MY ARIZONA STORY - Angie McGhee

Angie McGhee

Well, none of my friends can believe I've taken this long to tell them about my trip to Arizona but I've been so swamped that I never felt like I had time to do it justice. Finally got on fall break and my brother found out! :-(( Ring, ring, "Hey, heard you're off work. We're over here painting the house for Mama and Daddy and need you to do the trim" Wahhh!

But I'm ready to talk so here tis.

The moral of this story is that whining on Ridecamp can be a good thing. Apparently, I whined and sounded a little down a while back and as a response I got a post from a Dayna Weary saying that she had been conscripted by her husband Bruce to invite me out to Arizona for an endurance ride lest I should fear that I was being invited out by some pervert. I didn't know it at the time but Bruce only wanted to allay my fears in that area until I agreed to come and the airline ticket had been purchased. Then he took a twisted pleasure in suggesting that I might just get off the plane and be met by a person who I would consider the worst possible Ridecamp person to have lured me out there. :-P Ha, ha, very funny. Even after I was convinced he wasn't, he hinted that maybe I wasn't the only person he'd invited. Bruce has a twisted sense of humor.

Normally, I would have felt I couldn't miss school but it just so happened that the very weekend they wanted me to come was the end of my daughter's contract at her dude ranch job in Colorado. That meant either Bill or I had to buy a plane ticket and fly to Albuquerque, NM to meet her and help her drive home. Bruce and Dayna assured me that they could use their Southwest Airlines points to fly me back to Albuquerque after the ride rather than home, so I could justify the trip. I would get to do a ride, and SAVE MONEY!!! Anybody who knows me knows I can't pass up a deal like that.

The flight from Nashville to Phoenix was the most unusual pre-ride day commute I've made. My daughter's stuff had barely fit in the car when she left, so I knew I couldn't fit much in her car for the ride home. First, instead of filling up a truck & trailer with my ride gear, I had to get it all in a backpack. I didn't dare check luggage so I had crammed all my regular clothes and enough books on cassette to get me through a 1400 mile marathon drive home into one carry on suitcase, then had to get my ride clothes into a backpack. Turns out Bruce & Dayna don't wear helmets so I needed to bring my own. So...in goes one helmet, one pair of RIDE TENNIS SHOES, >phew!!< tights, gloves, sponge, etc. Honestly, I was so afraid the security officers searching luggage would open that bag. There's nothing quite like the scent of a pair of shoes that's been in pond water, green manure, etc. etc. Ugh. If they'd lit a fuse I'm sure those shoes would have qualified as a shoe bomb. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get it all in so I just told Dayna the way she could recognize me getting off the plane...I'd be the one in the helmet.

I'm not sure why, but it was easy to spot Dayna in the airport. Endurance riders somehow manage to look really fit without looking like aerobics instructors. When I had talked to Dayna on the phone about coming out I asked her were they the type people who would lure me out there just so they could drive off and leave me in the desert. She assured me not, but when she whisked me away in her Lincoln, and phoned Bruce to tell him "The parcel has been collected" I wondered if I'd ever said something on RC that had really offended them. :-P

Dayna and I talked a blue streak for the 2 hour drive to the camp...mostly about raising teenaged girls. It's hard to be scared of a 50 mile ride next to sheer rocky drop offs when you've been facing teenaged girls daily. This would be a picnic.

So...we pull into camp and how are things different from the South? Well, first, you opened a gate to get in camp and closed it behind you. Seems there would be cows that had free roam of camp and the gate needed to keep them in. That was a darned big ranch because we rode about 25 miles before we had to open another gate. Of course, I think it had about as much graze-able forage on it as 2 grassy acres back home. I saw one cow and calf and I think that might be all the land was able to feed. >g<

First I met Bruce. I know everybody has been waiting for me to get on here and describe Bruce to them. Well, if you've seen the National Geographic show about Tevis, picture Boyd with short blonde hair. The more I think about it, the more I think Bruce may have been riding under an assumed name in that video. If so, he has taken riding lessons since then. Since I came up to approximately his ribs I had a feeling the horse I was borrowing would be a big boy. And he was. I was riding Heisman, a big flea bitten Arab with a very impressive record (4000 miles) so I was in good hands.

I had been worried since the invite that they wouldn't have a saddle with holes punched high enough in the stirrup leathers for me. Bruce had told me I'd be riding an Abetta saddle with a fleece seat cover so as soon as I saw the saddle there on the rack I started taking up the stirrups to make sure they'd go up enough for me. I struggled to pull the fenders as far up into the saddle as I could get them, took the stirrups up to the highest notch, buckled on the keepers and then Bruce noticed what I was doing and said, "Ummm...that's my saddle". Oops.

Dayna's motive for the weekend was obvious from our first call. Seems she had just read my EN article where I griped about people in campers running their generators. Her plan was to corrupt me by having me spend the weekend in an air conditioned camper, sleeping on a feather bed and eating hot meals. If they'd had the toilet in their brand new camper hooked up it might have worked, but the walk to the porto-let cleared my head and I think I passed the test since I haven't said a word to Bill about taking out a second mortgage to get something like that for myself. The hard part about sleeping in the camper was that Bruce and I are both chronic "one-upsmanshippers". Every time one of us told the "last story of the night" the other had a better one. You know how it is at a slumber party when you turn out the lights, everybody gets quiet...and you try to stay quiet...and then somebody speaks and it all starts up again? >g< Poor Dayna.

OK, enough trivial stuff. The TERRAIN. I don't think I ever realized Arizona is so mountainous. If you said Arizona I just pictured desert. Nope, it was mountains. BIG mountains. The ground is a dusty, fine dirt with a scattering *everywhere* of loose volcanic rock. You could be trotting along on a flat trail and suddenly there would be a leg breaker type hole...the kind we get when an old dead pine stump underground rots out, but they have no reason for them I could see. They said it had to do with the volcanoes.

The really different thing about out there is that you can see forever. You can see mountains that are a hundred miles away. If I step outside my door at home I can see Lookout Mountain which is maybe 4 miles from me to the East and it rises up to block anything else that direction. Out there you could see a rider on a mountain from far away. Out here a rider is out of sight behind foliage 20 yards ahead. Out there you can see GROUND on distant mountains. There wasn't much that I'd call a tree till you got into the pines higher up the mountains. The "scrub oaks" are wicked little bushes that have *tiny* little miniature oak leaves. The limbs are made of cast iron and it is a *grave* mistake to think you'll just brush one back as you ride by. Bending apparently requires moisture and there isn't any, so it's like snagging your tights on a ragged metal rod. OUCH! They must use cutting torches to clear trails.

The "Man Against Horse" ride is just that. They had a 50 mile endurance horse race, a 50 mile human race, 25 mile LD horse, (don't think they had a people 25) a 12 mile human race and a 12 mile fun ride. This was something else strange to me. There were 18 horses in the 50, and maybe that many runners. Maybe 30 in the LD and over a HUNDRED in the 12 mile fun ride. We seldom have those here, and if they do maybe 5 or 10 show up. I didn't get to see any of the fun riders. They got there after we started and were gone before we came back. I don't know if they had fun or not. By the way, this is the first ride I've been to where the manager complained that antelope had been eating the markers.

If you ever have a chance to do an endurance ride over a course where they're having a human race, I highly recommend it. Boy, do runners get a lot of food! Every five miles or so we'd come up on a table and they'd offer us granola bars, tootsie rolls, M&M's, Gatorade, pretzels...it was crazy. I have never eaten so much at a ride. Next time I'll enter a higher weight division since I'll probably make it at the end. There was a Native American guy whose name I wish I could recall who had won the race and beat the horses for the past 5 years. I saw him but wouldn't have picked him as a favorite. He was sort of the Jayel Super of humans...just incredibly middle of the road. Not too big, not too muscled, just handy. He said he wasn't in good shape this year. Turned out he was still good enough to beat the horses but got beat by a tall Caucasian. I guess I could be happy...Caucasian pride and all, but the Native American was closer to my height so I related more to him. A woman came in third; it was just hard to pick who would make it and who wouldn't. A couple of younger Native American guys whose legs looked *so* ripped gave out around 25 miles. Meanwhile there was a guy who looked like a heavyweight still going (I think he finished) and there was actually a 67 year old man who did the whole 50.

Back to the horses. Bruce was riding his Fox Trotter mare that happens to be slim and gray so you have to look twice to notice it's not an Arab. She had a very "Lemme At 'em" attitude so my job was to stay behind and not challenge her to a race. I kept waiting for the catch with Heisman. He was steady, controllable, sound, and strong! I actually had my camera out on the first loop taking pictures as we started. THAT'S a dependable horse!

I had almost left my sponge at home but decided to take it just in case. What I found were a lot more opportunities to sponge than I expected. Heck, I figure if your horse is drinking out of a green cattle tank nobody's going to complain about a little sponge getting dipped. There was even a puddle or two. Bruce had a little collapsible bucket that he got off and dipped but good ol' Heisman acted like he'd seen leaping sponges all his life and let me do my thing from his back.

Vet checks were different. Out here they're usually in camp and I have an elaborate area set up with a truckload of stuff set out. Their checks were away, which make sense because if you rode within 12 miles of camp all the time you'd never lose sight of it out there. When we came into the check we stood around the water tank and a pulse taker came to us and took the pulses. I looked around and there was no sign of a "vet check area" but there were horses occasionally trotting down a strip of driveway so I guessed somebody down there was a vet. We got our pulses, then instead of going to vet through we stood around at our food that Dayna had set out and let them eat and had a bit ourselves. Finally, when it was almost our out time we went down to the vet and did a trot out. Very casual.

Now lets talk rocks. We have rocks, but we have some dirt under the rocks. They have rocks under their rocks. If I had been in charge of the pace on this ride we'd have had to walk the whole time. I just didn't look down. I figured if Bruce thought it was trotable and Heisman was willing, I'd just mind my own business and take pictures. There was one huge mountain that we had to get to the top of and it involved a narrow switchback trail cut into the side of the mountain. The air was thin and we'd been about 25 miles. There were a couple of 20ish *extremely* fit looking runners who ran out of steam there and were calling it quits. Bruce got off his mare and was tailing up and I was riding along in front turning around taking photos of them. Heisman meanwhile was expertly picking his way over loose rocks and around the switchbacks. I suddenly realized what I was doing and noticed that though there was lots of scrub brush around, there was absolutely nothing capable of slowing your tumble if you took one step off the trail. It would have been a long roll through cactus and boulders to the valley below. >shudder<

The ride itself was a great experience. I finally got to see the West without a freeway in sight, and on a *good* horse. It was fun to see the way the westerners run things and how and why it works for them. I got lucky on the weather, everyone said it was uncommonly pleasant...really warm but not the least bit miserable. The temp didn't feel bad at all to me. I think the South is "bake" and Arizona is "broil". I could feel the heat burning my skin but not inside my head. I did forget the sunblock and chapstick. By Monday my lips looked like one of those westerns where someone has crawled across the desert with cracking lips. I think there were 4 mouth sores. (Dentist appt. 2 days later with new dentist...perfect timing...trying to explain that I *don't* have Herpes type 6).

