Ofir Me The Wind, aka 'Kidd', A Horse With Heart - Kenny Stickler

Driving up hwy 62 just south of Prospect 9/25/99 all hell broke loose. Kidd and I were just going for a weekend of hunting. At 9:30 pm a BUCK jumped out. The truck handled it ,but the trailer didn't.The trailer pulled us of the road and corked screwed itself and the truck through the air.When I woke up Kidd was standing all humped over and bleeding. "My God my horse is dying" I thought.As I walked up to Kidd I realized he was still tied to what was left of the trailer and his head was taut to the ground.

I ran to the road and watched the first car fly by. In a blur a man stopped. Seeming more shaken than I, he gave me a knife to cut Kidd's rope halter loose and a phone to make a 911 call.

Kidd ran off as soon as he was free and instantly started eating. With the exception of looking like the horse whisperer he seemed fine. Not so - When I started looking closely , I noticed a large bump on Kidd's left rump the size of basketball.I thought it was a cramp but not so. It was a large hematoma.

Moving Kidd wasn't possible so Kidd stayed the night in someone's pasture. Kidd was now in Gods hands a and God took care of Kidd. Kidd ended up with a broken tail and back just above his tail. He lost all the hide on his rump and in time 90% of his tail.I had broken T-10 in my back as well.

Susie Morril sent a trailer down soon after the crash. With the trailer came Dennis O'Brien a horse chiropractor. Dennis demonstrated how to stimulate nerve growth in Kidd's tail. Dennis assistant opened my eyes to something I would never of thought. She asked me " doesn't it make you feel good ?" I looked at her in awe and said what in the world do you mean. Here my horse has a broken tail and back , I'm messed up as well, My truck is totaled and my trailer , well its at the scrap yard how would I feel good. Her reply was this. "Doesn't it make you feel good to know you have such a great protector? You should of all passed in this crash but you didn't and here you are. God has other plans for you guys she said." She was so right. Six months off for Kidd and me, we seemed to heal at the same pace. We were ready to start training. Our first ride back we went to Stookey and did 60 miles. Everybody asked about Kidd's short tail and couldn't believe the story and the pictures of the wreck.

I let Kidd go in this race and I mean GO.Kidd's Reg name is OFIR ME THE WIND and the wind was offered to us that day.We finished the race in 4:08 and received BE.C. This was quite a miracle, we not only got back on the trail we did it getting B.C over MC. RamsZ - not a easy task.

Susie Morril gave some of the best advice I could of gotten at this time of my endurance life. Susie said to get Kidd out of the 50s and go the distance.She said Kidd has talent and I'll ruin him if I keep doing what I had been doing.So I listened and in our second 75 we received yet another B.C. The longer distance seemed perfect. After some trials and errors we soon learned what to do and what not to do " almost '.

The next test of faith and heart came in 2001 in Bandit Spring ride.Kidd became ill at this ride and had to go to Bend Equine Hospital.The doctor couldn't believe Kidd was still standing.Kidd wasn't looking well at all.He was crashing hard and fast.At the ride Kidd's vet scores were great even the last one before his break,something wasn't right with his belly.All we could figure out after all the blood work prior to the hospital was great, is that maybe the electrolytes I gave him were different than any other I gave him. Kidd s stomach became upset and a chain reaction happened.The doctor wanted me to sign a paper saying he could put Kidd down in the night if things didn't get better. I of course said no way.You're asking me if Kidd might give up. I said I wouldn't do or think of such a thing.

While out unhooking the trailer the doctor said to my wife this is pretty much a lost cause.My wife Jill said,"you don't understand Kidd is our miracle horse." She explained the trailer accident and the doctor said well we need another miracle. When I started to leave I said out loud towards Kidd " HEY " and walked up to him .Trying to show no weakness I said to him quietly "don't you quit" and stared deep into his tired eyes.He stared back and with a distant but determined look he said he wouldn't, I just know.

Kidd made it and made it and after a couple of months we did a slow 80 Pacific Crest.Since we have completed four more 75 milers and four 100 miler with a training ride 50 miler.Now we"re honored to have been selected to ride on the Pacific North team in the Pan American Championship.

When it ccomes down to it, Kidd has one very important attraction to his great athleticism.Kidd has HEART ,with no heart you have nothing.People say if you put your mind to it you can achieve anything.I believe it is this way, with out your heart truly being there you may achieve mediocre goals.When you have the heart that Kidd has the sky is really the limit.When things seem to be at there worse reach deep into your heart and if you have Jesus in there He Will Help. Kidd and I definitely have heart and faith, I'm sure that's why we're still here.

YEEEEEee HHAAAaaaa

Kenny/Kidd

Eastern High Sierra Classic 30 Ride Story - Jackie Floyd

First of all, I want to say I LOVE MY NEW HORSE, I LOVE MY NEW HORSE! I LOVE MY NEW HORSE! Thanks again to Brett and Katey Gies, of Twin Falls, Idaho for picking me to be Tank's new Mommy. I had the most perfect ride a person could ask for on my new Arab cross 10-year-old gelding. If my first ride of the season is a sign of things to come, I will have pretty much effortless rides for as long as I choose to continue in this sport. What a guy!

Second, I want to thank Jackie Bumgardner and her volunteers for putting on such a beautiful ride. It was just a WOW all the way through!!

Now, on to the ride ...

We woke up to the hustle and bustle of the 50-milers getting ready to go out at 6:00 a.m. The usual kicking of panels and banging of buckets and whinnying everywhere. Tank watched the whole thing, resting one leg, with an amused look. "Yeah, been here, done that. WHATever." Not knowing how this horse would react when I got him to our first ride together, I had no idea what his reaction would be. It never changed. I marveled. The 50's went out on a controlled start with much screaming, dancing and prancing and and at least dump of a rider. Of course, there were equally as many not-so-antsy-to-get-out there mounts. There was even one with only a neck rein. Boy, was THAT impressive. No bridle, no halter, no anything.

So, now, what do we do? 30's weren't due to start until 8:00 a.m. We enjoyed a cup of coffee and just sat down and did nothing for awhile. The only two LD rides I did last year started a half an hour after the 50's so the general "air" was quite different. Finally around 7:30 I saddled Tank and went out to walk around for awhile. To my surprise, only one rider, Kelly d'Andrea, was out warming up her horse in the main area. Knowing her to be a usual Top Ten finisher in 50's in her previous ride career (she's been off for a few years raising 3 kids), I knew I wouldn't be going out the gate with her since I intended to start at the back of the pack. But we had a nice time chatting wondering where the heck everyone else was.

8:00 a.m. came and we're still the only ones there. Kelly took off since she was planning on finishing first. And a nice gentleman on an 18-year-old Tennessee Walker went. I'm still sitting there on my "cow pony" waiting for all the rest of the people to leave and Potato Richardson (who was helping out), yelled "People, it's time to go!!!" Still nothing. It's 8:02 and I said "Oh what the heck, I'll go out and as people catch up to me I'll let them pass." I didn't have long to wait before three people riding together (Bill, Diane and Robin ... I'm bad at names, hope I got them right) passed me. Tank was having nothing to do with being left behind. Fortunately for me, they were traveling at the pace I intended on going, 5.5 mph. My goal was to let him follow them for awhile and then pull him back if they got going any faster. After all, I wasn't trying to finish fast, just go out for a nice jaunt through the woods.

As loop one wore on, I was positive we were doing the loop backwards because there was nobody coming behind me. The trail was so oustandingly gorgeous, I really didn't care one way or the other. I was just having such a good time looking at those beautiful mountains and meadows. Finally, one pretty little 5-year-old pinto or paint (I can never remember the difference, sorry) arrived on the scene for awhile. I rode the entire first loop with Bill, Robin and Diane and the Tennessee Walker, and occassionally the Paint. Kelly was out in front and got lost in the meadow and we caught up to her there. By the 30-minute vet check, my horse was still doing great, we were still averaging 5.6 mph and outside of the fact that my back was screaming and I was threatening to pull myself (I'm 45, fat and overweight and out of shape), Tank was doing great. He's only had 10 conditioning rides this year, another reason why I was just out for a jaunt. However, last year he completed eight 50's, so if I can get my fat body into shape, next year we'll be doing 50's together.

The vet check saw me spending most of it on the my back with a bag of grain under my head, pouring water over my red face, as my ever capable husband took care of my horse. Boy, do I love this guy! What worry, just lay there. I was so pooped you'd think I was racing to win a 100-miler. What a wuss I am.

I found enough energy to get back on the horse and finish the ride, but this time, I let my trio of fellow riders go out without me so I could see how my new boy handled the trail by himself. I can tell myself that's all I wanted, but my back was so trashed I just couldn't see that I could keep up with them any longer. (Oh yeah, 5.6 mph is a real killer speed ...) But I did find out my new horse knows his job. I let him set the pace and he trotted where he could trot and walked where he needed to and watched where he was going and just generally I couldn't be happier!!! I did try to get him to walk on the nice jeep road back into camp but he was having nothing to do with that. He knew we were on "trot ground" and almost there and he wanted to jog along the trail and get there. I was going slow enough for the girl on the Paint to pass me and that was great with me.

I managed to finish the ride 6th horse in, with a ride time of 4:02. I was totally astounded. So ... where are all these racing people RideCamp is always talking about? I saw none. Unless I'm it? Kelly D'Andrea finished with a ride time of 3:40, first horse in. There were 38 starters and no pulls of any kind. My husband says the majority of the LD'ers left the start gate 15-20 minutes after start time. Apparently, everyone wanted to be last! :)

I will say I love my Timex GPS for training rides, but obviously, you kind of have to take it with a grain of salt when you get to a ride. It kept loosing the radio link for several minutes at a time so it's a given that I was going faster than the 5.6 mph I thought I was. I did learn that one should not totally rely on "toys."

The only concern I had at this ride was that Tank would not eat after the ride for awhile. He pulsed down immediately and I took him back about 45 minutes later for vet out. He got all A's on everything except that his pulse was up a little. I asked if I could bring him back an hour later and had him checked again, and it was still going up and down a little but the vet said surprisingly enough he had great gut sounds and he was definitely in no danger of anything, just tired. With only 10 rides on him this year, I was feeling bad that I let him go as fast as I did. He's only been with me for three weeks and not settled in yet. And I don't know his eating routine. Equine massage therapist Tom Cerino was there so I made Tank a 2:00 p.m .appt. He LOVED it! 45 minutes later, he was eating everything in site and he continued eating all night long. Boy, was I relieved! I would highly recommend Tom to anyone!

Our spaghetti and meatball dinner was luscious and we had a wonderful evening visiting with our fellow Lodians Abe and Sharon Kirkpatrick, who finished 13th and 14th in the 50, and who also took home gorgeous horse blankets for having completed all of Jackie's rides this year. Tank and I took home a lovely little first aid kit for our completion award.

As we left camp Sunday morning, I looked longingly at the beautiful high peaks on the 50-miler's first loop, thinking how eager I will be, to be back next year, to ride the 50 and experience all the Easter High Sierra Classic has to offer.

Thanks again, Jackie, for doing such a great with your ride. Looking forward to seeing you again next year!!

:) Jackie Floyd (and Tank, my new best friend)

2003 Helldiver, eh? - Heidi Smith

With all the ride cancellations in the NW, hubby and I got a streak of adventure and decided to make the trek all the way from the SE end of the NW region to about as far away as we could get and still be in our region--to the Helldiver ride on Vancouver Island, British Columbia! That's right--up in the land of the eh!

