I think the old saying “Time flies when you are having fun.” is especially true when you are on vacation with your equines and having a blast driving! We arrived in Seal Harbor, ME about 2:30pm on Sunday and the SUN was out. Like WOW! It has been really rainy and I think we 
were all in shock. Unloading went fast since we pulled right up to our requested end stalls at Wildwood Stables. DL and Maggie settled right in. WE headed off to the Kimball Terrace Inn (from our balcony) to check in and have a quick bite to eat. We then headed back to the stables to have a quick drive with DL.
We had decided to do the quick loop around Day Mountain as a starter for DL. This loop is about 3.2 miles. For those that haven’t been to Acadia before, the toughest hill is getting onto the trails from the stables. DL is a pro at this gleefully cantered up the hill and then trotted over the first bridge to the right. We went to the left and enjoyed a fast road trot for about a quarter of a mile to allow DL to settle in.
After allowing DL to blow a little steam off, she settled into her great ground covering working trot. Yes, we had a few baby sized spooks at some of the big rocks but I think the spooks were more to see IF I was back there and paying attention to my driving.
By the time we reached the top of the trail where it loops off to overview, DL was happy to do a walk for a bit. Coming down the backside of the mountain was a pleasant drive mixed with some trotting and walking. When we reached the cut off to Jordan Pond, one of the big carriages was coming down. All of DL’s time spent at Larry’s with all his pairs paid off since she barely looked twice at this or the two other carriages that followed. Before we knew it, we were back to the bridge for a walk down the hill to the stables.
As we entered working horse area, DL heard her sister screaming to her. By the time we made it to our barn, we could see Maggie hopping in her stall showing her dislike for being left alone. The two sisters love each other and sometimes show separation angst when one goes out without the other. I yelled at Maggie which of course, did no good. DL had hardly broken a sweat so I brushed her off and put her cooler on. Peace was now with the pony girls as they stood head to head in their stalls.
Monday morning dawned pleasantly with some sun. We se
ttled into of daily routine. I go over early (by seven am) and feed. Then Hubby and I eat a hearty breakfast before heading over to the barn together to drive. Maggie was making her ‘debut’ of driving at Acadia. Hitching went quickly and hubby hopped on the back of the carriage and WE were off. After spooking at a big puddle, Maggie was up the big hill with little urging. Maggie was across her first bridge before she even knew it. We went to the right and trotted brightly with Maggie giving plenty of looks at all of the rocks but no spooking. When we came to the bottom of the hill, we went to the right again to do the Jordon Pond loop. Maggie enjoyed the flat stretch and did a very nice road trot staying on the bit and being very responsive. I slowed her to the walk and let her relax for a bit since I knew that our first going UNDER a bridge was coming up. As the bridge came into sight, I put her in a nice calm working trot. Maggie is the kind of pony that does much better at a trot to ‘spooky’ things. With a little urging, she went under the bridge and gave a little spook as she heard her echo under the bridge. That was fine since she came right back to the working trot that we did over the next ridge without problems.
After the bridge, I let her walk and get a good look at all the interesting things. By now, the big rocks had become second nature for her. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful even when she had to pass three of the big carriages. I WAS so pleased as we went down the big hill back to the stables even though we did have a small gigging trot when she heard her sister calling to her. No matter since she stood like a rock to be unhitched. Maggie had done 4.3 miles for her first outing but need a quick rinse off since she was a little sweaty I think more from nerves than exertion. Maggie is now an Acadia qualified driving pony.
About 4pm, we returned to the stables to take DL for her well deserved drive. Hubby had looked over the various loops and had decided we were going to do the 8 miles Bubble Pond route. I had finally broken out the GPS and wanted to track our distance and speed. I must admit, I had more than a little pony in my hands. DL really wanted to go and we spent more time at the road trot than I would have liked but DL was having a blast with ears forward and tremendous eagerness. I was able to slow her to a working trot to the tight stretch beside Bubble Pond and finally she came back to the walk are we neared the end of the pond.
When we came to the gate to cross over to the Eagle Pond side, there was sign that this part of the carriage road was closed. I think DL was annoyed that we had to turn around! Since there are no cut offs on this stretch, we had to go back the way we came. When we got to the cut off to Day Mountain, hubby looked at the GPS and we had done almost 5 miles. We decided to go back to the barn and call it an early evening. Once again, DL had barely broken a sweat and only needed a good brushing and her cooler on. I did look at the GPS and maximum speed had been 14.4 mph. Not bad for a pony.
