Postscript- NATRC Trail Ride Results

Yesterday, I got a letter from NATRC (the North American Trail Ride Conference) in regard to the results of the Californio Ride I went on a few weeks ago. It turns out that the scores for Novice Horse and Rider were miscalculated and that I was actually 5th Place rather than 7th Place. Now I qualify for a ribbon! Cool!!

Max came through again!!!!

Shipwreck

Last Friday night, I was introduced to a new set of modern naval rules called "Shipwreck" (no doubt after the Soviet missle system). I'm somewhat familiar with the computer version of Harpoon and I used to own the paper version of the same game (but never got around to playing it) but this was a new system to me. It's meant to be a more simplified and fast-playing set of modern naval rules and I believe it's largely succeeded there.

Although Harpoon (the paper version) looks appealing, I have always been put off by the complexity and the steep learning curve. The computer version was fun but it's no longer in production and just didn't work on the more advanced PCs (although supposedly a more advanced version is in the works, it appears that it won't be happening anytime soon because the company folded- as far as I know...).

Anyway, one of the members of our gaming group put together a small scenario- NATO vs Soviets with me playing the overall commander and being in command of one Arleigh Burke and one Spruance Class destroyer. Out task force also had a British Type 42 Destroyer (the Sheffield which met it's demise during the Falklands War was one of this class) and an improved Spruance Class destroyer.

Opposing us were some pretty bad hombres- 1 Kirov Class Cruiser, 2 Sovremenny Class Destroyers, and 2 Udaloy Class Destroyers. As with all Soviet ships, they were packing a ton of ordinance and we would soon feel its effect. To round out the fun, we also had a US sub squaring off against a Soviet sub but this was pretty much all handled abstractly.

The game system was relatively easy to pick up on- the only bad part is the volume of die rolls needed for detection and spotting- more ships, more dice! This is one of the first miniatures rule sets that appears to have been thought out and one that you could immediately use "real world" tactics. Since nobody elese on the NATO side was really familiar with modern naval combat, I was more or less the guide in this area.

Once I figured out all the weapons stats and ranges, I arranged our task force in as optimal a formation as I got get. I also learned real quickly that the only ship with any anti-air range (AA) was the Type 42 and its rate of fire was pitiful (compared with what a missle volley would have). Supplementing this at medium range was the 2SMR2's on the Arleigh Burke (which has some pretty robust systems). The two Spruances only had short and very short-range anti-air systems. I don't recall the exact ranges in terms of nautical miles, but the bottom line is that you're not going to be able to fire in defense at incoming missles until they're almost on top of you. You'd better pray you roll well!

Detection was quick and both sides did it pretty quick. Soon each side was launching its missle volleys. The first volley came from one of the Sovremennys and it was some older sort of Soviet missle. It was pretty pathetic and they were easy to shoot down, although there were some tense moments.

We responded by firing every Harpoon and Tomahawk missle we could launch (the Tomahawk is basically a long-range Harpoon missle). We fired off 36 all together and aimed them all at the Kirov. My partners looked at me incredulously- "why are you putting so many on one ship?" My response "you'll thank me later after you see how many are going to get shot down!"

Sure enough, out of 36 missles, only two got through and actually hit the Kirov. One took out the hanger (big whoop!). The other scored a critical hit and the Kirov was soon dead in the water with all of its weapons system inoperable. However, not before the Kirozv fired off some 40 missles in return.

This time, we were not so fortunate and while we managed to trim the incoming flock of missles down to 15, 13 heading to the Arleigh Burke and 2 to the improved Spruance. The Spruance managed to down the last two missles but the Arleigh Burke wasn't so lucky- 5 missles hit after all the close in guns kicked in and missed and the final result was "sunk". Ironically, my chaff launcher managed to divert two missles- one to the Type 42 and one to the other Spruance. The other Spruance sustained minor damage and the Type 42 was instantly sunk.

At that point, the NATO forces retreated off the board in disarray. In looking at the ships, we really had no business going up against the Soviets without some air cover or something...the Type 42 was worthless and the Spruances' AA was mostly short and very short range- the Spruances were meant more as an anti-submarine platform than anything else and it showed. However, the Tomahawk missles were a welcome addition. The Arleigh Burke was the only combat unit that had a chance and even then its was greatly outnumbered. Those Soviet vessels just belch out seemingly unending streams of missles!

