We spent this fall on the East coast starting Thoroughbreds in Virginia and Kentucky and doing some clinics in Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maine. The horses were good, the clinics were good but the return trip…… well let me start with a little background info. We had scheduled ourselves a little tight on this circle trying to fit everything in so we left Springhill Farm in Virginia, Thursday afternoon after riding colts that morning, and headed for Willow brook Farm near Harrisburg Pennsylvania and arrived at 10 pm. The clinic lasted four days and we left Monday after the clinic and headed to Connecticut, arriving at 11pm. Spent two days there, clinics by day and antique shopping by night, then left at 3 am to make it to Maine before the clinic started at 9am. After a four day clinic in Maine, we are back to the return trip, suppose to be an all nighter back to Virginia to ride Thoroughbreds the next day, oh yeah, with one little stop off in New York City!! to pickup some art willed to some friends of ours in Jordan Valley, Oregon.

So, we are leaving Maine about 6 pm on a little two lane road in a full size Freightliner, a 40 foot trailer, 7 horses and a whole load of antique furniture. Martin is looking in the mirror to his left so I assume he sees the MOOSE, coming out of the driveway, just ahead of us on the left, but he isn’t slowing down. So I start saying Moose! Moose! Moose! In an elevated but not quite alarmed voice, assuming that he will catch on and hit the brakes. Nope, he just looks at me with a puzzled look on his face. By this time the moose is in the other lane just ahead of us and still coming. So now I am elevated, alarmed and pointing, Moose! Moose! Still no reaction. Right as the moose is about to collide with the left front fender on the Freightliner, (Martin still hasn’t seen her), she turns and lopes along side us a few strides and then heads safely back into the woods having narrowly escaped an ugly encounter with a Freightliner. Martin, finally sees her as she is loping beside us but never even breaks stride. After she’s gone he looks at me and says, “I thought you wanted ice cream, like Moose tracks ice cream!” In his defense, we do stop at the ice cream stand on the corner just a few more miles down the road and get ice cream at least twice in four days we are in Maine.

Next week, Martin Black goes to New York City……in a Freightliner…….