As we got down off the mountain and traveled along the sandy washes again I was just thinking how impressively sure footed Bruce's western horses were and how I had trusted my life to them trotting those switchbacks...not like Kaboot, who does summersaults on decent footing. As I pondered this I saw Bruce's mare's front hoof hit a soft spot and in slow motion she demonstrated a *perfect* Kaboot tumble. First, Bruce realizes he's riding a short horse with no head, then he has to tuck and roll left as she continues her flip. Boy, I sure was glad she did it in a sandy wash in the valley instead of on the side of that mountain where I'd have had to wait around for him to climb back up if he was still alive. Bruce was bruised but fine.

I finished the ride feeling great. I hopped off my horse, trotted him out for the vets, and suddenly thought I was going to puke. It's hard to look nonchalant when you're blocking the vet line with your hands on your knees hoping you don't puke and let everyone realize how much of the runner's food you scarfed up all day. Also, since I'd finished top 10 I really needed to weigh before losing any weight so I managed to pull tack, and stand on the scales before I handed Dayna the horse and collapsed in a worker's chair. Someone suggested the heat got me but no, it wasn't even particularly hot and there was no humidity. I'd say it was either thin air or all that runner food I ate.

The moment passed, I felt better and enjoyed a great ride meeting with nice awards, then went back to Bruce's house which is the absolute antithesis of mine. I live in a log cabin with wood floors, walls & ceilings (to match the dirt). Bruce's house is white...inside...outside, up and down. My house has stacks of magazines, walls of bookshelves that are full and have more books stacked flat on tops of the rows. My furniture consists of primitive antiques (mostly from my primitive ancestors) His is tastefully sparse... refined, like a decorator magazine. My horses eat along a wood plank fence with the buckets hanging on posts by baler twine. Bruce has 4 large pipe stalls (which he designed) with feeders and automatic time locks on the gates to let them out after they've had enough time alone to finish. I just looked at it all and thought, "It's amazing how much a person can accomplish with no humidity".

I am profoundly grateful for the big adventure Bruce & Dayna gave me. They flew me out, took me into their home, let me ride a wonderful horse on a beautiful trail, drove back and forth to Phoenix to pick me up and deliver me to the airport...and I gave them...my sponge. I'm trying to come up with something better, but so far that's all they got out of it.

I did find out that though Bruce hit SEVEN THOUSAND miles at this ride, he's never done a ride in the east. That gives me an idea...I'm just not sure I can get my house clean enough for company! :-)

Angie McGhee

Manzanita Ride - Nancy Reed

by Nancy Reed

Daughter Danielle, horses Lyric and Jazzi and I were very excited about the
Manzanita ride. This would be Jazzi's first real endurance ride and this
would be Dani and Lyric's 3rd or 4th 25 miler. Our neighbor Jill and her
beloved RC Lawman were doing the 50. Friends Tara, Craig and their daughter
Danielle were all signed up for the 25. Tara's Danielle (Walker) was taking
her new mare, Bell.

The Elfin RV and the new trailer was just about fully packed Thursday, the
night before. I had my clothes washed and snacks packed. All the water
bottles and the Camelback were found and filled with filtered water. A bale
of hay was secured in the back corner of the trailer by a new set of D rings
waiting the test run. Lyric knew something was up and she started pacing in
her stall with the Friday morning feeding. I kept running the list in my
mind, over and over.

Finally the packing was done and the horses loaded in less than 5 minutes.
At 12:30 pm Friday the Elfin RV's big V10 roared to life and we were on our
way! The RV hummed and the horses were quiet as we snaked up the San Elijo
canyon past the Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve where we train. This is
perhaps the most dangerous part of the entire drive as the road is very
narrow and windy with no shoulders and no room for mistakes. The locals
call it "the narrows" and in spite of it's beauty from the hundred year old
coast live oak canopy and murmuring creek, this is no place to day dream
about an endurance ride. I pray for safe passage as we traverse this
section, asking for divine protection in a green gate to hell.

In minutes the danger is passed and we rumble past the smelly chicken ranch
and retired dairy, beacons of a previous life. Soon to be a new horse
community; homes in waiting. With the smell comes cell service. Jill had
somehow managed to get 20 minutes ahead of us and we chatted on the cell
phone about the traffic, food and our horses and kids. We fill the Elfin RV
with gas (oh that hurt!), chatted with a endurance want to be and we are
gliding down the 15 south. as usual Dani has her nose in a book and I am
looking for traffic reports and some traveling music. I settle on Jimmy
Buffet, Living and Dying in 3/4 Time.

We hit the ride camp in a bit before 3 pm. Terry, the ride manager has very
funny signs instructing us to locate our assigned hook up and place in life.
Quickly the horses are unloaded, hay bags and water set out, RV leveled and
plugged in. Time to find friends and vet in. As if directed from a
supernatural power Jill and Tara have set up camp next to each other under a
massive oak. Bobbie and Karl are next to them. We spend time catching up
and all to soon the sun is starting to set and we still need to pre-ride the
finish!

A quick tack up and we are exploring the groomed dirt and sand road as it
gently rises toward the scrub covered hills that will test both horse and
rider the next day. Dani and I wonder out load if Lyric and Jazzi remember
the trail from last year. I assume they do remember as both Jazzi and Lyric
are relatively quiet and have dispensed with the silliness they displayed
last year. In what seemed minutes the sunlight is gone and it is time for
the ride meeting.

As with many sacred riding areas, Manzinita has experienced growth that has
blocked trails. Terry is funny when explaining that the start of the ride
is a bit different than last year as the new neighbors have not given
permission for the ride to trespass. I am thankful we will by pass most of
the cows due to the unfriendly new residents. The third loop for the 50 is
new too. I am too hungry to listen and my "mental-pause" infected brain has
shut it self off for the night.

Dinner is a Mexican pot luck affair at Tara's RV. We all get in and chow
down on scrumptious chicken tacos, cheese enchilada casserole, salad and
beer. The two Danielle's are happily reconnecting, Jill is making new
friends and are tummies are happy. Our horses are happily slurping their
beat pulp and electrolyte soup and their hay bags are stuffed full. I only
let my self have a couple of beers. I learned not to drink too much alcohol
at the Descanso CTR earlier in the summer with my neighbor Jaisia. I played
a big price for one too many glasses of wine and I was not going to repeat
that mistake!

Still I am in heaven. The companionship in ride camp is some thing I
cherish. It makes bedtime come way too soon.

At 6:45 I awake the Sleeping Beauty. Dani is a dream in comparison to many
teenagers. She gets up with minimal complaint and starts getting ready.
The camp is relatively quiet even as the 50 milers queue up to take on the
trail. The weather is cooler than yesterday, but will be in the high 80's
with the possibility of humidity and even rain. This is very different from
last year when it was in the 70's to low 80's, dry and cold at night.
I recheck my pack, apply sunscreen and nag Dani to speed it up. At 7:30 we
are ready to complete the last horse preparations and mount up. Somehow it
is 7:50 by the time we make it to the starting line. The camp is way too
quiet and I start wondering just what I missed at the ride meeting when my
brain was turned off.

We are joined by a true gentleman, Pat (sorry, I can not remember your last
name) on an equally kind gray Arab gelding. We attempt to move down the
trail, but Jazzi and Lyric are being naughty, small bucks, failure to
respond to cues, speeding up when asked to slow down. This does not help
Pat's horse at all and within minutes all three of them have shared a
secrete pact to test their respective riders ability to stay seated. We ask
to pass a large group from Challenge Ranch who's leader is having a stern
conversation with his black gaited horse about who is boss. Lyric gets
really silly when she is turned in a circle and some scrubby bushes rub her
belly. Dani is getting mad. I have my hands full with Jazzi who thinks she
is a race horse.

Lyric now has 2 full season's of CTR and 3 or 4 LD's under her belt. She
has matured and grown up. At 7 and 1/2 years of age, she has learned to
drink, eat, pee, poop and rest when it is offered. I trust her to take care
of her self. Dani is a beautiful rider and together they are a TEAM. I am
only concerned about Lyric's left front hoof. On Monday the furrier
discovered she had crushed her left front heel. We believe it is due to the
high speed trail work Dani had been doing over the previous several weeks.
The right only had some mild damage. Lyric is very left leaded. Due to the
crushed heel Team Lyrelle (Lyr-e-elle, Lyric and Danielle) was bumped to
the LD from what was to be their first 50.

Jazzi (a 6 year old National Show Horse) on the other hand has one year of
only CTR and has not learned to drink early in the ride. She usually waits
until 10 or 15 miles before she drinks. But when she does drink, she tanks
up. Last year at the Warner Springs CTR, I had a real problem with lack of
control with the Little S Horse Hackamore. Jazzi is now in a French link
snaffle and has more training with Michelle Nicklo, a Clinton Anderson
trainer. At the start I still had my hands full, but I was still in control
and after a few circles, neck bends, side passes she started to settle down
and walk.

What I love about this horse is her walk and willingness. She has a 4 to 5
mile per hour big strided walk that eats up the miles. Her trot is very
comfortable and easy to ride. But, Lyric can out trot her any day of the
week and Lyric is a full hand smaller than Jazzi. Needless to say this
really makes Jazzi mad!

After about 45 minutes all 3 horses have settled down and we start taking
turns leading, following and bringing up the rear. Jazzi prefers the lead.
Lyric has recently developed a fondness for the lead too. Pat's horse is
very well behaved in any position. The trail was very well marked and no
loose cows. The footing had a lot of new deep sand and moguls from
motorcycles. It was getting hot and I was glad I had a full camelback of
water for me and two large bottles to cool Jazzi with.

Up we go through the brush, them down into the off road staging area. Less
than a dozen off roaders were in the staging area and all were friendly and
turned off their engines. We were monitored by the ham radio team known as
"React." They were all business getting our numbers and making sure we were
all fine. Water was available in large black troughs kept full by
volunteers. As expected, Lyric drank well here, but Jazzi just looked at it.
Pat had a GPS and kept us informed of our mileage and pace. (I could not
locate mine, bummer.) It was getting hotter.

