July 20 Day 50 St. Croix River State Park 48 miles 4:12 riding
For those of you who have been wondering who won the draft horse pull, Dan and Jerry, a pair of Belgians, kicked butt. The crucial element for success is timing. Both horses have to stretch the traces at the same moment to get the sled moving once the sled gets heavy. Dan and Jerry have the concept; the other pairs are still working on it. The process is to load a sled with lengths of railroad rail to some weight, starting at maybe 2500 pounds. A chain at the back of the sled is attached to a skinny pole standing behind the sled. Once the horses pull the sled far enough for the chain to pull over the skinny pole, the horses have completed a trial. The next rial will have more weight. A team that can't pull the sled the necessary distance is disqualified. All the other teams flopped by the time the sled reached 4500 pounds. You could see Dan and Jerry smirking. Their owner called for another 1000 pounds and then another 500 for two more runs just to show what they could do. He said afterwards that they can do 9000 pounds on grass, and easier pull than the dirt. Photos to follow.
Pleasant riding to the St. Croix river. Not much else to say about the scenery. Lunch in the forest. Two cans of Dinty Moore beef stew served on sliced bread for dinner. At night I could see patches of bioluminescent fungus glowing in the dark in the woods.