Of course, this wasn't quite a last-minute decision--we DID have the lead time to get Coggins tests, Canadian health papers, health papers on the dog, certified weed-free hay, and all that good stuff that we have to get for crossing the border. In addition, I found the website for the BC ferry, so that we knew how much it was going to cost us to take our LOOOONG rig over on the ferry.... (I can recall chiding my dog that if not for him, we could have a regular truck instead of the extended cab with the doggy bed in the back, and just LOOK what we could have saved! ) We decided to make a bit of a sight-seeing trip of it, so went to the ride on the Washington side, and came home on the Canadian side, and saw lots of great scenery. And for those of you who have not been on the BC ferry--they are really nice folks, and if you get there at least 30 minutes before sailing with livestock, you are guaranteed on, even if there is a big line. :-) (I DID learn that one has to cover one's hay on the ferry--flamable and all that--thank heavens there was still a stray tarp under the seat in the living quarters of the trailer...) Oh, yeah--and the food is good on the ferry, too! So after all that driving, we got to kick back and enjoy ourselves while BC ferry did the driving....

From the ferry, one drives partway up the island, just past Courtenay, to the ride site in a meadow that is a part of an equestrian center. Lots of room, good directions, plenty of water, plenty of outhouses, and lots of friendly Canadians! As we were pulling in, I turned to my husband and said, "Gee, I wonder if we should have asked before we came just what Hell we are supposed to dive off of?"

The ride was VERY well organized--with some of the best-marked trails I've seen in a long time, water on the trail, well-organized vet checks, and lots of friendly and efficient vets. It was 50 miles with no returns to camp and very little repeat trail (what there was consisted of some two-way going out and coming in)--so for those bored with repeat loops, HERE'S ONE FOR YA THAT DOESN'T HAVE ANY!! :-)

And they fed us not once but TWICE--barbequed burgers right off the grill with all the fixin's the night before, and a REALLY big feed the night after with awards....

But speaking of food--one question I've ALWAYS wanted to ask--maybe one of the Canadians on the list has the answer, eh? WHY do you have to rub it in by having a grocery chain called "Overwaitea?" I've wondered that for years--I mean, I KNOW I'm "overweightea" but do you have to call a GROCERY STORE that?? I mean, gee, that's how I GOT to be a heavyweight after all... Anyway, Overwaitea donated the food for the big feed (thank you Overwaitea for making me even more overweightea...), and ride management had also drummed up lots of good support and donations for some GREAT awards--including--get this--a SADDLE for BC on the 50....

We had one small mishap--hubby's horse took a bad stumble, and although he seemed fine, he started to go off about 5 miles before the finish, and despite walking the rest of the way in, was not quite fit to continue. (The good news is that he is pretty much better after some icing and wrapping and ionizing--just sore and bruised from hitting his fetlock on the rocks.. ) My own horse sailed through with flying colors--rack up one more 50 for the tubby lady making a comeback... :-)

And as we've mentioned before--the real successful ending is coming home and having the horses feel so good coming off the trailer that they go bouncing out to prance and trot and gallop with their tails up over their backs, telling their pals all about it... Tudor didn't slow down for half an hour, I don't think. (Guess that means I'm not riding him hard enough, eh?)

But back to the ride--this is one that any of you within range should put on your calendar next year--take an extra day off, enjoy the ferry ride over, and ride the Helldiver, eh?

Heidi

PS: Turns out Helldiver is a lake up there--yeah, pretty lakes along the trail--and we didn't have to dive into Hell after all.... :-)

Riding with the Big Boys, First 50, Washoo July 26th - Crysta Turnage

It wasn't that long ago (Rides of March, 2003) that my horse, CT's Sinatra, and I completed our first LD ride. My mom (who had also done her first ride) and I remarked somewhere around mile 20 of the 30 mile trail that we could not IMAGINE doing 50 miles. We were especially worn out, and our horses were tired as well. We could hardly believe the riders coming in back to camp in the near dark, just finishing, as we had already taken a little break, had dinner, and received our awards. I guess it's amazing what a difference a few months can make.

This last Saturday, July 26th, my horse and I had the pleasure of completing our first 50 mile ride at the Washoo Ride held in Washoe Valley near Reno, NV. We were very sedate, back of the pack finishers, who completed with about 50 minutes to spare. My biggest thanks goes out to my riding partner for the day, a man named Ted from the Cool, CA area who has been doing endurance since 1978 and whos mare is now just a few miles short of her 3,000 mark. Our two horses worked together very well and it was a boost, for both Sinatra's spirits and mine, to have some company for our first real venture into the sport of endurance. =)

I haven't had Sinatra very long, just since early February of this year. I named him that because he definitely stands out in the crowd with his two blue eyes and overo paint job. He is a 5-year-old grade gelding with four white stockings and a great BIG blaze (almost a bald-face). He always causes a mild stir in camp and people usually ask his breeding, of which I have NO clue. He must be one of those horses that are pretty generic looking because I've heard a VERY wide range of guesses. =) We have done 4 rides this year prior to Washoo, all LD's, with a 2-day 50 as his last ride(s). He was ready to move up, but I was a little unsure of myself.

Last week was near record highs for the Reno area but the weatherman had been forecasting mid-90's for Saturday for the last week and it hadnt changed much. With that in mind I decided to brave the heat and make our first attempt at the longer distance. Friday I was able to leave work early and, with a slight delay in packing due to thundershowers, was at ridecamp (about an hour from my house) by 5 pm. Sinatra vetted in with all A's and proceeded to eat everything in camp. He is VERY good about eating at and during a ride, he thinks he ALWAYS going 100 miles the next day even though, at this point, 30 was his longest ride. I decided to forgo sleeping in the cab of the truck for the back of the horse trailer since it would be cooler and roomier. Note to self: NOT a good idea with a horse that eats, and eats, and eats all night long. I ended up removing his hay bag around 11:30, empty bucket by 1:00 and throwing a flake of hay on the ground, because I was tired of him jerking the trailer reaching for wayward strands of hay and weeds, sometime around 2:00 in the morning. So much for sleeping before a big day! I was very comfortable though, so maybe some earplugs would be a good investment for me. Sinatra ate about = bale of hay, drank about 10 gallons of water, and peed an entire lake to his credit. Good boy!

Ride morning dawned crisp and clear. It actually got pretty cool (low 60's overnight) for the first time in about two weeks so it felt GOOD out. I decided to wear my new tights that I made myself (gloat), a jog bra, and a long sleeved white shirt based upon recommendations received on Ridecamp. I also wore a Camelback (70 oz) with half Poweraid and half water for myself to drink (this worked GREAT, I just had to tighten the straps as it was emptied) and carried two large (32 oz) bottles of water to squirt Sinatra with. I knew staying wet and cool would be the name of the game today. The trail was opened at 7:00 am and I started in the middle of the pack. Sinatra usually does well in a crowd but today was the first time he thought about bucking with me. He wanted to trot out but we had some slower riders on narrow trail in front of us so I had to hold him back. He got a little more 'rounded' than usual but after a verbal warning on my behalf, cantered in place for a few strides and then preceded to behave himself except for a little occasional head tossing to let me know the pace was still not suiting his tastes.

The trail was laid out extremely well. Three loops of 25, 15, and 10 miles respectively that all returned to camp for the vet checks. The first loop had quite a bit of elevation changes, taking us up, up, up in the morning to the top of McClellan peak where the TV Stations have their towers. There were beautiful views along the way that looked both west down on Washoe Valley and the lake as well as views south over the town of Carson City. At the top near the towers ride management had put out some hay and several water troughs. Sinatra drank very well (he usually does) and then dove into the hay. I waited at the top for about 3 minutes or so for his heart rate to drop to 60 before we continued on.

From the top of the mountain we headed northeast down towards the town of Dayton. We didn't quite go that far (they do on the 100 mile Washoe ride held in May) but rather after reaching the bottom, turned and went northwest back towards Jumbo Grade which would link us into the valley. I rode most of this stretch with Connie Creech's little group and we got off and walked some of the long downhills. At one point, we crawled down a really rocky hill to some water troughs that were naturally fed at the bottom of a small canyon. Sinatra didnt drink here (it was only about 10 minutes since the last water where he drank really well) and I totally ripped my sponge bag on a stray piece of wire while sponging him off. I stuffed the destroyed bag into my cantle pack and the sponge was strapped into an empty water bottle holder on the same. At this point, we headed back up the really gross rocky hill and I let Sinatra really tail me for the first time. I have been working on tailing with him on flat roads so he's used to me being back there, but he still needs someone else in front of him as incentive to keep walking down the road. As our little group headed back up the hill, I grabbed onto his tail and off we went! A little more ambitiously than I had originally intended! I quick tug on his lead and he slowed down to a more sedate pace. =)

At the next water stop, a puddle with a really steep edge about 10 minutes from the last one, again Sinatra didn't want to drink. This kind of concerned me since he had now refused water twice in a row, and that was VERY unlike him. I have a feeling this one was more of a location refusal though, since he's still working on the whole 'puddle crossing' issue and he would have had to step in the water to get a drink at this stop (sigh). So I hung out there a little longer than most people and Connie's group moved off. It was at this point (maybe 15 miles in) that Ted came along. He waited for me while I tried to coerce Sinatra to drink and even let me borrow his scoop to see if he would drink out of that (he didn't). So we continued on, up another mountain and back down into a fun little twisty single-track trail at the bottom of a canyon. A group of three riders, one on a green horse, and one a green rider joined us, we took turns leading/following and our little group progressed very well. This trail lead us out to Jumbo Grade where there were water troughs waiting at the point where this loop intersected with the last 10 mile loop. Sinatra drank really well here and we elyted the horses. From this water stop, it was only about 5 miles or so back to camp. Once back in the park, we followed a fun little trail that twists and turns through the sagebrush. We would take this trail (2 miles or so total) all three times today as we looped back into camp. About = mile from camp, we got off and walked the horses in. We came in from our first 25 miles at 11:28 am and Sinatra pulsed right in at 42. Good Boy! =)

At this point, we had an hour hold so I went back to the trailer, pulled tack, and gave Sinatra his mash. He happily dove into his mash and slurped up every last bit. When he was done eating and I was about halfway through my tuna sandwich, we went over to vet through. Kevin Lazarchef was the head vet; he is a REALLY nice guy that I have gotten to know from attending several rides this year. He has a daughter just a few months younger than my son, who just turned one the weekend before. He always asks me how Taren (my son) is doing and knew that I was going for my first 50-mile completion. He checked Sinatra over, gave him a G for 'Gross' on those mashy mucous membranes (actually an A) and had me trot him out. As I came back from the trot out, he looked me dead in the eye and told me 'He's pretty lame, we're going to have to pull you.' I gasped and exclaimed that I had JUST trotted him to the vetcheck from the trailer and he had looked just fine! Kevin started laughing and said that he was just kidding, he looked great, A's for impulsion and gait and that we were cleared to go. BRAT! =) So we went back to the trailer for a little more lunch for both of us (Sinatra = eat, eat, eat) then tacked up, met up with Ted, and headed back out.

This loop (15 miles) took us west out of camp towards the beach. It was very pleasant riding along the waters edge with the breeze. We rode the entire length of the lake, maybe 5 miles, probably less (I'm a horrible judge of distances). Due to the sand, which could be fairly deep, we walked almost this entire stretch. From there we cut over to a dirt road for an 'out and back.' Sinatra had fun spooking and looking at the other horses and farm equipment that lived along the road. At the end of the road was a clipboard that you had to sign with your name and rider number. We both signed-in and then headed back out. Honestly, this was the only point in the trail where I wish there was some more water. Due to the low water level at the lake, we hadn't braved what looked to be some pretty boggy mud/sand to get a drink there. After we had returned from the 'out and back,' we were able to get the horses a drink at a water trough in a little parking lot. They both drank well and we soaked them down. I also soaked myself, which felt absolutely wonderful! From here, it was back into the park for a quick jaunt back to the twisty trail into camp. I think it was around 3:30 or so as we got back into camp, Sinatra pulsed in at 48 and again had all A's and B's at his vetcheck (well, actually another G for 'Gross' on those mucous membranes due to an apple and some carrots this time!). This was only a 15-minute hold, tack on, so it wasn't long before we were headed back out for our last 10 miles!

