#opentrail

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwfquTXfRa0)

PREMIUM OPEN TRAIL MEMBER DEIRDRE PEROT LIGHTSEY

Deirdre is one of our members who has truly embraced the mission of Open Trail and Top Trail—Open Trail because it’s a clearinghouse for actual trail use documentation useful to trail advocacy organizations and Top Trail because she is enjoying the mileage program for her horses.

As a lifelong equestrian, Deirdre and her horses have thousands of miles on the trail but since becoming a member of Top Trail, she has logged 894 miles, Honey has 837 miles, and her new trail partner Boomer has already posted 57 miles.

Recently I asked Deirdre about her life with her horses, her impressive trail activities, goals, and how she got started with us:

“I’ve been horse crazy since I was born but we lived in "the big city" so my parents made sure I took riding lessons and did horse camp. It wasn't until I was out on my own that I was able to buy my 1st horse. Now at 59 years, I'm so lucky to have a (2nd) husband who tolerates this "horse disease" and my family has given up the hope of me being "cured!”

“My "soul-sister" horse—Honey, has been with me for 22 years. She's 21 now (I bought her mother & picked out her father!) and other than 30 days training, we've been together the whole wonderful time. I wish Open Trail had been around longer—I’m sure we've racked up thousands of miles.

“Honey and I have been out West, ridden in 30 different states, as well as all over the western North Carolina mountains we call home. Honey is such a level-headed horse. We share the trails with mountain bikers and have had some almost run into us! Honey just looks at them as if to say, "excuse me?" To give her a bit of a break, I reluctantly (and with the support of the Open Trail group) found a new horse—Boomer, who is shaping up nicely.

“Early retirement turned all those “casual” volunteer opportunities into full time (non-paid) vocations. My passion is advocating for equestrian access on our public lands and there's NO shortage of work to do! Our National Forest, the Nantahala and Pisgah are going through the plan revision process and I'm serving as co-representative to the recreation interest group which includes mountain bikes, rafters, hunters, hikers, gem miners, etc. Its really heady stuff and I’m learning how our lands are managed and how we can help as volunteers to keep those lands open for all to enjoy.

“I hold offices in the Back Country Horsemen of NC and the NC Horse Council. Our BCH of Pisgah Chapter was formed in 2011 from a group that I've been involved with since 1994. We maintain 200 miles of multi use trails as well as two horse camps in the Pisgah District of the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, North Carolina.

“Remember when you see the mileage I'm posting, it’s all working on trails, off and on the horses, clearing brush, and digging out run offs. Its a ton of fun, and we really enjoy it.

“Mapping my trails has added a whole new layer of enjoyment to our rides. I use Endomondo on my Windows 8 phone but I also have a Garmin Etrex 20 to make sure I get a good file. I'm also using these Pisgah files to report to the Forest Service issues with the trails (you can pin point exact locations) and to search for loop possibilities. The Forest Service has expressed support for a trail user created council to proactively address trail issues and I believe that these files will be valuable tools for us to help in that process.

“Riding, mapping, and helping with equestrian access is so rewarding, I feel like I am living the richest life, a very lucky "horse crazy" girl!”

PREMIUM OPEN TRAIL MEMBER MAGGIE BRADSHAW

As the Program Manager for Top Trail, I get to know and know of some pretty awesome equestrians. One of those awesome equestrians is Maggie Bradshaw. Maggie trail rides... a lot! In the past year she has been rewarded handsomely for her participation on the Open Trail by participating and winning several Top Trail divisions:

*Top Trail Rider (most recorded miles for the first quarter of 2015) *Top Trail Horse May 2014: Max (1st) *Top Trail Horse June 2014: Max (2nd) *Top Trail Horse August 2014: Blaze (1st) *Top Trail Horse January 2015: Whiskey (1st) *Top Trail Horse February 2015: Blaze (2nd) *Top Trail Horse March 2015: Blaze (1st)

I wanted to know more about this amazing horsewoman and how she came to be such a devoted trail rider with wonderful horses and this is what I learned:

How long have you been riding? I was born with the horsey gene that we all have in common, but it was a little burro named Sangrita that started it all. She was a stepping-stone to Honey, an ornery palomino paint. Honey was the one who taught my sister and me about riding.

