Thursday, June 28, 2007
Friday, June 15, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Riding Cavalry At The 2007 Old Dominion 100
Paul Sidio's Story
There have been lots of ride stories about the OD 100. This one is mainly about the aspects of riding it Cavalry style. For those who want just the summary, here it is. Ridng a 100 mile ride is tough. Riding 100 miles at the Old Dominion is especially tough. Riding 100 miles under Cavalry rules didn't make it any tougher. Riding Cavalry doesn't add any miles, hills or rocks. It just takes a little planning and forsight.
When I first got into Endurance riding, I heard about the various famous rides and started looking at websites about them. On the OD website, they mentioned a Cavalry division. You rode the same 100 miles , but under slightly different rules. You can look those rules up, but it boils down to this. You have to carry all your own supplies for you and your horse except water. Nobody can assist you or your horse during the ride including at the vet checks. Simple enough, but somehow it intrigued me. It turns out no other ride offers this. So a few years ago, when the thought of doing a 100 was not even in my goals, I started thinking about about what a person crazy enough to do a 100 there would have to take. Then as trying a 100 became a goal, I thought that Cavalry style would be fun. Last winter I posted on Ridecamp asking about this and heard from several people who had done it or knew somebody who had. From their help, I started refining my lists of stuff to take. The best advice was from Kevin Baird who told me, " minimalize, minimalize, minimalize." One nagging worry was that few people had ever done this. Probably less than 100? nobody seems to know. Those that had done so in the past, and were still riding there weren't trying Cavalry any more. Then I heard that nobody had done this since 2002. It makes you worry that everybody else knows something horrible about this that you don't.
I really hadn't planned to try the OD this year, but when the word went out that this was the last year on the old trail, then " maybe someday in the future" became "this year or never". I started trying different packing methods, and doing training rides carrying all my gear. Items were added, discarded and added back several times. Some of the great riders probably could just decide to do this the day before and do just fine, but I am a fairly poor rider, ability and equitition wise, with only 360 lifetime endurance miles before this ride and needed to do a good job planning this out to have a shot at it.
Last year, even though I am an AERC middleweight, I usually tacked out between 215 and 225 . My goal for this year was to actually be a middle weight, and after some exercise and watching my diet, I was tacking out at about 195 this year. With the extra gear, I estimate we started the ride weighing about 220-225. During the day I figured that we would use up the 10 pounds of grain and alfalfa cubes, plus about 2 pounds of my supplies.
Cavalry is simple, You can use what you can carry. You have to carry it all the way, (can't drop it off). You can drop off trash. You can't use other peoples stuff even if they leave it out for you. For example, I asked if I could carry a chair? The Ride Manager looked puzzled as to how/why I thought I could carry a chair, but said sure but you have to carry it the whole way. I am sure a vision of some fool trying to drag a Lazy Boy recliner over Shermans Gap crossed his mind. But I had a 3 legged lightweight camp stool. I could sit on a rock or a stump, but not somebodys buckets,tailgate or even a bale of hay. So the stool made the trip.
Since water was available, then my goal was to carry as little liquid stuff as possible. The big alfalfa cubes in zip locks became my grass and hay for the two vet checks with little grass. I added water into the zip locks at those checks and "presto magic" we had horse feed. Gatorade for me was little packets I could add to water.
So we showed up to Fort Valley, prepared as best we could. Friday I tried the now infamous 30 mile ride on my Missouri Foxtrotter , True Blue. Two weeks before we had done a 35 mile ride in the Ozarks and finished in 4:30. So we were confident that doing a 30 here would be a nice easy preview for the 100. .... In our dreams...Friday, in 95 plus degree heat and sauna like humidity, we came in slightly before the 8 hour cutoff and couldn't pulse down in time.
I had signed Piper, my good buddy 10 year old failed show horse Arabian gelding, and I up for the 50 in the early registration with the plan all along to bump up to the 100. Now we had just got totally whipped by this very tough trail and had to decide to make that decision to bump up or not. I visited with several experienced people about this. Flora Hillman and Karen Bohn were especially supportive and confident it was doable. So I trudged up the hill to the registration tent and changed my entry. My saddle was already set up for it, and I had already set aside the stuff to carry, so it was just a matter of packing it all up. My wife thought I had crossed the boundary line between the normal amount of crazy it takes to ride Endurance to the far side where only certified crazy people are. Her main concern was for the horse, and she made me promise to quit if it was too hard on him. She offered to crew, but I was determined to take this shot at Cavalry.
I had stowaways front and rear, plus a lightweight canvas saddlebag with two compartments on each side. I had modified them so they would hold the stuff better when trotting or cantering. Most trail riding saddlebags are designed for leisurely ambles and not for carrying vital gear for extended miles at faster speeds. Usually in Endurance we want a saddle pad that covers as little area as possible so the horse cools better, but I used an oversized fleece type pad to cushion the area where the bags would ride on Piper.
Having heard about the difficult surfaces, we had practiced with Bosana boots and started with 4 of those plus an easy boot bare with gaitor that Karen Bohn was kind enough to lend us. For headgear I usually ride in a llittle S hackamore the first loop or two and switch over to just a nylon halter. To simplify and minimize, we elected to just use the halter. Piper is responsive enough to not get race happy and run off at the beginning. Reins were a soft cotton type 9 foot long roping type that doubled as lead rope at vet checks and tailing rope. We did carry a spare set of light reins as a back up. Our saddle is a Specialized International model with a few D rings added to hook gear to. We ride without a breast collar or crouper. The saddle fit well enough that we were able to ride all day up and down those impressive hills without it sliding up his neck or off his rump. We never had to adjust it between vet checks except one time when I was dimounting on a hill to tail up the remainder and Piper stepped away. This caused me to pull the saddle sideways on him.
There was still that nagging worry as I met riders who had rode Cavalry previously and who were riding the 100, but when I asked them if they wanted to try it Cavalry, they would give a small smile and shake their heads. Lynne Gilbert rode the 30 and then also the 100 at this ride. In 2002 she not only rode the 100 Cavalry style, but was the overall 100 mile winner and BC. But she just smiled and wasn't going to go Cavalry. She was encouraging. She seemed very nice, but what did she know that I didn't?
So at 5:30 AM , off we went. There are lots of descriptions of this tough trail, so 'nuff said about that. I had worked quite a bit to load my tack so that it was balanced front to rear and side to side. One adjustment I had to make was mounting the horse. Usually I swing my leg over the saddle low and close, but with the extra stuff we were carrying, I had to swing my leg high and wide. So I started using rocks, stumps, ditches etc to assist me..Fortunately at the OD, you are never far from a rock, hill or ditch.
Now here is where the first mis-information about riding Cavalry comes in. The rules say you are on your own and not allowed any assistance. You assume this means that it is just you and your horse against the trail. That is wrong. While other people are not allowed to assist you in material ways, everybody gave Piper and I huge amounts of emotional support. Just like how a cheering crowd at a basketball or football game gives that team an edge, this suddenly turned this from an away game to a home field game for us. It was almost embarrassing. Hall of Fame type riders were walking up to me before the ride, shaking my hand and congratulating me for signing up. We hadn't even started yet, but they were acting like we had already done something great. Now I got nervous. How sad and embarrassing would it be to have all this support and not make it? Right then I determined that the only way we would not finish would be if the vets dragged me off Piper and said he couldn't go any further. The emotional support was unbelievably huge. All through the day as we passed other riders, and even the 50's. the vets, ride management, other peoples crews, volunteers, they all cheered us on. It was unlike anything I have experienced in Endurance. I lost my name and became "Cavalry Guy". If I had to choose between t-bone steaks, air mattresses, massages at the vet checks,combined with a neutral attitude from the volunteers, vets, other riders and their crews instead of having to carry my stuff and get this wonderfull support from complete strangers, I'll always take the mental support. People have commented how I was always smiling on trail and in camp. Given the warm and friendly treatment everybody gave me, how could I be anything but happy? Nobody saw me when we tailed up Veatchs and Sherman Gaps. I wasn't smiling then, just panting really hard.
By the first vet check, we had lost one of the Bosana boots, They were great for traction on rocks and asphalt, plus I felt they helped ease the concussion. So of course we lost one in the first 10 miles. Now we had to decide to go on 3 boots for a while since the trail was relatively easy at that point and save our spare until later. Then when I reached inside my fishing vest for his first grain ration, the discount brand zip lock bag blew out and grain scattered over everything. What he didn't eat, I picked up and shoved back in the vest pocket. So much for plans. We added the spare easy boot at mile 40 or so. So we had four tires on the road now. Then we lost another Bosana boot around mile 75. Tore up the Easy boot around mile 80, (this is getting even more expensive). Moved boots arounds and finished with two on the front.
We kept a steady pace. slowed at the tough parts, and made time at the better parts. We rode with several different riders for short distances for a while, but the good advice I had recieved about just riding our own ride always came through and we would either watch them go on ahead or leave them behind.
The safety net in Cavalry is that if you lose or break something vital, and absolutely have to have it, you can get it from somebody, and finish the ride as a regular 100 rider. Several people had offered to carry an emergency crew bag for me in case I really needed something so at least I could finish the 100. My reply was that if I couldn't ride Cavalry Divison, I would switch over and ride Scarlett Division. For those of you not familiar with that riding division, Scarlett O'Hara said in Gone With The Wind, " I have always depended on the kindness of strangers".. If I got to the point where assistance was absolutely essential, then I too would depend on the kindness of strangers.
