1987 European Championshiop - USA Gold -Trail Blazer -Chef D'Equipe Report - Lee Wittle

by Lee Wittle, 1987

"To Finish Is To Win", has been the motto of all endurance riders throughout the years and brought to the USA Endurance Team, the Gold Medals and the title Champions of Europe.

August 1, the European Continental Open Championships were held in Marloffstein, Germany. The USA entered 4 riders, all as team members, and won the Gold Medal in team competition. The team consisted of Sun Walt/Mike Marino (9th), BayMar/Tom Sites (16th), Miss Lexa/Viki Varley (NF), Cher Habu/Jeannie Waldron (8th). The experience of some of the horses and riders was limited, but these horses were solid finishers. Also, there were no "bullets". A very good group for team competition.

Historically, there has only been 1 International Ride in which 3 teams finished 3 horses. The scoring for team results is the time of the 1st 3 horses ahead of all teams finishing less than 3. It was determined prior to the ride that the team would ride conservatively, concentrating on completition rather than placing.

The race began at 5 AM with a mass start in darkness and for the first 88 Km, the pace was the same for all USA ridrs at 8.3 mph. The lead horses were about 1 hour ahead, leading team horses about 45 minutes ahead. At this point in team competition, Great Britian held a 67 minute lead, France 55 minutes, Spain was about 11 and Belguim was 90 minutes behind.

The reflection in thought of a past event can never fully encompass the full spectacle of the actual extravanganza.

Reliving a moment of time like the recent European Championship in Marloffstein, West Germany, is something hard to explain unless you can imagine the biggest grin and good time of your life, and you wake up the next day and the grin's still there.

Dancing on the tables at the Bavarian Beer Fest in Marloffstein will rate as one of the all time adventures of my life. It was like a cemented face of laughter was implanted into my persona. This was a good time. I mean, they played trombones with their toes!

For the first time International or National FEI competitor who hasn't gone thru the travail of getting a FEI passport, becoming an International Amateur, getting the proper innoculations, blood tests, Coggins test within 30 days, making sure you were a member of the proper organizations ( AERC and AHSA) all at a frantic express mail pace, the rest was a piece of cake. My friends- the cake, as well as the air was very, very good.

Hearing your National Anthem played for- of all reasons!- the fact you were a consistant mediocre finisher who adhered to the credo "to finish is to win", was and is a most humbling experience i will never forget.

Jet lag lugged us into their rainy camp on a lazy Sunday afternoon before the next Saturday's
ride. Immediately, we were met with courtesy and helpful assistance from Florian Smithaus, and his Father, Hans. Experienced of the Trail, they led us to the barn and fields to show us the facilities available for the horses, who were to arrive the next day. We were the vanguard- Larry, Michael and myself.
by Lee Wittle, 1987

"To Finish Is To Win", has been the motto of all endurance riders throughout the years and brought to the USA Endurance Team, the Gold Medals and the title Champions of Europe.

August 1, the European Continental Open Championships were held in Marloffstein, Germany. The USA entered 4 riders, all as team members, and won the Gold Medal in team competition. The team consisted of Sun Walt/Mike Marino (9th), BayMar/Tom Sites (16th), Miss Lexa/Viki Varley (NF), Cher Habu/Jeannie Waldron (8th). The experience of some of the horses and riders was limited, but these horses were solid finishers. Also, there were no "bullets". A very good group for team competition.

Historically, there has only been 1 International Ride in which 3 teams finished 3 horses. The scoring for team results is the time of the 1st 3 horses ahead of all teams finishing less than 3. It was determined prior to the ride that the team would ride conservatively, concentrating on completition rather than placing.

The race began at 5 AM with a mass start in darkness and for the first 88 Km, the pace was the same for all USA ridrs at 8.3 mph. The lead horses were about 1 hour ahead, leading team horses about 45 minutes ahead. At this point in team competition, Great Britian held a 67 minute lead, France 55 minutes, Spain was about 11 and Belguim was 90 minutes behind.

Also by this point Miss Lexa had developed some stomach irregularities and slowed down. Tom Sites decided to slow his pace as well. Mike and Jeannie continued at their present pace and rode with Val Long and Jane McGuiness of Great Britian.

Coming into this 88Km stop, France, Great Britian, Spain, and USA had 4 Team Riders in competition. Leaving the stop, France and Belguim had 3, Spain had 1, Great Britian and USA had 4.

At 127 Km. the horses were spread over a greater time distance. The lead rider was 90 minutes ahead. The lead team riders were only 17 minutes ahead of Mike and Jeannie but were up to 3 hours apart. Arriving at this stop the team positions were unchanged, but several horses did not leave. The Team for Great Britian left w/ a 74 minute lead, Belguim was 90 minutes behind USA. Already the "Motto" was begininning to show itself, France Spain, Sweden, Austria, and Germany were down to 2 team competitors.

At this stop USA lost Miss Lexa. She had barely passed her pulse parameter of 64, at the 30 minute point of a 60 minute hold. The Veterinarians were however using the '
"Rigdeway Trot" for data gathering purposes and Miss Lexa elevated to 68 and Viki decided to pull and avoid any possible damage to Lexa in the upcoming mountains and unaccessible trail.

Arriving at 144Km., the team standings were unchanged. This was a Gate/10 minute hold. USA came through clean although spread over 83 minutes. Great Britian lost a second team member, leaving only USA and Belguim with 3 team members. Could we keep all 3 til Sunday morning?

At the finish line, Gaston Mercier/Mao (8) of France won the Individual Gold with a riding time of 12 hours, 12 minutes. Liz Finney/Show Girl (14)of Great Britian won the Individual Silver with a riding time of 12 hours 14 minutes. And in a race for the Bronze, Bernhard Dorsiepen/Drago (18) of Germany beat Denis Pesci/Krempolis (10) of France by 36 seconds in a riding time of 12 hours 17 minutes.

Thruout the entire stay in Marloffstein we were accorded warm, friendly, open hospitality. We saw old friends and met many new ones. It would be nice to go back again.

As with all International FEI Endurance events, the final Vet Check is the morning after. We took care to rest the horses without allowing them to stiffen up. The early morning came with all horses being walked vigorously by crews and riders alike. As we watched all the horses, it became obvious they were in great shape. No doubt the soft footing contributed to the lack of lameness, although the mud had been a concern for muscle pulls. However, all the horses looked better than most had in Rome.

The examinations were done in the horses stall with the veterinarians coming to the horses. This worked very well and avoided a lot of standing arround for everyone. The Trot Out was held outside the barn, in a very orderly and terse fashion. If any additional horses were to be pulled, this would be the time.

The horses were trotted in order of finish. On the cobblestones surrounding the stable they were walked up to the 12 Veterinarian
Judges and presented. They were then jogged down and back about 40 yards each way. The stable lined one side, riders, crew and spectators lined the other side.

One by one the horses passed. They really looked great. One horse was voted on. It did not unanimously pass all the judges. The vote was 10 pass, 2 pull. The USA finished 8,9 and 16. As these horses approached the trot out the thought that was on my mind and I'm sure the minds of many others, "Will all the American horses pass, and the Team Standings remain unchanged?" Will the Champions of Europe not be European?

Sun Walt and Cher Habu passed unaimously. More horses were trotted. Another vote, 8 pass, 4 pull. Now it was time for BayMar. As Larry commented, "I've felt pressure before, but this is unbelievable!" BayMar was jogged.

A little swing to the gate but he "looked good enough to go on". It was not a unanimious pass, so a vote had to be taken. First Judge, No , Second Judge "Can we see him trot again? Head Vet, Not allowed, all horses are judged in the exact same manner. Make your decisions on what you saw."

Begin the vote again. No, No, Yes, Yes, No, Yes, No-At this point my thought was "Gees, I've lost count, what is the vote?."

Seven pass, five pull. BayMar passed.

Throughout the ride each rider had a crew. Jeannie Waldron had her friend Sue Riggs and her husband Robin who also served as Team Veterinarian. Mike Marino had friends Melody Booth-Coull and Paul Ronio. Jeff Benjamin who was touring Europe joined his crew also. Viki had her husband Marky and her sister Athele Evans who came in from Hong Kong to help. Tom Sites had his son Michael and friend Larry Lewis from Kansas whom he'd known from the Great American Horse Race

We were also greatly helped by Mike Robinson and Jeff Cunduff both stationed in Germany with the Army who formed one crew. Mike has returned from Germany four times to compete in the Old Dominion Run. Curtis Hyatt, an American living in Germany and three of his friends, Ellen Reindl, Elke Leinsinger, and Peter Baunann formed 2 other crews. With the help of everyone, Mike Marino's comment, "We were covered like a blanket", was certainly true.

The Awards Ceremony went well, with the USA receiving their Gold Medals, Top Ten Finishers receiving trophies and the Team receiving the German Sterling Silver Plate. The ceremonies were followed by another great party of Bavarian keg beer, song and dance, dancing on the tables, singing German songs with all the riders intermingling.

1. Gaston Mercier France 20.22.54
2. Liz Finney Great Britain 20.24.53
3. Bernhard Dornsiepen Germany 20.27.16
4. Denis Pesce France 20.27.52
5. Magali Chambaud France 20.58.08
6. Dieter Hannes Germany 22.22.07
7. Val Long Great Britian 22.25.37
8. Jeannie Waldron USA 22.25.47
9. Mike Marino USA 22.25.48
10. Paul Bencze Switzerland 22.46.03
11. Joan Allen Great Britian 23.48.08
12. Idalina Graca Portugal 23.48.08
13. Pablo Amando las Heras Spain 00.07.45
14. Leon Feraille Belguim 00.39.06
15. Regine Middeldorf Germany 00.55.41
16. Tom Sites USA 01.28.33
17. Klemens Petersilka Austria 02.57.50
18. Tove Johansson Sweden 02.59.33
19. Jean Luc Marchal Belgium 03.01.15
20.Corinna Wahring Germany 03.01.15
21. Louise Hermelin Sweden 03.01.42
22. Michele Luxen Belgium 04.55.36

Individual Medals

Gold Gaston Mercier France
Silver Liz Finney Great Britian
Bronze Bernard Dornsiepen Germany

Team Medals

Gold USA Champions of Europe
Silver Belgium European Champions
Bronze France

1987 European Championship -Reflections of Marloffstein - Tom Sites

by Tom Sites, 1987

The reflection in thought of a past event can never fully encompass the full spectacle of the actual extravanganza.