Tuesday dawned grey, drizzle and rain in the air. Before leaving for Acadia, I had bought hubby some really good LL Bean rainwear. I have a good trench coat and waterproof apron SO driving in the rain was totally doable. Maggie was the first to go. We repeat the route of yesterday and added going around Day Mountain for a total of 5.2 miles. Maggie went even better than yesterday and was much more relaxed even going under the bridge and passing the big pairs. She took the climb up Day Mountain very well. When we returned to the barn, she was tiny bit warm but not sweaty like yesterday. I THINK she is getting it and I know she is getting to love driving Acadia as much as DL does.
In afternoon we did the eight mile Long Pond loop with DL. DL is such a fabulous seasoned driving pony. I pretty much let her pick her pace other than telling her to slow down numerous times since she loves to zoom curvy parts and canter up the hills. She is so confident and a joy to drive even if it was raining a tiny bit. She did the eight miles in an hour. According to the GPS her top speed was 22.3 km per hour. Even with these speeds, she barely broke a sweat in the cool drizzle that turned to solid rain after we unhitched.
Wednesday morning, we decided to take DL out first and try a new loop that we haven’t done before being Jordan Stream and Bridges. DL was full of energy but she stood VERY well for the opening and closing of the two set of gaits. She was much better about this than last year. Without hesitation she trotted over the wooden bridges and quickly walked next to the stream that was more like a torrent with all the rain we have been having. We did the 4.8 miles in about 50 minutes. For some reason, we had problems with the GPS and were not able to track our speeds or distance. I know it is operator error and I think the problem is the placement of the GPS. Hubby had put it in a deep pocket that holds the water bottle that we definitely didn’t need today.
In the afternoon, we took Maggie out for what was going to be about a five miles drive. WELL, we took a wrong turn (not using one of our driving cards) and ended up doing 6.2 miles in about 1 hour and twenty minutes. The terrain was hillier than she has been on before and I let her do plenty of walking. We went past the Jordan Pond Gatehouse and she wasn’t terrible about standing and waiting while hubby opened and closed the gates but she wasn’t great either. We then wound our way down to Long Pond and back to the barn.
While it was a long way for Maggie, she handled most everything just fine. Hubby got worried that she was getting tired. I was not since she had plenty of energy to give me a BIG spook going under the bridge that she is not fond of. I let her do a road trot for a bit after the bridge but MADE her come back to walk which she wasn’t highly pleased with. After carefully walking down the big hill back to the barn (the hill had got kind of slimy slippery), I had my prancing pony back. Maggie definitely needs more and more miles to become the confident driving pony her sister is. Her heart is in the right place but her brain needs more work. Yours, Claudia
were all in shock. Unloading went fast since we pulled right up to our requested end stalls at Wildwood Stables. DL and Maggie settled right in. WE headed off to the Kimball Terrace Inn (from our balcony) to check in and have a quick bite to eat. We then headed back to the stables to have a quick drive with DL.We had decided to do the quick loop around Day Mountain as a starter for DL. This loop is about 3.2 miles. For those that haven’t been to Acadia before, the toughest hill is getting onto the trails from the stables. DL is a pro at this gleefully cantered up the hill and then trotted over the first bridge to the right. We went to the left and enjoyed a fast road trot for about a quarter of a mile to allow DL to settle in.
After allowing DL to blow a little steam off, she settled into her great ground covering working trot. Yes, we had a few baby sized spooks at some of the big rocks but I think the spooks were more to see IF I was back there and paying attention to my driving
By the time we reached the top of the trail where it loops off to overview, DL was happy to do a walk for a bit. Coming down the backside of the mountain was a pleasant drive mixed with some trotting and walking. When we reached the cut off to Jordan Pond, one of the big carriages was coming down. All of DL’s time spent at Larry’s with all his pairs paid off since she barely looked twice at this or the two other carriages that followed. Before we knew it, we were back to the bridge for a walk down the hill to the stables.
As we entered working horse area, DL heard her sister screaming to her. By the time we made it to our barn, we could see Maggie hopping in her stall showing her dislike for being left alone. The two sisters love each other and sometimes show separation angst when one goes out without the other. I yelled at Maggie which of course, did no good. DL had hardly broken a sweat so I brushed her off and put her cooler on. Peace was now with the pony girls as they stood head to head in their stalls.