Next was up a moderate hill and down the other side with amazing views of
the badlands in the San Diego and Imperial County desert. An old railroad
line cut a path down the side of a steep rugged mountain. It disappeared
into a tunnel. It was beautiful and frightening all at the same time. The
horses did well and we were trotting much of the trail. My heart rate
monitor was working well. Jazzi was between 120-130 while trotting and in
the 90's when walking.

Soon it was time to climb in earnest up to the vet check. Our horses did
well and moved out. I was ready for a rest. Dani and Pat looked great. In
fact Dani even tailed up some of the hill.

At one point I had to pee as I had just about drained my camelback. Pat was
so funny as he was thankful I needed a pee stop. I almost fell over laughing
in the wet sand as Jazzi peed with me!

The vet check was a mass of horses and humanity. The volunteers were so
kind and helpful. Jazzi, Lyric and Pat's horse dove into the food. Lyric
ate the grain as if she was starved. Jazzi did not want the grain; she
wanted the alfalfa. Against my better judgment I let her have it. Lyric
pulsed down immediately, as did Pat's horse. But Jazzi stayed at about 60
and criteria was 56 (or was it 58?). Long story short I lost 20 minutes as
I forgot to loosen her cinch. It dropped the minute I loosened it.
Pat went on ahead so he would not be overtime. Lyric vetting with out
problem and Jazzi had a B on hydration. The vet wanted her to start
drinking. So, what does she do after the vet tells me this? Yep, she
started drinking!

This was a 20 minute hold and with the late start, extra hold time, we were
late. The second loop is much tougher than the first and we are now in the
heat of the day. Dani is soaking her cotton over shirt and I have refilled
by horse bottles and camelback. We are off and trot the beginning, but
Jazz's heart monitor is showing 200. She is strong and is fighting me to
catch up to the group ahead of us. I am worried sick as it must be 90
degrees and the humidity is high for the west coast. I slow us down and her
rate drops, but I can not shake by fear. This, of course makes Dani mad as
Lyric is fine and ready to move on down the trail.

We pass the ride photographer, same place as last year. And like last year
Jazzi thinks the camera is going to eat her. Dani gets Lyric all collected
up and she looks lovely. We then cross the road and the hard part begins.
This part is steep with large, room size boulders with pockets of deep sand.
We are behind a wonderful older "been there, done that" mare with a tough
young junior on board. Jazzi puts her feet exactly were the lead mare
steps. In places she has to let her back end slide down while the front
gingerly steers. Thankfully this section is not long and we are done with
the slip and slide.

The rest of the loop is more up than flat with some very funny trail
markers. "Turn off your AC"," downshift" are two I can remember. Dani is
tailing a fair amount up the hills and Lyric is loving it. I am keeping
Jazzi wet with water. At one point I dismounted and re gelled my electrodes
which cured my too high heart rate. But Jazzi is tired and I an worried.
As I said, this is a tough section and the final climb out is brutal. The
ride photographer is waiting to catch us as we climb out of the desert
canyon. The back ground is stunning and the picture of Dani and Lyric is
priceless. On the other hand Jazzi and I are more than a bit bedraggled and
tired. More water at the top and finally Jazzi tanks up. She drank for 5
minutes!

We waited 15 minutes to let the horses rest and recover. Dani took great
delight in taking off her shirt and dunking it. We were now late, but only
by about 20 minutes. The rest of the ride is mostly a gentle downhill on a
dirt road and a bit of single track. We can make it!
About 4 miles from the finish the front runner in the 50 came cantering up
the road to the 4th loop. They were wet, but looked strong. Later I
learned the front runners were lucky as someone pulled the ribbons on the
3rd loop and Jill ended up doing and extra 10 miles.

To the cookie and drink stand and more water. Turn left, down the single
track and back on a dirt road to the finish. I kept an eye on the clock and
we were going to make it in time! Jazzi and Lyric know we are headed home
and they perk up. We meet some really nice folks on gaited and quarter
horses. Everyone looks good. Lyric is ready to race in.

We make it to the timers with about 5 minutes to spare, but they are telling
me we are 15 minutes over time. Now I am confused. We were under the 6
hours, right? No, in endurance the ride time starts when the ride starts,
not when you start. That's a CTR rule. I was too tired to be very upset.
Dani took it in stride. We made a difficult ride in 6 hours, our horses
pulsed down immediately and vetted out with no problems. Jazzi's improved
her hydration and the vet was pleased too.

I learned many things on this ride. First, just because a ride is billed as
easy does not make it so. The trail had been changed by the tremendous rain
we experienced last winter adding more deep sand and moguls. Loosen your
cinch even if you never needed to before. Re-gel your electrodes at the vet
check. The rider does better when she has lots of water too, just like her
horse. Team Lyrelle is awesome and I am one lucky mom to be blessed with
them in my life. Jazzi is vastly improved, but still needs more
conditioning and needs to learn to drink early in the ride. I love it when
we pee together. I love my RV and it's comforts. Yes, I am getting too old
for lots of stuff, but endurance is NOT one of them. (I should have sold
the tent at the garage sale.)

A BIG THANK YOU to Terry for being the ride manager extraordinaire, all the
volunteers who made this ride possible, my ride camp friends who put up with
me, my daughter who also puts up with me, my horse who carts my big butt
around and my husband who lets me be me and still loves me in spite of all
the dirt, horse hair and early morning feeds.

Nancy Reed

Lazy J Ranch

Elfin Forest, CA

2005 Season Reflections - Tom Noll

Greetings:

The 2005 season began with a trip to Southern Utah for the Color Country
three-day ride. Leslie and I lived in Salt Lake City for eight years and we
spent a good deal of time in the Colorado Plateau Country. Color Country
was an opportunity to visit some terrain that we hadn't seen for over 15
years. The first day was pleasant riding on red trails in Utah and Arizona.
Who can forget the second day? It started off as mist and drizzle but
quickly turned to snow and rain. The cloud ceiling just kept getting lower
and lower all morning until it touched the ground on the trails we were
riding. We rode on through the snow and cold. I left the duster at home in
the barn and was riding in a light shell. At about the end of the first
loop I followed a runaway horse about five miles off the endurance trail but
he was lost to the fog. Before the day was through, the horse and rider
were reunited.

After three days of Color Country I was off to a local ride, Purple Passion,
on my wife's horse Max. Max is underrated. He would be an outstanding
100-mile horse but we've stuck to running mostly local trails. Max has the
heart, he has the passion, and he has the flash. Max and I had a fine
finish at PP.

Then it was on to the Owyhee 60. I thought about the 100, but my horse
Frank does not really enjoy multi-loop runs out of camp. He learned
endurance on the Big Horn trails of Wyoming and he holds those memories.
More than two loops are not fun in his horse mind so we rode the 60
together. Against my better judgment, we started off with the leaders on
another drizzle day on the Owyhee 60. We ran hard, perhaps too hard, and
Carolyn Roberts and I holed up at the Sierra Del Rio Ranch at 40 miles. We
let the leaders go on and we rounded out the top five.

After the Owyhee 60, it was an unforgettable day training on the Hard Guy
Trail in the Boise Front on Memorial Day weekend. Frank and Skyla Stewart's
horse Tempo ran together, they ran hard, and they ran well. It was the big
horse and the little horse, two bay horses, two hard guys, running up their
trails at their own fast pace. Then, two days later, Frank showed front-end
lameness. The x-ray films were troubling. Was it a career ending injury?
Some of the best vets looked at Frank and offered their diagnoses, opinions,
and solutions. My farrier and I worked together and we gave Frank some time
to rest and recover.

Big Horn was in a few weeks and I needed a horse. Two of the best riders I
know offered one of their horses, Mozart. The three of us, along with my
wife Leslie, planned to head off to Wyoming together and ride together on
the Big Horn 100. Last minute injuries and changes left only Leslie and I
bound for Wyoming with Max and Mozart. Leslie and I gave our regards to Tom
Van Gelder at 4:00 in the morning outside of Shell Wyoming and started up
the Big Horn trail on Max and Mozart in the dark under the stars in the
northern sky. We rode up the Slide, Black Mountain, and the Shag Nasty, and
down the Adelaide Trail. We rode across the Big Horn Plateau past Shell
Creek, Antelope Butte, and Horse Creek. We rode through the canyons and
then down the Dug Way to Hudson Falls. Leslie decided that she had enough
at 75 miles and Mozart and I left Hudson Falls dead last and alone with
Tracy Blue and her quarter horse Bud for the last 25 miles. Tracy and Bud,
Mozart and I, traveled through the night under that same canopy of stars and
that night Mozart dug deep within his heart and his soul to finish his
first-ever endurance ride at dawn on the Big Horn Trails the next day.

After Big Horn I helped out at the Owyhee FEI 100. I wanted to see the hot
horses run through the desert. It was a tough day at the Sierra Del Rio
Ranch and we saw some fast horses and fast riders pass through on their way
to their own memories.

>From there it was on to the Owyhee High Country three-day ride over Labor
Day. I had been doing light riding with Frank and I thought that we were
ready to start a reserved three-day ride in the desert. We traversed the
foothills, canyons, and passes from the Owyhee peaks to the banks of the
Snake River. Frank ran steady for three days and turned in another
outstanding performance. Frank seemed sound at the finish so my next
thoughts were about the Owyhee five-day ride in October.

Frank and I showed up at Bates Creek in October and we began five days and
260 miles of Owyhee desert trails. Frank had never done a five-day ride.
We rode one day at a time. Getting up in the morning, making warm mash,
eating breakfast, saddling up, riding all day, taking care of Frank in the
evening, eating dinner, taking a short evening walk, and then off to bed to
do it all over again. We probably rode a little too hard on the first three
days but we held on again to finish all five days in the Owyhee desert. At
the end of the fourth day, after dinner, Steph mentioned that there would be
recognition for the horses and riders that completed the most miles and most
days of Owyhee trails in 2005. And, at the end, when the mileage was
totaled up, Frank had run nine days and 475 miles of Owyhee trails in 2005.
We never planned it that way, but he is one tough horse.