Reliving a moment of time like the recent European Championship in Marloffstein, West Germany, is something hard to explain unless you can imagine the biggest grin and good time of your life, and you wake up the next day and the grin's still there.

Dancing on the tables at the Bavarian Beer Fest in Marloffstein will rate as one of the all time adventures of my life. It was like a cemented face of laughter was implanted into my persona. This was a good time. I mean, they played trombones with their toes!

For the first time International or National FEI competitor who hasn't gone thru the travail of getting a FEI passport, becoming an International Amateur, getting the proper innoculations, blood tests, Coggins test within 30 days, making sure you were a member of the proper organizations ( AERC and AHSA) all at a frantic express mail pace, the rest was a piece of cake. My friends- the cake, as well as the air was very, very good.

Hearing your National Anthem played for- of all reasons!- the fact you were a consistant mediocre finisher who adhered to the credo "to finish is to win", was and is a most humbling experience i will never forget.

Jet lag lugged us into their rainy camp on a lazy Sunday afternoon before the next Saturday's
ride. Immediately, we were met with courtesy and helpful assistance from Florian Smithaus, and his Father, Hans. Experienced of the Trail, they led us to the barn and fields to show us the facilities available for the horses, who were to arrive the next day. We were the vanguard- Larry, Michael and myself.

We were met by these tireless heroes who are owed congratulations and adulation for putting on a World Class Ride.

Florian Smithaus: a distance rider himself, always wanting to please and make things right.

Hans Smithaus: Flo's Dad- he was involved in all the behind the scenes, as well as front line duties of over-riding importance.

Jurger Hoepffner: the trail master, a most precise planner and attibutable asset,

Jane Hoonan: ran the command tent with multi-lingual fare that prevented obstacles to develop and confused all as to her nationality with her precision and usage of language.

Herman 'The German' Stricker: not only got us dancing on the tables but winding in and out of this slinky interpolation of fun and good times.

Anna Rosa Grim: the ride secretary. No matter where you go, the ride secreatry's job is unheralded and over-worked. She was a good one.

The weather was perfect for a race with cool temperatures, no humidity and a light mist falling. It was horse blanket weather, while at home the States were basking in 100 degree heat. We would have been able to cope with the heat better than the Europeans. The advantage was theirs.

The course was muddy over most of the route, Record rainfall had been falling for months. We knew we had to watch our step, as it was sloppy and slick at times. There was no rocks to speak of, but tree roots and muck were treacherous enough of an obstacle to warrant close attention to the trail at all times.

The course was like a trip through Germanian lore. Towns and countrysides passed in blur of a surreal scape. Farming techniqies passed down thru the ages made the land utilized to the maximum. They showed their respect for the land by that most obvious of man's presence- litter - there was none.

I was convinced I was going to finish this ride and rode a frantic first part and slowed down for the longest hills I have ever seen, which was the second part. Death would have had to manifest itself to have stopped me from finishing.

At 1:28 AM , we did. It was exilirating, for we knew we were the first to finish a three member team. All we had to do was trot out the next day. We did what we came to do.

The race itself was intense. High drama unfolding throughout the day. I am convinced we had the best organization and direction of energy of all the people there. We or our horses weren't, to my impression, any more superior to other horses or riders. We had a game plan and followed it and had the best Crews I could ever imagine assembled.

We were ecstatic. The Germans were stunned. At 50 miles, Herman said the Germans were falling out like popcorn. They finished a 2 member team. It is always the host country's opportunity to win. They didn't.

The Italians were unattended en masse. Something about rules. They didn't show up.

France won the Individual Gold, but only finished a 2 member team.

Great Britian- the one I'd have picked to win team gold- only finished a 2 member team.

The Spanis blew out- finished 1 0f 5. But watch out-they have a most competitive spirit. They'll do better next time.

Iran showed up and rode a little bit.

Belgium- what a story for the team silver. They started only 3 riders and finished 3. At 4:50 am when their last rider completed, tears of joy and pride were abundant and freely flowing. I was glad for them.

Austria sent a team and smoked long cigars and did OK.

Portugal sent the highest stepper from the table top dancing party, Idalina Graca, to ride a fine sire to the tune. "I had to eat her dust." A small story- at the Fest, bravado had taken hold of me and i told her the next day, "She would eat my dust." She, never hearing this before before was amused at American slang and countered it with, "Was I who would eat her dust." Well, I ate HER dust and was glad it rained a lot so there was more mud than dust.

The Swiss and the Swedes were there as well bringing good horsemen from all of Europe. They are most serious at this sport.

France, Great Britian and Germany all had the capabilities to outshine the USA, but whether it was riding strategies or just bad luck on their part, we got the team gold and they will have to reflect upon what went wrong. Next time it may not be the same outcome, as they are all good horsemen and tough competitors.

Lee Wittle: Chef D'Equipe. Precise, knowledgeable and a joy to ride under his direction. His goal to finish all riders and provide team orientation were given his best.

Robin Waldron: Team Veterinarian. There when questions needed to be answered and medical strategies needed to be discussed and analyzed.

Jeff Benjamin: Farriar, his expertise gave us feelings of confidence that our wheels would keep turning.

# 40 Mike Marino riding Sun Walt, a District Attorney freshly elected who came to ride and did.

# 41 Tom Sites riding BayMar. I was glad my son could share the joy.

#42 Viki Varley riding Miss Lexa. Unfortunately didn't finish but gave it a real good shot.

#43 Jeannie Waldron rode Brombe or Cher Habu as the Europeans know her. She gave us our credibility.

The Crew Members

Melody Booth-Coull: She has paid her dues as a rider and crew member. We were fortunate to have her along.

Paul Rodino knew his German and got us out of some binds.

Larry Lewis another distance rider from Kansas we were fortunate to have. I, the most because he helped me. Thanks Larry, I'll never forget your enthusiam and support.

Michael Sites had the experience of a lifetime. I was glad to share it with you, Michael.

Athale Evans: Vikis sister came from Hong Kong to assist half a world away..

Mark Varley: Always a cheer and joy to be arround. Ready to assist at all times.

Sue Riggs had a heart w/out limits and a spirit w/out bounds.

Curtis Hyatt showed up to help because he is an American living in Germany. He knew the trail and brought friends.

The turquoise finger and silver handed lady-Thanks for the coffee and all your help and encouragement. Your hands are a work of art.

Mike Robertson and friend- We knew we were all right when the Special Forces showed up. The USA was represented very well. It was not just us 4 riders. We had good support and dang good support. THANKS!!!

And where does Matthew Mackay-Smith fit in? He was on the veterinary control and sharing his wide area of expertise w/ other cultures. The President of AERC had to be impartial but we all knew where his allegiance lay.

Last year in Rome at the World Championships, even tho we came in 1, 2, and 14 with a BC, we only got the Team Silver. This year there were 8, 9, and 16 place finishers for the Team Gold. There can't be any better example ever of a team win.

"To finish is to win" can never be said any clearer.

I was honored beyond any expectations I ever comprehended to be a part of this team. It will always be one of my greatest honors in all of life to be associated with such a group of people who came back to America as the Champions of Europe.

Thanks Lee, Jeannie, Mike, Viki, Robin and all the support we received from the CREW. We couldn't have done it without you.

Thank you.

tom sites

My First 100 - Laura Yost

by Laura Yost

I have been reading the discussions about the number of people attempting 100 milers and thought I would share my experience with my first 100 miler. First off, I will start by saying if I can do it anyone can. I have 4 kids 3,5,7,and 10 years old. My husband is not a horse person (until just recently, yeh! he got tired of being left behind on the weekend of my rides) and our schedules only permit 1 official ride a month. We have been away to undergrad, med school, and then residency for 11 years. When we moved home my father-in-law had been riding endurance and just asked if I would help him condition one of his horses when his wife was unable, "of course"!! I said. I had missed not riding while in school and having babies. I had the chance to ride a 25 miler with my in-laws... I was still nursing my youngest so when I left him I still needed to pump. This made for a interesting two days, me in the backc seat of the car pumping while they were arguing over directions. The horse I was riding had already been ridden in some rides so he was savy to what was going on around him, it was me who needed to learn everything. I had a great ride and was hooked.

I rode in a few more 25's until I had saved up enough money for my own horse. I still cont. to ride in 25's because I needed that time to feel comfortable with how everything flowed and worked. My goal soon became a 50 miler for my second season. I rode 3-4 times a week in our mountains,I would sneak out at 5am before anyone was awake and then try to get in the house to make breakfast before kids woke up. I tried not to ever put any stress on my husband. He was busy starting up his own practice and I knew he really did not understand the addiction and amazing feeling of floating up and down the mountains as the sun comes out to greet you.

My next season I did 50's and loved them. My horse was well and for my 3rd season I had a goal of finally attemping a 100. No one in my family that rides was prepared or simply had the desire yet to ride 100 miles. The ride I picked out was the Arabian nights ride and I was extremely nervous. I would be riding by myself, some of my family volunteered to crew for me. (I have never had a crew before!!) My husband, at this point had his own horse and would try a 50 while I rode the 100, the kids were left with my mom who was just hoping I would come back alive!!

The ride would have both FEI and AERC riders and I soon learned how many top riders were there to really compete for the top slots. At the dinner before ride meeting I was looking around and noticing all of these great riders and I turned to my husband and said do you know who they are?.. or who that is?... and then told him I thought I just needed to go back to the truck and vomit.. I was so nervous!! He just laughed and said "no I do not know who any of these people are and your FINE, you are here to ride your own ride, just chill out!! I felt completely out of my element, I mean what was I doing here riding with these great, amazing riders... I was just there to finish and hopfully not get pulled and have wasted my families time for coming up to help me!!

I was set that I just wanted to finish alive and most important with a healthy horse. I did not care how long it took me or how bad it hurt, I needed this... I needed to prove to myself that Noble and I could do this. Everyone told me that I would need someone to ride with and that it is very mental for the horse as well.

