The Tom Quilty Cup - getting ready: 2008

by Jay Randle

The Tom Quilty Gold Cup ride over 160km (100 miles) commences at 4am next Saturday morning (20th September). This is the Australian National Championship ride, and is one of the premier 100 mile rides in the world.

Unlike the Tevis Cup, the Quilty rotates around the states of Australia each year, meaning that each state hosts the Quilty once every 6 years. I live in Queensland, which is the northeast quarter of Australia, and our last Quilty was in 2006. So we weren't expecting the Quilty to return here until 2012.

BUT..... Australia got hit with the Equine Influenza epidemic last year, and that kind of stuffed things around a bit! The Quilty was supposed to be held in the southern state of Victoria this year, but the EI bug really caused a lot of grief and heartache, and the Victorian ride organising committee decided that they just could not continue with their plans with everything being in such disarray. So, luckily, a small band of people from the small town of Nanango, Queensland, applied for the opportunity to hold the 2008 Tom Quilty Gold Cup.

This group had hosted a very successful 160km ride in June 2007, and the infrastructure of the ride base, as well as the track, had been tried and tested, coming through with flying colours! So, bravely, from 1 March this year, this committee started planning for the 2008 Quilty. Normally it takes 2-3 years to organise the Quilty as, unlike the Tevis, the track changes every year.

In order to ride the Quilty, every rider must prove their ability by completing a 160km ride BEFORE they can enter the Quilty! And in order to enter any 160km ride in Australia, each rider must have already completed 3 x 80km (50 mile) rides. So, the qualification process for riders wishing to enter the Quilty is quite strict. As you can imagine, all riders in Queensland have spent 2008 trying to qualify for this unexpected 2008 Queensland Quilty.

And now the 2008 Quilty is fast approaching! AND.... Nanango is only a 2 hour drive from Splendacrest! BONUS!

I had been planning on taking 3 or 4 horses to the Quilty in Victoria this year (a 3 day drive), but now I can take more! Since the announcement that the 2008 Quilty would be held in Qld, the entire year of competition has been building to this point. So, at this stage, I am taking 12 horses to the Nanango Quilty. Am I crazy, you ask?

YES!

So, as I am very proud of all the Splendacrest horses and riders that will be competing at the 2008 Tom Quilty Gold Cup, let me tell you a little about them:

The youngest member of our team is Ingrid Ambrosiussen, at 15 years old. Ingrid has been riding for Splendacrest since January 2007, and is a lovely young lady. She will be riding Shaah, a pure Polish 8 year old brown arabian gelding, standing at 15hh. I purchased Shaah as a 2 year old, and this is his third season of competition. Ingrid will be riding in the Junior division of the ride (juniors here do not need to be accompanied by an adult, so she will be riding by herself).

The next youngest member of our team is Tarnia Kittel, who will be 16 in November. Tarni has been riding for Splendacrest for 3 years, and has the amazing balance of a gymnast (which is how she used to spend her time prior to discovering horses!). She will be riding Splendacrest Dryad, a 13 year old bay Arabian mare, 15hh. Dryad has been a part of Splendacrest for 7 years, and this is her 6th year of competition. Tarni will be riding in the Middleweight division.

Then we have Gerard Bou, commonly known as "G", who is in his 30's, 6'4" tall, skinny as a beanpole with no butt, long haired, and bearded! G has been riding for Splendacrest for 20 months, and has taken to the sport like the proverbial duck, even though he hadn't ridden for close on 20 years prior to starting with us. G will be riding Splendacrest Fiesta, a 9 year old bay Arabian mare, 15hh when she's standing on tippy toes! I bought Fiesta as a 3 year old, bred her and gained a beautiful filly foal, and then started her under saddle once the foal was weaned. Fiesta was a real handful to begin with, but is now a reliable and gutsy performer. I then sold her as a 6 year old to a Japanese client who elected to leave her here in training, and who flies over to ride her 3 or 4 times a year. Unfortunately he is unable to ride the Quilty, so has graciously asked G to ride his horse for him.

Liz Cullam is a very good friend of mine who lives on the other side of the country, in Western Australia. She is coming over to the east coast to join us, and to ride Bullarto Fiorelli, a 9 year old brown Anglo mare, 15.2hh. Fiorelli is often a naughty girl, but Liz loves her as she successfully completed the 2006 Quilty on Fiorelli for a Top Ten placing. I'm looking forward to catching up with Liz, and you can be sure there will be a lot of tall tales told around the campfire!

A very good client of mine is Rod Strahan, who breeds endurance Arabians that are well-known and respected throughout Australia. You can visit his website at www.shardell.net . Rod will be riding his home-bred 9 year old grey Arabian gelding Shardell Azrark, who stands at 16hh. And yes, he is a purebred Arabian! Azrark has been competing in endurance for 3 years, and has had some great results. I have been training this great horse since the beginning of this year.

Splendacrest welcomes riders from all over the world, and this year we will be joined by 4 Japanese riders for the Quilty. All of these riders have been here in the past, and have ridden with our team over the past 3 years or so. Mr Yukinobi Horiuchi will be competing on Pinfeather, an Australian Stockhorse/Arab cross gelding, 15.2hh, 14 years old. Pinfeather is owned by a great friend of mine, Alwyn Torrenbeek, who at 72 years of age will also be riding the Quilty for the 15th time!

Miss Satomi Kitamura will be riding Mt Eerwah Silver Mariner, aka "Pete", an 11 year old grey purebred Arabian gelding, 15.1hh. Pete has 3 fused vertebrae in his neck as a result of an accident as a yearling, and can't turn his head around to look at you as most horses will. However Pete has a heart as big as Texas, and is a real gentleman to ride. I have trained Pete for several years now, but only recently purchased him when the opportunity became available. He is a true gem among horses, and we all love him very much.

Mr Takeshi Ito will be riding Splendacrest Perfection, a bay 8 year old Anglo Arabian (Thoroughbred/Arab cross) gelding, 15.2hh. Perfection is truly remarkable, with a great laid-back attitude. Takeshi came to Australia in March 2007 and rode Perfection in his first ever 80km ride, and fell in love with him! He then returned to Australia in August 2007 and rode Perfection in his first ever 160km ride, completing successfully. In order to prepare for the Quilty, Takeshi returned in May this year for another 80km and in early August for a 100km ride, both on Perfection! And now he gets to ride his favourite horse in the Quilty next week. They make a beautiful pair.

Mrs Riyo Noyori will be riding her own horse, Bulgari Bentley, an 8 year old bay Arabian gelding, 14.3hh. This is Bentley's third season of competition, and his story is a very sad and interesting one. Bentley was bred and owned by a lovely man, Michael Gabriel, who rode him in 2006 and early 2007 before being diagnosed with a brain tumour. Unfortunately, Mike died early this year, and sweet Bentley was looking for a good home, so I took him on and prepared him for Riyo to try out. She came to Australia last month and rode him in an 80km ride, loved him, and bought him! Bentley will remain here at Splendacrest, and Riyo intends to come here 3 or 4 times a year to compete on him.

And we are VERY pleased to welcome a couple of our American friends to the Splendacrest camp! Kim Fuess was extremely welcoming to myself and my friends who accompanied me to the USA in February this year, and I am so excited that she is coming over to ride the 2008 Tom Quilty! Kim will be riding Lilonda Count Richael, aka "Ricky", a 16 year old bay Arabian gelding, 15.1hh. Ricky is a favourite here at Splendacrest, and is a real character! He has completed 4 previous 160km rides, including the South Australian Quilty in 2004. This is Ricky's 7th competition season, and he never lets us down. I am sure that Kim will end up loving him as much as we all do.

Charisse Glen is also coming to join us, and she will be riding Bacchante Silver Lace, aka "Quartz" an 8 year old grey Arabian mare, 15.1hh. Quartz is a lovely mare, with a never say die attitude. I bought Quartz 10 days before she foaled, and I now have a beautiful 4 year old filly out of her to carry on her lovely nature.

I will also be taking a 'spare' horse along, just in case, *fingers crossed*. Aratahnes Galaxy, aka "Chevy", is a 13 year old chestnut Quarab gelding, 15.3hh. Chevy is very easy to ride, and will be a great 'back-up' horse for everyone! He has been an institution here at Splendacrest for 7 years, and has taught many youngsters to ride along with providing many great completions for his riders. His job is to look and feel good and to provide me with a 'safety net' if I need one!! :-)

Can you feel how excited I am? I'm really looking forward to a great week, and I know that all my riders and guests will have a wonderful time at the 2008 Tom Quilty Gold Cup ride in Nanango, Queensland!


.....
Best regards

Jay Randle
SPLENDACREST ENDURANCE TRAINING
www.freewebs.com/splendacrest

Allegany SUAR

by Ashley Kemerer

We headed to Allegany SUAR this weekend and had a fantastic time. I just started law school and unfortunately have classes on Friday until 12. Luckily my parents were heading up on Thursday and taking the horses to give them some extra time to settle in to camp. I left Baltimore promptly at 12 and arrived at ride camp at about 5:45 with an uneventful drive up. The horses were already vetted and ready to go.

Kirah and I were to tackle the 75 miler, her first distance above a 50 (and only her third “endurance” ride). It was a daunting task and the ride was to be a difficult one, but we were going to at least give it our best shot. We were riding with my Dad and Moniet as well as off and on with a friend (Dana) and her horse Charlie.

The Friday night ride briefing was held in good spirit, and I even got a serenade from the entire clan in honor of my 21st birthday. Patti, the ride manager went over all of the loops detailing lengths, holds and the like. Our loops were to be Blue (10 miles) out to our away check at Bradford for a 15 minute hold. Then the Blue lollipop (10 miles) back to Bradford for a 30 minute hold. Back to the Blue lollipop for another ten miles and then a 15 minute gate. After that we headed back to camp on Green for 12 miles, with a 40 minute in camp hold. Next was the yellow loop (12 miles), followed by another 40 minute hold with the Red loop next (10 miles). One last hold (40 mins) and another jaunt over the red loop and we were done. Our ride would start at 6:15, and there were 12 riders in the 75 miler.

The wakeup call came at 4:45 and we were up and ready to get going. The horses were eager as we walked around camp to warm them up. We got tacked and ready to go by 6:10 walking them around camp awaiting the start. We started in the middle of the pack of 12 and quickly ended up in the back when Dad’s saddle pad slipped out . We easily made it up the first big climb with fresh horses, knowing that they would have to climb it several more times today (unbeknownst to the horses!). We continued on down the beautiful scenic trail and quickly made it to the 15 minute hold. We cooled the horses out while they were chomping down.

Out on the lollipop we headed for our 1o mile loop. The loop was absolutely lovely. It started out on a rolling two track grassy lane that was perfect. We headed into the woods and went down, down, down the mountain and then started climbing right back up. Up and up we went until returning back to the two track lane. At this point the 55s were starting the lollipop so they were going against us and we all offered hellos and good lucks. The horses were still fresh and happy heading back to Bradford for our 30 minute hold. We pulled tack and cooled them out easily heading to the vets. Kirah got all A’s with a resounding wow her gut sounds are great J

The 30 minutes flew by and in no time we were heading back out on the blue loop again. Kirah still had lots of energy and we were leading most of the way. I got down and ran a good portion of the downhill this time before almost running out of breath lol. We headed back to Bradford for our 15 minute gate. We had to pulse down within the 15 minute time frame but the time we pulsed didn’t affect our hold time. We didn’t have to vet, just pulse in, Kirah’s pulse was at 48 when we headed over J. The time went by in a blink and we were a bit late heading out in a rush. We were headed back to camp on the Green loop a mere 12 miles. Kirah was still doing beautifully with no signs of fatigue although Moniet was getting a little tired. So on this loop we went slower and stopped for grass every so often. The trail was uphill and then plateaued out and we rode along the ridge for a while trotting and cantering in blissful joy.

We eventually started heading back down the mountain and I got off and ran down again, hopping back on at the bottom of the hill and continuing on. We came back to the camp and wound around the little meadow so that we would come down the common trail hill to the vet check at base camp.