Anyway, this is a rules set that I'll be investing in and hopefully I'll get some more games in. Good stuff for a change!

Memorial Day Weekend

Max and I got a pretty good workout this last Memorial Day weekend. Saturday, Max and I went for a light trail ride following my usual route accross the river and looping back to the Orcas Arena. I even cantered Max in a few places and the weather was quite pleasant.

Sunday, we had our lesson and we worked on various bending exercises and Walk/Canter transitions. It was pretty hard work but Max stuck with it. Afterwards, we went for a ride through Orcas Park.

Monday, we went for a more extended trail ride in the opposite direction, into the mountains to the cattle pens (which is about halfway to the Bathtub/Doc Larsen). However, as we were making our way up the steep dirt road leading up to the cow pens, Max refused to go into the canter. After several tries and a short "discussion" with the crop, he finally got going. Weird- I thought we were over that...

Max was easy to manage on the way back home, which was nice, and just to mess up the routine, I decided to add on a loop winding up at Orcas Park. Max was definately not happy passing the entrance to the stables but he complied. After crossing the river, he balked again at cantering. Hmmmm...

Everything else worked out well, even all the Memorial Day picnikers and the idiots with the ATVs.

I believe that part of the issue of Max's not cantering is that perhaps he's feeling sore from the hard riding from the past two days. Also, I've run out of his joint supplement (I have more on order) so perhaps this was part of the problem. It was also getting pretty breezy and he sometimes uses that as an excuse to refuse to do things.

I ended up giving him a good dose of Bute and I'll give him Tuesday and maybe Wednesday off. Hopefully, this problem will correct itself. I believe that we'll do some schooling around the stables when we ride again.

Always something with these critters...

Max Goes to Malibu

Last Saturday, Max and I had another opportunity to try out our trailering techniques when Lori, a trail buddy from the NATRC ride a week ago, invited a few of us to come out to her place in Malibu to go riding (originally we were going to go to Paramount Ranch but there was a banjo festical scheduled that weekend so we had to change locations). Naturally, I jumped at the chance.

Max got into the trailer with no problems (it was a three-horse slant-load) and was soon travelling down the road with his buddy Molly- they were so quiet that you couldn't even hear them moving around, something that's pretty unusual.

Basically, we drove out northwest up US 101 until we got off at the Kanan/Dume off-ramp and then followed Kanan Road towards the ocean. Next, we took a right on Mullholland Highway until we would up at the entrance to our friend's ranch. Because the driveway is pretty narrow, we unloaded the horses in a field accross the road and tied them to the side of the trailer.

After the usual grooming and tacking, we met up with our friend Lori and her horse Shyster and were making our way up a series of narrow trails. The views were beautiful and we were cutting accross a combination of private land (with horse trail easements) and public land. As we approached the ocean, it got cooler and more cloudy.

As we rode along, Max was excited and got more so as we got closer to the ocean- the cool air, strange location, and different horses put him into the "superhorse mode" and there was constant jigging. We did some trotting but Max was definately up for more so it was a real challenge to keep him within limits.

The trail finally took us to the edge of a series of cliffs overlooking Pacific Coast Highway. According to Lori, she sometimes rides at night when there's a full moon and on several occassions they've managed to sneak the horses onto the beach although getting them accross Pacific Coast Highway can be a bit of a challenge.

Overall, the views were fabulous even though the cloudy weather prevented us from seeing too far down the coast. I can see why people want to live there and why there's a lot of sentiment to restrict development. Definately a million dollar view!

We then curved away from the cliffs and proceeded to make a loop back towards her ranch, or more properly, split-level ranch. Due to the all the hills, the ranch facilities are broken up into various areas separated by various hills and trails. It was a crazy layout, to say the least, but pretty neat. Apparently there are five small houses on the property that she rents out.

When he realized that he was heading back to the trailer, Max really started to act up and become a real pain to deal with. At one point he tried to back up on me when we had to stop for someone to adjust their girth strap. A smack of the riding crop and spurs stopped the backing up but it was still tense.

We finally arrived back at the trailer after about 2 1/2 hours a and having travelled about 8 miles or so. At this point, we fed and watered the horses and got them ready to go home. I thought I was going to have problems loading Max but he loaded fine and was probably happy to be going home.

The trip back went without incident, even though we got stuck in stop and go traffic through Calabassas/Woodland Hills on the 101 Freeway.

