Shawneesunrisefarm Blog - Full Story
Posted on March 29, 2012 by Keith Kibler
Red Barn Run 2012
We love riding and competing in endurance races in the South. The folks, as a group, are friendly and genuinely glad to see new comers. The vets are used to seeing alternative breeds other than Arabians.
The location of the ride is Chester GA. It is so tiny that it could be a suburb of Mayberry. It has the claim to fame of having been the home town of Pretty Boy Floyd. I mean the famous criminal, not the speed racking horse. It seems that Floyd left town for greener pastures. In a classic southern tradition not unlike direction advice that starts with, “turn where the tavern used to be”, the ride is named after a red barn that is no longer on the property.
The ride site is owned by the Perry family. They own all 4000 acres of the ride site, and this ride is the only time the family place is open to the public. Camping is great but rustic. There is a water spigot and you have to haul water back to your trailer. The Perry’s own an off site winery, and they offer wine and wonderful concoctions they call “slushies” that many women, including my wife Sandy, loved. Both the Friday and Saturday evenings were catered as a part of the ride fee. Friday night was barbecue chicken and Saturday night featured barbecue ribs.
The Perry’s are great folks and they turn the dinners into a Mayberry- like impromptu skits where they end up making fun of their relatives or friends. The top awards feature things like hand-made wooden giant rocking chairs and mounting blocks. The vets included Otis Schmitt, Ken Marcella and Dee Dee Huff. Each of the 4 rides had about 60 entries. The trails are flat, fast and often a bit sandy. Each road crossing is manned and the crossing guards are usually the Chester volunteer fire department or friends of the Perrys. This is one of our favorite rides and I urge you to try it.
It is always great to see the Angie McGee family, Joe Schoech, and the other SE riders. We had to haul 11 hours to get there and that means getting up at 3:30 am. My plan was to ride my sweet heart twh mare Kate both days, and take the twh Jazz as my back up. Sandy took one of her twh mares Cheyenne. I loaded the horses in the dark and off we went. Shortly after leaving, the dash cluster on our 2007 Ford diesel 250 went dark and the gauges went dead and the battery light came on. The motor did not die and when the gas pedal was tapped, the power came back on. This happened on and off for the whole trip. It meant you could not really listen to the radio and required us to go to a “happy place” as we drove.
We got to Southern Ga. no worse for wear and set up in a cotton field. While unloading the horses, Sandy happened to mention that I had brought Savanah instead of Jazz as my backup. Oops. I loaded the wrong black horse in the dark. So, we brought the wrong coggins and travel permits. That will teach me to go to bed earlier...
Read more here:
http://shawneesunrisefarm.net/wordpress/?p=259
Friday, March 30, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
2012 H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan 6th Annual Equestrian Festival - Michelle Mattingly
This is an equestrian event not to be missed. It is an unbelievable event with much to offer for everyone. We even attended with our 15 month old son and had an absolutely fabulous time. It is truly a celebration of the Arabian horse within the UAE heritage. This magnificent festival reminds you how honored and privileged we are to be able to ride such an exquisite animal.
The festival was from March 1 - 10 and included the World Arabian Breeders Challenge, Riding show classes, Dressage, Equestrian Games for under 10 years, and a fantastic variety of Endurance races and Show Jumping.
The weather was fantastic!! Next time you are looking for a beach vacation consider Abu Dhabi, as there are beaches, city life and equestrian events to enjoy!! Not to mention lots of endurance racing. The camel races are something to experience as well. It is an amazing experience. It gives you more of an understanding how driving alongside your endurance rider may have begun.
The camel races begin with a mass start (the starting area can accommodate up to 80 camels). The gate lifted and approximately 30 camels blasted full speed (up to 40km/hr) out from behind the gate. They are all controlled by electronic jockeys (no live persons). As the camels gallop down the track the owners and spectators alike race along the track fence in their car enjoying the race up close. It is a real thrill.
We went around the track for several races and then enjoyed another option for watching. With this option you can enjoy the races from your car on a large drive-in movie theater screen, while viewing the camels, which are followed by a camera! A great treat with this option is enjoying Arabic tea or coffee served by Arabic men directly to your car window. There is also a grandstand where spectators may watch.
Unfortunately, we missed a highlight I was personally looking forward to and that was the Arabian racing at the track. This was something to be seen, but for such an intense trip I am not too disappointed as that was the only event we had to miss. Never wake a sleeping baby, right?
Boutheib International Endurance Village is spectacular. There was an exhibition with booths of the Arabian heritage, the Royal Family, UAE wildlife, tack shops and much more. As guests of H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan we were honored and privileged enough to be able to personally meet him. He is so incredibly kind. He had us treated like royalty. The endurance races are incredibly easy to spectate. The vet gate, the sheltered crew areas and finish and start are all in one area making it possible to see absolutely everything. The horses are amazingly fit, they go at great speeds and look fantastic at the end. The trainers and riders over here do this full time and it shows!
In the dining Tent the meals were sensational and served with a tremendous amount of gold and beautiful china. The tables are all immaculately decorated and everything is set upon gorgeous Arabic rugs. There are even wall murals hung around the royal table. The royal table is in a gigantic C shape with H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the center and his royal entourage and personal guests around him. The room is also filled with many circular tables to accommodate many, many more. The food is incredible with hors d'oeuvres too pretty to eat, main dishes of lobster, several different kinds of fish, traditional Arabic chicken and too many salads to even mention and then of course dessert. A meal truly fit for a King.
The show jumping was also exhilarating to see. H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan's son is an excellent jumper. The enormous indoor arena held the show where some excellent jumpers were shown. Their riders guided through a tough course of jumps against the clock. The footing was something to note. There was no dust. It consisted of sand with other synthetic materials and it appeared to make very superior footing.
HH Shk Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan 6th Annual Equestrian Festival
We were lucky enough to receive a guided tour through Wrsan stables. This is something we will also never forget or for that matter probably ever see anything greater. The entrance is heavily guarded and rightfully so. Upon entrance one can see that the desert area has been turned into a wildlife and horse paradise that is so beautiful and incredible to see it will be in your memory forever. The flower and greenery gardens are breathtaking as you drive through the grounds. We visited the breeding stables first. The horses all enjoy lush green paddocks and air conditioned stables when needed. Each stable also has a built in natural air conditioner. Quite interesting to see, it works by natural airflow and is quite cooling. I stood under it in front of the famous Monarch AH's stall and could feel probably a 5 - 10 degree difference in temperature. By the way, the stalls are really like indoor paddocks they are so huge. A wonderful place to be a horse. Miss Deirdre Hyde had a most impressive parade of horses for us to view. We saw the most famous and beautiful Arabians from around the world. A few of this and last year's wonderful foals were also shown. It was unreal.
The endurance and race stables were just as amazing. The facilities were absolutely the most fantastic training facilities one could ever dream (a trainer's dream)! There was the swim training pool, the underwater treadmill, the outdoor exercisers (one even air conditioned), the indoor arena, the impeccably man-made groomed mountain and 5k trail for the endurance horses with man made hills and the most unbelievable training track you will ever see. There was even an graded incline dirt track approximately 3/4 mile long. The training track is about 2 miles with an additional mile of turf and dirt training tracks also attached. Absolutely unbelievable unless you see it.
The falcon building is another sight to be seen. This is like a super dome just for training the falcons. Really spectacular! The falcons definitely live in luxury like the horses. There is 24 hour surveillance over the hatchery for these very difficult birds to breed. In the entrance of the super dome is a museum of the falcon quite interesting to see. There are also exotic wildlife areas throughout the property. Your eyes just grow bigger and bigger, there is just so much to see.
The hospitality and kindness is a wonderful experience and nearly everyone speaks English. The road signs are all in Arabic and English. It is a very friendly city. We cannot thank H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan enough for this remarkable experience.
Michelle Mattingly
The festival was from March 1 - 10 and included the World Arabian Breeders Challenge, Riding show classes, Dressage, Equestrian Games for under 10 years, and a fantastic variety of Endurance races and Show Jumping.
The weather was fantastic!! Next time you are looking for a beach vacation consider Abu Dhabi, as there are beaches, city life and equestrian events to enjoy!! Not to mention lots of endurance racing. The camel races are something to experience as well. It is an amazing experience. It gives you more of an understanding how driving alongside your endurance rider may have begun.
The camel races begin with a mass start (the starting area can accommodate up to 80 camels). The gate lifted and approximately 30 camels blasted full speed (up to 40km/hr) out from behind the gate. They are all controlled by electronic jockeys (no live persons). As the camels gallop down the track the owners and spectators alike race along the track fence in their car enjoying the race up close. It is a real thrill.
We went around the track for several races and then enjoyed another option for watching. With this option you can enjoy the races from your car on a large drive-in movie theater screen, while viewing the camels, which are followed by a camera! A great treat with this option is enjoying Arabic tea or coffee served by Arabic men directly to your car window. There is also a grandstand where spectators may watch.
Unfortunately, we missed a highlight I was personally looking forward to and that was the Arabian racing at the track. This was something to be seen, but for such an intense trip I am not too disappointed as that was the only event we had to miss. Never wake a sleeping baby, right?
Boutheib International Endurance Village is spectacular. There was an exhibition with booths of the Arabian heritage, the Royal Family, UAE wildlife, tack shops and much more. As guests of H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan we were honored and privileged enough to be able to personally meet him. He is so incredibly kind. He had us treated like royalty. The endurance races are incredibly easy to spectate. The vet gate, the sheltered crew areas and finish and start are all in one area making it possible to see absolutely everything. The horses are amazingly fit, they go at great speeds and look fantastic at the end. The trainers and riders over here do this full time and it shows!
In the dining Tent the meals were sensational and served with a tremendous amount of gold and beautiful china. The tables are all immaculately decorated and everything is set upon gorgeous Arabic rugs. There are even wall murals hung around the royal table. The royal table is in a gigantic C shape with H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the center and his royal entourage and personal guests around him. The room is also filled with many circular tables to accommodate many, many more. The food is incredible with hors d'oeuvres too pretty to eat, main dishes of lobster, several different kinds of fish, traditional Arabic chicken and too many salads to even mention and then of course dessert. A meal truly fit for a King.
The show jumping was also exhilarating to see. H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan's son is an excellent jumper. The enormous indoor arena held the show where some excellent jumpers were shown. Their riders guided through a tough course of jumps against the clock. The footing was something to note. There was no dust. It consisted of sand with other synthetic materials and it appeared to make very superior footing.
HH Shk Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan 6th Annual Equestrian Festival
We were lucky enough to receive a guided tour through Wrsan stables. This is something we will also never forget or for that matter probably ever see anything greater. The entrance is heavily guarded and rightfully so. Upon entrance one can see that the desert area has been turned into a wildlife and horse paradise that is so beautiful and incredible to see it will be in your memory forever. The flower and greenery gardens are breathtaking as you drive through the grounds. We visited the breeding stables first. The horses all enjoy lush green paddocks and air conditioned stables when needed. Each stable also has a built in natural air conditioner. Quite interesting to see, it works by natural airflow and is quite cooling. I stood under it in front of the famous Monarch AH's stall and could feel probably a 5 - 10 degree difference in temperature. By the way, the stalls are really like indoor paddocks they are so huge. A wonderful place to be a horse. Miss Deirdre Hyde had a most impressive parade of horses for us to view. We saw the most famous and beautiful Arabians from around the world. A few of this and last year's wonderful foals were also shown. It was unreal.
The endurance and race stables were just as amazing. The facilities were absolutely the most fantastic training facilities one could ever dream (a trainer's dream)! There was the swim training pool, the underwater treadmill, the outdoor exercisers (one even air conditioned), the indoor arena, the impeccably man-made groomed mountain and 5k trail for the endurance horses with man made hills and the most unbelievable training track you will ever see. There was even an graded incline dirt track approximately 3/4 mile long. The training track is about 2 miles with an additional mile of turf and dirt training tracks also attached. Absolutely unbelievable unless you see it.
The falcon building is another sight to be seen. This is like a super dome just for training the falcons. Really spectacular! The falcons definitely live in luxury like the horses. There is 24 hour surveillance over the hatchery for these very difficult birds to breed. In the entrance of the super dome is a museum of the falcon quite interesting to see. There are also exotic wildlife areas throughout the property. Your eyes just grow bigger and bigger, there is just so much to see.
The hospitality and kindness is a wonderful experience and nearly everyone speaks English. The road signs are all in Arabic and English. It is a very friendly city. We cannot thank H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan enough for this remarkable experience.
Michelle Mattingly
Monday, March 05, 2012
Fun In The Sun...Or Fun Melting in the Heat! - Heather Reynolds
Sunday, 04 March 2012
We went to the FITS ride this weekend. It is really great as it is only 20 mins down the road and it is three days of super well marked FEI racing.
On Wed night we headed over to the ride with the two horses that we would be riding on day one on Thursday. Cleo was slated to do all three days so that on day 3 she would be qualified for her FEI 1*. Bailey was the horse that I would ride on day 1.
We vetted in and said hello to a few people. Bailey and Cleo settled in at camp, they were obviously old campaigners by now, after all this was their 2nd ride!
It was SUPER hot and humid on Wed. It would have been a dreadful day to be racing. It was in the high 80's and was 91 percent humidity.
Thursday was foggy and warm. It was another hot humid day. Both horses did well and completed the ride, they ended up 13th and 14th.
After the ride the Donley's were in camp waiting for us. We took care of the two horses then we drove home to feed all of our other horses and to pick up Marvel and Chanses for day 2. They would be doing their first 2*...
Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/?y=2012&m=3
We went to the FITS ride this weekend. It is really great as it is only 20 mins down the road and it is three days of super well marked FEI racing.
On Wed night we headed over to the ride with the two horses that we would be riding on day one on Thursday. Cleo was slated to do all three days so that on day 3 she would be qualified for her FEI 1*. Bailey was the horse that I would ride on day 1.
We vetted in and said hello to a few people. Bailey and Cleo settled in at camp, they were obviously old campaigners by now, after all this was their 2nd ride!
It was SUPER hot and humid on Wed. It would have been a dreadful day to be racing. It was in the high 80's and was 91 percent humidity.
Thursday was foggy and warm. It was another hot humid day. Both horses did well and completed the ride, they ended up 13th and 14th.
After the ride the Donley's were in camp waiting for us. We took care of the two horses then we drove home to feed all of our other horses and to pick up Marvel and Chanses for day 2. They would be doing their first 2*...
Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/?y=2012&m=3
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Blazing Saddles - Jody Buttram
February 27 2012
Well, back from Blazing Saddles endurance ride in Laurel, MS. Ride management of Jack and Terry Price…..and just happens to be my favorite ride. But I think I have mentioned that before. Seems that this was a weekend from truck troubles, started with me, then spread to Angie McGhee and then on to Peggy Clark, both had issues on their way home. Joni and I were on schedule to pull into camp on Thursday, evening about 6:30pm. A little over an hour away, just hitting Meridian, MS we hear a popping sound under the hood, then a flapping, then smell burned rubber. The battery light goes on immediately, and I told Joni, we’re screwed. Started watching the gauges, not running hot, nothing looked off, but we know there is something wrong. When you drive a truck that is literally 24 yrs. old, my ’88 F-350, fondling referred to as “the old grey dinosaur”….I suppose you can expect something to go wrong. But, this old girl has been a good one, with right at 200,000 miles (yes, that’s right) it has had very little in repairs over the years. And more than once, I have passed way nicer/newer trucks broke down. But anyway, we go about 2 miles, and get off the interstate at a gas station, coming down the exit ramp, I find out we have NO brakes. YIKES. Standing on the brake, I get it stopped, pull into the gas station and start calling Joel. He DOESN’T answer the phone….repeatedly. Say some bad words (just a few), Joni calls her boyfriend, Hunter Burden, and I talked to his daddy. Yep, it was the alternator and the belt. I asked the nice guy in the station where an Autozone or something was, he tells me there is one only 1 mile from us. What luck !!!! So we drive very slowly to the Advanced Auto Parts, and pull in and park. I go inside and this really super nice guy, named Mark, comes out looks and he starts calling us a mechanic. We sit and wait, and I am beginning to wonder if it can be fixed that night, it was 6:00pm by then. He comes back out and informs us that the mechanic is out of town, but he knows another one. Turns out the second mechanic a really nice man from Panama can come look at it. So, then I start trying to call camp, thinking I may need someone to come gets us if we have to leave the truck overnight….and by the way, we were in like the worst part of town. The minute I pulled in, a homeless guy hit me up for money, to which I said, “Look, I need all I have to get my truck fixed…sorry”. Second thought, I should have given him a sandwich from the trailer. My bad. We counted 6 ambulances, and 3 cop cars, all with sirens going while we waited. Lots of “bad looking people” walking past too.
I had started trying to call camp, to find ANYONE that could help us. I tried Terry Price, no cell service, I tried Samm Bartee, nothing, but did leave her a message, I tried Fred Myers, nothing, I tried Steve Huffman, nothing, we had the computer with us, so I got on there and was trying to remember who would be in camp on Thursday, I thought of Mike Everett, looked up his number from the AERC page, and called him. YEAH!!!! He answered !!! I told him I needed him to do me a big favor and that if he could go find Mr. Steve (Huffman) I needed to talk to him because we were broke down. He did, and Steve called us back, and was kind enough to unhook and drive 70 miles to come help out. About the time he got there the mechanic did too. What a nice guy this mechanic was, he was the most jolly little, happy man, he even dragged his wife out who was on bed rest, and 9 weeks from having twins. Very sweet folks. Turns out that the parts place didn’t have an alternator for my truck, and the plan was: A. rebuild the one I had, and B. order one that would be there that evening (Friday at 4:30). Ok, that means leaving my truck in the ghetto overnight. So, now, we have to unhook my trailer, and move all my stuff that was on the bed of the truck into Steve’s truck and hook to his truck. And when I say move all the stuff, the word from the parts folks was, “If you want to have it in the morning, you better take it with you”. Spare tire included, empty my tool box under the bed, etc. So, the sweet little mechanic jumped in and helped us transfer all the stuff. Got ready to go, I had an adaptor for the lights, yes, LIGHTS !!! Started to pull off….brakes lock on the trailer. Well, Joni and I had this problem before when we pulled my trailer with another truck, so NO lights. On the way to camp, we passed about 3 cops on the interstate….good thing they were hungry for tickets. Whewww.
We get into camp about 11:30 pm or midnight, and there sits Fred Myers, Alice Smith, Benny, Alice’s right hand man, and Jana Smith. They all had waited on us to get there and then jumped in to help set us up, I didn’t have any water, because my barrel was on the truck …inMeridian. Alice gave the horses water, and tucked them in and was ready for bed at about 1 am. Next morning, I get a call from the mechanic, we’re in luck, the guy that re-builds alternators, has one that is re-built already and will fit my truck, so it will be fixed in a hour or so. He calls me a while later, and it’s ready to come get. Yeah, but now I have a problem of no cash really to pay him. I had $110, and the bill was $291. So, I walked over to Suzanne Solis’ trailer and Cindy Young, I tell them that I have some cash on it’s way, but if they had some could I borrow it for a few hours. Boy, endurance people are the BEST. Suzanne shelled out $120 and Cindy finished up what I needed, $80. I had $300 and was ready to go get my truck. Good ole Mr. Steve again was willing to haul me back to get my truck, I did put gas in his truck (to which he protested, but I won). Got my truck, got it back to camp….ALL was well now. Keith Kibler told me I should’ve asked him for the money and he would have given me whatever I needed. Again, another super nice endurance friend. I really do love these people, they are all there if you need them in a pinch. Mr. Steve has pulled my butt out of a crack or creek more than once, and he was rewarded with a nice chair from Jana Smith at the awards, in honor of Stephanie Waddington for his good deeds. I’d say he earned it this past weekend.
As far as the ride went, Mr. Marty, the most loved horse did an easy 50, completed with nothing but A’s on his card and was so cute sleeping in his hay nest and eating hay that night. Storme, aka the Lame horse, looked great all day in the 100, was pulled at 85 miles for the same thing that seems to be her nemesis. Left, rear lame. I spent some time talking to Dr. Dee Dee, and she and I kicked around that maybe she has some chiro issue there. So, the next morning, I had Dr. Ike Nelson (who does Marty’s chiro work) work on both of them…BTW, she was sound then. Turns out her RT front shoulder was really jammed up. He seems to think that she is compensating for the shoulder and causing the issue in the rear….and that she can be FIXED !!!! Wonderful, because she was really on her game.
This is the best ride, best management, best trails, BEST food !!!!, Best vets, people…everything. Thanks to everyone who helped put it on, and to everyone that helped me and Joni out this weekend. Endurance is the BEST !!!!
Jody
Well, back from Blazing Saddles endurance ride in Laurel, MS. Ride management of Jack and Terry Price…..and just happens to be my favorite ride. But I think I have mentioned that before. Seems that this was a weekend from truck troubles, started with me, then spread to Angie McGhee and then on to Peggy Clark, both had issues on their way home. Joni and I were on schedule to pull into camp on Thursday, evening about 6:30pm. A little over an hour away, just hitting Meridian, MS we hear a popping sound under the hood, then a flapping, then smell burned rubber. The battery light goes on immediately, and I told Joni, we’re screwed. Started watching the gauges, not running hot, nothing looked off, but we know there is something wrong. When you drive a truck that is literally 24 yrs. old, my ’88 F-350, fondling referred to as “the old grey dinosaur”….I suppose you can expect something to go wrong. But, this old girl has been a good one, with right at 200,000 miles (yes, that’s right) it has had very little in repairs over the years. And more than once, I have passed way nicer/newer trucks broke down. But anyway, we go about 2 miles, and get off the interstate at a gas station, coming down the exit ramp, I find out we have NO brakes. YIKES. Standing on the brake, I get it stopped, pull into the gas station and start calling Joel. He DOESN’T answer the phone….repeatedly. Say some bad words (just a few), Joni calls her boyfriend, Hunter Burden, and I talked to his daddy. Yep, it was the alternator and the belt. I asked the nice guy in the station where an Autozone or something was, he tells me there is one only 1 mile from us. What luck !!!! So we drive very slowly to the Advanced Auto Parts, and pull in and park. I go inside and this really super nice guy, named Mark, comes out looks and he starts calling us a mechanic. We sit and wait, and I am beginning to wonder if it can be fixed that night, it was 6:00pm by then. He comes back out and informs us that the mechanic is out of town, but he knows another one. Turns out the second mechanic a really nice man from Panama can come look at it. So, then I start trying to call camp, thinking I may need someone to come gets us if we have to leave the truck overnight….and by the way, we were in like the worst part of town. The minute I pulled in, a homeless guy hit me up for money, to which I said, “Look, I need all I have to get my truck fixed…sorry”. Second thought, I should have given him a sandwich from the trailer. My bad. We counted 6 ambulances, and 3 cop cars, all with sirens going while we waited. Lots of “bad looking people” walking past too.
I had started trying to call camp, to find ANYONE that could help us. I tried Terry Price, no cell service, I tried Samm Bartee, nothing, but did leave her a message, I tried Fred Myers, nothing, I tried Steve Huffman, nothing, we had the computer with us, so I got on there and was trying to remember who would be in camp on Thursday, I thought of Mike Everett, looked up his number from the AERC page, and called him. YEAH!!!! He answered !!! I told him I needed him to do me a big favor and that if he could go find Mr. Steve (Huffman) I needed to talk to him because we were broke down. He did, and Steve called us back, and was kind enough to unhook and drive 70 miles to come help out. About the time he got there the mechanic did too. What a nice guy this mechanic was, he was the most jolly little, happy man, he even dragged his wife out who was on bed rest, and 9 weeks from having twins. Very sweet folks. Turns out that the parts place didn’t have an alternator for my truck, and the plan was: A. rebuild the one I had, and B. order one that would be there that evening (Friday at 4:30). Ok, that means leaving my truck in the ghetto overnight. So, now, we have to unhook my trailer, and move all my stuff that was on the bed of the truck into Steve’s truck and hook to his truck. And when I say move all the stuff, the word from the parts folks was, “If you want to have it in the morning, you better take it with you”. Spare tire included, empty my tool box under the bed, etc. So, the sweet little mechanic jumped in and helped us transfer all the stuff. Got ready to go, I had an adaptor for the lights, yes, LIGHTS !!! Started to pull off….brakes lock on the trailer. Well, Joni and I had this problem before when we pulled my trailer with another truck, so NO lights. On the way to camp, we passed about 3 cops on the interstate….good thing they were hungry for tickets. Whewww.
We get into camp about 11:30 pm or midnight, and there sits Fred Myers, Alice Smith, Benny, Alice’s right hand man, and Jana Smith. They all had waited on us to get there and then jumped in to help set us up, I didn’t have any water, because my barrel was on the truck …inMeridian. Alice gave the horses water, and tucked them in and was ready for bed at about 1 am. Next morning, I get a call from the mechanic, we’re in luck, the guy that re-builds alternators, has one that is re-built already and will fit my truck, so it will be fixed in a hour or so. He calls me a while later, and it’s ready to come get. Yeah, but now I have a problem of no cash really to pay him. I had $110, and the bill was $291. So, I walked over to Suzanne Solis’ trailer and Cindy Young, I tell them that I have some cash on it’s way, but if they had some could I borrow it for a few hours. Boy, endurance people are the BEST. Suzanne shelled out $120 and Cindy finished up what I needed, $80. I had $300 and was ready to go get my truck. Good ole Mr. Steve again was willing to haul me back to get my truck, I did put gas in his truck (to which he protested, but I won). Got my truck, got it back to camp….ALL was well now. Keith Kibler told me I should’ve asked him for the money and he would have given me whatever I needed. Again, another super nice endurance friend. I really do love these people, they are all there if you need them in a pinch. Mr. Steve has pulled my butt out of a crack or creek more than once, and he was rewarded with a nice chair from Jana Smith at the awards, in honor of Stephanie Waddington for his good deeds. I’d say he earned it this past weekend.
As far as the ride went, Mr. Marty, the most loved horse did an easy 50, completed with nothing but A’s on his card and was so cute sleeping in his hay nest and eating hay that night. Storme, aka the Lame horse, looked great all day in the 100, was pulled at 85 miles for the same thing that seems to be her nemesis. Left, rear lame. I spent some time talking to Dr. Dee Dee, and she and I kicked around that maybe she has some chiro issue there. So, the next morning, I had Dr. Ike Nelson (who does Marty’s chiro work) work on both of them…BTW, she was sound then. Turns out her RT front shoulder was really jammed up. He seems to think that she is compensating for the shoulder and causing the issue in the rear….and that she can be FIXED !!!! Wonderful, because she was really on her game.
This is the best ride, best management, best trails, BEST food !!!!, Best vets, people…everything. Thanks to everyone who helped put it on, and to everyone that helped me and Joni out this weekend. Endurance is the BEST !!!!
Jody
Blazing Saddles - Keith Kibler
Shawneesunrisefarm.net - Full Story
Posted on February 28, 2012 by Keith Kibler
Early spring is too cold in the Midwest for rides and summer is too hot. So, Sandy and I have to travel. I have a 500 mile limit for Drs. Otis Schimtt, Dee Dee Huff and Ken Marcella. This ride was right at 500 miles and offered both Otis Schmitt and Dee Dee Huff.
It is also the only ride out of 15 that my twh mare Kate had not finished. Last year, I did a rider option at mile 85 due to a look in her eye and have been thinking about it. I know I did the right thing but I still think about it. I love my little 874 lb. Kate but she is the most challenging gaited horse to ride that I have owned or ridden. She is also the only horse I have ever ridden that gets stronger after 40 miles into a ride.
I can call this girl and she will leave the mare herd and come to me and kiss me. She may think I am her food slave but I fancy that she loves me and I sure do love her. Sandy wanted to ride (one of her) favorite Missouri Foxtrotter mares, Savanah, in the mare’s second 50 mile ride. So, off we go to southern Mississippi.
Naturally, we had truck problems. In the past we have blown trailer tires on trips. This time I replaced two extremely expensive truck tires before we left so I thought we were good. When, just into Kentucky, the engine light came on. Now, I had $ 8,000 of warranty work done on this truck in the last year and thought it was good to go. I was wrong. We pulled into a Ford dealership and they said it was just an EGR valve and I could keep going until I got home. 100 miles later it started surging. Okay, that gets your attention. Then, the entire dash cluster started going dead and shutting off completely. This was definitely starting out interesting. We prayed, drove on and prayed some more.
We finally got to Laurel, met Terry Price and parked. We looked for my friend Jody Rogers-Buttram but learned she had broken down too. My buddy Paul Sidio showed up. My endurance friends are an important part of my life and although I don’t get to see them often, I sure enjoy running into them as gypsy vagabonds with these horses we love. Some of my friends and fellow competitors and characters that showed up included Paul, Steve Huff, Jody Rogers-Buttram, Angie McGhee and Lucy Estabrook.
Sandy got the horses looking great with a spiffy weave into both of their manes. I am so proud of Sandy. She is my hero. Most women of her age would have retired to the couch with her physical challenges long ago. She will not go quietly into the night...
Read more here:
http://shawneesunrisefarm.net/wordpress/?p=236
Posted on February 28, 2012 by Keith Kibler
Early spring is too cold in the Midwest for rides and summer is too hot. So, Sandy and I have to travel. I have a 500 mile limit for Drs. Otis Schimtt, Dee Dee Huff and Ken Marcella. This ride was right at 500 miles and offered both Otis Schmitt and Dee Dee Huff.
It is also the only ride out of 15 that my twh mare Kate had not finished. Last year, I did a rider option at mile 85 due to a look in her eye and have been thinking about it. I know I did the right thing but I still think about it. I love my little 874 lb. Kate but she is the most challenging gaited horse to ride that I have owned or ridden. She is also the only horse I have ever ridden that gets stronger after 40 miles into a ride.
I can call this girl and she will leave the mare herd and come to me and kiss me. She may think I am her food slave but I fancy that she loves me and I sure do love her. Sandy wanted to ride (one of her) favorite Missouri Foxtrotter mares, Savanah, in the mare’s second 50 mile ride. So, off we go to southern Mississippi.