We pulled tack and cooled the horses out easily, vetting in with ease and happy horses. They ate and drank well for the entire 40 minute hold and we were headed back out on the Yellow loop. We had to go back up the big hill (the same one from earlier) and the horses were far more weary this time, but had regained some of their energy and were still chugging along. The Yellow loop was the longest for us and the hardest. It started out with that first big hill, and leveled out for a bit and then started heading down in an easy slope. Once we reached the valley we cantered along on some nice flat trail for quite a while. We came out on a road and turned left and went back up into the woods. And back up the mountain. This was my low point for the day, the trail went up and up and up and it was the longest uphill imaginable. Kirah was still happily chugging along we trotted whenever it leveled out even for a few steps. I was simply astonished at her and her abundance of energy and willingness to go forward. Finally we got to the top of the hill and headed back the way we came. Descended the steep hill and made it back to camp for our next 40 minute hold.

The horses pulsed down very quickly and we vetted right through. Kirah was eating everything in sight during the hold and had no signs of soreness or unhappiness at any point. We headed back out on our first of two trips on the Red loop. We were hoping for an easy loop since we’d already gone 55 miles and we would have to do it twice. Kirah was not very happy that we were going out again and she certainly didn’t want to climb the gargantuan hill again. She picked up after we hit the flat and started back out on what had been the Blue trail earlier. It made a right up a steep hill when it split from the Blue. I hopped off and walked up the hill and when it ended hopped back on and let the horses eat grass for a while. We continued on about a mile and half to end the lollipop. The last couple miles were easygoing and we made it in short order. The first and second place 75ers came up behind us and lapped us, we followed them in, it was a great treat to see them finish! We pulsed down almost immediately and vetted in for the last time. Kirah’s CRI was 48/44 and we got some great kudos from the vet J She was by far surpassing all of my expectations for the day.

One final time to go on the red loop and we would be done. None of the horses wanted to go back out, it was starting to get dark and it was drizzling. We made it all the way to the steep uphill before it got completely dark, it seemed much faster that time around and we knew we were almost done. We made it to the last big descent back into the camp and walked slowly and soon saw the campfire and knew we were done. Without removing tack the vet went ahead and pulsed us and Kirah was at 56. Nick told us to pull tack so we could go ahead and complete. We trotted out and he finished checking and we were DONE!! We had all done it and it was awesome.

12 horses started the 75 and 9 finished, not a bad finish rate for a challenging ride. Kudos to ride management for such a job well done, this was my first time at the ride and it was awesome. The volunteers were plentiful and helpful and friendly. We didn’t want for anything. Thank you so much Patti!!!!!!!!!!! Also a huge thank you to my crew (my Mom and friend Pat), we all couldn’t have done it without you J

I learned a great deal about my horse this weekend and had a great time doing it. I can’t wait until the next ride!

"The Toughest Race" - Frank Hopkins Revisited

Frankhopkins.com

By Charles Roth

We were sitting around the club after a ride. The conversation turned to great races and tests of horseflesh. One man held that the Grand National was the hardest race of all, demanding more of horses and riders than any other. From one corner of the porch came a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort. We turned. It came from an old fellow named Thomas.

"A lot you fellows know about hard races," said he. "Let me tell you of one. What would you think of a horse race 1,800 miles in length?"

"Impossible!" said a youngster.

Thereupon Thomas told us about the longest horse race ever held in America, also the hardest: a race clear across the United States from north to south; a horse race, 1,799 miles long. All the men within hearing-distance were horsemen, but I doubt if any one of them had ever heard of this race before. Yet it took place within the lifetime of at least six of those present and was publicized at the time.

It was held in 1866. Two enterprisers of that age, Elias Jackson (Lucky) Baldwin and Richard K. Fox, promoted it. Horsemen from all parts of the country took part.

The winner of the race, one of Americas greatest horsemen, is still alive. His name is Frank T. Hopkins and he lives in retirement in Long Island City, across the river from New York. He had been dispatch rider for Generals Cook, Nelson A. Miles, Terry, etc., had come up from Arizona, where he had carried dispatches in the Geronimo campaign, and he learned of the race from his old friend, Buffalo Jones, who paid his $150 entry fee and backed him to win. Mr. Hopkins signed on in a small store opposite the post office at Fort Russell, Wyo.

As soon as I learned of the race and of Mr. Hopkins I sought him out to learn from him the true story of the hardest test on mount and man in the annals of American horsemanship.

The start of the race was at Galveston, Texas. The finish line was at Rutland, Vermont...

More...

Contrasts: Bryce 2008 - Kevin Myers

Far and Redford were not very well prepared for Bryce, so I was not very motivated to make the trip. I'm glad I went.

The drive up through Flagstaff is always nice because the temperature drops so quickly. I stopped for gas before heading north into the wilderness south of Page, then west to Kanab and north past the Mt. Carmel base camp. I got to the Bryce base camp at 8,000 ft in just over eight hours.

Jim and Clydea had saved a spot to the north of camp, and I set up the two horses as the sun set. The pump had broken on the XP water truck, so it was a fair walk down a sand hill to get water - two buckets at a time. ...

Original Story

The First of Many!: 50 Miles at Old Selam

Photo by Jennifer

by Tamara of In the Night Farm

I slept well, considering it was the eve of the race I'd waited years to ride. My first 50!

Still, when my alarm went off at 5:30 Sunday morning, I was already lying awake on my cot inside the horse trailer, listening to distant thunder and Aaruba's growing restlessness as raindrops dappled his blanket and neck. I pulled my riding clothes -- which felt at least as cold as the 34 degree air -- into the warm confines of my sleeping bag and struggled into them. My boots were colder still, but I was far too busy ticking off my pre-ride to-do list to care.

First: Feed Aaruba. He wasn't interested in hay, but that didn't worry me as I'd heard him munching consistently throughout the night. He deigned to consume a couple pounds of Equine Senior before resuming the nervous pacing of his pen.

Second: Feed self. I munched half a bagal with peanut butter while trying unsuccessfully to discourage Aaruba's pacing.

Third: Apply Easyboots. Normally, Travis does this for me, but he was home with the flu. I grabbed a hoof pick, a handful of nylon stockings, and a boot. Slipping two stockings over Aaruba's off hind hoof to help prevent gaiter rubbing, I went to work.

It was a bit like trying to stuff a very squirmy anvil into one of those plastic Easter eggs, but by the time my friend Jennifer arrived at 6:30, I'd progressed to the second hind boot. I panted a greeting and resumed my wresting match with Aaruba's foot. By the time I continued to the more-cooperative front boots, I'd shed four layers of clothing, all the way down to a tank top in the dawn twilight. On the bright side, the rain had stopped.

At 7:00, both ridecamp and Aaruba were wide awake, and I was immensely grateful to have Jennifer handy to mix electrolytes, then hold Aaruba while I finished tacking up for the 7:30 start. She also got out her camera and started snapping.

As usual, Aaruba calmed down the moment I swung astride. We checked in with the ride officials, then paced up and down with the other riders, warming up and waiting for the trail to open. Knowing Aaruba's tendency to be competitive, I made sure he and I were headed away from the starting line when 7:30 arrived and most of the horses took off. No racing today -- he'd need that energy later.

We set off once the leaders were well out of sight, but alas, my plan was thwarted by a U-turn at the very beginning of the loop. The moment Aaruba saw the herd ahead, his race brain kicked into high gear and I had a battle on my hands. He snorted fire when I refused to let him trot like a maniac over the rocky terrain, and as a few more riders came up from behind as we circled, he became so agitated that I dismounted and led him almost a mile up the trail before he quieted.

Finally, he settled enough to stand while I tied my jacket behind the saddle and re-mounted. Now quite alone, we tackled the trail at a brisk trot, climbing gradually up the mountain on old logging roads with excellent footing, slowing to conserve energy on the steepest parts. When we reached a long downhill, we let loose a bit to make up some time. An excellent downhill trotter, Aaruba flew along so quickly I feared we'd catch up with the horses ahead, but the only soul we happened upon was the ride photographer. Steve Bradley had set up shop in a meadow bathed in yellow sunlight. He snapped our picture and waved us along with a cheerful, "Have a good ride!" (You can see proofs of his shots on his website; we're number OS82057 and OS82058 on Day 2.)

We carried on, alternating walking and trotting, stopping for an occasional mouthful of grass as we climbed up a long hill, then down again to a narrow creek where Aaruba drank deeply.
Just over the creek was the section of trail we'd been warned of at the ride meeting: A couple hundred feet of rather narrow, very steep uphill made slick by the passage of many ATV tires. The sides of the trail offered more crumbly footing, but also tangled shrubs that I feared would catch an Easyboot. I pointed Aaruba up the center of the trail and grabbed mane. He plunged upward in a series of powerful leaps.
Halfway up, he drifted to the right as if to ask, "Are you sure, Mom?" (Or maybe it was, "Lady, are you nuts??") A touch of the rein set him straight, and he motored on, bumping my heels with his stifles as I crouched in two-point to free his back as much as possible.

We crested the hill in a surge of adrenaline that powered him along yet another logging road, this one freshly scarred by heavy machinery, then through a long and scenic stretch that I thought must be leading us back toward camp. I estimated we'd averaged 6.5 or 7 mph, and a glance at my watch told me we should finish the 20-mile loop at about 10:30. Sure enough, it was 10:25 when we finally caught up with another rider as she crossed the paved road that told us we were less than half a mile from camp. We rode in together, and Aaruba pulsed down exactly 180 minutes from the start. "Number 510, in at 10:30, out at 11:15!"

We vetted through with all A's except for an A- on gut sounds, which seems to be typical for Aaruba, then headed to the trailer. I removed his bridle and interference boots and left him in his pen with a pan of soaked beet pulp, a flake of alfalfa, and Jennifer (to keep him from rolling with his saddle on) while I ate a banana and mixed another dose of electrolytes. By the time I'd checked Aaruba's pasterns for gaiter rubs -- none! -- and emptied out the sand that had collected in his stockings, it was time to tighten the girth and go.

We were a couple minutes late out of the hold, but no matter. I figured we were already in last place, and besides, we had nothing to prove. All I wanted was to complete the race with a healthy, happy horse. Aaruba loved the early part of the 18-mile loop, a bit of technical singletrack that bounded up and over a series of short, sharp hills as it swooped down to the creek and up again, finally spilling us onto a wide road of decomposed granite that led up, up, up toward the clouds that billowed dark on the jagged horizon.

A chilly wind swept us along the trail and I wondered if I shouldn't have abandoned my jacket at the trailer after all. But as we kept climbing, mostly up and a little down, the exercise of riding kept me warm. About halfway through the loop, Aaruba's energy seemed to flag. No wonder -- we'd already covered more miles than he'd ever done before! Still, I knew were were just over halfway, so I dismounted to run with Aaruba. By taking the lead for a while, I hoped to give him a mental break as much as a physical one.

We'd been on Loop 2 for almost two hours when I heard female voices drifting on the wind. Several more minutes passed before Aaruba and I rounded a bend just in time to glimpse a pair of horses on the trail ahead. Aaruba perked up at once. He clearly had plenty of gas left in the tank, and we caught up with the other riders in short order. They were taking it easy because their horses had completed the Day 1 50 as well, so rode with them only briefly before trotting on ahead.

Soon, a sign on a paper plate informed us we were one mile from camp. Only a mile? We were ahead of schedule! Aaruba seemed to sense my excitement. He hustled down the last bit of trail, paused for a long drink at the first water tank he saw, then walked on to the pulse down area. In at 1:43, out at 2:28, and all A's from the vet -- even gut sounds.

More hay and electrolytes for Aaruba and a plateful of barley salad for me, then it was back on the trail for the final 12 miles. A few horses were finishing the third loop as we started out, and their presence seemed to rekindle Aaruba's enthusiasm. Though we soon found ourselves quite alone again, he plowed along almost as though we were just starting the race. I found myself working to pace him, lest he burn himself out before the end.

