Max Goes Camping

 September 4-7, 2026
Fair Hill, MD

Adventure at the Assunpink 2026

 On August 30th, Taylor hosted the annual Assunpink CMO ride. This year, I was just there to assist. The day was a great success!

Bonnie supervises registration.

Finalizing the Course

 August 29, 2026
Assunpink WMA
10.06 miles
4h42m

In which we complete our 100 miles of walking.

Taylor with their hand painted dragon banner!

Max Photo Dump

 When I first got Max, Mike brought his camera to the barn and got some pictures of our first formal ride together. I knew these would be a "before" series some day.

A "good" moment from July 10th.

About six weeks later, I had Mike come back out for some progress photos. Unfortunately, I remembered the photographer, but not my bridle. Whoops! Luckily, Max is a good boy so I was comfortable bebopping around in just a rope halter. I decided to have Mike snap some pictures anyway. 

I'm glad I did! Even without a bridle, the difference in Max's body, way of going, and expression surprised me when I saw them on the screen. We were about 90 miles into our 100 mile trail walking challenge, and the miles were definitely making a difference!

August 28th. 

Max has been home almost three months. It will be interesting to get some updated photos in the near future. We have a lot to work on, but I think we're moving in the right direction. 

Photo dump to follow.

Max Goes To Round Valley

 August 25, 2026
Round Valley Reservoir
3.88 miles
1h12m

Double Digits

 August 23, 2026
Assunpink WMA
10.16 miles
4h42m

September 2026

I cannot believe it is October already! I was almost caught up on August blogging. 

I mostly just have to write about the 2026 Assunpink NACMO ride. This year, Taylor hosted while I assisted in the background. The ride was a great success. In the process, Max did his first double digit rides and broke 100 miles of walking!

Which brings us to September!

I need to blog about:

• Max's first trip to Round Valley
  
• Max's first camping trip at Fair Hill (featuring bareback night rides, galloping in wide open fields, and solo trail rides galore)
• Riding at Nockamixon with Terra
• A trip to the Adirondacks for our 10 year anniversary/ Andrew & Amy's wedding
• Ponying Chip at Deer Path (again)

In the meantime, here are all the September tidbits that didn't warrant their own posts:

Maxwell's first waterfall.

Playing Hooky

August 21, 2026
Nassau Trails
6.45 miles
2h28m

Family Day in the Pines

August 15, 2026
Colliers Mills WMA
4.08 miles
1h22m

In which Bonnie is very happy to have a new horse to lead down the trail.

The Return of Field Trips

 August 13, 2026
Deer Path Park
3.9 miles
1h14m

Two chestnut boys getting ready to have some fun.

Max's First Solo Trail Ride

  August 11, 2026
Deer Path Park
3.66 miles
1h4m

Tyler with Taylor

 August 9, 2026
Tyler Park, PA
8.52 miles
3h33m

Way more fun than should be allowed.

New Connections

 August 6, 2026

Perryville
5.69 miles
2h7m

Return to Hell Mountain

 August 1, 2026
Hill & Dale Preserve 
6.87 miles
2h57m

Rainstorms & Rainbows

Dumping trail ride media for the sake of getting out of July.

Riding into Frenchtown

 July 25, 2026
Horseshoe Bend to Frenchtown via D&R
~7.89 miles. I forgot to start my watch
3h12m

Welcome to the chaos, Max. 

Max's First Group Ride

 July 24, 2026
Capoolong Creek Trail
7.48 miles
2h30m

Trail Ride Evaluation

July 22, 2026
Perryville Road/ PTA Trails
4.01 miles
1h41m

August 2026

 I am blogging as fast as I can but there is still so much to write about! I'm going through all my firsts with Max which will require proper documentation. 

His first trail ride with me. First time being ridden downtown. First time going swimming. First solo trail ride. First time ponying Chip on trail. First time trail riding with Bonnie. First time setting up a NACMO ride. With any luck, we'll add our first camping trip this weekend.