These next five miles or so were probably the hardest for Sinatra. At this point, I had already ridden further than I ever had before (40 miles) and he was a little disappointed to leave camp but just seemed to resign himself to the fact that I was going to ride him forever, I was never getting off, and we would just keep coming to camp and leaving again until he died. =) Once he realized this, he just kept moving down the trail, my slow but steady boy! He had actually lead a good bit of the day today since Ted's mare didn't like to be in front. That was pretty new for him, leading another horse, since usually when we ride with company he's in the middle or back. But he did good and just keep on going down the trail. This last 10-mile loop took us back out northeast towards Jumbo Grade, which we crossed, and into the smaller hills on the north side of the grade. Both horses (and riders) were pretty hot and tired. It started to cloud over (thundershowers on hot days are very common in Nevada) and that gave us some relief. It even sprinkled a tiny bit. My knees started to get very sore, something I used to have problems with but had gone away as I started riding more. So I got off and walked as much as possible but it felt like I had a huge blister on the bottom of my right foot (I don't so go figure). This last 10 would actually have been a really fun loop on some fresh horses, but for now we were just going down the trail nice and steady. About 8 miles from camp, Sinatra realized we were heading back and started to perk up. When the trail would turn away for the general direction of camp, he would LOOK towards camp and kind of wonder why we were going a different direction. Once we looped back to the water troughs where the first loop joined in, I had a whole new horse. Sinatra drank but was very eager to keep going, since he now knew exactly where he was (we had ridden this trail several times before the ride as well). My steady boy took a nice easy trot and carried us most of the way back. I did get off to walk a couple more times but for the most part stayed on and trotted. I was a little disappointed as we came upon the finish line. I had always envisioned myself cantering across the finish on my first 50 amidst some clapping from the volunteers (silly maybe). Instead we found that no one was there to great us and I didnt have the heart to make Sinatra canter. Some people directed us to the vetcheck where the 'new' finish line was. We got off and walked the couple hundred yards or so to the vetcheck and Sinatra was pulsed down (56) when we got there. It was about 6:10 pm so that was a total ride time of 11 hours and 10 minutes, 'trail' time of 9:55. He vetted out with all A's and B's again and we did it, we got our completion! Dr. Lazarchef congratulated me on a job well done and asked me if that was my first 50 since the baby. When I told him that was my first 50 EVER he was pretty impressed and re-expressed what a good job I had done. I was very proud of my boy! He has come a VERY long way in the five months I've owned him. The trust and bond we have built is amazing and he really looks to me for guidance and assurance. I went back to the trailer and pulled tack and gave Sinatra another mash and a bunch of hay to chew on. I didn't sponge him since it was getting cool but he wasn't sweaty except for under the saddle anyways. After a few rubs and pats I went to go see what was left of the ride dinner. It is kind of sad for those last few finishers, especially us newbies doing our first rides, when it is all over and done with by the time we get into camp. Dinner had already been served, awards presented, and most people were leaving camp on their way home. There was plenty of food left (hamburgers, etc) and we got our choice of colors on the finishing awards (bags from Rider Relief). I have YET to get a T-shirt in the five rides that I have done now. =) So I don't even KNOW who won, who top tenned, who got BC, who finished, who didn't, etc. I DID enjoy sitting and visiting with the people who were remaining, a well-rounded group of very experienced riders. And I learned that if you are a male, it pays to race to the top of the hill at our rides out west. We had a very cute female photographer at the top of the hill waiting for riders to come in. Since she was all alone and could see riders coming WELL before they got there she, umm, how do I put this, decided to 'sunbathe' so she wouldn't get any tan lines. =) And no, not even the front-runners were lucky enough to get a show! All and all I had a great ride and learned some valuable lessons. Am I hooked on 50's? Heck, I was hooked on 50's before I even did one! =) My 105 miles of LD I did so far this season was just to get ready for what I accomplished on Saturday. And really, these 50's are just in preparation for my final goal, 100's. I'm hoping to try my first one sometime late NEXT year.

Hope to see you on the trail!

Crysta & CT's Sinatra

Moonlight in Vermont - Patti Stedman

Our diabolical plans for the ride involved a 9 hour haul from WNY to VT with my steed, Ned, along with my friend Carla and her trusty mare, Miss Dee. We planned to spend a couple of days at my friend Suzy Fraser's new dressage facility, and some dressage lessons with Ned, who is a quasi dressage horse in addition to being a quasi endurance mount. [Ned is 9, ½ Arab and ½ Trakehner, originally intended to be my "real" dressage horse, but then we did one fifty, and he seemed suited to the sport, and well, you know how it goes. Dressage has taken a bit of a back seat, and some days we school 2nd level dressage, other days training level.]

After years of hauling with my husband with nary an incident of note, we were chugging along the NYS Thruway at noontime when a family of four passed us in the left lane, gesturing wildly and surely screaming, although all we could see were their wide open mouths and fingers pointing at the trailer.

Not good news, we figured.

Sure enough, a blown tire on the trailer, and a nice two hour wait alongside a 65 mph highway while AAA and the NYS Thruway Authority (which will not allow AAA service on their Thruway) argued over who miscommunicated to whom when the driver showed up with a tiny jack (luckily, we had one) and no tire iron sufficient to change the trailer tire. Ooops. Two hours spent there, including the time it took for the driver to return to his shop for a tire iron. Note to self: pack all necessary equipment to change tire oneself, THEN allow burly man to do it for you. Also note to self, explain to dispatcher in excruciating detail precisely what one needs, then make dispatcher read it back to you. Get dispatcher's name. Anyhow, both horses behaved like saints, and we headed off again, arriving in time to settle the horses in and watch Suzy school her third level Danish Warmblood before crashing for the night.

Over the next two days, we shopped and fussed over the horses, and I had two dressage lessons that reminded Ned once again that he does indeed have a left hind leg, and that no, collection is not just something that happens at Sunday Mass. He's a talented guy, but after an hour lesson I was flushed and wringing wet, and he had barely turned a hair. No wonder I love endurance, where at least we BOTH sweat.

Headed off to Rojek's Smoke Rise Farm on Friday morning, joining our friends Georgia O'Brien and Paul Calandra in camp. Met Susan Brehm, who was riding her first 100, and with whom I'd conversed on line, but had never met in person. It was so good to see familiar faces, new faces, swap stories, and enlist Paul to assist us in getting nearly level in a hilly pasture! Paul was planning to ride the 50, Georgia was going to crew (although she had packed her saddle and seemed to be wishing an evil injury on Paul so she could ride herself). We mapped out the holds and got unhooked to set up our crewing areas, since Carla and I were "flying solo."

Did I mention this was an ultramarathon as well? Two hundred seventy runners had entered to run the 100-mile course, so alongside the horse camp were camps for the runners, and all the vendors and volunteers there to support the runners were in camp, along with Running Bear Farm, NeighPerSay, and Animal Tacker. In short, it was a bit more "zooey" than the usual ride camp.

Speaking of zooey, Steve and Dinah Rojek have a pot bellied pig named Mr. T who roams the farm, interacting with the horses, and just generally being social. This made me raise my eyebrow a bit in concern - what would hyper-reactive Ned think of a pig in his paddock?

Registration and vetting went smoothly down in Rojek's indoor round pen/indoor arena. With all the vendors and spectators and runners and horses, it was a busy place. Art King vetted Ned in, and called another vet over to listen to Ned's heart. This had me a little worried until Art told me why. Ned's pulse was 24. As in 6 lub-dubs over 15 seconds. Leave it to Ned to be unflappable in the face of chaos, and yet have dumped me too many times to count for such remarkable sights in a forest as a rock or a tree stump.

My friend Carla's mare had the tiniest intermittent lameness behind, so we enlisted Michael Beesley (what a great guy!) to come over and check her out. Sure enough, just a bit of tightness in a hamstring, which he worked on (and promised to work on again at any of the holds if she needed it), and the Miss Dee was back in her usual perfect way.

The start for the 100-mile runners was set for 4 a.m., complete with live music and fireworks. Sounds like your average endurance ride, yes? So we were warned to set our alarms and keep an eye on the horses for that event. More fireworks at 4:30 a.m. or so to kick off the 100-mile riders heading out at 5 a.m.

Then we 50-milers could go back to bed for a nap before our 2 p.m. start time.

This whole "moonlight" thing was new to Ned and me. Carla and I had kept telling ourselves we'd do a night ride to get ready, but just never quite found the opportunity. We were armed with glowsticks, but it was odd setting up the vet checks for a ride where you were leaving at the hottest part of the day and planning on needing another clothing layer for the end of the ride. We kept having to remind ourselves and each other about that.

Given my concern for Ned's potential encounter with the pot-bellied Mr. T, I took him for a handwalk down to the pasture where the little (well, not so little) guy was mingling with three horses. Immediately, social guy that he is, Mr. T headed right over to say hello. Ned was enthralled. Neck arched, nostrils flared, he reached his neck over the two foot stone wall so he could almost touch the pig in the split rail pasture beyond the wall. Scared? No. He was in love. At one point Ned had his knee on the stone wall, with every intent it seemed, to crawl over to meet his romantic interest. When he rocked back with intentions to jump, that seemed like a good time to bid farewell to Mr. T.

Now I had a new worry. If Mr. T was anywhere near the starting line, we'd never get out of camp.

There was a huge buffet dinner with all the riders and runners, plenty of carbs, and of course, Ben & Jerry's for dessert.

Ride morning began with the alarm at 3:45 a.m. Sure enough, the fireworks began at 3:55 a.m. with lovely music (was it Chariots of Fire?) playing, and it was awe-inspiring to see those beautiful fireworks over the darkened VT sky, standing beside your regal horse and partner, knowing just how privileged we are to be able to participate in such a sport as we do.

It was an odd morning, catching a nap, then running to the various vet check areas, and waiting to tack up until 1 p.m.

Normally, Ned and I are back-of-the-pack starters, given Ned's proclivity for airs above ground particularly during his younger years, but Carla and I ended up in the middle of the pack for this start. Ned was pumped, but thankfully, mostly earthbound.

Ten miles to the Greenall's, where there was a 10-minute mandatory rest stop. This part of the trail was probably the most challenging, technically, with a few switchbacks, climbs, twists and turns and a rocky area or two. We stopped for a quick potty stop on trail, and realized Ned was in ground bees. A little kicking and stomping and we were out of them. Phew!

We pulled into Greenall's in a little over an hour, immediately soaked the horse's slurpies, and they dove in, and then spent all of the ten minutes just sponging them while they ate. Great idea, nice stop, not terribly hectic since there was no pulse taking (although I'm quite sure our horses were down to 64) or tack stripping, and Julie Bullock watched us trot out to check for soundness after the rest time was up. Good to go, and nine miles to the first "real" hold.

The weather was gorgeous. Probably approaching 80, bright blue skies, fluffy clouds. Carla and I oohed and aahed over gardens and the New England-charming houses and barns, and the lovely views up the mountains, and down into the valleys. For pure wish-I-could-sit-back-and-hang-at-this-scenic-outlook-forever standpoint, this ride has to be tops. The horses were traveling along at a nice clip, Miss Dee favoring the wooded, technical trails, Ned enjoying the dirt road country lanes where he could just get into big trot mode, and go. With the occasional spook thrown in for kicks.

The trail into the vet check at Rhodes' took you through the back of their property, wooded, with a screened gazebo, and beautiful yellow barns and outbuildings and a house over a gorgeous stone barn. Breathtakingly beautiful, and so exquisitely maintained that I just couldn't believe we had a vet check on their manicured green front lawn (complete with that most lovely sight of all, the portapottie).

Miss Dee came down to parameters immediately. Ned hung for a few more minutes - he may have a low resting pulse, but he's also a big bodied ½ Trakehner. And as Mary Coleman would say, it wasn't Morgan (or warmblood) Riding Weather yet.

Julie vetted Ned through with all As, and seemed to take a liking to the big lug, despite the fact that on the trot back, he did the Arab head whirl and then managed to trip over his own legs. "Serves him right for showing off!" she said. Back to our crewing area, where both horses made quick work of their slurpies and hay, and were munching on grass as our 45 minute hold came to an end.