Still, we tore through eight miles or so before the day's work seemed to catch up with him. I noticed that although he remained quite sound, he'd grown reluctant to trot downhill -- Tired muscles? Sore shoulders where the points of the saddle tree slid forward against them? -- so I either dismounted to jog down, or held him to a walk while descending slopes. I later discovered that his skin was a little sore from the motion of his saddle pad in the lumber region, a problem both quick to disappear and easy to remedy. At 4:10, I promised Aaruba we'd be done in half an hour or less. Sure enough, it was 4:28 when we broke out into the rocky wash, crossed the creek once more, and headed for home. Jennifer was waiting with her camera as we approached the finish line, and the ride officials who knew it was our first 50 cheered as we trotted across. I didn't catch our exact finish time, but I think it was about 4:35, giving us a total ride time of 7:35 at an average speed of 6.7 mph. Perfect.

Even better, Dr. Washington (who, incidentally, was one of the vets involved with Aaruba's near-fatal impaction colic last October) marked all A's on Aaruba's completion exam. I couldn't have been prouder of my boy.

"So," Jennifer asked as we meandered back to the trailer. "How was it?"

"Easier than I expected," I said. "Guess I'll have to try for 100!"

And someday, I will.

Tamara

Horse Sense - Virginia Highlands

SWVAToday.com
Mark Sage
Wed Aug 27, 2008 - 10:47 AM

By BECKY SILER/Correspondent

They came in droves. Hundreds of them to be exact. Horses, riders, pit crews and volunteers from 13 states converged upon Jubilee Park in Ivanhoe Thursday through Saturday.
Huge RV-style horse trailers rolled into the park beginning Wednesday for the inaugural Virginia Highlands 30- and 55-mile Endurance Challenges. Trailers were parked in neat rows until it seemed not another trailer would fit. But fit they did, and finally it appears that Jubilee Park has been revived.
The challenge was the idea of local endurance riders Don and Nikki Meuten of Ivanhoe, and Tom and Gina Hagis of Fries. For nearly a year, the couples have worked with the national forest service to plan the trail courses, set up a Web site, hire veterinarians and gather a core group of volunteers to host the event.
Jubilee Park, originally founded by the Ivanhoe Bridle Club in the mid-1980s, hosted its last major horse show in 1998. The park, which is nestled on approximately 14 acres along the New River just a quarter mile off highway 94 in Ivanhoe, is the perfect setting for hosting such events. With direct access to the state-operated New River Trail, recreational enthusiasts from all over can enjoy horseback riding, biking and walking from the park.
During the 1990s, the Ivanhoe Volunteer Fire Department held all-breed horse shows at Jubilee Park as fundraisers. After the last horseshow was hosted in 1998, the park lost its access into the grounds off Carbide Road, and had to close to the public for several years.
By 2005, a new road had been established off Trestle Road going under the New River Trail, and the fire department held its first poker run trail ride as a fundraiser at Jubilee Park. The annual poker ride has helped the fire department purchase new equipment. This year’s poker ride will be held this coming weekend Aug. 29 and 30 at Jubilee Park.
This past spring, the fire department and Wythe County officials met to discuss the fire department gaining control of the park grounds to host fundraisers and horse events on a regular basis. Once it was official, the volunteers from the fire department got busy cleaning up the over-grown areas of the park and tearing down the dilapidated arena.
Todd Hyatt, a 17-year member of the department, has been instrumental in reviving the park. He and other members have used mowers, weed trimmers and disking equipment until the park fairly shines once again.
Hyatt, an avid horse rider, said, “Our goal for Jubilee Park is to host horseshows and events to the caliber that they once were. To bring economy back to Wythe and Carrol counties in the form of recreational horseback riding and family fun.”
Hyatt partnered with Myers Lumber of Hillsville, which donated the boards needed to rebuild the riding arena. The fire department team is in process of working with the power company and the New River Trail officials to bring electricity into the park soon. It is expected to be fully operational with electric, water and a new arena by next spring.
Endurance rides are horse races along a marked course in the woods, which are sanctioned by the American Endurance Ride Conference. Endurance races range between 25 miles to 100 miles with numerous veterinary check points along the route to ensure safety of the horses. Although many of the riders ride to be competitive and finish first, the majority ride endurance rides to complete them and enjoy the scenery and friendships that are built along the way. The motto of the American Endurance Ride Conference is “To Finish is to Win.”
Any breed of horse or mule may enter endurance rides, but many endurance riders prefer Arabians and half-Arabians for their extreme athleticism, speed and heart recoveries.
Two weeks prior to the event, the organizers knew they had their hands full. The entries were piling in, and the two-day rides now had over 200 horses entered. More volunteers were rounded up to man the road crossings, water trucks and veterinary check points. Ivanhoe volunteer fire department would be crucial in their help with the water truck to fill water tanks for horses in camp. Thousands of gallons of water would be consumed during the three days.
Another local Fries couple, Bill and Nancy Sluys, helped the Hagises mark the trails, which consisted of a 55-mile continuous loop mainly along the Virginia Highlands horse trail. The 30-mile trail followed much of the same course, then separated from the 55’s to loop back to Jubilee Park after both rides had a vet check at Iron Mountain Horse Camp on Brush Creek Road each day.
The veterinary check points are mandatory, and are designed to give each horse a rigorous physical exam before it can continue on the trail. The horses must pass a cardiac recovery test, a lameness exam and an overall physical in which the veterinary team will check for soreness, wounds or fatigue which would impair the horse’s ability to complete the ride. After the horse and rider completes the course, a final veterinary inspection takes place to ensure that the horse is sound and would be fit enough to continue if necessary.
Thursday evening, ride manager Don Meuten conducted a pre-ride briefing for the 125 riders who were going out on Friday’s rides. Eighty-five 55-mile entries and 40 30-mile entries along with their pit crews and family members gathered near the stage to hear critical information about the trail and rules of the ride. Meuten teaches at the University of North Carolina Vet School, and his light-hearted jokes and bantering had the crowd roaring with laughter.
Friday morning dawned clear and cool- a perfect day for an endurance ride. The 55-mile ride started at 7 a.m., and the horses thundered out of camp to a call from the timer of “the trail is now open”!
Ivanhoe firefighter John Pearman came down to the old railroad trestle with his young nieces to watch the start. “It sounded like a car race starting with the pounding of all those hooves coming down the gravel road at once,” he said. Pearman, who’s been around horses all his life, mentioned he had never seen anything quite like the start of this horse ride.
Most of the technical part of the trail had to be negotiated by the horses in the first three miles as they climbed up out of the river bed on a narrow one-track trail. During the course, several elevation changes took place which had the horses ascending and descending a couple thousand feet.
Valerie Kanavy, a world champion endurance rider from Fort Valley had several horses entered. “The course was somewhat rockier than I expected, but the trail was fast, beautiful and well-marked,” she said. Kanavy finished second in the 55-mile ride on her Arabian mare “Saager.” Seventy-nine horses completed the 55-mile ride and 37 completed the 30 miler.
Friday evening, a supper was hosted by the Ivanhoe Civic League, whose president Maxine Waller headed up the crew. Following supper, an awards ceremony for Friday’s rides and a pre-ride briefing for Saturday’s rides were held. 55 mile rider Jeremy Reynolds of Richmond and his Arabian horse took top honors with a winning time of five hours and 43 minutes.
Saturday morning was cloudy and cool: “Another fine day for riding fast horses,” shouted Shelley Scott-Jones of Dalton, Ga., as she cantered past the photographer midday. Jennifer Wertz of Ivanhoe rode Randy Sayer’s horse “Flash” on the 30-mile ride Saturday. This was the first competitive event for the 4-year-old spotted walking horse and his rider. Sayers and his family have raised Tennessee walking horses in Ivanhoe for over 50 years and Sayers has shown horses at Jubilee Park since he was a young boy. Wertz and “Flash” came in 29th with a clean vet score.
With competitors attending from as far south as Florida and as far north as Pennsylvania, manager Don Meuten commented, “This is called a ‘tweener’ endurance ride. It’s between the north and the south, and everyone can’t resist the relatively easy travel distance.”
Overall, the comments heard from riders about the caliber of this event were positive and up-beat. Nearly all riders said they would return next year. Organizers are already planning for next year.
If you would like to attend the Ivanhoe Poker Ride and/or pig picking this Saturday at Jubilee Park, contact Todd Hyatt at (276) 620-0225 or Keith Burnett at (276) 699-2421.
Becky Siler is a freelancer writer who lives in Cripple Creek.

Virginia Highlands Endurance Challenge

Sinwaan: Journal of my quest to be an endurance rider
Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Sleeping in the back of the truck wasn't all that bad. I had a pillow and a sleeping bag and the seat was fine. I was a little tall for the width of the truck however and found that I could stretch out one leg by curving it around and the other leg was bent. I woke up off and on throughout the night and felt... damp. Just clammy. Yuk. Well what are you going to do? At about 5:30 am I woke up and although it was dark I could see my camp neighbors were packing up their SUV. They were being pretty quiet but if they were up that must mean that it was about time for me to get up (never-mind that they were 55s with a start time an hour earlier than me). So I got up and put on my boots and tromped on down to the porta-potty.

Coming back I wasn't sure what to do because if Kim was sleeping I didn't want to wake her up. So I walked down to the water trough and hauled back two buckets for the boys. Red drank a little which I was glad to see. I took off my boots and crawled back into the truck to see if I couldn't get another 30 minutes of rest. Well not 10 minutes went by and Kim was up. So I got back out of the truck and Kim asked me if I knew the horses mysteriously had water. I said yes, I hauled it up for them. So she went off to the porta-potty (so much for her fancy personal toilet I guess) and I fed the horses, brushed my teeth and put up my hair.

Kim came back and we had cereal (the good kind with strawberries and blueberries) which we topped off with a fresh banana for a breakfast of champions. After that there was enough light to see by so I did some final packing of my saddle bags and we got the horses tied to the trailer and started tacking up. Kim was ready to go in no time flat, I couldn't believe it! I had to get a little help from her on Red's girth, it was a leather western style one.

Well Kim had everything color-coordinated, from our helmet covers to the plates we ate off of, I have never seen such a thing, it was really fun.

We were ready to go right on schedule so we mounted up (I had to use a bucket, Red is taller than I am used to, and I had adjusted the stirrups pretty short). Red doesn't wait around so it was a bit of a jump to get on him as he walked off. We walked the horses down to the start and asked if anyone was taking numbers. They weren't ready so we walked some more circles back towards our trailer and Kim put Falcon to work since he was acting fairly co-dependent on Red. Red didn't seem to have a problem with leaving Falcon so I told Kim for the trot-out she should go first. We went back to the start, it is 7:50 or so and they are still not taking any numbers. So I told Kim we should walk the horses towards the registration table at the other end, she wanted to get out of the crowd of horses that had gathered.

Red's walk was no-nonsense, we are going some place which was nice to ride, a ground-covering rocking stride. We warmed up and stopped at the big water trough. I was glad to see Falcon drinking but Red wasn't interested. By the time we got back to the start everyone had left and they told Kim to trot out. I waited for her to get ahead of me a little because at the ride meeting they had specified ONE AT A TIME. Not two seconds later and the out timer said "The trail is open, you may go" so I don't know if there was anyone there even checking the gait of the horses. We caught up with Kim quickly and the horses were eager to go. We had a short canter and coming back down to a trot I was able to get Red gaiting for about a minute before he broke back into a trot. It was awesome. Kim said I was lucky to get a minute from him.

We followed the trail as it went up on the jeep road and then went to single track. In the start, Red did a fair amount of leading, but we had horses not to far away from us and he was chasing them. We got on the trail that started up the mountain and we were MOVING, I remember a very fast trot and sometimes a canter as we wound around some sharp corners. It was incredible. The trails were beautiful and great footing. We came to a dry river bed and it had some big rocks but Kim commented that this was nothing, the trail was much better than she expected. Well, famous last words, right?

