LBL Express

by April, Nashville Tennessee

April's Blog

Wednesday afternoon, Daniel and I arrived at Land Between the Lakes'
Wranglers Campground in Kentucky. Daniel set up Tanna's metal corral
around the high line area while I busied myself getting other stuff
settled. Then we headed to the restaurant for a yummy supper (that I
didn't have to cook or clean up after!).

The weather was absolutely beautiful and the forecast called for high
70s and NO RAIN. What a nice weekend was ahead of us! That night was a
little chilly. I had neglected to cover Tanna so he got his cooler on
in the morning as soon as I woke up. He seemed to be doing fine, but I
left the cooler on him until the sun got higher up and the day got a
little warmer.

Daniel disappeared to scout out places to take pictures on Friday and
I took a nice warm shower in the nearby showerhouse. I hung out with
the cat until Daniel returned, taking full advantage of our extra
vacation day. We headed for breakfast at the restaurant and then to
visit Teddy of Running Bear. I couldn't think of a single thing I
needed from Teddy, but it was fun looking around and talking.

Back to the trailer to start getting my stuff ready for the vet
checks. LBL has a 4 loop 50 with 2 away checks (in the same place) and
then another check back near camp. I gathered water buckets, hay,
apples and carrots for both checks. I decided to leave my saddle rack
and a folding chair at the check near camp as well. I took stuff out
of my large vet check bag and placed it into a smaller duffle bag that
I would send out on the crewless truck.

I spent at least a half hour working on my hand-held heart rate
monitor trying to get it to work. I had purchased a handle from Roger
Rittenhouse (www.vmaxept.com) at Trace Tribute, but hadn't gotten it
set up yet. I had a CardioSport Fusion HRM transmitter and watch. The
transmitter worked nicely (could verify with my Garmin Forerunner
301), but I couldn't get the Fusion watch to pick up the signal. The
watch battery was fine. Finally, after some frustration, I discovered
the exact button I had to push and HOLD in order to get the watch to
listen to the transmitter. I immediately lept up and went to play with
it on my horse.

Daniel had been helping me and also showed me where to take Tanna's
pulse manually on his jaw. Since I had the HRM working, I wanted to
figure out how to use that and exactly where to place it on Tanna. I'm
quite familiar with on-board HRM, but the handhelds I have no
experience with. After several more minutes, I decided I had it down
enough and stopped.

Back to the restaurant for lunch (boy, was I getting spoiled!) and
then over to register. We got a nice thick entry pack with flyers and
catalogs and a nice small sweat scraper. I really like small sweat
scrapers! Easy to throw in a pack.

Daniel and I had brought two trucks. We had the big 3500 that pulled
the horse trailer and has our camper on it. But we also brought my
new-to-me Toyota commuting truck so that Daniel could easily get
around while he was taking pictures on ride day. I took that truck and
went to set up my vet check areas.

By the time I was done with that, it was time to vet in. I usually
don't put my horse's number on him until the morning of a ride. But
this time, I decided to go ahead and put his number on. I put 102 in
big bold blue numbers on both sides of his rump. When I got to the vet
in, I was faced with Debra LaComette's Rev, also with a nice 102
painted on him! Oops! I said I'd go get a new number when I got done
vetting in. Tanna vetted in nicely with all As. His heart rate was a
little elevated for him at 50. He's normally 42 or 44 on vet in.
Everything else was a go, though.

When I got done vetting in, Nancy Gooch, our honored timer, arrived
with the SERA scales. So I hung around while that was put together.
Tanna weighed in at 794. Very respectable weight for him.

Before I left, a volunteer from the vet check told me my new number
was 101. She had very nicely gone back to the registration desk and
gotten my new number for me! How sweet was that? :-)

I took Tanna back to his pen and I continued getting everything ready
for the big ride day. Finally I was done and spent some more time just
hanging out and relaxing while waiting for the ride meeting.

The ride meeting went well and as expected. Forty minute holds, 64
pulse (except 60 for the LD finish per the rules), tack on at the
first check due to chilly weather and a wind. Dr. Otis was the head
vet, assisted by three other vets. 50 milers (19 of them) were to
start at 6:30 AM CDT. 25 milers (26 of those) were to start at 7:30
AM. The 50 milers would take a combination of trail (including the
knee-knocker -- KK -- trail!) and gravel road to the vet check. Then
out for a loop and back into the vet check. Back to camp for the 3rd
vet check. And a final loop back into camp for the finish. The 25
milers would do the first and third loops of the 50s.

After the ride meeting, I made supper, did a few last minute things
and off to bed.

4:30 came very early and I stumbled out of bed to give Tanna his
breakfast. I was cold, but fortunately, the camper warmed up while I
made breakfast. The pre-ride routine went smoothly and I was mounted
and ready for warm-up at 6:15. Tanna was being fairly good with no
signs of being totally stupid, but he was alert and ready to go.

After the controlled start across the pavement and down a creek bed,
the horses separated into 3 main groups. Front pack, mid-pack and back
pack. I stayed with the mid-pack and when the mid-pack separated a bit
into those that wanted to take the KK trail fast and those that wanted
to go a little slower, I stayed with the faster riders. We flew along
together, me trying to keep Tanna off the horse in front of him. The
KK trail was just beautiful. Good footing, lots of fun and along the
lake with the sun glinting off the water. Breathtaking! There was some
very nice grass through this section, so I periodically pulled Tanna
up and pointed him at a clump of grass. He would grab a big mouthful
and take off after the other horses again.

Too soon, the KK trail ended and we were dumped out onto a gravel
road. It was about an hour into the ride, so I pulled up and tried to
electrolyte from the saddle. We can do this, but not, I discovered, in
the middle of the first loop yet! Not with horses that left us and
another group coming from behind. So I wasted some of my electrolytes
before I got frustrated and jumped off. The riders were nice and asked
if I needed them to stop. I waved them on and proceeded with dosing. I
decided it was time to ditch my sweatshirt, roll up Tanna's rump rug
and generally took a few minutes before we got going again.

I was frustrated at first because I got a bit of race brain myself. I
had wanted to top ten at this ride, but I tend to waste too much time
and was irritated that I was doing it again. It was good, though. It
broke us away from a herd mentality. Me mostly!! After getting back
on, I was content to just enjoy the day with my horse and come in
wherever I happened to. I re-adjusted my ride plan to ride negative
splits instead of having a placing as my goal and as such, the break
brought our average speed down, which is good when you're wanting to
take subsequent loops faster than the first loop!

We were happily trotting through the loop when we came on Daniel
taking pictures. He informed me that I was the 14th horse to come to
him. So I was running in 13th place (one of the horses ahead was
running in the 2-day 100, not the 50). I was about a mile and a
quarter from the vet check. When I was close, I jumped off and walked
in. Tanna was interested in the activity, but pulsed right down. I
headed to the pulse takers and the vets. I got through and found my
duffle bag that management had brought for me. No crew for me. Daniel
jokes that he started taking pictures to avoid crewing for me!

Tanna would not eat. Not really a big surprise for him. He rarely eats
at the first check. He ate hay on the way to the vet, but afterwards,
he wouldn't eat. He got a B on guts; also normal for him. The rest
were As. I took him into the sun and grass and he nibbled some, but
eventually just hung out. I got him ready for the next loop and off we
went by ourselves.

We headed back out the same way we'd come in until I saw Daniel again.
Then we continued past the turn and out on the loop. We saw the front
5 horses all in a row coming up a hill as we trotted down it. I
believe they were Bud Davidson, Karen and Steve Cummings, Debra
LaComette, and Ron Chapman. No idea what order they were running, but
they were all together and looked like they were having a blast. Tanna
was interested in them, but by now he knows he has to keep going the
way he's going and not try to turn around and follow the other horses.

Tanna continued to trot and canter during that loop. Coming back up
the same hill after making a keyhole shaped loop, we walked and he ate
every step of the way. I just had the reins loose and my feet out of
the stirrups as he weaved back and forth to get the best grass. Coming
up out of the hill, we picked up a trot again as we headed back to the
vet check.

Tanna got all As at this check, including guts. He had eaten and drunk
really well during that loop. As a result, he didn't eat a lot in this
vet check again. I took a bucket of water and cleaned him up.
Unfortunately, I got him chilled, so quickly resaddled him, put his
rump rug on, put an extra blanket over his shoulders and kept him in
the sun as much as possible. I gathered up all our gear and dragged it
over to the gravel road to be taken back to camp.

Then off down the trail behind the buffalo pens back toward camp. I
left the rump rug on for about a mile. Then I checked to be sure he'd
stopped shivering. He had and seemed fine with plenty of pep and
power. So the rump rug was rolled up and off we went again.

The turtle 25 miler had left the vet check about 10 minutes before us.
She had asked me not to come up on her horse too fast so I didn't
scare him to death. I assured her we would be careful and try not to
startle them. We chased them the entire loop and finally caught sight
of them as we came into camp. I dismounted and walked through the camp
to the vet check. There is no running allowed in the camp, so I might
as well walk on my own two feet.

I quickly unsaddled and took Tanna to the vet. Mostly As again with an
expected B for guts. He hadn't eaten as much on this loop, although he
was still eating and drinking well. But he ate and ate and ate and ate
at this vet check. He ate until I begin to resaddle and decided it was
time to think about working again.

Off we went on our last loop. Tanna seemed to be confused about this.
He was not sure we should be going out again and not in this
direction! I patiently told him this was the way and we continued on.
We caught up with Trish Harrop. She was entered in the 2-day 100. We
played leap frog with her for awhile while Tanna would stop to drink
and they would catch up. Finally, we just kept going and moved off.
Tanna was reluctant to leave the other horse, but I was insistent that
we keep moving. I wanted to keep to a certain average MPH and I knew
he had the gas, he was just having a brain moment. It was actually
good training for him.

I was having a blast on the last bit of the loop going up and down the
roller coaster hills. When we crossed the last creek crossing, we were
quite close. Tanna cantered in to the finish line. We even turned on
the speed for the last 100 yards to a good hand gallop. He had plenty
of gas left in him and I was thrilled. I pulled him up, jumped off and
walked into the vet check. Our average speed was lower for this loop
than my goal, but I was still pleased with Tanna's overall
performance.

