Buddy and Betty Holley pulled up in front of our house with the big Sooner trailer and three horses for departure to our
trip to Jamestown, Tennessee. Buddy had just retired and Betty traveled with him even though she didn’t ride. Karen,
their daughter, was asleep in the back seat of the truck because she had worked all night. Eddie and I loaded and we were
ready to travel.
We began the 290 miles to Tennessee. It is a great drive down I-64 to Winchester, Kentucky, and then taking the short cut
to I-75 south to Tennessee. We stopped for fuel and ate gas station food of potato wedges and fried chicken. It was good and
we were excited and content that we were on our way to ride. At Williamsburg, we took It wasn’t very far down the other
side that we crossed into the State of Tennessee. Following 27 south, we turned off on 52 west and there it was!
The National Trail Ride Association sponsored the event and there was Art at the gate. The ride was to begin on Saturday,
but we arrived Thursday and many people were ahead of us. We registered, paid our money and drove the one way circle dirt
road and found parking places.
In the front lawn was Bill Briggs from Alabama with three new Sundowner horse trailers for sale. They are certainly beautiful.
But they should be for $50,000. Somehow I think anything that costs that much should have 10 acres and three bedrooms!
The big, old-fashioned wooden barn with a wing on both sides stood between the road and the camp site. It was unpainted
lumber and weathered black by the years. Still it looked so good. I guess horse lovers are barn lovers too. As we pulled around
back, we could see the great piles of shavings for the stalls. There was also an addition toward the back and a horse was
being shod. Cows were in the back section. Other shelters had been constructed with gates and a roof that would house about
10 horses on each side.
There were places for primitive camping that was less expensive. About all of it was under the tall timber and in the shade.
Connie and Jerry Grimes from Florida were camping close. It is great to meet friends again that we had first made earlier
that year at Land Between the Lakes in Kentucky. I remember the first time I saw Connie and Jerry. We were one stall short
of having enough and Jerry volunteered to put his two horses in one stall and let me have the extra. That made a great first
impression and I will always appreciate him for it. Beautiful Connie is an excellent rider and I feel as if I have know her
for years.
There were 371 registered for the ride. We drove behind the big old barn looking at all of the fine trailers in the park.
There was a circle drive with one way traffic. Buddy pulled in at a site about half way down the circle and we parked our
trailer beside his in the wide camp sites. We had paid for electric hook ups and we were glad the old air conditioner worked.
There was a water faucet at each site and it was wonderful to camp at a place with both water and electric. Back in our
old park in West Virginia, there was no electricity at all and the water came from a hand pumped well and carried in buckets
or what we hauled in with us!.
We had paid for stalls for the horses and it was good to have the big 10 x 10 loose boxes so the animals could walk around.
Hay was for sale at $4.00 a bale, but we had brought our own. It is wonderful to have it available if some is needed.
Eddie took Flint, the four-year-old gelding, because his hands had been so sore with severe rheumatoid arthritis that he
did not want to have to control a stallion. My husband had been so ill with an adverse reaction to arthritis medication and
he had been in the hospital for three weeks. The result was a long recovery since February when he had been bedfast and unable
to feed himself for several weeks.
Sundown’s Presteege was my 8 year old walking mare. I took her everywhere I went. She is spirited but controllable
and the best horse I had ever been on. Teege is all black with white socks and a blaze. I can’t believe I own a horse
of her caliber. I once told a friend that my goal was to be as good a rider as Teege was a horse. Sam, who thought highly
of the mare, said, "You might as well forget that!" Anyway, I try to keep one foot on each side and my head in the middle!
After getting the horses settled and string our water hoses and setting up camp, we began to catch up on our visiting.
It was so good to see everyone.
There was a shower house just up the road, complete with a washer and dryer. It was great to have those conveniences even
if it did take a few quarters to make them go.
On Friday Morning, other people took an unguided ride. Eddie and I waited a hour or so and then went out to saddle up.
We got the horses ready. Now. Let’s get on!
Eddie was so weak that he could not pull up into the saddle. He led Flint over to a little bank, but when Eddie tried to
pull up on the horse, he just could not do it. We took the gelding across the road to some cross ties. Eddie took hold of
the horn and pulled with all of his might. Flint stood very still. Eddie still could not get on that horse, and he was starting
to get discouraged. There was a great pile of dirt that looked like it had been dumped out of a truck. It was about four foot
high. I led Flint over and held him. Eddie slowly made his way up to the top of the pile. He took hold of the horn, leaned
over and slid one leg across the saddle. Slowly he swung over on the waiting horse. We had raised the horse out of Eddie’s
stallion, Ebonys Secret Code. Flint was gentle and dependable. He didn’t have a buck in him when our son Keith took
him for his first ride.