I was set that I would not let my guy waste his energy in the first half so I really held him back,( he loves to go and be in front) SO needless to say the first 40 miles were me holding Noble back so that we would have enough energy to finish, we took walking breaks, we stopped to drink, I was like a very protective mother, I did not want anything to go wrong and hurt Noble in anyway. Everything went very smooth, I forced my self to eat and drink and my guy did the same. I cannot express what it feels like to ride in the middle of the desert with nothing except stars and your best friend for company and security. We finished with all A's in about 17 hours. Yes sometimes it was uncomfortable, yes the rattle snake in the sagebrush at 11 pm was a eye opener, and I was tired, BUT I have never done anything so much fun as this in my life!! It was worth every ache, and every second of mental fatigue I had experienced. I proved to myself that I could do this, I worked hard for this, and my horse proved he was everything I already knew he was.... Wonderful, loyal, and beautiful.

I learned a lot about my abilites, my endurance and would and will do it again as many times as I can!!

Two more things I learned, I need to let my guy move out at a comfortable pace while it is cool in the morning, I really held him back because I worried he would wear out (not the case, my hand and back were very tired!!) and not all horses need a buddy at the end, some do some do not, my guy was just fine and actually did better on his own at his own speed. I am a mother of busy kids, a wife of a busy husband, I work part time,but if I can do it anyone can!! It was the best time of my life and I tell you what... Crewing looked much harder than what I got to do!

DVE 2005 - Karen Chaton

Karen Chaton

We lucked out and were able to get down to the start of the ride
between a break in storms. The roads were clear and the weather was
nice on the way down and after we got to Valley Wells. When we got
there camp was still not very full and there were plenty of open
spots left. We pulled in towards the back and parked. I had let the
horses out once on the trip down and cleaned all of the mud off of
their feet. Now they had to finish drying out. It took me awhile to
scrape all the rest of the mud off of them. I was really looking
forward to the ride and excited that the weather was looking to be a
whole lot nicer than it was the year before.

I entered my young horse Zenos for the first day of the ride. He's 7
and has done a few rides this last year. We started out in the
morning riding with Dave Rabe, and a junior -- one of Kayla's cousins
named Patrick Freeman, he is 15 and this was his first multiday
ride. We had a nice start down the road with good footing, across
the highway and then up into the foothills. It wasn't long before we
heard people behind us yelling 'loose horse'. We turned and could
see a horse running loose towards us. Dave Rabe went over to try and
catch the horse, he had the reins and then the horse spun around and
got away from him. He got off when the horse stopped and almost had
it caught when it took off again. He got back on and took off after
the horse. Patrick was wondering what to do since his sponsor left
him and I told him don't worry we were both sponsoring him so you can
keep going with me and Dave will catch up with us after he catches
the loose horse, which he did.

The loop was really nice, we had lots of good footing mixed in with a
bit of rocks and some up and downs and dips, washes and trail mixed
with roads. I hadn't done a very good job of getting the cables
tight enough on Zenos' Epics, and by 11 miles I had to get off three
times to adjust them. He was good about it, and while frustrating at
the time it was good experience for him to have to learn to stop and
stand still while groups of horses trotted on by. Our first vetcheck
was at about 12 or 13 miles back in camp where we had a half an hour
hold. We vetted thru with no problems and went back over to the
Laksos' trailer (Patrick's grandparents) and spent our vetcheck there
letting the horses eat while I got Zenos' boots all straightened
out. We left Valley Wells and now were going point to point over to
Ballarat http://www.ghosttown.info/ca/ballarat/ and http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/apr/stories/ballarat.html where the
next vetcheck was, and then after that onto the finish at Indian
Wells. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, not too warm and not
cold. We were taking turns letting all of the horses lead or
follow. This was the first time on a ride that I had let Zenos lead,
and he definitely was comfortable being in the front, and also is
happy to be in the back (unlike Chief, lol).

The vetcheck at Ballarat was nice, we vetted thru and husband Dave
was there with stuff for myself and Patrick, as well as Dave Rabe and
Becky and Sue. Mike showed up on his m/c and we all hung out and let
the horses eat and had fun. We fed Patrick a pbj sandwich and gave
him a frapaccino which perked him up and pretty soon we were off to
do the next few miles into the finish. The horses were all doing
well and I was really pleased with Zenos' attitude, I had wanted to
ride him on this point to point day to see how he'd do going and
going away from where he started in the morning. He had never been
to Indian Ranch before, but he seemed very happy to keep going, love
having that kind of an attitude in a horse! We were trotting along
and all of a sudden I heard a little click sound and my foot was
hanging on one side -- my stirrup had fallen off!!! I stopped Z and
Patrick pointed out where my stirrup was back there on the ground,
lol. Got off and went back and got it, turned out the screws had
come undone and ooops, it came off! I was able to fix it and ride.

Indian Ranch is located in the Saline Valley, which gets its name in
part because they mined salt from there. Also, I found this on the
web: "Indians maintained a very successful ranch from the late
1800's up to about 1950 when a tragedy occured that led to the
abandonment of the property. The tragedy involved the murder of a 22
year old caretaker for a mining company by 13 and 15 year old members
of the ranch. The mining company had diverted the water flow that the
ranch depended on."

The next day came fairly fast, and before I knew it we were getting
ready to head out. I alternated my horses and rode Chief on this
day. Patrick was riding a different horse this time, Qwest (the same
horse Kayla finished 1st on the last day with) and Dave was riding
Lightning again. We rode back to Ballarat and had a trot by on the
way there and then headed up the big mountain. This is a really big
climb up, several thousand feet, and the footing is not the greatest
so it's a tough day on the horses, especially any horses that aren't
in condition. Luckily it wasn't freezing cold like in some
years. We took our time going up alternating walking with
trotting. The horses were drinking well as there was a lot of water.
Chief was trying to eat anything brown that he could find, but it was
pretty slim pickings thru there. We got up to the top and Sparrow's
son was there with water for us. The views were so incredible! for
the last two years on this ride we haven't been up to the very top,
only partway up, and last year not up at all so it was nice to get up
there again and get to look over Death Valley on such a beautiful day!

The climbing isn't over yet once we get to the top, we still had to
go up a little bit more, then down, then more up, and then down and
down and down. Dave Rabe did most of it on foot, and Patrick
alternated trying to be on foot and on his horse. He wasn't having
much luck with his horse behaving, poor kid was having to deal with a
horse that wanted to jig or trot, anything but walk. On the way down
we passed up the Ribley's -- Robert was helping Melissa walk, as her
horse had fallen with her and she was not looking too good. She made
it tho, and went on to finish the ride and I think all 4 days.

Chief was getting into his fast walk that he does, over 5 mph, so I
just stayed on knowing I can't really walk myself any faster than 4
or 4.4, especially over rocks. I kept looking back and making sure I
could still see Patrick, as he kept falling back farther and
farther. Dave was back there on foot too. We finally made it back
down into Ballarat for the vet check. I know my horse was starving
and was on a mission to get there! We went to the water, and then I
got Chief's pulse first, then Qwest got his. We went over to where
husband Dave was parked with John and they had all of our stuff for
us. Dave handed Patrick and I a pbj sandwich and frapaccinos and
whatever else we wanted. I had realized after a few minutes that
Dave Rabe hadn't come over and was still at the water, I asked why
was he still there and they said his horse hadn't come down
yet. Darn! He had led on foot the last 11 miles we'd gone, but his
horse was not having a good day and they pulled. Patrick and I both
perked up again for the last part and headed out back to the
finish. We had an hour hold here, and the horses had eaten the
entire time we were there. They really needed to eat and were quite
perky on the way in. We finished by dark, so we had a couple of
hours to spare anyway. I was still riding fairly conservatively, yet
still a little faster than usual because I am alternating horses. I
know that Chief could go considerably faster but the ride season is
just starting and I don't want to have him get too beat up going
faster than he needs to go on some of that crappy footing. There
were some horse that finished this day that looked worse than the
footing did this day, so going faster might get me done sooner but it
isn't always the best choice for the horse to do that, even if he can.

The third day was Zenos' turn again. He had been a good boy in camp
and had eaten well and rolled quite a bit in the soft white sandy
stuff there. We were moving camp this day, riding to Panamint
Springs, so I had everything packed up and led the horse off while
Dave left with the rig to go to the next camp before the start so he
would be gone before the horses started. I walked over to wait for
Patrick to be ready and Z reached thru their corral panels and pulled
a pan of feed over and helped himself. lol I think he's got the
makings to be a halfway decent endurance horse!! It was time to go,
so we started out. Dave Rabe was still packing his rig up so it
could be moved, and was riding his other horse Holy. We went ahead
knowing he would catch us and that he was better off starting out
alone on Holy who can be a handful.

The weather was still quite wonderful. I've been riding Zenos in a
s-hack and he does so well in it. I can't get over how calm and laid
back he is already. We take turns leading or following or going side
by side, and move out everywhere we can move out. A lot of times our
average speed drops below 5 mph, but we can't do a lot about that
because of the rocky footing. We only had one vetcheck this day,
about 31.5 miles into the ride. I had done a better job this day of
adjusting the cables on Z's boots, and only had to get off one time
all day to make an adjustment. We had a half an hour hold at the
check on this day. The horses ate the entire time and pretty soon we
were off again. Just as we were leaving, Dave Rabe made it into the
check with Holy dragging him in ;). We were able to pick up the pace
in the next few miles and did a fair amount of cantering. Again, it
was a point to point day and I was elated to see how much Z was
wanting to go, not knowing where he was going or caring that where
he'd come from was the opposite direction that we were
headed. Yay! We did zip along fairly fast the rest of the way in
and finished at 3 o'clock. I had time to give him a bath, which was
nice as I washed tons of that white fine sandy stuff out of his long
winter coat. Everytime he'd shake a cloud of white dust would come
off of him, so I was sure glad to have him clean. I just kept
changing his fleece blankets out under his other blanket until he was dry.

The fourth day always seems to come by too fast. I hate when the
rides start and then seem to end just like that. I know Patrick was
having fun and excited about riding all 4 days, his first
multiday. He was back on the same horse he rode on days 1 and 3, and
Kayla was riding Qwest. She'd finished up in the front on the third
day and gotten BC on Gemmy :), and finished first on Qwest the last
day. We headed out down the road out of Panamint Springs and down
the road to begin our long climb up Darwin Grade. I had my New
Years' party hat on Chief. Patrick wasn't ready in time to get his
on. He'd also forgotten his elytes. Turns out he hadn't forgotten
them, he had just packed them on Kayla's saddle is all. hehe.