When I look back on the season I remember the high times as well as the hard
times. The thoughts that Frank's endurance career might be over, the memory
of Mozart hanging on with all of his heart to finish the Big Horn 100, the
memory of running nine days of Oywhee trails, as well as thinking about Max
at Purple Passion, and Max and Frank at Color Country. I remember the
people that I met along those trails, all of them riding their own tough
horses like Hawk, Kris, Saud, Chaco, Equal Terms, Addis, Kavod, Sam, Macho
Gypsy, Chief, Flame, and all of the others. This past year I had the
privilege to ride tough horses on rough trails, and every one of them is a
real outlaw horse. They are the true descendents of the horses that Butch
Cassidy cached with sympathetic farmers and ranchers throughout the mountain
west, and I am lucky to have traveled the endurance trails with outlaw
horses such as these.

Best Regards,

Tom Noll

SW Idaho

Grand Canyon Experience - First Multiday - Maureen Moss

Maureen Moss

I made doing the Grand Canyon a goal early in the summer and planned
everything toward that. My husband and I haven't done that many 50's,
and when we have the opportunity to do a multiday, we've done LD to make
sure we could ride all days, so we knew we'd have to work to get both us
and the horses ready.

We worked up to a couple multidays and a couple 50's and were confident
we'd be able to at least do one or two days of Grand Canyon, but really
wanted to do 3. We also knew we'd have to be prepared for a single vet
check, away from camp, which hadn't been in our experiences either.

I also didn't know how to pack for 8 days and 3 horses (we picked up a
horse at the ride to bring home).

So lots of things to be unsure of, but also knew that we'd learn a lot
from the Duck and all the other wonderful people at the ride. And
prepared to make any decision for the best welfare of the horses.

Previously primarily CTR riders, we have been trying to increase our
speed a bit. I have been much happier seeing my horses alert and eager
after a 7mph ride than being on the trail all day at 4mph and just bored
or tired from going too slow for their capabilities. But I expected
that we would want to go very slowly at the Grand Canyon and wasn't sure
how best to manage that. My horse just doesn't have a walk (3mph and
she doesn't want to do it), and if I forced it she wouldn't be carrying
herself as well as she should and would end up sore.

Basically we decided to just listen to our horses. They'd been training
at the same elevation and temps and just had a blast. We just kept at a
steady trot (except for photo ops!) and found the entire format of the
ride just really worked perfectly for both us and our horses. We slowed
some for the last day and led a fair amount just to save them from
concussion on some rockier roads. But even at the end of the last day,
they were pulling and still taking care of themselves in the last 8
miles on a totally awesome boogie through the bottom of a little canyon.

I think the low temperature was the biggest factor in our favor, but I
am now really thrilled with single loop rides, single vet checks that
are out of camp - as well as the very laid back atmosphere of a Dave
Nicholson ride.

We didn't bring enough grain, a little too much hay, not quite enough
water, but otherwise I don't think we made a single mistake with
managing our horses. I think we might have been able to do 5 days, but
it just made better sense to stick to our plan. They got stronger each
day, didn't lose a pound and had a grand time.

Especially my horse. I have had her for sale (I have too many horses
and have listed more than I want to sell just to make sure I sell some
before I have no more money for hay), but she is most definitely off the
sale list now. I call her the Energizer Bunny. She is very short
strided, but is very nimble and can handle the worst of terrain leaving
many horses in the dust. Ears forward, she'd surge forward every time
she saw a ribbon or a fun twist in the trail - it got harder and harder
to hold her back each day. We have continued to bond and there's just
no way I could part with her. Especially after 150 miles of this
amazing ride.

My husband had been a little nervous about 50's after a scary experience
with one horse, but now he is quite confident in his own, and his
horse's abilities. I'm now trying to plan next season to include our
first 100.

There really aren't enough words to describe this experience. As I rode
each day I was composing a note to Ridecamp as I went and if I wrote all
that, this would be about 15 pages long. I learned a lot about me and
my horse (and extended camping) and am just so glad that we found a way
to make this trip. Thanks to all involved who made this ride work, and
those who shared grain and knowledge with us!

We'll be back for more!

Marlene

Tom & Frank, Owyhee High Country - Tom Noll

Greetings:

Early in September my horse Frank and I rode the Owyhee High Country
three-day ride. This was a big deal for us. Two years ago Frank set the
pace on this ride. But, earlier this summer, Frank had some lameness issues
and he missed the Big Horn, which is his ride. My thoughts are that a horse
might have a great year or two, but it is a very rare horse that has more
than a few great years. Perhaps Frank could be one of those rare great
horses, but I would be happy if we could just continue to go on down the
trail together for many years to come and that is what I've been working
towards. This year our goal was to run all three days of the Owyhee ride
and have a good time along the way. Frank and I are pals on the trail and
we both think alike. We've both run a few 100s and I hope Frank enjoys my
company as much as I enjoy his companionship on the trails.

Late Friday afternoon I pulled into the ridecamp at Bates Creek. I set up
camp next with Virginia Ware on one side and Ron and Lois Belknap on the
other side. All were three-day riders and Ron and Lois have been tearing up
the trails this summer. I could not have asked for better camp neighbors.

Frank and I would be running at mid-pack. We have had our days running in
front but these three days would be at a more moderate pace. The first day
was Sinker Canyon and we started off at the back of the pack. Coming into
the creek bottom I hopped off and ran all the way down the grade and into
the bottom. I thought to myself, "Well it sure isn't Wasatch, but at least
I can still set a pretty mean pace on the downhills." Frank matched me step
for step. He never complained about my pace and he never said that we could
go faster.

We talked with our friends at the creek bottom and then took off up the
drainage. We headed up the creek at a walk and then up the road at a
canter. Wahoo! This is riding! Frank was switching leads on the curves and
running uphill without even breaking a sweat. We ran around the top and
then off the top and back to the canyon. We stopped for the vet check and
Frank and another fellow Kathy Arnold horse named Quinn shared some leftover
grain with Frank and Quinn each taking turns and waiting while the other
took a few mouthfuls from the bucket.

We left the vet check and it was hot. I ran out of water and the ranch
hands at the Joyce Ranch graciously let me get a drink and refill my bottle
from a faucet outside the ranch. Nance Worman and I rode in to the camp
together and I was at the 50-mile vet check of a 155-mile three-day run.

Day two was chasing demons. Day two around Toy Mountain is a big ride and
two years ago Frank and I led the entire day. My riding partners and I rode
hard and fast that day two years ago and Frank was the only horse of the
three to come back for day three. This year was slower and I planned to
take in the trail and finish again with plenty of horse left. I rode up the
trail with Lynne and Carla, two outlaw ladies from Grangeville Idaho, as
well as Tom Dean and his wife Jan. The five of us set a nice even climbing
pace and we hooked up with the Max the Mule Guy, Nance Worman, and Mary
Forrester and rode into the vet check together. We left the vet check
together but Frank has a faster pace and soon Frank and I were alone on the
trail again. From the pass at the top of the Owyhees you can see off to the
Snake River in the east and off to Nevada, Oregon, and California to south
and west. Looking to the east I thought, "Tomorrow we'll be drinking water
at the Snake River" and that is a sobering thought given the distance to the
river. We took off on the steep downhill. Part of the way down the trail
Frank stumbled hard in some soft dirt and I came off and hit the ground in a
big cloud of dust. Frank was ok so there was nothing else to do but to pick
myself up, get back on, and keep on riding. We passed the old stage stop
where I drove my car in to ski the Owyhees one day in May some years ago.
Now I can't believe that I ever drove up that rough and rocky road all for
some spring tele turns on Quicksilver Mountain. Frank and I made our way
down the mountain trails and across the scrub juniper flats to the last
water tank eight miles out. I gave Frank a twenty-minute rest with a hay
slurpee in the water tank and then we headed on down the trail and back to
camp. Frank knew exactly where we were and he took off from the tanks at a
rocket canter. Had I let him, he would have run all the way back to the
Bates Creek Ranch. As it was we ran most of the last eight miles and came
into camp at a fast Wahoo pace.

My goal on day three was just to hang on and finish. Again, we started at
the very end of the pack. Frank had run 105 miles in two days and we had
another fifty to go. Early on I hooked up with Heidi Smith and we shared
the trails together for rest of the day. We rode around Wild Horse Mesa and
headed down to the river for the last water stop before the vet check. A
large rattler guarded the river trail, but we chased the snake into the
brush and our horses took a drink at the river. Heidi and I followed the
Oregon Trail into the vet check and then followed the ride trails back to
camp. We both rode up Rye Patch Road at a flying canter with our reins
slack on the saddle. I was laughing hard. We rode in to Oreana and the on
up the road to the ranch. Our horses picked up the pace as we got closer to
camp and they would have run full-tilt boogie into camp had we let them. It
is something really special to have a horse that still wants to run flat out
after three days on the trail. Frank finished day three in the top ten
after starting dead last and we had successfully ridden 155 miles of Owyhee
trails.

John and Steph are the most gracious hosts and they open their ranch, their
home, and their hearts for their riding guests. Owyhee County is still
rough and rugged territory and the Teeter Ranch is an old-west stage stop in
that dry desert country. The Owyhee Trails are rough and rocky, the horses
are tough, the riders are weather-beaten from days in the desert, and each
trail and each day is full of special memories.

Best Regards,

Tom Noll

SW Idaho

Swanton Pacific, my first 100 mile - Sandy Holder

by Sandy Holder

Where to begin? Well, I can't say at the beginning because you'd probably be asleep before I got to the real story so I'll start with why the 100 miles in 1 day title. You see, at the AERC convention, my daughter was so excited about my first attempt at Tevis that she bought (ok, with my money) a decal representing the title above. Of course, she said we couldn't technically put in on the trailer until I actually had DONE 100 miles in one day. As most of you already know, completing Tevis on my first attempt at a 100 was not to be (something about me pulling Tally at Foresthill when his trot out revealed a grade 2 lameness - but sound as a bell 4 hours later - a good decision I think). So in our tack room the decal sat while I contemplated how my new addiction for 100's would be "fixed". Ah, that's right, the famous "The Most Beautiful Trail in the World" and Barbara McCrary's Swanton Pacific 100 (SP 100). Guess I'll have to victimized (oops), I mean see if Katie will "volunteer" to crew for another 100 miler! Having a daughter into endurance (good thing for me she's not into 100 milers yet) is really terrific.