We've also finished our 100 miles of walking so things are about to pick up!

But one thing I can stay on top of is the monthly photo dump. So here you go!

Chip says hello.

Borrowing Usidore

 July 19th
Kittatinny Valley
7.85 miles
2h31m

Chip's 2nd Birthday

 On July 10th, Chip turned two. I have no idea where the time has gone. I feel like I just met the shy three month old colt at Dodie's. At the same time, I can't remember life before this little ray of sunshine came into the picture. 

Chip is definitely in his bratty two-year-old phase. He has been really well-handled so he doesn't actually do anything bad but he's a pest and is definitely testing some boundaries.

For example, Mike and I spent the weekend doing some fence repairs because someone objected to being left alone while I trail rode Max. First he escaped by squeezing into then out of the alleyway between paddocks. V found him grazing next to Mulberry. The next morning, he was in the alley again, just because the grass there is apparently better than his rolling, green pasture.

Otherwise, Chip continues to be a pretty solid citizen. He is becoming a pro at long lining. I even long lined him around the freshly mowed paths behind the pond this week with Bonnie romping alongside. 

While Chip has had a lot of handling, he has not been in much work while I allow him to just grow. I suspect we're reaching an age where I'm going to have to start giving him a job to keep his brain busy so he stays out of trouble. 

Of course, I did a birthday photo shoot. The weather wasn't very cooperative, but I got some nice pictures anyway. 

Without further ado...

...here's Chip at two!

I cleaned up the background on this one a little bit. I could not be bothered to do the same for all of them.

Max: Origin Story

 

 

Our first portrait together.

Muckleratz Endurance 2026

 

Bonnie's first time at the hang glider launch.

July 2026

 I have finished privately chronicling the final rides of the previous chapter. It's time to dive into new beginnings! I am officially viewing July 1st as a clean, new page. 

I still have to formally introduce Max (very soon!) In the meantime, have a bunch of photos from July.

So glad this kid is safe and settling well into his new routine.

Back in the Saddle (with a side of paranormal activity)

  In which we learn why it's called Hell Mountain...

After our ten day trip, it was really good to get back in the saddle. This was my longest riding hiatus since I broke my leg in 2013.

June 2026 [Redacted]

  Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

It is still a horse blog...

Days 9 & 10: Homecoming

In which we run out of things to do and invent a new driving game...

More on this guy later...

Day 8: Nebraska

 In which we begin the journey home...

Day 7: Spearfish Canyon

 In which we do our version of "taking it easy". 

Day 6: Bonus States

 In which we chase a 15 year old dream...

Day 5: Black Hills Magic

In which we visit Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer, and more!

Day 4: Badlands and Beyond

 I am well known for taking too many photos of every aspect of my life, but on the fourth day of our road trip, I outdid myself. I believe this is the most pictures I've ever taken in one place. Despite that, they fail to capture the grandeur and scale of the Badlands.

Day 3: East Turns to West

In which we reach South Dakota...

Day 2: Wisconsin Bound

 My only goal for our first full day of travel was to make it into Wisconsin, the first new state on our list. That was the theory, anyway.

The Journey Begins

For the time being, I am leaving my old blog locked down so all my photos of the mares stay protected. In the meantime, I'll continue cross posting here with new content. I am going to continue with our road trip recap. I want the whole thing available to readers, so here's the first post again.

If you're friends with me on Facebook, you've already seen the "short" (haha) version of this trip. Considering it took me almost a month to do that, I'm not sure how I will ever get caught up here. 

Life since we've returned has been... not great... which makes it hard to get inspired to write. 

Still, this trip was the coolest thing Mike and I have done to date, and it deserves to be recorded for posterity. 

We packed a lot into ten days, so this will definitely be posted as a series. 

Brandywine Falls in Ohio.

Meet Max

 Seriously not sure how I am ever going to get caught up on anything ever again, but here's some good news for a change. Everybody... meet Max. The newest member of our crew. (And yes, I paid a dollar and got it in writing!)