Off down the road for what was probably the "fastest" section of trail. Fourteen miles, methinks it was, of nearly all dirt road to the next vet check. This just hummed along. Ned was in power trot mode, allowing Miss Dee to come up front to take him past exceptionally frightening things like mailboxes. Another great part of this ride was that just about every horse place along trail had water tanks out for us. So there were lots of opportunities to stop and get your horse a drink despite the fact that there wasn't a lot of easy-to-get-to water on trail.

After one of these stops, I managed to sneak electrolytes into Ned via syringe, since it was a longer loop and probably the warmest and sunniest part of the trail. I do PnWs in feed at vet checks, but this was a bit of Enduramax, ProBis and ProCMC. I had the advantage of the element of surprise, snuck it into the corner of his lips while mounted, pushed the plunger, and voila, the deed was done.

Into the next hold, where once again, it took a bit of time for Ned to pulse down. He looked like he wanted to pee, but didn't, but all of his vet parameters were As and he ate in his usual don't-raise-the-head way. Short hold, 30 minutes, and we were occupied by getting our glow sticks attached and glowing. Michael worked on Miss Dee's hamstring a bit again, and offered to take our crewing stuff back to camp in his car. Did I mention he was a great guy?

It was almost dusk as we headed back out on trail. The wooded trails were quite dim, but the roads were still fairly bright. We made time where we could, knowing we'd end up slowing down in the pitch dark. Here we began to pass runners more frequently, awe-inspired by THEIR endurance and mental toughness. Some were walking, some were jogging and chuckling with a run partner, many were limping. All at least raised a hand when we greeted them. One gave the international hitch-hiking signal. I offered him Ned's behind but said I couldn't promise just how long he'd last. One duo agreed to race us back to camp for a beer. At this point they were over 75 miles, I believe. Incredible.

By now, the glow sticks were actually glowing, and beginning to be the real visual marker of where to head next. We got a bit confused by some "Xs" on trail that were for earlier trail, but right on our trail back; we reminded ourselves to simply follow the glow sticks and were fine from then on. It was interesting that the horses seemed to see just fine - the best evidence of that was that Ned spooked in darkness at all the same silly things that he would spook at during the day.

We caught up with Ellen Tully and rode together for a bit. Even found a nice grassy area where the horses (and ahem, some of the riders) could have a pee. Was relieved when Ned stretched out and peed for approximately three weeks.

Ned seemed to look forward to catching up to the runners, and I swear HE was looking for the next glow stick at this point. Carla was feeling a tiny bit seasick from the glowsticks and riding in the darkness. We both ate a few more bites from a PowerBar, realizing we hadn't done so well in the eating department ourselves, and with a few Vitamin I tabs (aka ibuprofen) we both perked up. Still the horses were trotting right along the roads.

Into the last vet check, four miles from camp, in pitch darkness. This was a busy, congested check, with lots of crew vehicles in a small place. We found our bucket, sponged but not too much (there was a definite drop in temperatures in the air, and we didn't want to risk getting the horses chilled) then off to vet through. Didn't have to strip tack here, thank goodness, or I might have tacked up with my saddle backwards because it was so dark, and it was a quick 15-minute hold. I got a laugh out of the deep footing in the lit outdoor arena. Ned bounced right off it, but I floundered in the deep stuff, so the trot back was less than pretty with me trying to keep up.

Four miles back to camp and it was just Carla and me, our glowsticks, the trail and our ponies. We rode glowstick to glowstick in the woods, with me in the front on my not-historically-trustworthy Ned, reins at the buckle, trying to sit incredibly still in the middle of the saddle so he would simply follow the trail. I couldn't see a thing except the next glowstick and I found myself laughing more than once at the silliness of it all. More than once, I'd lift a finger, or find myself unconsciously steering with my legs to the next little glowing green light, and then we'd inevitably hear crash, crunch, and the sound of breaking twigs as Ned obediently steered right off trail. Sometimes it was easier to just close my eyes and stay in the middle of the saddle.

At one point we tried some trotting, with me in two point, hands holding mane, reins still on the buckle, having no idea of the terrain until I felt Ned negotiate the dips and twists. I got out of balance more than once, and he'd come to a walk to "catch" me. Good boy. We walked nearly all of that four miles, laughing and giggling, and knowing everything was going to be just fine.

The last section of trail was marked by glowing jugs on both sides of the trail, a lovely evening corridor to the finish line, where we were greeted by thunderous applause, although we certainly didn't Top Ten, or even close. Vetted through with Nina Barnett laughing and saying we looked too good to have ridden 100 miles (no truer fact was ever spoken, we'd only gone 50). Both horses looked great, trotted sound, then lead us through the darkness back up the hill to camp. Final ride time 7:40, 29th and 30th I think (there had been 55 starters). It was approaching midnight.

Fussed over the horses, drank water, ate a sandwich offered by Georgia. Paul had finished 23rd, with his Morgan wanting to go faster the whole way. That must have been some fun four miles in the dark woods!

Awoke to feed the horses, begin packing, and head off to GMHA to see my friend Suzy's winning third level dressage test ride. It was positively lovely.

But watching so many tight lips, and black coats, and the incredibly precise riding, I couldn't help but be proud of my slightly stiff knees and my weary glute muscles and the fact that I'd ridden all around and above and below that facility while those horses were tucked quietly in their stalls and those riders were sipping Chardonnay out of crystal.

There was a huge brunch of BBQ back at Smoke Rise Farm at 10:30 a.m. and it was great waiting in line and visiting with the runners, including one who had just finished at 7 a.m. and the one who had won the run. Incredibly inspiring. One woman, stiff legged, who had finished at about 4 a.m. said she'd decided she would perhaps NOT mow the lawn tomorrow. Ate with one of the ride vets, and we spoke of many things, including the runners, and the impressive cavalry endurance riders, and of the on-the-edge things our wonderful horses are willing to do for us.

My Ned arrived home last night about midnight after a nearly 11-hour haul, screamed for his buddies, galloped once around the paddock with two clean flying lead changes, then passaged along the fenceline until he seemed to suddenly remember that there was indeed an open gate to the large pasture where his friends called back to him. Then he galloped down hill in perfect balance, perfectly sound, fit as a fiddle to join his friends.

Ah, heaven.

This morning his legs are cold and tight, and other than that big ol' red 37 on his behind, he looks like a mighty fine dressage horse!

Thank you so much to everyone who made the Vermont rides possible.

--Patti Stedman (NY)

An Outlaw Rides the Big Horn Trail - Tom Noll

One Hundred Miles is the signature distance of endurance riding and to me there is magic in the 100 mile distance that is different from any other ride.

Frank (my horse) and I are relative newcomers to endurance riding. Frank is an unregistered Arabian horse from Basin Wyoming. There are rumors about Frank's heritage, but Frank's past remains unknown. Kathy and Bud Arnold acquired him from friends and sold him to me when I needed a solid and honest horse to teach me about riding and endurance. I have trained Frank based on the knowledge of others and the experience that I gained from endurance running. Frank and I have trained on the same trails. Frank has taught me about horses and riding and I certainly doubt that I'll ever be able to give Frank enough in return.

Frank and I live in SW Idaho and earlier in the year I was honored when asked to join a local PNER endurance team called the "Outlaws." Frank is an outlaw horse. Butch Cassidy reportedly placed caches of especially strong horses with sympathizers and personal friends throughout the mountain west to be used for his escapes. Today we ride the decedents of those outlaw horses.

Riding the Big Horn 100 is an adventure in addition to being a 100-mile endurance ride. The Big Horn 100 travels true wilderness trails. The ride starts and finishes at the Trapper Creek Ranch outside of Shell Wyoming at 4500 feet. The ride climbs to a high point of nearly 10,000 feet and much of the ride is above 8000 feet. Very little of the course can be considered level and there are many climbs in and out of canyons. There are some gravel roads, many single-track and double-track trails, as well as some sections where there is no trail at all. The footing is rocky and the primary water sources along the trail are the natural creeks and steams.

This year the ride went clockwise around the loop and there were four vet checks at approximately 25, 38, 50 and 75 miles. Even though there are only four vet checks, I understand that in the whole history of the Big Horn 100, only one horse has been treated - and that was a long time ago. However, riders must be aware of the challenging trails, the difficult access, the long distances between the vet checks, and ride their horses responsibly. The Big Horn 100 is a very significant undertaking and I did not want to underestimate the terrain or the ride. People will debate the relative difficulty of various rides, but when the discussion turns to the most difficult 100s, the Big Horn 100 is always on the list. A crew is recommended for the Big Horn 100 and my brother Willi and his wife Alice drove up from Greeley Colorado and along with my wife Leslie, the three of them were a very capable crew.

Just like the words in the cowboy song, "I'm up in the morning before daylight, and before I sleep the moon shines bright." I got up early to saddle my horse and ride to the start. At 4:00 in the morning Tom Van Gelder spoke those unforgettable few words "The trail is open for competition." Cindy Collins led us on a nice controlled start. I was riding with the other 100-mile riders looking around at the stars, the badlands, and the cliffs thinking to myself, "This is really cool, I am so lucky." I was privileged to be riding with some rough riders and tough horses on some of the best trails in the mountain west. Soon Cindy released us and we were off and running through the shale badlands. Early on I linked up with Terry Dye and we rode together for the entire ride.

On our way to the first vet check, we passed farms, ranches, and camps as we began our climb out of the badlands from a low point of around 4000 feet on Shell Creek. We came into the first vet check about 20 minutes ahead of the next riders and pulsed down for our 45-minute hold.

Between the first and second vet checks the trail leaves the badlands to climb to the Big Horn plateau at over 9,000 feet. In portions, the trail is nonexistent and you just work your way up to a ridge or saddle through the forest underbrush. Later I heard that Regina, Linda and some of the other riders saw a bull moose on this section of trail. The section between the first vet check at Hudson Falls and the second vet check at Horse Creek is where some of the other riders met difficulties. Terry and I were alone for the entire ride and we were unaware of the troubles facing some of the others except for the short reports that we heard at the vet checks. The trail climbs and descends steeply in and out of several canyons on the way to the Horse Creek vet check. The Horse Creek vet check is on top of the Big Horn plateau and the snowfields and wildflowers were spectacular - especially the tiny blue alpine forget-me-nots.

After 45 minutes at Horse Creek, Terry and I were off to the Antelope Butte vet check at 50 miles. Again, this section is up and down. I don't know the total elevation gain of the ride but I am sure it is significant. During one section the trail was unmarked with only a sign reading "Big Horn 100 Riders - Head for the Peaks" and those peaks looked very far away. Little did I know that much later in the day we would actually be riding by those peaks. We descended off of the Big Horn plateau to the base of the Antelope Butte Ski Area for the 50-mile check and a one-hour hold.

After Antelope Butte it is a long 25 miles to the Jack Creek vet check. We were now in the hottest part of the day and we slowed our horses accordingly. Again the trail climbs to the Big Horn plateau, descends to the Shell Creek Ranger Station, and then climbs the Adelaide Trail to the plateau again. The Adelaide trail is very rocky and part of the trail is in the Big Horn wilderness. At one point in the wilderness a low overhanging log has fallen across the trail. Frank is a small horse at under 15 hands and we were barely able to squeeze under the log. Terry leaned sideways in the saddle as his horse Glory passed under the log. I heard later that Regina Rose had to unsaddle her Percheron-Arab horse Gypsy to get under the log. At Adelaide Lake we picked up two ranch horses that followed us along the trail. Our "herd" of four passed through the meadows and creeks until we cut off the two ranch horses at a fence gate. There are fences on the Big Horn 100 and Terry and I opened and closed many gates over the 100 miles of trail. Before our descent to Jack Creek we reached the high point of the route at nearly 10,000 feet. We were in the Big Horn Mountains and we could see other mountains and basins of Wyoming and Montana to the west and northwest.