But the stars weren't shining too brightly so to speak for the two days ahead of the ride. Four seriously major crises occurred, one of which by itself could have been overwhelming (a family friend with breast cancer will be coming to live with us until she's healthy again). I won't go into any more details but when you head into a ride like the SP100 with terrible challenges hanging over your head, your confidence level is, shall I say, a bit depleted - at least mine was. In fact, I acknowledged to my husband that there was probably only a small likelihood that I'd actually finish. He to his credit, bless his heart (particularly since he's a non-horsey type) simply remarked that it wouldn't be called "endurance" without some challenges! I think I'll ask him about "endurance" midway through his Iron Butt rally (11 days on a motorcycle with potential routes all the way from Alaska to Florida back to Colorado)! And it wasn't getting any easier traveling to the ride, a late start and the Hwy between Gilroy and the coast shutdown. We arrived at ridecamp, as you might imagine, late in the afternoon, and me with a heavy heart. It was here, unbeknownst to me at the time, that our luck began to change.

Driving into camp, it appeared that all the "good spots" were pretty much taken. Into the meadow we headed where the vet in area is, stopping to unload my precious Tally boy so he didn't have to endure a bumpy ride, hoping to find a spot to squeeze into. With a sigh of relief, we noticed a really beautiful spot and as it turns out, right between our good friends Don and Pam Bowen and JULIE and BOB SUHR!!! Ok, maybe I should take out the capitals but you'll know why I kept them in by the time you finish the story!

And the miles started to melt away until we were really riding alone. It was at this point that my pony started to question me and for me to start thinking (not always a good thing) about not having any of my riding partners of the past 4 years there with me. As I started to become a bit melancholy, a piece of advice that a very warm and loving person (did I mention experienced rider) shared with me prior to my attempt at Tevis. "Ride your ride not like it's a 100 mile ride, but from vet check to vet check". I'll give you a hint who said it - she has 27 Tevis buckles and both she and her family (including her famous mother) have given a tremendous amount of encouragement to both me and my lovely daughter.

Coming upon the photographer (and trying hard to smile), I noticed someone jumping up from a chair and calling out, "you're here already?!". . . it was Dick, my riding buddy, stealing away from work to come out to the first vet check to greet me. Wow! It was hard not to tear up given the thoughts that had just been racing through my head!! Anyway, I hopped off my boy as I came into the vet check, pulled his bit knowing his pulse was already down and gave my pony over to my wonderful crew Katie and Dick. Taking in the surroundings, I noticed an open area with all the right things, particularly a Porta Portie (even if the closest one did say "Men" - which had at least one woman in it that day). The McCrary's had thought of everything.

In and out of the vet check - good, well with the exception of gut sounds (only B-). All morning long Tally had been nervous - I could tell because of the mess he'd left on his hocks. This wasn't a total unknown to me, but still, he'd not been like this since his second year in endurance (this being his fourth) and the less than ideal guts sounds played on my paranoid mind (and would throughout the day). So with only a completion as my goal, we stayed in the vet check for an extra 10 minutes to allow him to continue to eat, which he did quite voraciously. We let him eat until he stopped and went into "power snooze". After a minute or two we finally decided to depart. Of course, the only problem with hanging out sometimes is that you're all by yourself with no other horses going out with you. I'm sure you can imagine how "excited" (yeah, right!) he was about leaving, so with a mile and a half of payment, I decided to hand walk him until we found good footing.

Coming off the road, we entered a fairly large stream and found a photographer sitting on the other side. I found out later when my daughter presented me the photo at breakfast the next day just how good a photographer we had - a picture definitely for the house wall. In and out of the airstrip (and friendly encouragement from Kiki and Peter), we continued on, vet check to vet check, sometimes riding with a group and sometimes alone. It was during one of these "alone" times that we came upon Frank and his pretty little mare Gypsy. Evidently Gypsy had pulled long and hard on Frank and had come into the first major vet check at 8:30 a.m. (we didn't come in until after 10 a.m. but doing the 100 had done a longer loop). He thought she was "done" but as nothing obvious appeared to be wrong, was hand walking her to the next check. I believe he'd been walking for quite sometime and for an "older gentleman", it appeared to have taken a bit out of him. We walked for a bit and talked and as we were talking, I noticed that Gypsy was taking quite an interest in my handsome gelding. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that Ms. Gypsy was just a bit lonely and so with a little encouragement and us stopping to wait, Frank and Gypsy became our new riding partners. . . and riding we did. Here's where I think I need to share with you that little Gypsy had either gotten really rested or had been bluffing her dad that she wasn't doing too well. Either way, Frank suddenly had his hands full of a lively mare. It was fun keeping Tally at a steady pace and watching Gypsy alternately take the lead and fall behind us. As we approached the coast, we were joined by Lori Olsen, another QuickSilver Endurance Rider, and rode a beautiful stretch of trail (even though it was a bit slippery occasionally) to the lunch stop at a ranch on the California coast. The weather had been tremendous all day, misty and cool with the sun poking out to warm us (but not too much) as we enjoyed our ride.

Trotting out once again, Tally was virtually all A's with the exception of gut sounds. Once again I wondered about my talented mount and waited for Cory to check and subsequently recheck my boy. When possible, having the same vet see your horse throughout the day, particularly if he's both an experienced vet and endurance rider helps. We trotted him out twice (1/2 hour into the vet check and then just prior to leaving) to do CRI's on him and consult on his gut sounds. A few questions and soliciting Cory's opinion gave me some sage advice, "take him slowly to the next check and we'll see how he does there. I think he'll be fine." Of course, going slowly is not a problem when you leave and ride by yourself on an inexperienced (at riding alone) horse. With no one in site, we walked and talked to each other quite a bit. As my daughter later put it, he walked slower than Sister, our 1100 lb mare that thinks walking only means stopping to get another blade of grass. With 25 minutes between us and the group behind us (we'd encouraged Lori to leave while Tally continued eating and Frank had RO pulled with Gypsy reasoning the RIDER was unfit to continue), we went so slowly over 10 miles that the folks riding 25 minutes behind us DID catch us. . . only to find me now on a "raging" mount - too full of himself to want to listen! Ugh - talk about extremes!!!

The good news about having some riders catch up was that I met Debbie and her horse Remfire. As it turned out she was a really caring rider and she and I were to continue through the night past the Saw Mill vet check together and even into the finish. It was with her that Tally and I experienced our first true night ride (oh yeah, you're suppose to have DONE THAT already right?!!).

And then it happened. . . it was night and we came up to the top of the bluff by the ocean. The clouds parted and the glow of the full moon exploded with bright light! Oh man, what a magnificent sight!!! So beautiful that as I relaxed to enjoy the view, my lively boy decided to take advantage of me and jumped forward, almost breaking into a canter, to pass the two riders in front of us. I'm sure I heard Jonathan mutter something less than flattering to his riding partner about my horsemanship at that point. (I did apologize profusely and fell back behind them. Hopefully he understood when, toward the end of the ride, I decided not to challenge either one of them for a higher spot in finishing as we all rode in together).

We rode by moonlight, off and on over the hills, through a glowing valley and into the last vet check. Having dumped all my extra tack at the Saw Mill vet check (thinking with only ten miles to go I wouldn't need my pommel pack, sponge, scoop, etc.), I realized at the final pulse stop 5 miles from the finish (and before a killer mountain) that I had neither water for me, nor more importantly, electrolytes for my pony. Sensing my concern, Debbie asked about us and to my surprise, handed over a syringe filled with the same elytes I use mixed with unsweetened applesauce. Two lessons learned in a short period of time. One, don't EVER dump your pommel pack and TWO, my horse really likes his elytes with unsweetened apple sauce. THANK YOU, THANK YOU Debbie and Remfire for the joy of riding with you and your help on the last leg of our adventure.

As we crossed the same grassy meadow we started off in, the mist by the glowing of a full moon and the whoops and hollers of the two young girls waiting for us to cross the start/finish line gave me goose bumps. With my big white horse pulling at the reins, we trotted into camp. Can you imagine my surprise when somebody told me I needed to hop on the scales at sometime past midnight? My bleary eyes couldn't even focus much less my mile weary feet stand on the little tiny scale!!! So Kirsten held my saddle (FreeForm - only 7 lbs. or so but heavier than I could hold at the time) until I balanced on this little bitty thing and with a big gulp, we weighed in. Of course I promptly notified everyone that I was NOT going to interrupt my long awaited snooze and show up at 7 a.m. for the BC judging!! That was, of course before I woke up the next morning and shared with Julie Suhr my fabulous adventure - this at exactly 6:38 a.m. Without pausing for a second, she told Bob to get Barbara and that "WE WILL HELP YOU GET HIM READY". . . oh man, I dare say, an offer I couldn't refuse??!!!

Well, win or lose BC, I'll never be the same. My first 100 miler on my adorable Tally and Top 10 to boot. Guess all I have to do now is wash my trailer so I can find a clean spot to put that decal on!! Hmm, I wonder if I should ask Katie where it should go??!!!!!

Highlights of the ride (not all of which you PERSONALLY would want to experience):

* An incredibly delicious dinner and pre-ride meeting. Barbara McCrary really touched my heart when she shared with us how she and Lud had almost given up on doing the ride until their children became interested in riding. . . and almost given up again, and the third generation stepping up to participate. . . and each generation represented in the riders of 2005

* Sleeping some the night before the ride (hmm, - or was that a full glass of red wine?)

* Katie spraining her left hand (yes, she's left handed) while trying to help me tack up my nervous boy. . . good news is that its not broken, nor did it deter her from crewing - that part was fabulous I might add!

* Starting the ride with no buddy - the first time in 4 years - which can be mentally challenging for both horse and rider.

* Riding Tally in a snaffle bit with no buddy horse in sight (he actually surprised me and did quite well at the start)

* And here's where it begins to get really good - giving your number to a group of amazing volunteers who call out encouragement until you are no longer in site.

* Heading across a misty field and finding someone else trying to "start late" to keep their high strung mount a bit under control, and Tally relaxing and letting me focus more on the surroundings (I have no idea who it was but really appreciate the "help")

* Heading up a steady grade - I really like this - to take out some of the "hotness" (adrenaline) from my excited mount and warming him up

* Level ground with excellent footing to let him trot out (this is where he excels and the ride starts to become fun)

* Meeting previously unknown riders (hi there Jill) to share time with

* Realizing that everyone in the forest can hear you when you scream because of "knee knockers"

* And finally stretching out a bit and riding ahead of the current pack, having the opportunity to talk to my confused boy about why and where we were, oh, and I should mention singing not TOO loudly ?

Tevis - My Mustang Story - Char Antuzzi

by Char Antuzzi

I can now say I am the proud owner of a Tevis buckle. I got
my first buckle this last Sunday, riding the best horse I've
ever had the honor to ride, Sir Galahad, a 16 hand, 1000 pound
bay, blm mustange stud. We crossed that finish line at 3:28am
after a very long hot 22 hour ride along the Sierra Foothills.