We walked and trotted up the hill and the horses were doing really
well. Chief can get really competitive with other horses, so Patrick
had to try to keep his horse back and was doing a lot better at
it. We went down, then thru the sandy canyon and then back up on the
semi paved old road to the town of
Darwin. http://members.aol.com/dierdorff/darwin/index.html (about
whether or not it gets windy there, this is on the site: Mojave
Desert residents really do not use a tire chain bolted to a phone
pole as a wind sock. They use a small boat anchor chained to a
boulder because phone poles can sometimes blow away.

We were nearly there when we came up a draw and were hit head on by a
gale force wind. Woohoo!!!! My helmet visor splatted against my
face and I couldn't see squat. We were now heading downhill, I
couldn't see anything and the horse was taking over, which is
probably a good thing. I just hung on and finally was able to regain
my composure and stop from laughing. Not that not being able to see
is funny, but after four days out there you get a little weird. The
horses were all excited and frisky, Chief was wanting to go full
tilt, and I had to work to get him slowed down thru the town of
Darwin. We made it to the end of town where the LD vetcheck is and
water. They told us that they were changing the trail and to follow
the arrows for the LD trail, after having the vets check our
horses. Dave said he wouldn't crew this day for me, as he hates
going up to the top of the mountain and sitting there in the blowing
wind, so John said he'd take my truck and go up. so of course, they
changed the vetcheck so that John and my truck got to drive up there
and back :P. Meanwhile Dave is trying not to laugh too hard....

The next part of the trail was super nice, the LD riders really get
all of the good sections of trail on this ride! We cruised along at
a nice trot for almost this entire next part. Then we looped back up
and over Darwin Grade. We got off to lead down and when we got back
on everything was soaking wet. I guess it had been raining, just
lightly enough to get stuff wet without us really noticing. We
weren't cold though, Dave was wearing shorts and a tank top (and ski
gloves, lol) and until I sat down on my wet saddle cover I was plenty
comfortable with just a windbreaker on. The clouds always make the
colors stand out so well.

With the trail change we were going back to Panamint to basecamp for
our vetcheck and hour hold. This trail change made this day a lot
easier than it normally would be. Patrick got his party hat attached
to his horses head at lunch, so both of our horses were in a party
mood for the last part of the trail. We headed out, we were riding
down alongside the highway for a few miles to a water spot, and then
back again. The storm was coming in and following us. We headed out
and as we went along we could see ahead how the wind was kicking up a
sandstorm ahead and we were riding right into it. Oh boy! My visor
was doing that slap me in the face thing again, so I yanked it
off. It's like driving a car with a hood up when it does that. It
was so windy we were leaning sideways to stay upright and sometimes
when a motorhome went by doing 65 mph, it would suck the wind around
us and blow us over. We were laughing though and having a great
time. Even with a little wind, I'd still rather be there riding than
to not be there riding :). Besides, it was still a hundred times
better than the weather was the entire time the year before, so I'll
take it without complaint! We got down to the water and then turned
and headed back. We saw a big beautiful rainbow across the valley,
and the clouds engulfing Panamint Springs up ahead of us, with all of
the colors in the desert it was a really beautiful scene.

Along the way we saw a tourist stop and get out of his car. His hat
blew off and he took off running after it. He ran and ran and ran,
and there was just no way he was going to catch that hat.

This ride was a lot of fun, as always. Jackie has a lot of
volunteers who help make the world go around, without them we
wouldn't get to do this, thanks to all!!! Turns out that getting
back home again was the biggest challenge of all, lol, tho we made it
home safe and sound, and hope everybody else did too. :) Here are
photos from myself and Sue
Benson: http://aerc.org/Photo_Gallery/DVE05/DEATHVALLEY2005.html

Karen

in NV

Magic's Story - Tom Paleczny

Tom Paleczny

I sat staring at the clouds and was hoping and praying the rain would come during the awards ceremony at the Coates Creek endurance ride July 31st. I wasn't looking forward to being called up in front of the many other riders that competed that day to accept my 6th place ribbon. My emotions were hard to contain and just thinking about the events of the day brought tears to my eyes. I had just completed the 50 mile ride with my horse Magic and when we crossed the finish line and vetted our completion I couldn't help but say a little prayer, do a "high five" in the air and give both my wife Lesley and my horse Magic a big hug of joy and thanks. After all, who would have imagined that he would be completing a grueling 50 mile ride in the heat of August; up some of the most impressive hills Ontario can throw at any endurance rider. All this! Twelve weeks after undergoing near death colic surgery!

When I got him back to the trailer and settled, I sat down and drifted back to that cold day in April when Lesley and I were faced with some very traumatic decisions to make. The day started off terribly as we drove through a blinding snowstorm on our way to compete at the Aprilfest 50 in the Dufferin forest. A few times we were questioning our sanity as to why any human would go to such length to ride 50 miles in this typical Ontario spring weather. The slush on the roads was so bad that it almost pulled you off into the ditch! Arriving at the ride site we were surprised to see so many courageous people preparing themselves and their horses for the ride.

My riding partner Alison Martin and her horse CH Sheylan were ready for pre-vetting so the four of us proceeded to the P&R area. The weather had changed and it actually became tolerable. We vetted through and everything was perfect...straight A's and Mag seemed excited to get going.

As we warmed up prior to the start I couldn't help but notice that Magic was feeling quite full of himself. He felt strong, fit and eager. Our plan for this day was to get through the first few miles without incident and then settle into a nice steady pace that would see us finish in and around six hours. My goal for the season was to prepare Magic for the Old Dominion 100 in Virginia.

The trails were in good shape considering the weather and it didn't take long for the horses to calm down and focus on the trail. The first few miles went by without incident and we settled into a good steady pace. Neither Ali nor I had any great expectation and both would be very happy to just complete the 50 miles. The horses seemed to be quite happy with the pace so we continued through the first loop.

Coming into the vet check, he pulsed down very quickly and vetted through straight A's and it wasn't long before we got back into the routine after the long winter. Alison and Sheylan vetted through and we were into our hold.

Heading back out onto the second of (4) four loops; both horses were running in great shape. We took advantage of the water stops and we timed ourselves at a minimum of six minutes and we made sure the heart rates were below 60 before heading down the trail. The horses didn't really seem that interested in the water and I think that was due to the cold temperature. Most of the time they would stick their heads up to the trough and take a bit of a sip. This was not unusual for Magic as he normally doesn't drink a lot in the first miles of the competition. Coming into the 2nd vet check, everything was great, even the weather was becoming a little nicer; I think I saw a bit of sun trying to break through. As in the first vet check, he pulsed down quickly and Art King vetted us through and again all A's. Ali and Shey came in behind me and vetted through with no problems; both horses looked great.

Back on trail for the third loop we picked up the pace a bit and the horses were fine with this adjustment in speed. I felt that he was being his typical self when he started his old habit of dropping his head down to ground level almost like a hound on a rabbit trail. He had started this early last year and we couldn't figure out what it was, he seemed to be spooking at the ground as we trotted down trail. I didn't pay a lot of attention to this because it was something he had done many times before; uncomfortable to post to but not a problem to worry about. We now know that this was a sign of something that was brewing inside his small intestine.

We came into the third vet check and again everything was fine; both horses vetted A's and they were eating and drinking normally. We headed out on the final loop and decided to maintain the pace from the third loop. The horses still felt great and he was still finding the stamina to spook at logs, down trees, water puddles, you know all those spooky horse monsters. He started dropping his head even more and it was becoming difficult to deal with. I kept checking everything to try and figure out what it was he was doing. Ali rode behind to see if she could identify any problems; but none were visible. Whatever it was it didn't affect his heart rates or attitude. There were no changes from the first loop other than the horses were more settled. The last five miles of the loop we could feel the horses tiring a bit so we slowed the pace and just enjoyed the moment.

Crossing the finish line I gave him his customary pat on the shoulder and whispered to him "good job"! As we walked over to the vetting area, we offered both horses water. He started to drink and he really tanked-up, I didn't think he would stop. After finishing their drink, we proceeded to the P&R area. He pulsed in at 52 and I was quite pleased and felt we did a great job. Art was finished with the horses ahead of us, so I walked over to him for my final vetting. Art vetted him through and found no problems, everything was fine. He trotted out good, his CRI was good 12/12, gut sounds were pluses in all four quadrants. I was very pleased, Magic finished the ride all A's!

I took him to the trailer, and got him un-tacked and settled. At this point there was nothing out of the ordinary; everything was fine. I was almost soaked to the skin so I went in the trailer to have a hot shower and change into some dry cloths. While in the trailer I could hear a horse pawing at the ground. I looked out and saw it was Magic and he had quite the hole started. My first thought was that he wanted to roll so I called out to Steve to get one of the girls to walk and graze him while I finished changing. At this point approximately an hour and a half had gone by since we completed the ride. I went out of the trailer and the girls told me that he wanted to roll and that he was pawing at the ground. Knowing him and how he loves to roll, I chuckled at the young girls holding him and explained - that's just Magic. Lesley has this uncanny ability of picking up on horse's issues and feelings. She immediately went over to him and looked him over - I could tell by the look on her face that something was terribly wrong. He had signs of a serious colic starting!

I had butterflies in my stomach as I walked him around the field while Lesley ran to get Stan and Art. Every time I stopped walking, he would paw the ground and start getting ready to lie down. In my mind I knew something terrible was wrong and I felt almost helpless. It seemed like eternity for Lesley to return with Stan and Art but it was a relief to see them walking towards me. I felt reassured by their presence and my mind started to think clearer as they examined him. The colic signs started to subside a bit and after they checked him it was confirmed that he had either a mild colic starting or some gas and now we were looking for an explanations as to why this might happen. Both Stan and Art felt that it could have been caused for a number of reason's but we felt one of the main reasons could have been the tanking up of cold water at the final vet check.

Luckily, fellow rider Laura Hayes from New York had some banamine in her trailer of which we gave him about three cc's and then continued the walking around the field. He did settle a bit so it was decided to load and head home.