Jack Creek at 75 miles was the last vet check. I loped Frank along the road and then got off and walked into the vet check for the final 45-minute hold. At Jack Creek I ate two excellent hamburgers while talking with the others about various 100s. I mentioned that in the 100-mile runs I was never able to get to 75 miles while there was still daylight so this was a first, but there were still mountain trails and slickrock ledges to cross before we reached the finish.

Terry and his horse Glory, Frank and myself left Jack Creek for the final 25 miles of trail. Our horses had worked together all day with each one of us helping the others during the low times. Terry and I had the talk that any two riders would have when they've ridden and shared the trails for 80 miles of a 100-mile ride and we made our agreement.

This last stretch of the trail was magical. The sun set in the west as a golden rider's moon rose in the east. Coyotes called to each other in the twilight as we rode along. Later that night the moon was so bright that in many sections I could see the silhouette of two riders on two horses making their way down the trail. The image was the same as it has been for hundreds of years on countless trails. At times we cantered through the darkness listening to the three-beat rhythm of the feet, always trusting our horses to carry us steadily and safely as they had faithfully done for nearly 100 miles. Around midnight we reached the finish line where Tom Van Gelder had spoken those unforgettable few words so many hours earlier. We finished together just as we had ridden together for the last 100 miles.

Best Regards,

Tom Noll
SW Idaho

Wild Wild West 3-Day - Nick Warhol

The Wild West Ride- Three day Multi-day, May 2003

Nick Warhol

It has been a wet and muddy Winter and spring here in the Bay Area, where I usually get to brag about how good our riding weather is. Unfortunately the regional park people don’t like the rain, and when it rains, the rides get canceled. Not to mention that I have been spending too much time at work lately, but ride we must! After too much waiting, I finally got a chance to do a ride for the first time in a couple of months. Over Memorial day weekend Judy and I attended the Wild West 3 day ride held at the Skillman campground, located on highway 20 about 15 miles from Nevada City, up at about 4500 feet, a nice elevation for mountain riding. Melissa and Robert Ribley have been putting on this gem for about 5 years now, I think, but it used to be over the Labor Day weekend. That used to make it pretty dusty, but by moving it to May it made the conditions just about perfect. The days were sunny, the weather was a little hot on the first two days, but cooled down considerably on the third. The single track trails were glorious, except for a few boggy spots here and there that were kind of gooey. The dirt roads were mostly okay, (If you like riding on roads), some were a little rocky, some were a little hard, and some were just right. Rocky is an overstatement- even the worst of these roads were all pretty nice when you compare them to rides like Virginia City, Las Vegas, and Death Valley.

What a great way to spend 3 days- up in the mountains riding your horse a whole bunch. And speaking of mountains, there is something I have to know. What is it with these stupid little mountain flies? The little white ones that just have to buzz your face and head, all the time? Sure- I know that’s where they live and all, and I guess they have a right to life, but how come there are only six of them buzzing you at any given moment? It seems no matter where you are, there are only six that are constantly buzzing excitedly around your and your horse’s head, making every effort to land in your ear. Does the fly union assign six flies to every rider, and then those same individuals just follow you and the horse around all day, or are there teams of six flies stationed every hundred feet on the trail, and they pass you off to the next group of six as you make your way down the trail? With all those flies, don’t you think there would be a hundred around you at once, or none? Always six! It’s like they have rules. But when you ride over a pile of manure on the trail, there are a thousand of those bigger green and blue flies on every little pile of poop that sound like a nest of hornets when you ride over them and disturb their lunch. Go figure!

So much for the philosophy of the insect world, what about the ride? I would attempt to ride the semi-sort-of-retired wonder Appaloosa Warpaint on all three days. I say semi-retired because he is nineteen years old now, and we are trying to keep him going a little slower on the easier rides. He doesn’t need to try Tevis any more. But try and tell him he should be going slower. Yeah, he still pulls, and is still trying to run down and pass every horse in the ride. I don’t care, I love riding him. Judy’s plan was to ride the first day on Wabi, and the third if he looked okay. The weather on Thursday night was a little weird- it was so warm we had all the windows in the camper open. In the mountains! Two weeks before the ride the camp was covered in snow. Friday morning was indeed warm- most people rode out in tee shirts, and those who didn’t wished that they had. About 78 people started the first day, a 2 loop affair that had lunch back in camp after 20 miles. Judy and Wabi took off with the rear of the pack, but I started out even later to avoid the mad rush my horse would bring, and quickly hooked up with my friend Jane Could, who was riding her superb horse Ezer. (I have no idea how to spell that. It sounds like eezur) It was his first ride back after a long recovery period, she was taking it easy at the back of the pack. He wanted to go much faster as well.

We rode along on the yellow loop and chatted a bit, but I went on ahead after the two competitive boys wanted to compete with each other. We trotted down a mountain road for only a few minutes when we came across a bunch of horses, all in a line, waiting to go somewhere. Uh-oh. It seems there was this uphill that Robert had described as “Don’t stop, and you better have a breast collar.” He was right! It was a very narrow, single track trail that went straight up for a hundred yards or so. It was really steep, but had pretty good footing due to the moist soil. There was absolutely nowhere to go but up, and of course that’s what happened to a horse ahead- a third of the way up the rider lost his balance and the horse bolted off the trail, right into the forest of manzanita and pine. Ouch! It took him a while to get going again, so we all just waited in a traffic jam at the bottom. Once it was my turn, Warpaint quickly dispatched with the hill like it was an elevated speed bump. A neat single track trail at the top led us to a water stop, where I ran into Judy and Wabi. We rode off together down the road with Wabi following his spotted barn mate. This first loop was mostly roads with a little single track thrown in. I wanted more single track! We wound around the forests and back to the lunch check at base camp for an hour hold. It was getting pretty warm, and it was only 10:45am. The horses both looked very good; we had our lunch and started out on the pink loop that headed up higher into the mountains. This loop is so cool- the first few miles are all just wonderful single track trail. Not too steep, just right for trotting along. Warpaint led the way, he’s so willing, always going forward; I just love that. Wabi and Judy tagged along behind. We hit the water stop and took a break for a while, since it was pretty hot, then took off for the road loop that would bring us back to the water. We were warned to watch out for the rattlesnakes. (GASP) What we found was snow- big banks of it crossing the road. Of course Warpaint is an old hand with snow- he’s been in it up to his ears a few times, so he just motored through the snow drifts without blinking an eye. Wabi, however, had never in his life seen this white stuff. He was a little apprehensive the first time he tried to cross the snow, but he walked across it with his nose pressed to the surface. For some strange reason, known only to Wabi, he avoided the section where the other horses had walked across it. He went for the deep, untracked stuff, where he deftly sunk in up to his knees, just like in a Warren Miller flick. What a goof! Judy piloted him from the deep back to the trail- he crossed the rest of the snow without incident, but unlike Warpaint, Wabi didn’t really like to trot through it.

A short walk on a slightly rocky road led to the short downhill that Robert calls the “Snowy River Downhill.” It’s a very steep, but soft, short decent that you could canter down like the guy in the movie, I guess, with your feet out in front and your head touching the horses butt, with one hand clinging onto the saddle horn, but me? I’ll lead the old guy down it, thanks. The bottom of the hill provides a great view of the valley; but after the hill it is just a few miles on roads back to the water. From the water we headed down a nice, long soft road that used to be some kind of wilderness route, but now it is just the road to the vet check. In we go, out we go. That simple. We scooted the last 4 miles or so to the finish, where we ended up in 24th and 25th, I think, at about 3:30. The finish line had a bonus- they handed me an ice cold bottle of beer! Oh yeah, that’s a finish line worth remembering! Back in camp for the post ride vet check, both horses looked very good. And the best thing yet- I get to ride again tomorrow! The ride had a pot-luck dinner, but we made our own in the camper (big mistake!), cleaned up and got ready for Saturday. Judy wasn’t going to ride, but I was! We got hats for completion awards.

Saturday morning didn’t come quickly enough for me; I saddled up while Judy slept in. Wabi looked at us walk away, but another hay bag was all he needed to keep him happy. Day two started out down the same dirt road, but unfortunately we had to stay on the roads for a long time. I rode along with Mike Bernsten and Rick Gomez for a while, Mike was riding his wife’s horse with the blue eye. We commented on how cool it was that these wife’s let us hubby’s ride their horses. The forest roads led to a serious jeep road downhill that was pretty torn up, it dumped us out into a nice creek where the horses took a drink. I stepped into the creek while giving the appy his salts, now my foot was wet. Only one. Walk, squish. Walk, squish. I would be out of balance on the horse until the water all drained out of my trail runner. Warpaint didn’t mind.

A long, slow climb led us through lots of houses that would have a heck of a time with this road in the winter. You could see fossilized mud puddles that had to have been pretty drastic when wet. I could just see the stuck cars buried up to their axles. The prehistoric mud road led us all the way to this huge reservoir where people were waterskiing already. A quick water stop and then the slick road. We had to lead up a hill along side a paved road that was by far the most slippery thing I have ever set hoof on. It was fine for my rubber shoes, but put a horseshoe on that and it looked like an Olympic ice rink, only on a steep hill. If a horse took a bad step on the pavement on the top of that hill, it would probably ski down a quarter of a mile before stopping! Once past the slick road we started up a serious climb on a single track trail called Anderson hill or something. Anderson is a madman! How could he have found this trail on a horse? What a cool climb. It was steep, somewhat aggressive, but really neat. Up a thousand feet or so to water stop, and then nice trotting through the trees along side the highway. It took me 5 minutes to cross the stupid road for all the cars, there ware 10 horses all bunched up when we finally got to go. Perfect, just what Warpaint needs. Now it is race time along the other side of the road all the way back down to the vet check. The mighty App breezed through the check, and after and the short hold, we were back on our way, all by ourselves in the forest. I had not ridden this day before, I had heard this loop was kind of strange. It was really nice, lots of single track! I caught and passed Rebecca and her gang, silently hoping she might feed me dinner later. (These are the guys who eat better at rides than most people do in restaurants) We came to a mile or more of hard gravel downhill roads, so I hopped off and just walked for a half hour or so. It was nice- just walking along in the shade, all alone in the woods with the War Pony. You get to listen to the forest sounds and not think about work. This is good for the soul. More roads led through meadows and forests, really pretty. We stopped and I let him graze in a lush meadow for 15 minutes or so, we never even saw another horse. We eventually got back to the vet check along the highway for our hour hold, I sat in the grass eating while he chowed down his goodies. It’s such a good feeling sitting in a check with a happy, healthy horse. You talk to your friends, you eat your lunch, you wish the hour would end so you can get going again!

The next 4 miles or so are one of the ride’s highlights. Amazing single track winds through the forest, right along the highway, but you have to slow down to cross about 20 driveways along the way. This is the kind of trail Warpaint lives for- he just motors through the trees. He doesn’t need another horse, he just boogies on his own. Away from camp, towards camp, up hills, down hills, whatever. The highway crossing came way too early, now it was just another few miles of single-track back to camp, including a long, slow climb up to the ridge. We made it in around 3pm or so for another splendid ride. Wabi was happy to see Warpaint, but once we gave Wabi some hay, he shuts right up. He knows his priorities!

We attended the Saturday night pot-luck, it was superb! There was a ton of food, and my salad was demolished. I snagged a big hunk of fresh BBQ Salmon, okay, so I had a bigger hunk than I should have. It was good! Today I got an embroidered pillowcase for my finisher award. That’s a new one, and quite creative. Warpaint looked just fine after his second day, and since Wabi looked great, day three was next!