Overall, the trailering went excellent but the actual ride wasn't the best because of Max's acting up. After discussing this with my trainer, we agreed that it would be a good idea to cut back on his feed the night before (which I hadn't- the usual 3/4 bucket of Omolene 100 and A&M) and that I should lunge him vigorously before loading him.

I guess I should have expected something like this but he never really acts this way at home so it came as a bit of a surprise. The more I take him places, the more I'm going to have to work on various training to keep Max's focus on me rather than allowing him to act like a jerk. We've made good progress in the past so I have all the reason to believe that Max will eventually calm down.

Some Mounted Marine Figures - circa 1920s

I finally decided to upload some pictures I took of one of my miniature projects. Naturally, horses are involved! The figures are mounted US Marines from the 1920s-30s during the "Banana Wars". The figures are 28mm scale and were manufactured by Cannon Fodder Miniatures in Australia. Also, I was able to get some Thompson SMGs as a separate item from a friend so I used them instead of the 1903 Springfield Rifle. My first conversion job! Yay!!

Marine smoking a cigar- sort of a younger version of Lee Marvin...

Sort of looks like the Wild Bunch, huh? I'll probably use these with the "Contemptable Little Armies" rule set.

Poor Miniatures Rule Sets

For some time, the issue of poor miniatures rules sets has been bothering me. Maybe it's just me (and if so, tough!) but it seems that the average miniatures rule set is a much poorer product than the average tabletop boardgame (i.e. wargame).

The root of the problem is that it appears that most rule sets have not been developed anywhere near as rigorously as comparable board wargames, which is why I have personally experienced such frustration. To cite one example, I'll use "The Sword and the Flame"(aka TSAF). TSAF rules are relatively sloppy and suffer from the basic design flaw that it the designer couldn't decide on what scale he was trying to do: 1 to 1 skirmish? Platoon scale? Company scale?

As a result, the rules combine elements of all of these and the resulting mix plays a bit odd, especially with the "buckets of dice" necessary to resolve combat and drawing playing cards to determine casualties. With the average unit consisting of 20 figures, this takes a long time and add little in return. Averaging or some other device would have been far more effective.

Another are with problems is the way fighting in built-up areas is treated- the player is actually fighting in individual structures but the units are platoon (as the designer states). The scaling just doesn't make logical sense. Personally, I play it by considering a town to be a built up area and ignoring firing angles and the like for the unit's figures.

I suppose this rule set is great if you just want to throw dice and bash about but otherwise you're pretty much restricted and you get some screwy results. At that point, I tend to lose interest because for the most part, using historical tactics don't work. If you use TSAF as a criterion, it's amazing that the Europeans made it out of Europe, let alone build vast empires!

Anyway, that's my take and yes, I do lean towards simulation (as good as it gets, given the constraints). I also realize that TSAF wasn't meant to reflect anything close to reality but there comes a point where it's just a cartoon. Why waste the time and effort?

I like the challenge of a good strategic or tactical game but I intensely dislike illogical rules slapped together under the guise of "fast play" and "simple" because people are not willing to make the intellectual investment in anything more detailed (that's not to say I'm an advocate of something overly complicated like Empire or similar).

I think one of the best successful example of good miniatures rules is "Fire & Fury"- it gives enough detail and gives a good feel for the back-and-forth of the American Civil War.
Anyway, that's my opinion.

Some More Pictures From Bakersfield

Here's some more pictures of our entrenchments:

Home sweet home...

Another view of "home"...

My compadre Alvaro trying out his German Afrikan Askari outfit.

Max Triumphant!!!!, Part II

A lot has happened since last week...anyway, here's a follow-up to the trail ride competition that Max and I went on two weeks ago.

After a night of little sleep, thanks to Max banging the bucket on the side of trailer, I woke up at 5:30 AM to get ready for the ride. The ride was due to begin at 7:00 AM so I had a lot to get done. After feeding Max, I had a pretty light breakfast- I was too nervious to eat much and I didn't want to risk discomfort (or the possibility of having to stop and take a dump on the side of the trail).

After grooming and saddling up Max, it was time to mount up. Naturally Max was all keyed up and mounting him was a pain- fortunately someone was nice enough to hold him while I got on (I hate mounting from the ground!). I then had to get Max's attention so I proceeded to ride him around in circles and patterns. There wasn't much room to do this in, with all the horses and due to the fact that much of the ground was covered in gopher holes (that's something I definately DID NOT need to have happen- Max stepping in a gopher hold and injuring himself).