We arrived home at about 9:00 pm and when we took him off the trailer I checked to see if he had past any manure but he hadn't. I took him into his small turn-out yard and as soon as I took off his halter he dropped to the ground, lay on his back and raised his legs in the air and started moaning. I was absolutely horrified when this happened and I knew we were in serious trouble. Lesley went in the house to call the vet and they decided that we would give him another three cc's of banamine and see if he would settle. We brought him into his stall in the barn, gave the banamine and this time it didn't settle him at all. I started walking him around outside and every time we stopped walking he would paw the ground and attempt to lie down.

At 11:30 pm another call was made to our vet and the need became an emergency! Our vet arrived at 12:00 am and upon tubing Mag, the nightmare got worse. When the tube was inserted completely it filled with reflux, we rushed to get an empty pail and the vet put the end of the tube in the pail and to our shock, it completely filled it. The vet had this look on his face and when I looked up at Lesley and she looked back, we knew that he was near death.

Lesley and I needed to make some quick decisions. The vet asked if surgery was an option; without it Magic would have to be put down. It was now 1:30 am when we loaded him and headed for the London Equine Hospital. By now both Lesley and I were running purely on adrenaline. LEH is about a 90 minute drive and I shouldn't admit to this but we pulled into the parking lot in 50 minutes. Thinking back I don't recall stopping at a stop sign or light the entire trip.

The London Equine Hospital staff are quite amazing people. When we pulled into the parking lot to the entrance behind the building, they were waiting with the doors open. I got Magic off the trailer and lead him into the clinic. He was immediately swarmed by the staff and in no time he had needles, bags and monitors hanging from every conceivable location in his stall. Once all the preliminary stuff was completed, he was given another 6 cc's of Banamine and the tube was again inserted into his belly. This time I expected reflux but was not prepared to watch as bucket after bucket was filled to the top. A total of six gallons was drained from his belly and I think even the vet and his assistants were amazed at the amount. An internal examination was next but there were no conclusive findings. One thing that puzzled the attending vet Dr. Kretzshmar was that Magic's pulse rate was very low. His heart rate was never above 50 and even at the worst of his illness it was at 46. Dr. Kretzschmar indicated that this was very unusual as most horses with the same condition are at about 115 - 120 BPM.

As I mentioned earlier the hospital staff are just the best. Everything they did to him they explained in detail why it was being done. When Dr. Kretzshmar had made his diagnosis he approached Lesley and I and his compassion was truly sincere. We were again faced with an agonizing decision. Dr. Kretzshmar explained in great detail the issues that he felt Magic had going on inside him. I don't think I heard a word he said and as he spoke our eyes welled up in tears - my horse was dieing and there was very little to be done to save the horse and companion that brought so much joy and fun into my life. I gasped as he explained that even with surgery, he at best had only a 10% chance of surviving and if he did survive he would be a pasture patient for the balance of his life. The three choices were given, and again he made sure we had everything we needed to make the right decision including the costs involved. He explained a full colic surgery; what it was; what could be the cause of the colic and the cost of that surgery. We asked that with the full colic surgery if they opened him up and things were bad, that he be put down on the table. He explained another option and that was to basically do exploratory surgery (autopsy on a live horse) and the costs involved. The final choice I did not want to hear - terminate Magic's life! I fell to pieces! Dr. Kretzshmar left Lesley and me to discuss the options. Our decision was to go ahead with the exploratory surgery with instructions to terminate his life if there were serious complications.

A funny thing happened when we went back into the clinic. Just when we thought the world was falling in around us, a light shines. He seemed to settle and he hadn't produced any reflux in almost an hour. I actually got a bit of a chuckle out of the staff when I joked that Magic understood what we were talking about earlier. Between Lesley, I and Dr. Kretzshmar, we decided to post pone the surgery and give him some time to see if this little light was actually a sign of recovery. Lesley and I were exhausted on our feet so we decided to head home to try and get some rest!

Sleep did not come, we were both now up over 32 hours. We were exhausted but our eyes would not close. My mind was so full of guilt and I kept trying to figure out what went wrong. I played the days events over and over again in my mind and questioned whether or not I over rode him at the ride. What did I do to cause him so much hurt?

Lesley and I were on pins and needles as we awaited word from the clinic. Every time the phone rang, we would jump. Finally at 9:00 am Dr. Desjardins called and he delivered some very bad news, Magic was no better and when the banamine wore off he would get very uncomfortable. They had him prepared for the exploratory surgery and they were just getting ready to take him into the OR. We decided that we would go ahead with the exploratory surgery but we confirmed with him that if there were any complications they would put him down on the table; he agreed.

I hung up the phone and started to bring Lesley up to speed on the conversation. In my mind I kept thinking; how can I put my companion through the suffering he must be going through? The words came out of my mouth but I did not hear them. I said to Lesley, we should just put him out of his pain and suffering. We knew from the vet that the likely hood that he would recover were slim to none. We both were very quiet for a moment, Lesley didn't have to say a word, and I knew her answer. I picked up the phone and dialed the number to the hospital. My eyes were wet and I must have dialed the wrong number, I wiped them and then tried again. This time I got the hospital and when I asked for Dr. Cote, the receptionist explained that she was in surgery. I told her who I was and why I was calling. She asked me to hold and when she came back to the line she put me through to Dr Desjardins. Before I could say a word to explain our wishes, he told me to hang on for 10 minutes as they had just opened him up.

In exactly 10 minute the call came, I noted a tone of excitement in Dr. Desjardins voice. He explained to me that they found the problem; fixed it; and in less than ten minutes, he was back in recovery and standing! The words were overwhelming and they echoed through my head! Whether it was the lack of sleep, the bad news, the roller coaster ride, I will never know but I could not hold back the excitement that built up inside me. I dropped the phone and fell to my knees; Magic was going to be okay! Or was he?

Just when you see a glimmer of hope in a bad situation all hope is dashed. Magic wasn't getting better. Dr. Cote the attending vet explained to me on Tuesday morning that it sometimes takes up to 48 hours for the electrical impulses to realize that there is no restriction and to start things working again. She told us that in some cases the impulses never come back and is fatal for the horse. It had been 24 hours post surgery and he was still producing reflux. I started to get concerned when at 32 hours nothing had changed. I got on the phone to Stan Alkemade to get his opinion and he felt that we should wait the full 48 hours before getting concerned.

As time past I got that sick feeling in my gut again. How could this be happening? It was now Wednesday morning and with no word from Dr Cote I knew things were no better. On my way to my office in Niagara Falls, I called the clinic to get an update. Dr. Cote sounded grave and I found myself in the terrible situation of making choices. Although Magic was responding earlier that evening, Dr. Cote was very concerned that another two gallons of reflux was expelled and she was asking how much time and money we want to spend if he was getting no better. It hadn't been a full 48 hours so we decided to give it the day and then assess his condition. Dr. Cote was in surgeries all day so another update wouldn't come until 7:30 pm Wednesday evening.

Lesley and I had tickets to Cavalia in Toronto Wednesday evening and there were no words spoken as we drove to the Distillery District of the Toronto Harbour front. Both of us were totally exhausted and now here we were making another tough decision. We arrived in Toronto in good time so we decided to have dinner before going to the show. My cell phone rings a lot as part of my job and every time it rang we both jumped. It was now 7:00 pm and we were counting down the minutes as we sat sipping on a drink. Our food came but trying to eat was hard, we were both so bewildered! The clocks ticked by 7:30 and still no call from Dr. Cote. Finally at 7:45 my phone rang, it was the London Equine Hospital. I froze; I just couldn't take any more bad news! I handed the phone to Lesley and asked if she could please take the call. It was loud in the restaurant so Lesley stepped around the corner. Seconds turned to minutes as I waited for Lesley to return, the suspense was killing me so I got up and went around the corner just as Lesley was hanging up.

I could tell by Lesley's smile that the news was good. The vets had a meeting after Dr. Cote spoke to me in the morning. They decided as a team to withdraw the tube from him and see if he would stop producing the reflux. The electrical impulses would either start to work again or they wouldn't and it would be over. Lesley told me that Dr. Cote told her that Magic had gone a full nine hours without the tube and there had not been any more reflux. He turned the corner to making a complete recovery.

Magic has had this issue coming on for a number of years and it got progressively more severe. Dr. Cote and Dr. Kretzshmar told us that had we not competed at the Aprilfest ride, we would most likely have found him dead in his paddock and that as long as he was moving forward down trail, things would continue to work. They also explained that with the six gallons of reflux in his belly it was lucky it did not rupture. I can't believe that he was trotting down trail with all that reflux sloshing around inside him. Dr. Ketzschmar figured that the reason he was trotting with his head and neck stretched towards the ground indicated that he basically had in human terms "severe heartburn" for a long time! He apparently had a small lesion on the lining of his small intestine that at some point became infected as debris adhered to its surface. Over time the opening of his stomach gradually stretched to enormous proportion as it tried to compensate for the build up of foreign matter. In-turn this caused the small intestine to enlarge and cause the electric impulses that work the system to weaken. Slowly the impulses would weaken to a point where it just shuts down thus the backing up of the system producing reflux.

I heard a little whinny as I came back from my thoughts; it was Magic standing looking at me over his corral line. It was as if he was saying to me - snap out of it and get me some food; I just carried you over fifty miles and there you sit daydreaming! I rose out of my chair and climbed over the line and gave him a hug! Yes, Magic is back! He is truly a survivor and a tough horse with a lot of heart. I will compete with Magic in many more competitions over the next years, but none will have the memories and significance of the day Magic and I completed the Coates Creek Endurance Ride.

Tom Paleczny

Reame's Magiciann

Turkey Trot Tale - Nancy Reed

by Nancy Reed

My daughter Danielle will tell you this is her favorite ride to date. She
will also tell you this is the ride that she finally got to let Lyric really
trot, a lot. As a mother and daughter newbie team with 2 young horses I can
say I think we finally rode like endurance riders. And with that I can say,
proudly, all the miles of training finally paid off. And it could not have
happened without Tara, Craig and Danielle Walker-Nollner, showing us how it
is done. I will be forever grateful for their patience, kindness and good
humor both on and off the trail.

First a bit of background in an attempt to keep the players straight. The
scorecard: my daughter, Danielle Gradisher is 13 and rides Lyric, a 7 year
old tank of an Arab mare. Danielle Walker is 12 and has many endurance
miles under her belt and rides a new mare, Bella. Tara rides Boo, a
seasoned gelding. Her husband, Craig rides, a big gray gelding, Shaker. I
ride a 6-year-old half Arab, Jazzi who I have had for one year.