Apart from tailing up huge hills and the distance involved, the ride was a breeze. We would come into a vet check, find where our Cavalry site was, ( we were kept somewhat seperate to keep Piper from stealing grain and hay from other horses), go pull the saddle, sponge a minute, walk over to P& R. After vetting through, Piper would eat grass while I got out his grain , carrots and whatever I needed from the saddle packs. I would unpack the stool, and sit on it to relieve my back. For electrolytes, he used Perform and Win which I hand fed him dry. He would lick my hands to get it all. I tried it, but prefered the gatoraide type mixes to add to my water. We had one of those little lightweight insulated packs to keep my ham and cheese sandwitch and his carrots cool. Then we would re-tack. When he was loaded up, I would re-check the weight loads on the saddle bags to keep them even. At Curtis Field, the 75 mile vet check, I used my MRE food. These are self heating meals like the miliary uses. They have some chemical that you add water to and it heats the TV dinner type food up. I had 3 cheese lasagna. It tasted like crap, but it was hot, gut filling crap. When it was heating up, steam was escaping. The box it came in with the instructions had sort of fallen apart during the day. So I just put my foot on the bag to keep the heat in. There was concern on my part that it might set the grass on fire. If a Cavalry rider starts a grass fire can other people help put it out? That was something I hoped not to need to know the answer to. Other crew members and riders came over to encourage me and offer support, and one guy was concerned that my foot might be on fire. At every single vet check the volunteers were anxious to make sure I had drinking water. They were a great help, and their attitudes made it even easier.
Piper is a very special horse with a great attitude in camp. He wasn't dragging me around and hollering at the other horses. I usually just kept a foot on his lead line which left my hands free to work. When using the porta potties, I would choose the one with the most grass next to it and hold his lead rope in my teeth through the door. It was funny at a couple of stops, when I was in the porta potty, I would hear people outside laughing about this. One time a guy , not realizing I was riding Cavalry , saw the horse and the rope going into the porta potty , and said he was going to hold my horse for me. Before I could holler for him not to do anything,(try doing that with a lead rope in your mouth), 4 people stopped him. Everybody was watching out for me.
We only had a couple of scary moments during the ride. When coming into Edinberg Gap vet check, we were only about 100 yards out when Piper got distracted by the lights ahead. I was fiddling around looking for something in my pommel bag when he slipped on a steep dirt part and went to his knees. It was only a surface scrape like kids get everyday on playgrounds, but it was frightening when it happened. About 4 miles from the finish we were trotting on a gravel road. When the road crossed a creek they had put slick concrete. We almost went down there too, and his back legs spraddled every which way for a second until he recovered his balance.
During the day, at various times I had the good fortune to ride with Bob Walsh. He is a fine and kind gentleman. We would ride together for a while, and he would tell me the history of that part of the trail. Then we would seperate and he would go ahead or I would. After Curtis Field, the 75 mile mark, we wound up riding together more of the time as it worked for our horses. However late in the ride, I got concerned for Bob. I had heard a story of him passing out at a previous ride. When we left Edinberg Gap and were trotting on the last 10 miles he said " If we stay ahead of those two riders we might top 10." I looked over my shoulder. There were glow sticks and fireflies behind us, but no other riders visable. "Umm Bob, What makes you think we are even close to top 10?" I asked. He replied , "When we left Fitchetts, I was 10th and you were 11th" Now I was toast, and wiped out, but was positive that we had just left Edinberg Gap,and that Fitchetts was 35 miles or so behind us. Was this the infamous OD Delerium striking? Was Bob losing it? I told him that I didn't care about my placement and at the finish line he should just go ahead of us. Well Bob was delerious like a fox. We finished 9th and 10th respectively.Tom P from Canada had come into Edinberg with us, but was late leaving the hold. He made a wrong turn ( so he says) and finished about 15 minutes behind us in 11th place. One of the nice things about the OD, is that they have a special award for 11th place, which was a free entry to next years 100 mile ride. Pretty crafty Canadian isn't he? Obviously I was outmatched by these more experienced competitors:)
During the last 10 miles, the effects of riding 30 miles in that heat on Friday started affecting me more. My legs were like jelly and I wallered all over the saddle. My equitition which is poor at the best of times became even worse. Remember in the old western movies when the soldiers at the fort see the lone returning rider from the scouting party. He is slumped over the front of the saddle and wobbling from side to side? Then after he gets through the gate of the fort, he falls off the horse and you see 5 or 6 arrows in his back? That was me as we went up Traskers Gap on the last 3 miles and the arrows would explain the pain as my back cramped up.
Somehow as we saw the lights of camp, we trotted on in at 3:26 am. In fact Piper cantered the last 100 yards. He may only weigh 800 pounds, but 600 of it has to be heart.
One of the things about Cavalry that is not well explained in the rules is that even after you cross the finish line, and even after you go through the completion vet check, you are still in a Cavalry mode until the Cavalry Award judging the next morning. That meant nobody could help me with my horse and getting the tack back to my campsite. Nobody could feed me or rub my back or legs. That was something I had not prepared for. I had food at the RV which I was allowed to eat, and feed for my horse. Unfortunately, by 8:am when it was time to do the judging, Piper had tightened up and was off enough to be judged not fit to continue. There was no doubt in my mind that I wasn't fit to continue. When trotting him out, my right leg cramped up and I came very close to collapsing
The head vet, Lani Newcomb, came up to tell me that they were not going to give a Cavalry Award, and it was obvious she was distressed about it. Everybody was rooting for us and hoping it would turn out good. Not getting the Cavalry Award was no big deal for me. It wasn't one of my goals coming into the ride. We had completed our first 100 mile ride, and done it at one of the toughest rides in the world, and done it Cavalry. Then we surpised the heck out ourselves and completed Top 10. Lani was talking about this probably being emotionally devastating for me. All I could think was thank goodness they didn't want me to trot him out more. That would have been devastating.
So here is the second big mis-conception around riding Cavalry at the Old Dominion. People think you have to be a world class experienced rider on one of the legendary horses. Piper and I started with under 400 lifetime endurance miles. Anybody that has seen me ride will assure you that I am not a well balanced centered rider. I am a 57 year old Realtor in only moderately fit condition. Doing our first 100 Cavalry style was no harder than if we had had a NASCAR type crew of 10 people helping. Cavalry style reduced the distractions and allowed me to focus on my horse and the ride. For instance, I carried a hand held polar monitor and never used it the entire ride. We were in touch enough that I knew if his heart was up or down.
If anybody is interested in my list of what I took, and what I used, please feel free to email me privately, Paul at ucozark.com
Cavalry was this great day spent bonding and sharing trail with my horse. I recommend it to anybody. If fact you might want to try doing a 50 that way just for the fun of it. It is more like what they say Endurance riding was back in the old days when people slept in pickup truck seats or on surplus army cots in the back of mostly clean stock trailers. I am still amazed that more people haven't tried it. They are checking, but think I may have been the only non-local rider to have ever completed the ride Cavalry. Folks, it wasn't that hard. The old trail at the Old Dominion is gone. I feel honored to have had a chance to complete it. Long live the new trail. Who wants to try it Cavalry with me next year?
Paul N. Sidio
Piper
Spokane Mo
There have been lots of ride stories about the OD 100. This one is mainly about the aspects of riding it Cavalry style. For those who want just the summary, here it is. Ridng a 100 mile ride is tough. Riding 100 miles at the Old Dominion is especially tough. Riding 100 miles under Cavalry rules didn't make it any tougher. Riding Cavalry doesn't add any miles, hills or rocks. It just takes a little planning and forsight.
When I first got into Endurance riding, I heard about the various famous rides and started looking at websites about them. On the OD website, they mentioned a Cavalry division. You rode the same 100 miles , but under slightly different rules. You can look those rules up, but it boils down to this. You have to carry all your own supplies for you and your horse except water. Nobody can assist you or your horse during the ride including at the vet checks. Simple enough, but somehow it intrigued me. It turns out no other ride offers this. So a few years ago, when the thought of doing a 100 was not even in my goals, I started thinking about about what a person crazy enough to do a 100 there would have to take. Then as trying a 100 became a goal, I thought that Cavalry style would be fun. Last winter I posted on Ridecamp asking about this and heard from several people who had done it or knew somebody who had. From their help, I started refining my lists of stuff to take. The best advice was from Kevin Baird who told me, " minimalize, minimalize, minimalize." One nagging worry was that few people had ever done this. Probably less than 100? nobody seems to know. Those that had done so in the past, and were still riding there weren't trying Cavalry any more. Then I heard that nobody had done this since 2002. It makes you worry that everybody else knows something horrible about this that you don't.
I really hadn't planned to try the OD this year, but when the word went out that this was the last year on the old trail, then " maybe someday in the future" became "this year or never". I started trying different packing methods, and doing training rides carrying all my gear. Items were added, discarded and added back several times. Some of the great riders probably could just decide to do this the day before and do just fine, but I am a fairly poor rider, ability and equitition wise, with only 360 lifetime endurance miles before this ride and needed to do a good job planning this out to have a shot at it.
Last year, even though I am an AERC middleweight, I usually tacked out between 215 and 225 . My goal for this year was to actually be a middle weight, and after some exercise and watching my diet, I was tacking out at about 195 this year. With the extra gear, I estimate we started the ride weighing about 220-225. During the day I figured that we would use up the 10 pounds of grain and alfalfa cubes, plus about 2 pounds of my supplies.
Cavalry is simple, You can use what you can carry. You have to carry it all the way, (can't drop it off). You can drop off trash. You can't use other peoples stuff even if they leave it out for you. For example, I asked if I could carry a chair? The Ride Manager looked puzzled as to how/why I thought I could carry a chair, but said sure but you have to carry it the whole way. I am sure a vision of some fool trying to drag a Lazy Boy recliner over Shermans Gap crossed his mind. But I had a 3 legged lightweight camp stool. I could sit on a rock or a stump, but not somebodys buckets,tailgate or even a bale of hay. So the stool made the trip.