I got married and had a family, wasn’t involved with horses for a while. Then twenty some years ago, my husband Wayne and I bought property in OK to build on and bought horses. I rode with our local trail riding club, wagon trains, parades and a women’s reenactment group called the Wild Women of the Frontier.

With age, injuries, and an appreciation of a smooth ride, most of our friends are now riding gaited horses so Wayne and I made the switch to gaited horses in 2014.

How long have you and Blaze been a team? At the end of May I found Blaze, my TWH, in Texas. I knew the minute I saw him we had a connection. I think I probably had the biggest grin ever on my face that first ride. He enjoys burning up some trail!  I love that we can encounter deer, armadillos, rabbits, quail, turkey, and pheasant along the way, with no worries.

Favorite trails? My favorite trail has to be in the Stough Creek Basin of the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming. We spent an incredible week on a pack trip with great friends several years ago. Absolutely stunning scenery.

Lake Carl Blackwell, Stillwater, OK is my favorite “local” place to ride. It has such a great diversity of trail.

Proudest equestrian moment? My proudest equestrian moment has to be any time spent with my 14 year old granddaughter, Haley. I love fostering her horsemanship skills and spending time making great memories.

How did you learn about Open Trail? I found Open Trail on Facebook. I really appreciate J.R.'s vision to document all the trails ridden in the United States. I have always loved keeping track of my mileage and having an incentive to get out on the trail more was just what I needed.

What are your goals for this year? My goals for this year are to ride at least 150 miles a month, take a Quarterly Top Trail Rider title, maintain a top ten position in the monthly Top Trail Horse, build on my partnership with Blaze and to take that extra 10 minutes+ time each day to embrace the outdoors with him.

By using Open Trail, I have doubled my yearly average to right at 1,000 miles last year.

What GPS do you use and what are the pros and cons of GPS devices or apps you use or have used? I have used a Garmin eTrex VistaCX GPS to track my mileage for the last four years. I was always juggling the camera, phone and the GPS around in my saddlebags. I had some technical issues with the Garmin GPS and website that left me disenchanted. It was when I changed my cell phone to an iPhone that I discovered it was more convenient to use it as my camera and GPS.

I have used the phone apps: Endomondo, MotionX, and Easy Trails. I love the speech feature of Endomondo, it will tell you your progression of mileage and time. Endomondo will also show on your map when and where you hit each mile. I don't like to have to depend on using the computer to upload trails from Endomondo's website to Open Trail. MotionX is a great app, it just has way more info than I need to know and eats up the phones battery fairly quickly.

I prefer Easy Trails, as it is so simple to add trails to the Open Trail database. I can upload a GPS trail from my phone to the website and not even use my laptop. I am able to view my current trail with over 10 different types of maps. It keeps track of all my past tracks and has waypoints with photos if you choose. It would be perfect if it would include a speech feature to announce trail progression.

I always keep an external power bank in my saddlebag to charge my phone while we are out on the trail. You can usually find Blaze and I riding around jamming to music on Pandora.

Premium Top Trail Rider: Christine Shenefield

Christine is a valued Premium Member of Open Trail and has been with us right from the start. As a Platinum Member, all Christine’s equines are eligible each month for all Top Trail Challenges plus she can set riding goals and track her progress. For a full list of Premium Member benefits: http://www.toptrailhorse.net/premium-memberships.html

Christine, her three horses (Sky, Bling, and Brooklyn) and mule (Taz) are always in the running for Top Trail Horse and Top Trail Rider. This Top Trail team have some impressive wins thus far: May 2014 Top Trail Horse 2nd, July 2014 Top Trail Horse 1st, Participation Challenge (July-August), and January 2015 Top Trail Horse 2nd. Christine rides when it’s HOT and she rides when it’s COLD! It’s quite apparent that she loves to ride and is devoted to her equine partners! We want to thank Christine, Bling, Brooklyn, Sky and Taz for being part of Open Trail and the Top Trail Horse mileage program and recognize them for their support and enthusiasm .