We woke up and headed out at 7 am again, a very civilized starting time, don’t you think? Judy and I were at the back of the pack, intending to just ride through slowly and get a completion. We hooked up with a few horses after the start, which today heads right down the single track trail from camp. About 3 miles from camp we came to a clearing with not many trail markings, we didn’t see the ribbon to the right, since we were looking at the photographer down on the road in front of us who was on the trail. We rode towards him, he directed us to go that way, to our left! We did, and in retrospect, might have noticed that the turn ribbons were on the left. Down the trail we went, and in about a mile started up that big climb again. We walked up the long hill, a couple of people passed us, but that seemed normal. Then when we are about half way to the top, the leaders come blitzing up behind us. Uh oh. They are confused, we are confused. We get off the trail and let them go on their way, we turn around and head back down. That durn photo-guy sent us on the trail, but the wrong part. We missed a loop of about 3-4 miles. Okay, back down, we did the loop, turning around several people who had done the same thing we did. We did not get lost, we just went on the trail too soon. What the heck- we only lost 40 minutes or so, and got to ride some extra miles! At the top of the hill (the second time!) people were trying to get it sorted out. Two women rode the entire top loop and got passed by the leaders, they were confused as well. They were cool- they just rode back down that big hill and did what we did. Adapt and overcome, I always say.

Once we got back on trail the ride got really fun. Single track, single track, and more single track. Oh Boy! These are some of the best trails anywhere, and they were loamy soft with no dust or mud. There are parts where if you trust and can steer your horse, you bend in and around trees that would take your knees off if you were not careful. Very fun! We were whooping it up through there. We did encounter a few dirt bikes, out in the unbelievable conditions, but they were all very good and shut down or turned around when they saw us. The vet check and lunch came too quickly- those trails are too much fun. We were going pretty slow, and doing the extra miles got us out of the lunch check around 1:00. Now we got to do the cool pink loop again, the one we did on day one. We trotted most of the 8 miles or so to the water- the weather was nice and cool today. We let the boys eat for a while at the stop, while we got the rattlesnake warnings! Okay, yes, we will be ever-vigilant. The snow was just about gone, it is amazing how fast it melts. Two days earlier there was a couple of feet of the stuff on the road in spots, now it was just about history. But those roads were prime! A last trip down the steep hill, where Judy rode Wabi down, (Wabi from Snowy River? I don’t think so!), brought us back to the roads and the water stop, from here it is a nice downhill jog to the vet check. Judy was watching Wabi, he seemed to be a little leg weary, but he was fine for the vets. It is only a few miles from there to the finish, which we crossed for the last time around 4:30 pm or so. The horses vetted out fine, with Warpaint looking very good. Hooray! More pillowcases as awards, now we have three. (one is a spare?) Sunday night’s dinner was catered, it was good, but not as good as that pot-luck!

Who won? Michelle Roush! First day- first place and best condition. Second day- first place and best condition. Third day- second place and best condition. On the same horse, Do-So-La. Zounds! Not too bad. Overall BC? Ya think? I hope Melissa and Robert can keep this ride on this weekend going forward- it is a superb ride that is loads of fun. Us folks that did all three days on the same horse will get a custom monogrammed sweatshirt to boot. This ride is a perfect way to try a multiday, especially if you like riding in the forest. On single track trail. Through the trees. Perfect!

Nick Warhol
Hayward, Ca.

Pine Tree 50: Impressions from a Rookie Rider with a Rookie Horse - Sharon Kenney

Hello all,

I'd like to thank Tom and Kathy for a very smooth introduction to Endurance riding.

As some of you may recall, my horse (Zephyr) is a 7yo RMH/Arab. We have done several CTRs - two 25s (Hidden Brook and the Northeast Morab) and the Acadia 50. Pine Tree was my first Endurance ride. I wasn't sure I should stay in the 50, because Zephyr and I haven't trained much in the heat, but I decided to go for it because I'd made arrangements with a couple of women who also wanted to ride really slow.

I hooked up with my ride partners, Margaret Farnham and Lory Walsh, and we rode out after the front runners had already left. The start was much different than I've gotten used to - I'm accustomed to leaving two at a time, and being passed occasionally. Zephyr was jazzed, and tried to gallop, but I held him to a slow (bouncy!) canter to match the horses trotting around us down the two-track. Eventually the pack spread out a bit, but we ended up playing leapfrog with some other folks for a while. The three of us had decided to go faster than our intended average speed while the air was cool, so the pace, for me, was fast.

Zephyr was eager and happy, as was I. The first 15 miles went pretty quick. At some point, Margaret and I stopped to water the horses at a crew area, and Lory went on without us. When we arrived at the first hold, which was 30 minutes, I suddenly realized that I had no idea where my stuff was. I had no crew, so I'd put my hold bag in Irving McNaughton's truck and promptly forgotten what it looked like. I finally found it - Terry (sp?) saw me panicking and muttering, and asked me if she had my things! I said yes and she showed me where they were. It was then that I realized several things. One: it is extremely difficult to unsaddle a horse while you are holding it, especially if you have a breastplate and a heart monitor (which you're not used to using). Two: Once the girth is undone on one side, the horse will be perfectly happy to unsaddle ITSELF by dumping the entire thing off the other side onto the ground, in his effort to reach his neighbor's beet pulp. Three: Heart monitors are a pain in the butt to deal with when you're trying to extricate a horse from its tack while it is trying to eat his neighbor's beet pulp.

Finally, I untangled his legs and removed his bridle. He had his rope halter underneath, so I unclipped my sponge-on-a-leash (note to self: include extra un-leashed sponge in the hold bag) and dunked it in my neighbor's sponging water. Hey, it was the only water around. :p He'd been pulsing around 64 when I rode in, so I headed over to do my P&Rs. He pulsed in at 48, and his CRIs were 48/48. He got all A's. I returned to my stuff, gave him some beet pulp (which he didn't eat) and some carrots, which he sucked down like... well, like carrots, actually. I reset his front left Easy Boot (he's barefoot and booted all around) because it was twisting slightly. Before I knew it, it was time to saddle up. Needless to say, it was even harder to do than unsaddling had been - ended up begging someone to hold him for me. Margaret and I rode out about 6 minutes after my out-time (9 minutes after hers). Zephyr, who has never been unsaddled at a hold, was exceedingly confused. He told me in no uncertain terms that he was very unhappy at this nasty turn of events! We walked for a while, while I waited for his heart rate to normalize again.

The second 15 miles went a bit slower, and it wasn't just because Zephyr had slowed down. The time took longer to pass. I was getting hungry, since I hadn't had any time to eat at the hold, so I ate a granola bar out of my saddle pack. At some point, we reached a crew area and there was only one crew person left. Yes, that's right, Irving's crew person, Terry, was the last one there. (For those of you who don't know Irving - he usually finishes last.) She let our horses have some water, and we were about to ride off when Margaret looked back and spotted Irving coming over the hill towards us. We agreed to continue on, but at a walk so Irving could catch up. When he did, we proceeded to walk/trot to the next hold. When we trotted, we picked a medium pace because Irving's horse doesn't trot as big as either Zephyr or Promise. Irving, as some of you are lucky enough to know, is an absolute riot. Between him and Margaret, on the sections that we walked, I heard enough Endurance history to confuse me for months. (I'm new enough that I've never heard of 80% of the people or rides they mentioned. There was a lot of smiling and nodding on my part!)

We walked into the second hold, at the same location as the first, to find only a few other horses. One was just leaving, one had been pulled, and one was being treated. I unsaddled him a bit more gracefully this time (as in, the saddle landed where I put it, not where he dumped it), sponged him once, and went for P&Rs. He was at 48 again. CRIs were 52/48. A's on everything again, too. Margaret and I moved our stuff into some shade and I was thrilled to be able to tie Zephyr to a tree while I sponged him, used the Porta-Potty, and then ate the sandwich I'd somehow thought to put in my hold cooler with my 4 extra water bottles. Since I still had 4 full bottles, I stuck the last 2 into the middle pouch on my saddle pack. The first two loops had been drier than I'd expected, and I planned to use the extra two bottles to wet him down now and then.

We got back on the trail about 6 minutes late, again. I don't know how that happened, honestly, because the tree had made it easier to handle everything. Irving had waited an extra 12 minutes for us - his out time was 3 minutes before Margaret's, and 6 minutes before mine... and we left 6 minutes after my out time. He gave me a lecture at some point during that third loop, about how if my horse was pulsing down as we went through the "in" gate (he was) I should go straight to P&R before removing the saddle.

I had a "holy shit" moment when he told me that.

I said, you mean I can pulse in with the saddle on, and remove it between P&Rs and vet? He said sure. Wow. That would have been nice to know! Lessons learned... and learned well!!!!

The third loop repeated a portion of the second loop, and HAD to have been more than 15 miles. You know when you're in your car, and you drive the same route twice, and it seems faster the second time? Well, it doesn't work that way on horseback. At least not when you're doing your first 50. Part of the reason, though, was that Zephyr was not going along in the normal pulse range. It was higher than it should have been, even accounting for the heat, so we were walking a lot. And honestly, the other two horses didn't want to trot any more than Zephyr did. Margaret wanted to keep Promise's gut moving (he hadn't been eating at the holds) so we stopped and grazed a lot. Irving started complaining that we had to pick up the pace because he wanted to be at the last hold by 3:30pm. We picked up that nice easy trot again. At some point, we came upon 3 people walking their horses. Two of them were 30-milers who were overtime and who were taking a grass break. The other was Pam, a 50-miler who was just getting back on her Kentucky Mountain Horse. She had been leaving the second hold as we arrived. We ended up riding with Pam for the last 5 miles of this loop; unfortunately for Irving, Pam's horse had 3 speeds... walk, fast, and hell-bent-for-leather. Irving ended up cantering a lot... at least I assume he did... I don't know for certain because Zephyr was happily shoving his nose up Pam's gelding's butt. Oh well, at least he wasn't poking along anymore! All four horses had found new energy that no one knew they had.

When we arrived back at the fairgrounds for our last (20 min) hold, I went right over to the buckets I'd set next to the barn earlier. There was a row of people standing along the half-wall of the barn, leaning on the wall and looking out. I sponged Zephyr quickly and looked at my HRM. It said 60, but I didn't know if that was its last reading before I moved out of range, or the current one reading. I hoped it was current, and went right to P&Rs. He squeaked in with a 64 after a moment or two. He got B's on gait, impulsion, and attitude, and A's on the rest. CRI of 64/60. We went back to the buckets, and some of the people in the barn talked to me as I sponged him. Don't remember what we talked about. One of the guys noticed Zephyr wasn't drinking while I sponged, so he came out of the barn and held a bucket up for him to drink from. He made a joke about how at this stage in the game, even horses didn't want to have to do anything for themselves. ;) I hadn't removed the bridle because it was such a short hold, and the guy mentioned that Zephyr wasn't able to drink very well with the bit in his mouth. I looked closer, and sure enough, even though he was sucking hard, he wasn't getting much down his throat. My helper pulled his bridle off and Zephyr stuck his whole head in the bucket and drank about 3 gallons. Good boy. The peanut gallery (I mean that in a nice way!) asked if I'd been e-lyting him, and I said yes I had been, but that at the first hold I hadn't because he hadn't been drinking. They suggested that I e-lyte him now that he'd had a good drink. I couldn't, because the other syringe was in my hold bag. "Where is your hold bag?" "In Irving's truck." "Well, I will hold your horse. Go get the syringe - you have to e-lyte him now." (Gotcha, yes sir, will do!!) When I got back, the helpful guy had walked Zephyr out of the commotion and was feeding him some hay. Hey y'all, whoever you were, THANKS!! Later, I'd tried to find the guy who'd been so helpful, but couldn't. If you're reading this, please consider yourself thanked thricefold. :)

Zephyr was pretty bummed about having to ride out again on the last 5 miles, but since his saddle hadn't been removed this time, I think he kind of expected it. His pulse was still higher than usual, and I was kind of worried. He was hanging over 100 even when we were walking. Which we did a lot of on this loop, by the way! I hoped he was just tired and hot... I squirted water on his neck whenever he dried off, but eventually the bottles came up empty even though I had stopped drinking, myself, in order to leave the water for him.

