Owyhee Tough Suckers 100 Ride Report - Crysta Turnage

by Crysta Turnage

Well, it was our day but was not our day...

The ride started in the dark (DARK, moon had set) at 0500. I had been very efficient with getting things prepared the night before. Riding a 100 with no crew, I knew the more prep I could do for each checkpoint in advance would equal more time I could rest and relax. So I was mounted and had been walking around camp for several minutes when Regina announced the trail was open. There were only 9 of us in the 100, and I only saw two other riders who were ready. So Bravo and I trotted off into the dark and put ourselves in an unexpected position - we were leading the ride!

Bravo was focused and on point. I've ridden him enough in the dark to trust him to do his job on the footing and my job was to concentrate and keep us on the trail. There were red LED lights guiding our path and thankfully enough of them that I didn't need to doubt myself very often. We trotted for miles together in the dark, just the two of us. The LED markers stopped just about the time the sun had started to make an appearance. I was now having to squint at the bush to see if I could see a strip of ribbon, there wasn't enough light to actually SEE the colors yet. Bravo was happily snatching grass during our walking breaks. He had not eaten very well the night before, so was making up for bad decisions by grazing along the trail. Around 8-9 miles the sun was finally up enough we could see clearly and move out with more confidence. Bravo is a "want to be in front" horse so he was just joyful out there on our own. He was so relaxed and efficient. We arrived at the second set of water troughs and I gave him a dose of elytes though he declined to drink. He peed three times on the first 20 mile stretch to the trot-by check. At this point we were in our own little bubble - I had not seen or heard anyone behind us so we were just cruising and doing our ride.

We reached the 20-mile trot-by check shortly after 0730. Bravo was ready to drink here and passed the check with no issues. I took a quick inventory, realized we didn't need anything just yet, and set off for the 10-mile lollipop loop which would bring us back to this away vet check. We did a 10-mile loop along the top of the rolling plateaus, looking down into the Oreana Valley and the former Teeter Ranch. I was glad I had my rain coat as the storm front began to roll in. Thankfully it just spit on us this loop, nothing of any real impact. On a few occasions I could see a group of four riders behind me, but B and I just stayed in our little bubble.

We arrived at the 30 mile check and one hour hold around 0900. B vetted through with all A's (excellent gut sounds!). It turned out we had about a 5 minute lead over the group behind us. I wasn't there to "race" per say, its not like it was a competitive ride, but was interested to see how B would do going his "happy pace" all day. The terrain and footing was very forgiving and definitely allowed for long trotting sections. Today was about enjoying being on the trail and out there together and marveling at what this horse is capable of. It was about making sure my adjusted electrolyte protocol kept him happy and going well over 50 miles. And making sure that I took care of both of us well enough we could get through the entire day and evening. The first 50-miles was like a big lollipop loop - we went out 20-miles to the check, did a 10-mile loop, and then back on the same 20-miles we had ridden in the morning. It was fun and different to see the trail and surrounding terrain in the light this time!

It had been so dark earlier that I wasn't able to appreciate the beauty of what we were riding through. This area is similar high desert vegetation but the mountains are totally different, more low plateaus and deeper river valleys than the true climbs we have in Nevada. It was fun to see all the other riders as well since the 50s had started at 0800 and were now making their way to the vet check.

We made it back to camp and the hour hold at 50 miles around 1220. My camp neighbor Jeff and I were laughing since he was leading the "chase pack" which was running about 5 mins behind. Dr. Jessica vetted Bravo and marveled at how well he was doing metabolically. I was SO SO SO PLEASED. He has NOT been an easy horse to manage but today so far had been flawless. He was eating, and drinking, and peeing, and just HAPPY and doing so well. Then we trotted and she had a funny look on her face as we were coming back. I was quite surprised, he had felt wonderful out on the trail. Something inconsistent on his left front, bring him back for a recheck before we go out again. Ugh! B isn't my "soundness" issue guy - that was Digs. Thankfully I learned a lot about getting an iffy horse through rides from Big D.