We reach highway 94 (6 mi) at just about an hour into the ride. We were at the tail end, although there was a lady on a leopard appaloosa not far ahead of us, and a gal on a really pretty chestnut Arab behind us (I can't let you get behind me because I am competing for the turtle award, she told us) After crossing with the aid of the fire department we reach a nice water stop. Kim dismounted and sponged both the horses (bless her!) Red still would not drink.

Onward we went, climbing the hills and walking our way through the rocky sections (which were becoming more frequent). Every so often I would pull out the camera and try to get a photo of the trail or the view. We were both having such a good time, it was a blast to finally ride with Kim as an adult. She has been my inspiration for endurance riding and now finally we have the chance to do it together. Her first competition ride and my fourth this year. She was great company!

We passed a group of people going the opposite direction and the man said to us "You better step it up or you aren't going to make it in time." I grumbled at him in my thoughts, it made me mad that he said that. We are out here doing this and we are doing fine on time, how dare he tell us how to ride. (As he says this we are walking through one of the worst rock sections)

The vet check was right about half way and I had heard that if we didn't make it in by noon we would not complete the ride on time. We pulled in about 11:20 I think. Crews were allowed on the left side of the road only. Our crew bags had been delivered and were on the right side of the road. We had dismounted to walk them in and were trying to figure out what the next step was. I think we lost a couple minutes just trying to think at that point in time. Finally I told Kim to grab the crew bag and set it on the left somewhere so we could dump the tack and go down to vet through. It was hard to find a spot, it looked like some places were reserved for... who? 55s coming later? Well we squeeze in a place and it looked like it would work. Ok! This ride said tack off for all vets. We then took the horses down to the water tanks. Falcon drank, Red did not. Geez! 13+ miles and still not thirsty? I was starting to worry about him a little bit. I asked for a pulse and a friendly man came over and took it. I think he was down to 60 and the criteria for this hold was 64. The man asked me how he was doing. I said he seemed a little tired but I thought he was ok. We chatted a couple minutes while I waited in line for the vet. In the meantime I let Red graze.

The vet checked him out and scored him high on everything but a B on gut sounds. We did our trot out and no problem there either. I noticed Kim was going through with Falcon at the same time at the other vet so I let Red graze nearby since no one else was waiting at the time. Well Falcon did not like his vet, he would not stand still for her to listen to his HR or gut sounds and worked himself up trying to get away from her. It took a significant amount of time to get him vetted through. Finally he passed but scored a C on gut sounds so the vet told Kim to come back and get rechecked before we headed out. They told her to feed him everything he would eat in the meantime so we headed back to our crew area for our 40 min hold.

Kim had their grain/e-lyte mix all ready to go in their tubs and told me just to pour some water on it so I used what was left in the bottles in my pack. Sure enough he slurped it right down. I ate my PB&J sandwich, it was so good. I also downed a whole bottle of fruit punch gatorade and it was still partially frozen. Yum! I swapped out the water bottles in my pack and that was about all I had to do. We weren't sure if the vet wanted to see Falcon before or after we tacked up, so we decided to go back down there before. We stopped again at the water tanks and this time, FINALLY Red decided to drink...and drink...and drink. Wow, he was not messing around. So I let him drink as much as he wanted and in the meantime Kim had made her way over back to the vet. This time they gave Falcon a B on gut sounds so back we went to our crew area to tack up. I held Falcon while Kim got her saddle on and then she held Red while I hoisted up his saddle. I had her girth him up for me again because she is faster and better at it and he blows out and she does real well with him on that. Kim put our crew bag back in the pile for pick-up and then we walked the horses down back to the vet before re-checking the girths and mounting up. Well I had to lead Red over to the side of the mountain to get a leg-up on him. Off we went. On the ride out Kim mused that we never got our ice cream, never even saw any of the ice cream. Oh well, it would have been just another thing to fuss with and we had our hands full as it was.

The trail out was good footing for awhile and then it turned to rocks. Rocks, rocks, rocks. Slow going for quite a while. I was keeping an eye on the time and figured we were ok. Kim was watching her GPS but the milage was shorter than it should have been. Oh well. We passed that group of people, again going the opposite direction, and again the man telling us to "step it up if we were going to make it in time." This time Kim told him we were just taking it easy with first-time horses. We had someone catch up with us and pass us and about then we caught up to the gal on the pretty chestnut who wanted the turtle. So we passed her and rode along, trying to "never hurry, never tally" like Stagg had told us.

After awhile we got onto a private gravel road and saw a lost boot. About a minute later I saw a man on foot leading his horse. I asked if he lost a boot, he said Yes and we pointed back to where he could find it. Then the road turned and went up the mountain. The plate sign on a tree said "1 mile climb" so onward we went. At the base was a woman walking her horse, she said they were ok but waiting for a trailer to come and give them a ride back to camp. I think the gal following us knew her because she stopped and talked with her a while. At the top of the climb was a water tank. The horses drank and Kim went off in the woods to pee. I ate a fig newton. Falcon acted like he wanted some so I gave him one and he spit it out. Kim came back and mounted up and off we went again. Just then the other gal appeared, on foot, leading her horse on up. Said they were doing good. We rode the ridgeline for awhile and trotted as much as we could, knowing we were getting short on time now. According to the map, we had a 'lollipop course' today meaning we would ride out and back in on the same trail, and the outer trail was a loop around with the vet check in the center. We made it back to the stick part of the trail and eventually made it to highway 94 again. I knew we were 6 miles from camp and we had made it up in an hour, so giving ourselves an hour and a half to get back down should be no problem.

We get a move on and trot trot trot. Sometimes Red canters short bursts on the uphill but I was unable to get him to gait anymore since that one nice moment on the way out. I forgot to mention I had seen someone at the vet check with a New Promise Farms Crew t-shirt on on a gaited horse and I talked to her a little bit and she gave me some pointers- sit deep in the saddle, ask the horse to collect and squeeze with your legs and he should go right into it. Well I tried and tried but never was able to get it from him. Part of the problem was his trot was so big and so fast that it threw me right up out of the saddle and "sitting deep" at the trot was just about impossible.

Well we are cruising around and up and down and not remembering all these uphills. We are looking for the switchbacks, knowing they were fairly early in the ride. On and on and on we went and Kim is convinced I have my time wrong and we are not going to make it. Maybe she is right. Well we finally get to the switchbacks and I made the mistake of looking down on a sharp turn. I immediately felt sick to my stomach and lightheaded. I just focused on breathing and looking ahead (and not down!) oh wow, I have never felt so sick on a horse before and this is all my own fault. I am a bit scared of heights. Well we made it past the knee-knocker trees and down the mountain and still have a ways to go. When we made it back to the jeep trail, some 55s came cantering past us. Red suddenly realized he was close to home and now he had someone to follow! So he took the lead and just ran his heart out. It was glorious. He had tried bucking with me a couple times this ride but now that was the furthest thing from his mind has he happily ran towards 'home.' I heard Kim wait "Wait for us!" and I pulled him down to a trot until she caught up and then off we went again. We ran and ran and ran. The 55s lost us and then we slowed the horses down to a trot. We got back on the gravel road and saw the finish line. I started tearing up. We had made it. I looked back and smiled. I tried to say "now is when I get all emotional" and Kim said "I can't even talk right now!"

We dismounted and walked the horses back to the trailer. We dumped our saddles and walked them to the vet check. I glanced at the time and we had about 10 minutes to go until cut-off time (3:15 pm) Red walked over and pulsed in at 48. (WOW!) Kim asked for a courtesy check on Falcon and he was still up there, about 86. Michael told her to get the hay out of his mouth and not let him eat since the very act could be keeping his HR up. I had never heard that but within 5 minutes he called for time on number CO. (Forgot to mention, Red was number CN) I think he pulsed in with only a minute to spare. Vetting through, Red did excellent, mostly A's from what I can remember, maybe a B on gut sounds and muscle tone. They let me keep my vet card so I will try to scan it in when I get back home.

This was a fabulous ride and one I shall never forget. I know I have left out a lot of little details so will try and put them in later as I remember them.

After we vetted through we put the horses up with water and hay and sat down with some food for ourselves. We had boiled eggs from Kim's chickens, potato salad Kim had made, more frozen gatorade (Kim said "I think this is the best thing I have ever had") chips with salsa Kim had made. I am sure there was more but I am forgetting what. We rested and reminisced and once we had the energy we got up and took the horses for another walk. We hand-grazed them probably about an hour and then I got tired of Red dragging me all around so we put them up and I don't remember what after that, I think by then it was about time for dinner. So we took our chairs this time and walked back down to the meeting area.

They were just opening up the tables for dinner, and MY what a spread! They had a table for meat eaters and a seperate table for vegetarians - bless them! There was chili beans and chips and lettuce and tomatoes and onions for a make-it-yourself taco salad. They encouraged me to take two plates so I could fit all the food that they were about to give me. A woman told me "honey, you ain't lived until you've had this cornbread salad" so I tried that too. There were fresh canned green beans and fantastic off-the-cob-corn; potato salad, pasta salad and rolls. Seems like there was even more of that, I just could not believe ALL THAT FOOD! The ladies really outdid themselves and I have to say a huge thank you to them for that wonderful meal.

I sat down and started in on my first plate. I got through it and then looked up to see my dad and Matt and Levi walking up. Yay! Levi was hungry so he ate a fair amount of my taco salad and green beans and corn. Later I also shared my cake with him too. There was about 12 kinds of cake and one was even in the shape of a horse! The chocolate kind I selected was so moist and good. There were a number of igloos for juice and tea and I saw one labeled sweet tea so I had to take some of that. I was a little disappointed though, it was warm and not sweet at all. Oh well, can't really complain, everything else was soooo awesome. Kim said "this is the south, and they FEED you in the south!"

Awards seemed to start a little late and my dad pulled his car up close and sat in it at the back since we only had the two chairs. They started out by calling out the last people completed - Kim and I, and mispronounced both our names. I expect that with my name - Shana - most people get it wrong, but Kim Patton - they said Payton I think, but no bother. Don said he had put out the award for rider most traveled and I won that since I came from WA but he also said he expected it to go to the person who brought their horse the farthest, and if anyone was there who thought it could be them to let him know and there may be a free ride entry in it for them. The award shirts were cute - a cartoon sketch of a horse and rider with their thought balloons overhead.

As for the turtle award - there was none! But Kim would have won it being the last person in. The other gal ended up pulling at the finish, she said her horse was a little stiff and and off at the end.

We left shortly after and Kim stayed the night with the horses and got home safe on Sunday. Be sure to read the Falcon blog in my links section for her version of the story (and maybe additional photos)

posted by Shana @ 7:48 PM

My Peace Point '08 Story...

I have never written a ride story before and am a little leery about posting
one, only because there are so many other people who are a heck of a lot more
eloquent than I!

This ride was to be my 3rd 50 miler. We had completed Hickory Creek 50 and Ride Between the Rivers 50 earlier and had started out with the Hornswaggle doing a 25, and then Michaux Madness 30.

We arrived at base camp on Friday morning. This ride is right in my back yard
more or less! Only 42 miles away!

We get vetted in for the Saturday 50, no problem.

We (my 10 yo Morgan gelding Ivan and I) started about mid way in the pack.
Trotting along and having a good old time.

Now?.. just to let you know?. I do BAREFOOT (we DON?T have to go into any type of discussion on this now?.PLEASE!)
And I was booting all around for my 50?s. Epics in the front
And Bares on the back. Now? we completed our two previous 50?s with this set
up?. And let me tell you, those two rides were muddy, sloppy, miry, and messy?.
The four boots stayed on with no problems?
THIS ride was dry! Really a very barefoot friendly ride, but doing the 50
miles I don?t want to take chances.

As we are trotting along with about 4 or 5 other riders, I hear a boot flopping
around on the back (kind of sounds like a flat tire!)... So I ask everyone if
they mind holding up a bit so that I can reapply said boot?.. No problem?. So I
get off and put the boot back on, and say a prayer.

