Hospice Aftercare Services Event - Oct 20th

FCTB has committed to donating $25 to this event. All funds go to Hospice Aftercare Services, which provides funeral/cremation support for hospice patients who's families cannot afford to pay for the services themselves.

We would like to challenge all of our members to match or add to this donation. Please send your check payable to KD Huff to be received by Oct 5th and she will combine all donations into one larger check to Hospice Aftercare Services from FCTB. Or you can get more information about donations in our files section and send your personal donation directly to Hospice Aftercare Services.

Club Ride - River Rise State Park

Our second planned ride for September will be a camping trip to the O'Leno/River Rise State Park. We plan on the weekend of Sep 28 - 30. There are a limited number of stalls, so come early if you're not going to tie out or bring panels. If you can't camp, we hope you'll join us for a day ride. Unfortunately - pets are not allowed.

You may have heard, the shaded trails of this area are in jeopardy as the State wants to convert the park back to a Sandhill community of wiregrass and pines. You can read more about this in our files section with a document called River Rise West. We hope you'll add your voice to the other equestrians who are outraged by this action.

**Don't forget we have another weekend planned for October - scroll down to read about that ride**

Labor Day Camp and Ride at McCulley Farms

McCulley Farms was the perfect spot for the FCTB Labor Day weekend camp and ride. While the threat of heat and rain kept some away, the 5 members who showed up were not disappointed. Friday we got in a nice evening ride and reaquainted ourselves with the nice winding trails that surround the McCulley homestead. Saturday morning the early birds headed out in the fog and enjoyed a four hour ride that took them along the Withlacoochee River. We saw several springs and no other riders. Most of our ride was in the shade and quite pleasant. The only bad part was the banana spiders that had staked their claim to the trails. We wore out several "spider sticks" and exercised our vocal cords throughout the weekend. Traci executed a perfect limbo move by laying her head all the way back on Tucker's rump to avoid one arachnid. Saturday afternoon we piled into one truck and visited Blue Springs. We shared the icy waters with some scuba divers and colorful locals who one after another leapt from a high dock that overlooked the big spring. Our favorite daredevil (Wildcat) flung herself off the dock with enthusiasm. The rest of us were too chicken to try it! Donald found that bathing suit suspenders might be a good idea the next time he decides to swim against the current of clear rushing spring water. Now we all know what the rest of his belly tattoo says! Sunday we had another nice four hour ride along the river and on some narrow woodsy trails. Cathy hung for the full 8 seconds when her horse became airborne. Ride 'em Wildcat! We again enjoyed the shade and peacefulness of the ride. Sunday afternoon we went to Pot Springs, which was not quite as big and not as many people. It was invigorating to soak in the icy waters! We spent the afternoon at the spring and then came back to camp to enjoy a wonderful dinner prepared by Chef Bobby and then we had a small but cozy campfire. Monday morning we stayed on the McCulley side of the woods, and meandered down some new trails for about two hours. Another perfect day of riding! We truly enjoyed the sincere southern hospitality of the McCulley family. They are such wonderful hosts, it is almost impossible to not enjoy the visit. We look forward to seeing them again before the end of the year! Here are the great photos of the weekend.

Help Support Baker County Horse Assoc.

Please support the Baker County Horse Association....
Your attendance at the August 20th meeting with the Baker County Commissioners and Fair Association could help influence some equestrian-related decisions. The county commissioners are interested in removing the free access and use that BCHA has had in regards to the show grounds. Their club has made improvements entirely on a volunteer basis and state grant funds have been used at this facility to make it a place that the horse public can use. Now the county is looking to make a profit from the people who have done all of the work. Please plan to attend this meeting at 5:00 PM.

Directions....295 to I-10 West. Take the 1st Macclenny exit CR-228 (New SuperWalmart). After exiting I-10 onto CR-228 go right. Continue on CR-228 until US-90. US-90 go right just a couple of streets to 3rd street. At 3rd Street go left. The Admin building is on the right across from the Chevrolet Dealership.

Upcoming Events

We probably won't have an official ride for August - no one wants to ride in the heat - but we'll e-mail if anyone gets together.

For September we'll be camping and riding at McCulley Farms for Labor Day Weekend. You will need to contact Richard directly to reserve your spot. We'll be camping in the corner with the trees in the electric site area near the stalls.


For our October club ride/campout, we will participate in the Breast Cancer Awareness Annual Benefit Trail Ride sponsored by the Levy County Horse Club. ( See the flyer in our files section) The trail ride will be held at the Tidewater trailhead of the Goethe State Forest on Sat., October 20th. Some of us plan to camp Friday and Saturday night - join us or you can come just come for the day.

It was Electrifying !

3.5 members participated in the ride at the FL Agricultural Museum in Flagler County. Probably the forecast of 96° and thunderstorms kept many at home, but not us! We left the trail head at 9:30 and enjoyed the shaded path that led to the infamous land bridge. Crossing the bridge was the high light of the ride, according to our youngest rider, Cory. Everyone made it across safely and then headed into the familiar area of Princess Place. We rode along the creek and Traci entertained us with her shrill vocal skills (and hands-free riding) when a giant spider dangled off of her helmet. After about an hour and forty five minutes of riding, the rain started. While Traci was brave and donned her slicker on horseback, KD played it safe and dismounted to put on her rain protection. We learned that Miss Stylin is a rain-a-phobic and took of in a nice canter to find the closest shelter. Luckily the riders in front of us captured Stylin on the land bridge and returned her to KD. The rain increased and about the time we got to the top of the bridge, the wind became strong and the rain pelted us and the lightning was flashing. Hey - at least we got cooled off! You must be wondering what more excitement would fall upon us, so shortly there after a bolt of lightning struck about 30 feet from us. KD dismounted and walked so as not to become a lightning rod. A short way down the trail, we could actually smell the ozone where the lighting struck. (Michelle said later that the bolt of lightning struck VERY close to her and Cory !) Luckily we were only a few more minutes from the trail head, and rode/led back to the trailers and loaded up for protection from the bad weather. The humans headed for the nice covered barn to enjoy lunch, and horses stayed in the trailers for safe keeping. We saw a nice presentation on Cracker horses and then decided to head home when we saw a break in the weather. Despite the excitement, this was a nice ride and someplace worth going back to. The brochure mentioned camping, so we are going to check on the possibility of having a club camp out here. If any of you question if it was worth the hassle, just ask KD... I am sure her answer will be 'DEPENDS!" (KD - get it - ha ha!) Here are some PHOTOS for your viewing pleasure.

Blue Moon evening ride

Thanks to the thirteen people who joined us for our Blue Moon Trail Ride. We left the Diamond D power lines promptly at 8:00 PM and started our adventure on a single track path through the forest. This led us to open sandy roads, which were perfect for the moonlit ride. All horses and riders behaved commendably well. There was only one unseating when a horse spooked at some birds that flew up. Once again - a good reason to wear a helmet! After winding our way through the dusky woods, a nice big orange moon magically appeared to the east. As it climbed into the sky, we reached the open power lines, where the moonlight was brilliant. A nice sprinkling of fire flies topped off the night. The ride was about an hour and a half, which gave us just enough time to appreciate the cool weather, beautiful sky, and the company of good friends on horseback!

Here are some pictures that we managed to get while the light was failing. We didn't take any photos in the dark as didn't know how the horses would react.