The ride management was releasing riders in groups of two, spaced one minute apart. I was paired up with a lady named Lori who was riding a throughbred named Shyster. When we were finally released to go, Max was jigging down the trail and it took everything to keep him in control- he was convinced that he was superhorse and he wanted to move out and move out FAST!

Soon we began to make our way up into the mountains, going up a series of switchbacks up some 1500 feet. The trail was narrow and let's just say that I was in no mood to look down- riding on narrow mountain trails isn't a favorite so I tend to focus on the trail and the horse in front of me. Max was very energenic and if it had been up to him, he would have cantered up the whole thing. We pretty much took the whole thing at a fast walk and it was not the most comfortable ride in the world.

After about an hour of this, we finally arrived at the top and the trail began to widen out. Soon we came to the first vet check (or PNR point). Max was covered in sweat and was blowing pretty fierce. After resting Max for a mandatory 10 minutes, the ride staff checked pulse and respiration on Max. I was very concerned at this point but as things turned out, he pulsed in at 11 (11 heartbeats over a 15 second period) which equates to 44 beats per minute.

Basically, the ride rules stipulate that if the horse pulses at 17 (68 beats per minute) or more, then he'd have to wait another 10 minutes and get re-checked again. Max was well in the acceptable zone. The rules on pulse and respiration are more rigorous for endurance riding and there's a whole science to it- I haven't delved into it that much.

After passing the vet check, Max and I waited until my friend Debbie and her horse Molly had been checked and we then left together, along with her daughter Stacy. So now it was the three of us. The best part was that now we up in a series of gentle hills intermitantly covered with trees and brush- no more confining mountain trails. We now made good time, especially since the field was now strung out a bit and we weren't riding up against any horses directly in front of us.

We made good time, trotting at some points and walking fast at others. Max had finally settled down and he seemed to be enjoying himself- he was supremely confident and not once did he shy at anything. He was alert but seemed to be relaxed about the whole thing.

We made our way down some gentle trails and then hit a fire road. It was hear that we really moved out at a fast trot and all the horses seemed to fall into it in a calm, organized way- it wasn't a road race and the horses were cooperative.

Soon we were back to more narrow single-track trails that snaked in and out of wooded areas and brush. The view from up here was excellent- at one point we were high enough to see all of Pyramid Lake and at another, we could see the whole Antelope Valley. It was a million dollar view and it couldn't have been done from anywhere else other than the back of a horse.

Finally, we arrived at the second vet check and Max was measured again. Unfortunately, I let Max eat some grass and that elevated the pulse so he pulsed in at 14 (I lost the only two points for this, otherwise I would have maxed out the vet part of the scoring). After the vet check, we stopped for lunch and Max was soon eating fresh alfalfa and some Omolene that I'd brought along.

After lunch, we began to make our way down the mountain down another set of switchbacks. All the horses were calm and collected and everything passed without incident. When we finally reached flat land and began to head back to the start point, Max then began to get a bit anxious- basically barnsour. He telling me "Come on Dad, we can take these horses, let's canter!!!!"

Just before the final approach there was one pretty steep hill we had to go up. Because the ride rules state that all hills must be taken at a walk (or you lose points), we had to walk up the hill and that was rough on Max to the point where he was tripping. I was tempted to kick him up into a trot anyway, points be damned. Personally, I disagree with this philosophy- trotting up a hill is a lot easier on a horse and especially on a very steep one. I felt that I was being cruel making him walk it- in the future, I'm not going to let that happen again. It just isn't right, in my opinion.

It was a lot of work to keep him in line but we succeeded and soon we were clocked in at the start point, We were #7. After cooling him down and a final vet check, it was over.

In terms of scoring and awards, it was a tight field and I didn't win anything. Max was tied at 98 points (out of 100 possible) for the veterinary part and my horsemanship was lower at 91 points. I got gigged on a number of things- pretty subjective but if I do one of these again, I'll be better prepared.

That night, Max slept pretty soundly and there was almost no moving about (thank god!). The next day, we took down the camp and Max loaded with no problems. Travelling home went without incident and as soon as I unloaded Max, he proceeded to call out, as if to say "I'm back and I want my alfalfa!!!"

