Oatlands

FOURTH-GRADER Patrick McCardell will gladly explain all he knows about "equitation" -- the proper way to ride a horse in a competitive environment.The 9-year-old has been studying it for months.Patrick, a student at Waterloo Elementary School, is one of six members of the Special Olympics Howard County equestrian team.Since mid-March, the team has been practicing every Friday night at the Therapeutic and Recreational Riding Center in Glenwood.Patrick has a form of high-functioning autism, a developmental disorder.

Battle sounds to echoFor those interested in military history there's much activity about the region. The roar of the cannon and clash of battle will be heard in the Shenandoah Valley next weekend as soldiers uniformed in blue and gray re-enact the Battle of Cedar Creek near Middletown, Va. The battle, on Oct. 19, 1864, was an attempt by the Confederates to gain control of the Shenandoah Valley. It ended in one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War and a victory for Gen. Philip Sheridan's Union forces.

LAUREL -- John Friedman never gave up the dream.It's been 21 years since the retired Washington firefighter took on the biggest names in racing and won the 1971 Coaching Club American Oaks with the unfashionably bred filly, Our Cheri Amour. The filly cost her owner, the late Helen Vizzi, only $1,800 at the Timonium sales.It was one of racing's great Cinderella stories, ranking right up there in local lore with Harrison Johnson's victory in the Hopeful Stakes with Gusty O'Shay.Now Friedman, 60, has burst onto the scene with another stakes runner with similar unfashionable bloodlines.

If you crave a little gardening restorative after this horrendous summer, don't miss the historic William Paca Garden's annual fall plant sale in Annapolis next Saturday and Sunday.Created by the William Paca Garden horticulturist, Karen Long, the event is a way to clear out surplus plant stock, share rare and antique species with the public and raise cash to benefit the garden. Prices run mostly $5 and under for 3-inch to 6-inch pots. There are also numerous 2- and 3-gallon shrubs and roses that are priced higher.

Revelstoke, considered too slow and nervous to make it as a racehorse at Maryland's flat tracks, had the second-fastest running in the 100-year history of the Maryland Hunt Cup yesterday. The victory was the first for his rider-trainer, Jack Fisher, in the grueling, 4-mile steeplechase at Worthington Farms in Glyndon.The 9-year-old gelding defeated Florida Law, ridden by J. D. Gillet, by 7 3/4 lengths and completed the 22-jump timber course in 8 minutes, 37 2/5 seconds, 3 4/5 seconds off the record set in 1978 by Ben Nevis II."

As we all look forward to a happy and horsey 1993, here's a look back at some of this column's 1992 news:* The year started off with a warning about moldy corn poisoning, a frustrating problem that is almost impossible to detect in affected horse feed. There are no known preventive measures other than not feeding corn, there is no cure, and the animal has to be dead before the diagnosis can be confirmed.* During the winter months, the new Meadowood Riding Center in Woodbine conducted several winter workshops.

No doubt you've seen some of the Greenbriar Garden Club's handiwork. Members pool their efforts to care for a plot at Whipps Cemetery. They arrange greens at historic Waverly mansion and help decorate the place at Christmas. They have planted and cared for a therapeutic garden at Harmony Hall, Columbia's retirement community.Two members, Viola Barth and Diane Kowalski, planted dogwood trees at the A.M.E. Church cemetery in Daisy, Maryland.And if you haven't seen their group efforts, certainly you've admired the beautiful gardens surrounding Ellicott City homes, some of which belong to Greenbriar members.

Get set for a big weekend ahead with events to suit almost every taste.The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pa., will hold a three-day celebration Friday through May 21 to mark the grand opening of Railroaders' Hall. The new hall, which resembles giant train sheds of the late 19th century, was designed to house most of the museum's large collection of rail cars and locomotives. It also features 17 themed areas that tell the story of the Pennsylvania Railroad. These interpretive displays include a depot scene circa 1916; a railway post office; a hands-on children's center with an operating model layout, a storytelling corner and craft area; and a Hall of Locomotives, which features just about every major type of locomotive designed and built by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1885 and 1930.

Of the many special events planned throughout the year at the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Del., Family Day on Saturday ranks high in popularity. Now in its fourth year, it offers a full day of activity for all ages from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Since the museum stands on the original site of the du Pont black powder mills that flourished during the 19th century, many of the events relate to that era.On Blacksmith Hill, the Hagley's 19th century workers' community, visitors can enjoy a Punch and Judy show, enter wheelbarrow races, participate in school classes or watch interpreters perform daily chores.

Catoctin Mountain rises in the distance on my right as I cruise down Route 15 past wheat-colored meadows and pastures dotted with sleek, long-legged horses. I've left Frederick and crossed the Potomac River, the line between Maryland and Virginia, on my way south to Leesburg. My husband's schedule didn't permit a winter getaway and friends weren't available, so I'm on my own. But after a long holiday season spent catering to my nearest and dearest, I'm primed for a selfish couple of days away.