Last year this great horse and I gave it a shot. We had won our
Tevis entry at the AERC Convention, so what did we have to
lose? We crossed the finish line at 5:38am, Sunday morning. In
my heart we finished, but just too late to get a buckle. This
year I wasn't about to let the clock win again, if I had
anything to do about it. At the same time I wasn't about to
hurt my horse to beat a clock. The entire day I was sponging
Gali, throwing water on him, giving e-lytes and just really
keeping an eye on him through the ride.

I had a schedule in my head of where I wanted to be and what
time, but for anyone that rides Tevis you now how that goes out
the window. There were a few parts of the rides I was worried
about. The Bogs and the canyons. We beat both of them. I was so
thankful that I had equithotic shoes on going over all the
rocks, not one time did my horse slip on the granite!

We got into Robinson's at 10:30am, got Gali vetted on in, then
before I knew it I was being shoved back on him by my crew and
told to get moving. Gali was hot at this point and the going
was slow. A few miles just down the road there appeared to be a
Tevis Oasis. A private family had hoses, water, gatorade for
us. Talk about neat people! They took a lot of time and hosed
Gali, got him cooled off and we had a great conversation with me
telling them that Gali used to be wild, he was captured,
adopted and now here he is and yes he is still a stallion.
(They asked what the brand was on his neck, they got the long
version of what it was, lol).

I head off to the canyons, somewhere in here is where I met the
most wonderful lady, Bobbie Pomroy whom was riding her sisters
horses, Hopper. Turns out Bobbie and I were both riding for our
loved ones that were taken with cancer. We both made a promice
to our loved ones that we would do what ever we could to get
through that ride in their honor. And by gosh, we did!

Bobbie and I rode through the darkness of the canyons together.
It was so dark we couldn't see the ears of our horses. I didn't
want to snap glowsticks unless I had to. So we rode that trail,
just trusting our horses. They never let us down! Her little
mare and Gali my wonderful stud did so well together. I am sure
that Hopper earned a whole lot of respect from Bobbie that
night on the dark trail.

Before I knew it we came into Fransicos'. I have never ate a
better tasting peanut butter and honey sandwich. But, Gali ate
mine! I had to go back and get another one, mmmmm yummy. Gali
trudged onto the river crossing, me talking the whole way. I am
sure Bobbie was about ready to shoot me, shut up CHAR!!! We
step into the river and swoosh, my calves are wet and I ride a
16 hand horse. I hope Bobbie has a snorkle.

We cross the river, climb up the other side and Gali knows one
thing, HOME... He wasn't about to let the clock get him this
year either. I cover his rump at the Quarry, we sure don't want
to have him stiffen up here of all places. He grabs some food
and off we go, back into the darkness, heading for home. We trot
most of the way in and before I know it, there it is the lights
of the Overlook. I have tears in my eyes. I can't not even begin
to tell Gali how brave and gallant he is. I bend over and hug
him, pet him, tell him how good he was for me, he never quit
and I could never be more proud of him.

We head off to take our victory lap around the stadium. There
is a bond that I share with the speical horse that no one will
ever know. I can't imagine my life without Gali in it. He isn't
an arab, he isn't small and sleek, but he is a proud 16 hand,
1000 pound mustang stallion that had something to prove and he
did!

Gali... thank you for giving me a gift, my first Tevis buckle.

Your human,

Char

Moon Me Moonlinght Ride & Pajama Party - Tracey Smith

MOON ME, Moonlight Endurance Ride and Pajama Party

Tracey Smith

Well, the ride I was not sure I even wanted to attempt (due to it being a night ride) has turned out to be the most fun and challenging rides I have done thus far! We distance riders in Texas are a creative lot, and when it gets too doggone hot outside to ride during the day...someone decides to put on a Moonlight endurance ride at the LBJ Grasslands and I being a sucker for a challenge...rushed to send in an entry!

I have not been able to do much competing this year, with my new job and not having the time off so I jumped at the chance to do a ride this close to home...even if it meant doing something I'd never done before...riding at night voluntarily. I say voluntarily because I have been "caught out" after dark once or twice when we misjudged sunset and ridden a half mile or so in the dark...but not 25 of them...and certainly not at endurance pace!

When I first mentioned the idea to my husband, he was sure I'd really lost it this time, but he agreed to come camping with me during the full moon weekend in May up at the LBJ Grasslands. I met up with a couple of other CT region riders Linda and Jonni, who were both wanting to get in some night riding practice as part of their Tevis preparations. That weekend we rode 20 miles, but at a pretty slow pace and with a full moon and NO clouds in sight so it was like daylight at 11pm!

Fast forward to July, and as the ride drew closer I doubted my sanity for entering as even though I'd had that one successful intentional night ride with Linda and Jonni, I'd still never really ridden at night "in competition" where keeping on time mattered and where I had a horse who knew it was "game day". But I figured I could at least muddle through as my friend Anita was going to ride as well and we'd get each other through it right?

Anita was able to get off early on Friday, and headed straight up to the Grasslands as our biggest fear was not being able to get a camping spot with shade since trees are at a premium up there when there's an endurance ride and we did not want our horses (or us) sitting around in the sun all day Saturday until vet check and ride meeting and ultimately the ride. She got a great spot and by the time I got off work and got up there it was about 9pm. That's when we commenced the game of "Tracey can't back a trailer" which we played for about 30 minutes until I successfully trimmed the trees near the edges of the campsite with my truck but finally got backed in straight enough to unload Amira who was not finding this game very fun. Anita had already set up camp (what a friend) so we just relaxed and then went to bed and attempted to sleep in 88 degree heat...with only 1 little battery operated fan between us in the tent...and we vowed that in the morning we'd get our neighbor Connie from Missouri (who we'd been chatting with) to look over the horses long enough to run into Decatur and get MORE FANS!!!

We awoke to a nice cool morning on Saturday and decided to go out for a short ride. I always like to do a "head check" ride before a CTR or endurance ride to see where Amira's head is mentally and she was a good girl, ready and willing to move out but not chargey as she can sometimes be.

After our ride, we headed into town for those fans and ice for ourselves and a couple of neighbors. When we returned it was noon and they were just beginning to vet in horses so we brushed up our girls and headed over to vet in where we were met by the most pleasant vet scribe, Alanna Sommer whom we both knew from doing CTR. She'd come to work P&R's but during check-in was working as a scribe for the vets.

After check in we shopped at Stablegear Tack (they have the coolest stuff) and visited with some other riders we knew, and some we'd just met, and hung out in the shade of our campsite until the ride meeting at 5pm. After ride meeting we headed back to eat our dinner (the horses ate while we were at the meeting) and then we started getting ready to ride out at 8pm. And because this WAS a PAJAMA PARTY after all, both Anita and myself rode in our PJ's, mine were purple with Panda Bears and hers were blue with the Pillsbury Dough boy.

Unlike what I'd done at the previous to 25's I'd ridden we decided to time out with pack (I'd gone out last before) and see how the girls did. I was nervous Amira would get "race head" but she didn't. She was eager to trot but was responsive and easy to rate, and Tiny was the same way for Anita so we headed out at a pretty brisk pace and maintained it for most of the first loop on the white trail. Because we started at 8pm we still had an hour of daylight and were a little more than half way through when it was fully dark.

As we were riding we thought often about Jonni riding the Tevis and we wondered where she was at that particular time. It was kind of cool to know we were out riding under the same moon as the Tevis riders...although their challenge made ours pale by comparison, I still felt a kindred spirit.

Somewhere about the 10 mile mark according to my GPS, Amira took a pretty bad stumble and seemed like she might be a bit "off" so I told Anita to go on and I was gonna walk her a bit to see if she walked it off as she often does and would catch up if she was okay or just walk on in if she was not.

After a couple minutes her walk seemed normal again and she was asking to trot so I let her, but Anita and Tiny were too far ahead at that point...so we ended up riding alone...in the dark...can you say CREEPY??? Here is where I thought my worst fears were coming true...I was truly scared and second guessing Amira...who was seeing just fine and unlike me...not scared. Seeing how calm she was finally made me calm down and know I could trust her and we kept up that same 6mph pace on our own for the rest of the white loop. We arrived in the vet check just a minute after Anita so we were pretty close to catching her and that meant we could ride out on the second loop together.

We got our in times and offered the horses water, Tiny drank up, but Amira did not which bothered me a bit, but she did not seem dehydrated. They were both at criteria so we went on into the pulse box and were met by Alanna's smiling face again. I mentioned to the vet about her stumble and not drinking but she was still an A- in hydration and he did not see any problems at the trot out so we were good to continue after our hold.

Anita's mare Tiny seemed a bit tired, so we planned on taking the 2nd loop on the red trail slower as we were still doing great on time. Well, about a mile into the 2nd loop Tiny got her 2nd wind and was ready to move out again...so that we did...which made Amira happy as she never agreed to the "slower pace" thing. The 2nd loop went with out a hitch other than that Amira still would not drink at the lake, so I hoped she'd drink when we got back to camp. We timed in and went to offer water and FINALLY Amira was ready to drink, and drink, and drink and drink! By the time she was done drinking we knew they were pulsed down so we went on into the box to see Alanna one last time (she did Anita's pulse, someone else did mine) and then to vet out for our completions and both horses vetted out fine. Amira got a B on gut sounds as she did not eat much on trail, but this is normal for her and all else was A's.

We headed back to camp, tended to our girls and then collapsed into our chairs with our neighbor Connie and drank a beer before falling into bed after 2am...only to wake up at 7 to feed horses and be ready for awards at 8am! We felt like we'd not really been to bed when it was time to get up again.

Ride Manager Maria Wallis and her crew did an awesome job on this ride! Maria mentioned at ride meeting that there'd not been a moonlight ride in Texas for a few years, but this ride in the middle of a blazing July started somewhere around 90 riders I think. so it looks like moonlight endurance is here to stay in Texas!

I was exhausted but I had such a great time I did not really notice until after I got home and got a hot shower. Of course the very first thing I did when I got home was log on to the Tevis website so see how Jonni fared and I squealed with delight when I saw she'd completed. She has been a tremendous mentor to me in this past year and I could not be prouder of her accomplishment and that is one ride story I and just dying to read as Jonni is a great story-teller to start with...and now she has a truly great story to tell and I can't wait to hear every bit of it.

