contributed by Karen Garrett

Other than a few midnight marauders and an errant donkey, the Plum Creek CDE ran smoothly thanks to the efforts of Linda and Keith Yutzy, Chuck and Nancy Leshikar, Lisa Cox and a host of volunteers.  The first midnight marauders were captured by Tim Branam, the photographer, around 12:30 am.  They had apparently pushed apart the panels of their temporary corral and decided to pay a visit to the trailers in hopes of a midnight snack.  Luck was with them and they found the ramp to Lew Smith’s trailer down and walked in helping themselves to hay.  A lesson to all of us to close those ramps at night!  And I only worried about raccoons!  The second group of escapees made were John Milligan’s Halflingers who apparently opened the stall doors of Craig Langseth’s pair around 3:00 am.  There were some sleepy eyed competitors on Sunday morning!

The donkey made his appearance at the dressage arena on Saturday morning shortly before I was due to begin my test.  Keith had been chasing him for awhile through the mesquite lined paths of Sections A & D before the long ear spotted my mare, Katie, and mistaking her for his pasture mate, came running up to her braying at the top of his lungs.  Muffy Seaton, the judge at C, bracing herself for a wreck, asked Cat Cook, her scribe, what she thought Katie would do.  “Oh, that’s Katie, probably nothing” was the reply and sure enough Katie just stood there looking a little disgusted as the donkey nuzzled her.  Fortunately, he ran off into the mesquite followed by Keith before we had to enter the dressage arena.  I don’t know what kind of penalties would be assessed if he had followed me into the arena!

The new Schoolhouse obstacle is very pretty; congratulations to the designer and builders!  The bridge proved a challenge to some (especially Katie) but all got across safely – no less than four times!  I think the course designer wanted to get maximum value out of the bridge.  The water hazard proved difficult because the asphalt footing didn’t hold up and we all sunk deeply into the clay which clung to the wheels.  Even the big horses had a hard time pulling through the clay, and with four water crossings I saw it take a toll on their energy.

Keith’s cones course proved a challenge for everyone; there were no double clears.  But we all appreciated having it in the trees and the lovely shade.

Nancy Leshikar turned out her fabulous food again for breakfast and lunch and organized an excellent bar-b-que for dinner on Saturday night.

Click on the picture to enlarge. If anyone has more pictures or would like to share their experience, please send to Claire.