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!