The Beaulieus to the Rescue.

I set off from Bellefleure on the first day of October feeling decidedly down in the mouth with a lame horse, a broken laptop, and to cap it all I had lost another filling in my teeth.  The prospect of another tramp along the main road (as I was leading Del most of the way) did not fill me with delight.  At least the sun was shining and my progress was cheered by these three friendly French horsemen who came to chat..

...and by these ladies with a houseful of cats who invited the horses to graze in their garden for a while and gave me a welcome can of lemonade.......

But I was nearly at the end of my tether, and it is an understatement to say I was relieved to see Jean Pierre Beaulieu turn up with his trailer to where we were waiting at the abandoned New Moon restaurant on the old highway....

 

 

 to take us back to his lovely home at St Basile near Edmundston. 

Jean Pierre had also hosted Kimber Sider, a young Canadian woman who rode across Canada in 2008 with her horse Kat.  Kimber was one of the contacts provided for me by Rhonas Taylor of Sumac farms in Nova Scotia, as she had also helped Kimber when she started from the coast near New Glasgow. And it was Kimber who passed on the contact details for Jean Pierre.  More of Kimber later.

What a luxury to have a good meal, a comfortable bed, and relax in front of the television!  While the horses had comfortable loose boxes and then a grassy paddock with access to a barn with hay.

On Thursday I had a day off and the Beaulieus helped to sort out all my problems.  Jean Pierre's wife Linda drove me around untiringly, back and forth to Staples to sort out a new tablet to replace the laptop which was beyond repair, and to an emergency appointment she booked with a local dentist, while Jean Pierre organised friend Paulo over to reshoe the horses. Paulo is a very experienced farrier who was forced to give up full time farriery due to heart problems. He reckoned that Del's soles needed trimming and opening out. 

On Friday Jean Pierre trailered Lady and me down to the New Moon to ride back to the house while Del had another day's rest.  I enjoyed cabin and barn parties in Newfoundland, but here a productive couple of days were rounded off with a tack room party! 

L to R: Paulo, neighbour Ghislaine, Jen-Pierre and Linda, neighbour Olivier.