Overall, it was a big success and I hope this is the beginning of many good travelling adventures with the Max.

Max Trimumphant!!! Part I

Well, I've finally recovered from this last weekend and the trail riding competition. Overall, Max was excellent and everything went much better than expected! Max passed his vet checks with flying colors, even though we were penalized points in the second vet check because his pulse was higher than the first stop (I let him eat some grass which elevates the pulse- lesson learned!).

After a somewhat late start Friday, we finally made it out to the camp at about 1:00 PM- it's located at a ranch off of the 138, just past Gorman. I'd successfully loaded and unloaded Max and he pretty much arrived in one piece with only a little abrasions to the left hip. Naturally, Max was excited seeing all the other horses and the wind had begun to kick up and this didn't help- nevertheless, he stayed tied up at the trailer.

After the initial check-in and having undergone vet check, I proceeded to arrange everything. As it turned out later, I left the tack box too close to Max and got gigged points for it. Also, my presentation of Max for the vet check could use improvement- I need to be able to lunge him better.

Anyway, I got little sleep that night- Max was banging his bucket against the trailer and the noise kept me up almost all night. I was able to sleep in two-hour increments but it was tough. Also, Max kept pacing about and wouldn't settle down (although he did eat and drink). Somehow during the night, Max managed to undo the snap link and he proceeded to wander around- going to visit his girlfriend Molly, who naturally began to squeal like Mares do. My friends managed to catch Max and hook him back up by the time I'd pulled my boots on and got outside.

More to follow- the ride!

History of Heroes - WWI Event Report - Part 3

Here's a somewhat tardy follow-up report on the History of Heroes event from the WWI reenactment standpoint:

After seating off many pounds during the first days' battles, we proceeded to rest up and re-group for the night battle. Being out-numbered some 3-1, it was going to be a grim night for the Allies. We decided to pursue the strategy of the "somewhat forwards defense", figuring that if we didn't deploy far enough forward, we wouldn't have the tactical depth to adequately defend. Out main position just wasn't deep enough. It was analogous to NATO vs the Soviets in Central Europe during the 70s and 80s.

As soon as it got reasonably dark, the night battle commenced. Although the event was closed to the public, we still had an audience of reenactors, mostly Civil War types with a large contingent of drunk Confederate reenactors who were impatient for the battle to start ("hey, hurry up and get going there! We want to see a battle"). Nothing like a bunch of drunk inbreds to make things complete. I was tempted to lob a smoke grenade or two into the stands but I restrained myself.

The first assault went pretty badly for the Allies, not helped by the fact that we lacked numbers and, in my case, the fact that my rifle kept jamming because I wasn't using the correct stripper clips (I only had two Springfield clips, the rest were actually intended for use in the Gew98/98a rifles) so at several critical moments, I had an inoperable rifle. What a pain (note to self: buy more Springfield stripper clips!). It was a sound thrashing, to say the least. We were more of a speed bump than anything.

The second assault worked out much better and we actually held them off! Amazing. The problem was, we used up all of out grenades doing so and there was no way to recover them in the relative darkness (and not helped by the glare coming from big spot lights off on the sides). I was actually able to nail two storm troopers with my trusty rubber hatchet as they jumped into the trench. I saw them coming and figured that they'd seen my so I was amazed how easily I got them both. I later found out that the glare from spotlights had totally blinded them to actually being able to see into the Allied trench.

A few more grenades lobbed into the shell holes in front of the Allied line took out the rest of the German assault party and thus the attack ended. What a rush! Not only did I nail two soldaten in hand-to-hand, but my grenade aim was actually decent enough to hit the targets in the shell holes in front of me (trust me, I suck at throwing stuff and it was very evident when I messed up on the grenade range in Basic Training some 20 years ago!).

The third assault pretty much finished us since we lacked grenades or other firepower sufficient to hinder (or even annoy) the German assault troops. It was a massacre and the Germans were off to the rear to loot the supply depot (doughnuts left over from the "Donut Dolly" display).

After that, we decided to call the battle since we were out of grenades and blanks- we had to keep some for the next day's public battles. Although we'd been given a two-hour window to do our battle, we had actually gone on for about 45 minutes. It was noted by all that it had been such a long time since we'd done a real battle that everyone had forgotten that these battles expend a high volume of ordnance. Lesson learned!

The moral of the story here is that you can never have enough grenades or blanks!

