Calling The Mare Trail Adventure & CaniCross
ATRA race member
Sep 19, 2021 at 10:15 AM
Calling The Mare Trail Adventure & CaniCross
Burlington WI, 53105
USA
Type: Canicross
Percent of the course on un-paved trails: 100%
First Year of the Event: 2014
Description:
10:20 a.m. CaniCross
10:30 a.m. Trail Run/Walk
CANICROSS EVENT -and- Red, White & Blue Program
Seno K/RLT Conservancy, 3606 Dyer Lake Rd (Hwy. P), Burlington, WI
DISTANCES: 3.3, 5.3, 7.3, 9.3 miles
Not only does the Pike River Trail Run/Walk/CaniCross have a NEW home at Seno K/RLT Conservancy, it now has a NEW name as well (Calling the Mare Trail Adventure Run/Walk & Canicross).
The new home…
This land was donated by Dr. Elvira Seno, directing its 127-acre (now nearly 240 acres) facility in western Kenosha County toward educating the public on prudent land management for sustainable forestry practices with related benefits to wildlife and natural beauty. Dr. Elvira Seno wished her beloved “Slippery Slopes” tree farm to become a place for others to learn about trees and nature. Dr. Seno passed away in November 1996. In her last year, she saw her dream fulfilled as buses full of children came to learn about forests and nature on her beautiful farm.
What does “Calling the Mare” mean?
In Medieval England, September was always known as the Harvest month, and as the many farmers would gather in the last of their crops, trying to prove that they had reaped the best crops they would try and beat their neighbouring farmers to complete the work first.
There was a fun ceremony known as “Calling the Mare” and this involved quickly gathering the last sheaf of the harvest and shaping it into a mare shape, then delivering it to the neighbouring farmers land, shouting “Mare, Mare.”
This was supposed to signify that wild horses would come and eat their harvest if they didn’t gather it in quickly.
Once the receiving farmer had finished gathering his crop, he would pass it onto the next farmer who had not finished until it reached the last farmer.
This last farmer would then have to keep the “Mare” on display for a year to show that he was the slowest farmer.
Similarly, corn dolls were also weaved into shapes and placed in the corn fields as farmers believed that these corn dolls were the spirit of the corn goddess.
It was believed that if you did not place a corn doll in your fields the corn goddess would die and so would your crops.
So now you know what the term “Calling the Mare” means and that it comes from an old farming tradition.
The trail is double wide, running through woods, open prairie, hills throughout with some a bit more challenging, surface is grass dirt and a couple very short sections of gravel road.
Distances: 3.3, 5.3, 7.3 and 9.3 miles. The first loop is modified for the extra distance and each following loop is 2 miles
Photos
No photos available.
Map
Past Event Dates
Held on Sep 19, 2021