Naturally, we had truck problems. In the past we have blown trailer tires on trips. This time I replaced two extremely expensive truck tires before we left so I thought we were good. When, just into Kentucky, the engine light came on. Now, I had $ 8,000 of warranty work done on this truck in the last year and thought it was good to go. I was wrong. We pulled into a Ford dealership and they said it was just an EGR valve and I could keep going until I got home. 100 miles later it started surging. Okay, that gets your attention. Then, the entire dash cluster started going dead and shutting off completely. This was definitely starting out interesting. We prayed, drove on and prayed some more.
We finally got to Laurel, met Terry Price and parked. We looked for my friend Jody Rogers-Buttram but learned she had broken down too. My buddy Paul Sidio showed up. My endurance friends are an important part of my life and although I don’t get to see them often, I sure enjoy running into them as gypsy vagabonds with these horses we love. Some of my friends and fellow competitors and characters that showed up included Paul, Steve Huff, Jody Rogers-Buttram, Angie McGhee and Lucy Estabrook.
Sandy got the horses looking great with a spiffy weave into both of their manes. I am so proud of Sandy. She is my hero. Most women of her age would have retired to the couch with her physical challenges long ago. She will not go quietly into the night...
Read more here:
http://shawneesunrisefarm.net/wordpress/?p=236
Monday, February 27, 2012
Golden Horse Shoe Ride - Golden Girls Blog
Goldenhorseshoe-ride.co.uk - Full Story
Friday 24th February - The Golden Girls - the first episode of their blog...............
Nikki Routledge and Linda Kidd share the ups and downs of their very different training plans for this year’s Golden Horseshoe Ride. Follow their weekly progress right here.
Welcome to our blog. Now, preparing a horse for the Golden Horseshoe Ride is always a challenge I enjoy and this year, my good friend Linda Kidd and I intend to compete and COMPLETE the 160km class again. We achieved this together in 2010, with Angela Osborne completing the team of three. Rather tongue-in-cheek we called ourselves: ‘The No-Hoper, Joker and Rogue’ as per the Fisherman’s Friends song playing constantly on Radio 2 that year! I was on the Joker (always vets out last vet gate of the ride), Linda was on the No-Hoper (talented mare but totally bonkers) and Angela was on the Rogue (huge Irish Draught cross who tends to leave a trail of destruction behind her as she powers across the countryside). Only Angela’s horse had previously completed the 160kms, but in 2010 our luck held and with the hard work of our crews, who were as fantastic as the horses themselves, we all achieved the full 160km distance in good style.
So can Linda and I repeat our success this year? Well, join us on our journey to the 2012 Golden Horseshoe Ride and find out!
First, let us introduce you to our intended steeds:
I am riding my 13-y-o Arab mare Ca Daisha. Daisha was Linda’s mount (the No-Hoper) in 2010 when I elected to ride my (much nicer) little mare Mimi. Linda is riding her talented mare Drastik With A K, now a 12-y-o advanced mare. However, as Linda explains below, the road has not been a smooth one for Drastik...
Read more here:
http://www.goldenhorseshoe-ride.co.uk/latestnews.php
Friday 24th February - The Golden Girls - the first episode of their blog...............
Nikki Routledge and Linda Kidd share the ups and downs of their very different training plans for this year’s Golden Horseshoe Ride. Follow their weekly progress right here.
Welcome to our blog. Now, preparing a horse for the Golden Horseshoe Ride is always a challenge I enjoy and this year, my good friend Linda Kidd and I intend to compete and COMPLETE the 160km class again. We achieved this together in 2010, with Angela Osborne completing the team of three. Rather tongue-in-cheek we called ourselves: ‘The No-Hoper, Joker and Rogue’ as per the Fisherman’s Friends song playing constantly on Radio 2 that year! I was on the Joker (always vets out last vet gate of the ride), Linda was on the No-Hoper (talented mare but totally bonkers) and Angela was on the Rogue (huge Irish Draught cross who tends to leave a trail of destruction behind her as she powers across the countryside). Only Angela’s horse had previously completed the 160kms, but in 2010 our luck held and with the hard work of our crews, who were as fantastic as the horses themselves, we all achieved the full 160km distance in good style.
So can Linda and I repeat our success this year? Well, join us on our journey to the 2012 Golden Horseshoe Ride and find out!
First, let us introduce you to our intended steeds:
I am riding my 13-y-o Arab mare Ca Daisha. Daisha was Linda’s mount (the No-Hoper) in 2010 when I elected to ride my (much nicer) little mare Mimi. Linda is riding her talented mare Drastik With A K, now a 12-y-o advanced mare. However, as Linda explains below, the road has not been a smooth one for Drastik...
Read more here:
http://www.goldenhorseshoe-ride.co.uk/latestnews.php
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Eastern Mojave - Karen Chaton
Enduranceridestuff Blog - Full Story
Ride is going well so far, around 46 to 49 starting each day. Two days down, two to go. I rode Bo on day 1, and Chief today (day 2).
Weather was windy and cold the first day and we rode in snow and ice. It melted off, and then warmed up. Today we rode under brilliant blue skies with warmer weather and it was fantastic. You can see in the first photo that my jacket and rain gear are on the horse (and not me). Good sign!
Marking trail was a challenge as we did a lot on foot in high winds. Nannette and I also marked a lot on horseback, which was great. I love getting the horses out before a ride. This ride is great because there are so many long sections with excellent footing and I don’t need to use boots.
BBQ hot dogs at lunch today….yummy! I won’t eat hot dogs otherwise, but at an out vet check on an endurance ride they are a prize let me tell ya! It’s also always great to get to see Lavone...
Read more here:
http://enduranceridestuff.com/blog/2012/02/eastern-mojave/
Ride is going well so far, around 46 to 49 starting each day. Two days down, two to go. I rode Bo on day 1, and Chief today (day 2).
Weather was windy and cold the first day and we rode in snow and ice. It melted off, and then warmed up. Today we rode under brilliant blue skies with warmer weather and it was fantastic. You can see in the first photo that my jacket and rain gear are on the horse (and not me). Good sign!
Marking trail was a challenge as we did a lot on foot in high winds. Nannette and I also marked a lot on horseback, which was great. I love getting the horses out before a ride. This ride is great because there are so many long sections with excellent footing and I don’t need to use boots.
BBQ hot dogs at lunch today….yummy! I won’t eat hot dogs otherwise, but at an out vet check on an endurance ride they are a prize let me tell ya! It’s also always great to get to see Lavone...
Read more here:
http://enduranceridestuff.com/blog/2012/02/eastern-mojave/
Sunday, February 05, 2012
IAH Airport Express Endurance Ride - by QOS
horseforum.com - full story
I am sitting back home now. I just woke up in the middle of the night. I was sick when I left and still am.
We got to the huge staging area and it was ankle deep in mud. Some people got stuck but there were tractors to pull them out. We got our panels set up for the horses and got them hay and all tucked it. Our other friend arrived shortly after us.
We vet checked it - super nice vet from Idaho. Biscuit did fantastic on the vet check. Trotted out like a really good boy. Doc asked me if he always had a heart rate of 36 and I said every time I put the heart monitor on it says 36. He said FANTASTIC. Biscuit went back to eating hay.
We had the ride meeting and at first the ride was as clear as mud. They also said that the grounds were saturated with water and some trails were under water. Oh yay. Vet strongly suggested riding SLOW - that this was NOT the ride to blast off on that suspensory injuries could result from the deep mud. Another storm was coming at 1:00 am.
It rained some during the night and Lee Ann and I were glad it should be a slower ride but Biscuit is not a fan of sloppy conditions. At 5:00 AM it started POURING down rain, lightening and thunder popping everywhere...
Read more here:
http://www.horseforum.com/trail-riding/iah-airport-express-endurance-ride-111881/
I am sitting back home now. I just woke up in the middle of the night. I was sick when I left and still am.
We got to the huge staging area and it was ankle deep in mud. Some people got stuck but there were tractors to pull them out. We got our panels set up for the horses and got them hay and all tucked it. Our other friend arrived shortly after us.
We vet checked it - super nice vet from Idaho. Biscuit did fantastic on the vet check. Trotted out like a really good boy. Doc asked me if he always had a heart rate of 36 and I said every time I put the heart monitor on it says 36. He said FANTASTIC. Biscuit went back to eating hay.
We had the ride meeting and at first the ride was as clear as mud. They also said that the grounds were saturated with water and some trails were under water. Oh yay. Vet strongly suggested riding SLOW - that this was NOT the ride to blast off on that suspensory injuries could result from the deep mud. Another storm was coming at 1:00 am.
It rained some during the night and Lee Ann and I were glad it should be a slower ride but Biscuit is not a fan of sloppy conditions. At 5:00 AM it started POURING down rain, lightening and thunder popping everywhere...
Read more here:
http://www.horseforum.com/trail-riding/iah-airport-express-endurance-ride-111881/
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
DuPuis Piney Pig - Heather Reynolds
Reynoldsracing.us - Full Story
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
This last weekend we took 7 horses down to the Piney Pig FEI ride in Canal Point FL. The lucky 7 were: (Day one) Kutt & our clients horse P doing the FEI 75, Bailey doing his first 50 & Chanses doing his second 1* to help get his rider, Rachel Shackelford, her qualification. Day two Marvel would do his first 1*, Stirgess would do a 1* with a first time FEI young rider JJ Donley, Cleo doing her first 50 and Bailey and Chanses doing an LD.
We loaded up and drove down to the ride on Thursday morning. It was a very hot day. The drive took about 4:30 hours and was super simple. When we got to camp we scouted out a shady spot. P's owner, Barbara Hershberg was already there and had a spot in mind for us.
The camp at this ride is super awesome. There are shade trees, stalls and large turnout pens. There are also showers. We were lucky enough to find a pen that was about an acre! We put all of the geldings out in it as they always live together anyhow. Cleo on the other hand was put on our hi tie. No risking any mare gelding confrontations!
Camp was set up quickly as all we had to do was turn out our 5 geldings, hand P to Barbara and hi tie Cleo.
It was probably 80 degrees and pretty humid...
Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/388/dupuis_piney_pig
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
This last weekend we took 7 horses down to the Piney Pig FEI ride in Canal Point FL. The lucky 7 were: (Day one) Kutt & our clients horse P doing the FEI 75, Bailey doing his first 50 & Chanses doing his second 1* to help get his rider, Rachel Shackelford, her qualification. Day two Marvel would do his first 1*, Stirgess would do a 1* with a first time FEI young rider JJ Donley, Cleo doing her first 50 and Bailey and Chanses doing an LD.
We loaded up and drove down to the ride on Thursday morning. It was a very hot day. The drive took about 4:30 hours and was super simple. When we got to camp we scouted out a shady spot. P's owner, Barbara Hershberg was already there and had a spot in mind for us.
The camp at this ride is super awesome. There are shade trees, stalls and large turnout pens. There are also showers. We were lucky enough to find a pen that was about an acre! We put all of the geldings out in it as they always live together anyhow. Cleo on the other hand was put on our hi tie. No risking any mare gelding confrontations!
Camp was set up quickly as all we had to do was turn out our 5 geldings, hand P to Barbara and hi tie Cleo.
It was probably 80 degrees and pretty humid...
Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/388/dupuis_piney_pig
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Goethe Challenge Endurance Ride FEI - Heather Reynolds
Reynolds Racing Blog
Monday, 19 December 2011
We did our first Endurance ride since moving out here. On Wednesday Jeremy booted all of our guys for the race, we were really excited as we were going to be testing out some new tread patterns.
On Friday we loaded up Tiran, Chanses and Marvel to drive the 8 miles over to the Goethe Challenge Endurance Ride. We got to camp around 10 am, I drove seperately as I had to take our dog Daisy to the vet for an acupuncture appointment. I was only present for the picking of the parking spot, then I had to leave.
I drove to Ocala and went to the vet appointment and then the grocery run and then back to the race.
When I got back to the ride Jeremy had set up camp and the crew area. We went to the check in and did our paperwork and then went to vet in and get our passport inspections done.
After all of the official business was taken care of we went for a pre ride. Our friend Barbara Hershberger was riding her horse AnyDayNow aka "P" and our long time friend Sarah Schick (from back in our days of training in VA) were riding with us as well. Sarah was on Barbara's other horse Storm.
Our pre ride was short and sweet. All 5 of the horses looked great.
Barbara and I were entered in the 75 FEI 2*, Jeremy on Chanses, Sarah on Storm and Rachel Shackelford on Marvel were entered in the 50 mile 1*.
After the Pre ride we hung out a while and then went to the dinner and the ride meeting. The cool thing about the East Coast rides is that the dinner is usually on Friday night. After dinner we headed to bed.
Saturday morning I started out at 7 on Tiran. He warmed up really well and was nice and calm. Our start was uneventful. The first loop went well, about 5 miles into it Barbara joined us on P. He was looking nice and was moving well...
Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/364/goethe_challenge_endurance_ride_fei_
Monday, 19 December 2011
We did our first Endurance ride since moving out here. On Wednesday Jeremy booted all of our guys for the race, we were really excited as we were going to be testing out some new tread patterns.
On Friday we loaded up Tiran, Chanses and Marvel to drive the 8 miles over to the Goethe Challenge Endurance Ride. We got to camp around 10 am, I drove seperately as I had to take our dog Daisy to the vet for an acupuncture appointment. I was only present for the picking of the parking spot, then I had to leave.
I drove to Ocala and went to the vet appointment and then the grocery run and then back to the race.
When I got back to the ride Jeremy had set up camp and the crew area. We went to the check in and did our paperwork and then went to vet in and get our passport inspections done.
After all of the official business was taken care of we went for a pre ride. Our friend Barbara Hershberger was riding her horse AnyDayNow aka "P" and our long time friend Sarah Schick (from back in our days of training in VA) were riding with us as well. Sarah was on Barbara's other horse Storm.
Our pre ride was short and sweet. All 5 of the horses looked great.
Barbara and I were entered in the 75 FEI 2*, Jeremy on Chanses, Sarah on Storm and Rachel Shackelford on Marvel were entered in the 50 mile 1*.
After the Pre ride we hung out a while and then went to the dinner and the ride meeting. The cool thing about the East Coast rides is that the dinner is usually on Friday night. After dinner we headed to bed.
Saturday morning I started out at 7 on Tiran. He warmed up really well and was nice and calm. Our start was uneventful. The first loop went well, about 5 miles into it Barbara joined us on P. He was looking nice and was moving well...
Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/364/goethe_challenge_endurance_ride_fei_
Friday, December 16, 2011
Death Valley Warm Up - Karen Chaton
Enduranceridestuff.com - Full StoryDeath Valley Warmup, December 10 & 11, 2011
We had a pretty good time last weekend. I rode Chief on Friday to mark trail along with Sue Wilkie and her horse Rocky. Then, I rode Bo on the first day of the ride in the 50, and Chief in the 50 on the 2nd day. The weather turned out great, and all things considered the turnout was decent – though still down over the previous year. I think that may just be the trend with the economy the way it is – ride participation is going to be down.