I unsaddled and cleaned Tanna up some before I took him to the vet. He
pulsed in around 50. I was pleased! He got mostly As on his completion
(another B on guts) and trotted out nicely. The vet commented he
looked like he could go again and I replied that was the idea! Even
though we weren't going again, I like him to look bright-eyed and
happy at the end of a ride instead of used up and exhausted. At the
finish he weighed 760 pounds. He lost 34 pounds. About normal for him.

We ended up in 12th place with around 6 hours 50 minutes ride time.
Another horse had the bad luck of stepping in a hole during the vet
check at the out check and had to pull.

I hung around the vet check letting Tanna eat for the next hour or so.
He ate lots of grass, some more grain, some hay and drank. I think he
might have thought we were going out again!

Thanks to Diane and Jerry Fruth for putting on this ride one more
time. I had a blast!! I wish they would keep putting this ride on, but
I know it's a lot of work putting on a ride and I know it's time for
them to RIDE! Thanks to the vets and the volunteers and all the other
riders. I really enjoy endurance and this was a stellar ride with
perfect weather!

April
Nashville, TN
http://endurancerider.blogspot.com

US: Patriots Day 100 Ride

Well Sinatra and I completed our 3rd 100 at the Patriot's Day 100 this last Saturday. What a great ride! They are hoping to host the National Championship from this location and it would be a fabulous spot. The ride camp is hosted by a summer youth camp (Coppercreek Ranch) that has horses, arenas, a pool, showers, flush toilets, and a big meadow for all of the riders to park in. Unfortunately, since camp hasn't happened yet this year, we only had 1/2 the meadow as opposed to the full length like is normally offered for their fall 2-day ride, so I ended up tucked in the trees across from the goat pen. Sinatra looked warily at the goats at first and then forgot about them. They were actually pretty cute and would bleat hopefully at me every time I fed Sinatra all weekend. This was a first time 100-mile ride, run by the very capable team of Kassandra DiMaggio (manager), Centella Tucker (secretary), and Dr. Rob Lydon (head vet). One thing that I really liked about this ride, is the vets had us riders "rate" our horses on a scale of 1-10 at each check point with how we thought they were doing. This seemed like a really neat tool and it would be cool to get some parameters established so people have a better idea of what to say.

I drove up Friday afternoon with no issues, arrived a little later than I had planned but still had plenty of time to set-up camp, etc. My friend who had planned on coming to crew was not feeling very well so she elected to stay home. So it was tent time for me once again. I have been pretty spoiled lately and been able to sleep in my mom's RV at most of my last few rides, it had been a while since I had to break the tent out. Unfortunately, my air bed finally died on me this weekend after 2 years of use. I was really glad I had brought an extra sleeping bag as that served as my padding to lay on. There were 2 vets at this ride that had not seen Sinatra before, so I was asked questions about him and how he does on rides. I think the guy vet was impressed when Sinatra P&R'd at 36 during vet-in ("Yawn," he says "Where's the food?"). =) He's not what you would call an "excitable" horse.

The start was at 5:30 and I overestimated how long it would take me to get ready so I was up a little too early (4) and had time to kill. I was still one of the first one's on my horse and just walked Sinatra up and down the road to where the start would be. We were actually camped a little ways from the main vetting, entrance/exit areas. Sinatra was so riled up (NOT) he was chowing down on grass while the other horses paced back and forth waiting for the start (good boy). We don't really have fresh grass at home for him so it was a treat that he just couldn't pass up. Once we started on the controlled start though, wahoo look out! He was so strong, just pulling my arms out and flying along. He did keep it to a trot as asked but MAN was he strong. I had to have my friend get in front of me so I could use her horse as a "brake" somewhat. Luckily for me they put in a great big climb right at the start so it was up, and up, and up for us for 1,000 feet or so. That helped to adjust the attitude a little and I started to have my more normal horse back. We crested the mountain and started down the backside. Pretty soon came to the first water stop, Sinatra said no to the water but ate some hay. On down the dirt road, through another number check, through a boggy cow meadow, along the resevouir and into the first away vet check at 18 miles. My friend's horse just wasn't herself so she pulled here. We pretty much trotted in, walked the last few 100 yards, hoped off and Sinatra was below criteria as soon as I could get a P&R on him. This was only supposed to be a 15 min hold but the line for the vet was a little long. There was only 1 vet at this stop and lots of horses. I let Sinatra eat wet hay for a while and then stood in line. He was at 40 =), same vet who had checked us in. He kept taking his pulse twice because he just could not believe it! I rated him a 9 since he was mostly still pulling on me and felt GREAT! I slurped down some fruit and then headed out on our own. Pretty soon two riders caught us and we rode with them for a while and then I decided they were going faster than I wanted to so I got off and walked for a while with Sinatra back down the mountain on our way back into camp.

Back into camp at 30 miles for a 1/2 hour hold. It was about 9 am or so at this point, honestly I hardly paid attention to the time all day, I knew I was going to make any "limits" so just rode to my horse and tried to leave the checks fairly on time. Came in, poured some water on him, took him over, 56. Cool, he's doing awesome! Sinatra got to meet the lady vet this time (I'm horrible with names), he was at 44 this time. She laughed when I said that was the highest he's been so far! I still gave him a 9 at this point, he was so strong coming back in on that loop. Looking good, back to our campsite to eat. I fed Sinatra and restocked my saddle bags with carrots, filled my bottles, checked on my friend and her horse, and then it was time to go. Grabbed a teeny bit for me to eat and we left about 10 minutes late. This is where I screwed up big time.

I have a sensitive stomach that does not do "well" during rides. I haven't ever puked (yet) but often wish I would so I could just get it over with. At this point, I was still feeling good and felt like eating, but I did not take the time to eat. I didn't really have anything quick and easy I felt like having (#1), I am extremelly picky about what sounds good to me during a ride (#2), I was feeling somewhat rushed (#3), and I was just trying to get further down the trail before it started getting warm (#4). My stomach shut down on me during this loop and I just could not really make myself eat the rest of the day. Actually, it's taken me about two days to recover. I hardly ate yesterday (Sunday) either.

So we left out on the 20-mile loop that comes back into camp. Sinatra and I were riding by ourselves and our motivation started to lag a little on this loop. It was starting to get warm, we were going uphill, it had been a while since the last water stop, and I was feeling pretty pukey. So we kind of just putzed along and I tried to keep myself "up" and focused on moving down the trail. Sinatra usually hits a lull around ~35-40 miles so I wasn't too concerned or worried. At the water stop, a group of 4 riders caught up to me. It was Connie Creech, Dave Rabe, Tom Sherwood, and Cynthia (who's last name escapes me right now... Le something). Cynthia is super nice and a lot of fun, we met at the Washoe ride last year and have seen each other at rides off and on since then. So she and I rode back towards camp together, chatting and having a great time. Unfortunately, about 2 miles out of camp, there was this huge black horse-eating log buried in the backside of a manzanita bush and when Cosmo saw it he did this huge sideways teleport jump and Cynthia came off. Cosmo, being an efficient endurance horse, took off down the hill through the brush, taking the shortest way back toward camp. After checking on Cynthia, Sinatra and I started trotting down the trail, around the switch back, and hoped to find Cosmo somewhere on the way back to camp. She told me to find him and tie him up or try to pony him back. Well I got all the way in to the out timers, I checked and no Cosmo. Cynthia's daughter was crewing and came running to go back to her mom. I gave her a water bottle to take, I had thought about that after I left Cynthia, and took Sinatra over to the P&R people. I hosed him off and he came down quickly. We vetted through, looking great still, I gave Sinatra a 7 this time since it was getting warmer and he wasn't as perky, starting to slow a little. Just as we were walking out of the vet area, Cosmo came into camp! He had looped around and came in the way we had come in during the morning (from the opposite side). I nice volunteer took him over to be reunited with Cynthia, who was still walking in. I didn't see her again but she got back on and did finish the ride I was told. Great job!!!

We had an hour hold at this point. Sinatra chowed down and I made myself eat some tuna and crackers. I drank a juice and then got all ready to go back out. We would not be coming into camp again until the finish, having a single away check that we would see at 65 and 85 miles on a figure-8 loop. I checked with Connie and she said I could ride with her, Dave, and Tom. I went ahead and put my glowbars on so I wouldn't have to do it at one of the 30-min away holds. It was weird putting them on around 1 pm! I mean, it's the middle of the day! The four of us left camp and headed back out on the same trail as the 20-mile loop we had just ridden. Went out to the water trough where they caught up with me last time. It was a great checkpoint. Lot of cool water for the horses, they even had a hose hooked up to the tank, and cool drinks for the riders. From there it was "5 miles" to the vet check. Unfortunately it felt more like 10 miles! Lots of uphill on that section and it was getting warm (I think the highs were low 80's so never really bad). Tom's little horse Blackie really loved to move out and be in front and well ahead of the group. Sinatra did not get along with Connie and Dave's horses, they all kept making faces at each other so I put him in front of those two or well behind and that seemed to work out well. He actually did best being in the "middle" in a little gap by himself in that group.

We made it to the vet check and everyone vetted through well. I still gave Sinatra a 7, he was doing well and holding up great. The meadow where the check was had wild spearmint growing amongst the grass so it smelled absolutely fabulous around there. Sinatra happily settled himself in front of some left over mash, ignored his own and ate for the hold. I was hoping he would eat some more grass or hay but he liked the mash too much, so oh well. I personally was not faring so well. I wanted to barf but didn't want to make myself. My stomach just felt "full" and I kept burping liquid up. I was also pretty tired feeling, not surprising since I hadn't really fueled myself all day. I took a caffinienated Gu and washed it down with some water. That seemed to help. The next 20 mile loop was the best one all day! Lot of gradual and steady climbing up, up, up the mountain, and then looped around and came down, down, down the backside with views of Lake Almanor and Mt. Shasta. It was fabulous. Kassandra had already been out hanging up glowbars, but everyone was riding so "fast" that all of the riders were through most of that loop before dark. It started to cool off and Sinatra really perked back up. Mister go, go, go came back and he was feeling great. I had switched after 50 miles and was just riding him in his rope halter, which he does respect so we had a really nice loop. I took another Gu on this loop and was feeling marginally better myself.