Since water was available, then my goal was to carry as little liquid stuff as possible. The big alfalfa cubes in zip locks became my grass and hay for the two vet checks with little grass. I added water into the zip locks at those checks and "presto magic" we had horse feed. Gatorade for me was little packets I could add to water.
So we showed up to Fort Valley, prepared as best we could. Friday I tried the now infamous 30 mile ride on my Missouri Foxtrotter , True Blue. Two weeks before we had done a 35 mile ride in the Ozarks and finished in 4:30. So we were confident that doing a 30 here would be a nice easy preview for the 100. .... In our dreams...Friday, in 95 plus degree heat and sauna like humidity, we came in slightly before the 8 hour cutoff and couldn't pulse down in time.
I had signed Piper, my good buddy 10 year old failed show horse Arabian gelding, and I up for the 50 in the early registration with the plan all along to bump up to the 100. Now we had just got totally whipped by this very tough trail and had to decide to make that decision to bump up or not. I visited with several experienced people about this. Flora Hillman and Karen Bohn were especially supportive and confident it was doable. So I trudged up the hill to the registration tent and changed my entry. My saddle was already set up for it, and I had already set aside the stuff to carry, so it was just a matter of packing it all up. My wife thought I had crossed the boundary line between the normal amount of crazy it takes to ride Endurance to the far side where only certified crazy people are. Her main concern was for the horse, and she made me promise to quit if it was too hard on him. She offered to crew, but I was determined to take this shot at Cavalry.
I had stowaways front and rear, plus a lightweight canvas saddlebag with two compartments on each side. I had modified them so they would hold the stuff better when trotting or cantering. Most trail riding saddlebags are designed for leisurely ambles and not for carrying vital gear for extended miles at faster speeds. Usually in Endurance we want a saddle pad that covers as little area as possible so the horse cools better, but I used an oversized fleece type pad to cushion the area where the bags would ride on Piper.
Having heard about the difficult surfaces, we had practiced with Bosana boots and started with 4 of those plus an easy boot bare with gaitor that Karen Bohn was kind enough to lend us. For headgear I usually ride in a llittle S hackamore the first loop or two and switch over to just a nylon halter. To simplify and minimize, we elected to just use the halter. Piper is responsive enough to not get race happy and run off at the beginning. Reins were a soft cotton type 9 foot long roping type that doubled as lead rope at vet checks and tailing rope. We did carry a spare set of light reins as a back up. Our saddle is a Specialized International model with a few D rings added to hook gear to. We ride without a breast collar or crouper. The saddle fit well enough that we were able to ride all day up and down those impressive hills without it sliding up his neck or off his rump. We never had to adjust it between vet checks except one time when I was dimounting on a hill to tail up the remainder and Piper stepped away. This caused me to pull the saddle sideways on him.
There was still that nagging worry as I met riders who had rode Cavalry previously and who were riding the 100, but when I asked them if they wanted to try it Cavalry, they would give a small smile and shake their heads. Lynne Gilbert rode the 30 and then also the 100 at this ride. In 2002 she not only rode the 100 Cavalry style, but was the overall 100 mile winner and BC. But she just smiled and wasn't going to go Cavalry. She was encouraging. She seemed very nice, but what did she know that I didn't?
So at 5:30 AM , off we went. There are lots of descriptions of this tough trail, so 'nuff said about that. I had worked quite a bit to load my tack so that it was balanced front to rear and side to side. One adjustment I had to make was mounting the horse. Usually I swing my leg over the saddle low and close, but with the extra stuff we were carrying, I had to swing my leg high and wide. So I started using rocks, stumps, ditches etc to assist me..Fortunately at the OD, you are never far from a rock, hill or ditch.
Now here is where the first mis-information about riding Cavalry comes in. The rules say you are on your own and not allowed any assistance. You assume this means that it is just you and your horse against the trail. That is wrong. While other people are not allowed to assist you in material ways, everybody gave Piper and I huge amounts of emotional support. Just like how a cheering crowd at a basketball or football game gives that team an edge, this suddenly turned this from an away game to a home field game for us. It was almost embarrassing. Hall of Fame type riders were walking up to me before the ride, shaking my hand and congratulating me for signing up. We hadn't even started yet, but they were acting like we had already done something great. Now I got nervous. How sad and embarrassing would it be to have all this support and not make it? Right then I determined that the only way we would not finish would be if the vets dragged me off Piper and said he couldn't go any further. The emotional support was unbelievably huge. All through the day as we passed other riders, and even the 50's. the vets, ride management, other peoples crews, volunteers, they all cheered us on. It was unlike anything I have experienced in Endurance. I lost my name and became "Cavalry Guy". If I had to choose between t-bone steaks, air mattresses, massages at the vet checks,combined with a neutral attitude from the volunteers, vets, other riders and their crews instead of having to carry my stuff and get this wonderfull support from complete strangers, I'll always take the mental support. People have commented how I was always smiling on trail and in camp. Given the warm and friendly treatment everybody gave me, how could I be anything but happy? Nobody saw me when we tailed up Veatchs and Sherman Gaps. I wasn't smiling then, just panting really hard.
By the first vet check, we had lost one of the Bosana boots, They were great for traction on rocks and asphalt, plus I felt they helped ease the concussion. So of course we lost one in the first 10 miles. Now we had to decide to go on 3 boots for a while since the trail was relatively easy at that point and save our spare until later. Then when I reached inside my fishing vest for his first grain ration, the discount brand zip lock bag blew out and grain scattered over everything. What he didn't eat, I picked up and shoved back in the vest pocket. So much for plans. We added the spare easy boot at mile 40 or so. So we had four tires on the road now. Then we lost another Bosana boot around mile 75. Tore up the Easy boot around mile 80, (this is getting even more expensive). Moved boots arounds and finished with two on the front.
We kept a steady pace. slowed at the tough parts, and made time at the better parts. We rode with several different riders for short distances for a while, but the good advice I had recieved about just riding our own ride always came through and we would either watch them go on ahead or leave them behind.
The safety net in Cavalry is that if you lose or break something vital, and absolutely have to have it, you can get it from somebody, and finish the ride as a regular 100 rider. Several people had offered to carry an emergency crew bag for me in case I really needed something so at least I could finish the 100. My reply was that if I couldn't ride Cavalry Divison, I would switch over and ride Scarlett Division. For those of you not familiar with that riding division, Scarlett O'Hara said in Gone With The Wind, " I have always depended on the kindness of strangers".. If I got to the point where assistance was absolutely essential, then I too would depend on the kindness of strangers.
Apart from tailing up huge hills and the distance involved, the ride was a breeze. We would come into a vet check, find where our Cavalry site was, ( we were kept somewhat seperate to keep Piper from stealing grain and hay from other horses), go pull the saddle, sponge a minute, walk over to P& R. After vetting through, Piper would eat grass while I got out his grain , carrots and whatever I needed from the saddle packs. I would unpack the stool, and sit on it to relieve my back. For electrolytes, he used Perform and Win which I hand fed him dry. He would lick my hands to get it all. I tried it, but prefered the gatoraide type mixes to add to my water. We had one of those little lightweight insulated packs to keep my ham and cheese sandwitch and his carrots cool. Then we would re-tack. When he was loaded up, I would re-check the weight loads on the saddle bags to keep them even. At Curtis Field, the 75 mile vet check, I used my MRE food. These are self heating meals like the miliary uses. They have some chemical that you add water to and it heats the TV dinner type food up. I had 3 cheese lasagna. It tasted like crap, but it was hot, gut filling crap. When it was heating up, steam was escaping. The box it came in with the instructions had sort of fallen apart during the day. So I just put my foot on the bag to keep the heat in. There was concern on my part that it might set the grass on fire. If a Cavalry rider starts a grass fire can other people help put it out? That was something I hoped not to need to know the answer to. Other crew members and riders came over to encourage me and offer support, and one guy was concerned that my foot might be on fire. At every single vet check the volunteers were anxious to make sure I had drinking water. They were a great help, and their attitudes made it even easier.
Piper is a very special horse with a great attitude in camp. He wasn't dragging me around and hollering at the other horses. I usually just kept a foot on his lead line which left my hands free to work. When using the porta potties, I would choose the one with the most grass next to it and hold his lead rope in my teeth through the door. It was funny at a couple of stops, when I was in the porta potty, I would hear people outside laughing about this. One time a guy , not realizing I was riding Cavalry , saw the horse and the rope going into the porta potty , and said he was going to hold my horse for me. Before I could holler for him not to do anything,(try doing that with a lead rope in your mouth), 4 people stopped him. Everybody was watching out for me.
We only had a couple of scary moments during the ride. When coming into Edinberg Gap vet check, we were only about 100 yards out when Piper got distracted by the lights ahead. I was fiddling around looking for something in my pommel bag when he slipped on a steep dirt part and went to his knees. It was only a surface scrape like kids get everyday on playgrounds, but it was frightening when it happened. About 4 miles from the finish we were trotting on a gravel road. When the road crossed a creek they had put slick concrete. We almost went down there too, and his back legs spraddled every which way for a second until he recovered his balance.