On day 1 there were around 21 in the LD and 31 in the 50. Winning time on the 50 was 5:52. On day two there were 8 in the LD and 24 in the 50 with the winning time on the 50 being 5:25. Rouven Krauer got BC on day 1, and on day 2 Mae Chase-Dunn got BC. Four people rode 2 horses both days, and 12 people rode the same horse both days.
My horses had just had a nice break in between ride seasons. Chief had nearly three months off, and Bo had six weeks off. They both had pretty incredible seasons in 2011. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that horses need breaks, even if they are performing extremely well. I’ve seen too many people not follow that protocol and have seen their horses fall apart prematurely (versus if they had been more generous when it came to giving their horse a vacation after a busy year). I’m still never quite sure where that imaginary line is. You know the one in the sand, the one that should you cross it means that something is going to go wrong with your horse. And, they aren’t like our vehicles that we can simply go out and buy a new part for. When a horse breaks it usually means time off, or worse case scenario an end of their career. So I’m kind of cautious there, always trying to figure out how much is too much, not enough, or just right. Always watching for signs of wear and tear.
You can imagine how happy I was that both of my horses finished their ride day at this ride in great shape. I took it pretty easy on both of them, using this more as a pre-check ride for the upcoming Death Valley Encounter where they will hopefully each do two days. Yet, still not easy so a good test to ensure that they are indeed ready to go. Besides always being concerned about how much time off is appropriate is the worry about giving too much time off. A super fit horse that is idle is not always a good thing...
Read more here:
http://enduranceridestuff.com/blog/2011/12/death-valley-warmup-december-10-11-2011/
Monday, November 14, 2011
In which Endurance 101 moves us closer to a real event - Haiku Farm
Haikufarm Blog
November 12 2011
Endurance 101 – Countdown to your first endurance ride
Your horse is getting fit, and you are getting excited. You visit the AERC.org website and check the calendar: There’s a ride that you can attend! It’s only two months away…
Eeeeeek!
Here’s a bare-bones calendar of stuff you’ll want to do before ride day, arranged in a countdown format. The schedule isn’t set in stone, but it is a handy list of stuff to remember.
Ride day minus 2 months:
* Check the fit of your saddle, and make necessary adjustments.
* Take a riding lesson (on trails, if possible). Ask your instructor to focus on helping you and your horse move freely and comfortably at various speeds over different terrain.
* Call your farrier NOW to set a farrier appointment for 1-2 weeks before the event.
* Administer any needed vaccinations.
* Ask your vet about medical paperwork that may be required for the ride. If you need to cross state lines for your event, be sure to alert your vet so that the paperwork can be readied in time.
Ride day minus 1 month:
* Safety-check your rig: tires (check your spare tire, too!), wiring, brakes, floorboards. Fix anything that needs fixing.
* Check out your camping arrangements: do your sleeping quarters leak? Do you know how to set up in windy or rainy conditions? Does your campstove work? Repair or replace anything that will fail in camp.
* Practice administering electrolytes to your horse via syringe. Start with a diluted dose mixed with applesauce or yogurt. If your horse does not take the syringe quietly, start teaching him now to accept it...
Read more here:
http://haikufarm.blogspot.com/2011/11/in-which-endurance-101-moves-us-closer.html
November 12 2011
Endurance 101 – Countdown to your first endurance ride
Your horse is getting fit, and you are getting excited. You visit the AERC.org website and check the calendar: There’s a ride that you can attend! It’s only two months away…
Eeeeeek!
Here’s a bare-bones calendar of stuff you’ll want to do before ride day, arranged in a countdown format. The schedule isn’t set in stone, but it is a handy list of stuff to remember.
Ride day minus 2 months:
* Check the fit of your saddle, and make necessary adjustments.
* Take a riding lesson (on trails, if possible). Ask your instructor to focus on helping you and your horse move freely and comfortably at various speeds over different terrain.
* Call your farrier NOW to set a farrier appointment for 1-2 weeks before the event.
* Administer any needed vaccinations.
* Ask your vet about medical paperwork that may be required for the ride. If you need to cross state lines for your event, be sure to alert your vet so that the paperwork can be readied in time.
Ride day minus 1 month:
* Safety-check your rig: tires (check your spare tire, too!), wiring, brakes, floorboards. Fix anything that needs fixing.
* Check out your camping arrangements: do your sleeping quarters leak? Do you know how to set up in windy or rainy conditions? Does your campstove work? Repair or replace anything that will fail in camp.
* Practice administering electrolytes to your horse via syringe. Start with a diluted dose mixed with applesauce or yogurt. If your horse does not take the syringe quietly, start teaching him now to accept it...
Read more here:
http://haikufarm.blogspot.com/2011/11/in-which-endurance-101-moves-us-closer.html
Friday, November 04, 2011
2011 Bill Thornburgh Family & Friends Endurance Ride - Karen Chaton
Enduranceridestuff Blog - Full Story
Bill Thornburgh Family & Friends Endurance Ride 50/50 2011 Ride Report & Photos
This past weekend was the 2-day Bill Thornburg endurance ride. I rode both days of it on Pro Bono (“Bo”). The weather was perfect, though a bit warm for those of us with horses that already have winter coats.
Ride entries have been down a lot this season and this was a fairly small ride. The first day there were 28 or 29 in the 50 and on the second day there were only 12. I’m not sure how many were in the LD, tho on the second day there were more than were in the 50.
Daniel Brown and wife Callie along with Jeanine Corzine and crew do a great job on the ride. They have a lot of volunteers and do a fantastic job with everything. The trail was expertly marked the entire way! On the first day they had hot dogs for lunch for us, and both evenings of the ride we were served an excellent meal of tri-tip. Awards are nice – t-shirts for completion both days and lots of other items. I got a middle of the pack water bottle on the 2nd day – finishing 6th out of 12 icon smile Bill Thornburgh Family & Friends Endurance Ride 50/50 2011 Ride Report & Photos . I also got a small flatback bucket for finishing in the top ten.
I’ve done this ride before when it was called Git’r'Done. The footing for both rides is excellent, with only a very small portion having any rocks...
Read more here:
http://enduranceridestuff.com/blog/2011/11/bill-thornburgh-family-friends-endurance-ride-5050/comment-page-1/
Bill Thornburgh Family & Friends Endurance Ride 50/50 2011 Ride Report & Photos
This past weekend was the 2-day Bill Thornburg endurance ride. I rode both days of it on Pro Bono (“Bo”). The weather was perfect, though a bit warm for those of us with horses that already have winter coats.
Ride entries have been down a lot this season and this was a fairly small ride. The first day there were 28 or 29 in the 50 and on the second day there were only 12. I’m not sure how many were in the LD, tho on the second day there were more than were in the 50.
Daniel Brown and wife Callie along with Jeanine Corzine and crew do a great job on the ride. They have a lot of volunteers and do a fantastic job with everything. The trail was expertly marked the entire way! On the first day they had hot dogs for lunch for us, and both evenings of the ride we were served an excellent meal of tri-tip. Awards are nice – t-shirts for completion both days and lots of other items. I got a middle of the pack water bottle on the 2nd day – finishing 6th out of 12 icon smile Bill Thornburgh Family & Friends Endurance Ride 50/50 2011 Ride Report & Photos . I also got a small flatback bucket for finishing in the top ten.
I’ve done this ride before when it was called Git’r'Done. The footing for both rides is excellent, with only a very small portion having any rocks...
Read more here:
http://enduranceridestuff.com/blog/2011/11/bill-thornburgh-family-friends-endurance-ride-5050/comment-page-1/
Monday, October 31, 2011
Spook Run 100 - 3 Morgans and Me - Shannon Loomis
October 31 2011
To all who did not attend the Spook Run ride in SE Indiana this weekend, you missed a beautiful ride. Trails were in great condition and well-marked, plenty of water in the creek crossings, late fall color, and cool enough for the Morgan horses! Lois McAfee managed the 50/25 on Friday and Amy Whelan took over the controls for the 100/50/25 on Saturday. My daughter, Morgan, and I showed up Friday afternoon with our Morgan horses, Angel (aka "The Devil's Handmaiden") and Quest, to tackle the 100 mile trail on Saturday. Mary Chmielski and Helen Cantrell rode the LD on Friday and volunteered to crew for Morgan and I on Saturday. All the holds were in camp, but life is so much easier when help is available. They were awesome. We were met at the entrance to camp by a "blanket brigade" all day as Mary and Helen seemed to sense our arrival each time and were prepared with coolers for the ponies.
The weather was crisp, definitely requiring gloves and hats Friday afternoon. Friday's ride had about 20 50's and 13 or so LDs. Saturday was 13 100s (!), 23 (or so) 50's and 13 LDs. The vets were Mike Habel and Maureen Fehrs. Saturday morning was quite cold with a hard frost and a layer of ice on the water buckets. Our trailer lacks a furnace so it was very difficult to get out of our nice warm bed to tack up the horses for a 7 AM start.
It was quite dark at 7, so Lois and Connie Caudill led the 100s on a controlled start for a few miles until it was light enough to see the ribbons. The Morgans and I cruised along as the sun peeked over the yellow and orange hills of So Indiana. The first loop was 25 miles and by the time we returned to camp it was warm enough to start shedding coats and gloves but standing in camp was a bit breezy, so the horses were kept covered all day. Connie pulled after the first loop, feeling her horse was not quite right to go another 75 miles and Lois continued on alone.
The next two loops were a 19 mile trail repeated twice which also covered most of the final 10 mile loop, which meant we were able to see in daylight what we would be riding after dark. The Morgans were pulsing down nicely, though since we were afraid to throw much water on them in the cold and kept the rears well covered, it did take a few minutes each hold, as we were moving along pretty well. In the third loop we joined up with Amy Yatsko and Earl Baxter and rode with them for the next 3 loops. Angel and Morgan took a bit of a header towards the end of the 3rd loop as they jumped a little ravine and Angel lost her footing on the other side (leaves hid a lot of little roots and erosion ruts) and planted her face in the trail. Morgan "dismounted" over Angel's head - she claims she did it on purpose, somehow missing Angel's devil horns as she went over - and both popped up relatively unscathed. Angel had a bit of a bloody nose but it stopped quickly and she seemed unfazed.
The 4th loop was a 15 mile out and back which repeated a lot of the first loop, which is fortunate, because most of the 100s rode it in the dark. It was a nice ridgeline trail, so easy to make time on. We watched the sun go down on the opposite side of the mountain on the same trail we watched it come up on. Amy, Earl, Morgan and I managed to get all but the last 4 or 5 miles of this loop under our belts before darkness fell around 6:45. Coats, gloves and hats were quickly replaced as the sun went down but it was not nearly as cold as the previous night.
The last two loops were the traditional "pink loop" known to those who have done rides at Bill Wilson's farm before. We set out in the black - the tiny little crescent moon set about an hour after the sun did but it was so low to the horizon, it didn't offer any help at all - head lamps on and booked around the loop; we had already seen it twice, so the horses were comfortable on it though the second half of it seemed to go on forever, winding through the woods.
After a short 20 minute hold, Amy and Earl went ahead and the Morgans and I set our own pace in the dark. Quest was a little hesitant at first - he had some eye trouble last year and I don't think his night vision is great, plus he had spent the last loop following Amy's horse, Captain. We put Angel in front for a while, but after a few miles, Quest decided he was up for the challenge. Boy, did he move! Once he figured out where we were, and I figured out how to hold my light for him, we Zoomed! This loop seemed to fly by since we knew the finish line was so close! We finished both pink loops in 1 1/2 hrs each in the dark....
Lois and Hoosier finished first (BC and 1st FW) about 90 minutes ahead of us, her ride time must have been about 12 hr and 15 min (I am estimating) - she was finishing as we were leaving on our last loop - not feeling well, but still with a smile on her face. Earl and Champ (1st HW) and Amy on Captain (2nd FW) finished just a few minutes ahead of us (1st Jr and 1st LW) and then the next riders were more than 40 minutes behind us, so a big gap in the 100s. We finished with a ride time of 13:44 and a total time of 17:04 crossing the finish at 4 minutes after midnight. The last riders finished sometime after 3 AM. BRRR! Vets Mike and Maureen had a bonfire and Bill's heated garage to wait in, but still a long cold night.....
Our Morgans ate like pigs all day, going through a banana box of deer apples and my buffet of feed. I don't think they stopped eating at any of the holds - hay, grain, grass - it all disappeared. Quite a change for my ulcer boy, I think I finally have him under control and haven't used any Gastrogard all summer. Quest tried to cramp a little in the cold during the last hold but I gave him some extra calcium and an extra cooler and he warmed up very quickly as we loped down the lane to the last loop.
Sorry I don't know the final results for everyone - awards were handed out as riders finished - and Morgan and I went to bed. I do know that except for Connie, all 100s finished (92%)!
Thanks for having a 100 for us, Lois, Amy and all her volunteers and crew (especially the popsicles formally known as Mike and Maureen)! And thanks to Teddy Lancaster who donated all the junior awards this weekend. And finally, mucho thanks to our great crew, Mary and Helen!
Shannon Loomis
Pleasant Creek, WV
To all who did not attend the Spook Run ride in SE Indiana this weekend, you missed a beautiful ride. Trails were in great condition and well-marked, plenty of water in the creek crossings, late fall color, and cool enough for the Morgan horses! Lois McAfee managed the 50/25 on Friday and Amy Whelan took over the controls for the 100/50/25 on Saturday. My daughter, Morgan, and I showed up Friday afternoon with our Morgan horses, Angel (aka "The Devil's Handmaiden") and Quest, to tackle the 100 mile trail on Saturday. Mary Chmielski and Helen Cantrell rode the LD on Friday and volunteered to crew for Morgan and I on Saturday. All the holds were in camp, but life is so much easier when help is available. They were awesome. We were met at the entrance to camp by a "blanket brigade" all day as Mary and Helen seemed to sense our arrival each time and were prepared with coolers for the ponies.
The weather was crisp, definitely requiring gloves and hats Friday afternoon. Friday's ride had about 20 50's and 13 or so LDs. Saturday was 13 100s (!), 23 (or so) 50's and 13 LDs. The vets were Mike Habel and Maureen Fehrs. Saturday morning was quite cold with a hard frost and a layer of ice on the water buckets. Our trailer lacks a furnace so it was very difficult to get out of our nice warm bed to tack up the horses for a 7 AM start.
It was quite dark at 7, so Lois and Connie Caudill led the 100s on a controlled start for a few miles until it was light enough to see the ribbons. The Morgans and I cruised along as the sun peeked over the yellow and orange hills of So Indiana. The first loop was 25 miles and by the time we returned to camp it was warm enough to start shedding coats and gloves but standing in camp was a bit breezy, so the horses were kept covered all day. Connie pulled after the first loop, feeling her horse was not quite right to go another 75 miles and Lois continued on alone.