I admired Eddie so much when he kept trying even after a couple of failures. Some would have given up and just stayed in
camp. Eddie was a good rider and he and his stallion had ridden 300 miles in a month before. How he couldn’t even get
on a gelding. It was a difficult time for him and it hurt me to see him struggle with a task that was always so easy for him.
But once we were on the horses, it was easy. We rode through the woods and then out across the fields on the Cumberland Plateau.
It was hot in the sun and some of the hay fields had been cut and baled. Trails were well marked and Eddie and I explored
a little bit by ourselves. There had been a lot of rain, so mud holes were plentiful. We turned back and followed trails through
the woods and through mud holes. The exploring a new place was good. It was a wonderful place to ride. After a little while,
we met Buddy and Karen. A couple of hours later, we returned to camp. Eddie was tired, but he had done it.
The first ride scheduled was on Saturday morning. We left the barn area and L. R. Root from near Morgantown, West Virginia,
led us across the field and into the trees. We rode by ponds and climbed to the top of hills and stopped by overlooks. It
is a view much like the Smokys. Karen rode out to get her picture taken. I didn’t have the courage to get out that close
to the edge of a cliff, so I just watched and worried about her. I took Buddy’s picture. Buddy is so happy when he is
riding that he grins all of the time. He and his daughter manage to fuss about one thing or another. If other women are on
the ride, Karen can usually convince at least one of them to help her give Buddy a hard time about something.
We stopped in the woods and rested a bit and ate. Eddie got off for lunch, but not anywhere else. After eating with
the group, Eddie tried to get back on the horse but he was having a difficult time. Other men saw his trouble and came
over to help him get back on. I really appreciated the men assisting him without us even asking for it. Horse
people are good people.
Buddy is a big man and he rides a tall horse. He always looks around to find a new mounting place before he gets off his
horse. I can get on my tall mare if I must, but I usually use the stump or log if one is available.
We met the wagons and the horses pulled over into the woods to let the wagons pass on the road trail. There are big smiles
and many "Howdys."
Our horses were not in shape because Eddie has been so ill this year. Root’s horse threw a shoe and everyone stood
in the road in the hot sun while Root had a shoe put back on his walker. It was in the 90's and my black horse gathered heat.
She wanted to continue on the trail and I had to constantly turn her back. She fidgeted and twisted. After the shoe was finished,
we continued down the road and through the trails toward camp. When we got into the woods, I felt Teege needed to rest because
she had fretted herself wanting to go so much. We stopped and I pulled her saddle and rinsed her down with some water from
water bottles. A kind woman gave me her water to cool the mare. The horse may have been all right, but I don’t just
want a horse. I want THIS HORSE. I am too cautious probably, but I can’t help it.
We took other rides, but on Sunday I chose to stay with Eddie and rest. We took Betty and went exploring. We went to see
the home of Sargent York, his old mill and his grave site. We stopped at antique stores and looked. I took a picture of a
three legged dog. We went back to the cafeteria in town and had lunch. We stopped at the winery and bought a cork puller and
a jar of honey mustard.
Buddy and Karen took the ride with the rest of the horses. The field was full of pretty horses and happy riders as we walked
out to take a film and watch them leave out. There were men and women, boys and girls on horses, ponies and mules. There were
about a dozen wagons driven by people with several passengers. Strong horses and mules pulled the wagons through the trails
in a slow tour of the country.
It was so hot that the electric circuits kept blowing in the camp. Trailers were double parked and many had air conditioners.
A grounds worker told me, "Some of these big trailers even have air conditioners for the horses. No wonder we can’t
keep it going."
I decided to do some laundry, since we seldom have that opportunity when camping. I put a load on to wash, the washer filled
up, washed a while and quit. The electric was out. The workers were making every effort to get it fixed. My clothes were slowly
turning pink from the very hot water and a new unwashed red shirt! I dipped them out and put them in a bucket. I took them
back to the trailer and ran water in a five gallon bucket and rinsed them and hung them to dry on a make shift clothes line
between the trees. The maintenance man expressed his regrets and tried to get the electric back on, but I told him there was
no problem. I would be ok. I don't like to complain even if there is cause.
It was more than 95 degrees and we were roasting just sitting around camp in the shade. Betty and I went to Wal-Mart and
I bought a fan and extension cords. A blanket was spread on the ground for us to lay on and the fan was pointed in our direction.
It was still miserably hot. I was glad that we were not riding that day.