Sunday saw us doing only one public battle and we had to tightly script it since we had to convince people that the outnumbered Allies were going to defeat the Germans, even when outnumbered 3-1. The cool part was that the Germans wired up three black powder ground charges that they set off before launching their ill-fated assault. The first assault we beat off and then we counter-attacked, charging the main position.

This time, I went out as a bomber, just carrying a ammo bag full of grenades and my trusty rubber hatchet. We worked in two-man teams with my trusty companion Bob covering me with his rifle. Basically, we didn't want the battle to degenerate into the usual "sniping from shell hole to shell hole" so instead, we agreed to an all-out charge with no casualties to the shell holes in front of the German main positions. As part of the battle scenario, we had to get close enough to lob one or more grenades into the German machinegun position (if that didn't work, the gunner was going to fake a jammed machinegun).

The plan went off without a hitch and we successfully took the position. I even managed to clean out a bunker by pitching a couple grenades inside (nobody was actually inside so it was safe). Pretty cool!

Overall, it was a good weekend even though temperatures were in the 90s (Gatorade made serious $$ off of us that weekend!) and we, the Allies, lacked sufficient numbers or firepower. Something to work on for the future. We also managed to attract a few potential recruits but I don't hold out much hope since they're mostly youngsters with no money- I seriously doubt if any are going to have the will or desire to raise the cash to buy the necessary uniforms and equipment (we'll provide loaners to a point but people have to demonstrate some sort of committment by actually investing in their own kit).

Anyway, it looks positive and hopefully with the buzz generated by the night battle, we can attract back some more former WWI people (who were primarily powderburners and capbusters) who drifted away when we left Jack Rabbit Trail (JRT).

Only time will tell...

Trial Run Up To Doc Larsen

Today, my riding companion and I decided to see how ready we are for the Californio Ride next so we went on an extended ride up to the Doc Larsen and then loop back to the stables- about a 12-mile ride. The toughest part is making your way uphill to the Doc- it gets pretty steep in places and we were going at a relatively slow pace.

What is "Doc Larsen"? From what I've been told, he's an individual who was an early resident of the Sunland-Tujunga area who promoted trail riding. Apparently he lived into his 70s before passing away. In his honor, a trail was constructed which links the trails in the Middle Ranch area with the fire roads further up. At the top of the Doc Larsen Trail, there's a bathtub set in rocks and concrete that's hooked up to a constant a water source. There's also a long hitching rail. I really should have gotten some pictures of this.

Anyway, Max was blowing pretty hard by the time we made arrived but he was rewarded with a nice long break. His trail companion Molly is also a Mustang and her termperment was excellent and she seemed to accept Max. Definately NOT a nutjob Throughbred so we were able to take the fire roads at a more sane pace. The worse part is going downhill- it puts a real strain on the horse and rider, almost more than going uphill.

The ride also gave me a chance to organize and test some of my trail equipment. I'd never really given this a thought before so I've never made a concerted effort to gather the necessary trail equipment. But now...a lot of it is similar to what the endurance riders use. Overall, everything seemed to work out fine.

Naturally Max was a bit of a knucklehead on the way home but nothing major. When we got back to the stables, I also tied Max up to the trailer for awhile and he seemed to do allright, even with some fierce winds that kicked up.

We'll see if this applies to next weekend...

Getting Ready for Trail Competition

The closer I get to the weekend of May 12-13, the more nervous I get since this is when I'll be participating in the Californio Ride at Lake Hughes sponsored by the National Trail Riding Conference. I believe that Max has the pysical stamina to make it, it's just all the various details to keep straight in respect to the competition.

First, there's the matter of gear. Since I'm going to be using an English saddle (no real alternative there), the only attachement points for bags are in the front. I can use a set of largish pommel bags but there's no provision for fitting water bottles. Or, I can use a smaller set of pommel bags but with two water bottles- the only problem here is that the bags are not very large.

Then, there's the whole matter of pulse and respiration and dealing with the judging. I've been given all manner of information on cooling the horse off, etc. but it's going to be tough to keep everything straight, especially since I'll also have to be dealing with Max and making sure he doesn't pull anything.

Not to mention, I have no clue how he'll act tied up all night- supposedly most horses are allright with it and Max hasn't tried to do any pull-backs recently but who knows? There's no real way to test this out beforehand, unless I want to camp out at the stable overnight, I suppose.

