Bud Hutchison’s Memorial Trail Ride went off without a hitch!  No bad dogs, no rough creek crossings, only a mellow ramble through the beautiful countryside.  They bypassed their usual Shannon Ranch visit out of consideration for those little ground wasp yellow jackets that are likely plentiful and vigorous in weather conditions such as these. Stories about them are rampant among equestrians.  They can turn a trail ride into a rodeo.  At the end of the trail, they repaired to ice cream and pleasant palaver out on the wide veranda.  Joann Laurence had joined the regulars with her guitar for a few tunes then came Carissa Rene and Cheryl Hatch of Heroes’ Rest who added their lovely voices to some gospel tunes.  About that time too came Kaitlyn McConnell and Mike O’Brian with a pie and their usual curiosity and enthusiasm for the Bright Side.  As the day progressed Kaitlyn and Mike made their way to Mansfield to Wilder Day activities where Kaitlyn has some special history.

In years past a dozen and more riders have made trail ride, sharing their stories of Bud and adventures along the trail.  Cavin Chambers and some of his buddies had just returned from an epic trail ride up in Utah, Colorado and Kansas.  They may have been saddle-sore which kept them from showing up this time.  Karen Brown has been on a number of rides recently and enjoyed this one.  She was seen with a shovel cleaning up after her mount.  Loran Cockrum came over from West Plains for the fun of it.  He had stories to tell and good reasons to get home.  Andrew Harden was riding one of Bud’s horses.  Lots of exciting things are going on in his life. He endured some significant teasing from The General who likes to keep things jovial. 

Earlier in the day Johnny Burkdoll spent some time around the cold wood stove.  He was haggling with the Prominent Champion over some twelve-foot one by sixes.  He is making a good recovery over some health problems and enjoys being in Champion—Looking on the Bright Side!

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