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The World of Ben Theyre
West to the Tetons '05 Ben Theyre Article Life’s Lessons on the Trail Copyright 2005 Time and Decisions If you are a frequent reader of The Trail Rider you likely recall from my last entry in the April/May issue, that Vanessa and I are planning a three week trip with our horses. In July, we will travel from our farm in the Finger Lakes region of New York, west to the Tetons in Wyoming. Before we return home, the vacation will probably put a good 5,000 miles on the new truck. We have been planning for the adventure. A recent national tourism report revealed that, on the average, people spend less than two weeks planning their vacation. In an effort to raise the national average, we decided to make our planning a six month project. It is an extraordinarily long time by standards. But, as every good trail rider knows good planning for a trip takes time … and is worth the effort. Van and I are seasoned horse travelers in the distance riding world and have mostly used primitive camping facilities in and around our national parks. What we haven’t had is the wilderness experience. That is where horsemen romantically ride into the bowels of our national parks – with their GPS units – camp, and witness what few see. Certainly, we are not wimps and would love to see the sights. Our years of endurance racing taught us how to ride hard over rough terrain. It toughens body and soul. But, we admittedly have been spoiled a bit. Management at events we have frequented over the years often provided a cadre of support personnel. Ignoring the actual competition part, having water, direction and available emergency help offered a low risk, relaxing equine camping situation; and we sort-a-kind-a well, have become used to it. We also need to consider the risk. While some might think it to be their 15 seconds of fame, I for one would be quite embarrassed to be on the “live cam” with my horse dangling from the bottom of a helicopter. I really don’t want to be interviewed by Katy or Matt. So, we will avoid wilderness camping. Primitive camping will offer a nice balance. To quench our thirst for the wild we will look for opportunities along the journey to have a guided ride into the wilderness. Developing a route seemed to take a larger block of time than we expected. We wanted the journey to be the vacation, too. Interstate highways, a necessary evil, offer speed; but we also wanted to travel the old US highways across our country. They offer a slice of Americana which we love. With ten weeks to go, the route we will travel is still in a dynamic state. We have, however decided to take a path through a known entity, the Brown County Horseman’s Park in Indiana. It will be our first stop. If we drive 500 miles in between stops from there then we will be in Iowa and South Dakota before we reach our destination in Wyoming. Flexibility would be the theme of the return trip. It could take us through Michigan or if time is short it may be a more direct route on Interstate 90. Four back issues of The Trail Rider Magazine became our primary reference source. We researched, surfed and measured on road maps. We also viewed Garth and Kathy’s DVD on Wyoming. The devil is always in the details. Knowing the general direction of our travel gave us flexibility in finding ads and announcements for horse camping and riding for the states we would be camping in. All the big decisions we made developing our route paled in comparison to the biggest choice of all, which horses to bring. There was no question, Vanessa is bringing Beene, her well traveled gray Spanish Arab gelding who has become sound after recovered from debilitating ringbone. The fifty dollar question is, ”Should I bring Thunder, our 19 year old reliable trail horse or, Be-Bop the Internet Horse, our six-year old?” If you recall, Be-Bop was the steed I was riding when Vanessa and I had our September 2003 incident in which I broke my wrist and Van suffered a concussion. To the faint hearted, there would be no decision, Thunder (his real name is PFLA Rahad) would be the choice. The chestnut is a Straight Egyptian gelding and a seasoned trail horse. He proudly carries the marks and temperament of a 2000+ mile endurance veteran that has logged fifteen, 100 mile races. He travels well and is steady and powerful on the trail. Best of all, his adventures make great campfire material. Then there is Be-Bop. He is one of those intelligent, cerebral horses. Vanessa calls him the “independent thinker”. Despite the misunderstanding he and I had in the road in 2003, he has found a place in our hearts. The problem with bringing the young gray gelding is that although he travels well, he is not well traveled. He needs a good trailer ride up to Otter Creek for a weekend camping trip and a refresher course on trail riding if he is going to participate in our adventure. Decisions decisions. Mulling over this choice of horses is not something to loose sleep over but I am concerned about taking a 19 year old horse on a 5,000 mile, 18 day romp on the highways and by-ways of our nation. Moreover, equine health issues on the road can change the entire demeanor of a vacation, if you know what I mean. On the other hand, Be-Bop would gain a world of experience from the trip. It would do him good; make him more worldly. Also, he represents the younger horses on our farm and our future mounts as we face retirement in the next 10 years. We will see how his conditioning progresses and will make the right decision. Time continues to tick away as our departure date of July 1st approaches. There is still much to do. No matter which horses come along or what route we settle on we hope you will look for our rig around Yellow Stone National Park for a week or so after the 4th of July holiday. Not in the vicinity? Check out our web site WWW.BENTHEYRE.COM for regular updates during the trip from July 1-18. We will also try to have a direct link to our travel log on The Trail Rider Magazine web site WWW.TRAILRIDERMAGAZINE.COM. Drop us an e-mail. We will respond from the road. Taking six months to plan a vacation is a great way to get excited about your approaching adventure and make it the best. Vanessa and I like to discuss our travel plans together. That way the trip reflects our mutual interests and will truly be an enjoyable experience for both us and our horses, which ever ones we choose to bring. Bottom line, our boys are depending on us. Ultimately, it is our responsibility to make the trip safe for the horses so they can learn from the experience as much was we will. Life is good if you live it. |