Back to the minty-fresh meadow and vet check right as dusk was falling. We were glad we got in before dark as it allowed us to find our stuff without having to pull out the flashlights to hunt through our crew bags. Sinatra pulsed down quickly, he was pretty high at first but came down in a minute or two of standing there. I didn't want to wet him at this point as it was getting cool and I didn't want him chilled. I gave him an 8 at this check since he was feeling more energized and really very forward. I tired to make myself eat a tuna sandwich, but think I only had about 4 or 5 bites. I just kept chewing it until I would wash it down with some water.

Soon it was time to go. I had taped on some battery-powered LED glowsticks (from WalMart) on my breast collar. I thought I had used these before, but turns out I had used ONE before, right between his front legs. The one's on his shoulders were longer and I could see the ends sticking up. They were so bright my eyes could not adjust to the dark since I had two bright spots glowing up at me from point blank range. Yay for me as I was in the back and Tom, Dave, and Connie took off and were FLYING along in the dark! Eeek! I was loving it and hating it at the same time. =) I just held on to Sinatra and prayed he wasn't as blinded by the glowbars as I was. I couldn't see a damn thing except Dave's white shirt in front of me now and then. We were booking down the trail, I just prayed Sinatra didn't trip and go splat. I didn't want to be a whimp though and ask them to slow down or stop. Eventually we slowed down and Connie asked how I was doing. When I explained my problem she stopped with me long enough for me to reach over and turn off the two glowbars on his shoulders. Unfortunately I didn't realize the one between his legs was already off before we took off again to catch up to the guys. So no glowbars at all this time, weeeee!!! Hang on! =) It was actually better but still a little unnerving. When we got back to my favorite water spot (on the 20-mile loop), I was able to reach down and turn on the between the legs glowbar. Aahhh. Much better.

The last 10 miles or so back to camp went quickly. I got a bloody nose at one point and was thankful I had some tissue with me. I just pinched it shut and didn't really say anything, just kept trotting a long. Going through the "knee-knockers" was a lot of fun. Connie was in front, I was second, and Dave and Tom were behind me. I could see this faint glow from the bars on Connie's mare but it was really fun having Sinatra bend and turn and weave around the trees and catch the 180-degree turns from having done this trail earlier in the day. Pretty soon we were at the last little creek crossing and then only a short bit back to camp. He felt so good, I was not concerned at all. Yay Sinatra, good boy! We came in and Dr. Lydon vetted us through. He was getting a little tight in the rear but overall looked good and we were done. I got back to my camp and could hardly believe when I looked at my watch, 11 pm!!!! WOW! That was super fast for us! I never would have expected! I was hoping to be done around 1 or 2 am but 11! I never would have guessed. It was a good course, could really be deceiving with all the elevation changes but mostly lots of long gradual ups and downs, those Nevada horses' fortes. =) Actually, all of the riders were in by 1 am or so (I think). Congratulations to Jr. Colton Medieros on his first 100!!!

I took care of my boy and collapsed into bed. I had to leave before they did awards at 11:30 or noon the next day (my son had a B-day party to attend) so I don't really know much about how things turned out. I think they started 35 or so and it was a 100-miler only. It was excellent training for Tevis and I'd say at least 1/2 of the riders/horses there are planning on Tevis for this year. So this ride is a fabulous addition to the West region calendar in this May time spot. Great ride, I certainly hope they do it again. We will be back!

~ Crysta & Sinatra

Trail Marking Desert Style - Maryanne Gabbani

By MerryAnne

A visit to Rushcreek Arabians

My First Ride/ High Desert Classic - Susan Cooper

Friday afternoon I left the house and travelled the short distance to Ride Camp in the Stillwater Mountains in Fallon, NV. I got to camp, set up my stuff and got Whisper out and walked her around. She seemed calm and interested, but not nervous or excited. We vetted in, and luckily, both vets there this weekend (Susan McCartney and Jamie Kerr - both SUPER)were familiar with gaited horses, so while she gaited and trotted for her trot out, they knew what she was doing, so I got perfect scores for my "trot out". I told the vet it was my first ride, and I had not a clue what I was doing, so he (Jamie Keerr) took a lot of time to talk to me and tell me what to look for in my horse. The most important being "EDPP" which is eating, drinking, peeing and pooing. Any change from her normal, and I was to bring my horse to him. He also went over electrolying, and said it was an art as well as a science, but that the horse needed to be drinking well to start with, and the weather wasn't going to be hot, so I probably didn't need them.

A husband and wife (Roger and Mary Cook-Davis) parked their rig next to mine and she was riding in the Limited Distance 30 mile ride as well. She had a lot of experience in Endurance and has completed Tevis twice, and while her horse was fit, she was not, so she was only doing the 30 and she said I could ride with her and she would mentor me. I explained that another newbie friend of mine was meeting me there, and that girl wasa bit pokey, so we may need to ride on without her, as my goal was to get a completion in the allotted time. My friend arrived for dinner and the pre-ride meeting and met my new friend, Mary, who had agreed to mentor us during the ride.

I actually slept pretty well, and just felt Whisper a couple of times. She had eaten well, but was not drinking very much, but considering how cool it was, I was not concerned. We saw the 50 milers off at 7am, at which time I saddled up Whisper. There were only 11 LD riders, so we left at the back of the pack a little after 8am. Our plan was to walk the first mile, but all 3 horses were antsy, so we trotted out right away. If they were going to waste energy, we figured it might as well be spent going forward! After the front horses got out of sight, our horses calmed down, and Whisper's trot became more relaxed and head down. I must say, my friend, who has been a slowpoke during our training rides, kept up! We trotted mostly with a little bit of walking the first 3 or 4 miles, until we hit a bad rocky area. This lasted for more than a mile, and when we got out of it, we had a bit of time to make up. Whisper's two trail buddies at that point hit their trot stride, which was a bit too fast for Whisper's trot, so Whisper cantered, but her canter is nice and relaxed, so I let her pick her gait, and I picked the speed.

At the first water stop (about 8 miles in) Whisper didn't drink much, but it was cool, so I wasn't concerned. From this point, the trail wound up a wash thru a narrow canyon, and it was absolutely georgeous. I had my camera with me, but I was too busy riding to get my camera out. We hit a pretty good pace in the areas where we could, because the rocky areas slowed us down so much. We got into the vet check/lunch stop (the halfway point at 15 miles) after 2 hours and 45 minutes, and Whisper pulsed down to the required 60 bpm within 3 minutes! Here she drank water and pigged out on beet pulp, hay, apples and carrots. This was a mandatory 1 hour hold, and when I vetted Whisper in, she got A's on everything, but a B on gut sounds. I vetted her in before I fed her, so next time I will let her eat for 15 minutes before I vet her in.

The three of us left after an hour on "fresh" horses. Whisper was still having to canter to keep up, but at this point, my "pokey" friend and her horse were hitting their groove at their fast trot. My friend realized her horse was enjoying it and I was happily surprised that I had to actually ask her to slow her trot down so Whisper didn't have to canter the whole way. We left the good dirt road for another wash down a canyon that was really narrow. At this point, Whisper hit a really nice trot and we wound our way around the rocks. At the next water stop, Whisper realized she better get a drink, and tanked up with the other 2 horses. We hit another water stop at the 25 mile point, and I realized this was the distance of most LD's, and while we still had 5 miles to go, it was pretty easy so far. It was the last 5 miles that I had to encourage Whisper at bit, but she was still ears up and seeming to enjoy herself. We didn't trot so fast by then, so Whisper hit her saddle rack which I enjoyed! We ambled down the road at this nice pace, and I was glad to see Whisper had her head up, ears up, and looking around with interest at her surroundings! We crossed the finish line at 2pm, 6 hours into our ride, but with only 5 hours on the trail. That gave us an average of 6mph for the ride.

We vetted in shortly thereafter, and Whisper got A's on everything but a B on gut sounds. I was told not to worry about a B, as a lot of horses always get B's on gut sounds and you don't have to be concerned untill you get C's.

At this point, Whisper ate everything in sight and drank well. All was good! We had dinner later and I not only got my completion award, I came in 5th and received the heavyweight 1st place award for the LD riders! This morning before we left for home, I took Whisper for a walk and realized she looked and acted as if she could do it again!

I have to say Ride Management was great and KUDOS go to manager Nancy Upham and secretary Heidi Siegel. Everyone was nice and very helpful to us couple of newbies. Special thanks to vet Jamie Kerr who went out of his way to explain things and make sure our horses were doing well. This is definately a great community as I expected it to be and I was NOT disappointed.

All I can say is it was a GREAT experience and I am definately HOOKED. Of course, I owe my completion to Mary Cook-Davis who mentored us for the ride and got us (especially my friend) to realize what it takes to complete and the pace one has to ride. I tried telling my friend before, but what do I know?? I think she will be more ready to actually do "training rides" rather than pokey rides.

Susan in NV
Happy High Desert Trails
Nevermore Ranch http://users.oasisol.com/nevermore/

Scottsdale McDowell Mtn 55 - April 7 2007. Redford's First 55!

2007 Trace Tribute - Angie McGhee

Just back from Trace Tribute. Great ride...COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's been hitting the upper 80's the last few weeks around here and many
people had already broken down and clipped for City Slickers 2 weeks ago.
Hot, hot hot! Air conditioners have been running. Then this cold wave
comes through and BRRRRR! We headed out Friday morning with the forecast
saying it could hit the lower 30's. I almost didn't throw in the super
heavyweight blanket I'd accidentally bought for Josie for Christmas
because it's one of those that's just *too* thick to be useful. Josie's
horse wasn't clipped, mine was. Her horse had never had a winter blanket
on and was terrified last time we'd tried. Well, he stands GOOD for one
now. He almost put it on by himself. >g<

When we got there mid day Fri. the wind was wicked and it was probably in
the lower 40's. Not bad at all if the wind quit for a second, but it
didn't quit much. April & Angie Fura had a ton of prizes donated, and a
couple of long tables of stuff to bid on for the silent auction. You
could tell they'd done a ton of work for this ride. All the rest of the
Middle TN. Endurance Riders were out in force driving trucks, hauling
water, etc. I don't think any of them got to ride their local ride, they
were too busy keeping us taken care of.