The next two loops were a 19 mile trail repeated twice which also covered most of the final 10 mile loop, which meant we were able to see in daylight what we would be riding after dark. The Morgans were pulsing down nicely, though since we were afraid to throw much water on them in the cold and kept the rears well covered, it did take a few minutes each hold, as we were moving along pretty well. In the third loop we joined up with Amy Yatsko and Earl Baxter and rode with them for the next 3 loops. Angel and Morgan took a bit of a header towards the end of the 3rd loop as they jumped a little ravine and Angel lost her footing on the other side (leaves hid a lot of little roots and erosion ruts) and planted her face in the trail. Morgan "dismounted" over Angel's head - she claims she did it on purpose, somehow missing Angel's devil horns as she went over - and both popped up relatively unscathed. Angel had a bit of a bloody nose but it stopped quickly and she seemed unfazed.
The 4th loop was a 15 mile out and back which repeated a lot of the first loop, which is fortunate, because most of the 100s rode it in the dark. It was a nice ridgeline trail, so easy to make time on. We watched the sun go down on the opposite side of the mountain on the same trail we watched it come up on. Amy, Earl, Morgan and I managed to get all but the last 4 or 5 miles of this loop under our belts before darkness fell around 6:45. Coats, gloves and hats were quickly replaced as the sun went down but it was not nearly as cold as the previous night.
The last two loops were the traditional "pink loop" known to those who have done rides at Bill Wilson's farm before. We set out in the black - the tiny little crescent moon set about an hour after the sun did but it was so low to the horizon, it didn't offer any help at all - head lamps on and booked around the loop; we had already seen it twice, so the horses were comfortable on it though the second half of it seemed to go on forever, winding through the woods.
After a short 20 minute hold, Amy and Earl went ahead and the Morgans and I set our own pace in the dark. Quest was a little hesitant at first - he had some eye trouble last year and I don't think his night vision is great, plus he had spent the last loop following Amy's horse, Captain. We put Angel in front for a while, but after a few miles, Quest decided he was up for the challenge. Boy, did he move! Once he figured out where we were, and I figured out how to hold my light for him, we Zoomed! This loop seemed to fly by since we knew the finish line was so close! We finished both pink loops in 1 1/2 hrs each in the dark....
Lois and Hoosier finished first (BC and 1st FW) about 90 minutes ahead of us, her ride time must have been about 12 hr and 15 min (I am estimating) - she was finishing as we were leaving on our last loop - not feeling well, but still with a smile on her face. Earl and Champ (1st HW) and Amy on Captain (2nd FW) finished just a few minutes ahead of us (1st Jr and 1st LW) and then the next riders were more than 40 minutes behind us, so a big gap in the 100s. We finished with a ride time of 13:44 and a total time of 17:04 crossing the finish at 4 minutes after midnight. The last riders finished sometime after 3 AM. BRRR! Vets Mike and Maureen had a bonfire and Bill's heated garage to wait in, but still a long cold night.....
Our Morgans ate like pigs all day, going through a banana box of deer apples and my buffet of feed. I don't think they stopped eating at any of the holds - hay, grain, grass - it all disappeared. Quite a change for my ulcer boy, I think I finally have him under control and haven't used any Gastrogard all summer. Quest tried to cramp a little in the cold during the last hold but I gave him some extra calcium and an extra cooler and he warmed up very quickly as we loped down the lane to the last loop.
Sorry I don't know the final results for everyone - awards were handed out as riders finished - and Morgan and I went to bed. I do know that except for Connie, all 100s finished (92%)!
Thanks for having a 100 for us, Lois, Amy and all her volunteers and crew (especially the popsicles formally known as Mike and Maureen)! And thanks to Teddy Lancaster who donated all the junior awards this weekend. And finally, mucho thanks to our great crew, Mary and Helen!
Shannon Loomis
Pleasant Creek, WV
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Bar H Bonanza NATRC - Kandace French
October 23 2011
We just got back from the inaugural Bar H Bonanza NATRC Ride put on by Katy Taylor and Gail Shepherd. If you weren’t there, you missed a fabulous time at the Bar H Bonanza Region 2 NATRC ride in Corona, California.
Wow! What a GREAT first ride! A fabulous group of talented horse and rider teams from California Region 1, Region 2 and Arizona converged for a fabulous opportunity to ride the beautiful countryside of Gavilan Hills, California. The management did an amazing job and thought of so many of those special, small details that made the ride a winner. Top notch judges, Dr. Michael Peralez and Jim Ferris made it fun and challenging. Both the judges and their teams zipped all over the countryside in record time and got tons of opportunities to judge all the competitors a numerous opportunities.
The ride was staged at the Bar H Ranch owned by Chris Herron of Gavilan Hills, California. He raises Arabian horses and Texas Longhorns cattle. Wow! Seeing these Long Horns up close and personal was a treat, and sometimes intimidating. Beautiful animals. Another treat was learning that after watching Katy and her team scout and mark trails over the prior weeks and learning about the philosophy of NATRC, AERC competitor/Ranch owner Chris Herron decided to enter his stallion, a Gulastras Splash son, in the NATRC novice ride himself and did very well, placing in both horse and horsemanship.
Our rider’s packets were filled with fun and thoughtful treats. The catered meal was wonderful and the riding area was beautiful. The trails were varied. The volunteers worked tirelessly and the talent pool of the P&R teams was of the highest caliber. I can’t believe this was the first time this management team put on a ride. They did a great job and didn’t miss a thing. Even the awards were beautiful; hand made and decorated horse shoes. Words can’t do them justice. An extra special pleasure for me was the opportunity to finally meet Shelley Housh and her Sterling Shagya Sport horses in person. Spectacular!
I can’t wait to go again next year. This is definitely a ride that will be on my calendar every year. Fun, fun, fun. Thanks for a great ride. Congratulations to everyone who attended, special congratulations to those who placed among touch competition and thanks to Katy and her team for adding yet another ride to the calendar.
Yankee and I competed in Easy Boot Gloves as well. I am so thrilled NATRC allows boots with gaters now :) All my horses are barefoot and I compete in Gloves or Glue Ons.
Kandace French
We just got back from the inaugural Bar H Bonanza NATRC Ride put on by Katy Taylor and Gail Shepherd. If you weren’t there, you missed a fabulous time at the Bar H Bonanza Region 2 NATRC ride in Corona, California.
Wow! What a GREAT first ride! A fabulous group of talented horse and rider teams from California Region 1, Region 2 and Arizona converged for a fabulous opportunity to ride the beautiful countryside of Gavilan Hills, California. The management did an amazing job and thought of so many of those special, small details that made the ride a winner. Top notch judges, Dr. Michael Peralez and Jim Ferris made it fun and challenging. Both the judges and their teams zipped all over the countryside in record time and got tons of opportunities to judge all the competitors a numerous opportunities.
The ride was staged at the Bar H Ranch owned by Chris Herron of Gavilan Hills, California. He raises Arabian horses and Texas Longhorns cattle. Wow! Seeing these Long Horns up close and personal was a treat, and sometimes intimidating. Beautiful animals. Another treat was learning that after watching Katy and her team scout and mark trails over the prior weeks and learning about the philosophy of NATRC, AERC competitor/Ranch owner Chris Herron decided to enter his stallion, a Gulastras Splash son, in the NATRC novice ride himself and did very well, placing in both horse and horsemanship.
Our rider’s packets were filled with fun and thoughtful treats. The catered meal was wonderful and the riding area was beautiful. The trails were varied. The volunteers worked tirelessly and the talent pool of the P&R teams was of the highest caliber. I can’t believe this was the first time this management team put on a ride. They did a great job and didn’t miss a thing. Even the awards were beautiful; hand made and decorated horse shoes. Words can’t do them justice. An extra special pleasure for me was the opportunity to finally meet Shelley Housh and her Sterling Shagya Sport horses in person. Spectacular!
I can’t wait to go again next year. This is definitely a ride that will be on my calendar every year. Fun, fun, fun. Thanks for a great ride. Congratulations to everyone who attended, special congratulations to those who placed among touch competition and thanks to Katy and her team for adding yet another ride to the calendar.
Yankee and I competed in Easy Boot Gloves as well. I am so thrilled NATRC allows boots with gaters now :) All my horses are barefoot and I compete in Gloves or Glue Ons.
Kandace French
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Raptor Run - Susan Franklin
October 18 2011
I have to write about Raptor Run this weekend just because I want to gush some more about how great the ride was. Soooo great! Alabama the Beautiful baby!
If you don't know us, Mike rides Ender & I ride Bird. I've been wanting to try a 100, but not on Bird. Mike wants to try Ender in a 100, but doesn't want to ride it. We're so smart we figured out that I could ride Ender in the 100, problem solved. So this weekend we were testing a ride start strategy that I'm calling Operation Keep Susan Alive because my big fear of riding Ender is that he has a lot of eagerness for the sport & can get, um, revved up at the start. Mike uses Bird's rear end to control Ender in these situations. He sticks Ender's nose into Bird's hind end & doesn't let him see daylight until things have calmed down a bit. Well, I won't have a Bird, & I don't want to die, so I decided that we needed to find a strategy to get me through that first loop by myself. (yes, 100-milers have all told me that 100-mile starts aren't as energetic, but still... this is about me being scared.)
So, to Raptor Run we go, with our strategy. We spent the warm-up way back on a grass hill by the pond waiting for everyone to leave. Lucky for us, it was a controlled start, so our horses didn't hear thundering hooves leaving them, either. Even though we were all alone, we still did a walking start down the paved road & past the steep gravel downhill. Worked like a charm. Ender was a perfect gentleman, calmer than Bird even. We were planning to slowly pick horses off on our way to our favorite spots. (Bird's is mid-pack, Ender's... well Ender wants to keep picking off horses to infinity. He's always looking for the next one & if he thinks he's run out of them, he pouts.)
The first loop was slow, but awesome. (Our start strategy worked, but it might not be the best idea on a ride with lots of riders & lots of single track. We found ourselves at the back of a long, slow line we couldn't get around. waah) But such nice forest, nice trail. I loved it! My horse loved it! We learned later that Jody (ride manager) thought it was the "bad loop." Well, I swear we must have inhaled some sort of pre-historic raptor pixie dust back in those woods that confused our thinking, because we couldn't find any fault in it & I came out loving me some Alabama, even though we made a stupid rookie mistake & added 4 miles to the loop backtracking. I came out saying, "Oh it was just so nice out there, 16, 20, who cares?" (later, when the GPS said 50 miles & I should have been finished, I was a little less pleased. haha)
The second loop was fun, too. We saw a lot of day riders. They were all so nice & some of them we saw over & over & over. I don't know how that was happening exactly, but it was pretty comical. Mike would jokingly say, "There's only one or two ahead of us, right?" & they'd answer, "Oh, no, there's a ton ahead of you! You'd better kick 'em if you wanna catch 'em." haha One of them asked me about the trail, if I knew whether it was "about an hour" back to their camp. I thought how funny that question was because that all depends on how fast you're going! I told him I thought it was about 8 miles & I heard him say to his friends as we trotted away, "She doesn't know." hahaha
Before we had left home, Mike & I had decided we were going to this race to test our strategy (Operation K.S.A.), then otherwise just ride our ride & depending on how things "shaked down" during the race, if we got close to Top Ten in the last loop, I would drop back & he would go for it. Bird had a quiet gut after our last race, so I was giving probiotics a try & wanted to take it easy. We were going to carry radios & I was going to call him & tell him if someone was coming up behind him. haha Like Nascar. Well, we forgot the radios, but when we left out on that last loop, we asked Lance (timer) where we were & he said 11th & 12th! What?! I had no idea we had moved up like that. I was clueless. I know we went straight in to p/r every check, but still....
Sure enough, as we got into that loop, faster riders (the Texans) came up from behind & we had to execute our "shuttle separation" so that Bird could drop back & Ender could go for the gold! I was worried that I would have a problem with Bird when Ender left him, but it worked out ok. I guess he was tired by then & didn't care. We found a place to scoot over & didn't see Mike & Ender again.
At one point when we were alone, my heart rate monitor started beeping at me & it said Bird's heart had spiked to 220 bpm! What? I slowed down to a walk & worried about my horse for a long way. It slowly came down, but was still high, then (too much later) I looked down & the contact pad had slipped around facing the air! Dang it! Why on earth would a HRM spike when it loses contact with the heart?? Why wouldn't it drop to zero? What is up with that?! Anyway, I don't suppose Bird minded the break. I know better than to rely solely on HRM to know how my horse is doing, so that was sort of a dumb mistake. I turned it off.
We ended up Ender squeaked into the 10th place spot & got to stand for BC. He got high vet score! Yaay! (Mike noticed that he maxed out on the weight portion of the scoring - heehee - my 100-miler horse is being conditioned heavy weight. He & I are gonna soar!!) Bird & I got in about an hour later, 17th. Mike had a run-in with his big (heavy >g<) western saddle, so he was hurting. Somewhere on one of the steep parts, he leaned up over the horn & Ender did a hop to get up the step & drove that horn up under Mike's ribcage & it got stuck! He had to lean up to "unhook" it. Ouch! He's heading to the doctor as I write this, so let's hope that turns out ok.... [[update: He'll live. It's only a cracked rib.]] Oh yeah, & Mike is saddle shopping. Endurance style.
For a first time managing, Jody Buttram sure did seem like she knew what she was doing. She did a great job, prayed up some great weather, & surrounded herself with great help. (I haven't competed in any other region, but I swear we must have the best & nicest group of people working endurance rides anywhere. It's hard to even describe how good they all are, in every way.) Everything was just great! Jody had awards for everything you can imagine, this ridiculously tasty Flintstones-looking slab of meat on a bun for dinner, a perfectly Alabaman guitar player, & lots of dancing under a big tent under a big moon with coyotes singing background. Love.
If you live anywhere even remotely close to north Alabama & didn't make it to the ride, I'm sad for you & hope that Jody does it again so you can do it next year. The trail is technical. Strangely, I didn't realize it at the time, even when I was taking all day to complete it. I heard people talking about it being technical, but I thought they were exaggerating. At the awards ceremony, I was stunned at the ride times. (almost 7 hours for the 50-mile winner?) I thought they were accidentally reading off the total times with holds included. I still didn't believe it until I read my card the next morning & sure enough, I had been out there on trail almost 9 hours! Really? (Bird says, "Yes, really.") There were several steep, deep-step, rock "staircases." I remember saying, "Uuugh" a lot going down them, but they were neat. (Bird says "neat" is not the right word.) Anyway, it's difficult without seeming difficult. Or maybe I was just mesmerized by that forest & everything seemed fun to me. Or maybe it was the raptor dust? Either way, next year, y'all all need to come!! Bring a tough horse, do a tough ride, and maybe it will cast a spell on you like it did me, & you'll have a good, relaxing, fun time, too!
Susan
Franklin
M39909
I have to write about Raptor Run this weekend just because I want to gush some more about how great the ride was. Soooo great! Alabama the Beautiful baby!
If you don't know us, Mike rides Ender & I ride Bird. I've been wanting to try a 100, but not on Bird. Mike wants to try Ender in a 100, but doesn't want to ride it. We're so smart we figured out that I could ride Ender in the 100, problem solved. So this weekend we were testing a ride start strategy that I'm calling Operation Keep Susan Alive because my big fear of riding Ender is that he has a lot of eagerness for the sport & can get, um, revved up at the start. Mike uses Bird's rear end to control Ender in these situations. He sticks Ender's nose into Bird's hind end & doesn't let him see daylight until things have calmed down a bit. Well, I won't have a Bird, & I don't want to die, so I decided that we needed to find a strategy to get me through that first loop by myself. (yes, 100-milers have all told me that 100-mile starts aren't as energetic, but still... this is about me being scared.)
