JUST A HOLIDAY

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 199, 14 August 1940, Page 5

JUST A HOLIDAY

WHAKATANE HORSEMAN'S LONG I RIDE MAUNGATUROTO AND BACK To ride the three hundred and something miles to Maungaturoto, Kaipara, North Auckland, spend about ten weeks there enjoying a busman's holidiay driving, and ride back ,to Whakatane in eight days, is no trouble at all to Ivan Cooper, 21 years old Whakatane stock drover, who enjoyed the tri(p and counts long distance horseback riding as a hobby. Ivan arrived home on Monday evening. Whakatane's equestrian No. 1 cannot remember the date on which he left the town for more {northern pastures but remembers that it was on a nice, fine sunny Thursday morning in May and that his time of departure was 9 a.m. . . There the story commences. The lads who made the front pages when tliey rode from Ghent to Aix had i.t on Ivan only in that they galloped all the way. Ivan, having respect for his mount and a far, far longer distance to go, hurried not. !But he travelled through the night and the succeeding day and reached Tiraii at 10 p.m. on Friday. The 34 miles form Tirau to Hamilton, a mere nothing,, was accomplished in about seven hours and the wanderer, believing in early rising, left Hamilton at 5 a.m. the next clay for Qtahuhu, which place echoed to his horse's hoofs at 10 p.m. This meant that Mr Cooper had to spend the night in a vacant section, hotels and boarding-houses barring such late callers. The next day saw great progress made, Helensville greeting Ivan at 7.30 pip emma. Leaving that place; on Tuesday morning, he arrived at Wellsford at six o'clock and leaving there at 7 "a.m. the following day, reached Maungaturoto at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Mr Cooper stayed there for about two and a half months, enjoying a holiday doing a bit of droving and departed that town at 4 a.m. (Shades of all the frosts!) on Sunday, August 4th. His objective was Whakatane, and the immediate call was the Spring Horse Fair. Wellsford saw him again at three o'clock that afternoon and wished him luck as it waved good-bye at 9 a.m.- the next day. Helensville (again with the tide out) was readied at 7 p.m. and he left at 12 o'clock noon, the following day, for Auckland. hitting Mt. Albert at 7 p.m., which v seemed to be his favourite time of arrival. Arrival. Twelve hours later he was on the road again, making for Pokeno, hot, as he explained, because he liked the place, but because his rides were carefully planned. Resting his horse, and, incidentally, giving it the first hard feed it had had for three months, he rested himself, leaving for Paeroa at 6.30 ack emma. Paeroa acknowledged his bow at yes, 7 p.m. Saturday's journey consisted of the trifling trip from Paeroa i.o Kati Kati and lie arrived there in time to see the "Time, Gentlemen, Please" laggards being thrown unceremoniously on to the unyielding footapths, or whatever they have at Kati Kati. Sunday saw the Kati Kati-Te Puke part covered and, leaving the latter town at 9 a.m. on Monday, the young wanderlust friend saw the old home town shortly after 6 p.m. on Monday. For the trip Mr Cooper used a six year old bay cob, which he lias owned for the last three years, and which answers, when so minded, to the name IBob.* An alias is 'Match ; Box.' The mount shows no sign of its long, long ride and on Tuesday morning was looking ready for another hundred miles or so. Accompanying Ivan and Bob, three cattle dogs also saw new Avorlds, though whether they conquered is not known. They, too, looked fit and " prepared to demonstrate that it is L not only old dogs which are fit for ' a hard road. No Novel Experience., 1 Adventures on the way Were chief--5 ly confined to near-accidents, especi ] ; ally when Bob objected to Auck- " land's trams. Traffic makes little ■ appeal to Bob and more often than not he shows his distaste by giving a display of buck-jumping. Mr Cooper admitted that he had had two o r ] three narrow escapes, chief of whic l ! . concerned a motor cycle at Hender- . son and a motor lorry at Papaku-a Long horse-back rides are no novel

experience to young Mr Cocper. HQcalls that game his 'hobby"! Ye Gods! "Well, I get sick of riding in the train," he says., "I have to travel with cattle about thirty times year and when.-you've done that you've seen enough of the- New Zealand Railways." •' Four years ago (and take that off ; his age), he made the trip from the ; Ninety Mile Beach to Whakatane, and the distance is something over * i five hundred niiies. Jt took, him jusf- . on two weeks, but it /goes to show i that his last N littie venture was noI thing out of the ordinary—to Mm*