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The Equest Benefit Ride
By Halla Black
October 8, 2006
If you could describe your ideal trail ride, what would it be? A ride overlooking historical castles in England? A jaunt across some rolling green hills in Ireland? A gallop on the beaches in Portugal? All of these are extremely appealing but a bit out of my price range at this time. I’ll have to stick closer to home and save my pennies. My ideal trail ride in the state of Maine would be; perfect weather (of course), the carriage roads in Acadia, the mowed grass trails at Lorax, a bit of Popham Beach and some scenery from Andrew Wyeth’s landscape paintings. Well, this is just what I got at the Benefit Trail Ride for Equest Therapeutic Riding Center at the Spurwink Farm in Cape Elizabeth on October 8th. To say this was the most beautiful trail ride I’d ever been on is an understatement!
For the past couple of years I been wanting to attend this ride but scheduling conflicts have prevented me from going. Friends have raved about the wonderful trails and swooned about the beautiful views of the ocean. This year I made it a point to fit this ride into my calendar and I contacted my friend David Collier so see if he wanted to go and bring his new mare (his mare Star and my horse Slick are great friends). We both agreed it would be a good experience for Star and a great ride for us. We couldn’t wait to go.
Dave and I were the first to arrive at the Spurwink Farm in Cape Elizabeth. As we drove down the long winding driveway we were stunned by the enormous amount of undeveloped land. We ooo’d and ahhh’d and kept glancing at each other. How could this huge piece of paradise be tucked away so close to Portland? Woods and fields and pastures on either side of us seemed to go on forever. We slowly continued down the driveway and our jaws dropped open when we saw the Atlantic Ocean sweeping down in front of us….right next the horse barns. “Holy cow!” we gasped, “What a fantastic view those horses have!” A couple of volunteers greeted us and gave instructions to turn into a huge pasture which was designated for trailer parking. We parked, check on our horses and then made our way to the “sign-in and greeting table.” Trailers started streaming in and filling the parking pasture at a steady clip. “It looks like there will be a lot of riders” I mentioned to the Equest volunteers. “Oh yes, this is a great ride and we got a lot of entries this year.” Anxious to get out ahead of the crowd Dave and I returned to my rig and tacked up. Off we went ambling down the driveway towards the barns. Dave and I were anxious and excited about what lay ahead and Slick and Star were happy to be going out on an adventure together. The sky was crystal clear and a brilliant blue. The sun was bright and best of all, it was downright warm! Up ahead, past the barns was the Atlantic Ocean. Dave and I beamed with delight…it doesn’t get any better than this!
“Follow the yellow signs with the black arrows” we were told. We continued past the barns and big old farm house and then behind the home of Phineas and Mary Lou Sprague, the owners of Spurwink Farm. The driveway lead us into some woods and the dirt road became meticulously mowed grass trails,wide enough for carriages or two riders to ride side by side. We trotted together, looping around acres and acres and acres woods and fields. The yellow signs were easy to spot and pointed us in different directions. Slick and Star were having a grand time trotting along and Dave and I continued to marvel at the fantastic trail system. We had no idea where we were or where we were going but we didn’t care. Grass trails turned into dirt roads. Fields became woods and then back to fields again. The yellow signs kept us going. We slipped into a canter here and there. The trails seemed to go on and on forever and Dave and I beamed with delight. We were euphoric;” This is AWESOME!” we kept saying to each other.
Eventually the woods opened up and we followed a long dirt road. We could hear a faint rumbling in the distance. Dave and I looked at each other wondering when the heck it was. Road machinery? We kept going. The roaring got a little louder. A yellow sign pointed us to make a turn. We followed the dirt trail which turned into sand and the field became a big wide dune. The Ocean! The trail spilled us out onto the picturesque
Crescent Beach. “This is BEAUTIFUL!” we yelled. We walked along the beach, the waves on one side and the dunes on the other. Richmond Island, which was just to our left across the water, seemed unreal; like a painting in a gallery. We ambled down the beach for quite a distance and then followed a yellow sign up and over the dunes. The dunes immediately became fields and perfectly mowed grass trails followed the edge of the ocean. We trotted along with the Atlantic Ocean on our left and sweeping fields on our right. It seemed to go on forever. The trail eventually looped us back towards Spurwink Farm but before reaching the farm we passed by a New England boat house with lobster traps stacked up to the side. Colorful buoys adorned the little weathered house. A classic Maine postcard to say the least.
After nearly three hours we finally rounded the corner and made our way back to the barns following the driveway to the trailer parking pasture (which was packed full of trailers). Dave and I couldn’t stop chattering about the ride as we tended to Star and Slick. Once they were settled we made a beeline to the steak and ribs barbeque.
Sarah Chappell Armentrout, President of Equest Maine, was the first to greet us. “How was the ride? What perfect weather! Isn’t this a beautiful place?” After talking with her we were then greeting by Karen Friedlander, manager of Spurwink Farm who was wearing an apron and wielding a set of tongs. “Welcome! How was your ride? Steak and ribs are ready and salads, bread and the rest of the stuff is around the corner. So, help yourself!” A flock of volunteers were manning the grills including Phineas Sprague himself. He was barbequing/roasting oysters and graciously serving them to the incoming people (I heard that he raises them himself). Dave and I loaded up our plates (the buffet was laid out on tables inside a small airplane hanger) and made ourselves at home sitting at one of the many tables that sat on the edge of a grass airstrip next to the hanger. Riders were filtering in and starting to fill the tables and chairs around us all the while exclaiming what a great ride they just had. As Dave and I gobbled our steak and ribs we noticed a bright blue Ultralight circle above us. It started to get lower and lower and….ohmygosh…it’s going to LAND right near us! Sure enough, the Ultralight gently lowered itself little by little and made a perfect landing not 150 feet away from us = COOL! (Our horses were some distance away on the other side of the farm). The two-person Ultralight taxied along the grasses strip and parked on the far side next to four small high-wing planes. Dave and I went right over and met the pilot, Willie Lewis. Willie was incredibly patient answering all of our questions and letting us look at his Ultralight and the other planes. We thanked him and continued our walk around the farm, looking into the barns, meeting some of the boarders, and ended up at the largest barn (with the best view of the ocean) that housed a number beautiful carriages and gorgeous old sleigh. As we were looking at the sleigh Mary Lou Sprague came up to greet us. “That sleigh was my grandmothers and I just had it restored. I remember sitting in it as a child, all bundled up in blankets to keep warm.” She showed us the carriages she currently uses and gave us a brief history of the farm. “Wow, what a place this is!” we told her.
It was hard to leave the Sprague Farm that afternoon. Dave and I chattered nonstop about the Equest ride on the way home. Everything was incredible; the weather, the farm, the Ultralight,, Phineas and Mary Lou Sprague, Karen Friedlander and Sarah Chappell Armentrout. Such wonderful people. Such a wonderful ride. I think this was the best trail ride I have ever been on…in my entire life! Dave and I made a pact; we have GOT to do this again next year!
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