On May 18, I experienced another first. I drove my car out to Kehewin then ditched the modern form of transportation and opted for a more traditional type, as I took part in the Moosepayo wagon rally.
It was an eventful day that had its many ups and downs and even a little bit of bad luck.
When I arrived at the event it was a nice, warm and sunny day. There were about 12 wagons parked in the field beside the rec center.
I went over and met rally organizer Henry Moosepayo. He took me over to a small horse connected to a one-person wagon and said straight-faced, “You'll be riding on this.”
A blank look overcame my face as I thought, “You have got to be kidding me. I've never even been on a horse before!”
He immediately began laughing and confirmed that I would actually be riding in the back of his wagon with a family from St. Albert. Into the wagon we climbed, eight people, including myself, crammed into the back of the wagon with Moosepayo and a friend sitting up front driving.
The two horses pulling our wagon, Prince and King, were seven and eight year old brothers, of which Henry said they tended to listen “most of the time.”
We set off at about noon and just as we were leaving the property it started to rain. Small drops started coming down and the sky clouded over almost immediately.
We got out on the road, hoping the rain would pass, and then the two horses pulling our wagon started fighting the bits in their mouth. They were pulling the wagon all over the place and it appeared they wouldn't calm down.
We turned back to fix the mouthpieces and the rain started to come down even harder.
By the time we hit the trail we were way behind the rest of the pack. We took a couple short cuts, driving around through the diverse countryside. The rain was off and on for the first half of the trip but it really didn't seem to bother anyone that much.
Then the ride got even more interesting as the trail was rough and we didn't really know what was coming around the next bend.
The horses got to the top of a hill with a giant patch of mud at the bottom. Questions started flying around, “How deep is the mud? This is a big hill, how do we stop?”
Henry then decided to inform us that the wagon's brakes currently didn't work and that we should hold on tight. We began down the hill all holding to some part of the wagon.
We hit the mud full speed and slowed down considerably as the wagon sank down into the mud, which was close to a foot deep. Mud and water flew up into the air as the horses bared down and pulled us through the patch.
That deep patch of mud was the first of many we had to trudge through that afternoon. The trail we were on was a tough one to travel, several people who were driving there big trucks to the half-way point had to turn back as they couldn't get through some sections of the trail, which the wagon passed with relative ease.
After about two and-a-half hours of riding through the bush, everyone met up at the halfway point, roasted some hot dogs and had a nice little break.
The ride back was the easy part, as the halfway point turned out to be more of a three-quarter point. After another hour of travel we arrived back at the rec center.
Everyone who attended the event received prizes an enjoyed a nice dinner.
Even though it was a long day, I enjoyed myself. It was nice to meet many new people from Kehewin, carrying on traditions; taking the time to enjoy their land and travel around the old-fashioned way.
As I was leaving Henry urged me to come back next year.
“Next time we will get you on a small saddle horse, said Moosepayo. “I was going to bring one this time, you could have rode it.”
Here's to hoping I know how to ride a horse before next year's rally.