I don?t think that prayer was heard (it was very foggy you know!) and the SAME
boot comes undone AGAIN a little bit further up trail!!!!
SO?.I get off the horse to just take the darn thing off, and to remove the
other one as well... I tell everyone else to continue on, that I would be fine?

NOT!

I get the near side boot off, and like a FOOL I drop my reins as I go to remove
the off side boot. Well now? my partner, compadre, buddy old pal decides that
he would rather continue on
with the other horses, AND LEAVES ME OUT THERE ON THE TRAIL ALL ALONE!!!!!!!!

Oops! Now what?

I had to walk my sorry A_ _ back to camp hoping in the mean time someone
would catch my BAD horse and tie him.
It must have been about 6 miles I had to walk! No found/caught horse tied
along the way!

So I arrive back at camp, and they were already aware that there was a
loose/lost horse out there. The other 50 milers that had to do a lollipop
passed me WALKING in, my helmet in one hand, and the one boot that I had
managed to get off the horse in the other.

I can?t tell you HOW MANY PEOPLE asked me ?Did you find your horse yet?)
ARGGGHH!

So?? I figured I wouldn?t panic yet (not until dark anyway!) and proceeded to
help pulse in in-coming riders, help riders cool their horses etc?.
What could I do? There was time to worry later.

Some one on the Ride Management team gets a phone call from other members out
on trail that said MISSING/LOST/LOOSE horse was found and they were about 8
miles into the orange loop at the creek. Yeah! (We had been riding the White
loop when Ivan decided to leave me.)

So, off I go with the Ride Managers son Tyler on the back of a 4 wheeler to go
retrieve my errant horse!

It was a BLAST!
Up over logs, bending around trees, up hills, down hills, yippee! This was fun!

Get to the creek that said horse was supposed to be at ?. But no horse!?
Huh??????
BUT there were about 5 or 6 riders that were trying to pick up the trail and
couldn?t find ribbons?So Tyler calls the Trail Master (his dad!) to let him
know that there was vandalism AND that the horse was not there!!!!!!
His dad lets him know that the horse was at the NEXT creek crossing (someone
had ponied him further up the trail) and to proceed there and that the ribbons
should be strung to the left after coming out of the creek.

So, as Tyler and I are 4 wheeling down the trail, I?m re-hanging
Orange ribbon (Tyler just happened to have orange ribbon in a basket on the 4
wheeler- how convenient!)

Finally! We get to the second creek crossing and there?s my guy!
Standing there, firmly held by the PHOTOGRAPHER Matt Jenkins! Poor guy was
busy holding my horse, rather than taking
his photos!!!!! What a guy! THANKS Matt!!!!!

So I retighten the saddle and climb on board and ride that NON- remorseful
horse back to camp! He?s justa? prancing and dancing the whole 2 ½ miles
back?(the road was just a little ways up the trail and we took that back to
ridecamp.)

Everyone is saying that the horse wanted an HO (horse option)
Rather than an RO! Ha ha ha?

No way I say! I wasn?t about to let that horse think that he could get away
with this now, could I?

I asked the vets Art King and Nick Kohut if I could
change my ride to the next day.
So, both Vets agreed, as well as the ride manager Laura Riddle, that I could.

Now you see, Laura had some revenge in mind for my horse!
Her Trail Master (Tyler?s dad, remember him?) had dropped her on trail to
search for my horse while he went to gas up the 4 wheeler. THEN he got the
call about the trail vandalism. He had to take care of that before he could
get back to her
and she walked almost TEN MILES back to camp!!!!!!!
She was NOT a happy Ride Manager, oh no!

So, Laura, Vengeance was served!
Ivan (the Terrible) had his sorry A_ _ ridden on Sunday!

Sundays ride wasn?t quite as eventful now?thank goodness!

EVERY TIME we came in off our loops, EVERYONE would say?? Hey, I see you
haven?t lost your horse yet!?
Ha ha!

He pulled and pulled the first two loops?. Made me work!
The loops were WHITE 11 miles, ORANGE 14, ORANGE 14, and WHITE 11.

Heading back out on that second 14 mile loop, he was a DOG!
I had to push him and prod him! We only had 2 other riders behind us, and
everyone else that was in front of us were WAY
ahead! So we were in a pocket which was fine by me! No pulling anyway! But a
lot of pushing!

The last loop I ended up riding with Wendy Mancini and her 25 year old QH
gelding Old Meadow Jim.
Now? Wendy and Jim had done a 50 the day before! And my guy who is more than
HALF of Jim?s age was sucking wind!

Wendy and I came in together to share the Turtle award.
I know that we had maybe less than a half an hour to go before our cut off
time. Whooh!

Yeah!!!!! Another 50, albeit SLOW, under Ivan?s hooves.


Lynn Brunetto
Waynesburg, PA

Tugby EGB Ride 8/6/08 - The Parsler Family

Original Article

This was one of the EGB rides that was hosting Pony Club classes, so we thought we should patronise this ride despite the fact that Jim and Natasha were aiming to ride the 30k Novice CR, rather than the 18k Pony Club Kestrel ride on offer.

Crossing a ford at Tugby
picture by ScottDigital

We had been warned that Tugby was quite a hilly ride, and given the weather was really quite hot we knew that this ride would be a challenge of Tally and Shine’s fitness. We normally take two 5 gallon barrels and a box of a dozen slosh bottles, and thought that this might not be enough. To make things worse we realised that we had forgotten our bucket of sugar beet water, which is normally the only way to get Shine and Tally to take on water when we are doing these rides. We were also told that there were limited places that the crew could meet us, as on the first part of the rides the tracks were all cross country, and we were not supposed to crew in the villages. However, many of the fields were stock fields with troughs and there were also two fords that we had to cross that would provide water on route.

We left the venue and had to try hard to persuade the horses to go through a terribly scary and obviously carnivorous gate. It would have been embarrassing if we could not even get out of the farmyard. However after a fair bit of kicking and badgering we then got underway. A good proportion of the first part of the ride was across farm fields and good grass tracks but within about 2k of the start we met the first hill, whilst it was not too steep it was quite long. We then continued over a series of rolling hills across some really lovely countryside. It is a very pretty part of the country and has some very good riding tracks. Large numbers of ramblers was also using these tracks on the day. This meant that at times we had to restrict our longer faster canters, and revert to trot and walk.

There also seemed to be a moratorium on marking the route with the normal paint arrows within the villages. As such it was important to be able to read a map properly to ensure that we took the correct route.

Having limited crewing points on the first part of the ride, is not normally too much of an issue whilst you are still fairly fresh. However with the hot weather both ponies were soon sweating up nicely and so seeing Nikki just before checkpoint 2 which was 12k into the ride provided some welcome relief. We normally try to meet up about 4 times approximately equidistant on a 34k ride, so 12K seemed a long way. Excessive amounts of water were applied to both horses via slosh bottles and sponges, which they were obviously grateful for, as they did not do their normal dancing about. One of the good things about a hot day is that you do not have to worry about the horses getting cold if you apply a lot of water at the crew points, as within 5 minutes of setting off they were dry again.

We had tried to get both ponies to drink from one of the troughs on the first part of the route without success; so I decided that I would tie a sponge to my saddle so that we could try to cool off the horses when apart from the crew points. The next 5k was all cross country again this time predominantly downhill where we got to one of the fords that we were told about. We were all pretty hot again by this point so we again tried to get Tally and Shine to drink, and then I got off to sponge them down. Zip up joddy boots and chaps are very comfortable but they do leak when you are paddling in the ford. However as an example of how hot is was my boots looked dry by the time I had remounted, and my feet felt dry after about 2 minutes.

We went onto Tilton on the Hill which, was about half way. Again there were no markings so we had to check the map carefully. On the way out of the village we had to go down a fairly steep hill, which given we were on tarmac meant that we had to stick to walk. Because of this we both got off and walked with the ponies in hand, so as to give their backs a rest. However once we got to a flat bit we got back on in order to trot on some more.

By this time in the ride we had a good indication of the toll the hills and heat were taking on Tally and Shine. We normally start off fast so as to give ourselves some leeway for getting lost and to allow ourselves the chance to come in slowly, so as to improve the horse’s final pulse rates. We normally aim to do the first half of the ride at an average speed of at least 12kph, and aim to finish at an average of 10kph. Since we started doing graded rides we realised that the optimum speed to get a grade 1 pass is 10kph, as this gives the best range of pulse rates that lead to a grade 1. On this ride at the half way point we were averaging only 9kph, which was a bit too close for comfort to the minimum speed of 8kph.

When we came to another stretch of cross country a couple of riders on the 42k route came up behind us. They also complained that their horses were making heavy weather of the ride. However as soon as they went in front both Tally and Shine suddenly found their second wind, no way were they going to be overtaken! So the four of us went on together for the next few kilometres taking turns in “towing” each other, to the next crewing point. Nikki provided drinks and slosh bottles to us and our two new companions. Then on we went across the fields again. Just as we were coming to about 24k on the route trotting along a stony track I thought we were scuppered, as Tally picked up a large stone in his hoof and immediately started hopping. I got off and checked all his feet for stones or cuts. The two experienced riders we were with said that his hoof might be bruised and that he may walk it off. So for the next kilometre or so I walked beside him.

Once off the stony track I got back on again, and Tally seemed fine, the only sign of being foot sore was when we had to go through a long deep ford with a stony bottom, which he obviously did not like. However once we got back onto the road he was happy to trot on so there could not have been much wrong. Nikki met us again about 2k from the finish for a final slosh down, we were still at about 9kph average speed, as such we basically aimed to take it easy getting back to the venue so as to keep the horses pulses as low as possible.

Once back at the venue we stripped off the tack and then sloshed the horses down, and then walked them around to stop any stiffness and then off to the vets for a trot up and pulse check. All told we ended up using more than 15 gallons of water both at checkpoints on the ride and at the cooling down sessions at the end. Given the terrain and heat we knew that we were not going to get a grade 1 this time. So we waited for the results and were pleased when Natasha and Shine had a grade 3 whilst Tally and I got a grade 4.

Whilst it was a very challenging ride I can recommend Tugby as a good ride with some excellent riding tracks across lovely country.

2008 Argentan - Team Nellie

The rural calendar in this part of Northwestern France includes various reliable markers. The swallows arrive back from Africa early in the afternoon of the 2nd or 3rd of May. In June t\
he sun comes out and, because it has been raining since 1863, everyone is happy except the farmers, who begin to fret that the watertable hasn't been replenished. Then it rains again, \
firstly on the hay as it lays in the fields, then it really pours for the week leading up to the Argentan ride. This is so the organisers can spend five days panicking, working out alte\
rnative routes to avoid the worst of the mud, some of which has also been there since 1863, and thinking about cancelling. The day of the ride itself is then always sweltering.

This year only the swallows and the farmers kept their side of the deal. You can always rely on a farmer to moan. Round here they're driving A class Mercedes, and when they cross a fiel\
d to bring in some cows they wear more bling than Snoop Doggy Dogg, but they're still all doom and gloom. Maybe the girl didn't turn up to polish their Krugerrands; I don't know.

Anyway, the weather confounded all expectations by baking the ground hard for a month then changing to overcast and uncomfortably muggy for the morning of the ride; the sort of day when\
you wish it would get on with it and rain.

This time last year teamnellie was there to compete, Richard riding a horse from Brittany who was having his first attempt over the distance and on whom heewed with the horsehen you're \
riding you see things in terms of mud or overhanging branches, flat sections to put on speed, hills to climb up or run down. If you're racing around in a car trying to get to a crew poi\
nt, your day is bends negotiated, traffic lights cursed at. You might get a fleeting glimpse of a big house, an old church, some kind of plaque, a monument. You have no idea, really, of\
where you are.

This ride starts and finishes at the local racetrack, as do many major rides in France, and the first section of 27km uses old farm and forestry tracks in a series of long, straight and\
fairly flat runs to the first vet gate, at the Haras du Pin.