When we rode back onto the fairgrounds' property, I made sure I wasn't last. I didn't want the turtle award! I think it was Pam, then me, then Margaret (all close together) and finally Irving about 50 feet behind.

I noticed that Margaret and Irving stopped and sponged at the barn, without removing their saddles, but I knew I had a better chance of getting Zephyr under 60 if he was nekkid. So with Steph in tow (friend who had finished the 30 with her hubby Bill), I headed up to my trailer (pulse of about 80 at this point) and stripped him down. It was then that I saw it. The strap of his right hind Easy Boot had slipped up over his heel, and rubbed him raw!! I took the rest of the boots off first, then tried to get that last one off, but Bill ended up having to cut the strap with surgical scissors. As soon as the boots were off, Steph checked his pulse with a handheld and he had dropped to 44 or so. I rinsed his heel off with cool water, grabbed him and headed for P&Rs.

His pulse was nice and low, and he got all A's except for B's on guts and skin tenting. The CRI was good - 52/52 I think? He was perfectly sound.

I took him back to the trailer, set him up with hay, water, and beet pulp, and quickly grabbed some dinner to bring to the awards, which were in 10 minutes.

Somehow, I ended up with the Turtle Award after all. (For those who were there, THAT'S why I looked so confused... I'd been told that the Turtle Award went to the last person across the finish line, and so I had made sure I wasn't last!) But that's OK, it's a very nice turtle statue that someday when I have a garden, I will be happy to display there.

Again - thanks to Tom and Kathy for a great first experience; and thanks to everyone who answered my questions or helped me out. :) Y'all are a great bunch of folks... one of the reasons I chose this sport.

Happy Trails!
Sharon Kenney & Zephyr's Elegant Gift

First 50! - Karen Bratcher

My horse Bender and I just completed our first 50 miler! Kootenai Classic, near Libby, Montana. I am so proud of my pony :-) I doubt if I would have completed the ride in time if a new friend had not let me ride with her. It's amazing how much you have to trot even to make the max time. Mary has done a number of 50's but is bringing along a new horse this year. We got along well and so did our horses, and took turns pulling each other along :-) She thinks it's hysterical that I just laugh like a hyena every time my silly horse spooks and I end up on his neck :-D She's used to seeing people cuss at and beat on their horses for spooking. Heck I think my horse does it just to check if I'm still awake up there. I came close to falling off three times I think. She has a whopping bruise on one calf from a humungous sideways leap her horse did, that she was barely able to hang on from! Damn crazy Ay-rabs, gotta love 'em, wouldn't ride anything else!

There were only three loops -- 16, 24 (!) and then 10 miles with a 45 minute hold after the first loop and an hour after the second. There were some stiff climbs but a lot of relatively flat areas and gradual elevation changes too. A SlimFast shake made a nourishing breakfast that didn't have to be gagged down. I didn't eat or drink enough myself on the trail, I did suck down a quart of water and human electrolyte drinks at the holds and on the last short loop I forced myself to drink a quart as we went, so I was fairly well rehydrated by the time we were done. PBJ sandwich at the first hold, a Clif Bar on the second loop and another SlimFast on the second hold. It was damned hot, around 90. The horses started drinking well on the second loop and kept well hydrated til the end, and of course we e-lyted them at the holds as well as before and after the ride. We tried to let them graze as much as possible on the second and third loops. I got off and jogged on some of the steeper downhills. Mary's coworker Chris came to crew and it was SO nice to have her, and Mary's husband, graze and sponge the horses while we just rested on the holds.

Bender was pretty tired on the last loop but still going willingly. The vet commented favorably on his impulsion. He hadn't eaten as much as he should and so didn't get good vet marks for gut sounds, but everything else was all A's. He ate nonstop after the ride, he is just a little nervous in camp and during the first half of the ride, and has to learn to take care of himself better. He gets this week off to recuperate, and is eating steadily out in the pasture.

We finished with only 20 minutes to spare, of course we were the last ones in. Started at 6:30am, finished at 6:10pm. Some people act like you should come in way earlier than the max time. If so, then why do they allow 12 hours to complete? Our vet cards didn't even get to the manager so we weren't announced as finishers until we stood up and said HEY!

At the potluck I made up for not eating much during the day by snarfing down two plates of food :-D Mary made fun of me for that, of course she's slim and eats like a bird! I even stayed up til 10:00pm, but then slept like the dead til morning :-)

I won't say it was easy, but it was not as hard as I thought it would be. Funny, but I was more tired during the first half of the ride... the second half, I felt much more energetic. Of course I was tired and sore at the end, but I felt I could easily have ridden more. I am only minorly stiff and sore today, I have hurt much worse than this on shorter distances and/or doing other activities (for example, walking the local full 26.2 mile marathon last year, and hiking to the summit of the South Sister in Oregon). I did seem to overstress a tendon (?? I don't know anatomy very well) just below the back of one knee. It felt like I was getting a cramp that never really materialized. It's swollen back there but only painful if I press it. Also got a couple of swollen bruises from where parts of the saddle were rubbing on one calf, I will have to pad or otherwise fix that part. That really hurt the first loop and I was wondering how I'd get through the day, but it didn't hurt as much when we set out again.

I have no more AERC rides scheduled for us to do this year -- I decided I will not be going to the multi-day in southern Idaho, I have used up too many vacation days going to other rides. There is one ride that falls on my long weekend in October, in Washington, I may get to.

All in all a nice experience and I'm just thrilled to have been able to complete :-)

Karen Bratcher
Athol, Idaho

Impossible Dreams - First 100 - Maggie Mieske

(or When Pigs Fly): MY FIRST 100

I have decided that fifties are fun and hundreds are hell. Well, sort of. I DID get to see TWICE as much trail as I do on a fifty. Hmmm... and I got to push my body and my mind to limits that border on torture. But I DID FINISH my first 100.

At our first ride, I had decided NO WAY could I do the Grand Island 100 THIS year. The next weekend, I started thinking MAYBE. Then I just started thinking (bad thing for me to do, just ask Nelson!). Every year I set some goals and many of them get pushed off to "someday" or "next year". I had heard through the Grand Island ride management grape vine that this might be the last year for the 100 (good hook, don't ya think?). So, maybe next year wouldn't get here. At least not for doing the Grand Island 100. I held off my final decision to see how the weather would hold and how my knee was doing (remember I hurt it while "extreme" bowling!). And how Malik looked and felt. I discussed it with him. He was game. He always is but I "know" when he's all bravado and when he's all business. He was serious about it. So I got out my crappy looking old helmet and started getting it ready....in addition to using stickers on it that declared TEAM MAGGIE N MALIK, it also said 100 MILES OR BUST on the back! :) And YEE HA on the front. (Jenny's said TEAM JEN N MAX , FOUR MORE MILES on the back and HOT DAWG on the front!). I also had stickers of the sun, moon, stars, planets and flowers ALL OVER it. Looked brand new when I was done!! At this point, it was all but a done deal!

We began our trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Wednesday and stayed overnight at the home/farm of our friends, Paul and Sara Matthews. Sara is also a fellow distance rider and we rode part of the Grand Island 50 with her last year. Nelson did a little work there and nearby (gotta earn those ride fees!) and the next morning we packed up and headed out. Max and Malik had the benefit of some wonderful green grass grazing overnight and we started their slurries early in the day. After a quick lunch at the bridge with my niece and her family, we had a couple more hours to go to arrive in Rapid River. For those of you not familiar with the "bridge", I am referring to the Mackinaw Bridge, a 5 mile suspension bridge that connects the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan. It's a good thing that Nelson drives! I often wonder if the horses look out their little window and think "Oh, shit!" or something similar. I know I do!

We arrived late afternoon and found ourselves a nice little spot to camp with lots of downed wood for a campfire (gotta have a campfire!) and a nice grassy area for the boys. We also had to save tent room for the "Water Boy", Jenny's Uncle Daniel who was coming from Illinois up through Wisconsin to help Nelson crew on Saturday. I knew on Thursday that we would indeed do the 100 on Saturday... the weather was PERFECT. The horses were PERFECT. My knee was PERFECTLY awful but I'm tough, right? What does Angie McGhee say? If you're gonna be stupid, you gotta be tough! Well, I'm a PERFECT example of BOTH. :)

We had a wonderful time settling in and having that extra day to relax...the horses relax, too. They eat and drink well, they sleep and ENJOY themselves. I know it's not always possible to get to a ride early but I have found that our best rides are the rides where the horses have had lots of time to relax. We have several "relaxed" photos of Malik sleeping....I caught him snoring once and twitching in his dreams. He will even let out this funny little whinny when he dreams. Absolutely hilarious!!! (Pay attention...this has significance later in my story!).

Where to begin with the story of a hundred miles? With the first step? The first mile? The first vet check? I don't know. I received advice from EVERYBODY who had ever done 100 miles as soon as they knew I was for sure taking the plunge. So I'll start with that. Actually, I'll start with the advice that stuck with me and actually got used! Some advice was the same from several people and some was unique. Can't be sure to credit everyone with THEIR specific advice but you'll know who you are....

RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE. I set a "hopeful" goal of 12-13 hours of ride time figuring that should get us in before dark. However, I did prepare myself for the possibility of being out there in the dark and the wee hours. But the reminder to ride my own ride came from everybody and was the BEST advice of all, in my opinion.

POSITIVE THINKING. Though this was put many different ways to me, I knew we needed to keep ourselves "UP" mentally. For ourselves and our horses. Nelson and Daniel did a good job of cheering us AND the horses on....nothing like hearing that whooping and hollering ahead when you are worn and tired and trying hard not to feel discouraged.

FRESH CLOTHES. Though I always try to remember DRY clothes in case we get wet, the advice to bring FRESH clothes was a life saver. Like an idiot I chose a T-shirt I hadn't worn in a long time (now I remember WHY). It chafed the underside of my arm RAW. I couldn't figure it out. Seems it was the seam (hahaha!). I tried zinc oxide and then when that didn't help, remembered my Wal Mart bag (yes, I am a redneck of sorts!) in the truck with a fresh change of clothes!!!! Another T-shirt!! Solved the problem IMMEDIATELY!! DUH!!! Oh, and the deodorant I had with my clothes made me feel much better, too.

DON'T RIDE 100 MILES, RIDE ONE VET CHECK AT A TIME.

LISTEN TO YOUR GUT (not sounds, INSTINCT).

Basically, I saw the sun rise and I saw the sun set and everything in between....I identified at least 10 different Michigan wildflowers (yes, I keep a book in the horse trailer...one for birds and snakes, too). I listened to orioles and blue jays and crows and mourning doves and even a whipporwill at dusk. Our trip north showed us the true beauty of Michigan in the spring with carpets of trilliums and spring beauties spilling out of the forests right up to the highways. Well, it continued right on into those forests on the trails with even MORE flowers. We also saw the yellows of trout lilies, downy yellow violets and marsh marigolds in wetter places. We even noticed some partridge berries during some slower terrain and a few dutchman's britches. I do love Michigan in the spring.

Our first ten miles was gravel road. Not a welcome beginning to some but I understand that it is not easy putting on a ride of ANY length and I was happy for the opportunity to be able to do this ride even if it meant starting out on ten miles of gravel. After only about 3 or 4 miles of "discussing" the ride strategy with Malik (he forgot about it being 100 miles, I guess), he settled into a nice working trot with an occasional comfy canter which was perfect for my knee. I really wasn't sure how long it would hold out or IF it would hold out but I had found my bottle of Vicodin (which I thought I had forgotten at home) the night before so I was in fine shape! I did start off with some queasiness at about ten miles (normal for me and a Vicodin) and some Gatorade fixed that quick and I was never queasy again through the whole ride.