I was so impressed with how well Amira did on this ride...this is the hardest and fastest I have ridden her yet and she seemed to enjoy it more than any other ride. We rode 49 minutes faster than our last 25 (Bluebonnet in April) and this was IN THE DARK!! She was responsive and easy to rate speed wise and not concerned when we were passed or had riders come up behind us. And those ears stayed up and perky the whole way, always seeming to be eager to see what was around the next corner...even when we were riding alone and I was tentative she was strong and despite their size difference she and Anita's mare Tiny (who lives up to her name...she's a little mare, but a dynamo) really paced well together.

So, while I don't see Tevis in our future just yet I do see a 50 mile ride sometime next year and will most definitely do the Moon Me Moonlight ride and Pajama Party again...but next year I will be doing 50 miles and loving every minute of it!

Tracey Smith & Amira

Tom's 2005 Bighorn Story - Tom Noll

by Tom Noll

Riding this year's Big Horn 100 was important to me for some very personal
reasons. I was disappointed when my horse Frank came up with front-end
lameness in late May. Some of the best vets in the business looked at him
including Stuart Shoemaker, Pete Knox, and Nancy Loving, and we all decided
that he needs some time off. It was less than six weeks to the Big Horn and
I did not have a horse.

I could have ridden Max, my wife's horse, but Leslie was planning to ride
the Big Horn too. Hundred-mile horses are not that common and I needed one
fast. Fortunately, two of my very good friends, Linda Black and Regina Rose
came through with a big pinto horse named Mozart who I could take to
Wyoming. Mozart is half Arab and Half Tennessee Walker and Linda, Regina,
and I began to put the finishing touches on his conditioning. He has a
smooth trot and we thought he was ready for a 100, even though he had never
done an endurance ride or an LD ride of any distance. And, Leslie's horse
Max had never started in the dark.

The Big Horn 100 is said to be one of the last 100-mile rides that is still
conducted like things were at the beginning of endurance. The ride is older
than the AERC and the Big Horn is a big-loop 100 on real wilderness trails.
The trail is very adequately marked, but the attendance is sparse. If you
plan to ride the Big Horn, it can be helpful to hook up with someone who
knows the trail, especially for the nighttime sections because it is rough,
it is long, and it is wilderness. The ride is hosted by some of the nicest
people that you'll ever meet in endurance, and the veterinarians, Lyle
Bischoff and Mel Fillerup, will do their best to help you and your horse get
safely to the finish line. Still, the Big Horn is a significant undertaking
not to be underestimated.

Tom Van Gelder, members of the Van Gelder family, Jeanette Tollman, Patti
Tollman, Cindy Collins, and others have hosted the ride for years. There
was a very nice party for Tom Van Gelder at the Shell Community Center the
Thursday before the ride to celebrate his 80th birthday and many of the Big
Horn riders attended the party. And, like the previous years, my brother
Willi and his wife Alice came up to crew. Other riders remarked that I had
the million-dollar crew and I agree. No one had a better crew than Leslie
and I.

We started the Big Horn 100 at just after four in the morning. Max and
Mozart made their way up the Black Mountain Road to Jack's Creek for the
first vet check. They took a slow measured pace and we made it to Jack's
Creek just after 9:00 in the morning. Slow, but acceptable.

After a 1-hour hold we were off to Antelope Butte. I don't think that Max
even realized that we were on an endurance ride until he saw the other
horses at Jack's Creek. Max had never started an endurance ride in the dark
and he probably thought that the humans were just out on some kind of crazy
trail ride.

The stretch of the Big Horn trail from Jack's Creek to Antelope Butte is
long by any measure. We passed though Shag Nasty and Boulder Basin, we rode
over the highest point of the trail at nearly 10,000 feet, we forded Shell
Creek, we rode past Adelaide Lake, we passed a some packers with mules and
horses on the Adelaide Trail, Leslie saw a moose or elk in the willows
beside the Adelaide trail, we forded Adelaide Creek, we made the hot climb
out of the canyon to Big Horn Plateau, and we traversed the plateau to the
Antelope Butte ski area. Leslie and I rode alone through much of this
section. As we were riding along, I thought to myself, "How can a 100 get
any better? We are riding alone through beautiful mountain meadows on the
Big Horn trails at our own pace." Riding the Big Horn 100 trails is living
at its very finest.

The Adelaide Trail leads through the wilderness and it is a rough and rocky
trip. Some of the descents are steep, and you and your horse must negotiate
downed trees and big stones in the trail. There is almost no trotting on
the Adelaide Trail. Max was truly in his element on the Adelaide Trail.
Leslie has trained him to be a rough trail horse and you could tell by his
very focused expression that the Adelaide Trail was his kind of trail. It
was if he was saying, "I am Max, and I live for trails like this!" It was
amazing to see him work and Leslie is very proud of him.

We arrived at Antelope Butte around three or so and we left after an hour
hold - late, but still ok. We began another climb to the Hunt Mountain Road
and Big Horn Plateau and the smell of the flowers was amazing. We rode
under a full blue sky, the scent of lavender was in the air, and a sea of
color was laid before us on the ground. Every year I look forward to the
high country section of the Big Horn trail and every year I wonder if it
will be as spectacular as I remember, and every year I am overwhelmed. All
of the Big Horn trail is special, but the 50 miles from Jack Creek to Hudson
Falls is unlike any other trail offered by the AERC. The 25-mile and
50-mile riders are very lucky and they get to experience good parts of the
trail, but if you want to ride the whole 50 miles from Hudson Falls to Jack
Creek, then you must choose to ride 75 or 100 miles.

On top of the plateau the wind was howling out of the south. The canyon
geography is aligned from southwest to northeast at portions along the Big
Horn plateau and the winds were funneled through the canyons and blasted out
to the plateau. We and our horses faced some stiff and drying winds along
the Hunt Mountain Road from Antelope Butte to Horse Creek.

We blanketed the horses at Horse Creek and took a short rest. Horse Creek
is one of my favorite vet stops, but the with the wind and cool
temperatures, I was happy that we only spent a half hour there this year.
We left around 6:30 and time was getting tight.

>From Horse Creek it was off along the plateau and then the descent through
the canyons to Hudson Falls. The canyons are another set of rough terrain
and tough trails. The canyon trails are not for the faint-of-heart. The
trails are very steep and rocky, you are a long way from help, and we had
already ridden nearly 75 miles. The steepness in some sections is just
amazing and I told Mozart "One slip here and someone is going to get hurt!"
Still, the canyons are one of my favorite sections of the Big Horn trail.
Max is an amazing rough terrain horse and Max took the lead through the
canyons setting the pace for the rest of us. The canyons are another
section of true wilderness riding. The sun angle was low, the shadows were
long, and we were treated to spectacular views of the waning sunlight on the
limestone cliffs.

We hooked up with some other riders in the canyons and we all made it
through to the Dug Way trail. The Dug Way trail was a new section added
this year so that we would not be going directly down Cedar Canyon in the
dusk and darkness. By the time we reached the Dug Way, time was late.
Three of the riders with us took off down the trail at a quick pace. Leslie
and I decided to hold back. We've had some trouble with lameness that we've
attributed to going too fast downhill and we wanted to avoid it this time.

It was just after 10:00 when we arrived at Hudson Falls. Max had traveled
75 miles - further than he had ever traveled before. Leslie thought that
Max might be slightly off on the front. The hitch in Max's gait was
intermittent, but Leslie took a rider-option pull at 75 miles.

For me, I was torn. I wanted to finish the 100, but it was dark and I did
not have anyone to ride with. I was DFL (an ultrarunning term that is an
abbreviation for Dead F'ing Last) and I could not decide whether to go on or
not. Tracy Blue offered an option. Tracy was one of the riders that took
off down the Dug Way trail. However, Tracy slowed down because she did not
want to injure her big quarter horse Bud. Tracy is tough, Bud is tough, and
she desperately wanted to finish the whole 100 miles, but she did not know
the trail. We talked and we decided that we would ride on in the Trapper
Creek Ranch together. It was late, our chances were slim, but we thought we
might be able to finish in time with enough trotting.

We started off from Hudson Falls with some trotting down the road. Mozart
was showing less and less enthusiasm for the trail. His trot sections were
getting shorter and his walk sections were getting longer. Tracy and I
continued on. Under normal circumstances, someone might think about the
poetic environment - a man and a woman, two horses, nighttime trails with
the moon and the stars. However, this was an endurance ride and we were
working together as two tired riders who had ridden over 75 miles of tough
trail, our horses were tired too, and I imagine that I was rather dirty and
smelly by that time. A more accurate image would be two weary riders out on
the trail, a little later than expected, seeking the next stage stop or rest
station, and we continued on. By now the wind had shifted to the north.
There was a good moon but it was still dark and the air was cool. The moon
set around 1:30 and it got even darker. Then the clouds came in and it
became very dark. Somewhere to the north of us was a major thunderstorm and
the flashes of lightning lit up the sky. The trail was dark and we resorted
to walking. Mozart had very little desire to trot.

There was absolutely no traffic at 3:00 in the morning as we crossed the
road in the darkness. We were heading up the last section of trail when
Mozart suddenly went all the way down to the ground. As I stepped off my
first thoughts were "aneurysm, he's dead!" but he was rolling around. The
my thoughts were "a sudden onset of colic." I walked over and promptly went
down myself. It seems as if we stepped off a slight shoulder or rut of soft
dirt on the trail. Mozart went down and since he was down, decided to take
advantage of the situation and roll in the dirt. I got him up, put the
things back on my saddle, and we continued on in complete darkness.

The sun was coming up over the Big Horn trails on our last few miles into
camp. Mozart was weary. Tracy and I made our way down the hill, across the
Trapper Creek bridge, and on to the finish line outside the Trapper Creek
Ranch. We were overtime but we had ridden the entire 100 miles of Big Horn
trail. Our horses passed the veterinary completion exam and we were done -
lapped by the sun.

We rode a full 100 miles. Mozart dug deep and gave the Big Horn 100 his
very best effort. He'll make a fine endurance horse with more experience.
I doubt that he'll ever forget his first endurance ride and I know that I
won't forget my third Big Horn 100.

The Big Horn 100 is a special ride hosted by special people. They love the
trail and the Big Horn riders who return to ride again love the trail too.
I am sure that there are easier 100s, but the Big Horn 100 trail is special.
There is magic along that trail and that magic works its way into your
heart. Sitting here at my computer, I wish I that I could be back out on
the Big Horn trails on a tough horse with miles behind me and many miles
left to go.