In 1714 King Louis XIVth's 'first horseman', one Franapproved' stallions. On the eve of the French Revolution, the Stud accounted for 196 stallions and 132 "approved horses". After a pe\
riod of uncertainty, the State-run stud institution and the associated stallion farms were reinstated by Imperial Decree - the gold-plated bees that are worked into the wrought iron mai\
n gates are one of the symbols of Napoleon I.

Complete Story

Vermont 100 - An Outlaw Rides the Yankee Trails

Tom Noll

A runner named Steve made this comment about the Vermont 100 endurance run
some time ago:

"Just a note on the Vermont 100; the run coincides with the VT 100 horse
race - same time and on the same course, so you spend a good part of time
passing and/or being passed by horses (and their riders hopefully). At
first, I thought this would be a pain. Turns out, it's nothing short of
magical, and the riders never failed to cheer you on as they passed. It's a
beautiful course, well organized, well marked, well stocked, and the horses
were a surprising bonus."

In the dark of winter, I contacted the Vermont 100 ride managers, John and
Sue Greenall about riding the Vermont 100. I mentioned that it is a very
long haul from Idaho to Vermont and I wondered if there were any local
horses that I could ride. Sue Greenall put me in touch with Paul Kendall at
the Kedron Valley Stables in South Woodstock and Paul thought that he might
have a horse that could be ready for the 100 in July. Paul has ridden the
Vermont 100 several times himself and he knows the trail and what is
required to condition a horse for 100 miles of trail. In addition,
Christina Phillips rides for the Kedron Valley Stables and Christina knows
how to condition horses too. Throughout the spring we kept in contact and
by late May it was time for me to make a commitment. Paul and I talked and
I made my decision.

Later I found out that Paul's horse was not just any horse but that her sire
was Omar, the only horse to complete all three Vermont 100-mile equine
endurance events; the three-day 100-mile endurance driving competition, the
one-day Vermont 100, and the three-day 100-mile competitive trail ride.
Omar completed the three events in one summer during the 1990s. Paul wanted
me to ride Springtime, a chestnut-colored Arabian mare sired by Omar.

I arrived in Vermont late on Wednesday evening before the ride. I met
Springtime with Paul Kendall and Cindy Davis. Cindy is a member of Kendall
family and Cindy has special feelings for Springtime. The next day, I went
on a short ride with Springtime while Cindy Davis and Christina Phillips
followed along. Just as I was assessing Springtime and her abilities, Cindy
and Christina were assessing my abilities too. Also, I was testing out the
tack. I arrived in Vermont with my riding clothes and very little else. I
figured that I would ride whatever tack and saddle fit the horse.

I could tell that Springtime was an efficient and easy moving horse with
plenty of trail experience. Cindy related some of her and Springtime's
history and I knew that I was taking Springtime on her first 100 and that
Springtime was very special to both Paul Kendall and Cindy Davis. They both
arranged to meet me several times on the 100-mile trail.

I made arrangements to ride with two experienced 100-mile riders, Laura
Hayes and Bill Taylor. Laura talked with Dolores Arste, and Dolores and her
husband Dave offered to crew for us. In addition, my endurance friend Sue
Hedgecock in Utah contacted her sister in Vermont, and Sally White would
help with crewing too. We were somewhat unorganized but we came together at
Silver Hill Meadow on Friday. We enjoyed a nice dinner under the big tent
with the runners, volunteers, and other riders, and we made our final
arrangements for the ride.

Laura Hayes, Bill Taylor and I started off down the trail at just after 5:00
AM the next morning. We waited for the other riders to clear the start and
after some uncertainty and wandering around, we passed under the banner.
Our 100-mile adventure was underway.

Springtime's job is to be the guide horse on the trail rides held at Kedron
Valley Stables. Springtime had many years of experience and, in all those
years, she always led the group. Spingtime was not comfortable in any
position but the lead, and following Bill or Laura's horse led to all kinds
of antics. We decided it would be easier for all of us, and especially
easier for Springtime and myself, to just to ride in the front. We rode a
conservative pace and soon we began to catch up with the runners. I became
concerned when we passed twelve miles or so and did not see the first stop.
Our plan was to start slow but we began to worry that we might miss the
first cut-off.

We crossed the covered bridge at Taftsville and continued on up the trail.
Eventually, we came to the first stop. Other riders had commented that the
distance was closer to 15 miles rather than twelve. In any case, we pulsed
down, spent our ten minutes, and took off for Galaxy Hill and the first vet
check six miles away. We arrived at Galaxy Hill with only five minutes to
spare. I was beginning to think of Tevis and being hounded by cut-off times
all through the day. Springtime was somewhat agitated and ate and drank
sparingly. By this time we picked up a fourth rider and Laura, Bill, Sharon
Levasseur, and I took off for the vet check at Highbrook. The four of us
were all pretty close together up and over the "Sound of Music" hill. The
view on the top was magnificent and we took photos of each other while we
rode the trail. At the top we all got off of the horses and Laura and I ran
off down the trail. It was great running down the trail leading a horse in
the company of ultrarunners.

The ride travels on roads and trail through rural Vermont. Many people
watch the event from their porches and others set out water tanks and hoses
for the horses and runners. We passed by some truly picturesque farms and
cottages. Riding the Vermont 100 is like taking a long trip through a
museum or a historical park. Many of the homes and farms have signs
indicating that the farm dated from the late 1700s - years before a
Louisiana Purchase, before Lewis and Clark, and years before there was a
West. Many trails are on overgrown Vermont Class Four roads through the
woods with stone walls on either side. Vehicles no longer traveled the
roads, but the public right-of-way is still used. One time we passed by a
very old cemetery, quiet and alone in the woods. That cemetery and some low
stone walls along the trail were all that remained of a family's homestead.

There are a lot of hills on the Vermont 100 and I began to chuckle to myself
every time the trail turned on a road that had the word "Hill" in the name.
That word, Hill, meant that we were in for a climb. A few miles before the
Ottauquechee River crossing Laura Hayes lost a shoe on Mo. Sharon's horse
Zephyr was feeling the effects of the distance. I passed ahead of Laura and
Sharon and continued on to the river and the second vet check at Highbrook.
Laura told me later that she quickly attached a new shoe but that she lost
valuable time. I reached the vet check at Highbrook about 40 minutes ahead
of Sharon and I left the hold before Bill and Laura arrived.

The next hold was Mitchell's at 60 miles. By now, it was clear that I was
the last of the riders. I was gaining time on the cutoffs and I was
guardedly optimistic. At Mitchell's, I decided that Springtime really
needed to eat and drink and I removed her bridle and bit and decided to ride
the rest of the trip with reins on her halter. Cindy told me that
Springtime had never been ridden without a bit, but I thought that eating
and drinking was important and that control would not be such an issue alone
and 60 miles into a 100. It turns out that we had nothing to fear because
Springtime was very well behaved.

Shortly after I left Mitchell's, I came to Margaritaville. The crew road
follows the same road to Margaritaville and my crew noticed that I had
stopped and that I was talking with a pretty woman. Later, I told my crew
that an attractive lady offered a margarita and I stopped to enjoy the aid
station. The margarita is gone but I will hold that margarita memory in my
mind for quite some time.

We rode on through the trails and up to the top of Heartbreak Hill.
Tuackenback is the aid station at the top of the hill and Springtime and I
arrived about an hour ahead of the cutoff. Like the other checks, I took
care of myself while Sally, Dolores, and Dave took care of Springtime. The
three of them cooled her and made sure that she ate while I tried to eat and
drink as well.

We left Tuackenback just at dusk. Soon it was complete darkness. I was
riding with no lights and only a reflective vest. I was well behind all of
the other horses and I am sure that some of the runners thought that I was a
ghost or a hallucination when I came up from behind in the darkness. At one
point on the trail I found myself off-trail going directly through the
brush. I guess that Springtime saw the next glowstick and decided to try a
slightly different and more direct route. Through the night I saw glowing
moss on the decaying logs and lightning bugs making streaks in the darkness.
Later, I put my light on my helmet, but I thoroughly enjoyed riding through
the darkness with no lights while trusting my horse to find a safe path.

Springtime and I came into the 88-mile check at O&H Farm. I had lost a
half-hour of time between Tuackenback and the O&H Farm. This was the only
time I was somewhat cranky during the ride and I apologize. There is a low
point on every 100 and the miles before the 88-mile check at the O&H Farm
was mine. I had been checking my watch and doing the arithmetic in my head,
and the calculations were not favorable. Springtime was walking slowly and
I figured that we could only maintain about three miles an hour. That pace
would not allow a finish. I thought that I still had plenty of physical
horse left, but the mental horse was about used up. I felt sorry for my
horse and I felt sorry for her on her first 100. Springtime has rarely been
out on the trail alone and the 60 miles of riding separate from any other
horses had been mentally tough for her. I talked with my crew at the hold.
Laura Hayes and Bill Taylor joined the crew, and Paul Kendal was there too.
Paul reminded me that Springtime was a driving horse and that she was
comfortable with the gentle tap of a buggy whip for direction. Paul cut a
short stick for me to lightly tap Springtime. Paul was convinced that we
could make it to the finish. In truth, I think that Paul cut that stick
more for my confidence than for Springtime's motivation.

We left the vet check and it became very foggy. I remembered one old
expression from the 1970s - onward through the fog - as we made our way on
the trails. I softly tapped Springtime with the stick. Springtime picked
up the pace and we maintained a very nice 100-mile trot. There was one long
downhill section and I got off and ran along beside her. We were making
good time now and I began to think that we might even finish. We both began
to "smell the barn." My sprits recovered and Springtime recognized my
optimism too. I encouraged Springtime, she encouraged me, and we trotted
right through the last two fly-by crew stops. I had plenty of horse left
and we were back to the ten-minutes per mile pace or better.

The last twelve miles were foggy, damp, and dark. I was riding with the
runners who were all chasing the 24-hour cutoff. Everyone was motivated.
Generally, I moved up in the group but a few runners managed to eke out a
faster pace and left us behind. At the very end it was just Springtime and
myself along with Chrissy Ferguson from Arkansas and her pacer. We finished
the Vermont 100 in the dark as two runners lightly jogging through the
forest with a horse and rider close behind.

Springtime had a good day. My friend Regina Rose says that mares can dig
deep and really pull when needed. Springtime is a working horse but still,
she is a horse who never went much further than 25 or 30 miles in a day,
probably had less than five rides out alone, had never been ridden in the
dark, and she dug deep within herself and finished 100 miles of trail fit to
continue. Many times it would have been easier to just turn and head back
to the stable but each time she turned away from her home with only minor
discussion when I asked. I continue to be impressed by the quiet confidence
and ability of horses.

The theme of the 20th Vermont 100 was to remember the volunteers. Many
times across the whole 100 miles, I was thinking about the volunteers and
the land owners who I met along the trail. I know that volunteering at a
ride makes a long day and I am sure that the race volunteers wonder if it is
worth the effort. Well, I am sure that some of the riders and runners had a
life-changing experience over the 100 miles of Vermont trails. That
experience will be woven into the fabric of their lives and will become a
part of them for the rest of their lives. And, although I cannot speak for
the horses, my suspicion is that some of the horses may have had a
life-changing experience as well.

Many times I took my buckle out of my pocket and held it in my palm later
that day after the ride. When I look at my Vermont 100 belt buckle, I
remember a day on good trails spent in the company of a good horse and good
friends. I am very lucky.

Tom Noll
SW Idaho

Sharon & Zephyr's Vermont 100 Story

Sharon's Story & Vermont 100 Photos

Sharon Levasseur


After Pine Tree, I decided that if we had kept a more reasonable pace for the first half of the ride we would have been in much better shape at the end, and capable of going much further. So I decided to enter the Moonlight in VT 75 that was being held 3 weeks later. The name of the game would be GOOOO SLOOOOOW.