When I got up Saturday morning at 5:15 the thermometer in the trailer
said 20 degrees F. (that's about 5 below for your Canadians). I don't own
this trailer, it's my neice's, or I'd be looking into how to insulate it
today! I'm telling you it was hard to get the cruppers hooked with the
poor horses standing with their backs humped and tails tucked!

There was a controlled start to get us across HWY 50, which was nice, I'd
watched the semis streaking past camp all evening worrying about how we'd
cross that but the local police force stopped traffic and we all had a
nice walk to the start. I believe 33 started the 50 and over 50 in the
25.

The Natchez Trace is the old wagon route from Middle TN down through
Mississippi and there is now a beautiful 2 lane hwy. type road with
entrance ramps and just groomed shoulder, but it's not an interstate type
road. The speed limit is 55 and no commercial traffic is allowed. The
trail system parallels the road, has to cross many crossroads (they were
lettered "A" through "Q" so that's how many) and just weaves along
through the woods, occasionally coming out along the side of the Trace
allowing you to gallop along on long grassy stretches. The Trace has very
light traffic and it felt safe, so long as your horse didn't get loose.
There is no fence between the trail & the Trace. I noticed lots of
bicycle riders on the Trace.

I'd rate this trail as pretty darned technical, with lots of ups and
downs one after another as you cut across the hilly terrain. It was so
cold the only chance my horse had of getting even damp was my nose
dripping. :-/ I have never seen so many totally dry horses. They had to
use gel on the hand held heart monitors all day. My pad wasn't even wet
after 55 miles. IT WAS COLD!

Passed a rider walking a few miles out and was really worried about his
horse, nobody had seen it so it was probably running down the Trace. I
felt really bad for him but it turned out that the horse got caught
galloping down the Trace, Doug Sandlin, the ambulance driver was able to
connect with the rider thanks to the system of marking every crossroad
with a letter so riders could report his location, they were reunited and
the last time I saw him he was still in the ride.

The loops were long, 19.75 miles, 22, and 11, which was good because it
felt much better to keep moving than to sit around in the vet check
freezing. We had a little trouble when my daughter Josie started getting
shin splints by the 6 mile mark. Very unusual. She wouldn't hear of me
trying to change the stirrup length and by the time we saw the 1/2 miles
to vet check sign she had to get off and jog, they hurt too bad to post
at all. Not good. (please send advice privately, we need it!) This was
her first ride as an "adult" and we'd been kidding each other that we
could ditch the other and go on now, but I guess that's not really an
option. Your kid goes down you just can't LEAVE them there...can you...I
mean really...unless you have at least a *chance* at top 10.....or are
going for points??? >eg<

At the check I wrapped her legs snuggly with duct tape on the outside of
her tights. That had helped me once when I'd had the problem. Then I
asked Bill if we had Advil. Well...this was a first for us...we had
something more. My other daughter Bonnie had recently had her wisdom
teeth out and Bill had put her left over pain pills in his medicine
kit...he said it was for the next time I break my collar bone. There
happened to be a dentist crewing next to us and he said it wouldn't hurt
her so I gave her one. When we started heading out we made it about 10
yards and she wailed that her shins were killing her, so we stopped again
(horses shivering, wind blowing) borrowed duct tape from a crew truck and
I wrapped them *tight* this time and had her take the 2nd pill. Actually
gave her the "you can rider option pull" speech" (thinking...please don't
ruin *my* chance at completion by going out on this loop then not being
able to get back) but she swore she would *not* RO, so off we went. I
don't know if the pills helped, or the tape, but she quit complaining and
had to concentrate on staying awake and not falling off.

My husband, Bill was doing a great job of crewing at the away
check...complete with making hot chocolate for us! He also adopted a few
others who had no crew so he stayed busy. Then, when we left and I
figured he had 3 hrs. to sleep in the truck he headed out and started
meeting us at practically every road crossing and filming. I love it.
It's some of the best "on the trail" footage we've ever gotten. This
trail was great for that if anybody gets the idea of doing a documentary.
:-)

The trail had rockier sections on the new sections so I was doing what
Becky Hart recommended at her talk...trot what you can, even if it's only
10' at a time". We didn't pad, just wanted to complete so lots of trot &
walk. Killer on the old knees. Got back to the next check, vetted
through, then Josie sat down on a stool and Bill handed her a cup of hot
chocolate. I went to the porto-let and when I returned saw the strangest
thing. Josie was sitting very upright on the stool, *sound asleep*. I
mean, GONE. She had her two hands still wrapped around an imaginary cup
of cocoa after Bill had taken it away afraid she'd spill it. I think it's
very safe to say nobody should operate heavy equipment after those pills.
I took some pretty funny film of her sitting there, but it was creepy
too. For the rest of the ride I looked back often because I could imagine
just Cade galloping along behind me after Josie had toppled off asleep.
:-P She said she felt OK, her eyes were just really heavy. I think we'll
stick to Advil in the future.

Josie Sleeping at Trace Tribute

I don't know the official finish, but can tell ya Bud Davidson won a race
to the finish over Ed Kidd. Libby Lop was up there, Doc Nelson's wife
(forget the first name...Rebecca??) won BC. Lois McAffee was top 10 with
her grandaughter who was 1st Jr. Jody Buttram hit 12,000 miles!! and got
a nice set of reins from Animal Tacker for that. Cool, since she'd been
eyeing Josie's set just like them saying she'd like some. June Jordan
was the turtle, finishing that whole rocky course barefoot. What
patience! Sooo cold out there. If there had been a hard luck award it
would have been James Barnett, who was looking down at the trail and
didn't notice the tree limb that caught him square on the mouth and
knocked him off his horse...this was after having lost a shoe early on
too. But he finished! Josie & I were 15 & 16. She finished fine and then
took a long nap. I believe 29 finished. Don't really know about the 25.
I was late to the meeting.

Thanks to April, Angie and all the crowd for putting on such a wonderful
ride. Very well done, you guys obviously worked your tails off...and I'm
looking forward to doing it again someday on a warm day! :-))

