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Honeymoon Breakdown
These equestrian adventurers became stranded roadside an hour from their honeymoon destination. Read on for their story. By Jennifer McRae My husband, Neal, and I were expecting a grand adventure as part of our honeymoon, but we had no idea what lay in store for us and how grateful we would be for USRider. On the day after our wedding, a Sunday, we left central North Carolina with our Quarter Horse gelding, Max, and molly mule, Sally, in tow. We were headed to Tennessee’s Big South Fork Recreation Area, where we had rented a secluded cabin outside the park. We couldn’t wait to spend a week exploring the area from horseback.
Engine Trouble The drive had gone smoothly until, without warning, our diesel truck just shut off and wouldn’t start again. The last major town we had gone through was Knoxville, Tennessee, which was one hour southeast of us; our final destination was still one hour west of us. My husband is a talented mechanic, but whatever was wrong with our truck wasn’t something that was going to be fixed on the side of the road. Our secluded honeymoon location was suddenly presenting a really big problem in the middle of nowhere on a Sunday evening. How were we going to find a service station in an area we had no familiarity with? If we did find one, how would we know they could work on a diesel truck if they weren’t going to open until the next day? And how would we get there? What were we going to do with the horses? Where would we stay?
Calling USRider Just at the moment when real panic should have been setting in, I was picking up the phone and calling USRider. Working with the USRider representative, we were able to locate a service shop in Knoxville equipped to work on our vehicle, as well as a wrecker service to come tow both our truck and trailer. USRider® Equestrian Traveler’s Companion
PHOTO BY JENNIFER MCCRAE
“I couldn’t believe we were able to even find such service that day, much less that it was covered fully by my USRider membership.” writes USRider Member Jennifer McCrae. The wrecker service out of the Knoxville area was able to easily find us on a country state road in a surprisingly reasonable amount of time. They brought with them a rollback wrecker to take our truck to a dealership service shop in Knoxville, as well as a wheel lift truck to tow me, my husband, and our two mounts the remaining hour to our cabin rental location. The driving skills of the wrecker were greatly appreciated as he navigated the Big South Fork River gorge with our trailer and most precious cargo inside. We also experienced wonderful hospitality and genuine care as our driver stopped at a convenience store to allow us to purchase a few supplies and remained friendly as we picked through the back roads of Tennessee to our secluded cabin site. I couldn’t believe we were able to even find such service that day, much less that it was covered fully by my USRider membership. USR >>
24
Summer 2022