We passed the recheck and headed out for a 20 mile loop from camp. The first several miles were the same as the morning trail, and then we made a left hand turn and proceeded up a canyon on the LD trail. The LD riders were now starting to return on this trail from the away vet check, so again it was fun to see everyone and briefly say hi as we climbed. B hit his standard mid-afternoon OMG I'M SO HUNGRY MUST EAT ALL THE THINGS phase which is nearly like clockwork for him. So we walked and jogged and grazed and stopped often for bites of grass. Near the top of the climb Jeff, Jessica, Mike and (?? Nance?) caught up to us. They all checked and made sure we were okay and I assured them it was just hunger issues. Bravo ate a bit more and then tucked in with the group. We all rode a few miles together to the next water set and along the highway. Jeff and I were in front chatting, and at one point I looked back and realized the others weren't there anymore! B was over his "I'm gonna die unless I eat" phase and back to normal feed the hungry pony status. Jeff and I had a good time trading off the lead back and forth and I was actually happy to have some company for the upcoming 30-miles, since it was going to be just a 15 mi shorter repeat of this same 20 mi loop, done twice. Gus and Bravo were well paced together, other than needing to either stay REALLY close or well back to avoid the blowing dust in my contacts. The rain storm caught us just before we got back to camp and I regretted my mistake of taking off my jacket and leaving it in my trailer at the last hold. While I got SOAKED, at least it wasn't too cold and it wasn't long before we were back in camp.

We arrived in camp at 70 miles around 1615 or so. Vetted through with that same watch on his left front. It wasn't noticeable out on the trail, but I could see it out of the corner of my eye this time while trotting. Same recheck before we head back out. This was only a 40 minute hold and I scrambled to refill water bottles, elyte syringes, carrots on my pack, change out of my wet clothes from head to toe, and oh yeah.... eat something myself. This ride was all about liquid calories for me pretty much. If I couldn't drink it or slurp it in the saddle, I didn't have time. We rechecked his leg before heading out and it was the same as noted previously - slight and occasional but "something".

Jeff and Gus had left on time and I was a few minutes later after I got organized and did our recheck. I really just wanted to finish and wasn't concerned with placing so it was good to get back into a pocket by ourselves. B and I both had a serious case of the "fuckits" doing this same loop again. The 15 mi yellow was only different from the previous 20 mi pink by having a different cutoff point. I realized this was the first 100 I've ever done which had so much repeat trail. I've been very fortunate to not have this be a regular occurrence. Regina had to make several last minute changes the week of the ride due to OHV and water damage to past routes used. Some of what we rode was new trails she had just found to link together. I'm not complaining, it was just an interesting observation to see at what point we both got a little low on motivation. I also made myself take some elytes, drink at least a 1/4 bottle, and get some calories every time I started to feel a little mentally low.

B and I continued the same climb up the pink/yellow loop that we had before. When we hit some of the flat road up top, he picked up a trot and felt off on his right rear. I jumped down to check his shoes (Easycare Flex) and found he had slipped a nail! The clinch was still super tight, but down into his hoof and I couldn't loosen the end. The nail itself had folded over the edge of the shoe and was lifting his hoof wall on the lateral heel. It probably felt like a small rock under the edge of his hoof. I texted my husband and we tried to puzzle out if I could somehow pull the nail with my Leatherman. I tried a few different options but wasn't brave enough to bend the nail all the way back, for fear that I wouldn't be able to actually PULL it and would just make it worse. At this point, the best option I had was to walk him into camp (forward was closer than going back) and see if we could pull the nail and/or shoe and see how he looked. So that's what we did. Kept moving. When we got to the softer footing areas, B would pick up a trot of his own accord so it definitely seemed to be related to sore feet on any harder footing.

Back in camp at 85 miles and there's a farrier available! He pulls the nail and we trot for the vets.... hhhmmm. We all see something. Nothing consistent but he's just not moving like he should. Beth and Suzanne come over to help crew and we all sit and stare at him and try to decide what to do. He's eating really well and has a great attitude still, but I can tell his feet hurt. I go talk with the vets (she's absolutely wonderful by the way - Dr. Jessica Heinrick). From the 70 mile check to the 85 mile check he has gotten a bit worse, we both agree. If we do the last loop and he gets any worse, then we will probably not get a completion. He's not bad enough right now for a vet pull - this is a Rider Option call for me to make (RO-L). Its a little after 8 pm so time wise, we could go walk the entire last loop and still be good on time...