Danielle G. and I have had our fair share of troubles and difficulty on the
endurance learning curve. Lyric can be a very difficult horse and came to
us with behavior issues, saddle issues, bit issues, etc. Danielle G. is,
well, young and neither her nor I knew anything when I got the notion to be
an endurance rider. We were both new to horses and had to start from the
very beginning. I have had injuries too, broke the same foot 2 times in 3
years. I did not have a horse for some time and started Lyric until
Danielle felt safe to ride her. To date we have done more CTR than
endurance and only limited distance at that. I have made many newbie
mistakes such as mixing up CTR and endurance rules. If you look us up on
the AERC site, you will not be impressed. So, for what it is worth my ride
story comes from a newbie point of view. I have so much to learn. And in
that, I take great joy at the small accomplishments made by my daughter or
our horses.

Base camp for the Turkey Trot was a county park with stalls, grass, showers,
hook ups and a covered pavilion. It has one of the easiest access with no
dirt roads and an easy freeway drive. We arrived at base camp before noon
on Friday. Both horses vetted in with all A's except for Lyric who had a B
on gut sounds. What a pleasure to have Dr.Beasom who has the magic touch
with Lyric who in the past has been a total pill at any and all vet checks.
Dr. Beasom made it seem so easy; a little carrot, a little quick look at the
gums, no big deal.

Next, all five of us rode the start and the last few miles of the trail.
Danielle G. was testing a SR Enduro saddle as Lyric had grown out of her
Sharon Saare F tree. The saddle was beautiful, and it fit! Good sweat
pattern, no behavior issues due to pinching. Danielle G. loved it and the
seller agreed to let us use it the following day for the ride.
After a colorful ride meeting and a wonderful potluck dinner, it was early
to bed.
I did not sleep well as it lightly rained several times during the night. I
slept in the cab over section of our RV and the rain sounded like a
downpour. This brought out the worrywart gene I inherited from my
grandmother. I checked on the horses several times, they were very happy
with full hay bags and warm turnout blankets.

The trail was in the scenic Sweetwater River watershed within 10 miles of
the US-Mexico boarder. An amazing mixture of county, state, federal and
private landowners were all talked into giving permission for about 120
riders to trespass. This land is considered to be some of the last
remaining untouched functioning coastal echo systems in southern California.
Coastal chaparral, canyons, riparian, year round creek, a reservoir and even
some antique and not so antique trash made for never ending eye candy.
Rides like this is why I do this sport.

The trail was challenging with lots of hills, rocks, water crossings and an
emu ranch to boot. The footing was a mixture of fire/access roads, new and
established single track and some big granite gravel to spice it up. I had
my husband's Legend C Garmin GPS turned on most of the time and it provided
some interesting data. In the first 4 miles after a short descent we
climbed almost 500 feet, then descended an equal distance. For the next few
miles the trail was relatively flat with water crossings. From here the
climbing was tough, almost a thousand feet in a little over four miles. Our
horses worked hard keeping a steady working trot most of the time. They
were very wet, but due to the cool temperatures the horses were not
stressed.

In no time we were in the vet check. The criteria was 56 and none of our
horses had any difficulty pulsing down. I remembered to loosen Jazzi's
cinch and not fight with her until after she pulsed down. Lyric was very
good, drinking and not getting upset with the volunteers and their strange
gadgets that they stuck in her side. Jazzi would not drink and was looking
for food, preferably alfalfa. Lots of grass hay was available but no
alfalfa. I was going to be safe from the alfalfa induced Jazzi monster. I
had packed some orchard grass pellets that both Jazzi and Lyric ate. Next
time I need to pack a pan to make a wet mash. The volunteers were wonderful
and so helpful. It was especially nice to have friends hold your horse for
you so you could answer nature's call. I ate a quick ham and dilly roll
sandwich and downed a Gatorade. All of the horses vetted through without a
problem. Lyric again got a B on gut sounds, Jazzi all A's.

Back out on the trail, it was still cool and windy. We had a problem
finding the beginning of the trail back to base camp. Jazzi was reluctant to
move out and I was starting to get upset with worry as she had not drank any
water the entire ride. But, my mental gymnastics were unnecessary as Jazzi
was fine; she just did not want to leave the vet check and all the food.

The trail home got pretty spectacular with a huge downhill down the face a
mountain on new single track. The GPS data is some 600 feet straight down
in 1 mile. Tara, Craig and Danielle G all dismounted and walked most of
this. Danielle W. and I rode it down without incident. The rest of the
ride was relatively flat when compared to the earlier hills. We made
excellent time and took turns leading and in the line up. Lyric got to
really trot out and my GPS clocked her at 14 MPH on the flat about 4 miles
from the finish. Danielle G. was glowing as her little horse out trotted
everyone.

We made the finish at about 1pm and all five horses easily pulsed down.
Danielle W. came in ahead of Danielle G. by about 3 minutes. The volunteers attempted to put Danielle G in ahead of Danielle W., but Danielle G.
quickly corrected them. I was proud to be her mom and see her true
sportsmanship shine.

After a warm sponge bath, all the horses vetted out without issues. Jazzi
had finally drank at the finish and while being cleaned. Lyric's back was
in wonderful shape from the SR Enduro saddle. Beer and chips, showers and a
bit of a nap for us humans followed.

The dinner was the best I have ever had at a ride; pans and pans of
wonderful, spicy Mexican food. So much food, in fact, volunteers were
handing out quesadillas and taquitos to the hungry people waiting in line.
They served meat and cheese enchiladas, guacamole, carnitas, chili rellenos,
chips, salza, beans, rice and more. No one went away hungry!

Here is what I recall of our group's standings, Danielle W. came in first
junior and 15th overall followed by Tara, Craig, Danielle G. (second junior)
and myself. This is not official and just my recollection after a few beers. We made the ride in 4 hours, well under the allotted time (ride time
only, not including holds). Our horses had lots of gas at the end. Lyric
found a saddle that fit (what a relief) and I did was able to keep up with
the pace.

Much of this was due to the cool weather. I still have a drinking issue
with Jazzi. Jazzi also has developed a habit of loosing momentum after the
vet check. I am not sure how to deal with this. Jazzi has also become much
more sure-footed and self-assured on the trails. Lyric and Danielle G. are
really blossoming and coming into their own as a team.
Danielle W. and Bella are also becoming a team in spite of the short time
they have had each other. Tara and Craig are so seasoned and so
knowledgeable. They make it look so easy. I am so grateful they let us tag
along.

Maybe Danielle, Lyric, Jazzi and I really can do this. Maybe we can become
real endurance riders after all. What a wonderful ride. I cannot thank
everyone enough for this wonderful experience!

Nancy Reed

Lazy J Ranch

Elfin Forest, CA

Bonita Easy Come, Easy Go Turkey Trot - Lee

A great big thank you to the Ride Manager and all the volunteers for putting on this wonderful ride. The trail was challenging with beautiful views in many areas. There was plenty of help at the checks and holds. The criteria was a 56 which many people were concerned about. It worked out well for me and Bravo and I didn't hear anyone that really had a problem meeting criteria. I do not believe that there were any horse's treated which was great given the large field of 75 horses in the 50 and 50 in the 25 (approximately).

The day after Thanksgiving we packed the trailer and headed to the San Diego area to do another 50 miler. Bravo was ready and I was happy to be away from home and work :)

We arrived early on Friday at the Sweetwater Camp Ground (even got a campsite with electric and water) WOOHOO ! The weather was not the best, but surely it would clear for ride day......well, almost. It was damp and cooler then we were used to and I was glad that I put the extra blankets on the bed and in the trailer for the horses.

We set up camp and I even took Bravo for a quick ride to see the area. He was not happy to leave Kaci behind but moved out smartly enough. He was feeling way too good !
We vetted in without incident and received our ride number and packet. Now just had to go to the ride meeting. The Manager, Dave, was quite the character. The ride map was just a tad confusing but I figured I just had to make it from point A to point B, and it was all there on the map - A, B, C, D, E, 1, 2, 3 and 4 (yes literally).

We tucked in for the night as the ride start was 6:30 a.m. I woke, as always, at 1, 2, 3, 4 and then 5 o'clock. Made a quick cup of tea and oatmeal for breakfast and started to tack up. Bravo was still relaxed - hmmmmm is he sick ?? Nah, just saving his energy for the start.

Since Dave was not riding, he lead Kaci to the finish to make it easier on both her and Bravo to separate. Bravo didn't blink and headed down the trail at a smart trot after I gave my number to the check in. After that is was all blowing and pulling, boy was he in a hurry. Things were going along okay until we tried to pass a chestnut that was really giving his rider fits. I asked to pass and when I did this horse started pitching a fit, Bravo took one look at that and said "oh yea, I can do that too"! EEEEKKKKKKK- lucky for him it only took a stern word to get that out of his system, PHEW !

This ride is posted as moderate but I would say it was slightly more to the difficult side. There wasn't much flat trail to make time on - there was lots of rolling hills and some really tough climbs and technical trail. That being said, I made the 13 miles to the first vet check right as scheduled in 1.5 hours, only getting rained on twice. The pulse criteria was 56 and even with the very high humidity, Bravo pulsed down in about 3 minutes. Things were looking good. Bravo didn't really drink at this stop but that is not unusual for him, even at home. He did eat really well. It was a 20 minute hold that seemed like 5 and we were off on the next loop.

The second vet check would be in the same place and Dave was set up to wait out our arrival. The next loop was 25 miles (with two 10 minute holds after pulsing down out on the trail). At the first hold I had just called for P&R when someone turned on a hose that was in a large bucket of water directly behind Bravo. The hose shot up and squirted poor unsuspecting Bravo right in the behind. He was so shocked he almost went over top of me. Needless to say, it took us an extra few minutes to pulse down after that !