Angie McGhee

Main Divide 100

Victoria Thompson
It's kind of hard to figure out where to begin this story because it began so long before the actual race, so I guess for the sake of background I should start two weeks prior to race day.
I told Kat long ago that I would help out with the race in whatever capacity she needed me for, and as the race date came closer she decided my services were needed in the shuttle department. The forest the ride would be in was subject to closure because of Southern California's lack of water this winter, so the forest service was only going to allow 6 vehicles inside its borders to man the vet checks. Two vehicles belonged to the vets, Kat's truck with the evac trailer, the shoer's truck, the truck belonging to the communications director/vet check manager and me. All crew personnel would have to be shuttled to and from vet check 2 (3 and 4). That is where I came in. I have a 4 x 4 and I'm an experienced off-road driver.
Two weeks prior to race date Kat and I went for a drive up the mountain so she could show me where I would be going and allow me to decide which road I would prefer to use. We started out going up Bedford Canyon to the Main Divide to the vetting area (vet checks 2, 3 and 4). Then we came down the Main Divide to Indian Truck Trail to base camp. I didn't bother driving the easiest road in, Silverado Canyon, because it was just so far away from base camp that it was useless to me as the shuttle driver.
So, which road to choose? The Hellishly steep, shorter, but wider Bedford Canyon; or the longer, easy decent, narrow and rocky Indian Truck Trail? Well, I was leaning toward Indian Truck Trail as we were driving down when all of a sudden this screaming alarm goes off in my truck. I'm searching the dash trying to find the problem when I finally spy the 'low tire pressure' light in the far corner of my dashboard.
I came to a stop and we got out and checked the tires. Everything seemed fine to us. The alarm stopped sounding, but the light remained on. We continued on our way. Not too long after that the steering wheel was just too mushy for something not to be flat. We stopped at the intersection of the Main Divide with Indian Truck Trail and got out. Air was quickly escaping from the left front tire and by the time I moved the truck over to a flatter section it was totally flat.
What is the first thing every father has taught their children to do when they buy a new car? Pull out the jack and spare tire and learn how to use them. I've done that with virtually every car/truck I've ever owned ... except this one. So, out comes the owners manual so I can find the jack and figure out how to get the tire down. Kat is reading the manual while I assemble the jack and insert the rod into the hole to bring the spare tire down. Crank, crank, crank, cra... Stopped cold. I couldn't budge it anymore. I make some snide comment about how much I hate grubbing around in the dirt and Kat comes back with a me too. Silence. I guess my raised eyebrow stare did the trick because Kat got down on the ground and crawled in under the truck to see if she could budge the tire. A couple of motorcycles drive by without so much as a howdy do, so did a couple of 4x4's too. A motorcycle rider stopped and after watching a few minutes asked if he could help. I hate grubbing around in the dirt so much I wasn't going to let that offer go to waste. He got under the truck with Kat to hoist the tire to give the chain some slack so Kat could slip the link that was hung up loose so I could continue cranking the tire down. Didn't work. I went off to look for tools and this guy came up and started wenching the tire back up. Then he came down really fast, the link was freed and he brought the tire the rest of the way down. Since Kat was still on the ground she unlatched the tire from the chain and brought it out. She was so dirty and I was so clean (relatively speaking that is) I handed her the jack and let her go back under the truck to position the thing. The guy started cranking away on the jack, so I just stood back and watched. I helped a little with the jack after the guy got tired, but pretty much he and Kat changed the tire. I felt a little guilty. I'm perfectly capable of changing a tire. I just didn't want to, so I watched.
Turns out it was 'old home week' with this guy and Kat. They both graduated from Colombia University (business). He's the president of the business school club. She belongs to it. Turns out her ad agency has done business with this guy (something like that - I sort of tuned them out when I realized I couldn't be part of the conversation). She almost had him wheeled in as a volunteer drag driver for one of the legs of the ride, but he was busy that weekend and couldn't come.
We continued down the road and I decided that Bedford Canyon would be the wiser choice in roads to use.
Fast forward almost 2 weeks to Wednesday, 3 days before the ride.
Lynne Glazer and I went down to Wildomar for our appointments with hairstylist extraordinaire Julie Herrera. While there Julie got a phone call and was overheard giving directions to her house from Rancho Cucamonga.
Melissa from Telluride, Colorado was coming all the way out here to do her first 100, and she was going to become a member of Julie's team (sorry Melissa I don't remember your last name). She was bringing her Paso, Cabo, out for his first 100 as well. She had also been driving through one of the nastiest storms we had all year on Tuesday (which isn't saying much since we only got 2 1/2 inches of rain - but the winds were Hell) and was looking forward to stopping.
We were still there when she arrived and we all got cozy in Julie's salon. Before you know it she was telling us her 'life story', including how her hair came to be the rather unusual shades of red/orange. It's not my place to tell you her life story, but suffice it to say we found her fascinating, funny, charming, engaging, and all around totally cool. Her horse is cute too.
We left Julie and Melissa and headed home to our own horses.
I had planned on working Friday, but decided at the last minute to not bother. Good thing too, because my Friday was extremely busy and I just barely made it to the ride meeting. I had been using my truck as a temporary tackroom since moving Taffy up to Chris Herron's Bar-H ranch (only in CA is a few acres called a ranch), and had only moved my tack into the newly constructed building a week before. There was still a lot of garbage in it, though, not to mention filled with hair, sweat and dirt. I finished removing all the junk from the truck and took it to the car wash. Yes, I had my truck washed and waxed the day before I was going to be driving it up and down dirt roads. Then there was the grocery shopping I had to do. Couldn't just shop for a few things for myself. One has to anticipate the unexpected at endurance rides and bring extra provisions of all sorts. That took awhile. Then I had to prepare the house for my husband to be by himself for at least 24 hours - poor man is helpless without me. Lastly, it being the last of the month and the price of stamps rising on Monday, I decided to pay the bills and get them to the Post Office. That just always takes forever because my hand has a hard time writing all those numbers.
I finally headed out to base camp. Normally a 30 minute trip from my house (with 15 of those minutes just getting me to the freeway), on this day it took nearly 1 1/2 hours because it was rush hour and Friday all at the same time. I left my house early in order to gab with people, but it took so much time to get there I barely made it before the meeting began. Normal ride meeting (yes, Julie, the ride starts at 5 AM) with the following exception. I was no longer needed as a shuttle driver because the forest was open to all. The rain we had on Tuesday was enough to keep the park open, and since all the crew people had 4x4's they were going to drive themselves up. With gas prices the way they are I was more than just a little pleased, but dismayed that I no longer had an actual job. That ended quickly when Kat added that I still needed to drive her down to the bottom of Harding Truck Trail so she could drag ride that section back up to the vetting area and the rest of the ride home.
Since I didn't have to be at base camp at the crack of dawn to begin shuttling people up the hill, Lynne and I agreed to meet for a hot breakfast at 7 AM before we went to our respective places for the day. Lynne to take pictures and then sit at an intersection to point the way for the riders. Me to vet check 2, 3 and 4. I got home after the ride meeting and found that my husband did indeed pull our camping gear down from the rafters when he got home from work, so I loaded up the truck (with his help) with everything except our tent and went to bed.
Yes, Julie, the ride starts at 5 AM.
I arrived in base camp about 7:30 in the morning after an enjoyable breakfast with Lynne Glazer. Seems neither of us could sleep past 4:30 even though we had the luxury of staying in bed. I picked up some rider gear that had been left for me to take up to the vetting area and started up Bedford Canyon. It's hard to describe the views as I drove up. Breathtaking is close. This time of year Southern California mountains are usually covered in deep green grass, golden poppies and a gazillion other wildflowers, but this year everything is various shades of brown, brown and more brown. It was still spectacular. I could hardly wait to get to the top so I could also get the ocean view. Arrived at the vetting area about 8:45 and was only slightly disappointed by the view to the west. I could look down to the beach cities in Orange County, but the ocean and Catalina Island were covered in fog. Later in the day it would thin out and we would be able to see boats on the water, but Catalina remained hazy all day.
Dr Fred Beesom was already there. I parked near him and he helped me unload all my gear. We set up my umbrella between our rigs and settled in. We chatted and talked shop, read and hiked around. Fred did a little 'house cleaning' and I came away with some tackle box inserts to give to my husband for his fly tying hooks. And we waited. It was close to 10 before anyone else arrived.
We learned that all the riders got into vet 1 within 40 minutes of one another. Heather Van Fossen's horse was slightly lame and was pulled. Melanie Wier was pulled for OT. Yes, all the riders got to vet 1 within 40 minutes of each other and Melanie was OT. That is how difficult this ride was, and that was just the first 20 miles. There was also one accident. There was a difficult water crossing with some riders opting to get off and lead their horses across and others deciding to stay on and let their horses navigate the steep descent into the wash themselves. Dede Wolf chose to get off her horse. Now I'm sketchy on the details, so don't take this as fact. Her horse bumped into her and knocked her off balance. She fell down and her horse wound up stepping on her wrist. She got into vet 1 and was treated as humanely as possible :-) Dr Susan Garlinghouse wrapped her wrist and deemed her fit to continue, the horse too, and she climbed back on and left at the end of her hold.
The first horse left vet 1 just after 10 AM. If this had been any other ride horses would have been getting to vet 2 before 11. We sat back and waited. More people began to arrive. Questions regarding the way back down the mountain came up. Most people couldn't believe the way they came up (Silverado Canyon) was the easiest road, just the farthest from base camp. One truck arrived making so much noise we thought the transmission may have gotten too hot. We ate lunch, took naps, conversed about everything under the sun, and waited.
Lynne had given me a copy of Angie's book, and I had taken it along to read while I was waiting. We starting telling stories about the funny things that happen to crews and volunteers and decided a book needs to be written about those as well. We also decided we had the perfect spot for a vet area because we were being entertained by other motorists all day long. Let me explain. The vet area was located to the side of a very large intersection. The Main Divide, Harding Truck Trail, Silverado Canyon Rd and "The Climbing Hill". "The Climbing Hill" is a big steep section of hillside that off-roaders created when some idiot (probably on a motorcycle) decided to see if they could get up it. 4x4's followed and eventually it became road width. The problem is it doesn't go anywhere. Once you get to the top you have to turn around and go back down. Not everyone is capable of getting up it either. This is what was so entertaining. We'd sit and watch some poor slob in a jeep chicken out when his wheels would start to spin half way up and he'd back down and leave. Then some guy in a suzuki would just keep spinning his tires until they caught something and get flung out of the bad spot and crawl the rest of the way up the hill. They would always stop at the top and get out to look back down. We'd whoop and applaud when they made it to the top. I tell ya, it was better than television. Of course, there we were, armchair quarterbacks all, proclaiming our abilities to get up The Hill in our subarus, camrys and trucks pulling our trailers. We really needed someone with a video camera. One of the things everyone talked about with this ride were the roads to get up there. We were all driving 4x4's. Nobody bottomed out, put a hole in their oil pan, broke an axle. We had a transmission get too hot and a flat tire (but the tire didn't go flat until it was back on pavement). I thought the roads were just fine. They were dirt for crying out loud, but we complained bitterly about how awful they were. Then a little Mazda Miata pulled up in front of us. We shut up after that. Kept cheering the hill climbers though.
We had sweeping views of the trails, so when the first rider was spotted (and the others soon after) there was still a good 15 minutes before they arrived. Kim Fuess took the lead in the beginning and never let go. She got into vet 2 a little after 1 PM. Within the next hour and fifteen minutes all the riders were in and had met criteria. The last horse to make it to criteria had one minute to spare in order to be out of vet 2 by cut off time.
You would not believe the language coming out of those women! It was enough to make a sailor blush. Everyone was exclaiming how hard the trail was, and everyone had huge smiles on their faces. The push for the ride name change was in full swing by this time. Stephanie Fine came crewless and as soon as Steve Grice (the shoer) heard this he and his wife took her under their care. One less thing I had to do. Her stallion is really nice and was still looking good at this point. Dede Wolf's National Show Horse was being a real pill. Apparently he doesn't like motorcycles and bicycles and was jumping around whenever he heard one (there were lots of them up there). Her crew was having a hard time getting him to settle down and eat, but he looked good and was given the OK to continue. Dede's hand was the only thing that was worrisome. She was anxious that she wouldn't be able to control him with only one working hand, but she opted to continue. Renee Norris's crew didn't make it up in time, so that left her and buddy Sharon Helms without food. See, this is why I always come prepared for unforeseen problems. I got them settled under some shade and eating, and then took care of their horses. Both seasoned endurance horses there really was nothing to do. They did it all themselves. They ate. Finally Melissa and Cabo came in. Nicest little Paso I've ever dealt with. All my Paso dealings have been the show ones with all that brio. Cabo was so calm, cool and collected I thought he was dead. He was great. It was the heat of the day now, and coming from Colorado it was pretty hot for him. It took him awhile to meet criteria, but he got there. Passed the vet check too. Everyone would be continuing on from vet 2.
Strange thing in vet 2. All of a sudden there were bees everywhere. Landing all over the horses. Horses never minded. They didn't bother any of the people. Nobody got stung. There were just bees everywhere. The only thing I could think of was they were going after the water that had been poured on the horses. These were honey bees and quite docile. I was using my hand to gently brush the bees off Diva and Skylar and never got so much as a buzz. When it was evident that the horses weren't bothered by them I quit brushing them away. When the horses left vet 2 a few of the bees stayed on the wet areas by the water tubs, but they left shortly and were never seen again.
Later I was to take Kat down to the leg 4 checkpoint, but I finally asked her who was going to drive her truck and trailer down the hill. That brought a look of surprise. Something she didn't think of. I recruited my husband. There was one cell phone that worked up there, so I borrowed it and called home. Unless we could find someone else, my husband would meet me at a grocery store parking lot at 11 PM to come up and drive Kat's truck down the hill. I called him back up 5 minutes later and told him to never mind. Susan Garlinghouse's husband, David, agreed to stay with us until the last rider left vet 4 and drive my truck down the hill. Greg ? would drive Kat's truck and trailer and I would drive Greg's truck and haul the porta potty down. Problem solved.
So we waited some more. A few of us were wagering on when the first rider would come back from leg 3. This trip was all along the Main Divide. No significant hills to climb just no level ground. Hard, rocky whoop-de-doos for 23 miles, all in the heat of the day. I chose 6:17 PM. Steve Grice chose 6:08 PM. Another chose 6:30. Kim Fuess crossed the line at 6:08 PM.
Now the riders spread out. Julie Herrera came next with Charisse Glenn close behind. Cheryl Searer and Stephanie Fine came in, but weren't looking too good. Cheryl's horse was off in the rear, and Stephanie's stallion was having a hard time coming down. Dede Wolf arrived with an entirely different horse under her. Total attitude change. Got to business and ate and drank like there was no tomorrow. He looked good. Renee, Sharon and Melissa brought up the rear. Skylar looked pooped and Cabo was a little zoned out. Cheryl and Stephanie were pulled, but neither horse was in such bad condition that they had to be trailered out from vet 3. They were given lots of rest and were allowed to slowly walk downhill to the checkpoint at the mid point of leg 4 where a trailer was waiting to take them back to base camp. Dede Wolf, after a valiant effort to continue the ride with a possible broken hand, RO'd at the mid point checkpoint of leg 4, and was trailered back to base camp with Cheryl and Stephanie.
Renee, Sharon and Melissa were the last to leave vet 3. It was dark, the weather was cool/cold and for the next 9 1/2 miles they would be going downhill. It was now time for me to drive Kat down Silverado Canyon around to the checkpoint. Suzie Kelly was providing a horse for Kat and another volunteer to ride drag for the remainder of the ride. I hadn't driven Silverado Canyon yet, and it was dark, so I didn't put the pedal to the metal. This was suppose to be the easy route. BS! While there was less than 4 miles of dirt road there was 10 miles of the worst paved road I have ever been on in my life. I've been on Jeep trails that were better than that. You could really get going for a short distance, but then have to come to a screeching halt because of a pot hole. Excuse me, pot hole isn't quite the right word. Bottomless pit, black hole, Grand Canyon, Hell and Perdition, those are more appropriate words. I got Kat to the checkpoint about 10:30. Renee, Sharon and Melissa had just arrived. The concern that Susan G had over Skylar and Cabo were laid to rest. They were refreshed and doing really well. Perky even. All the riders were still in good spirits enjoying the pampering that the checkpoint volunteers were giving them.
I said good-bye to Kat and headed back up Silverado Canyon. I ran into Susan G as she was headed back to base camp. David had her convinced that Bedford Canyon was too steep for their car (he drove it earlier in the day and was horrified), so she was going the long way around. I got back up to the vet area to find that Kim Fuess had come and gone, Charisse was there but leaving soon. Julie came in and went to sleep on a chair next to Shereen while Shereen just ate and ate and ate. She looked like a homeless person with a very large dog. Eventually Renee, Sharon and Melissa came in and woke Julie up. Kat and the other drag rider were close behind. Everyone was fed and watered (Julie got a nice nap) and they left vet 4 just before 2 AM.
We got everyone packed up and headed down the road. All the crews chose to go down Bedford Canyon as opposed to the longer Silverado CAnyon, and would be back at base camp in less than an hour. That left Greg, David and I. I was putting the last of my gear into the back of my truck while Greg and David hitched up the porta potty. Slight problem with that, they couldn't get it on. It seems the ball was too big for the hitch. So, at 2:15 AM I drove my truck in front, Greg came next with Kat's truck and trailer and David brought up the rear driving Greg's truck. The guys were wondering why I didn't just go back Bedford CAnyon, but I'm sort of a mother hen. With David bringing up the rear, if anything had happened to Greg how would David get around him to go get help? Also, I roped David into this and felt kind of responsible for him. I wanted to make sure he got back to Susan safe and sound.
It took us an hour and 15 minutes to get down the hill. I was surprised by the number of vehicles we passed coming up the hill that late at night. I guess the teenagers have to go somewhere to drink. Greg and David switched trucks at the bottom of the road. Greg went home and David and I headed back to base camp. We arrived at 4 AM. Susan was waiting for us and made some coffee. Kim Fuess crossed the finish line at 1:30 AM and that was it, so far. Her horse looked great. The three horses that were trailered in were all just fine and happy as clams. Everyone else was asleep.
About 4:30 AM we heard someone outside Susan's RV say, "We're here." Julie and Charisse were sitting on their horses waiting for people to come out. So, we gave a whoop. Julie had left a great deal behind Charisse, but she said all of a sudden Shereen recognized the road as the way home and kicked it into high gear. Julie caught up with Charisse and they came in together. The horses looked tired and happy to be done, but pulsed down immediately. Sleepy crews took the horses off for their much needed food and rest. The riders soon followed. Both girls opted out of BC judging when they heard Kim had come in 3 hours earlier.
Finally, at 4:44 AM, 16 minutes before cut-off time, the remaining three riders came into base camp holding hands. We gave cheers and checked horses. They all looked great. There was a small amount of confusion when Melissa couldn't find her gear. I could have sworn Ken put it in his truck for the drive down, but in actuality he put it in mine. We got Cabo blanketed and bedded down for the night (morning).
Kat and I did a few minor chores and then it was time for me to leave. About 5:30 I crawled into my truck and Kat went into Susan's RV. I had a 30 minute drive to get home and about 15 minutes left of energy, so I moved over to the passenger seat, pulled out my sleeping bag, tucked my pillow under my head, reclined the seat and fell asleep. I didn't hear Suzie Kelly drive up and park behind me, I didn't hear Kat walk by and look in. I was O-U-T out.
I jerked awake at 8:15. Slowly came to life and got up. Not too many people were up and about, but enough were coming alive that we got breakfast and the awards ceremony ready to go. Dede Wolf left early to go to the doctor. At this time I don't know if her hand is broken or not, but she was one heck of a trooper to have gotten as far as she did even if it isn't. Kat asked me to go around and wake people up at nine, so in my most obnoxious voice I went around pounding on windows and yelling, "Time to get up. Breakfast." God it was fun.
So, what do people bring to a pot luck breakfast. Donuts, cinnamon rolls, bagels and cream cheese, bacon, egg casserole with pasta and veggies and scrambled eggs with everything but the kitchen sink in them with homemade tortillas. I grabbed a tortilla, smeared some cream cheese on it then put a bunch of scrambled eggs in it. What a feast. The protein kicked in and I was suddenly wide awake.
Kim Fuess got BC. Five of the six riders that completed were riding their first 100 mile ride. Four of the horses that completed were in their first 100 mile ride. Two horses were pulled for slight lameness'. One horse was pulled for metabolic reasons. One rider was over time and one rider optioned out. No horses were treated during or after the ride. Every single entrant told Kat to hold the ride again. I may have made fun of the cursing that was going on during the ride, but not one rider said they wouldn't come back. These ladies, even the ones that didn't finish, had huge smiles on their faces. The finishers knew they had truly accomplished something that was thought to be impossible. They used their heads, listened to the vets and came out safe and sound. I'm just as proud of them and their horses as I could be and not be related to them!
OK, so what happened after everyone left breakfast. Some went back to sleep. some packed up and went home. I was now wide awake and Kat was saying she was going back up the mountain to get the porta potty, so I went with her. We had to drop her trailer off first, then head back up Silverado Canyon. What a rush. If you like roller coasters you need to ride with Kat at the wheel. It was better than Magic Mountain. She asked at one point if she was scaring me and all I could say was, "Christ, no. I'm having a ball." She flew up that mountain. We got to the vet area and cleaned up the hay that was still there. Then we hitched the porta potty to the same ball that was on Greg's truck earlier. I have to admit there was a trick to putting it on, and the guys didn't know that. But we got it on and headed out going down Bedford Canyon. This time Kat had to crawl because of the 'brown yeti' that was following us. You should have seen the door flopping open and the toilet paper streaming out behind. We finally taped the toilet paper up and shoved all the stuff that was trailing behind into the bucket Kat shoved in the commode's hole. It took a very long time, but we finally made it back down to base camp. We looked inside. The bucket held the contents of the glory hole in place, but she decided to donate the bucket to the porta potty company and left it there.
I left base camp about 4 PM and pulled up into my driveway at 4:30. My husband helped me unload the truck and I went to take a shower. Instead of a steak dinner my husband got me a hamburger, but I really didn't mind. I hadn't eaten since my eggs at 9 AM and I was hungry enough to eat anything. I figured I'd be ready for bed after I ate, but I wasn't sleepy. I Emailed a couple people. Found out Lynne Glazer had also suffered a flat tire on Indian Truck Trail. Decided not to work on Monday and went out on my back porch to watch the birds. Suddenly a chill wind brought my head up off my chest and I went in to bed at 7:30.
Next year I expect to see a full contingent of entrants.
Until then, happy trails.
Tori