I go back and look at Bravo. And I realize that as much as it sucks I need to make the right decision FOR HIM and pull. He would totally go out, not feeling 100% and do that last loop because I asked him to - but that's not fair to him. The completion and the miles are all about my ego and my wants and desires - not his. He got to have a super fun day doing what he loves but that last loop would not have been any fun for him. Could we have risked it and maybe completed? Yeah, maybe. But would it have been the right thing to do if I take the human component out of it and just judge my horse as he stands there? Probably not. Did it suck to have that outcome after such a fabulous day? Absolutely. Do I regret my decision? No. So we both got cleaned up and into bed at a pretty decent hour.

The completion rate was REALLY good! 7 out of the 9 that started all completed. I was happy to cheer on everyone at awards the next morning. For as far as we went, I actually felt REALLY good the next morning and didn't have any issues getting all cleaned up and packed to go. The drive home had enough rain storms that while I stopped a couple times for gas and restroom breaks, I didn't unload Bravo at all. He arrived home after our 7 hr drive and looked good moving around the corral. By yesterday evening I couldn't see any hint of the soreness.

Next on our agenda is a multi-day at City of Rocks, another Idaho ride! I've been wanting to go to this one for several years so am really looking forward to it.

2021 Owyhee Tough Sucker - Merri Melde

by Merri Melde-Endurance.net
April 27 2021

What do Idaho's Owyhee Tough Sucker endurance ride and the Mongol Derby have in common?

Riders!

Normally held the first weekend in April, Tough Sucker switched with Eagle Canyon - which is normally the last weekend in April - because numerous riders were seeking a 100-mile ride, either for 100-mile newbies, or as early prep for the AERC National Championships in June in Montana… or the Mongol Derby in Mongolia in August!

Go figure - it hasn't rained in months in the Owyhee desert, but Mother Nature saved it all up for the weekend: it's not called the Owyhee Tough Sucker ride for nothing! Just pack your trailer full of the full range of clothing, and expect it all, and you'll be set. throughout the day, depending on what part of the trail you were on, you might have had warm sunshine, cold showers, thunderstorms, or gulley-washing downpours.

Eight riders signed up to do the 100-miler, which became nine riders, when Jeff Stuart on a whim changed from his planned 50 on 18-year-old JV Remington (Gus) to the 100. In his 17 years of endurance, he had yet to finish a 100. "I like 50's," he said, but it didn't take long to convince himself to go for the 100. The 4 rides with Mongol Derby connections/aspirations came with Dylan and Stevie Delahunt brought 3 riders along.

Super-adventurer Stevie has competed in the Mongol Derby, Gaucho Derby (Argentina), and Race the wild Coast (South Africa); Dylan and friends crewed while Stevie led Alexandra Fetterman (endurance rider doing her first 100, riding the Mongol Derby in 2022), Heidi Falzon (venter doing her first endurance ride, riding the Mongol Derby in 2022), and Deirdre Griffith (horse packer doing her first endurance ride, riding the Mongol Derby this year) to a finish in the Tough Sucker 100.

Jessica Cobbley and Brass, and Mike Cobbley and Khalid finished second and third, and Jeff Stuart and Gus won the 100 by 4 minutes in a ride time of 15:18. They also got Best Condition. Not bad for a couple of old guys (they just reached their Decade Team status in the Antelope Island 50 miler two weeks earlier). Jeff got that 100 monkey off his back!

Seven out of nine finished the 100-miler.

Seven started the 75-miler, with 4 finishing. First place and Best Condition was Melissa Montgomery aboard West Wind Dragon in 10:26.

Finishing third aboard Bucephalos was Lindsay Fisher in 11:45. If you look closely at this 23-year-old gelding, especially when he pins his ears when she trots him out, he might remind you of a certain Monk, whom Lindsay rode for many years, finishing Tevis on him 5 times and winning the Haggin Cup in 2019. And that's because he's the sire of Monk. He started endurance at age 16 and has only done a handful of rides, but Lindsay's bringing him along with the goal of competing at Tevis. It's possible that Bucephalos and Monk could ride the trail together, and, as Lindsay pointed out, how many times have a parent/offspring ridden Tevis together?