During the day, at various times I had the good fortune to ride with Bob Walsh. He is a fine and kind gentleman. We would ride together for a while, and he would tell me the history of that part of the trail. Then we would seperate and he would go ahead or I would. After Curtis Field, the 75 mile mark, we wound up riding together more of the time as it worked for our horses. However late in the ride, I got concerned for Bob. I had heard a story of him passing out at a previous ride. When we left Edinberg Gap and were trotting on the last 10 miles he said " If we stay ahead of those two riders we might top 10." I looked over my shoulder. There were glow sticks and fireflies behind us, but no other riders visable. "Umm Bob, What makes you think we are even close to top 10?" I asked. He replied , "When we left Fitchetts, I was 10th and you were 11th" Now I was toast, and wiped out, but was positive that we had just left Edinberg Gap,and that Fitchetts was 35 miles or so behind us. Was this the infamous OD Delerium striking? Was Bob losing it? I told him that I didn't care about my placement and at the finish line he should just go ahead of us. Well Bob was delerious like a fox. We finished 9th and 10th respectively.Tom P from Canada had come into Edinberg with us, but was late leaving the hold. He made a wrong turn ( so he says) and finished about 15 minutes behind us in 11th place. One of the nice things about the OD, is that they have a special award for 11th place, which was a free entry to next years 100 mile ride. Pretty crafty Canadian isn't he? Obviously I was outmatched by these more experienced competitors:)
During the last 10 miles, the effects of riding 30 miles in that heat on Friday started affecting me more. My legs were like jelly and I wallered all over the saddle. My equitition which is poor at the best of times became even worse. Remember in the old western movies when the soldiers at the fort see the lone returning rider from the scouting party. He is slumped over the front of the saddle and wobbling from side to side? Then after he gets through the gate of the fort, he falls off the horse and you see 5 or 6 arrows in his back? That was me as we went up Traskers Gap on the last 3 miles and the arrows would explain the pain as my back cramped up.
Somehow as we saw the lights of camp, we trotted on in at 3:26 am. In fact Piper cantered the last 100 yards. He may only weigh 800 pounds, but 600 of it has to be heart.
One of the things about Cavalry that is not well explained in the rules is that even after you cross the finish line, and even after you go through the completion vet check, you are still in a Cavalry mode until the Cavalry Award judging the next morning. That meant nobody could help me with my horse and getting the tack back to my campsite. Nobody could feed me or rub my back or legs. That was something I had not prepared for. I had food at the RV which I was allowed to eat, and feed for my horse. Unfortunately, by 8:am when it was time to do the judging, Piper had tightened up and was off enough to be judged not fit to continue. There was no doubt in my mind that I wasn't fit to continue. When trotting him out, my right leg cramped up and I came very close to collapsing
The head vet, Lani Newcomb, came up to tell me that they were not going to give a Cavalry Award, and it was obvious she was distressed about it. Everybody was rooting for us and hoping it would turn out good. Not getting the Cavalry Award was no big deal for me. It wasn't one of my goals coming into the ride. We had completed our first 100 mile ride, and done it at one of the toughest rides in the world, and done it Cavalry. Then we surpised the heck out ourselves and completed Top 10. Lani was talking about this probably being emotionally devastating for me. All I could think was thank goodness they didn't want me to trot him out more. That would have been devastating.
So here is the second big mis-conception around riding Cavalry at the Old Dominion. People think you have to be a world class experienced rider on one of the legendary horses. Piper and I started with under 400 lifetime endurance miles. Anybody that has seen me ride will assure you that I am not a well balanced centered rider. I am a 57 year old Realtor in only moderately fit condition. Doing our first 100 Cavalry style was no harder than if we had had a NASCAR type crew of 10 people helping. Cavalry style reduced the distractions and allowed me to focus on my horse and the ride. For instance, I carried a hand held polar monitor and never used it the entire ride. We were in touch enough that I knew if his heart was up or down.
If anybody is interested in my list of what I took, and what I used, please feel free to email me privately, Paul at ucozark.com
Cavalry was this great day spent bonding and sharing trail with my horse. I recommend it to anybody. If fact you might want to try doing a 50 that way just for the fun of it. It is more like what they say Endurance riding was back in the old days when people slept in pickup truck seats or on surplus army cots in the back of mostly clean stock trailers. I am still amazed that more people haven't tried it. They are checking, but think I may have been the only non-local rider to have ever completed the ride Cavalry. Folks, it wasn't that hard. The old trail at the Old Dominion is gone. I feel honored to have had a chance to complete it. Long live the new trail. Who wants to try it Cavalry with me next year?
Paul N. Sidio
Piper
Spokane Mo
Monday, June 11, 2007
Justin Morgan 50
Sharon Levasseur
This year there was a new endurance ride in Vermont, the Justin Morgan
Memorial 50 in Tunbridge and four surrounding towns. I wanted to ride it but
wasn't sure Zephyr could handle the White Mountains. So three weeks
beforehand, we rode the Brown Bag 25 CTR in the Green Mountains of Vermont.
He did well enough to convince me to give it a shot.
The night before we were scheduled to leave, a friend decided on the spur of
the moment to ditch work and come along to crew for me. HURRAY! Thanks to
preparations earlier in the week, we were packed up early enough that I was
able to cook omelets. We were out the driveway by 8:15 with what was
supposed to be 6 hours of driving ahead of us.
We took our time, stopping here and there for coffee, second breakfast, gas,
elevenses, etc. but thankfully no wrong turns. We finally got to the
Tunbridge Fairgrounds around 3:30 or so, set up camp, and vetted in with all
As.
Heather isn't a horse person and has had no real exposure to the sport of
endurance, so we spent a good long time getting my gear ready and discussing
the logistics of crewing. I've never had a crew before so we had to think it
through out loud together.
Next thing we knew it was time for a very yummy barbeque and the pre-ride
meeting. The trail description was the most thorough I had ever heard; it
was quite clear that Trailmaster Deb knew this trail in and out. I didn't
end up remembering very much of what she said, but one thing sure did
stick... watch out for the bull tied in the middle of the road!!!
Over dinner I met a guy named Dave who was riding a borrowed horse and had
the same goal I had, which was to finish as slow as we needed to in order to
get our flatland horses through safely, so we agreed to start together and
see how it went. Since I had a crew and he didn't, Heather and I agreed
that she could carry some things along and set them out for him.
After dinner it seemed as if we had 3 more minutes of daylight before it was
full dark and time to go lay down and pretend that sleep might actually
happen. Heather had opted to stretch out on the backseat of the truck.
she's shorter than I am. and I crawled into my Tent Cot in the front of the
trailer. I know I slept a little bit because I distinctly remember Zephyr
escaping from his escape-proof corral and that nobody could catch him. but
when I woke up it was clear that either I'd been sleeping, or he'd come home
and shut the gate behind him!
Time to get up came too soon. Start time was at 7:00 so my alarm went off at
4:30. Breakfast for him, breakfast for us, last-minute attempts to finish
shedding him out by sheer elbow grease, and tacking up by 6:40 for warmup.
Dave introduced me to Stina, whose name I'm sure I've spelled wrong, who
also wanted to ride very slowly because both she and her horse were
attempting their first 50-mile ride.
Zephyr was very calm as we warmed up and waited for the vehicle-controlled
start. Trailmaster Deb got this shot of the leading riders and the
starter's car:
Heather got a great picture of all the horses strung out after the starter's
car, on the switchbacks going up the hill out of the fairgrounds. It was all
pavement but all the horses were keyed up so everyone was trotting. Zephyr
was doing just fine until the second switchback when the road turned to
dirt. Then he turned on the afterburners and took off up the hill at his
biggest trot. Rather than fight with him and waste both our energy, I just
steered my rocket and tried to remind him that he had a rider, and that he
should try to keep it under 12mph. After a few miles he started to let me
have more of a say in the matter, so I hung back and waited for Dave and
Stina. We all arrived at the first crewing stop, a boat landing, together.
Heather helped Dave and I, but Zephyr wouldn't drink so I took a minute to
walk him down to the boat landing. Still no drinking so off I went. It took
a few minutes to catch up to Dave and Stina but eventually we did. We were
loving the trails and finding the markings easy to follow as long as we
looked around thoroughly at each turn marker to double-check which way the
trail went. Looking around thoroughly paid off in more ways than one; the
views were spectacular. The mountains were wrapped in such thick fog that
only the tops showed. I tried to take some pictures but the camera didn't
handle the light well so the pictures don't show the true glory that we got
to see in person.
More hills, dirt roads, woods, and fields, and then we were at the second
crewing stop. Pee-break for humans and sponging for horses, and we were off
again. After a while I spotted a pie plate attached to a tree off trail a
bit and yelled "WATER!" I couldn't read the pie plate yet but they don't
grow on trees, so chances were that it was a marker. The other two had
already passed it but Zephyr made the sharp turn without slowing down. They
all drank for quite a while. That was probably around 15 miles in. We all
felt a lot better then, it's always a little nervewracking at the beginning
when they're too keyed up to drink. We rode on with big grins!
The first hold was at a neighbor's farm, and was at around 18 miles. Heather
had picked a good spot for our water buckets up near the pulse-check area. I
knew it was hot and humid enough that to pulse down quickly we'd need to
strip the tack right away instead of waiting until between pulsing down and
the vet check like I normally do, so we stripped tack and dumped it into my
crewing cart. Sure enough, his pulse went right down. We got our official
out time and went back to the truck for a few minutes so we could both eat.
Round about ten minutes later I realized we hadn't gone for our vet check
yet, so off we went. It was in an indoor arena that had a mirror on the top
half of the end wall, and when I walked Zephyr up to it he didn't see the
mirror until he was right in front of it. His head came up, his ears pricked
forward, and he tilted his head from side to side as if he was admiring
himself. Heather just busted out laughing, she'd never seen anything like
it.