City Slickers Endurance Ride (April in Nashville)

2007 New Zealand Horse of the Year (HOY)

By Steph and Merri

Royal Kedah Invitational - Steph's Wrap Up

Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick, Slow: Old Pueblo

By Kevin Myers

2007 Eastern Mojave Senic Ride - Merri Melde

By Merri Melde

Team Britain at 20 Mule Team

the story

UAE: 2007 President's Cup for Young Riders

Photo's by Steph Teeter

20 Mule Team: Girl You've Got it Bad

by Aaron Turnage

My 20-Mule Team ride started on December 23rd, the Saturday before Christmas. We were down at my parent’s house and I decided it would be fun to take my son roller skating, something I had not done in about 15 years. We went to the roller rink with my mom, my son, and my sister and less than an hour later my mom was driving me to the ER since I had fallen and hurt my arm. As we were driving in the car, with my arm propped up on my jacket and a bag of ice on the top I looked at my mom and said, “You know what this means don’t you? You’re going to have to saddle Sinatra for me at 20-Mule Team.” =) She looked over at me and shaking her had laughingly said, “Girl, you’ve got it bad.” Yes, I do.

Fast forward about 5 weeks and we are entered and getting ready to go. The arm ended up being a minor fracture of my radius. I called and rescheduled my cast removal for the Thursday before the ride rather than the originally planned Tuesday after. I lied and told the scheduler I had a wedding to go to and didn’t want a cast for in the pictures. =) I had to thank my aunt for that excuse, it worked perfectly. I had been able to saddle and ride with my cast just fine, but couldn’t wear a glove so that was of concern to me. After removal and x-ray the doctor pronounced me totally healed and able to go do what ever I wanted to with that arm. He kind of blinked at me funny when I said “Oh good. I’m doing a 100-mile ride on my horse on Saturday.” He wished me well and I went back to work testing my shortened range of motion in my wrist.