Buddy and Karen went riding one day just exploring. Since the area was unfamiliar, they rode up to one of the big signs
at a crossroads. Karen was intently reading the sign when Ab whirled and left Karen in the air. She hit the ground and it
is a long way to the ground from her big bay gelding.
When Karen was telling us about it, I told her, "Ab finished reading before you did and he was ready to go! You are going
to have to learn to read faster!"
In any event, Karen was careful to choose a chair with a cushion for the rest of the time when we were sitting around camp.
Eddie and Jerry were joking around talking about trucks. Eddie asked Jerry if he had any trouble oft of his truck and he
said nothing but minor stuff. Eddie told him, "A bunch of boys up home had been having trouble out of the transmissions of
those Dodge five speed."
About 30 minutes after they were talking, Jerry started backing up under his trailer and the transmission locked up on
him. He didn’t even get it under the trailer.
Connie called the dealership and talked to them about coming up there and fixing it. They told the garage that it was a
white Dodge Dually. The garage said they would find it. Connie said, "Wait a minute. You don’t understand. Everybody
up here has a white dually. Let me tell you where it is parked." It was a couple of days before they came and got the truck.
Jerry said, "That thing is still under warranty, so I’m not touching it. If it wasn’t, I would be laying under
it trying to do something. I’ll just let them fix it."
They had to get Bill Briggs to pull their trailer back to Florida for them because it wasn’t finished before they
left to go home.
Since I don’t like to ride a horse hard one day and not at all the next, I saddled Teege up to just ride around the
grounds and loosen her up. As I passed Jerry Grimes’ trailer, I saw him outside. I stopped. "Do you want to ride her?"
I asked Jerry.
"I’m not dressed for riding. I am wearing shorts and no shoes," he said.
"It won’t matter. Just take her down there and back," I said as I slid off her side. Now those who know me realize
that I never, but never let anybody ride my horse unless I gave birth to them. Occasionally I make an exception when someone
never rode a walking horse. I enjoy the look of surprise at her smooth and easy gait.
Jerry mounted up and eased her down the drive. He came back. "Do you care if I ride her down there and back?" he asked.
"Sure. Go ahead," I encouraged, knowing we had this quarter horse rider now.
When he came back, Jerry said, "She sure is a good ride. She is a nice horse."
A few months later in Florida when I saw Jerry next, he had bought him a 2 year old stallion out of Silver Design, a world
champion walking horse. I loved it. The Tennessee Walking Horse Association’s motto is "Ride one today, Buy one tomorrow."
Yeah. Yeah.
There was a tack shop in the front of the big barn and we visited it, of course. The people were very friendly and nice.
You know how it is with horses, you try your best to find something to buy for them. We asked the people about the river ride.
They said it was a long way. It was a thousand foot drop and many river crossings. "Some people rode over there the other
day and they said the river was so swift and deep that they decided not to cross after they waded out over the horse’s
knees. They turned around and came back. I don’t know how it is today. They said they had to go under some fallen trees"
A man informed us.
On Monday there was no scheduled ride in order that people visit the area. Many took the tour to the winery. Karen went
with the crowd.
Buddy, Eddie and I saddled up. We were going to take a ride toward the river. We didn’t know how far Eddie would
feel like riding or the condition of the trails. "We’ll just ride a while and see how far we are going to go. We can
always turn around and come back."
I was told when we arrived at the stables that a group had ridden down to the river but turned back at the third crossing
because the water was more than knee deep and swift.
After being pointed in the right direction and with map in hand, we followed road around the fields beside the barn. When
we left out of there the trails were a little brushy in places and the place or two was soft. It went by the same ponds and
fields, the woods and trails we had ridden on Saturday. When we came to the turn, we followed the red clay road that wound
through the country. It was almost level riding and the roadway was clear. It began the easy drop and we realized we were
going down the marked trail and ventured through the woods and old timber roads. Finally we began the thousand foot descent
off the Cumberland Plateau. The road was a little bit steep, but not very much. Here and there we had to duck under trees
that had fallen across the trail. It was cooler in the morning and the ride was very refreshing.
When we came to the first river crossing, it was very shallow. The river edge and bottom were absolutely covered with very
round, smooth rocks from the size of a base ball to a car tire. They had been tumbled in the river until they were as round
as a ball. It took us three hours to get to the river. We were told there were nine crossings.
It was a beautiful stream, cool and clear. Buddy got off the horse and tied him to a tree after he had crossed. Eddie and
I waded across the one to two feet deep water. The horses watched and crossed carefully without hesitation even though the
stones rocked and scooted at times. We also tied up the mare and gelding and got out the lunch.
"How are you doing?" Buddy asked the frail Eddie. It was most unusual for concern about the man, but he was not fully recovered
from his ordeal.