We vetted through with all As again and headed back for another few minutes
of snacking before I had to tack up again. The three of us left right on
time. Loop 2 was a little over ten miles. We kept a slower pace, still
moving right out but taking more time to graze (and take pictures).
Every bit of water we saw, the horses sucked down like champs. There were no
crew stops on this loop, and we cruised into the second hold before we knew
it. After the saddle was off, Zephyr pulsed down pretty quickly. This time
we went right over to the outdoor sand arena for our vet check. When the vet
asked me to trot him down and back, and we were on our way back when Zephyr
started trotting with his nose near the sand, sniffing. I was tired enough
not to make the connection. All of a sudden, mid-stride, he dropped like a
stone and just ROLLED and ROLLED and ROLLED! The reins got wrapped around
his nose and torn out of my hand; I'm probably lucky the center buckle
didn't rip my skin. Dumb me, I just reached down and picked the reins up
again but didn't think to move around to where I'd be standing right in
front of him. I would have, but I kept thinking he was finished! It was a
good solid minute before he finally got up. Everyone nearby had gathered at
the arena fence and was laughing. Someone yelled out that I had to clean him
up before presenting him to the vet, and someone else asked how the rolling
would affect our grade for Attitude! Dr. Art King laughed and just said I'd
have to do the trot-out again (so he could check the Cardiac Recovery Index.
pulse before and after trot-out). We passed again with all As and a warning
to be sure and get every last bit of sand out from under where the tack
would go. He didn't have to tell us twice!
Zephyr got less time to eat at this hold because we had to take him over to
the hose for a deep cleaning. We did the best we could without shampoo. I
had time to run to the outhouse with my new container of
Anti-Monkey-Butt-Powder to combat some oncoming saddle sores. Soon it was
time to tack up again, this time with a clean dry saddlepad. We ended up
waiting a few minutes until Esther, whose riding partner had been pulled,
was cleared to leave. It was the first 50-mile for both Esther and her
horse. The four of us did loop 3 together, a little over 9 miles, probably
at about the same pace as we did loop 2. I tried to eat some of my beef
jerky on this loop but when I looked in my pack I saw that the Ziploc bag
had opened, and my pack hadn't been closed, and I'd apparently been trailing
clouds of jerky over the last few miles!
A couple of memorable things happened on loop 3. First, we passed through a
rather run-down farm and we saw the bull. He had been moved off the road...
he was laying down and tied by a 6' rope to an engine block on the ground!
Second, we got to a private residence where there was a sign that said
"water for horses". We were thrilled! The owner came out to check on us
and chatted for a minute. Our horses were just finishing their drink from
this lady's trough, and I was just reaching for the clip on my sponge leash
when she said "OH, you won't believe it, this is so disgusting! I'm upset
with the last people who came through, they didn't get off their horses to
wet their sponges with the hose, they just sat there and dunked them in the
DRINKING WATER! MY horses wouldn't want to drink that nasty water, and I'm
sure yours don't need all that extra salt, so I emptied out the whole tub
and it's just now done filling up." None of us were sure what to say, but I
sure as heck took my hand away from my sponge! We tried to explain that
these horses actually DID need extra salt, and that if they were thirsty
they'd drink out of the nastiest muddiest puddles they could find, but in
the end we just gave up and thanked her for going to all that trouble!
This same woman said she thought she'd just seen a riderless horse heading
back where we came from. We hadn't seen it so she said "oh, it must have
been an apparition." For some reason, this sparked a discussion over the
next mile or so about whether she said apparition or aberration and what
each of those words meant and how both were accurate. We were getting
punchy I think.
As we approached the fairgrounds for the last hold, we were crossing a large
mowed hayfield and everything just felt perfect. It was one of those
on-trail moments that just make everything worthwhile. I did something I’ve
always wanted to do but for some reason hadn’t yet... I dropped the reins on
his neck and spread my arms wide to the side. It felt so good! I convinced
them all to try it, and there we all were, arms spread, cantering along with
the sun on our faces and joy in our hearts.
The third and last hold was at the fairgrounds, and since we didn’t want the
horses to think we were finished we stayed up near the vet area instead of
going back to the trailers. Zephyr pulsed down pretty quickly and we vetted
through with all As again, and no rolling, although we did have an audience
waiting to see if he would try! I had time for one more application of
Monkey Powder… I told Heather I was running an experiment to see how much I
could use before it became visible puffing out through the fabric of my
pants. I’m a firm believer in the stuff now, it sure seemed to help!
This hold was shorter so before we knew it, it was time to head out again.
Dave had been concerned because his borrowed mare hadn’t passed manure that
any of us could remember noticing, so he had her thoroughly checked by the
vets and was cleared to continue. We decided to wait a few minutes past our
out times so Esther could join us; her horse had pulsed down a few minutes
after ours and we knew that if we didn’t wait she wouldn’t continue alone.
This last loop would be a little over 13 miles and we only had an hour and a
half before the 7pm cutoff time, which meant we had to seriously pick up the
pace.
As we left camp we picked up a trot just in time to come to a screeching
halt to cross a small rock-bottomed river. The footing was a little
difficult but we made it through with all our horses’ shoes intact. Maybe a
mile later, while we were going up a hill, Dave said he was turning back.
His mare was reluctant to keep pace, which was unusual because she’d done at
least her share of leading the pack all day. She just seemed reluctant to
keep up. It could have been because we had been back at the fairgrounds and
this was her first endurance ride so she’d thought she had been finished, or
it could have been something much worse brewing. Dave made the smart choice
and turned back.
That left me and the two rookie horse/rider teams, and since I’m not that
experienced myself, I joked that the responsibility was scary. But in
reality, I know at least one and maybe both of these ladies were experienced
Competitive Trail Riders, so they knew the important things! We worked well
together, taking turns pushing our horses through the toughest 13.5 miles of
the whole ride. There was no breeze, not much time in the shady woods, and
not enough water. (There was actually a fair amount of natural water but
when we really needed it we couldn't find any.) The horses were puffing
hard but still interested in eating when we asked them to, and whenever they
were trotting they moved willingly enough. It was when we slowed to a walk
that we crawled! None of them wanted to walk at a reasonable pace; we
figured they were making the most of their rest time but it was still
frustrating because the only time we got any breeze was when we were
trotting.
At the halfway point there were water tanks, where we caught up to a lone
rider. She left as our horses stuck their noses in and drank for a good five
minutes it seemed. We took our time and sponged thoroughly before moving on.
It seemed like forever before we ran into a couple different folks from ride
management, and the second of the two said we were three miles from the
fairgrounds. We continued pushing as fast as we could go, determined not to
fail by being overtime. We passed the lone rider at some point in here. I
had to get off to walk one of the long downhills, my left shin was on fire
and I couldn't trot downhill anymore. I thought walking on my own two feet
might help, and it did. I was able to get back in the saddle and trot again
with less pain.
It was a relief to finally see the fairgrounds across the fields. We crossed
a covered bridge in between and Trailmaster Deb was there to take our
pictures. Big grins and straightened posture.
The horses perked up when they recognized a field they'd traveled earlier.
I was in the lead and when we hit the track around the outside of the
fairgrounds, Zephyr started cantering. He broke into a trot before the
finish line but I crossed it with my arms spread wide and a big grin! That
was the first time ever that I'd finished a ride to the sound of applause
and cheering. I'm not sure why either, maybe they were waiting to see if
we'd make the cut off time? I've just beat cut off a lot of times though,
and never got that reception.
He stopped next to the in-timer without a cue, and I did my impression of
hopping off in a sprightly manner. Which is to say, I slithered down off his
back and assumed a spread-kneed, hunch-backed posture while Heather gave my
vet card to the timer. We went over to the crewing area, stripped his tack
and both sponged and hosed him down. Almost everyone I passed in those first
few minutes congratulated me, and I had to tell them not to jinx it as we
had yet to vet through! His pulse was down in something less than 10 minutes
and we were walking to the pulse box when he stepped on my foot and leaned
on it. I tried to push him off but didn't have much muscle strength. It
seemed like forever! When he was finally off of me I yelled a curse and
doubled over, and everyone started laughing. One lady called out "that
always makes me feel better too!"
I managed to trot him out all right. He vetted through with all As except
for a B on gut sounds, which wasn't surprising as we'd only stopped for a
couple of quick bites of grass on that last loop. I left the vetting area
and handed the lead rope to Heather, muttering something like "let him eat".
Then I headed for the nearest grassy spot and eased down onto my back for a
few minutes of rest! As soon as I could manage it I made my way back to the
trailer to join Heather and Zephyr, and change out of my wet clothes. I took
a turn with Zephyr and just laid on the ground with my eyes closed, holding
the end of his lead rope while he ate the grass around me.
I heard a bit later that people who have ridden all over the country said
the terrain rivaled Old Dominion (without the rocks). I don't think I'd have
done it if I'd realized that! He is, for all intents and purposes, a
flatland horse. We have hills but nothing like this!
There was no award ceremony because most folks had left. After I picked up
my completion award, we ate a cold supper, had some wine, and walked across
the fairgrounds for showers before going to bed. We'd just been given word
that instead of the leisurely departure I'd planned before our 7-hour drive,
we had to clear out by 7am at the latest because a Morgan horse show was
being held that day.
I woke up at 4:45 to the sound of our neighbors packing up. We were both up
by 5 and left the fairgrounds at 7, so we got home at 1:30 instead of
dinnertime like I'd planned. He trotted out sound, even on circles. We got
the trailer unpacked and parked, which feels great NOW but wasn't really on
my top ten list of things to do THEN. We went out to dinner and I still had
time to write this story when we got home!
Hope you enjoyed the story. If this ride happens again, seriously consider
going. It is a true challenge, but isn't that what it's all about?