I met a very nice lady through a mutual friend from the Reno-area who was also planning on going down to 20-Mule Team. Jean and I made plans to meet after work on Thursday and drive down to Bishop and overnight at the fairgrounds there. It was to be Jean and her horse Chi’s first 100 and Sinatra and my third (finished Sunriver, overtime at Tevis). The week getting ready to go was just crazy, work was hectic, I was busier than normal with my husband’s business, and then just all the checking, cleaning, packing, organizing that goes into going to a ride, compounded because this was our first ride of the season and I hadn’t been through everything since our last rides in October. The drive down on Thursday went smoothly. I would highly recommend staying at the Bishop fairgrounds. They gave us two box stalls and had the water turned on for us. Very pleasant and easy to deal with, although not quite so easy to find our stalls in the dark but we managed.

Woke up and got a fairly early start and arrived in Ridgecrest around 10:30 or so Friday morning. My mom was coming down to help crew and ride the 35 mile LD with her TWH and she pulled in a scant 5 minutes after we did. Got the horses out, walked and settled and then the buzzing of clippers filled the air as I redid the trace clip my boy had been give in October but had since grown out about an inch or more. I just clipped the underside of his neck, entire chest, and outer flank areas. I then hosed him off to help wash off some of the dirt, hair, and such. It’s been so cold in Reno (highs in 40’s) that I hadn’t been able to bathe him at all for several months at home. He was a fuzzy looking new man by that afternoon.

We got all checked in and vetted. I know I’m not at home when I get asked by every third person what kind of horse Sinatra is. People in Reno have gotten used to seeing him over the last 4 years but he is certainly noticeable and does stand out from the rest. Unfortunately I don’t know his breeding nor have the slightest clue. He’s a very red chestnut sabino with a big blaze, four high white stockings and two blue eyes. I was able to meet a couple of people from some of the online endurance lists when they recognized my description of my horse and came over to say hi. =) It’s always nice to put a face to the name. A short ride, packing of crew bags (I would be on my own for most of the ride so had two different bags for the two main away checks), and the ride meeting then it was time for bed. I was exhausted from the last week and the long drive and went to bed around 9 pm and slept VERY well.

I woke up just before 5 am to get ready for the 6 am start. It was a fast and easy process to get into the clothes I had laid out and drink something for breakfast. I had made oatmeal with good intentions but I just can’t do solid food before a ride so had a chocolate Ensure and some water. Sinatra had laid down and slept the night before and looked ready to go but wasn’t too excited, which was perfect. There was a controlled start at 6 am and Jean and I rode over about 5 minutes later and walked out of camp on a loose rein, the dust from the horses in front of us visible on the horizon. I knew my boy was fit and ready for a 50 or 65 but since I was unsure of how conditioned and ready we were for a 100 our plan was to take it slow and steady and just see how things went. I was planning on about a 5 mph average, which isn’t a whole lot slower than the ~6.5 mph we normally ride but would be a good pace to get us through the day and our first ride of the season.

We had been warned that this ride can be harder than it seems and riders may have a tendency to try to go to fast. The course had a few hills but a LOT of long gradual climbs and descents. Plus it was fairly sandy and could be deep in places. Luckily we have the benefit of being about to train in the sand, hills, and rocks at home but listened well and rode according to our horses. Jean had planned on trying to stay with Sinatra and me although Chi would have preferred to go much faster. =) We cruised along through the morning, getting off trail once and having some riders yell at us so we could turn around and go back. We had the opportunity to repay the favor just a few miles down the trail. She later caught up to us and thanked us, her horse was ready to go and she had to pay a lot of attention to him. We came into the first check at 15 miles and after a quick drink I took Sinatra over where he was a 12 (48) for P&R. The guy complemented me, said that was the third he’d had all morning and my horse was in really good shape. The Duck vetted us at the check and we were OK good to go.

The 15 minute hold went quickly, Pamela Burton with Chronicle of the Horse took some pictures of us and soon we mounting up to go. Sarah Martin, also from around the Reno-area decided to slow up a little and joined us as we left. It was uphill for the first 5 miles or so out of the check. We rode briefly with Bruce from Utah till the first water stop on this check. Then it was a BEAUTIFUL ride downhill through a long sandy canyon to the next check and hour hold at 31 miles. There were some sections of big sandy-type boulders on this section that the horses had to be careful on. Sinatra is so great with tricky footing, he would put his head down to check it out then cruise right over. We got to the 31-mile check around 11 am, about 5 hours after we had started. I found my crew box and Sinatra happily ate his mash and the hay that was provided. He vetted out great again, I think got a B on guts but I wasn’t concerned since he was eating well and gut sounds can be so subjective. CRI was 12/11, I’ll take it. =) He promptly rolled in the powdery dirt after having his check (tack was off), something I was expecting (he LOVES to roll) and prepared for. I brushed him off, ate my own lunch and enjoyed watching the front running 65-milers coming in.

The hour hold was appreciated by horses and riders but soon it was time to hit the trail again. The three of us (Sarah, Jean, and I) set off from the check for a few fairly flat and fast miles. The front running 65’s caught up with us shortly and started to pass. Sinatra didn’t mind but Jean’s horse Chi was getting pretty upset. He’s off the track and is very competitive. I suggested that maybe she let him go a little faster like he wanted to and just wait for us at the next check. It was taking a lot of energy out of him and her to fight each other like that. Sarah’s mare Sierra would kind of get going too so they took turns using Sinatra (in his rope halter and loose rein) as a road block. I had a lot of “I love this horse” moments on this ride. =)

Soon we began a long steady climb up and over the ridge of mountains. We trotted some short stretches but walked the large majority. Jean went ahead and let Chi go on a little and we soon lost sight of her. After cresting the ridge Sarah and I got off and walked, down, down, down. We’d say hi or chat briefly with the 65’s that passed us on this section. I remember one guy telling us what a good job we were doing as 100’s to get off and give the horses a break. Heck, my knees needed the break at least as much as Sinatra did! Back down onto the flat and we remounted and trotted the 6-8 miles or so to the railroad tressel and a water stop. Sinatra had a little bit of a low spot at this point, I think when his little internal odometer rolled past 50 and he wasn’t back in camp. =) A bit of a break with some hay, water and some grain I had been packing with me helped to improve things. It was a short 4 miles or so to the next vetcheck, which a group of us tried to make slightly longer by missing a turn. Maybe some ribbons were vandalized but we eventually found the trail again.

Into the vet check at 57 miles and Sinatra wanted to eat, eat, eat. I put a little water on his neck and he pulsed down and vetted out well. The same vet that saw him at 31 mile check saw him again at this point. She still gave him a B on guts and this time a B on gait, he wasn’t overly motivated to trot out (only wanted to eat) so may have been dogging it. I found my crew bag and gave him another mash and ate a little something. I had packed glowbars for out here just in case it was late, I didn’t want to have to be coming into camp in the dark since the moon wouldn’t be up yet. I taped a couple on my breastcollar during our 15-minute hold. Sarah’s mare looked a little funny on the right hind so she took her over and massaged her before getting cleared at her recheck. The last 100-miler, Gail Hought with Hought Tack, caught up with us and we rode the 8 miles into camp together. The sun set as we headed in and by the time we were in the neighborhood before reaching the fairgrounds it was dark. I leaned over Sinatra’s neck at the walked and cracked the glowbars. It helped to light the way and more importantly allowed any approaching vehicles to see us coming. I trotted on ahead, knowing Gail and Sarah were going to walk in and I could use the extra time for Sinatra to eat.

We got into camp just after 7 pm and Melissa Ribley vetted Sinatra. He had mostly A’s with a few B’s, I think maybe impulsion but he was going well with a 60/60 CRI right off the trail. I took him back to the trailer, pulled tack and let him eat. I looked in at Jean’s rig but it was all dark inside and Chi was resting comfortably with his blanket on. I was tempted to see if she wanted to go back out but didn’t want to wake her if she was asleep. I decided from the looks of things that she was done for the night and felt a little sad for her. My mom grabbed me some of the dinner they were serving (tri-tip YUM) and I devoured most of it. At this point, as I was saying I wanted to get a few things together for her to take out to the 92-mile check (same one as the 57-mile check) she kind of looked at me and said “WHAT?!?” and I knew I had lost my crew. =) Luckily Sarah’s husband was going so I threw a few things in a bucket for him to take out. I already had a little crew bag out there and my mom’s from her 35-mile ride was out there as well so I should be set. We refilled all my water bottles (4) and I restocked my pommel pouch with 2 lbs of carrots.

Sarah stopped by when she was ready to go and we headed out together. Unfortunately Gail had been pulled so Sarah and I were bringing up the rear. Hey, someone’s got to do it and I’ve done it enough times to hold the title well. =) The full moon had come up by then and was shining so brightly that the glowbars were pretty much unnecessary. We had both layered up as riders and put rump rugs on the horses, preparing for the cold and dark to come. Both horses left camp willingly, no balking, no trying to turn, just right on out. Good ponies. I knew where the turn off for the start of the 35-mile loop was and we trotted most of the first 8 miles or so out of camp. Soon we started heading up a gradual climb, mostly trotting but walking every now and then. Suddenly I saw these weird lights in front of me, green and then flickers of red flashing on and off and kind of moving. A UFO? A 100-mile hallucination? Nope, just another rider heading back towards camp. He was entered in the 100 as well but his horse was out of gas so he was calling it a night. We offered for him to come along with us, nice and slow and he thanked us but declined. We continued on and made it to the top of the climb and I spotted the water troughs lurking in the dark, concealing their precious fluids from those not quite so wary. Both horses drank well and we had a really nice ride along the hillside running kind of parallel to the town of Ridgecrest down below. I bragged that MY ride, the Nevada Moonshine, had prettier albeit much shorter city views and we talked off and on about night time trail markings, Sarah having ridden my ride last June. =)

We eventually turned left and started heading through the hills (mostly down) to the highway crossing below. We could see the occasional car passing by in the night, helping to guide us how much further we had to go to reach our first destination on this loop, the highway crossing and radio checkpoint at 17 miles. We got off and walked the long downhill towards the checkpoint, Sinatra would occasionally go off trail and walk over the top of some of the brush on the side of the trail in an attempt to scratch his belly and between his legs, which were getting quite itchy. Again, normal behavior for him and something that is both funny and exasperating when he does it. When things started to level out I encouraged Sarah to get back on, her mare was getting more tired, and we trotted into the check. We chatted with the radio operator while the horses drank and ate some hay, thanked him for being out there and confirmed we were the last two riders. Seems one was unaccounted for but they got everything worked out while we were there, I think it was maybe the guy that had returned to camp or maybe one of the RO pulls. Sinatra was getting quite hungry at this point, it was about 10:30 pm, we made very good time on that section.