Well, I'm going to work Max this weekend and go for a ride with a friend who is also doing the trail ride for the first time so we'll see how that works out. Also, I'll practice tying up Max to the trailer for an extended period on both Saturday and Sunday and leave hay for him to munch on.

More later on this...

Waterheater - Todt

Well, if it's not one thing, it's another. For some time our waterheater has been slowly leaking, signalling that it's time to replace the unit. Since our house is covered under a home warranty, I reported the problem and the warranty company sent one of their contract firms to look it over.

No surprise, the technician said that it needed to be replaced. So far, so good since the warranty company will cover it. Then the technician launched into writing up all sorts of extra stuff that would also have to be done to "bring it up to code" to the tune of $800. That's when my BS detector went off.

I bought my house in 2001 and had it inspected at the time of sale. The only things that needed to be fixed was to elevate the waterheater (it's located on the outside wall of the house opposite of the kitchen and on the patio), add proper earthquake strapping and re-do some of the venting. These were all taken care of.

Now, some six years later, all sorts of EXTRA stuff now has to be done including re-routing the gas line? How come this stuff wasn't caught during the inspection? Also, I find it hard to believe that the building code would change so drastically in the space of six years.

Well, we complained to the warranty company, they sent out another outfit to look it over and they came back with an estimate of $500. That's a bit easier to swallow but I'm still a tad suspicious. I'd do it myself except I don't want to mess with gas lines. I can understand the need for some repairs, especially since the leaking has messed up the platform.

After discussion with my wife, we agreed to get it done and made the arrangement for this Saturday. In the meantime, I noticed that what had been a trickle, now was now a constant flow.

Well, none too soon- early this morning at about 5:00 AM, I hear the sound of flowing water. At first, I dismissed this as being the sprinklers going on (they make the same sound). However, when I finally woke up at 6:00 AM, I still heard the waterflow sound so decided to take a look outside.

Yep, it had finally blown- water was flowing out of it in a stream and from multiple locations. There also was a distinct reduced flow of hot water (which was more like lukewarm). While I shut down the waterheater, my wife managed to reschedule the installation for this afternoon so we won't have to go without hot water for too long. It's amazing how dependent we are on hot water- I was unable to take a shower so I feel a bit scuzzy today and I'm still trying to wake up!

One more bill to pay next month!! I guess I'll have to defer my 1904-1918 saddle and tack purchases for awhile. Lucky Max!

History of Heroes - WWI Event Report - Part 2

I managed to get to sleep around 12 Midnight after having filled up sandbags for several hours and things didn't cool down until about 3 AM.

Saturday started off bright and early with my getting up at first light to start more work on the Allied lines. Gradually, more people began to filter in and soon we had several working on the Allied line. Naturally there were about 12 Germans so they were able to get a lot more done on their side than we did.

After several hours of work, we able to take a break and get ready for the pass in review parade. The Germans were completely absent and only four Allied soldiers marched. Afterwards, we began our scheduled first battle. Unfortunately, due to a lack of coordination, it really didn't go off well and the it all bogged down into a shoot-out from shell hole to shell hole. Not every interesting from the public's point of view (supposedly some of the audience were actually walking away).

Things improved after we held a quick conference in no-man's land. After improvising a simple battle plan, the second battle went well and we were able to put on a good public spectacle. By the time the second battle was completed, it was about 5 PM and everyone was exhausted and pretty much done in by the heat.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent resting and one of the new member's father was kind enough to make dinner for us all so we didn't have to brave the dubious cuisine of Jack in the Box or something similar.

At least the next battle would be at night when things would be cooler (relatively, anyway).

Overall, it wasn't a bad day but the heat did not help any and the lack of Allied soldiers and grenades also didn't help. These are definately areas that need to be addressed for future events.

More to follow...

Fun At Revolver Drill

Here's an image of the Military Tournament that was taken at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition that was held in Seattle, June, 1909. This is the revolver drill portion of the event and it appears that some of the horses were not too happy about it. The cavalry detachment pictured was from the 14th US Cavalry.

This picture is from the University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division (Photographic print, B87C). it's interesting to know that some things never change. We are so conditioned to believe that cavalry horses, or horses in general, back in the "old days" never spooked or shied but the evidence is here before us. I suspect that no matter how well trained the horse and/or calvaryman was, there were those days when things just went wrong and the cavalryman would become airborne. Ouch!