Sharon L. and Zephyr
www.zegifts.com
This year there was a new endurance ride in Vermont, the Justin Morgan
Memorial 50 in Tunbridge and four surrounding towns. I wanted to ride it but
wasn't sure Zephyr could handle the White Mountains. So three weeks
beforehand, we rode the Brown Bag 25 CTR in the Green Mountains of Vermont.
He did well enough to convince me to give it a shot.
The night before we were scheduled to leave, a friend decided on the spur of
the moment to ditch work and come along to crew for me. HURRAY! Thanks to
preparations earlier in the week, we were packed up early enough that I was
able to cook omelets. We were out the driveway by 8:15 with what was
supposed to be 6 hours of driving ahead of us.
We took our time, stopping here and there for coffee, second breakfast, gas,
elevenses, etc. but thankfully no wrong turns. We finally got to the
Tunbridge Fairgrounds around 3:30 or so, set up camp, and vetted in with all
As.
Heather isn't a horse person and has had no real exposure to the sport of
endurance, so we spent a good long time getting my gear ready and discussing
the logistics of crewing. I've never had a crew before so we had to think it
through out loud together.
Next thing we knew it was time for a very yummy barbeque and the pre-ride
meeting. The trail description was the most thorough I had ever heard; it
was quite clear that Trailmaster Deb knew this trail in and out. I didn't
end up remembering very much of what she said, but one thing sure did
stick... watch out for the bull tied in the middle of the road!!!
Over dinner I met a guy named Dave who was riding a borrowed horse and had
the same goal I had, which was to finish as slow as we needed to in order to
get our flatland horses through safely, so we agreed to start together and
see how it went. Since I had a crew and he didn't, Heather and I agreed
that she could carry some things along and set them out for him.
After dinner it seemed as if we had 3 more minutes of daylight before it was
full dark and time to go lay down and pretend that sleep might actually
happen. Heather had opted to stretch out on the backseat of the truck.
she's shorter than I am. and I crawled into my Tent Cot in the front of the
trailer. I know I slept a little bit because I distinctly remember Zephyr
escaping from his escape-proof corral and that nobody could catch him. but
when I woke up it was clear that either I'd been sleeping, or he'd come home
and shut the gate behind him!
Time to get up came too soon. Start time was at 7:00 so my alarm went off at
4:30. Breakfast for him, breakfast for us, last-minute attempts to finish
shedding him out by sheer elbow grease, and tacking up by 6:40 for warmup.
Dave introduced me to Stina, whose name I'm sure I've spelled wrong, who
also wanted to ride very slowly because both she and her horse were
attempting their first 50-mile ride.
Zephyr was very calm as we warmed up and waited for the vehicle-controlled
start. Trailmaster Deb got this shot of the leading riders and the
starter's car:
Heather got a great picture of all the horses strung out after the starter's
car, on the switchbacks going up the hill out of the fairgrounds. It was all
pavement but all the horses were keyed up so everyone was trotting. Zephyr
was doing just fine until the second switchback when the road turned to
dirt. Then he turned on the afterburners and took off up the hill at his
biggest trot. Rather than fight with him and waste both our energy, I just
steered my rocket and tried to remind him that he had a rider, and that he
should try to keep it under 12mph. After a few miles he started to let me
have more of a say in the matter, so I hung back and waited for Dave and
Stina. We all arrived at the first crewing stop, a boat landing, together.
Heather helped Dave and I, but Zephyr wouldn't drink so I took a minute to
walk him down to the boat landing. Still no drinking so off I went. It took
a few minutes to catch up to Dave and Stina but eventually we did. We were
loving the trails and finding the markings easy to follow as long as we
looked around thoroughly at each turn marker to double-check which way the
trail went. Looking around thoroughly paid off in more ways than one; the
views were spectacular. The mountains were wrapped in such thick fog that
only the tops showed. I tried to take some pictures but the camera didn't
handle the light well so the pictures don't show the true glory that we got
to see in person.
More hills, dirt roads, woods, and fields, and then we were at the second
crewing stop. Pee-break for humans and sponging for horses, and we were off
again. After a while I spotted a pie plate attached to a tree off trail a
bit and yelled "WATER!" I couldn't read the pie plate yet but they don't
grow on trees, so chances were that it was a marker. The other two had
already passed it but Zephyr made the sharp turn without slowing down. They
all drank for quite a while. That was probably around 15 miles in. We all
felt a lot better then, it's always a little nervewracking at the beginning
when they're too keyed up to drink. We rode on with big grins!
The first hold was at a neighbor's farm, and was at around 18 miles. Heather
had picked a good spot for our water buckets up near the pulse-check area. I
knew it was hot and humid enough that to pulse down quickly we'd need to
strip the tack right away instead of waiting until between pulsing down and
the vet check like I normally do, so we stripped tack and dumped it into my
crewing cart. Sure enough, his pulse went right down. We got our official
out time and went back to the truck for a few minutes so we could both eat.
Round about ten minutes later I realized we hadn't gone for our vet check
yet, so off we went. It was in an indoor arena that had a mirror on the top
half of the end wall, and when I walked Zephyr up to it he didn't see the
mirror until he was right in front of it. His head came up, his ears pricked
forward, and he tilted his head from side to side as if he was admiring
himself. Heather just busted out laughing, she'd never seen anything like
it.
We vetted through with all As again and headed back for another few minutes
of snacking before I had to tack up again. The three of us left right on
time. Loop 2 was a little over ten miles. We kept a slower pace, still
moving right out but taking more time to graze (and take pictures).
Every bit of water we saw, the horses sucked down like champs. There were no
crew stops on this loop, and we cruised into the second hold before we knew
it. After the saddle was off, Zephyr pulsed down pretty quickly. This time
we went right over to the outdoor sand arena for our vet check. When the vet
asked me to trot him down and back, and we were on our way back when Zephyr
started trotting with his nose near the sand, sniffing. I was tired enough
not to make the connection. All of a sudden, mid-stride, he dropped like a
stone and just ROLLED and ROLLED and ROLLED! The reins got wrapped around
his nose and torn out of my hand; I'm probably lucky the center buckle
didn't rip my skin. Dumb me, I just reached down and picked the reins up
again but didn't think to move around to where I'd be standing right in
front of him. I would have, but I kept thinking he was finished! It was a
good solid minute before he finally got up. Everyone nearby had gathered at
the arena fence and was laughing. Someone yelled out that I had to clean him
up before presenting him to the vet, and someone else asked how the rolling
would affect our grade for Attitude! Dr. Art King laughed and just said I'd
have to do the trot-out again (so he could check the Cardiac Recovery Index.
pulse before and after trot-out). We passed again with all As and a warning
to be sure and get every last bit of sand out from under where the tack
would go. He didn't have to tell us twice!
Zephyr got less time to eat at this hold because we had to take him over to
the hose for a deep cleaning. We did the best we could without shampoo. I
had time to run to the outhouse with my new container of
Anti-Monkey-Butt-Powder to combat some oncoming saddle sores. Soon it was
time to tack up again, this time with a clean dry saddlepad. We ended up
waiting a few minutes until Esther, whose riding partner had been pulled,
was cleared to leave. It was the first 50-mile for both Esther and her
horse. The four of us did loop 3 together, a little over 9 miles, probably
at about the same pace as we did loop 2. I tried to eat some of my beef
jerky on this loop but when I looked in my pack I saw that the Ziploc bag
had opened, and my pack hadn't been closed, and I'd apparently been trailing
clouds of jerky over the last few miles!
A couple of memorable things happened on loop 3. First, we passed through a
rather run-down farm and we saw the bull. He had been moved off the road...
he was laying down and tied by a 6' rope to an engine block on the ground!
Second, we got to a private residence where there was a sign that said
"water for horses". We were thrilled! The owner came out to check on us
and chatted for a minute. Our horses were just finishing their drink from
this lady's trough, and I was just reaching for the clip on my sponge leash
when she said "OH, you won't believe it, this is so disgusting! I'm upset
with the last people who came through, they didn't get off their horses to
wet their sponges with the hose, they just sat there and dunked them in the
DRINKING WATER! MY horses wouldn't want to drink that nasty water, and I'm
sure yours don't need all that extra salt, so I emptied out the whole tub
and it's just now done filling up." None of us were sure what to say, but I
sure as heck took my hand away from my sponge! We tried to explain that
these horses actually DID need extra salt, and that if they were thirsty
they'd drink out of the nastiest muddiest puddles they could find, but in
the end we just gave up and thanked her for going to all that trouble!
This same woman said she thought she'd just seen a riderless horse heading
back where we came from. We hadn't seen it so she said "oh, it must have
been an apparition." For some reason, this sparked a discussion over the
next mile or so about whether she said apparition or aberration and what
each of those words meant and how both were accurate. We were getting
punchy I think.
As we approached the fairgrounds for the last hold, we were crossing a large
mowed hayfield and everything just felt perfect. It was one of those
on-trail moments that just make everything worthwhile. I did something I’ve
always wanted to do but for some reason hadn’t yet... I dropped the reins on
his neck and spread my arms wide to the side. It felt so good! I convinced
them all to try it, and there we all were, arms spread, cantering along with
the sun on our faces and joy in our hearts.
The third and last hold was at the fairgrounds, and since we didn’t want the
horses to think we were finished we stayed up near the vet area instead of
going back to the trailers. Zephyr pulsed down pretty quickly and we vetted
through with all As again, and no rolling, although we did have an audience
waiting to see if he would try! I had time for one more application of
Monkey Powder… I told Heather I was running an experiment to see how much I
could use before it became visible puffing out through the fabric of my
pants. I’m a firm believer in the stuff now, it sure seemed to help!