18 started the 55, with 15 finishing. Trina Lenmark and Rushcreek Cricket won in 6:10 and got Best Condition. Suzanne Ford Huff and Beth Kauffmann hauled from the Gardnerville, Nevada area for the ride; in finishing in 6th and 7th places, Beth hit the 15,000 mile mark (she was sitting on 14,999 miles :) )

29 started the 30-miler, with 27 finishing. Zane and dad Matthew Geddes came in first, with third place Simone Mauhl and Dudley's friend Boogey getting Best Condition.

The Owyhee Tough Sucker will happily take credit for helping steer a couple of Mongol Derby competitors over the next 2 years in the right trail directions (Idaho's Bob Long won it in 2019, you all know). We'll be watching and rooting from the Owyhee desert!

2021 Twenty Mule Team - Nick Warhol

The 20 Mule Team 100, 2021
Or- I need a vacation from my vacation!

by Nick Warhol

The fire mountain and the 20 Mule Team rides were canceled in the winter due to covid, but with the restrictions lifted, ride managers Gretchen Montgomery and Brian Reeves decided to do a combined ride on the weekend of April 10th with Gretchen’s rides on Friday and Sunday, and the 20-mule team squeezed in between on Saturday. It was a busy weekend for everyone!

I drove down a week early with Sorsha and her guest Reyos, the spunky gelding owned by my riding buddy Ines. I shuttled him down for her early so she could do a 50 at Gretchen’s ride. I rented a truck for 10 days since the Pony Tug is finally back with a new transmission (replaced under warranty since the new one I put in 22 months ago failed and had a 2-year warranty!) It won’t ever tow a horse again. My new truck won’t be here till July; I’m seriously looking forward to that showing up. I’ll hold the old one in reserve until the new one arrives in case we have an after hours horse emergency. Gretchen and Mike graciously gave me a room in their house a block from the ride site. That sure made it easier since I had no camper.

I got to work on the trail bright an early on Monday morning in serious wind. I mean really serious! It was so windy they closed the highways since semi-trucks were being blown over. I was out trying to put up highway crossing and other signs, but it was almost impossible. The wind was so strong that at one point, I was out in the open, and I could not open the driver’s door of the truck. I had to exit the passenger side! I got my 25 or so signs up, distributed hay around all the vet checks, and tried to mark the trail in town. Chalking the turns was not possible, and it almost took two people to put a single ribbon on a bush. One to hold the second person up without being blown over, and the second person had to somehow grab a branch that was whipping back and forth like windshield wipers on mach 2 speed. It was a very futile effort; I lost a half day of work.

The wind settled on Tuesday; I went out at 8:00 am on the bike to check and fix up gretchen’s 50 miles of trail for her rides. The wind had done a number on her ribbons; it had either snapped many off or it twisted them around the branches of the bushes making them hard to see. I was joined by my new friend Mike Caufield on his KTM 350 dirt bike. He’s a good rider who lives in Ridgecrest and wants to learn how to mark trail for the Valley Riders. OKAY! I sure appreciated the help. It took us most of the day, so when we finished, I tried to catch up marking in town and attempt to get back on schedule. I finished up about 7pm. Wednesday is the day to mark the 20 MT 35-mile night loop on the bike. That takes about 4 hours, plus the new 7 miles of the start for the 65-mile loop. I had a nice snag when Brian called me to tell me that some low life Ass^(%$ had emptied the water trough at the 395 south crossing and stolen it, along with the bale of hay there and my cache of trail marking ribbons. I can only carry so much stuff on the bike, so I put supplies in key spots on the trail in advance and “refit” when I get there. Val went into a ribbon tying frenzy to replace them. The same dork apparently also stole two more bales of hay from the 395 north vet check. At least I did not have my ribbons there yet! I then went out and checked the 15-mile blue loop that Brian had marked on Monday. I had to put down the chalk since it was too windy to do it Monday. I also got to go back and do chalking in town since the wind was moderate today. It was a good thing I did! The wind came back with gusto on Thursday afternoon.