So, to Raptor Run we go, with our strategy. We spent the warm-up way back on a grass hill by the pond waiting for everyone to leave. Lucky for us, it was a controlled start, so our horses didn't hear thundering hooves leaving them, either. Even though we were all alone, we still did a walking start down the paved road & past the steep gravel downhill. Worked like a charm. Ender was a perfect gentleman, calmer than Bird even. We were planning to slowly pick horses off on our way to our favorite spots. (Bird's is mid-pack, Ender's... well Ender wants to keep picking off horses to infinity. He's always looking for the next one & if he thinks he's run out of them, he pouts.)
The first loop was slow, but awesome. (Our start strategy worked, but it might not be the best idea on a ride with lots of riders & lots of single track. We found ourselves at the back of a long, slow line we couldn't get around. waah) But such nice forest, nice trail. I loved it! My horse loved it! We learned later that Jody (ride manager) thought it was the "bad loop." Well, I swear we must have inhaled some sort of pre-historic raptor pixie dust back in those woods that confused our thinking, because we couldn't find any fault in it & I came out loving me some Alabama, even though we made a stupid rookie mistake & added 4 miles to the loop backtracking. I came out saying, "Oh it was just so nice out there, 16, 20, who cares?" (later, when the GPS said 50 miles & I should have been finished, I was a little less pleased. haha)
The second loop was fun, too. We saw a lot of day riders. They were all so nice & some of them we saw over & over & over. I don't know how that was happening exactly, but it was pretty comical. Mike would jokingly say, "There's only one or two ahead of us, right?" & they'd answer, "Oh, no, there's a ton ahead of you! You'd better kick 'em if you wanna catch 'em." haha One of them asked me about the trail, if I knew whether it was "about an hour" back to their camp. I thought how funny that question was because that all depends on how fast you're going! I told him I thought it was about 8 miles & I heard him say to his friends as we trotted away, "She doesn't know." hahaha
Before we had left home, Mike & I had decided we were going to this race to test our strategy (Operation K.S.A.), then otherwise just ride our ride & depending on how things "shaked down" during the race, if we got close to Top Ten in the last loop, I would drop back & he would go for it. Bird had a quiet gut after our last race, so I was giving probiotics a try & wanted to take it easy. We were going to carry radios & I was going to call him & tell him if someone was coming up behind him. haha Like Nascar. Well, we forgot the radios, but when we left out on that last loop, we asked Lance (timer) where we were & he said 11th & 12th! What?! I had no idea we had moved up like that. I was clueless. I know we went straight in to p/r every check, but still....
Sure enough, as we got into that loop, faster riders (the Texans) came up from behind & we had to execute our "shuttle separation" so that Bird could drop back & Ender could go for the gold! I was worried that I would have a problem with Bird when Ender left him, but it worked out ok. I guess he was tired by then & didn't care. We found a place to scoot over & didn't see Mike & Ender again.
At one point when we were alone, my heart rate monitor started beeping at me & it said Bird's heart had spiked to 220 bpm! What? I slowed down to a walk & worried about my horse for a long way. It slowly came down, but was still high, then (too much later) I looked down & the contact pad had slipped around facing the air! Dang it! Why on earth would a HRM spike when it loses contact with the heart?? Why wouldn't it drop to zero? What is up with that?! Anyway, I don't suppose Bird minded the break. I know better than to rely solely on HRM to know how my horse is doing, so that was sort of a dumb mistake. I turned it off.
We ended up Ender squeaked into the 10th place spot & got to stand for BC. He got high vet score! Yaay! (Mike noticed that he maxed out on the weight portion of the scoring - heehee - my 100-miler horse is being conditioned heavy weight. He & I are gonna soar!!) Bird & I got in about an hour later, 17th. Mike had a run-in with his big (heavy >g<) western saddle, so he was hurting. Somewhere on one of the steep parts, he leaned up over the horn & Ender did a hop to get up the step & drove that horn up under Mike's ribcage & it got stuck! He had to lean up to "unhook" it. Ouch! He's heading to the doctor as I write this, so let's hope that turns out ok.... [[update: He'll live. It's only a cracked rib.]] Oh yeah, & Mike is saddle shopping. Endurance style.
For a first time managing, Jody Buttram sure did seem like she knew what she was doing. She did a great job, prayed up some great weather, & surrounded herself with great help. (I haven't competed in any other region, but I swear we must have the best & nicest group of people working endurance rides anywhere. It's hard to even describe how good they all are, in every way.) Everything was just great! Jody had awards for everything you can imagine, this ridiculously tasty Flintstones-looking slab of meat on a bun for dinner, a perfectly Alabaman guitar player, & lots of dancing under a big tent under a big moon with coyotes singing background. Love.
If you live anywhere even remotely close to north Alabama & didn't make it to the ride, I'm sad for you & hope that Jody does it again so you can do it next year. The trail is technical. Strangely, I didn't realize it at the time, even when I was taking all day to complete it. I heard people talking about it being technical, but I thought they were exaggerating. At the awards ceremony, I was stunned at the ride times. (almost 7 hours for the 50-mile winner?) I thought they were accidentally reading off the total times with holds included. I still didn't believe it until I read my card the next morning & sure enough, I had been out there on trail almost 9 hours! Really? (Bird says, "Yes, really.") There were several steep, deep-step, rock "staircases." I remember saying, "Uuugh" a lot going down them, but they were neat. (Bird says "neat" is not the right word.) Anyway, it's difficult without seeming difficult. Or maybe I was just mesmerized by that forest & everything seemed fun to me. Or maybe it was the raptor dust? Either way, next year, y'all all need to come!! Bring a tough horse, do a tough ride, and maybe it will cast a spell on you like it did me, & you'll have a good, relaxing, fun time, too!
Susan
Franklin
M39909
Raptor Run - Angie McGhee
October 18 2011
This weekend was the first ever Raptor Run at the Bankhead National Forest in Alabama and it was GREAT! Photos at: http://www.my-endurance.net/photo/album/show?id=932467%3AAlbum%3A67114&xg_source=activity
Back when I got into endurance in 1987 Alabama had as many or more rides than most other states...a spring *and* fall 25/50/100 and it was a hotbed of competition. Unfortunately, the ride went away and Alabama has had no rides other than the Talladega ride which is very near the Georgia line. Slowly we lost Mississippi and Alabama and endurance barely seemed to exist there any more. In the last couple of years there's been a wonderful revival. Terry Price brought back the Mississippi rides with Blazing Saddles and Witch Dance and we suddenly started seeing some families like the Carraways, & Huffmans who used to be the 'big dogs" but hadn't been seen lately. Now with the return of the Bankhead Ride it's as if the clock is turning back and the whole area is waking back up! This is such a great part of the country with pleasant weather and great footing. It's like mixing a little Florida sand which is "too soft" with some TN/GA red clay which is "too hard" and getting "just right"!
The old Bankhead Ride was held at a camp called "Owl Creek" which used to accommodate a bunch of 2 horse stock trailers and tents just fine but would never handle even a dozen of today's bigger rigs...so it was an absolute jackpot when Jody Buttram met her pal "Ronny" and discovered he had a huge beautiful bermuda hay field (the horses were in heaven) just a hundred yards or so from the entrance to the national forest...and that he was willing to let us use it!! For those who have known Jody only as a rider for...pretty much forever...it may come as a surprise that she was such a natural ride manager, but for those of us who know the way she plans ahead and can tell you every ride she plans to do and on which horse for the next 24 months it was a no brainer.
As a rider my review of the ride would be: Great camp, well organized, all the right support people there to have total confidence it would be run perfectly. Lance and Samm Bartee and Nancy Gooch as timers, Danny Herlong and Carmen Blaylock taking pulses, and Otis Schmitt and Dee Dee Huff as vets. Doesn't get much more experienced than that. I even had my own personal farrier, Jason Bagley there as ride farrier! Add to that the local Ham Radio club out there to make you feel confident, and fun messages stapled on pie plates going down the trail to keep you amused and it was a great day. The messages for those who didn't know were aimed at Jody's Co-worker "Frannie" who had decided to attempt her first LD on her huge blue roan foundation QH. Her friends at work made up the signs and had Jody post them on trees going down the trail. Franny finished with a whole five minutes to spare! The weather was pretty much what I plan to order up when I make it to heaven. Beautiful fall temps with brilliant blue skies and colorful leaves. Jody was sporting a "new improved" svelte figure after marking the entire trail on foot. After just riding it I was even more impressed with that fact.
Loop one was what Jody considered the "bad loop" that she'd get over with then we'd get to ride her "good trails". Funny, everyone I talked to loved the first loop best. The level of difficulty (for those who know the SE rides) is much like Talladega, but the scenery is much more Big South Fork. Beautiful rock formations, spruce trees, going down into cool hollow sand crossing mountain streams, things you'd never suspect were waiting as you drive through the flat cotton fields on the way to the ride. My theory is that in Alabama if it's flat, you farm it, if it's not you ride it. I've never seen more day riders on the trail. They were very nice and so anxious to yield the trail even when you assured them they didn't have to. Alabama is just horse country! There were so many rigs all over the roads on our drive out. Even passed one fellow calmly riding his horse down the side of a major divided highway with semi traffic going by as he talked on his cell phone. The rocks Jody had warned us of weren't so much the little kind that bruise the sole as they were sandstone formations that you had to hop up on or step down off of. They weren't slick so it was actually kinda fun. Josie and I rode the last half of the first loop with Keith Kibler and wife on a TWH and a Missouri Fox Trotter and Steve Huffman on his Spanish Mustang. Jody went way out of her way to present LOTS of breed awards, contacting the parent organization of pretty much every breed that she knew was coming. Steve is one of the old timers we've gotten back out on the trail and it's amusing to watch the reaction of those who don't know who he is. These days when a guy shows up in jeans, western shirt, cowboy boots and hat, on an old time western saddle riding on a non-Arab we don't expect them to smoke our horses on the trail and look good doing it! We especially don't expect them to hop off their horse and jog the last 1/2 mile uphill into the vet check in their cowboy boots but he did that too!
It turned into a warm day but with all the trademark blue "Jody tubs" of water put out and topped off all day by Jody's husband Joel, and the nice cool streams it was no problem at all. The trail was tough, lots of ups and downs and turns that tend to work the rider more than usual but the footing was soo nice and the scenery too that it was well worth the effort. The ride went off flawlessly and then the fun began...
The ride meal was "sandwiches"...which didn't sound so exciting until you opened your bag and realized your "sandwich:" was a double slab of grilled sirloin steak on a hamburger bun! EXCELLENT!!! That was provided by Jody's brother-in-law and I vote for that to become a tradition!!! Jody's mother, Barbara Rogers (again one of our former competitors from AL) handed out fruit & snacks to riders as they worked during the vet checks...like a mom trying to make her kids take care of themselves. :-)
I'll let Jody post the results. I know some of it by memory though:
30 started
1st Karen Dely
2nd Steve Huffman on Southern Motion, Spanish Mustang, home bred, gaited, doing his first 50. BEST CONDITION!
3rd Angie McGhee on JA Hallys Eclipse (WOOP WOOP!)
4th McKinley Borden
5th Summer Borden
6th Ron Chapman (raced in...had his great grandson there as crew. How many kids have a great grandpa like that?)
7th Jason Stasiek
8th Josie McGhee on TM Cade
9th Cici Butler-Stasiek
10 Mike Miller on Ender (High Vet Score)
32 started
1st Eddie Edwards
BC Ike Nelson on Spiderman (8 straight BC's!)
Next came the great awards. Lots of friends who were happy to have rides back in Alabama had donated great stuff....Alice Smith (another old timer from Mississippi) donated beautiful "first junior" halters with plaques. The Pow Wow ride donated a free entry for last junior in both distances. Terry Price of MS donated "Redneck Wine Glasses" for high vet score (a mason jar on a stem...you can screw the lid on so you don't spill it when you're drunk...order yours now!) I donated a copy of my book "The Lighter Side of Endurance" to a first time rider (Order TWO now!). Bags of Legends endurance feed ($20 or so value) for top 10 in the 50, Raptor Run buckets, tubs, leads with engraved tags for breed awards, a big coffee table book for first TWH from their parent club, beautiful engraved silver platters for BC in both distances and War Mare in the 50. LOTS OF LOOT! :-)
After the awards Jody had hired a fantastic performer, Joseph Baldwin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9DEx5SZFi8 I enjoyed just leaning back in my chair under a blanket and listening to him. He could do popular songs as well as the original performers but I especially enjoyed his very well written originals of his own. Then he turned up the dance tunes and got the less inhibited to entertain us with some fun dancing. That ended a great ride day and early morning Cowboy Church with Ike Nelson ended a great weekend. Can't wait for next year. :-))
Linda Toops was the ride photographer and should have her photos up soon at http://www.momentstomemorieshome.com Jody allowed me to post my personal photos directly onto the Raptor Run Endurance.net page at http://www.my-endurance.net/photo/album/show?id=932467%3AAlbum%3A67114&xg_source=activity I kind of forgot while I was posting them that I was on her page so if I by any chance put a comment on like, "Jody did a wonderful job" it's going to look like she was bragging...but that was me. >g< Didn't have time to go all the way back through and figure out if I had done that or not. :-P
Thanks Jody and all those who made it possible!
Angie McGhee
This weekend was the first ever Raptor Run at the Bankhead National Forest in Alabama and it was GREAT! Photos at: http://www.my-endurance.net/photo/album/show?id=932467%3AAlbum%3A67114&xg_source=activity
Back when I got into endurance in 1987 Alabama had as many or more rides than most other states...a spring *and* fall 25/50/100 and it was a hotbed of competition. Unfortunately, the ride went away and Alabama has had no rides other than the Talladega ride which is very near the Georgia line. Slowly we lost Mississippi and Alabama and endurance barely seemed to exist there any more. In the last couple of years there's been a wonderful revival. Terry Price brought back the Mississippi rides with Blazing Saddles and Witch Dance and we suddenly started seeing some families like the Carraways, & Huffmans who used to be the 'big dogs" but hadn't been seen lately. Now with the return of the Bankhead Ride it's as if the clock is turning back and the whole area is waking back up! This is such a great part of the country with pleasant weather and great footing. It's like mixing a little Florida sand which is "too soft" with some TN/GA red clay which is "too hard" and getting "just right"!
The old Bankhead Ride was held at a camp called "Owl Creek" which used to accommodate a bunch of 2 horse stock trailers and tents just fine but would never handle even a dozen of today's bigger rigs...so it was an absolute jackpot when Jody Buttram met her pal "Ronny" and discovered he had a huge beautiful bermuda hay field (the horses were in heaven) just a hundred yards or so from the entrance to the national forest...and that he was willing to let us use it!! For those who have known Jody only as a rider for...pretty much forever...it may come as a surprise that she was such a natural ride manager, but for those of us who know the way she plans ahead and can tell you every ride she plans to do and on which horse for the next 24 months it was a no brainer.