Our first vet check was at 15 miles. I discovered to my surprise that we weren't far behind the front runners though I really was not concerned with that. Malik and Max both pulsed down beautifully, Malik in spite of several mares making eyes at him...well, you know what I mean. He is a hunk after all!! And buff, too. This check went GREAT. Horses ate and drank everything in sight. Everything with the check went smoothly. And then we were off to the next check which was at 35 miles. For a fifty miler used to vet checks anywhere from 10-15 miles regularly, this added distance was a challenge. It wasn't too bad this first part because we were loping along so easily and quickly, marvelling at nature, feeling good, full of energy yet. That 20 miles flew by fast.

The 35 mile vet check was terrible....too many horses, not enough vets and too many rude people who have no idea what waiting in a line means. Basically, the only way to be sure to get your CRI done 15 minutes before your out time was if you were willing to be a jerk and basically run over anyone in your way. We are not that kind of people. So we were out SEVERAL minutes late from this check as were several other riders. I guess in the whole scheme of things, it's not a big deal but as I realized later in the day, sometimes that extra ten minutes is the difference between dusk and BLACK night. I do not fault ride management as much as I do human nature and people caught up in the heat of the moment. I think a good portion of the 35 fifties entered and all of the 16 100 milers were clustered in this small campground with one pit toilet. But we were still "up" and feeling great and it was going to take more than a late start out of a check to get me down! Even Malik's C on guts didn't concern me as he had pooped AND peed and was still scarfing EVERYTHING he could get his mouth on!!

Our 3rd check was at 58 miles...23 miles from the last check. We had never ridden that far without a check before. The good thing was that this was all new trail for us. We had never ridden this portion before. It was beautiful...breathtaking views of lakes and mountains in the distance...ok, they aren't mountains to you guys out west, but to us flatlanders (or trolls as we are sometimes referred to...think about it), they are pretty big and just "pretty" anyway. With the occasional Vicodin to keep me comfortable, the knee wasn't that much of an issue though I was concerned I might be compensating in my riding trying to protect it. Sure enough, at 58 miles the vet noticed a "wobble" in Malik's right hind (it was my left knee bothering me). We talked about it, I explained about my knee which she felt explained the wobble and when we brought him back later in the check, she said it was fine then. She also noticed some "lumps" as she was examining his hindquarters and was quite surprised to find this mellow fellow was a stallion. They were all fussing over him as he stood there, almost falling asleep while he was examined. In fact, the vet rubbed his gums for him when she checked his cap refill and he stood there with his lips open as if wishing she would do it again. What a silly horse! He still had gut sounds of a C though he had been eating everything in sight including what green grass we found here and there along the trail. He stopped eating partway through at this check and we took a walk together. He needed to pee and then he was fine and went back to eating. His gut sounds improved. I thought at this check that he acted as if he'd like to roll but he didn't. He did look around a LOT as if looking for his camp and his pen....at this point, 58 miles was the longest he'd ever worked in his life. We saddled up, trotted out and were off with a whoop and a holler to go back the way we had come.

That 23 miles again felt like an eternity but the horses were still so strong, cantering up hills, trotting BIG trots. We continued to stop for grass and Malik was acting a little gassy from time to time but still trotting and cantering like a trooper. At this point, we had been running 9th and 10th for most of the ride. We had been averaging 9-10 miles an hour which we felt was efficient...not pushing but not lollygagging either. Nelson and Daniel were meeting us everywhere they could along the road. We had started to slow down before this next check and Nelson was getting annoyed about that...it was at this point that I left a pit stop and suddenly burst into tears. Not that he had been that mean to me but I think the day had taken its toll and I was entering into that "zone"....after a few tears and then a few bad words about men and some commiserating with Jenny, I was better and ready to get to that check for some more Glucerna (chocolate) and Gatorade (Lime Ice is my favorite). What a combination, huh?

The horses cantered into the 4th check and pulsed right down. I was sent to the truck to eat and drink and stay out of the way. Nelson returned with Malik, took off his tack and presented him with a nice slurry. Malik simply laid down and put his muzzle on the ground. THIS immediately had people scurrying...a horse is down! I wasn't immediately alarmed....Malik does enjoy his naps. But when you have someone telling you your horse is in big trouble and you need the vet NOW, it does tend to disturb you. Nelson was certain he was just being lazy and we should just get him up and continue on our way. I didn't want to pull but that was a distinct possibility. So, we agreed to consult the vets (mind you, he had just COME from the vets who had examined him and found him to be fine). We presented him again and asked for another once over plus a CRI. They could find nothing physically wrong with him except that he wanted to LAY DOWN and have a NAP!!!! SO DID I!! And so, we let him lay down for a snooze...the vets gathered, photos were taken, all who were present gathered to see this sight as if they had never seen a horse taking a NAP. I do believe the bugger even SNORED!!! I was so embarrassed. I will never live this down!! Jenny chose to continue on with her uncle crewing for her. Nelson stayed with me and the few things we could think of at first (though we thought of all HORSE things, not Maggie things). Friends and fellow distance riders, Jeanie Miller and Pam Rosendall (who manages the Hopkins Creek ride) generously offered to stay and crew for us if we continued on so Nelson could go fetch the "Maggie" things. (Thanks to those riders picking up their buckets who gave him a ride back to camp!) And continue on we did....I gave Malik about an hour or so for his nap. He started to wake up and though he was comfortable laying down was suddenly ravenous, eating all the grass he could reach plus what people were picking and hand feeding to him PLUS his rubber tub full of slurry and carrots and apples. Finally, I made him get up. And put the saddle on him. Jeanie held him for me and gave him a brief lecture about taking care of ME now. Malik gave me the dirtiest look I have ever seen a horse give their beloved owner...I was not beloved at that moment. I offered him a treat of dandelions (a favorite) and he couldn't spit them out fast enough!!! He was MAD at me. But we saddled up and continued down the trail....ONLY 22 more miles to go and we could complete though our top ten was blown by then.

Jeanie and Pam said they would meet me about 3 miles down the trail. That wasn't too far! :) Malik resigned himself to the fact that we were continuing on and picked up a slow and easy trot. He was stopping to poop a lot which I wasn't all that unhappy about...I would prefer he be able to poop and pee without a problem! But he insisted on stopping for EVERY poop...they were small but frequent. I knew there were two more riders yet behind me and wondered when they would catch me. They had gone slow throughout the ride but I thought they might push now to get in before dark. I figured even if I had to WALK that last 22 miles, I would still make it before 6 a.m. and I still had one more 30 minute check 12 miles from camp. The mile markers went by MADDENINGLY slow!!! Every time I thought for SURE this time I must be about 3 miles out, I had only gone another mile. About 45 minutes out, the last two riders blasted up on me. I had heard them talking and laughing behind me but didn't realize they were coming that fast. The girl in the lead hollered out that she was passing on the left AND she was on a STALLION. I hollered back that so was I and she said something like "Oh, shit" and passed anyway almost forcing me off the single track. Malik trotted steadily on and ignored their rudeness. The other girl hollered SHE was passing now (at least she slowed down a bit first) and that SHE was on a MARE. Yeah, so what? Anyway, a few hundred yards up the trail we came out on the road and there were our pit crews waiting for us. A lot of sense THAT all made! Fair warning to future blasters. Please do not TELL me you are going to pass. Please ASK. Let me get OFF the trail FIRST. I'm happy to let you by. And it isn't necessary to try and intimidate me with the "I'm riding a stallion" line (never did see any equipment on that horse!). I am a nice person but I am not going to let people endanger me or my horse and if it were any other horse besides Malik, it could have been a bad scene!

And so we were all off and Malik gallantly started cantering after them. They were not going to be caught and I finally asked him to trot again which he was quite thankful for. A steady trot will get us a lot farther when we are tired than a blistering gallop! He listened and so we continued mile upon maddening mile. We only had about 7 more miles to the vet check after that but I thought it felt like 70! Jeanie and Pam met us again, cheering us on and encouraging our weary minds and souls and refreshing our bodies with water. Malik always perks right up when he gets that drink and a slosh bottle splashed on his neck, even if he's not "hot". They met us one more time before the check and Nelson was there with them. He had made it back with some Maggie supplies. Like another Vicodin, a long sleeved shirt and more bug spray (did I mention the bugs are horrendous in the Upper Peninsula this time of year???). And GLOW STICKS. Though I still thought I could make it before it was too dark, I wanted to be prepared!

Malik started to canter. He alternated cantering and trotting the rest of the way into camp and when he heard Nelson and our friends hollering for us and cheering us on, he cantered on in. It was 10:09 p.m. Oh, how I wish it had not been too dark for a photo!!!! It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. I almost cried! Our friend and ride manager of the Little Manistee and Tin Cup Springs rides, Becke Grams took Malik for me so I could dismount...I am happy to report that I did not FALL off or get my foot stuck or anything else embarrassing like that. If it had been light out and everybody could have seen, I would have. But it was dark so my agility at this point went unnoticed! Jeanie hugged me, Nelson hugged me and I heard congratulations all around. I wanted to stay with my horse and started walking with Becke to the vet in area but finally gave up (that sand is awful to walk in when you're NOT tired!) and caught a ride in the truck with Nelson. Malik pulsed in at 58 and trotted out just fine for completion. (It wasn't easy with his FIFTH leg sticking out there!!! Go figure!!). We weren't top ten anymore so did not get any more of an evaluation than that. Fortunately, I know my horse and knew he was fine and just needed a rest but I hope if there are other riders out there who are not sure, that they will ask the vet for help if they need it. I was surprised that with all the concern surrounding Malik's nap that the vet wasn't more meticulous in her examination at the end. I am sure there are people out there who think I should have pulled and was crazy for continuing on. But I can say with confidence that I know my horse like I know no other. He is my soul mate. If I had thought for one second that he was in REAL trouble, I would have pulled without even consulting the vets! I had several people tell me later that either their horse or someone they knew had a horse who would take naps at vet checks when they were tired. So I am not alone. Maybe I should start a support group for us. It's really quite a sad state of affairs!!

Max whinnied happily when he saw Malik come back to camp and came over to nuzzle him over the fence. Malik laid back his ears and bit him on the neck. I do believe he was disgusted and mad at Max for leaving him out there! It was quite funny. They did later make up but not until Malik had a good roll and a nap. We blanketed both horses for the night. It was chilly out and still freezes at night up there. But they looked great and spent a relaxed quiet night next to each other. We woke up the next morning to the sound of Malik trumpeting his supremacy to the horses warming up for the 25 miler. He came off the trailer at home hollering his head off for his mares and telling them all he had WON the Grand Island 100 (he is a famous liar!) and was so busy bouncing around and misbehaving that I dispensed with his liniment rub and turned him out. He went bucking, kicking and rearing over to the mares' fence, prancing and doing all kinds of pirouettes.

We did take home a ribbon for 2nd heavyweight (UMECRA divisions) and even though there were only two heavyweights, I don't care!! We placed 12th in 12 hours and 39 minutes. Unfortunately the two girls who had blasted up on me after the 78 mile check got turned around at the spot that almost sent ME in the wrong direction. They came in from another direction, I guess. At least I wasn't LAST! :) In retrospect, I believe Malik tried to go right (the WRONG way) follwing the scent of those 2 horses. Definitely something to think about!!!

In spite of the pain and fatigue, the bugs and a few rude riders, we had a GREAT time. I had the wonderful opportunity to meet some Ridecampers (Margie Burton from Kansas was one!). Also met Joyce Mocilan...someone I have e-mailed with but never had the pleasure to meet. We actually rode part of the trail together. She was doing a demonstraton ride for the Pan Ams. She is a VERY NICE lady and the very best example of an experienced rider encouraging newbies and showing them a good time. I do believe she finished very strong in the top ten and I hope her demonstration ride was a resounding success! Also loved meeting the Mielke's, Bonnie and Bob. What neat people....we have the same viewpoints about taking care of our horses and how we feel about them. We all agreed that it is desirable and possible to compete in the big rides without having to hurt your horse. I LIKE these folks!!! Nelson spent a good deal of time snooping around everybody's trucks and trailers to see what ingenious things they come up with for making life easier at rides. He got some good ideas, too!!!

Maggie