't look good. But we kept praying it'd change. It didn't. We got up Saturday morning at about 4:30 to get ready for our possible 2 hour drive (it only took us 1 hour 40 minutes) and we were NOT speeding. It was snowing, slushy and below freezing driving conditions so most the time we were under the speed limit. Apparantly we left the house before the call from the ride leader asking us if we wanted to cancel till mid June. I'm glad though cause I think this ride, with its weather and such has given us better experiences adn memories then the perfect weather day we had originally hoped for.

WE BUNDLED!!
Sierra was not happy being so bundled and refused to wear her snowpants (her wise mother--buffered by her own 6 layers however insisted on bringing them and tied them onto my horse 'just in case') After all our fundraising (when I say 'our' it was mostly Sierra) and the weather report came in. Sierra didn't think it was going to be much fun. SNOW, RAIN, 1 degree weather. I told her we needed to think positively and have a good time no matter what.






Don't I look happy?? I was pretty excited to go, though a bit of nervousness as I am pregnant and it was cold and snowy and we weren't stopping back in at camp for lunch but would be out on the cold trail for the full 6 hours if no one wimped out. Yikes...what about bathrooms??












Out on the trail at last. We first had to stand in ankle deep mud in the arena while everyone had their tack checked and were helped up on their horses. Get this...I got the short one and Sierra got the biggest! My guy (freckles...ugly but sweet and easy to ride with a comfy trot and bumpy lope) was sturdy though so that was good. And the two of them got along so we got to ride together.









We met Leanne Van...nope not that name anymore, ummm, Symes, it is, out at the ride. She knew the people heading it up. Unlucky for her they clotheslined her off her mighty steed halfway through which made the rest of the ride a pain 'literal' in the body for her, but she did the whole thing! She and I vied for best position in the line, here she got ahead of me and Sierra was on her own up front with the leader.
By the way, Sierra was by far the youngest rider out there but held her own very well. Once her horse jumped a fallen log and Sierra was almost a goner, but held on and righted herself quickly. The leader was impressed. He told her at the end that she was a 'good little rider'. And she really is!