Out for a 7-8 mile loop and then back to the same hold spot. This time it was uneventful. Bravo was drinking but not as well as I would have hoped. The humidity was causing him to sweat a lot more then I am accustomed to seeing and in hindsight I should have upped his electrolytes. We left then and the trail back to the vet check was a lot of climbing. We arrived in good time and were at the 38 mile mark. Bravo drank like a camel and buried his head in his food. I hated to disturb him so I covered him with a cooler and let him eat (something I don't usually do - note to self, don't deviate from what you know works). I usually get right in the vet line and vet through just in case the horse stiffens up at the hold. I can then take them back out and loosen them up on the trail. Bravo was so hungry he stood absolutely still for the entire 45 minutes and then I vetted. The vet says she may see something in his left hind - UH OH. I am freaked. I take him back to the truck and massage his leg. He acts like it is bothering him but Bravo can be a priss about being touched. I am torn - do I go back out or do I pull ????????????

The final loop is only 12 miles and I still have 5 1/2 hours to make it. I really don't feel there is much, if anything, wrong with Bravo then perhaps a slight tightness from standing still for so long after all the climbing we just did and being in weather a lot more humid and cooler then we are used to coming from Yuma. I make the decision to continue on (with David's urging), but I decide I will hand walk all the up and down hills and ride him only on the flat sections. I tell Dave not to be worried if it takes me a long time to reach the finish. But I am a paranoid person when it comes to my horse and if Bravo blinks wrong I second guess my decision many times over the time it takes to cover that last 12 mile loop.

I also think that perhaps my electrolyte protocol was off. I am not accustomed to dealing with the humidity. I did participate in the Pride Project so I know that my feeding/electrolytes are right on with this horse for our normal conditions. I decide to give a full dose of electrolytes before leaving the check (which would be a double dose of my usual amount) since he has been drinking nonstop the entire hour. And off we go.....

We get about one mile from camp to the first hill, I hop off and tail up, lead down - not too bad. Back on and off over the next 6 miles and then the killer last climb. I had to stop three times to catch my breath even with tailing. Sheesh that was a BIG hill. It really gives you an appreciation for what these magnificent creatures do for us when you are on foot doing it yourself. We crest the hill and there are two guys sitting at a picnic table (we are close to camp). They ask me if I just walked that entire hill and I couldn't answer for a minute until I caught my breath. When I said yes, they just shook their head ! So what goes up, must go down and very quickly too. I am crapwalking sideways over the erosion ruts when it happens, I lose my footing and skid down on my left side, into the erosion ditch. Bravo is sliding down with his hocks under him and he passes me by. It happens quickly but seems to be going by in slow motion. I have not lost my grip on the reins and as he passes I grab his tail and he pulls me back up on my feet. And yes, I have the bruises to prove it today.

At the bottom of the hill I mount up and we trot the remainder of the course. Everyone is waiting at the finish and are hooting and hollering. I make Bravo walk the slight incline up to the finish, even though he was excited to be done and wanted to trot.

The vet area was right there by the finish and I decide to pulse down and vet through, just in case there is a chance of him tightening up. So I cool him out with some sponging on the neck and check his heart rate - 56. We are at criteria. I pull the saddle right there, cover him with a cooler and go to vet through. I have Dave trot Bravo so I can see, and he looks fine. There is a line but I wait and walk him in circles until it is our time. We have the same vet as at the last check and I worry some more. She remembers us............. She checks his vitals, gut sounds, back, etc. - all As. Now the moment of truth, the trot out.

I know the minute I step off with the lead that he is fine - he surges ahead of me - tail flagging and I have tears in my eyes once again at the beautiful spirit of this horse of mine. I don't even get three steps and she says, YOUR FINE ! He received all As.

Was there a problem - maybe.
Should I have pulled him - maybe. But we are both endurance addicts, this horse and me. We live to ride the trails, sometimes fast and furious, sometime he takes care of me, and sometimes I take care of us. Partnership, pure and simple - no ego for where we place or what we win or don't win. In the end the horse doesn't know where he places, he only knows how he feels.

My best reward was seeing the sparkle in his eye when we returned to the trailer and he hollers up a storm to Kaci and the camp, telling them he is the WINNER (well in my eyes anyway) ;)

Lee

Lone Star I - Suzy Ticer

By Suzy Ticer

I have always said that someday in the future I would love to ride my husband's horse Toby. Well at the CT region Lone Star Ride my husband was not able to ride so I finally got my wish (I kept telling myself to remember what you wish for!). Previously, I had only ridden Toby at a very controlled trot or walk on a training ride near home. I did not think I could ride him any faster because he stops on his front legs while doing flying lead changes and if you are not ready for that you will be flying over his head and at age 47, I am very careful about avoiding any injuries. I have only been riding for about 5 years and doing LD rides for 2 years so I do not consider myself a great rider..

Toby is a 15.3 hand 10 year old Anglo-Arab who was born for endurance. He won BC in the LD at his first ride, Old Glory in 2003. He won 2nd place in the Region Limited Distance Best Condition in 2004. He has never finish out of the top ten in LD rides that he has completed and he placed 10th out of 90 horses in his first 50 mile ride at Bluebonnet this past year. He loves to go fast and if he can't go fast he really gets upset, will throw his head around and will stomp and prance like a child until he gets his way.

Lone Star is held the two days after Thanksgiving each year at the Hill Country State Natural Area in Bandera, Texas. Thanksgiving is a very busy time at the park with lots of people enjoying the well marked permanent trails, the weather, and their favorite mode of transportation including bikes, horses, and their own two feet.

Thanksgiving day, we packed up and drove the two hours to the ride camp. After John, my husband; Nicole, our 21 year old daughter and I set up our camp, we registered and vetted in the horses. Debbie Allen, the ride manager gave every participant a really nice registration gift, a copy of "Chicken Soup for the Horse Lovers Soul." (If you haven't already read this book have plenty of tissues handy!) All participants were invited to the annual potluck dinner of turkey with all the usual side dishes and deserts. What better way to spend Thanksgiving then with your horses and your riding friends. Debbie then held the ride meeting and gave instructions about courses, hold times and finishing criteria. She reminded everyone that this is a technical trail with lots of rocks and hills and it could be very warm and humid during the ride. She asked that we take care of our horses and our selves and her goal was to not to have any horses or humans treated at the ride. The vets reminded everyone to electrolyte, electrolyte, electrolyte. It is November, but this is Texas!

Friday morning stared off with perfect weather for fall in Texas, low 60's with a forecast of clear skies and possible highs in the 80's by the afternoon. The seventeen 50 milers stared at 7:00 AM and the thirty-four 25s started at 8:00 AM. As I tacked up and mounted Toby, I told everyone that I was not smiling I actually had a grimace of terror that I was going to attempt to ride Toby for a full 25 miles all by myself! John told me that I had to finish in the top 10 to keep Toby's record or I would be walking home. I told him I would do my best just to stay on the horse!

The ride had a slow controlled start for about a mile or so. As soon as the trail was open, Toby took off at a fast trot through the trees. And that was the last time I saw any of the 25 milers until I got back to camp. I am used to riding by myself, but usually it is in the middle of the pack. Toby likes to go out fast at the beginning of the ride and John had told me not to try to hold him back because that's when I would get into trouble. We went about 2 or 3 miles through the trees and along a dry creek bed, then we hit a short stretch of road and a pasture where the park rangers had mowed a very wide trail. Toby just opened it up and off we went flying down the trail, wind whistling past my ears, my eyes watering from the speed, my hat flying off never to be seen again. What a rush! Toby only got smoother the faster we went! We made a brief stop at the first water tank, but Toby was not even interested. So off we go again following the orange course. Up hills, over rocks, crossing dry creek beds, around oak and cedar trees, I did not even have an opportunity to enjoy the great views, we were going so fast.

I lost my stirrups and bounced around on the saddle a couple of times, but I hung on and just kept right on going. I tried to slow him down as we approached a small hill with lots of rocks, but he has not having any of that and proceeded to do one of those awful stops of his. I was thrown forward in the saddle, I grabbed his mane, my left leg came over the saddle, leaving me hanging off the right side with one foot still in the stirrup and hanging onto the reins. Luckily Toby came to a complete stop and I fell the couple of feet to the ground. The only thing I could think of at the time was, "Well that wasn't so bad, and thank goodness no one saw me". Toby just stood there looking at me with an expression on his face that clearly said "What are you doing down there, get back in the saddle so that we can get back on the trail!" which we proceeded to do.

I finished the first loop of 12.3 miles in one hour and 20 minutes about 20 minutes before the next rider. We then had a one-hour hold so both Toby and I ate and loaded up on electrolytes, tacked back up and off we went following the yellow trail. I did have to change into a pair of jeans because I had blown the knee out of my tights during my unscheduled dismount.

I felt much more comfortable and relaxed with Toby after successfully completing the first loop and really enjoyed the rest of the ride. The rest of the park had woken up and were out on the trail by this time so we had to keep our eyes open for hikers, kids fishing in the creeks, parents with kids in strollers, bicycle riders and trail riders. Toby seemed to know that he had to slow down to a walk or slow trot when passing so I did not have do to much work. We did almost run over a mountain bike rider when we came around a blind corner, but Toby stopped on a dime and luckily no one was hurt. We passed lots of trail riders who graciously moved to the side of the trail when they saw us coming. We exchanged "Good Mornings, and what a beautiful day for a ride!" and continued down the well-marked trail.

Toby really showed me what an excellent endurance horse he was on the second loop which had a lot more rocks on the trail including one really good vertical cliff climb. Toby seemed to know just where to place his feet while still maintaining a very fast trot over rocks that other horses would have had to walk over, it was amazing. He read the trail ahead and decided how fast he had to go and I barely had to direct him around the curves, around and under trees, and over dry creek beds. He stopped almost automatically at any water, took a great big drink, splashed himself with water and off we went. He even seems to know the right direction on the trails. We came to a split in the trail, and I thought we should go left, but Toby said "No, Mom, we have to go right here!" and he was correct. I crossed the last large dry creek, and met up with about 7 or 8 trail riders coming the other way, we slowed down, passed them, then took off at a gallop just past the last rider. We again hit the large mowed pasture, and all Toby saw was open freeway. After nearly 20 miles, he just turned up the power and we flew the last couple of miles at full speed. We came to the road leading into camp, and I got off to walk him in the last half of a mile. I stripped the saddle off of him at our camp and vetted in.

We finished the second 13.7 mile loop in one hour and 25 minutes. I have never finished a ride in such a short time. Toby and I went back after 15 minutes and one hour to stand for BC. I even got a hug from the vet when I had completed the final vet check. Needless to say I was ecstatic at finishing the ride in one piece and getting my first 1st place finish. I had to tell everyone!! I was emotionally just flying! I had ridden Toby for 25 miles with no major mishaps, had come in first, and had a great time. Nicole said "Mom's gonna want a faster horse now!" and she was right!