"I’m doing pretty good," Eddie assured him as he carefully slid from the horse.
"We might as well eat, if Buddy’s going to," I observed and got out the cheese and crackers for a snack. We always
have lots of water with us, but we seldom carry soft drinks because it seems to make us more thirsty. After a lunch cake and
a rest, we looked around at the river.
"What do you think, Eddie? Do you want to go on or turn back?" Buddy asked.
Eddie looked longingly down river, "Let’s ride down a little way and see how it goes. Hold on to Flint, Melani, while
I try to get on."
Eddie moved young Flint over to stand in a low place where the creek had been up and washed it out. He got on the high
place and slowly pulled into the saddle. I then took Teege down by the creek and mounted up last.
"Let’s go," Eddie said. We had decided to go on with the trail and ride the river a while longer. We might turn and
come back at any time. Eddie had not ridden very long since October and we were not sure how much he could stand. He said
he was all right, so we pressed on.
The second river crossing was not much deeper than the first. The third was more than knee deep and rather swift, but we
had no difficulty getting the horses to walk across in the rock-covered river bottom. It was the same with the other crossings.
I tried to keep track of the crossings but somewhere along the way, I lost count. We believe that we crossed the river 10
times and they were much the same. The horses had to walk carefully on all of the round rocks, but there were no problems.
We let them have water to drink as often as they chose.
It was a beautiful trail and it was hot but we took our time. There were places the trail was entirely sand and we could
tell the river often got out of its banks and covered the road. We went beneath over hanging rock cliffs. It was a little
scarey to know rocks had tumbled down before and we were now looking straight up at them. I pulled a branch from a tree and
used the great big leaves like an umbrella to shield me and Teege from the sun. It was so hot. We encouraged the horses to
drink their fill because we knew there was a climb ahead of them. It was too late to turn around. It was probably closer going
ahead.
We climbed back up the mountain, stopping several times to let the hot horses catch their breath. This was not our usual
pause, but we dismounted and tied the horses to trees for a full rest. We must have done this 10 times or more. Sweat was
pouring off the horses. The trip took longer because it was 95 degrees or more and very humid.
As we got near York Gap, Buddy pulled up and said, "Well. Look at this," as we stared at what looked like a rock wall!
A lot of rocks had been filled in around them and partially covered with cement. Buddy eased Smokey and the big sorrel gelding
climbed the rock with ease. Teege and Flint did the same. When we got to the top, I got off and walked back down. Buddy and
Eddie came over on their horses and I took pictures of the wall. We were thankful to Sam Walker for putting that drill tech
on the shoes. We didn’t slide a bit, but there were marks all over the cement where horses had dug in to climb. The
pictures did not adequately show just how steep that rock wall actually was.
Eddie later tells "When you come up on it, it looks like you can’t get up it or nothing. You get to looking at it,
you can see where horses have skidded and lost footing trying to get up or down it. We didn’t have any trouble. When
one got up to the top, they stopped and looked for the other one to make sure they didn’t fall or whatever. We got up
not completely to the top and found that little water hole and let the horses get a drink of water. We came on up to the top
of the of the hill and rested and eat us a bite and came back to camp."
We rode back across the hot fields to camp. It had taken eight hours in that heat. Root later told us that it was a 26-mile
ride. I don’t know about that, but it was a good ride. When we got back to camp, a lot of people told us, "If I had
known you were going to the river, I would have gone with you."
Of course, we didn’t know we would take the entire ride when we left camp. We were going to have to see how much
Eddie could stand. He stood it all! Riding seems to make him feel better and not worse. That night it rained hard, but the
biggest storm hit down the road from the camp. The river got up so much that the ride the next day to the river was canceled
for the group.
That was the best ride of the area. That was the ride I came for. I had heard tales about the ride to the river that had
so many crossings. I’m so glad we got to take it.
We enjoyed the events at East Fork. The park workers could not have been nicer. They were unusually friendly and polite.
Even when they were doing the tree check. (Looking to see if horses were damaging any of the trees.)
There was a band some nights, free dinner one evening, an auction and bingo. Best of all was visiting with our new friends.
The last day, most of us chose not to ride. We were too busy getting ready to go back home. Karen was the exception. She
had saddled up the big gelding and joined the ride. When she came back, she was clearly agitated. She tied up her horse, unsaddled
and was removing her dirty boots when she finally spoke. She said, "I’m never going to ride with quarter horses again.
Ever. They were so slow. Just walking. You can’t ride with quarter horses. Not and have any fun."
East Fork Stables is a wonderful place to go and ride. I hope you are lucky enough to get to take the river ride.