Thursday is the long day on the bike when I mark the 65-mile pink loop. It’s an all-day affair, but Mike C came along again today to help. It was nice until about 1pm, but that darn wind started up again. I’d have to get back out at some point to do the chalk for the last 15 miles of the trail. There wasn’t a lot of time left! Ines arrived in the afternoon, so at about 4pm I took an hour and a half off to go ride Sorsha with Ines and Reyos in the strong wind. It was still way too windy to do any trail marking.

Friday was supposed to be my day off so I could rest a bit before riding the 100 on Saturday. The wind had stopped, thank goodness, so I went out in the morning to finish up the chalking I had not been able to complete. I also walked and marked the mile trail section that I can’t ride a bike on. I got back to camp and took off all the bike gear; I got a call from Gretchen telling me that people were getting lost on her second loop. The ribbons were down! It wasn’t a total disaster since the riders were able to find the trail after only loosing a few minutes looking. I told her I’d go out and fix it later in the afternoon so it would be okay for her Sunday’s ride. But then the leaders on the last loop were lost. It turns out that some of the guys who were marking the trail for the motorcycle race on Saturday had accidentally pulled our ribbons in a section about a mile and a half long. There are probably a hundred trail crossings and road intersections in that section, so Gretchen drove out to the spot to tell the riders what to do until I got there. I suited back up and went out and fixed it. While I was out there on the bike I went ahead and fixed the second loop for the guys on Sunday’s ride. I made it back to camp just in time for the riders meeting for Saturday’s 20 mule team rides. So much for my day off!

For some stupid reason I woke up on ride morning at 2am and just could not get back to sleep. I drug myself out of bed at 4:30 and got Sorsha tacked up and led her over to the start. She was fine, but got a little amped before the start. I got on to start the ride, but hopped back off and led her a block or so at the start. I hopped back on and once we started moving forward on the trail she was fine. I rode out of town on the new start trail with Gayle Penya and her friend, but went on ahead at the 10-mile water stop. I rode her alone having a great time for the next 9 miles to vet 1 at the sand dunes. I did have a weird semi-disaster with my eyes. A few miles before the vet check the wind started up and my eyes started burning like I had poured gasoline in them. I was riding with my left eye closed with tears streaming out. This was not going to work! I got to the check and poured water in them, but they were burning, and this was a problem. Sorsha blew through the check, and when I left, I hooked up with Lisa Schneider on the 65, and Michelle Rowe on the 100. We trotted up towards sheep springs chatting, and I told them my eyes were dying. Lisa opened up her portable medicine chest she carries on her horse and gave me 2 Benadryl tablets. (I saw a portable defibrillator in there!) 30 minutes later I had totally forgotten about my eyes. They were fixed! I obviously was allergic to something down here in April, which is two months later than this ride usually is. Thanks Lisa! I’m adding them to the Advil packets I carry. It was starting to get pretty warm outside, and there is ZERO shade out here. We rode along together all the way to vet 2 at the trees at mile 34, where I had the treat of the weekend. Ines, Brenda, and Cindy came out to crew for me. When I say crew for me, I mean it! It was actually kind of incredible. I pulled in, they sat me in a chair in the shade of a tree, grabbed Sorsha, and just took over. They did EVERYTHING and just made me sit and eat. I have not experienced that kind of plush treatment before. I could get used to that! It’s a shame the hold was only an hour, but eventually I had to leave. I left with Lisa and Michelle, continuing along together on the section I call the flats. It’s a long, flat, 5-mile section along the railroad tracks. Michelle thought for a minute we were going to be able to skip some of it, but no, I had to add in a couple of miles to make up for the nasty stuff I removed from the trail later. She said she hated this section. Okay, I told her, now this section is no longer known as the flats, it is now called “Michelle’s trail!” She groaned and said thanks. We trotted and even cantered a bit in the heat down the long, flat road until we reached the water at Goler road. The horses were drinking a lot today, thank goodness, and lucky for us Brian had put out extra water because of the heat. It would have been really ugly to find an empty trough, but there was no chance that would happen. Thanks Brian! We started up Rattlesnake canyon (I saw only one Mojave Green this week) and Lisa and Michelle were going a little faster than I wanted to go, so I let them go on ahead as Sorsha and I walk/trotted up the climb. We got half way up the canyon and turned right to take my new trail for this year. I removed 4.2 miles of hard, rocky and straight downhill roads in favor of the nice soft road that cuts through the pass at Laurel mountain. Boy what an improvement, if I do say so myself! Joyce Sousa and Jennifer Neihaus caught me before the water stop on top of the climb, and I rode with them for just a bit, but they were also going faster than I wanted to go, so I let them go as well. Jennifer was on a mission- she was trying for the “Ironman” award that I sponsored. One rider would ride 200 miles in three days on at least two horses. 50 Friday, 100 Saturday, 50 on Sunday. There were three people attempting the feat. If anyone can do it, Jennifer can!