To that end, I practiced getting off and jogging alongside. Unfortunately, I soon remembered that the reason I don't usually do that is because Zephyr trots at a minimum of 8mph and I run at a maximum of 6mph (and that only lasts a few yards). Nonetheless, we worked on it a few days in a row and I thought we had it down. I even ordered some Dirty Girl Gaiters to fit over the tops of my shoes and keep the dirt out because I can't wear half chaps. Of course I bought yellow.

On Tuesday of ride week, my Dad agreed to crew for me. He isn't a horse person and had never crewed before, but he wanted to spend some time with me. I was just as excited about it as he was.

I waited until Friday morning when he was in the truck and we were headed down the road before I told him that, just the night before, I had decided to up the ante and ride the 100.

I broke the news by telling him about a book I'd read as a child. It was about a mommy badger who had eight pups/kits/cubs and one by one they got lost or died and she never noticed UNTIL she was down to two... because badgers can only count "One, Two, Many". (Yes, it was an odd book.) My theory, backed up by opinions of the enthusiastic members of the "New to 100s" Yahoo Group, was that if I thought we could finish the 75 then surely we could also finish the 100. Everyone says after you hit 60-70 miles you're over the hump anyway. The theory was that this ride would seem like "25, 50, Many."

He was game, but of course he teased me about kidnapping him before I broke the news!

The long trip was punctuated by a few bits of excitement. At two different points, a horrendous noise came from under the center console of the truck and scared me stiff. We finally decided it was probably ice coming off the AC underneath the truck, because Dad was running his side at 60° (I was running mine at 80°). Also, there was a Border Patrol stop... in coastal New Hampshire! Nothing much else of interest, just a long drive... 8 hours including my stop to pick up Dad. Oh yeah, it would have been a little shorter but Dad made me miss my first two turns in like 2 years. Great navigator he is. (Just kidding, Dad.)

We arrived in camp around 12:30. The "cheap" part of town (small rigs, no generators) was still pretty empty but the "ritzy neighborhood" was chock full.

We puttered around setting up our campsite, including Zephyr's pen and Dad's tent. I went up and vetted in while he finished getting everything ready. In the picture below, you can see Zephyr underneath the awning.

During the ride meeting there were some sprinkles and some wind, but nothing bad. After the manager, day manager, and vets had finished their talks and asked for questions, I spoke up and said I was attempting a first 100 for myself and my horse and would like someone experienced to ride with. Laura Hayes volunteered herself, Bill, and Tom... they planned to walk flat-footed out of camp and keep a reasonably slow pace. Great! I was very excited to have lucked out like that.

Dinner, as always, was amazing. Those runners know how to put on a spread. I filled up my plate and only could eat half, and of course Dad chimed in with the "I knew you couldn't eat all that!" line that parents can deliver so well. Dinner conversation was great, we talked to a bunch of runners and also several riders. One experienced crew-person assured Dad that his coworkers' assessment of his job for the weekend was pretty much spot on... he was going to be "The Waterboy". He said as long as he didn't have to shovel poop he was good.

Before we lost the light, we got the obligatory pictures under the start banner. MAN he looks short here. He's also wearing a 3-digit number starting with a 2. It's the first time I've ever seen the 100-mile horses marked that way, normally it starts with a 1. If there are 75-milers usually they have a 3-digit number starting with a 7. Oh well, it's not like I've waited 6 years for my horse to wear a 100-something number anyway, right? Right?? Guess I should have stuck with the 75-miler... then his number would have been 106.

After the photo shoot, Dad helped me load into the truck whatever I had ready at that point. He went to bed shortly afterwards... maybe 8:30. I felt bad because I knew I'd be making noise for the next couple of hours, getting the rest of my gear ready.

I slept about 3 hours overnight. There was some rain, and of course I had one ear open for loose horses (especially mine), but mostly I listened to the endless sounds of a camp full of horses, riders, runners, crew, and volunteers.

When the alarm went off at 3:00 a.m. I was already awake. I quickly got up and fed Zephyr, then went back to lay down for a few more minutes.

I was up and eating breakfast when the runners started at 4:00 a.m. They softly shuffled downhill past our row of trailers, their headlamps and handheld flashlights shining brightly and bobbing as they cheered and were cheered for by onlookers. Some wore trash bags and ponchos in a futile effort to stay dry in the thick, foggy dawn air. From the back, after they all passed, they were a half-mile-long glowworm oozing through the dark.

I checked in with the starter at exactly 4:30. Tacking up by the light of a flourescent lantern went more quickly once Dad came over to help, as Zephyr didn't want to stand still. I was in the saddle at about 4:50, with no idea what Laura, Bill, or Tom looked like under helmets and on top of horses. I peered through the fog, asking people if they were Laura, or if they knew her.

Zephyr misbehaved while waiting, sidepassing and tossing his head. We waited until the end, looking for three other horses hanging back in the crowd. After a moment I moved to the start line, asking the crowd whether they knew whether Laura, Bill and Tom had come through yet. Nobody knew. Oh well. Here we go.

Dad was walking back down the hill to the trailer when I passed him. He was surprised to see me, he had thought I'd already left. He'd wished good luck to the rider of a different chestnut horse wearing yellow tack before he'd realized it wasn't me. I believe he managed to get a picture, but he hasn't sent it to me yet.

We headed down the long hill out of camp walking behind everyone else, but soon passed two horses because Zephyr began to gait. He went in between foxtrot and rack for the next 3-5 miles. I would have preferred a nice slow trot but he made it quite clear that trotting with a low head and slow speed was not possible for him just then; a 6mph foxtrot/rack was all he could offer. I wished he would trot because we don't usually gait for so long; I worried that it would be hard on his body. After those first few miles he did trot at about 7-8 mph. It was a relief.

The two horses that we had passed at the beginning passed us about then, at a good steady trot. They reported seeing a couple of horses still behind me. I thought that was probably Laura et al but I knew I couldn't stop to wait and see. The intel might have been wrong and where would that have left me? Further behind the crowd than I already was.

At this point, Zephyr was mentally well-established in plodding along in a slow trot. The humidity may have contributed to his willingness to trot slowly. Once we were moving I was warm enough to take my windbreaker off and tie it around my waist.

The trails were beautiful and because we were moving so slowly I had a chance to take some pictures.

After a while, we rode through the center of a quaint little downtown area. I had passed a female runner several times who was wearing all pink with the name TAMMY written in magic marker across her chest. Tammy took pictures of everything she passed and that passed her, including probably 20 just of Zephyr and I. We chatted a bit; it was her first time at the Vermont 100 but not her first 100-miler. She planned a slow and easy pace. I just hoped she had a big enough memory card to last her the distance!

There was a traffic cop to help us through the intersection at the center of downtown, and then we crossed a beautiful old covered bridge where Tammy took my camera so I could have a picture of us crossing.

The first leg of the ride lasted F-O-R-E-V-E-R. It was supposed to be 12 miles but I know what 12 miles feels like. I was sure I'd missed the first stop, which I thought was supposed to be a flyby. I thought maybe Dad had gone there, decided I'd already been through, and left. I started looking for Hold 1.

Everywhere along this stretch of trail there were trees down. In some cases it was just a few branches piled alongside the road. In other cases there were enormous trees, obviously centuries old, cracked through with the top half slanting at an angle, or with the entire root structure exposed and the whole tree tipping over from the base. The fresh cracks were obscenely bright against the weathered old gentlemen's bark, an ugly atrocity seen through the calm and peaceful blanket of the still-humid morning.

Eventually I came to a left turn on the dirt road. Straight ahead of me was a massive tree, laying across the road and on top of the roadside power lines.

I followed the signs left into a field where a vet, my Dad, and a couple volunteers all waited. The first thing they said was that this was indeed the 12 mile stop, but that it was indeed more like 15 miles. My GPS agreed.

OK then, I thought, that stinks but at least this is the flyby and not the hold, so I didn't miss anything out on trail. How odd, a flyby in a field! I wonder why the vet is here, he must be doing on-trail observations.

Then someone solemnly announced that I was running overtime, and that after my hold time had passed I had better get some boogie in it. "What? What hold time? I thought this was the crew stop! This is the HOLD? Where is everyone?"

I had made a crucial mistake. Because I had studied the schedule for the 75 in such detail, I had only glanced at the schedule for the 100. I'd seen "Pit Crew #1" at 12 miles, and "Hold 1" at 18 miles, but I'd missed the fact that there was a 10-minute hold time listed for PC1. In my defense, though, I KNOW I'm not the only person who finds this ride's Hold Schedule really hard to understand. I don't know how I missed hearing it at the meeting, but I did.

During those 10 minutes, Laura, Bill, and Tom arrived. We very briefly exclaimed over having missed each other at the start; it turned out they had ridden together uphill on the road for a few minutes until everyone had left, then turned around and actually started. Lesson learned... make a firm plan about when/where to meet up at the start.

Ten scatterbrained minutes after arriving, I hauled myself back into the saddle and headed out. Zephyr had eaten and drunk well, but I had done neither. I had been focused on a couple of tack adjustments; other than that I honestly have no idea where the time went. I think I was shellshocked from discovering how far behind I truly was.

You see, the Open/Close times for all the Holds had been calculated based on a first leg of 12 miles... not 15... so our slow average speed at the start meant we were going to need to chase the closing times all day.

I boogied as much as I could for the next 6 miles, and arrived at Hold 1 ("Galaxy Hill") just 4 minutes before the closing time of 8:40 a.m. I was still so distracted that I didn't get him over to the vet for his pulse time as soon as I'm sure I could have; he was at 52 by the time I went over. I believe he vetted through with mostly As, but A- for impulsion/willingness. I remember asking Dad "Where's the awesome view? Management said the Galaxy Hill hold has a view so spectacular that everyone calls it The Sound of Music!" Dad shushed me and told me to eat something so I dropped the subject.

I waited 2 minutes past my out time so I could leave with Laura, Bill, and Tom. Again, because I hadn't studied the Hold Schedule well enough, I didn't realize the next leg was 24 miles. I must have thought it was 16 miles because that was the length of the first leg of the 75. We didn't really talk about it, either, as I recall. Finally, I had no idea that in that leg there were only 2 flybys. For some reason I expected a flyby roughly every 5 miles, certainly not any more than 10 miles apart.

We rode and rode, and rode some more. Sometimes we all rode together, sometimes it was just me and Tom, and sometimes it was just me and Laura with Tom ahead and Bill behind.

Zephyr had plenty of energy and tried hard to lead the way but Tom's horse would have none of it. I took this picture during one of the times Tom was ahead out of sight.

The next thing that really stands out in my mind is riding up a hill on a mowed path through a grassy field. Tom was ahead of me, Laura and Bill behind, and runners interspersed as always. The further up the hill I got, the more awesome the view became. (It was only after I returned home that I realized that THIS is the view they call "The Sound of Music". Management must have meant it was AFTER Galaxy Hill.)

It was "all butterflies and kittens" until I rode a few more feet and saw the way down. Yikes. I do not ride down hills that steep. I do not ski down them. I usually do not even walk down them. My gut instinct was to sit and scooch down on my bum! I'm sorry I don't have a picture but my hands were too busy shaking and my brain was too busy turning around and walking back the other way.

We all got off our horses to lead them down. Tom and Laura walked down fast and may have even jogged, while meanwhile poor Bill got stuck behind the freak who is scared absolutely stiff at the thought of even having to drive down a hill like this. He was very patient and truly "talked me down" just like the Ski Patrol does when you freeze up. I know. They've come for me before.

At the bottom, the pads of my feet were burning from slipping against the vinyl of my orthopedic insoles while my toes grabbed futilely for security in the dirt. I was a good sport though and we jogged behind Bill for a few yards before he and I both agreed it was time to mount up.

Bill and I caught up to Laura, who was having trouble with her horse's shoes (Epona, I think??). One of them had broken clean in half! She pulled an Easyboot on and continued on foot. Eventually she mounted again and we all rode together for a while. I think there was a flyby in there somewhere, I remember stopping at one while I was with Bill and Laura. She didn't stay long, but walked on ahead.