I took Toby back to our camp and gave him a great big meal and hugged him for getting me through a great ride in one piece. Our camp was located near the finish line so I watched all the other 25 and 50 milers as they came into camp. We had plans to drive to Dallas on Saturday, so we took down our tent and packed everything up and waited for the award meeting.

Debbie thanked everyone at the award meeting for having a safe ride with no horses or humans having to be treated. As Debbie was announcing the names of those who had completed the ride successfully, I just kept thinking of what a wonderful day I had getting to ride a really great horse successfully, and winning a first place and first heavy weight rider. But what really made my day was when Debbie announced that Toby had also won Best Conditioned horse! Someone in the crowd jokingly said something about leaving some of the awards for the rest of the riders.

Well I finally got my chance to ride Toby and it was better than I expected! I learned I was a better rider then I had previously thought, Toby is the greatest horse ever (IMHO) and it's great coming in first. Now I can't wait to ride Toby again, maybe I'm even ready for a 50-mile ride!!

Suzy Ticer

Farewell to Silver State - Karen in Nevada

After something like 25 years (give or take), the Silver State ride
is now history. It's kind of sad, I will really miss the ride. It
was the first multiday ride (3 days) on Weaver and the flag print
bandana that I still wear on my helmet was what we received for
completing all three days. That bandana has done several thousand
more miles since then, I'm going to keep fixing it with duct tape so
it will last forever. I think all of my horses have gotten their
great starts on that ride. First Weaver as his first multiday, then
a couple of years later I rode Rocky two days in a row on that ride
and that is where he finally "got it". He was trying to eat the
cholla by the 2nd day he was so hungry and from that point forward he
became a really good eater! Then Chief came along and got to do a
day of Silver State as his first ever point to point ride. This
year, my newest horse Zenos also got to do two days of the ride
including his first point to point. I am probably really fond of
this ride simply because I have had so many great rides there over the years.

The BLM is closing down some of the trails for 3 years to all
recreation. There was a fire in the Blue Diamond area that they want
to 'reclaim'. It's unlikely that we'll ever get the trails back,
and besides a new cargo airport is going to be built at Jean,
Nevada. Claire hasn't found a new place to move the ride to
yet. :-( The BLM classifies endurance riding as a speed event
because they think we travel at "25 miles per hour".

I really like smaller rides. Especially when you know most of the
riders. This year was great, we had about 35 riders the first day,
which was the 55 mile day. I brought two horses down so that I
could alternate them. I had already vetted Chief in for the first
days ride when Dave Rabe came over and talked me into riding Zenos
instead, he said he'd ride with me. I thought about it and realized
that yeah, it would be good for Z to do more than just a one day
ride, he is definitely ready for it and it'll be great for Chief to
do just one day. I've been trying really hard to cut back on riding
him on every ride, every single day. It's not been easy for me,
since I love riding him so much! So I went ahead and vetted Zenos in
for the 55 mile day. I put Epics on his front feet, so he wouldn't
be walking around camp barefoot on all 4 feet and went over and
vetted him in (it's really rocky there). These end of season rides
are great for all of the point chasers. It is such fun to watch all
of the goings on and see who is doing what and so on. I love it! It
of course is more fun for me, since I'm not riding for points, and
already was far enough ahead in the mileage category to not have to
worry about it.

We started in the back of the pack and when others in front would
stop we stopped and fiddled around. Mostly that was so that Dave's
horse wouldn't pull his arms out trying to catch up with horses in
front. Zenos didn't really seem to care, and it was good experience
for him learning that he can stop and be patient and just watch
horses trotting off ahead of us, or by us. He handled everything
extremely well. We had a great ride into the vet check. There is
only one 'out' vet check on the ride each day, and it's remote. If
something happens to your horse out there, you won't be hauling him
back in a horse trailer. So you keep that in mind and try to be
careful out there. The trail is extremely rocky, moreso this year
because other trail users loosen up the dirt and it blows or floods
away leaving only rocks and hardpacked dirt. There are also lots of
washes so you are constantly going up and down. Zenos handled all of
the footing and terrain changes traveling smoothly and with
grace. At one spot there was a washout that just dropped off, Dave's
horse jumped off it and kept going. Zenos stopped and looked at it
and waited for me to tell him what to do! I was so pleased :). We
made it to the vetcheck, and Z pulsed down to 60 right away and we
went over and vetted. Everything A-ok. So over to find our crewbag
and get fed. I barely got the food out and mixed with water before
the horse had it all gobbled up. I put elytes in each of his baggies
of feed and he ate it all, then tried finishing off some of another
horses food.

We had volunteered to pull ribbons down on part of the next loop
since we were last and that section of trail was only going to be
done on that first day. Luckily Dave brought along a plastic bag --
which we filled up completely stuffed with ribbons on
clothespins! They really way overmarked that trail (lol). That was
also great experience for Z, as he got to stop and let me lean over
to pull off some of the ribbons, and was the only horse :* that
wasn't afraid of the plastic bag filled with ribbons. Once we got
thru there we were able to leave all of the ribbons at the water stop
with the radio guy. We stayed there a few extra minutes to let the
horses eat before heading in. We made up some time there and
finished at about 5, just as it was getting dark. That wasn't too bad
since we had until 7:45 to make it in by. We were last. We
entertained ourselves by reading the big flashing billboard on the
sign in front of the casino as we headed towards it. They had a
special, for $10 you got an hour of dance lessons, 4 hours of dancing
and 2 drinks. I don't know if anybody from the ride went or not, but
we did make it in that night to have prime rib for dinner in the restaurant.

Riding with Dave is a lot of fun, he's always so patient, and so
considerate. He just can't hear real well. We had fun all day
comparing our horses heart rates, then finally at some point I kept
hearing a beep beep beep sound. I asked him if that was his HRM --
and he didn't know, said he couldn't hear it! Sure enough, his
HRM was not attached and was beeping. It kept doing that, so I kept
telling him "there's that bird again". Dave was able to tease me
because my horse was trying to eat orange rocks, and chew on bark on
the joshua trees (now he knows that stuff isn't edible) :P

The next day I rode Chief-- we started out in the back and I got him
thru the first part without him getting too excited. He always wants
to catch whoever is in front, as well as stay ahead of whoever is
behind. Next year I can ride him faster and he won't be mad at me
for making him go so slow. I've been practicing on the last few
rides letting him canter a little bit here and there. We do that a
lot on training rides, but in an actual endurance ride he tends to
want to gallop like his tail is on fire. So we're doing little
stretches where I work on our transitions in a speed that is in
control, and he is getting better and better about it. We soon
started to pass other horses, especially going up the steep climb up
Cave Canyon. He is great on technical trails and goes well over the
big boulders and rocks and doesn't need to stop and take a break, so
up we went up and up and over the top, then down trotting thru the
sand into the vetcheck. We caught up Kathy after lunch and rode with
her into the finish. I really wanted to let Chief go more, but
thought better of it until I have more time to back him off of doing
so many miles in a season, so I kept him at the same pace and we
finished the day with him looking as great as he always does! I was
happy and sad, knowing that he'd just finished an incredible ride
season and sad because it was over and knowing I'd never get to ride
him on that trail again. I think we finished around 13th out of 28.

The third day started out a bit windy. It had blown most of the night
at Blue Diamond. I still planned on riding Zenos. He was handling
everything so well, the day I rode Chief he was trailered to the new
camp and when he got there he spent the day eating and
drinking. Another horse got loose and ran around camp and Z just
stood there calmly and watched. About 3 a.m. I heard a loud
commotion outside, but with the wind I couldn't tell what it was. It
sounded like a horse had gotten into a wreck, or had gotten loose so
I went outside to look. Both of my horses had eaten all of their food
and drank all of their water and they wanted more! So got them all
refilled on their rations and back to bed for another hour or two
before getting up. We started at 6 a.m. I got Zenos boots on,
tacked him up and walked him over to vet. He was fine. yay! I
remember feeling his legs and checking him over and thinking that you
couldn't tell he'd done a ride, that was great. His attitude was
good too, as we headed out. He seemed happy to follow Dave's horse
again and off we went. We had a small creek crossing in the first
few miles, and he calmly walked thru it, yay! I really like how he
stays calm when horses pass or he sees them up ahead. A couple of
times I would pull him back a little and let Dave's horse get farther
up ahead just to see how he'd handle it, and he did fine with
that. I don't want him to get too attached to another horse. On all
three days, neither of my horses had their HR's go above
140. Actually, maybe 133 was the highest they got to climbing the
steep hills. I used the Garmin 301 so it measured the distance,
elevation, HR and all that jazz -- so I can put it on the laptop and
view the graphs. Mostly I use it to keep an eye on my average speed,
and also the speed that we are going at. It's almost scary how much
your average can be thrown off when you stop and fiddle faddle
around, or are pulling ribbons or whatever.

The vetcheck was shortened to a half an hour because of the cold and
wind. That was just long enough for the horses to eat well. They
had sandwiches for us along with chips and drinks and candy. The
last part of the ride went really well, we had more downhill to do
since we were riding back to Jean. Zenos was well mannered when I
led him on foot down Cave Canyon. Then I got on and trotted the wash
part. We didn't have any ribbons to pull today so didn't lose time
there. When we got to the water stop the radio guy told us that we
were 6th and 7th out of 19 riders. We'd been figuring that we were
the 19th riders . Wow, how did that happen? I guess we had been
doing a lot of steady trotting, not fast but we weren't fiddling
around and goofing off either. So we kept on going occasionally
letting the horses canter where the terrain allowed it. What a great
day it was, we had the best time. Since we'd started so early and
had only a half an hour hold, we finished at about 2 o'clock! That
was great, I had plenty of daylight left so the horse could get dried
off and cleaned up. It was sad saying goodbye to everybody. They did
a great job at the ride this year all around. The trail was well
marked, the lunches were awesome and all of the volunteers and vet
were terrific. The group of riders were also all the best. I will
miss Silver State.

Congratulations to all the riders and their horses that met all of
their goals in 2005 and good luck next season!

Karen

in NV