The heat was starting to get pretty bad as we dropped down the canyon into the valley. There was no breeze at all, and the heat was pretty stifling. You could just not escape it. It was a little like riding in an oven, or at least that’s what I imagined it was like. Sorsha was being great and just kept on trotting along, with us being all by ourselves. It was a hot 90 minutes to the vet check at 55 miles, and the water sure felt good on my head. The 10 miles back to camp was hot as well, and it was sure nice to see camp at 65 miles. Ines was there helping me again, so I got to mostly sit and try and cool off. The temperature was dropping a bit, thank goodness, and a little breeze kicked up. Sorsha was eating well, so I let her stay a few extra minutes to chow down. I headed out in a tee shirt, and at the camp exit I saw a guy on a big grey getting ready to head out. I asked him if he’d like to ride together to give our horses company, and he said sure! His name is Buz Arnold, and it was the first 100 for him and his big horse Gus. Or Gus-Gus. Or Gussie. We rode out of town and into the desert on our last 35-mile loop. Gus was funny- on the way out of town he’d pause for a moment then go again. I think he was not sure this was correct! We were trotting along and caught up to Kassandra Dimaggio on her stallion. They were walking along, but once he got a look at my pretty mare, he instantly fell in love and joined us! He was a good boy, and he seemed interested in Sorsha, but Kassandra did a great job of keeping the big boy in line. It seemed to work best if she rode in front of Buz and I, with us side by side behind her.

We bopped along Boundary road together, and I noticed something weird- it was still light outside! Duh, in mid April there are a couple more hours of daylight than in February. It did not get dark until we were past the ridge summit and on our way down to the 395 south crossing. The air was actually cool! What a treat! I was still in a tee shirt. Buz snapped on his red glow bars on his breast collar, Kassandra did not have any lights, but I had my homemade battery powered blue LED strip lights on my breast collar. They work really well, casting a nice, soft blue light that lets you see the trail. Not to mention your crew can see you from miles away! It was totally dark out with absolutely no moon. Kassandra tried a couple of times to go ahead, but told us with a laugh that her horse was walking right off the road into the desert since it was so dark. She hung with us, riding the big boy in front of us in my light. Buz and I were taking it easy. It was his and Gus’s first 100, and they REALLY wanted to finish. I was in no hurry and just wanted a finish as well, so we walk / trotted the whole loop in the dark. Gus still had lots of punch left, and when we were on foot, Buz kept asking him: “why can’t you walk next to me nicely like that brown horse does?” Gus was puling on him, wanting to go faster. Good Boy, Gus! The three horses were drinking great from every water; we hopped off and led them in to the last check at 90 miles. Sorsha was at 44, typical, and big Gus recovered right away, both trotted great, so after our quick 20-minute hold we headed out on the last 10 miles towards home. We hopped off and led our horses for ¾ of a mile down the last downhill from the ridge. (that felt good on the old knees!) Once back on its just 2 miles through town to the finish. We sent Kassandra on ahead since her boy was going faster than us anyway. Buz and I trotted into the finish at about 12:40am, which was a pretty respectable time, for 9th and 10th place. I thought it was a decent time until I heard the winner finished at 8:30! Yikes! A tip of the visor to them. In this heat? I guess they were able to do some heat conditioning. I certainly could not. Both Sorsha and Gus looked great, which is all we could ask for. I led my big, brown, girly horse (who is now 3 for 4 in 100 mile rides) back over to Gretchen’s, gave her a ton of food, and crashed into bed. No problem sleeping tonight!