Bill and I left the flyby together having been told we had another obscene number of miles to go until Hold 2. I believe it was 12 miles. Keep in mind, I was still thinking this entire leg was only 16 miles. So I was hugely confused and discouraged to hear that the endless miles between Hold 1 and this flyby had added up to only FOUR MILES! For pete's sake, we had trotted a lot of it, so there COULDN'T still be 12 miles to go before Hold 2! I almost passed out from the shock of trying (and failing) to get the numbers to add up.

As I left, Dad told me that the next pit crew stop was about 4 miles down the trail, and he ordered me to hustle!

I think somehow I got ahead of both Bill and Laura, but I don't remember how. All I know is I did that 4 miles alone and seriously booked it. I think it may have been mostly woods trail, and if so, that would have helped. We just got in a zone, even to the point that we began ignoring the runners we passed unless I had to call ahead to tell them which side of the trail we would pass them on.

Leaving the second and last flyby on that leg, Dad told me Hold 2 was about 7 miles down the trail. Given the warped nature of time/distance that morning, it might as well have been 50. Still, we dug in.

Soon there was a nice shallow river crossing. It took some convincing before Zephyr would cross it; he just wanted to stand in the middle and play.

We were both doing reasonably well when we turned right at a Y where the left-hand side was named something along the lines of "Incredibly Steep Hill Road" ... and it headed straight up at a 90° angle to prove it... and the right-hand side was named something along the lines of "Frederick's Hill Road".

Frederick sounds like a nice well-mannered man, I thought, as I cackled to myself at not having to climb up Incredibly Steep Hill Road.

We went around a corner.

We climbed.

We went around a corner.

We climbed some more.

I got off to walk.

We went around a corner.

We climbed.

I stopped to rest.

You get the idea.

I would have sworn that hill was at least 4 miles long. After a while there was a house with a teenage girl in the driveway minding buckets of water for the horses. I thanked her profusely. She promised we were almost at the top.

We climbed some more.

You get the idea.

I think, although I'm not sure because I wasn't looking at my watch, that it may have taken us an hour to climb that hill. Runners passed us, but no horses although I know Bill and Laura were back there. (Turns out, Laura had stopped at the second flyby to replace the shoe. She's a farrier.) I heard later that it is exactly 2 miles long, and I doubt we averaged more than 2 mph going up it.

When we finally reached the top, I tried to get Zephyr to stand in the ditch so I could get on. He wasn't having it. After a moment a runner came by and I begged him to hold my stirrup. I was up. We were off.

By this point it had been probably 3 miles and well over an hour since Zephyr had seen another horse. He was pretty convinced that I had taken him on a well-desguised training ride. He's very lazy on training rides. It was all I could do to get him to trot slowly along behind a runner, and if that runner walked, Zephyr would too (in a most abrupt fashion that dug my GPS right into my tummy).

That's all well and good, but I was also getting funny readings from the heart rate monitor; it seemed as if his heart rate was spiking whenever we trotted. The problem was that I couldn't tell if those were real readings or not, I'd been having trouble with the Wearlink belt sliding back really far and I suspected the thin fabric may have been twisted under the saddle. No telling what effect that would have.

At this point, every runner we saw on trail asked if Zephyr was OK. They knew I'd struggled on the hill (although Zephyr hadn't) and that I didn't know whether the heart rate monitor was malfunctioning. I didn't really know what to say to them. I alternated between telling them "we're overtime, we're done" as we walked along, and spanking him up into a trot to see how he responded. I just couldn' t tell if I could believe the monitor readings. Every time I spanked him, I winced, wondering if the runners were judging me for urging forward a horse I didn't know was really OK.

Although I don't really remember specifics, we must have finally gotten into the groove. We were trotting steadily for a while before we got to Hold 2. Tom was still there, but was scheduled to leave just a few minutes after we arrived. We got there 30 minutes past the cutoff time but the vet informed me that management wasn't going to officially enforce Closing times until Hold 4.

However, he strongly suggested that I pull; he said the trail only got harder from there and we would need to drastically increase our average speed to make the Closing times. During the trot-out Zephyr showed further deterioration of willingness and impulsion... something that had been obvious to me on the trail... so that would have made an increase in speed difficult unless we had a horse to pace with.

I was overheated and drained... from not eating right (out of distraction over the seemingly distorted time/distance), from walking up that hill, and from having work so hard to encourage Zephyr to trot when he had no motivation of his own. It wasn't hard for the vet to convince me we didn't have a prayer of meeting cutoff times.

Dad and I were told we needed to wait until Laura and Bill came in, so they could be given the option of trailering their horses back to camp with Zephyr. I think they came in about 3:00. At first they wanted to continue on, and try to make up the time now that Laura's horse had its shoe back, but again the vet was influential in the decision. The trailer would only hold 2 horses, though, so they opted to ride their horses back to ridecamp to save the volunteer the trip.

As soon as the decision was made, I hustled Zephyr to the waiting trailer. I heard thunder in the distance and it was starting to rain; I hate thunder and I wanted to get him back to camp before all heck broke loose.

The volunteer trailer driver stopped at the top of the hill for me to unload. I grabbed Zephyr and ran down the hill as fast as I could under the blackening sky, with a sound and happy horse running beside me. As soon as I got him back to the trailer it began to rain. There were no other horses in camp and I was afraid he'd freak out during the storm, so I tried to load him on the trailer where I was sure he'd be safe. However, the step up was huge because the downhill (right) side of the trailer was on blocks, so he was uncharacteristically unwilling.

I quickly pulled out his rain sheet, put it on him, and led him to his pen. Before I went in, though, it began to rain harder. The wind was picking up and the thunder was getting closer. Camp was so deserted I could practically see tumbleweeds blowing through. Scared for him, I resolved to load him on that trailer if it killed me.

Lucky for me, the rider "next door" came in for her first in-camp Hold just then. She offered to help and at first I turned her down, but she had the good sense to just take the lead rope despite my protests that he would NOT get on that trailer if there was someone in there ahead of him. She hopped on, I tapped his hip, he hopped on and stood quietly while she snuck out next to him. YAY! Thanks Becky Cahill!

He was still wearing his rain sheet but my first priority was to get his hay bag out of the truck. As I was doing so, the wind at my back picked up so strongly and quickly that it knocked my breath from me. Suddenly I realized it wasn't just cold, it hurt! Dime-sized hail was striking me at somewhere around 50 mph!

Before a full second passed I was totally and completely soaked and freezing from the inside out. Becky huddled with her horse inside her open-sided stock trailer. I struggled to get the hay bag in through the open trailer window while Zephyr was trying just as hard to stick his head out through it to see what was going on. When I finished with the hay bag, I walked around behind the trailer to shut the door, just in time to see a tent and a folding canopy go careening end-over-end through several horse corrals, including the one right next to Zephyr's. Dad, meanwhile, was sitting in the truck watching two 50-mile riders come in to the trailer on the other side of me for their hold time. He said later that it was amazing to watch; they just went about their business.

As soon as I got into the dressing room I peeled off my dripping clothes and toweled dry. I was standing there buck naked when I heard a loud bang. The wind had shifted 180° the other direction and had blown open the side escape door into the horse area. In the few seconds it took me to jump into dry clothes, the entire inside of the front stall got soaked! And of course after I went out there to shut the door, my dry clothes were no longer dry.

After I changed (again) I just laid down and rested for about 3 hours, then got up and Dad and I rebuilt Zephyr's fence so he could get off the trailer. Dad had unloaded the gear from the truck onto the ground, so I loaded it into the trailer. Dad was in bed by 8:00 so I went up to the big tent to chat with the vets and management, and watch the first two 100-milers vet in. (It was around 8:30 when they finished... I would have MAYBE been within a few miles of Hold 4 if I'd still been out there.)

On Sunday morning we left camp at around 9:45, but we had to stop for gas and breakfast sandwiches (there were none, we had to get tuna). I didn't drop Dad off until 3:00, and got home around 5:30 or so. I went straight to bed... after unloading and feeding Zephyr of course. He was fine, in high spirits with plenty of energy. The new farrier did a good job and the shoes stayed on great. The interference boots did the trick too. All is well.

Now that I'm sitting at home, well-rested and with a few days' perspective, I have to wonder whether maybe we should have continued on. Here's my analysis:

At the decision point, it was 2:00 p.m. and we were at Mile 42 with a 45-minute hold awaiting us. The five 75-mile horses had already come and gone from Hold 2 and were somewhere on the trail ahead of us; the 50-mile horses were at the start line.

The first 42 miles had taken us 8 hours and 20 minutes' ride time, including the few minutes spent at flybys but not including the 40 minutes of hold time, for an average speed of around 5 mph not including the holds.

There was an 18-mile leg from Hold 2 (at 42 miles) to Hold 3 (at 60 miles). If we had left Hold 2 at 2:50 and been able to increase our average speed to 6 mph, it would have taken 3 hours... which would have meant arriving at Hold 3 just before 6:00 p.m. for our 60-minute hold time. The suggested Closing time (which wouldn't be enforced) was 6:00 p.m. We wouldn't have left Hold 3 until around 7:00 p.m.

The 50-milers don't join up with the 100-mile trail until Hold 4 (at 70 miles) and their Closing time for Hold 4 was 7:00! (Closing times are different for the 50s vs. the 75s and 100s.) So the 50-milers would have all come and gone by the time we arrived, and there would have been no chance of seeing them on trail or at the hold. Unless Laura and Bill had caught up, Zephyr would have continued to be the only horse on the trail. We would have had to continue pacing off the runners.

The closing time for Hold 4 was 9:00. At that point, management would begin to enforce the Closing times. We would have needed to cover that 18 mile leg in only 2 hours; we would have needed an average speed of 9 mph to make it.

So, as much as it still pains me, it seems that I made the right decision.

Will there be a next time? Maybe. I'd do a few things differently.

First, I'd pick a flatter ride even if it is a few weeks earlier in the ride season. Heat and humidity are one thing, but add in mountains and it's just too much of a drain on both of us... at least for a first 100.

Second, I'd find a mentor ahead of time who is an experienced 100-mile rider AND familiar with that particular trail AND willing to shepherd me through the whole thing. I'd completely forgotten what it's like to ride at the back of the pack and not be able to count on leapfrogging with other horses to keep Zephyr motivated. I've gotten used to running somewhere near the front and just occasionally hooking up with riding partners but not having one person by my side all day. I guess it would be OK to let ourselves be a little dependent when trying to get through a first 100.

Third, I'd beg/borrow/steal an experienced crew member, hopefully who is experienced in crewing specifically for 100-mile rides. (There's apparently an art to pacing that is different than 50-milers, and I need all the help I can get.) Dad was great, he really got into his job, but he still had to ask me what Zephyr needed. I did NOT eat enough, though it wasn't Dad's fault. I just need someone who can just take my horse away to deal with him themselves, then push me into a chair in front of a wide selection of tasty tidbits to tempt my troubled tummy.

Fourth and most definitely NOT least, if I decide to pursue this dream, I need to make a mental commitment to condition more. Not just go out and ride a nice moderate speed/difficulty loop, but actually make an effort to seek out hills and force Zephyr to perform a quality cardio workout despite his somewhat lazy-when-alone nature.

So, given that the only two 100s within reasonable driving distance of home are Pine Tree and Vermont, it seems that IF I decide to do this again soon, Pine Tree will probably be my next attempt. 2009? We'll see how Changes 1-4 shape up.

Next up? I wish I could make it to Western Maine for a 50 or two, but I promised hubby I'd be home for the next few weekends. So instead, next it's a 2-day 50 at The 'Burbs CTR on August 23-24. Then nothing in September (going to a wedding in NJ), and in early October the Maine 100 (a 3-day 100 CTR).

After that, we'll be done competing till next May. If I want to do the 2009 Pine Tree 100 I should definitely aim for the May 2009 Bare Bones 50 as a warmup. Otherwise I can get by with the Brown Bag 25 CTR that same weekend. We'll just have to wait and see what winter training looks like.