Best Regards,

Tom Noll

SW Idaho

My 2005 Cooley Experience - Katie Azevedo

Katie Azevedo, and (RD Censashahnl) "Shrimp"


June 19, 2005

Wow! That was a fun ride.

After turning off the 101 and driving through some of Geyserville's beautiful
vineyard country (and getting a few nice views of Lake Sonoma) we pulled into
ridecamp that was bordered by a creek with a mixture of trees (tall fir, alder
near the creek, old oaks, and blooming buckeye). We arrived not even an hour
after the gate opened, and ridecamp was already filling up fast. The mud was
deep and thick in ridecamp, and it was raining on and off. We met some friends
when we first got there, and they said they were probably going to turn around
and leave... they did. Along with others. Dad finally got the truck and
trailer up a small hill to where we wanted it. I could hardly watch it, it
took him a couple tries with the truck slipping and mud flying off the tires.
Once we settled in, I whipped out my camera and watched some of the HUGE rigs
being towed up another hill by Mr. Waltenspiel's tractor (they had gotten
stuck). Thank goodness for that John Deere, it was in GOOD use this weekend.
People didn't even try to drive through a particularly muddy spot to get over
to a nice meadow- and the tractor pulled every single one through it (if I was
told correctly). Scott Samson helped lots of people with getting their rigs in
the right spots- some of which included getting a really speedy start, and
launching the truck and trailer up a slippery slope (mud flying everywhere,
people dodging out of the way, truck fish tailing and trailer whippin' around
behind it, tires spinning... yeah.. that whole crazy deal...I loved it).

Well I noticed quite a few people I knew or recognized from Quicksilver or
Chalk Rock or the bay area. It was fun! People were saying 'Can you believe
this weather?'. Ruth gave a great pre-ride speech, and encouraged everyone
that the whole trail is not like it is in the beginning (phew). I had taken
Shrimp out that afternoon with my friend Julienne and her pretty Isabella; it
was such deep mud that we walked most of the 1.5 mile loop. Both my Mom and
Julienne had asked 'So Katie, what's your strategy for tomorrow?' I hadn't
really thought about it, I didn't know what to think.

Dad went into town and met my grandma and big brother so they could spectate
this sport. We met and had dinner around a table in our tent to escape the
rain, and I blew out 20 candles on a beautiful cake that my Grandma had ordered
special for me (with Shrimp and I airbrushed (is that the term?) on it... how
sweet!) It was very sweet actually; it tasted good. After that we walked
around ridecamp together and my grandma asked about a billion questions (ie
"Why is Shrimp wearing that?... What is the vet checking when he does that?").

The next morning we woke up at 4:30 as planned to prepare for a 6:00 start.
It was still nearly pitch black and had been POURING rain the night before, and
was still raining. Thank goodness Mom had gotten me a waterproof blanket for
Shrimp (my birthday was that friday, the 17th). So my arab boy was dry and
cozy even though he was being rained on and standing in deep mud outside the
trailer. Mom and I thought "Oh gosh", and I'm sure the whole ridecamp was
thinking that too. I didn't know whether even to start the ride or not. Mom
said 'Katie, there is NO shame in pulling, or not starting a ride with
conditions like these'. Visions of yesterday's muddy trail ran across my mind
as I lay in the gooseneck, and I thought of how they *had* to be even WORSE
after that night. (Questions were running through my head: Was I going to
start? Would Shrimp hurt himself if we did start? Oh.. I don't want that, I
have plans for the future- he is my only horse and I love him so much- I don't
want him to pull anything...) I really didn't know if we'd even be able to
finish the ride if the whole trail was like it was last night. We laid there
in the trailer discussing what in the world we were going to do. Finally we
saw a few lights outside; people were actually getting up. Thirty minutes
later I had decided to start the ride and my rain gear was on.

Some rigs were leaving, some people were tacking up, and others weren't
tacking up. John, Dad, and my Grandma came to watch the start (they stayed in
a hotel in town) and proceeded to get our *other* truck stuck . When Shrimp
was set and ready to go, I hopped up and we joined the pack of 51 people who
started the 50 miler. Shrimp was a dream. At Quicksilver he was hot and
obnoxious at the start, and at the vet checks.. and well there was *none* of
that here. He was my dream Captain the whole mud-sucking, slipping, wet ride.
The first 10 miles were very interesting. Lots of horses and lots of mud. The
morning sky slowly swirled with thick grey clouds and threatened rain. And it
did rain. It was a train of horses for the first 4 miles, and Shrimp and I
tucked in behind Cindy Brown for it (I forget the name of the woman she was
riding with though... but they were both very nice and we introduced
ourselves). Once the hills came we broke off and started riding mostly with a
young woman, who actually was in the Navy for 5 years, and was riding a very
nice bay horse named "Jolie". We went up and up and down and up and through
the creek, and through the creek again, and then again.. and (yes.. lots of
water.. and Shrimp drank well), smiled for the cameramen, had fun conversing,
and trotted into the 1st vet check at 10 miles out. Shrimp pulsed down right
away and got all A's on his card. The rain had stopped, and my family was all
there taking pictures and helping me with Shrimp, it was great.

I started the next loop (25 miles) by myself. There finally was some really
good flat trotting ground, and Shrimp set a great ground-covering pace over the
muddy ranch road. A woman named Clare came up behind and rode with us the
whole loop. 5 miles out we met up with another woman named Sarah. They were
both really really nice people that I'm so glad I had the chance to meet. Both
of them said such nice things about me and Shrimp. It made me feel so good.
After the good level trotting ground we started getting under some trees, and
walked and trotted through more mud. The middle part of this loop had
beautiful views, but it was a climb and a half... all with short steep hills
that went up, leveled out, went up, leveled out.. etc... Our horses were
powerhouses- using all three gaits to get us up the hills. They were all
lathered up and blowing at the top of the hill. Finally when we started going
back downhill is when it got slippery. Many a time we hopped off of our horses
to try and survive short but steep downhills. There were over 3 of these
downhills that at times Shrimp just slid down on all fours (and me on both
feet- although I tried to stay on whatever 'edge' there was for traction). We
were all careful to wait for eachother to get on our horses before trotting
off. I was happy to have such courteous ride partners for this pretty tough
loop. It hardly rained at all for this loop which was nice, and Mr.
Waltenspiel greeted us at the very top of the series of hills with his brown-
colored quad (I think it used to be a different color, but I don't know
which..:)). That was cool to see him there!

Second vet check: John, Dad, and my grandma had all left, but my
trustworthy crew (Mom) was there waiting for us with food, blankets, e-lytes...
all of that. I didn't know if Shrimp was going to pulse down since he worked
very hard that last loop and it was very humid, but he did after a minute (the
p&r gals were so nice, too... all the volunteers and vets were too!) It was an
hour hold, so I sat down in the chair Mom had brought and took in the beauty of
the open meadow full of high native oat grasses as Mom grazed Shrimp. It was so
beautiful I took out our camera and couldn't stop snapping pictures of the two
them. In the background were the hills that we had just climbed, and if I
turned around I would have faced where the hill sloped down to Dry Creek- where
people were leading their horses down for water. To my right were all the
riders and crews during their holds. Everyone seemed well spread out and the
mood was relaxed and friendly.

So off we were after an hour for our last 15 miles back to camp. Clare
caught up with us quickly and we really hauled through the trees and over the
creeks and right through the thick mud. We chatted away and I felt like a
champion to have made it so far out on this very testing terrain- and still
with a happy, sound horse wearing all 4 of his shoes! It was a long way back
to camp... or so it seemed as I started to tire in the last 7 miles or so. It
started to rain on the last loop again. It was so fun though; we got to see
many ranch houses and barns when the course dumped out on a main road (still a
dirt road though.. or should I say 'mud' road). We really set a good pace here
too, but slowed up a little when the road had been going downhill for a ways
(though wet on top, it was still a bit hard). Clare's crew (her husband and 2
young boys) met us when we came out on a paved road about 3 miles to the
finish. That was great- because I was really wondering when the finish was
coming up! We walked up the pavement to the top of the hill, then did the last
1.5 miles on the same trail we did in the beginning of the ride: sloppy mud. We
really covered ground here- Clare took off and I knew Shrimp wouldn't let me
hold him back, so off we went... trotting and cantering through that stuff. We
came in right behind two grey horses at 17th and 18th place. Clare's horse was
#18, and she was 18th place on June 18th! We were met by Ruth and then after
giving our names and numbers to the volunteers we trotted back to camp were
congratulated by people along the way.

Shrimp vetted out beautifully (with a heart rate in the 50's, unlike last
time!! yay!) and we iced his legs and fed him. It took me 30 minutes to get
the caked mud off the bottom of his belly, his chest, and his legs. Mom and I
changed into fresh clothes and washed our hair with warmed water. I told her
about the ride and what I saw ou there on the 22,000 acre Cooley Ranch- like
the coyote I saw off the trail- and we relaxed and watched a family of noisy
woodpeckers enjoy their home in a tall old oak tree up the hill from us. Mom
and I watched BC judging at 4:00 pm and stayed to eat a REALLY really yummy
dinner around the community campfire (served with wine!). Then, Ruth gave the
post-ride meeting. Everyone was loud and happy and gave the biggest applauds.
Ruthie said this was the best group of people she's ever had on the ranch (and
she didn't hafta give out that 'Pissin' and Moanin'' award)! Potato and Kathy
came in first, Michele Rouch was 3rd and her horse received Best Condition. 50
people finished out of 51 starts, and everyone was given a nice bottle of wine
for completing. There was only one pull on the 25 milers as well!

Overall, it was just an absolutely wonderful, exciting ride. I gained so
much respect for my horse, and am still just in awe at his power, his ability
to watch where he steps and keep on his feet through that terrain, his will to
endure and set a great pace, and his great attitude. Quicksilver was very fun
and challenging (it was my first endurance ride), but after Cooley Ranch I now
feel like a real, true endurance rider! Shrimp pulled through that hoof-
sucking mud for 50 miles and looked so great at the end, we both endured the
weather conditions, we worked as a team and made it sound, stable, and smiling
across the finish line! ...So *that's* what Endurance is about!!

Wow, I don't think I could have had ANY more fun during this adventurous
weekend. It could have easily been my best birthday weekend ever!! To the
Waltenspiels: thank you a MILLION times for your efforts, encouragement, and
for an *excellent* ride. And thanks to the wonderful people I met out there on
the trail, and for the friendly folks I chatted with in camp.
Congratulations to all the finishers!

:) Katie Azevedo, and (RD Censashahnl) "Shrimp"