I woke up Sunday morning and thought about Jennifer. Would I go out and do a 50 today? Nope. Pass. Not her! She headed out at 6:30 am on the 50 after finishing the 50 on Friday, and the 100 just a few hours before. I did, however, head back out on the bike to clean up the pink 65-mile loop. Its just so much faster to do on the bike, and I felt good after about 6 hours sleep and a huge breakfast. I got back into camp on the bike at about 2pm, then went out and walked the section of trail I can’t ride on. I drove out and picked up all the signs, my bags of ribbons, etc, getting the whole thing done by about 4pm. We were going to go have dinner and lots of beer. I showered, and went back to camp and arrived just in time to hear that Dave Rabe had come off White Cloud and the horse had taken off across the desert. Oh boy. I hopped in the side by side and headed out to where he was reported to have come off. I found Dave walking slowly in the desert towards the main powerline road. He was hurt, but as he said: “I’m not dead.” (You have to know Dave.) He told me that his horse tripped or fell down, Dave came off, and the horse rolled over him. He had hit his helmet, and had what looked like at least a few broken ribs. He convinced me he was okay and did not need to go to the hospital that moment, and we needed to find his horse. We actually played the Lone Ranger and Tonto- we went back to the point where he came off, and we tracked White Clouds boot prints across the desert for about a half mile or so. We lost the track a few times but were able to find it. We got to the main powerline road that goes straight back into camp, but the horse had crossed the road and continued on into the desert. I knew where he was going. The tracks led straight towards the BLM wild mustang facility, about 3 miles away as the crow flies. There are a couple hundred horses and Burros there- that’s where he was going. Dave agreed we should go look there, and that’s where we found White Cloud. He was standing with his nose touching the fence on the other side of the mustangs. Dave was relieved, and being typical Dave, he asked me how far would the ride back to camp be. Ah, no, we are getting a trailer. I called Brian who grabbed Gretchen and rushed out to pick him and his horse up. We got them both back to camp, and our friends took over. Head vet Mike Peralez quickly inspected White Cloud and found him just scraped up. I think it was Kasandra who took him to the hospital where they confirmed 3 completely broken ribs, but no punctured lung or internal damage. Suzanne and Daryll Huff split up and drove Dave’s rig home for him. Endurance riders are good people.

Jennifer did indeed finish Sunday, making her the only person to complete the Iron Man challenge. That’s quite an accomplishment. Her award is a blanket of her choice, monogrammed with a bunch of stuff on it about her accomplishment. Just think- she will have the only one on the world! Congratulations Jenn. You deserve it.

We finally made it to dinner at a brew house and many beers. It had been quite a week. So much went on all week the 100 seemed almost like an afterthought. Not really! Sorsha is pretty amazing. I’m not sure what her next ride will be, in June perhaps, maybe Montana de Oro. I did get into Tahoe Rim which I love. What a great way to spend a week, even if it was a little busy at times. See you next year!

Nick Warhol
West Region

2021 Fire Mountain - Nina Bomar

by Nina Bomar
April 14 2021

It was our second day of competing at the Fire Mountain ride with Heidi Helly on OP, Dave Rabe riding White Cloud and me on my beloved Niño. Together we moseyed out of camp knowing full well that we’d be riding together as planned on the night before.

We had gathered around for tacos and live music, compliments of Heidi’s husband Patrick and fellow endurance rider Bart. They gave us a jam session that will forever be remembered. Juan and I managed to squeeze in a little dancing in between the cooking, serving, singing out loud and simply having a grand celebration.

Heidi mixed the salad while people showed up for the tailgate festivities. It was a joyous evening and while we all stuffed our bellies and shared stories, it was the music that made my heart sing. The romantic sound of the guitars flowed effortlessly and only because we had two great guitarists willing to provide... Even my horse Niño often peeked his head around the corner of the trailer to express his appreciation, while standing beneath the dark desert skies and enjoying the classic tunes.

