Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Sunriver 100 - Tami Rougeau

OK, so finally got home and got all the chores done and can get a bit
of a note off regarding May's first 100.

As advertised the Sunriver 100 was a great first 100 mile ride. We
could not have asked for a better situation (unless maybe we could
make it not rain or hail).

We drove up from Reno on Thursday so that May would have a day to
rest. That worked out great as it also gave me a day to get organized
and not feel rushed. The people at the ride were so nice and friendly
and I can't say enough good things about the managment, vets and
volunteers.

We checked in on Friday and while we were waiting to vet we met a very
nice lady who was also riding in Easyboot Gloves. Since we were both
planning on a slow steady pace we agreed to meet up in the morning.

So morning came and just as I was thinking that I really should have
found out where my new friend was parked, there she was. All smiles
and ready to go with her wonderful gelding Thunder. Oh May was going
to be in love in no time at all. My new friend Karen said that she
did not want Thunder to see the front runners or he might get
excited. Of course I was exptecting May to be her typical psycho
anyway so the less stimulus the better. We left the trailers a few
minutes after 5 and headed to the start. Then the most amazing thing
ever happened....May calmly walked out right next to Thunder. We had
the best start ever!

The two of them paced along very nicely all day. The footing was
heaven and for a Nevada horse it was like walking on clouds. The
trail was really well marked as well. Since we were riding in the far
back of the pack we never had to wait in any line and there were
always plenty of volunteers to help us out. There were lots of water
stops along the way and the horses drank well. May did her usual
routine of trying to single handedly drain every tank and ate
everything she could get her face into.

We headed out with 30 miles to go and all A's from the vets (along
with a few comments that we could probably start riding the horses now
- CRIs 44/44). Since we still had loads of time we decided that we
would take our time and be mindful of any bad footing, playing the
conservative card at this point in the game. We did not make it to
the last check before dark which was a bummer but with good headlamps
and a well marked trail we managed to make it with only one missed
turn.

After we left the last check it rained on us a bit which was a downer
but most of the last leg is common trail from earlier in the day and
the horses were ready to get home. We walked pretty much the whole
way. We had picked up another rider so now we were a party of three
which was fun. We were only a few miles from the finish when the
tempurature really dropped. That was uncomfortable but we had
prepared and knew how to keep warm. Our partner was not very used to
the cold and it bothered her a bit more.

Then we saw the finish. The warm fire and the smiling face of Lois
the ride manager to welcome us in. We were later than we had expected
but we were done at 0200. The vets gave us all A's and again CRI
40/40. Well done little May, well done!

It was a great ride with all the key necessities covered tenfold.
Lois and Sharon and their team of vets and volunteers were simply top
notch; the trail was amazing, great footing and marked to the gills.
To top it off every single person in camp was so nice. There were
three distances going on so even though the field for the 100 was
small there were still a large number of folks in camp.

So, long story short, we had the best experience - great riding
partners (huge thank you to Karen and Thunder!), great trail and great
management. I am so proud of my little Mare. She grew up on this
ride and really earned her stripes. Thank you to everyone who made it
possible. Sunriver 100, not just a great first 100, a great ride
period!

Tami and Amatzing Grace (May)

No comments:

Followers