As a rider my review of the ride would be: Great camp, well organized, all the right support people there to have total confidence it would be run perfectly. Lance and Samm Bartee and Nancy Gooch as timers, Danny Herlong and Carmen Blaylock taking pulses, and Otis Schmitt and Dee Dee Huff as vets. Doesn't get much more experienced than that. I even had my own personal farrier, Jason Bagley there as ride farrier! Add to that the local Ham Radio club out there to make you feel confident, and fun messages stapled on pie plates going down the trail to keep you amused and it was a great day. The messages for those who didn't know were aimed at Jody's Co-worker "Frannie" who had decided to attempt her first LD on her huge blue roan foundation QH. Her friends at work made up the signs and had Jody post them on trees going down the trail. Franny finished with a whole five minutes to spare! The weather was pretty much what I plan to order up when I make it to heaven. Beautiful fall temps with brilliant blue skies and colorful leaves. Jody was sporting a "new improved" svelte figure after marking the entire trail on foot. After just riding it I was even more impressed with that fact.
Loop one was what Jody considered the "bad loop" that she'd get over with then we'd get to ride her "good trails". Funny, everyone I talked to loved the first loop best. The level of difficulty (for those who know the SE rides) is much like Talladega, but the scenery is much more Big South Fork. Beautiful rock formations, spruce trees, going down into cool hollow sand crossing mountain streams, things you'd never suspect were waiting as you drive through the flat cotton fields on the way to the ride. My theory is that in Alabama if it's flat, you farm it, if it's not you ride it. I've never seen more day riders on the trail. They were very nice and so anxious to yield the trail even when you assured them they didn't have to. Alabama is just horse country! There were so many rigs all over the roads on our drive out. Even passed one fellow calmly riding his horse down the side of a major divided highway with semi traffic going by as he talked on his cell phone. The rocks Jody had warned us of weren't so much the little kind that bruise the sole as they were sandstone formations that you had to hop up on or step down off of. They weren't slick so it was actually kinda fun. Josie and I rode the last half of the first loop with Keith Kibler and wife on a TWH and a Missouri Fox Trotter and Steve Huffman on his Spanish Mustang. Jody went way out of her way to present LOTS of breed awards, contacting the parent organization of pretty much every breed that she knew was coming. Steve is one of the old timers we've gotten back out on the trail and it's amusing to watch the reaction of those who don't know who he is. These days when a guy shows up in jeans, western shirt, cowboy boots and hat, on an old time western saddle riding on a non-Arab we don't expect them to smoke our horses on the trail and look good doing it! We especially don't expect them to hop off their horse and jog the last 1/2 mile uphill into the vet check in their cowboy boots but he did that too!
It turned into a warm day but with all the trademark blue "Jody tubs" of water put out and topped off all day by Jody's husband Joel, and the nice cool streams it was no problem at all. The trail was tough, lots of ups and downs and turns that tend to work the rider more than usual but the footing was soo nice and the scenery too that it was well worth the effort. The ride went off flawlessly and then the fun began...
The ride meal was "sandwiches"...which didn't sound so exciting until you opened your bag and realized your "sandwich:" was a double slab of grilled sirloin steak on a hamburger bun! EXCELLENT!!! That was provided by Jody's brother-in-law and I vote for that to become a tradition!!! Jody's mother, Barbara Rogers (again one of our former competitors from AL) handed out fruit & snacks to riders as they worked during the vet checks...like a mom trying to make her kids take care of themselves. :-)
I'll let Jody post the results. I know some of it by memory though:
30 started
1st Karen Dely
2nd Steve Huffman on Southern Motion, Spanish Mustang, home bred, gaited, doing his first 50. BEST CONDITION!
3rd Angie McGhee on JA Hallys Eclipse (WOOP WOOP!)
4th McKinley Borden
5th Summer Borden
6th Ron Chapman (raced in...had his great grandson there as crew. How many kids have a great grandpa like that?)
7th Jason Stasiek
8th Josie McGhee on TM Cade
9th Cici Butler-Stasiek
10 Mike Miller on Ender (High Vet Score)
32 started
1st Eddie Edwards
BC Ike Nelson on Spiderman (8 straight BC's!)
Next came the great awards. Lots of friends who were happy to have rides back in Alabama had donated great stuff....Alice Smith (another old timer from Mississippi) donated beautiful "first junior" halters with plaques. The Pow Wow ride donated a free entry for last junior in both distances. Terry Price of MS donated "Redneck Wine Glasses" for high vet score (a mason jar on a stem...you can screw the lid on so you don't spill it when you're drunk...order yours now!) I donated a copy of my book "The Lighter Side of Endurance" to a first time rider (Order TWO now!). Bags of Legends endurance feed ($20 or so value) for top 10 in the 50, Raptor Run buckets, tubs, leads with engraved tags for breed awards, a big coffee table book for first TWH from their parent club, beautiful engraved silver platters for BC in both distances and War Mare in the 50. LOTS OF LOOT! :-)
After the awards Jody had hired a fantastic performer, Joseph Baldwin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9DEx5SZFi8 I enjoyed just leaning back in my chair under a blanket and listening to him. He could do popular songs as well as the original performers but I especially enjoyed his very well written originals of his own. Then he turned up the dance tunes and got the less inhibited to entertain us with some fun dancing. That ended a great ride day and early morning Cowboy Church with Ike Nelson ended a great weekend. Can't wait for next year. :-))
Linda Toops was the ride photographer and should have her photos up soon at http://www.momentstomemorieshome.com Jody allowed me to post my personal photos directly onto the Raptor Run Endurance.net page at http://www.my-endurance.net/photo/album/show?id=932467%3AAlbum%3A67114&xg_source=activity I kind of forgot while I was posting them that I was on her page so if I by any chance put a comment on like, "Jody did a wonderful job" it's going to look like she was bragging...but that was me. >g< Didn't have time to go all the way back through and figure out if I had done that or not. :-P
Thanks Jody and all those who made it possible!
Angie McGhee
Saturday, October 15, 2011
2011 Tevis: Did It! - Jenni Smith
Blogs.equisearch.com - Jenni Smith - Full Story
October 10, 2011
The motto of the Western States Trail Ride (aka Tevis) is “To finish is to win.” It is truly apt. Even this year, with a significantly different route that took out a majority (in my opinion) of the more challenging trail, the completion rate only climbed to 60%. When the ride follows its typical course, that rate typically hovers around 50%. Which ever way you slice it, this is a tough stinkin’ ride.
That said – we finished! And it definitely feels like a win – for us, for our horses, for all the careful preparation, time and monies spent. Whoo hoo!
Jenn and I got to McCann Stadium (in the Auburn fairgrounds), did our victory lap around the arena, and passed under the official finish line just after 10 PM Saturday evening. Definitely the earliest time I will ever finish the ride, by a margin of at least two hours. Bear and I finished in 16th and Jenn and Stella were 18th (another rider named Pam Bailie on a cute paint mare named Macy did the last four mile stretch with us and finished 17th).
The amazing thing is that the winner – Jeremy Reynolds – finished three hours ahead of us. He did the entire course in 10 1/2 hours. Amazing. We came into the first vet check just behind him and were maybe 10 minutes behind him by the mid-point of the ride. It’s a testimony to an amazing horse and a fit rider (he runs quite a bit with his horses) that he could pick up the pace so much in the second half of a very tough ride.
Even though the course was largely different, I still thought of this as three rides sewn together – here are their stories;
FIRST LEG – AUBURN TO FORESTHILL (38.6 miles)
The start was something to behold. They had all of the horses muster in one open field at 6 AM (start was at 6:30) and asked us to keep moving them around in a large circle – both for safety (fewer dust-ups) and to give them opportunity to warm up. Jenn and I malingered near the start line because we wanted to get out in the first part of the herd (again for safety – we knew our horses capable of a pretty fast pace and the fewer horses you have to pass the less chance for wrecks). Then a lead rider walked us some distance in a controlled start (much like a car race, my SO pointed out). As we wound down a hillside on an asphalt one-lane road, Jenn called out to look back and it was just a sea of horses winding up the hill in the early morning light. So wished I had a camera with me.
When the lead horse stepped aside, the pace exploded. Jenn had been concerned about Stella in this setting – she’s young yet, a little inexperienced, and has a tendency to lash out with her heels at other horses. But she was good – only aimed two retaliations at horses that crowded her from behind and didn’t cause any damage (it does help that she isn’t wearing steel shoes). There was some jostling and Jenn and I had to make an effort to stay together in the low light as we sped down a dirt fire road, headed toward the Tevis trail to Foresthill. But things shook out pretty quickly and we landed in a good space...
Read more here:
http://blogs.equisearch.com/jennismith/2011/10/10/did-it/
October 10, 2011
The motto of the Western States Trail Ride (aka Tevis) is “To finish is to win.” It is truly apt. Even this year, with a significantly different route that took out a majority (in my opinion) of the more challenging trail, the completion rate only climbed to 60%. When the ride follows its typical course, that rate typically hovers around 50%. Which ever way you slice it, this is a tough stinkin’ ride.
That said – we finished! And it definitely feels like a win – for us, for our horses, for all the careful preparation, time and monies spent. Whoo hoo!
Jenn and I got to McCann Stadium (in the Auburn fairgrounds), did our victory lap around the arena, and passed under the official finish line just after 10 PM Saturday evening. Definitely the earliest time I will ever finish the ride, by a margin of at least two hours. Bear and I finished in 16th and Jenn and Stella were 18th (another rider named Pam Bailie on a cute paint mare named Macy did the last four mile stretch with us and finished 17th).
The amazing thing is that the winner – Jeremy Reynolds – finished three hours ahead of us. He did the entire course in 10 1/2 hours. Amazing. We came into the first vet check just behind him and were maybe 10 minutes behind him by the mid-point of the ride. It’s a testimony to an amazing horse and a fit rider (he runs quite a bit with his horses) that he could pick up the pace so much in the second half of a very tough ride.
Even though the course was largely different, I still thought of this as three rides sewn together – here are their stories;
FIRST LEG – AUBURN TO FORESTHILL (38.6 miles)
The start was something to behold. They had all of the horses muster in one open field at 6 AM (start was at 6:30) and asked us to keep moving them around in a large circle – both for safety (fewer dust-ups) and to give them opportunity to warm up. Jenn and I malingered near the start line because we wanted to get out in the first part of the herd (again for safety – we knew our horses capable of a pretty fast pace and the fewer horses you have to pass the less chance for wrecks). Then a lead rider walked us some distance in a controlled start (much like a car race, my SO pointed out). As we wound down a hillside on an asphalt one-lane road, Jenn called out to look back and it was just a sea of horses winding up the hill in the early morning light. So wished I had a camera with me.
When the lead horse stepped aside, the pace exploded. Jenn had been concerned about Stella in this setting – she’s young yet, a little inexperienced, and has a tendency to lash out with her heels at other horses. But she was good – only aimed two retaliations at horses that crowded her from behind and didn’t cause any damage (it does help that she isn’t wearing steel shoes). There was some jostling and Jenn and I had to make an effort to stay together in the low light as we sped down a dirt fire road, headed toward the Tevis trail to Foresthill. But things shook out pretty quickly and we landed in a good space...
Read more here:
http://blogs.equisearch.com/jennismith/2011/10/10/did-it/
The Tevis 2011* It’s always an adventure! - Nick Warhol
Nickwarhol.com - Full Story
October 13 2011
(* The Tevis with an asterisk)
This ride just seemed like it did not want to want to be held. It was supposed to happen in the summer, but there was too much snow in the Sierra to allow it. Something like 10 feet was still standing in and around Robinson Flat in August, and Squaw Valley had a reported 700 inches this winter, which is something like 60 feet of snow? That’s a bigger snowpack than a lot of ski lift towers are high! It sure would not work for the horses. Rather than cancel, those dedicated WSTF people made the call to move the ride to October 8th- a very daring move to say the least. There were concerns about the fewer daylight hours, the campgrounds, the cold, and perhaps would it rain? Yeah, that turned out to be the biggie. Not only did it rain all over northern California, but it snowed, again, in the Mountains. Not your nice, light, fluffy dusting of powder. No sir- this was a storm that dumped between 2 and 3 feet at the upper elevations. In October? It’s the Donner party all over again. At least that’s what I thought when on Thursday afternoon I nervously looked up at the ski runs at Squaw Valley that were covered in snow, just begging for skiers, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Lucky for me I was really sick the weekend before the ride. So sick that I would not have been able to go if it had been a week later. Sometimes my luck works out in the right direction! I felt a little funky on Wednesday, but not enough to keep me away from the ride. (I just wired up a box of Kleenex and a bottle of DayQuil on the front of my saddle.) Donnie and I are having our best ever year and he’s in splendid shape. My wife Judy once again “volunteered” to crew for me and my Donnie on my ninth start, Donnie’s fourth. He’s three for three here- twice under me and once under Judy. The deal is if Judy crews for me at Tevis I get to crew for her at 5 other rides during the year (if I don’t ride) It’s a fair deal, since crewing at Tevis is more work than riding it. Our best buddy Becky Glaser also joined in to provide the much needed second vehicle, as well as giving Judy a hand. It’s SO nice to have a crew, especially these people with such experience. They just know what to do.
We tried to pack up and leave for the ride Thursday morning as we usually do, but we found ourselves watching a movie in the house while the rain poured outside our home in Hayward. I wasn’t packing up in this. I kept looking at the road conditions- highway 80 was still open without chains amazingly enough. (I ordered some for the trailer a couple of days before we left, just in case. You know- If you have ‘em you won’t need ‘em.) At about 10:30am it let up and blue sky appeared. We tossed our stuff in the rig, loaded up the boy and set forth in the mighty Pony Tug wondering what we were in for. The trip up was completely uneventful until we started climbing the Sierra. It was blue sky and clear all the way, with roads open, but the snow on the ground in the mountains started about 3000 feet. It kept getting deeper and deeper, until at the Donner summit there was easily 2 plus feet on the ground. It looked like the dead of winter. There were small walls of plowed snow on the edges of the highway. All I could think was “there is NO WAY the ride is going to through this snow.” This is 7000 feet; the top of Squaw is above 9000. It sure was a nice day, though. We rolled down through Truckee and down highway 267 to the turn for the entrance to Robie Park. It wasn’t marked, but we turned in to the forest onto the narrow paved section. Uh oh- here comes a rig from the other direction. And another. A third. This can’t be good. We pause at the tow truck, and see a rig turning around in a spot that worked. The driver, Leigh Bacco, stopped and rolled her window down as she passed us coming out and told us it was a no-go. A rig had been stuck ahead of us, and the tow truck driver had apparently said it was a thousand dollar tow job, and that there was no way he was going back in there, so we were on our own. Leigh had made the right call! She said she was planning on driving over to Squaw Valley and hanging out there until we knew what to do. It took about a half hour to get to Squaw, but we were sure wondering out load what in the heck would happen with the ride. Start at Squaw? Um, no, not with all this snow. We pulled in and found a nice place in the parking lot to set up the rigs. We unloaded the boys and put blankets on; it was 4:30pm, but under 30 degrees and getting colder. Donnie and the other horses happily stood and ate while Judy and I, Leigh, and Matt Scribner all threw on ski parkas and sat around enjoying Bloody Marys and Gin and Tonics that Matt graciously made. They were great! We were waiting for the decision that would be announced at 5 pm. Smart phones are wonderful- sure enough we saw the announcement that Robie Park was out of the question and we should all head for Auburn. There would be a ride! Of some sort. The boys had been in the trailer for too many hours straight, so we walked over to the local Sushi restaurant and had a fantastic dinner and really enjoyed ourselves. Just like being on a Ski vacation! With my horse? It was that cold! After dinner we trundled the boys back in to the trailers and drove on back to Auburn. I was quite relieved, since I had already made up my mind I would not start if they intended to head up over Squaw Valley. We found a nice spot in the grass field by the finish, put up the horses and went to bed by 10:30 pm.