This hold was shorter so before we knew it, it was time to head out again.
Dave had been concerned because his borrowed mare hadn’t passed manure that
any of us could remember noticing, so he had her thoroughly checked by the
vets and was cleared to continue. We decided to wait a few minutes past our
out times so Esther could join us; her horse had pulsed down a few minutes
after ours and we knew that if we didn’t wait she wouldn’t continue alone.
This last loop would be a little over 13 miles and we only had an hour and a
half before the 7pm cutoff time, which meant we had to seriously pick up the
pace.
As we left camp we picked up a trot just in time to come to a screeching
halt to cross a small rock-bottomed river. The footing was a little
difficult but we made it through with all our horses’ shoes intact. Maybe a
mile later, while we were going up a hill, Dave said he was turning back.
His mare was reluctant to keep pace, which was unusual because she’d done at
least her share of leading the pack all day. She just seemed reluctant to
keep up. It could have been because we had been back at the fairgrounds and
this was her first endurance ride so she’d thought she had been finished, or
it could have been something much worse brewing. Dave made the smart choice
and turned back.
That left me and the two rookie horse/rider teams, and since I’m not that
experienced myself, I joked that the responsibility was scary. But in
reality, I know at least one and maybe both of these ladies were experienced
Competitive Trail Riders, so they knew the important things! We worked well
together, taking turns pushing our horses through the toughest 13.5 miles of
the whole ride. There was no breeze, not much time in the shady woods, and
not enough water. (There was actually a fair amount of natural water but
when we really needed it we couldn't find any.) The horses were puffing
hard but still interested in eating when we asked them to, and whenever they
were trotting they moved willingly enough. It was when we slowed to a walk
that we crawled! None of them wanted to walk at a reasonable pace; we
figured they were making the most of their rest time but it was still
frustrating because the only time we got any breeze was when we were
trotting.
At the halfway point there were water tanks, where we caught up to a lone
rider. She left as our horses stuck their noses in and drank for a good five
minutes it seemed. We took our time and sponged thoroughly before moving on.
It seemed like forever before we ran into a couple different folks from ride
management, and the second of the two said we were three miles from the
fairgrounds. We continued pushing as fast as we could go, determined not to
fail by being overtime. We passed the lone rider at some point in here. I
had to get off to walk one of the long downhills, my left shin was on fire
and I couldn't trot downhill anymore. I thought walking on my own two feet
might help, and it did. I was able to get back in the saddle and trot again
with less pain.
It was a relief to finally see the fairgrounds across the fields. We crossed
a covered bridge in between and Trailmaster Deb was there to take our
pictures. Big grins and straightened posture.
The horses perked up when they recognized a field they'd traveled earlier.
I was in the lead and when we hit the track around the outside of the
fairgrounds, Zephyr started cantering. He broke into a trot before the
finish line but I crossed it with my arms spread wide and a big grin! That
was the first time ever that I'd finished a ride to the sound of applause
and cheering. I'm not sure why either, maybe they were waiting to see if
we'd make the cut off time? I've just beat cut off a lot of times though,
and never got that reception.
He stopped next to the in-timer without a cue, and I did my impression of
hopping off in a sprightly manner. Which is to say, I slithered down off his
back and assumed a spread-kneed, hunch-backed posture while Heather gave my
vet card to the timer. We went over to the crewing area, stripped his tack
and both sponged and hosed him down. Almost everyone I passed in those first
few minutes congratulated me, and I had to tell them not to jinx it as we
had yet to vet through! His pulse was down in something less than 10 minutes
and we were walking to the pulse box when he stepped on my foot and leaned
on it. I tried to push him off but didn't have much muscle strength. It
seemed like forever! When he was finally off of me I yelled a curse and
doubled over, and everyone started laughing. One lady called out "that
always makes me feel better too!"
I managed to trot him out all right. He vetted through with all As except
for a B on gut sounds, which wasn't surprising as we'd only stopped for a
couple of quick bites of grass on that last loop. I left the vetting area
and handed the lead rope to Heather, muttering something like "let him eat".
Then I headed for the nearest grassy spot and eased down onto my back for a
few minutes of rest! As soon as I could manage it I made my way back to the
trailer to join Heather and Zephyr, and change out of my wet clothes. I took
a turn with Zephyr and just laid on the ground with my eyes closed, holding
the end of his lead rope while he ate the grass around me.
I heard a bit later that people who have ridden all over the country said
the terrain rivaled Old Dominion (without the rocks). I don't think I'd have
done it if I'd realized that! He is, for all intents and purposes, a
flatland horse. We have hills but nothing like this!
There was no award ceremony because most folks had left. After I picked up
my completion award, we ate a cold supper, had some wine, and walked across
the fairgrounds for showers before going to bed. We'd just been given word
that instead of the leisurely departure I'd planned before our 7-hour drive,
we had to clear out by 7am at the latest because a Morgan horse show was
being held that day.
I woke up at 4:45 to the sound of our neighbors packing up. We were both up
by 5 and left the fairgrounds at 7, so we got home at 1:30 instead of
dinnertime like I'd planned. He trotted out sound, even on circles. We got
the trailer unpacked and parked, which feels great NOW but wasn't really on
my top ten list of things to do THEN. We went out to dinner and I still had
time to write this story when we got home!
Hope you enjoyed the story. If this ride happens again, seriously consider
going. It is a true challenge, but isn't that what it's all about?
Sharon L. and Zephyr
www.zegifts.com
First 100 at Old Dominion
Ashley Kemerer
Well I am proud to say that both my horse and I completed our first 100 mile ride at the Old Dominion this past weekend. I know there are oodles of emails from other ridecampers that have completed their first 100's etc, but I figured one more couldn't hurt.
Let me just say that I had a blast! The ride was awesome, the trail was challenging but doable and best of all we completed. Coming into this ride I was not sure that we would complete, like everyone we had various issues arise just a few weeks prior to the ride, so I entered the ride with the attitude of "We're going to give it a shot" I had no expectations and if it was necessary at anytime I was ready to pull my horse if he wasn't up to the challenge or for any other reason. I rode with my father, for those of you who know Skip, and a good friend Lisa Delp. So to the ride, we were off at a 5:30 am start with just a small patch of dirt road going into the first three miles which were to be basically all uphill and very rocky, we had already decided that we were going to walk this part of the trail. We made it through and started to pick up speed into the trot by at Edinburg, then continued on to the first vet check at Curtis Field, 23 or so miles in. Horses pulsed down well, luckily our crew, my mom, had found us a great spot in the shade. The horses had the opportunity to rest up and relax and of course eat.
Off to the Gate and Go we went, the trail was beautiful we went up what I think was Little Crease, whooey was that one rocky section. Then onto Veaches Gap another serious climb with rocks. The Gate and Go was across the river, which we all cooled off in, but alas we had to pass the gate and go and do another 4 or so mile loop and back to the gate and go, but that gave us a chance to see the front runners, all of the horses we saw were in great shape. After completing the loop it was back to the Gate and Go, it was hot and there was no shade and water was at a premium but we managed to pulse down and continue on.
Ill continue on in less detail but I will add that we also did Sherman's Gap, that was a climb and a half, we all walked down the climb to give the horses a bit of a break. I was feeling great and my horse looked great and I was utterly impressed with how well he was doing. Some more climbs and beautiful trail. Unfortunately my dad rider optioned at 90 miles. So it was just Lisa and I to finish the last ten miles in the dark dark night. We made it through and finished at around 4:30, we both vetted through well and headed back to camp to take care of our horses and try to get some rest.
This was definetly one of the greatest experiences of my endurance career and something I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life, along with my hard earned OD buckle! To anyone contemplating doing their first 100 (not necessarily at OD) I highly recommend it, go in with the right attitude and keep your horses best interest forefront and go for it. It is something you will never forget.
Thanks to everyone at the OD for making this possible, the crews and volunteers and staff were all awesome, what a great ride this was! Also thanks to my Dad, Mom, and Lisa for riding with me, as well as Lisa's crew too!
Ashley and Tarsu (who I'm sure is catching some Zzz's)
Australia: Nanango CEI***
Ride summary from Jay Randall:
Hi All
The Sample & Partners FEI*** 160km ride and the Nanango Forest FEI** 107km ride (incorporating the Trans Tasman Challenge) has been run and won!
We arrived at the ride base on Wednesday morning, into miserably wet and cold conditions. Luckily we had the ideal campsite, and were able to fend off the rain and remain dry, if not warm. By Thursday the Nanango Showgrounds was looking quite full, and by Friday morning the rest of the competitors fronted up. The facilities were excellent: hot showers, power, great catering, a good PA system, etc....
The weather cleared by Thursday afternoon, although it was still very cold on Friday. Saturday (ride day) dawned a little warmer, and I thought we ended up having perfect riding weather throughout the entire ride. The track was a little soft in patches, but overall was ideal. The away Vet Gate was cancelled due to the conditions, which made the crewing even easier for all of us poor strappers! Indeed, we used minimal water throughout the ride, as the horses were all pretty well taken care of by my wonderful riders on track!
There were 44 starters in the 160km ride and 64 starters in the 107km ride.
The Splendacrest Team (incorporating Alwyn Torrenbeek's 2 horses for the weekend) started 3 horses in the 160km ride, and 4 horses in the 107km ride. We were also responsible for 1 horse in the 160km ride and 1 in the 107km ride ridden by the Kiwi team in the Trans Tasman Challenge, making a total of 9 horses all up in our camp.