Monday morning dawned pleasantly with some sun. We se
ttled into of daily routine. I go over early (by seven am) and feed. Then Hubby and I eat a hearty breakfast before heading over to the barn together to drive. Maggie was making her ‘debut’ of driving at Acadia. Hitching went quickly and hubby hopped on the back of the carriage and WE were off. After spooking at a big puddle, Maggie was up the big hill with little urging. Maggie was across her first bridge before she even knew it. We went to the right and trotted brightly with Maggie giving plenty of looks at all of the rocks but no spooking. When we came to the bottom of the hill, we went to the right again to do the Jordon Pond loop. Maggie enjoyed the flat stretch and did a very nice road trot staying on the bit and being very responsive. I slowed her to the walk and let her relax for a bit since I knew that our first going UNDER a bridge was coming up. As the bridge came into sight, I put her in a nice calm working trot. Maggie is the kind of pony that does much better at a trot to ‘spooky’ things. With a little urging, she went under the bridge and gave a little spook as she heard her echo under the bridge. That was fine since she came right back to the working trot that we did over the next ridge without problems.After the bridge, I let her walk and get a good look at all the interesting things. By now, the big rocks had become second nature for her. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful even when she had to pass three of the big carriages. I WAS so pleased as we went down the big hill back to the stables even though we did have a small gigging trot when she heard her sister calling to her. No matter since she stood like a rock to be unhitched. Maggie had done 4.3 miles for her first outing but need a quick rinse off since she was a little sweaty I think more from nerves than exertion. Maggie is now an Acadia qualified driving pony.
About 4pm, we returned to the stables to take DL for her well deserved drive. Hubby had looked over the various loops and had decided we were going to do the 8 miles Bubble Pond route. I had finally broken out the GPS and wanted to track our distance and speed. I must admit, I had more than a little pony in my hands. DL really wanted to go and we spent more time at the road trot than I would have liked but DL was having a blast with ears forward and tremendous eagerness. I was able to slow her to a working trot to the tight stretch beside Bubble Pond and finally she came back to the walk are we neared the end of the pond.
When we came to the gate to cross over to the Eagle Pond side, there was sign that this part of the carriage road was closed. I think DL was annoyed that we had to turn around! Since there are no cut offs on this stretch, we had to go back the way we came. When we got to the cut off to Day Mountain, hubby looked at the GPS and we had done almost 5 miles. We decided to go back to the barn and call it an early evening. Once again, DL had barely broken a sweat and only needed a good brushing and her cooler on. I did look at the GPS and maximum speed had been 14.4 mph. Not bad for a pony
Tuesday dawned grey, drizzle and rain in the air. Before leaving for Acadia, I had bought hubby some really good LL Bean rainwear. I have a good trench coat and waterproof apron SO driving in the rain was totally doable. Maggie was the first to go. We repeat the route of yesterday and added going around Day Mountain for a total of 5.2 miles. Maggie went even better than yesterday and was much more relaxed even going under the bridge and passing the big pairs. She took the climb up Day Mountain very well. When we returned to the barn, she was tiny bit warm but not sweaty like yesterday. I THINK she is getting it and I know she is getting to love driving Acadia as much as DL does.
In afternoon we did the eight mile Long Pond loop with DL. DL is such a fabulous seasoned driving pony. I pretty much let her pick her pace other than telling her to slow down numerous times since she loves to zoom curvy parts and canter up the hills. She is so confident and a joy to drive even if it was raining a tiny bit. She did the eight miles in an hour. According to the GPS her top speed was 22.3 km per hour. Even with these speeds, she barely broke a sweat in the cool drizzle that turned to solid rain after we unhitched.
Wednesday morning, we decided to take DL out first and try a new loop that we haven’t done before being Jordan Stream and Bridges. DL was full of energy but she stood VERY well for the opening and closing of the two set of gaits. She was much better about this than last year. Without hesitation she trotted over the wooden bridges and quickly walked next to the stream that was more like a torrent with all the rain we have been having. We did the 4.8 miles in about 50 minutes. For some reason, we had problems with the GPS and were not able to track our speeds or distance. I know it is operator error and I think the problem is the placement of the GPS. Hubby had put it in a deep pocket that holds the water bottle that we definitely didn’t need today.
In the afternoon, we took Maggie out for what was going to be about a five miles drive. WELL, we took a wrong turn (not using one of our driving cards) and ended up doing 6.2 miles in about 1 hour and twenty minutes. The terrain was hillier than she has been on before and I let her do plenty of walking. We went past the Jordan Pond Gatehouse and she wasn’t terrible about standing and waiting while hubby opened and closed the gates but she wasn’t great either. We then wound our way down to Long Pond and back to the barn.
While it was a long way for Maggie, she handled most everything just fine. Hubby got worried that she was getting tired. I was not since she had plenty of energy to give me a BIG spook going under the bridge that she is not fond of. I let her do a road trot for a bit after the bridge but MADE her come back to walk which she wasn’t highly pleased with. After carefully walking down the big hill back to the barn (the hill had got kind of slimy slippery), I had my prancing pony back. Maggie definitely needs more and more miles to become the confident driving pony her sister is. Her heart is in the right place but her brain needs more work
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