We crossed the highway and headed off to go up and over the next set of hills. Sarah had ridden all 4 days of DVE on her mare in December so knew where we were. Unfortunately what passes quickly during the day on a fresh horse takes longer in the dark of night on a more tired one. We headed up the next mountain, trotting on the flat and walking up the hills. Sarah got off and started to lead her mare again and I took a break and walked Sinatra as well. Eventually we crested the ridge and headed down a long sandy road running back toward the railroad tressel. We were around 80-85 miles at this point, maybe a little more.
About halfway down the canyon, I’m off leading with the reins looped over my elbow and my hands in my pockets. I feel the slack slip through and hear a soft grunt behind me. I turn around and Sinatra has laid down in the middle of the trail to roll. He’s on his left side and wiggles around scratching. I tell him, “Get up!” and tug on the reins but he kicks and rolls all the way over instead! Fully tacked! At this point I yell at him to “Get the F*#$ UP!” and he does but starts to stagger around to the right. His eyes are rolling in his head all weird, I’m holding his halter right by his chin and have his head steady in my arms. He staggers nearly a half circle to the right, legs crossing and uncrossing then just stands there looking down the trail a little weird. Sarah and I are both very concerned at this point. What is wrong with him? Is he just dizzy? A blood rush from going down, rolling completely over and then getting up so quickly, especially with his head pointing downhill the entire time? Something more serious? Did flipping over with the saddle injure his back? I check is heart rate (62) and put my ear to his flanks and hear guts sounds. I offer him a carrot which is quickly eats and looks for another. At this point, we decide the only thing to do is continue walking him to the railroad tressel. I keep a close eye on him and he seems fine. Walking straight and true and willingly, I’m not having to pull or encourage him along. His ears are perked forward and he appears just normal. After about 15 minutes or so I decide to get back on and see how he feels. I mount carefully, watching for any signs of back soreness but he doesn’t more, flinch or even flick an ear. I discover that he popped the lid off one of my bottles and drained ½ of another, so parts of my saddle are wet. I ask him to trot and it’s just like normal, soft and easy down the trail, ears perked forward or slightly back on occasion to check in with me. He seems totally fine.

Sarah continues to lead her mare the rest of the way to the tressel and we stop for some water and hay for the horses. I take the last of my grain out and pour it on the leftover hay for two thankful mouths to devour. Sarah calls her husband to let them know where we are and that we will be there shortly. After a quick 5 minutes we pull the up and head towards the vet check. Sarah gets back on and we alternate walking and trotting this section. Sinatra is feeling just wonderful and is quite perky now that he is certain of where we are and where we are going. I’m having to rate him back and slow him down more at this point than when we started the ride in the morning. Sierra is happy to follow along behind at this point but seems to be doing well. She is stiffening in the rear end so the goal is to keep her moving gently forward. We come into the check and vet the horses through. The Duck looks them over and pronounces them okay to go on. We’re told that we can leave when we like, we don’t have to stay the entire 15 minutes but it works out that way since we let both horses eat. I look for my crew bag(s) but they have already been packed, the check is ready to go as soon as we are. Thankful for having put some items in Sarah’s husband’s care I feed Sinatra some more grain, let him eat hay and have a little something myself. I get something more to drink from one of the volunteers and then Sarah is remounted and ready to go. I mount up and we head out for the last 8 miles.

We walk the first little hill out of the check and then trot off and on, the highway crossing comes very quickly and we scoot across after waiting for a car to pass. They had slowed down when they saw us on the side of the road and I can only imagine what they thought of two horses and riders standing on the side of 395 at 2:30 in the morning. =) We trot the next flat section along the highway and then make the left hand turn into the last set of hills to go over before we arrive back at camp. After a little while, we realize we are off trail and can’t see any glowbars. I turn on my headlamp and there are only tire tracks on this road, no hoofprints. We have a very good idea of where we are, about where the trail should be and know where to head so we continue to follow the road. It has more hills and rocks than the correct trail would, but it’s going the right direction so we continue on. We’re up higher on the hill more, riding along the ridge top as opposed to down at the bottom where the right trail should be. We keep our eyes peeled for glowbars but still don’t see any. Several intersections come and go, we check most and debate about heading down towards town and trying to ride in from there or to continue on our present route. We decided to do our best to follow where the trail “should be” and keep riding forward. Pretty soon Sarah sees a glowbar and we meet up with the correct route coming up the hill to join the road we were on. Relieved, we make the turn and follow the right trail as it starts to head down through the hills toward town.

Sarah gets off to lead down the hill. We’re both getting tired and quiet as the night goes on. No longer laughing, joking and telling stories. Each lost in our own ride and our own thoughts. I’m enjoying how beautiful Sinatra looks in the moonlight. His coat is dark and glowing back at me while his white markings seem to shine with an inner light of their own. He is still forward and willing to move out. Just a gentle squeeze and a kiss will get him moving. I feel the night air and find it interesting how we will ride into cooler and warmer patches depending upon how the currents flow through the hills and valleys. It was a beautiful day for a ride, warm and sunny without a cloud all day or night and not windy nor too cold as these desert nights can be. Last year the riders were in the dark and snow, tonight it is a clear shining sky with a full moon to light our way. I’m starting to get sleepy and a little sour in my stomach, just ready to be done and I know Sinatra must be to.

We finally come out down into the neighborhood and I encourage Sarah to get back on so we can trot the flat sandy roads back to the fairgrounds. She finds a rock and mounts and only goes about 10 feet before Sierra hunches her back and starts to drag her right hind leg. Very concerned Sarah jumps off and we both are worried about Sierra. Sarah continues to walk her and she doesn’t appear to be too sore while being led. She is a little short strided behind but not overly bad. We reach Fire Mt. Arabians and the horses are happy to discover Jackie has left a trough of water out. Both drink thankfully and then we head off to camp. It’s about 4 am and I tell Sarah that I really need to finish and get off, I don’t know how much longer I can walk along in the night. She tells me it is okay to go, that she’s just going to walk in, I check with her again, feeling a little guilty but she assures me it’s alright. Sinatra trots off willingly but slows when he realizes we’re leaving his new buddy behind. I encourage him on. Suddenly he’s not so brave by himself, pausing to study each glowbar suspiciously and eye the dark bushes with caution. I hear Sarah call her husband and let him know where she is and what is going on. For the last time we turn and head down the last road to camp, it having grown longer and longer throughout the day and into the night. Sinatra walks out quickly and willingly but finds reason to spook and balk when I ask him to trot for any length of time. I think he can hear Sarah and Sierra behind us (I think I can on occasion) and doesn’t want to leave them too far behind. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to move out, but he didn’t want to keep going and I think was finding excuses to pause and hope they would catch up.

At 4:42 we came upon the finish line which was now vacant and just a soft white line glowing on the ground. Sinatra took a quick sip of water and then walked the rest of the way into camp. I remember from crewing Tevis seeing the horses come in with a strong forward walk and a determined and focused look in their eyes. I was pleased and somewhat awed to see that same expression on my horse’s face now. I hopped off right before the paved road and led him into the quiet sleeping camp. I found a volunteer who woke up Melissa and she emerged to vet us through. Sinatra did very well and I received a complement on how well he looked. I was appreciative and took him back to our trailer, Sinatra pausing to nibble any bits and pieces of hay that crossed his path. He was ravenous, I’ve never seen him that hungry. I fixed him a mash and he pounded that down while I pulled tack and rubbed his few sweaty areas with a towel and curried him a little. While bending over to take off his Easyboots which he had on over shoes I started to retch and dry heave. My body was done and letting me know it didn’t appreciate the further abuse of squatting down and hunching over. I politiced his legs (without wraps), checked that he had plenty of hay and water and staggered into my mom’s RV. It had been a very long day and night and I was grateful to fall into bed and eventually my mind allowed my body to sleep.

I woke up after only about 2-3 hours of rest. I laid in bed and tried to will myself back to sleep but it would not come for some elusive reason. I got up and took Sinatra for a walk, letting him roll and roll as he so wanted to. He didn’t exhibit any of the weird stumbling from the prior night, which I was grateful for. We went to awards at 9 am and found out that 24 out of 40 had completed the 100. I was VERY HAPPY to hear that Sarah and Sierra had received a completion as well, their first 100. Sarah had worked very hard to ensure her mare would make it through the end and had probably walked 15 of the last 35 miles on foot. Sierra had been tight but after some massage trotted out well enough to pass. They actually only finished about 10 minutes behind me. Sarah can walk quickly and Sierra was motivated to keep going once Sinatra had disappeared into the night. After awards my mom and I had some breakfast and then cleaned up camp. I debated about trying to take a nap before driving home but just could not sleep when I tried. I decided to just drive as far as I could and then would pull over and sleep for a while when necessary. I don’t really have camping accommodations with me (normally sleep in a tent at rides) so would have to just rest in the truck. I took a shower in my mom’s RV and then we left together. I was kind of dreading the 330 mile drive home, but thanks to a great audiobook a friend lent me the time went fairly quickly. I stopped every couple of hours to get Sinatra out and walk around. In fact the Hall’s and I both pulled into Bridgeport at the same time and got the horses out. I made it home in only 6.5 hours and didn’t have to stop to sleep at all, but was thankful I didn’t have to drive even 30 minutes more. Sinatra ate and drank well the entire trip home, preferring his orchard grass hay to his alfalfa, definitely not the norm but I was happy to oblige him. He got out and I couldn’t get the halter off fast enough before he went over and rolled and rolled and wiggled and scratched in the DG to his delight. He looks great, my little 100-mile horse.