memorial day paper chase -- we won!!

One of our favorite local venues Tranquillity Manor Farm hosts two annual paper chases. The Spring Chase falls on Memorial Day Weekend, and is typically 6-8mi if ground conditions allow it. The Fall Chase is Labor Day Weekend and is the shorter course, usually around 2mi. 

pic from after the ride while chillin at the trailer, with charlie proudly surveying his conquered kingdom

Historically speaking, we've typically prioritized the shorter Fall Chase, since we're basically just there for the running and jumping and tailgate, anyway. And for those who have been around for a while -- it's usually the shorter pace where we come up with big team outfits / costumes etc. 

gotta fill up all the key resources before a trip -- water in the tanks and air in the tires! 

But when Megan suggested we hit the Spring Chase this year.... Honestly, I originally wasn't super committed. We half-heartedly tried to amass a group and it wasn't really clicking. Plus, Megan and I each had fairly specific time restraints that weren't easy to coordinate with anybody else either. So we were basically about to bag the idea entirely, until two days before when we both shrugged and said, "Fuck it let's just go!"

tell me why i'm low-key obsessed with this reverse-play gif of charlie weaving??
also lol.... royal may or may not be kinda sick of charlie's shit <3 <3

And so we did! And omg it was AWESOME!! For those of you unfamiliar, a Paper Chase is more or less the same as a Hunter Pace. Tranquillity lays out a well-marked course in advance, and sets optimum times for each division. There are four main divisions ranging from "slow pokes" to "fast over fences," with optimum times tailored to what the venue thinks it should take entrants to cover the mapped terrain.

ready for action!! snackamore + thunderbolt ears locked and loaded!

The catch, tho? That "optimum time" is kept top secret until the event is over. So you set out having NO IDEA how long it should take. Rather, the intent is to ride each section of the track at whatever pace you think is best -- which could be walking through the dense wooded sections up and down steep inclines; or galloping hell bent for leather across the open fields and country side!

helmet cam video link here for all y'all who want your fix

blow-by-blow recap below for the rest of ya haha

As far as the track itself goes, there's no judging or anything on any of the jumps. And in fact, the jumps are everywhere -- including in some dedicated cross country schooling fields. You can jump basically whatever you want --- or nothing at all. 

go team GO!!!!

All jumps can be gotten around, with the exception of the fence line jumps. For instance, in some areas the track moves alongside a pasture, and riders have the option to jump in and out of that pasture should they want -- or they can stick to the bridle path outside. All divisions follow basically the same track.

this is the first time we've done a lot of these fence line jumps -- and we LOVED THEM

We usually enter the "some jumps" division, and basically pick and choose our way around what we want to do when and where. And it works out! For this longer Spring Chase, we also generally don't really warm up for the ride, either. Just get on and go -- and start moving out when the terrain makes sense. 

not our first time with this coop <3

Actually, it was hilarious too... Obviously both of our horses are extremely experienced by now. But we're all a little out of shape haha. Charlie in particular was.... feeling lazy omg. We'd do a little trotting on the best stretches of ground. A little canter here and there. And both horses were sorta sighing and grunting and quick to drop back down to walk. 

royal jumping some big logs!!!

That is ---- until we kinda rocked their world by choosing our first jump as a fence line coop into one of the fields. Neither of them were quite expecting it -- and omg I think they LOVED it haha, Charlie landed and zooomed out into the open field haha, like it clicked for him that "ooooh ok we're doing the running and jumping today -- not the start and stop of drill practice!"

ooooh we ran into some friends in a pony train!

And from that point it was game on. It's interesting too -- since we normally go to these things with large groups of mixed experience, we've never really done any of the fence line jumps. Bc.... Where you must jump in, you must also inevitably jump out again over a jump that you won't see until you get there. 

Sure, virtually all of these jumps are inviting natural hunt style fences less than 3', but that's not always a comfortable proposition for folks who are newer to jumping or who like to take things on a jump-by-jump basis. 

i've always loved this chevron ramp. it's big but inviting and really feels like you're jumping something. royal finally hit it for the first time too!

Since it was just Charlie and Royal tho... We decided to just go for it!! Esp if it meant cutting some distance or avoiding lengthy treks up or down hills to get to the gates or whatever. And omg, I think this was definitely a highlight for me. Like I never really knew what we were missing by not doing it this way. Esp bc the gallops across the open fields between jumps gave you a lot more flexibility to choose a nice path vs being confined to the lanes outside the pasture.

playing caboose on the pony train in the woods

Anyway, the horses were jumping great. We had a couple good pulls up the normal xc fields where Charlie and I jumped just about everything along the tree line -- including our favorite old blue coop, and the awesome N chevron ramp pictured above. That thing was positioned way up on top of a rise in the ground too and rode HUGE, but perfect. And both horses sailed over <3 

then leapfrogging ahead of the train again by cutting through the field --- see the ponies on the left?

After all that, both Megan and I kinda had that "mission accomplished" feeling like we were happy to sorta meander our way around the final mile or so. And this worked out well enough when we ended up behind a long line of pony clubbers for a long stretch of woods.

"eat our dust <3 <3 <3"

Bless our sweet thoroughbreds tho haha, after being stuck behind the ponies for what was kinda a long trail, both had a bit of a second wind and were ready to finish the ride on the run. We passed the ponies using another fenceline-to-fenceline cut through (picture above), then emerged into the final field next to the driveway, reaching the finish line by way of our other favorite coop - the nice N red one next to the jump rings. Which Royal also did for the first time! 

happy thoroughbreds at the finish line

What an awesome feeling! After that, there was nothing to do but cool out the horses and crack open a couple White Claws to chill for a bit before heading home. Tranquillity has hoses and stuff set up and plenty of water for guests, but eh we've got a good system at the trailer so we just sponge off with the water we bring.

i FINALLY remembered to map one of these rides!! tho forgot until we were already 10min in, so that yellow line is my approximation from the start

Our horses were absolutely strutting too. Charlie felt like his old self -- not at all the grouchy old man he was in our lesson just three days earlier. He felt full of life and energy and athletic ability -- exactly as he should since he's only just turned 13. And it's *SO* reassuring for me to see him like this, my perfect partner.

ya know, i'm 100% A-OK that this type of ride is charlie's favorite

He was easy to all of the jumps, taking everything right out of stride, pulling me forward to everything but still allowing me to ride and influence him. Not the crazed manic running we've seen of him occasionally in the past, nor the sluggish labored plodding of our recent lesson. Just... a perfect easy horse. If I could bottle it, I would lol <3

And Royal was a super star too! They've been working on a Novice move up for like... gosh, years. But y'all know how the last few years have been for just about everybody. Inconsistent is one word I could choose lol. But I think this ride was a real eye opener for them that... Yea. They're ready, and they can do it! 

So. Another good ride in the books. Exactly the type of ride we live for. Ooooh and it turned out we tied for first place with a finish time of 1:15:00!!! Here's hoping we can get more rides like this on the calendar this summer!