Friday morning brought all kinds of speculation. There would be a ride, but where? How? It seemed pretty unlikely that anything could be done. I chatted with Barbara White in the morning and she gave me the straight scoop- a hundred miles, out backwards on the trail to Foresthill, to Chicken Hawk, then an out and back loop, then back on to Auburn the way we came. A Tevis lollipop ride! The mind reels! What about the start? On the finish single track? Come on! Two way traffic on the California loop? You have to be kidding. What about the river in the morning? Would it be lowered in time? These WSTF crazies re-did the ride in 24 hours that it had taken them a year to plan. Who would be where, when, I can’t believe how much they must have gone through. The ride meeting was pretty funny. Poor Chuck Staley probably had not slept in 2 days, and Tony Benedetti tried to explain the start. What pens? All we had to do was walk along the railroad tracks, go to a field, muster there awhile, head through a gate under the underpass, through the skateboard park, down a paved road for 10 minutes, hit the field at the bottom, not enter the ditch on either side, only enter the lower pen in one spot, circle around, and they would release us at 6:30 am when we could at least see. Right. Everyone was really wondering how this would work. I tried to calculate a start time that would get us just to the start just as they left.
It turned out to be unbelievably good. I mean REALLY good. Like better and easier than any Tevis start I have been on...
Read more here:
http://nickwarhol.com/files/tevis_2011_story.htm
October 13 2011
(* The Tevis with an asterisk)
This ride just seemed like it did not want to want to be held. It was supposed to happen in the summer, but there was too much snow in the Sierra to allow it. Something like 10 feet was still standing in and around Robinson Flat in August, and Squaw Valley had a reported 700 inches this winter, which is something like 60 feet of snow? That’s a bigger snowpack than a lot of ski lift towers are high! It sure would not work for the horses. Rather than cancel, those dedicated WSTF people made the call to move the ride to October 8th- a very daring move to say the least. There were concerns about the fewer daylight hours, the campgrounds, the cold, and perhaps would it rain? Yeah, that turned out to be the biggie. Not only did it rain all over northern California, but it snowed, again, in the Mountains. Not your nice, light, fluffy dusting of powder. No sir- this was a storm that dumped between 2 and 3 feet at the upper elevations. In October? It’s the Donner party all over again. At least that’s what I thought when on Thursday afternoon I nervously looked up at the ski runs at Squaw Valley that were covered in snow, just begging for skiers, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Lucky for me I was really sick the weekend before the ride. So sick that I would not have been able to go if it had been a week later. Sometimes my luck works out in the right direction! I felt a little funky on Wednesday, but not enough to keep me away from the ride. (I just wired up a box of Kleenex and a bottle of DayQuil on the front of my saddle.) Donnie and I are having our best ever year and he’s in splendid shape. My wife Judy once again “volunteered” to crew for me and my Donnie on my ninth start, Donnie’s fourth. He’s three for three here- twice under me and once under Judy. The deal is if Judy crews for me at Tevis I get to crew for her at 5 other rides during the year (if I don’t ride) It’s a fair deal, since crewing at Tevis is more work than riding it. Our best buddy Becky Glaser also joined in to provide the much needed second vehicle, as well as giving Judy a hand. It’s SO nice to have a crew, especially these people with such experience. They just know what to do.
We tried to pack up and leave for the ride Thursday morning as we usually do, but we found ourselves watching a movie in the house while the rain poured outside our home in Hayward. I wasn’t packing up in this. I kept looking at the road conditions- highway 80 was still open without chains amazingly enough. (I ordered some for the trailer a couple of days before we left, just in case. You know- If you have ‘em you won’t need ‘em.) At about 10:30am it let up and blue sky appeared. We tossed our stuff in the rig, loaded up the boy and set forth in the mighty Pony Tug wondering what we were in for. The trip up was completely uneventful until we started climbing the Sierra. It was blue sky and clear all the way, with roads open, but the snow on the ground in the mountains started about 3000 feet. It kept getting deeper and deeper, until at the Donner summit there was easily 2 plus feet on the ground. It looked like the dead of winter. There were small walls of plowed snow on the edges of the highway. All I could think was “there is NO WAY the ride is going to through this snow.” This is 7000 feet; the top of Squaw is above 9000. It sure was a nice day, though. We rolled down through Truckee and down highway 267 to the turn for the entrance to Robie Park. It wasn’t marked, but we turned in to the forest onto the narrow paved section. Uh oh- here comes a rig from the other direction. And another. A third. This can’t be good. We pause at the tow truck, and see a rig turning around in a spot that worked. The driver, Leigh Bacco, stopped and rolled her window down as she passed us coming out and told us it was a no-go. A rig had been stuck ahead of us, and the tow truck driver had apparently said it was a thousand dollar tow job, and that there was no way he was going back in there, so we were on our own. Leigh had made the right call! She said she was planning on driving over to Squaw Valley and hanging out there until we knew what to do. It took about a half hour to get to Squaw, but we were sure wondering out load what in the heck would happen with the ride. Start at Squaw? Um, no, not with all this snow. We pulled in and found a nice place in the parking lot to set up the rigs. We unloaded the boys and put blankets on; it was 4:30pm, but under 30 degrees and getting colder. Donnie and the other horses happily stood and ate while Judy and I, Leigh, and Matt Scribner all threw on ski parkas and sat around enjoying Bloody Marys and Gin and Tonics that Matt graciously made. They were great! We were waiting for the decision that would be announced at 5 pm. Smart phones are wonderful- sure enough we saw the announcement that Robie Park was out of the question and we should all head for Auburn. There would be a ride! Of some sort. The boys had been in the trailer for too many hours straight, so we walked over to the local Sushi restaurant and had a fantastic dinner and really enjoyed ourselves. Just like being on a Ski vacation! With my horse? It was that cold! After dinner we trundled the boys back in to the trailers and drove on back to Auburn. I was quite relieved, since I had already made up my mind I would not start if they intended to head up over Squaw Valley. We found a nice spot in the grass field by the finish, put up the horses and went to bed by 10:30 pm.
Friday morning brought all kinds of speculation. There would be a ride, but where? How? It seemed pretty unlikely that anything could be done. I chatted with Barbara White in the morning and she gave me the straight scoop- a hundred miles, out backwards on the trail to Foresthill, to Chicken Hawk, then an out and back loop, then back on to Auburn the way we came. A Tevis lollipop ride! The mind reels! What about the start? On the finish single track? Come on! Two way traffic on the California loop? You have to be kidding. What about the river in the morning? Would it be lowered in time? These WSTF crazies re-did the ride in 24 hours that it had taken them a year to plan. Who would be where, when, I can’t believe how much they must have gone through. The ride meeting was pretty funny. Poor Chuck Staley probably had not slept in 2 days, and Tony Benedetti tried to explain the start. What pens? All we had to do was walk along the railroad tracks, go to a field, muster there awhile, head through a gate under the underpass, through the skateboard park, down a paved road for 10 minutes, hit the field at the bottom, not enter the ditch on either side, only enter the lower pen in one spot, circle around, and they would release us at 6:30 am when we could at least see. Right. Everyone was really wondering how this would work. I tried to calculate a start time that would get us just to the start just as they left.
It turned out to be unbelievably good. I mean REALLY good. Like better and easier than any Tevis start I have been on...
Read more here:
http://nickwarhol.com/files/tevis_2011_story.htm
Tevis - Heather Reynolds
Reynolds Racing Blog - Full Story
Monday, 10 October 2011
This year Tevis was a really different experience for everyone who attended. The week leading up to the ride there had been a storm that had left the sierras covered in snow. It would be extremely dangerous to attempt to cross through the Granite Chief wilderness area. On Thursday I called the Tevis office and was told that it would be fine but that I should wait to drive to Robie Park on Friday to let the snow melt a little. This looked really bad to me as I knew there had to be a lot more snow up in the high country if basecamp was hard to access.
Six weeks before Tevis I was contacted to help a couple of UAE riders through the race. I had been preparing horses like crazy for 100 mile races for both Tevis and the North American Championship that had been two weeks before Tevis and was working really hard. I also went and picked up two of Hillorie's horses to train them as well, Jordan and Sandy, so that we could use Sandy and have Jordan as a back up. I was now really worried that all of the hard work was going to now be faced with danger.
My friend Chris Long was driving in with Andy Bown from Utah. Andy was lending Chris a horse so she could help assist me in getting the riders through. Chris called me to let me know that she had heard there would be an update on the Tevis web page later in the day.
Upon looking it was later learned that we would start from the Auburn Fairgrounds (the finish line) and do the race in reverse all the way to Chicken Hawk, then do a new trail down Gorman Ranch Road to a number check and turn around from there and go back to Auburn, the way we had come. Essentially Tevis would be an out and back. What a relief from the hazards that were out in the high country covered in 3 plus feet of snow!!
Friday we drove up to Auburn, which shortens our drive by over an hour. We found a great parking spot and unloaded the 4 horses. We had with us Marvel for Jeremy, Tiran for Mohammad, Sandy for Sultan and Bey for myself.
After setting up it was only 9 am. We had left home at 5 am to get a good parking spot. We decided to walk to downtown Auburn for breakfast. We hit up Aweful Annies. It was a great breakfast but while we were there, there were an alarming amount of Bloody Marries being bought and consumed from surrounding tables. Not sure what was up with that, I counted at least 12 and we were sitting on the outdoor patio deck!
We looked around a couple of shops then headed back to the ride site. Around noon the whole gang showed up. Almost all of the crew as well as the riders. We visited for a bit and then went to get our rider packets and vetted in. After all of this we went for a pre ride. I wanted to get the two riders on their horses and make sure the tack would work out. The ride went well. On our way back when we were almost back a super, super long train went by and all of the horses had to wait it out. They did ok with it, a little anxious but ok.
The ride meeting was at 4 pm. It was shorter than normal which was great. It left time for dinner before bed without it getting too late. During the ride meeting we found out the vet check arrangements. The first vet would be a trot by at the lower quarry, then a full vet check at Francisco's, and hour hold at Foresthill, another trot by at Chicken Hawk, then loop back to Chicken Hawk for a full vet check, back to Foresthill for another hour hold, full vet checks at Francisco's and the Lower Quarry then the finish.
We all headed into town for dinner, I must say having Tevis this way was SOOO civilized, restaurants, real bathrooms with showers and no red dirt!
Saturday morning we even got to sleep in compared to normal, the ride didn't start until 6:30. Wonderful! The two riders showed up around 5:30 and Hillorie even brought us Starbucks! We saddled up and got on at 6. Jeremy a little sooner, as he would be riding faster and wanted to get down to the start.
My group had a relaxing walk to the start. I was wearing a red glowing armband so that my riders could spot me easily in the little darkness in the morning. It worked well. We all kept together easily. It is about a 15 min ride down to the start so we got there a little over 10 mins before the start.
The ride began and we were off...
Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/359/tevis
Monday, 10 October 2011
This year Tevis was a really different experience for everyone who attended. The week leading up to the ride there had been a storm that had left the sierras covered in snow. It would be extremely dangerous to attempt to cross through the Granite Chief wilderness area. On Thursday I called the Tevis office and was told that it would be fine but that I should wait to drive to Robie Park on Friday to let the snow melt a little. This looked really bad to me as I knew there had to be a lot more snow up in the high country if basecamp was hard to access.
Six weeks before Tevis I was contacted to help a couple of UAE riders through the race. I had been preparing horses like crazy for 100 mile races for both Tevis and the North American Championship that had been two weeks before Tevis and was working really hard. I also went and picked up two of Hillorie's horses to train them as well, Jordan and Sandy, so that we could use Sandy and have Jordan as a back up. I was now really worried that all of the hard work was going to now be faced with danger.
My friend Chris Long was driving in with Andy Bown from Utah. Andy was lending Chris a horse so she could help assist me in getting the riders through. Chris called me to let me know that she had heard there would be an update on the Tevis web page later in the day.
Upon looking it was later learned that we would start from the Auburn Fairgrounds (the finish line) and do the race in reverse all the way to Chicken Hawk, then do a new trail down Gorman Ranch Road to a number check and turn around from there and go back to Auburn, the way we had come. Essentially Tevis would be an out and back. What a relief from the hazards that were out in the high country covered in 3 plus feet of snow!!
Friday we drove up to Auburn, which shortens our drive by over an hour. We found a great parking spot and unloaded the 4 horses. We had with us Marvel for Jeremy, Tiran for Mohammad, Sandy for Sultan and Bey for myself.
After setting up it was only 9 am. We had left home at 5 am to get a good parking spot. We decided to walk to downtown Auburn for breakfast. We hit up Aweful Annies. It was a great breakfast but while we were there, there were an alarming amount of Bloody Marries being bought and consumed from surrounding tables. Not sure what was up with that, I counted at least 12 and we were sitting on the outdoor patio deck!
We looked around a couple of shops then headed back to the ride site. Around noon the whole gang showed up. Almost all of the crew as well as the riders. We visited for a bit and then went to get our rider packets and vetted in. After all of this we went for a pre ride. I wanted to get the two riders on their horses and make sure the tack would work out. The ride went well. On our way back when we were almost back a super, super long train went by and all of the horses had to wait it out. They did ok with it, a little anxious but ok.
The ride meeting was at 4 pm. It was shorter than normal which was great. It left time for dinner before bed without it getting too late. During the ride meeting we found out the vet check arrangements. The first vet would be a trot by at the lower quarry, then a full vet check at Francisco's, and hour hold at Foresthill, another trot by at Chicken Hawk, then loop back to Chicken Hawk for a full vet check, back to Foresthill for another hour hold, full vet checks at Francisco's and the Lower Quarry then the finish.
We all headed into town for dinner, I must say having Tevis this way was SOOO civilized, restaurants, real bathrooms with showers and no red dirt!
Saturday morning we even got to sleep in compared to normal, the ride didn't start until 6:30. Wonderful! The two riders showed up around 5:30 and Hillorie even brought us Starbucks! We saddled up and got on at 6. Jeremy a little sooner, as he would be riding faster and wanted to get down to the start.
My group had a relaxing walk to the start. I was wearing a red glowing armband so that my riders could spot me easily in the little darkness in the morning. It worked well. We all kept together easily. It is about a 15 min ride down to the start so we got there a little over 10 mins before the start.
The ride began and we were off...
Read more here:
http://www.reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/359/tevis
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