Our Sunday morning start was quiet and soon we had a nice pace going with just the three of us. Heidi noted that we were the 100k mile club with Dave nearing an all time record of 75k miles and she recently surpassing her 15k mile mark from the first day’s ride. Then there was me, trying to pick up the slack but we certainly ain’t there yet. As we approached the ride photographer, we planned to make it a cover photo shot. It was our own fantasy to be accompanied by Dave who is a living legend in our sport and such an honest man. He has decades of stories to tell and Heidi too but the best part was when we made some pretty funny jokes about what it’d take to make a front page magazine appearance. At the very least, we were thankful knowing that Dave has achieved that status at least once in his illustrious endurance riding career but he deserves so many more... they both do imho...

We trotted on laughing and then complaining at times when we had inadvertently lost the marked trail. The ribbon was now backwards from the previous ride on Friday and if you didn’t pay close attention, it was easy to screw up. We agreed on numerous occasions to quit storytelling and to pay better attention to the ribbons that would send us in the right direction. That was hard to do and soon we’d get distracted and share the memories of another great experience.

The Fire Mountain ride isn’t so easy... either you’re going uphill or downhill with very little flatland. The weather was warm at times and the horses pushed on brilliantly. At the lunch stop Dave and I had a beer, mine a Mexican Corona and his an American Organic... He’s purely a meat and potatoes man who loves to enjoy a cold beer.

We headed out on our last 20 mile loop. The horses were doing great, while we promptly missed a turnoff and climbed an extra mountain. At the top, we asked some motorcyclists if they’d seen horses, while knowing perfectly well that they hadn’t. Needless to say, it was another turnaround and a screwup that was our own fault for talking too much. We figured that while we got in a few extra miles, we always managed to correct ourselves and we continued on. It was at the last water stop where we let the horses drink, snack on carrots and we prepared for the final trek back to camp. We only had a handful of miles left to go and we were ready to see the finish line.

With Heidi in front, then me, followed by Dave, we trotted off. It was a sandy area and we took it slow, when suddenly I heard Dave say... No no no! I thought we had taken a wrong turn but I saw the red ribbon on the lefthand side and I turned around to assure him we were good.

Much to my surprise and while it all unfolded within seconds, I saw White Cloud take a tumble and he did a somersault right over the top of Dave, scrambled to his feet and came trotting in my direction... without Dave. I tried to grab him but he went right on by. I told Heidi to go back and make sure Dave was okay, while I would try to catch his horse. I waited for a minute to have her blessings and to be sure that Dave was in fact fine. They both directed me to go on.

I had initially jumped off Niño after the commotion began and then I jumped back on him as he was still quite excited and I was too. There was a lot going on for my young horse but he handled it brilliantly and we tried with all our might to catch White Cloud but every time we’d get closer he would go faster. We tried backing off too and completely stopping but White Cloud was on a mission and paying no attention to us. He kept his nose to the ground and was on a hunt presumably heading back to camp on his own.

Feeling frustrated I called Heidi from my cell phone as we got farther away and I didn’t want to lose contact with them just incase they needed more help, while I also didn’t want to lose sight of Dave’s horse. I knew how important that was to stay with him but I was struggling.

Heidi said that Dave wanted me to ride on and to head off through the desert for a bit and to then try and get in front of him to cut him off, but the further ahead I got, the faster he galloped... making it impossible to catch him. I tried that several times but we continually failed and I went from sweet talking to cursing at the sob for not stopping. It seemed we kept going farther and farther and faster and faster with each mile.

Soon we found ourselves crossing through the middle of the barren desert and completely off trail. I was afraid we would get lost not to mention the Choya cactus that was hiding beneath on the desert ground. I stopped Niño feeling completely defeated and we managed to find our way back to the trail where I called Heidi again. We waited at an intersection of trail and all met up to discuss our next step.

Dave was walking and holding his chest but said he was feeling fine and he was coherent. He said his ribs hurt. I told him what direction his horse went and pointed out that he was headed towards the powerline road. He decided that he would walk in that direction and try to find him while we called for more help. The good news is that the horse was soon caught down at the holding pens and Dave was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with three broken ribs.

We had a whole posse come out to the rescue and the ride management handled it all with grace and efficiency. We are very thankful that in the end, everything wasn’t worse off and that Dave has an entire village always willing to help him. He’s a beloved leader in our sport and soon he will be back on his horses hitting the trails...