Our 160km riders were Alwyn on his strong mare Mary Anne, Yukinobi Horiyuchi on Alwyn's gelding Pardon, and Yuko Kimoto on the beautiful Bullarto Fiorelli. New Zealand young rider Kimberley Ryan rode Splendacrest Dryad in the NZ Team competition.
Poor Yuko had an incident in the third phase of the ride when Fiorelli ended up going through a barbed-wire fence and was subsequently floated back to the ride base. As the mare was badly scratched up, that was the end of the ride for this pairing. Alwyn and Yukinobi both completed successfully, in a riding time of 14:50.
I was extremely proud of Kimberley, who successfully guided Dryad around the 160km in a riding time of 12:33, for 6th Youth placing. Both Kim and her strapper/mother Lisa Ryan were very happy with this result, and Dryad looked excellent the whole way! Kim was the only rider in the NZ 160km team to complete the ride, making the victory even sweeter for me!!!!
Our 107km riders were Tarni Kittle on Raaward Chanelle (owned by Zoe Gardner), Amanda Powell on Shonavale Kamilla (owned by Shane Hopkins), Noriko Hasegawa on Splendacrest Perfection (owned by Shane Hopkins), and John Dugan on his mare Quick & Easy.
Due to a mix up in timing, Noriko had to depart on the final leg of the 107km ride in the dark by herself, and was extremely brave in doing so! However disaster struck when she firstly became lost in the unfamilar dark conditions, and then had a fall with the horse deciding that he knew the way back to ride base and wasn't waiting for his rider! Both horse and rider were found safe but sorry, and we had to withdraw them on course. But Perfection passed the Vet Check with flying colours, and will enjoy his next ride very soon! Noriko was also fine, with a small graze on her cheek to show for her adventures.
Tarni rode the majority of the 107km with Joyce Corbett (THANKS JOYCE!), and was successful in taking out the 2nd Youth placing in a time of 5:42. Raaward Chanelle looked great throughout the ride, and recovered very well after each phase.
Amanda also had a very successful ride, taking out 4th Youth placing in a time of 6:18, and then placing 2nd in the Best Conditioned competition. This mare, Shonavale Kamilla, is just going from strength to strength this year!
John Dugan placed 15th in the Open Division in 6:39, for another good result on his big mare Quick & Easy. She looked great throughout the ride, taking care of both herself and John (who is still recovering from a bad injury to his knee last year).
We were also very lucky to have the New Zealand youth rider in the 107km team, Jordan Piripi, in our camp throughout the weekend, as she was on Joyce Corbett's mare Murland Park Mikhala. Jordan didn't have a very good introduction to Mikhala to begin with, however she persevered and eventually was successful in completing the 107km ride well. Congratulations to both Jordan and her groom, Chris.
The King of Malaysia was in the 160km ride, and the security was pretty intense every time he was around! There were plenty of dark suits, sunglasses and stony stares, however in general the atmosphere around the King was fairly laid-back and relaxed. I was fortunate to see him come in off the final phase of the ride, and I can tell you that he was pretty tired! He rode one of Brook Sample's horses (actually I think the horse belonged to Leigh Ann Sample!), and the Royal Stables trainer, Paul Brown, accompanied him throughout the ride on another of Brook's horses. Both were successful.
I was amused to see the King walking back to his camp after weighing in on the final leg. He was a little shaky on the pins, and eventually just collapsed onto the ground (to the great consternation of his minders) in exhaustion. But he was so obviously happy to complete (and qualify!) that he just brushed off all help, and righted himself.
Another high point for me personally was to meet one of my Malaysian internet friends, Amir, and his wife Nadia. I was very pleased to finally put a face to the name and the interesting conversations we have had by email. Both also completed their rides, and both were headed home very tired!
So, now to the thank yous: This ride would not have been made possible without the vision and sponsorship of Matthew Sample of Sample & Partners. Matthew also announced that he hoped to make the Sample & Partners FEI Series an annual event in Queensland, which was greeted with much enthusiasm!
But it was Barb Timms who put in the majority of the work in order to get this ride under way. Barb has worked tirelessly for the sport of endurance riding in Australia for more years than we all can count (!), and the success of this ride is just another notch in her belt. Thank you Barb!
Barb rounded up an incredible amount of support in the way of the volunteers who assisted in getting this ride going, including Margie Lee Madigan and Scott Madigan, Colleen Shaw, Lesley Nancarrow, Nev Badman, the Sandy Ridges Rural Fire Brigade, the Nanango SES, and a host of other people holding down the jobs of time keeping, secretariat duties, computer operations, weighing, pencilling, communications, horse rescue, farrier, etc.
The FEI Ground Jury was highly visible and extremely helpful, and consisted of Irene Malone, Ieva Peters, Denise Trollope, Sarah Adams, Ron Guest, Kerry Spratt, Ady McIntosh, and all the way from England, Pauline Dickie. Toby Crockett was the TD, and Allan Renner was the CS.
The Veterinary Commission was just an eye-opening gathering of the best Vets!!! Dr Brian Sheahan headed up a crew consisting of Anne Barnes, Pat Hodgetts, Jon Fearnley, Kathy Webb, Prof Chris Pollitt, Judy Law, and international Vets Andre Bereznnowski from Poland and Len Beach from England.
It was an absolute pleasure to see Dr Len Beach again, as I had originally met him at a ride in France last year, and had invited him at that time to come to Australia to participate in this ride. He bought his wife, Pauline Dickie along, and the two of them worked extremely hard over the weekend to assist with the smooth operation of this ride.
I must thank Jenny Bidner, who gave up her weekend to come and strap for our team, as well as Beck Forgan and Gerard Bou (both Splendacrest riders) who also came along to watch and learn. Thanks guys! And a final thanks to Shane Hopkins, who safely drove all my beautiful horses there and back. Thanks, Shane!
Now we are all looking forward to the Spring Mountain ride in two weeks. See you all there!!
Best regards
Jay Randle
SPLENDACREST ENDURANCE TRAINING
www.freewebs.com/splendacrest
Q41392
Hi All
The Sample & Partners FEI*** 160km ride and the Nanango Forest FEI** 107km ride (incorporating the Trans Tasman Challenge) has been run and won!
We arrived at the ride base on Wednesday morning, into miserably wet and cold conditions. Luckily we had the ideal campsite, and were able to fend off the rain and remain dry, if not warm. By Thursday the Nanango Showgrounds was looking quite full, and by Friday morning the rest of the competitors fronted up. The facilities were excellent: hot showers, power, great catering, a good PA system, etc....
The weather cleared by Thursday afternoon, although it was still very cold on Friday. Saturday (ride day) dawned a little warmer, and I thought we ended up having perfect riding weather throughout the entire ride. The track was a little soft in patches, but overall was ideal. The away Vet Gate was cancelled due to the conditions, which made the crewing even easier for all of us poor strappers! Indeed, we used minimal water throughout the ride, as the horses were all pretty well taken care of by my wonderful riders on track!
There were 44 starters in the 160km ride and 64 starters in the 107km ride.
The Splendacrest Team (incorporating Alwyn Torrenbeek's 2 horses for the weekend) started 3 horses in the 160km ride, and 4 horses in the 107km ride. We were also responsible for 1 horse in the 160km ride and 1 in the 107km ride ridden by the Kiwi team in the Trans Tasman Challenge, making a total of 9 horses all up in our camp.
Our 160km riders were Alwyn on his strong mare Mary Anne, Yukinobi Horiyuchi on Alwyn's gelding Pardon, and Yuko Kimoto on the beautiful Bullarto Fiorelli. New Zealand young rider Kimberley Ryan rode Splendacrest Dryad in the NZ Team competition.
Poor Yuko had an incident in the third phase of the ride when Fiorelli ended up going through a barbed-wire fence and was subsequently floated back to the ride base. As the mare was badly scratched up, that was the end of the ride for this pairing. Alwyn and Yukinobi both completed successfully, in a riding time of 14:50.
I was extremely proud of Kimberley, who successfully guided Dryad around the 160km in a riding time of 12:33, for 6th Youth placing. Both Kim and her strapper/mother Lisa Ryan were very happy with this result, and Dryad looked excellent the whole way! Kim was the only rider in the NZ 160km team to complete the ride, making the victory even sweeter for me!!!!
Our 107km riders were Tarni Kittle on Raaward Chanelle (owned by Zoe Gardner), Amanda Powell on Shonavale Kamilla (owned by Shane Hopkins), Noriko Hasegawa on Splendacrest Perfection (owned by Shane Hopkins), and John Dugan on his mare Quick & Easy.
Due to a mix up in timing, Noriko had to depart on the final leg of the 107km ride in the dark by herself, and was extremely brave in doing so! However disaster struck when she firstly became lost in the unfamilar dark conditions, and then had a fall with the horse deciding that he knew the way back to ride base and wasn't waiting for his rider! Both horse and rider were found safe but sorry, and we had to withdraw them on course. But Perfection passed the Vet Check with flying colours, and will enjoy his next ride very soon! Noriko was also fine, with a small graze on her cheek to show for her adventures.
Tarni rode the majority of the 107km with Joyce Corbett (THANKS JOYCE!), and was successful in taking out the 2nd Youth placing in a time of 5:42. Raaward Chanelle looked great throughout the ride, and recovered very well after each phase.
Amanda also had a very successful ride, taking out 4th Youth placing in a time of 6:18, and then placing 2nd in the Best Conditioned competition. This mare, Shonavale Kamilla, is just going from strength to strength this year!
John Dugan placed 15th in the Open Division in 6:39, for another good result on his big mare Quick & Easy. She looked great throughout the ride, taking care of both herself and John (who is still recovering from a bad injury to his knee last year).
We were also very lucky to have the New Zealand youth rider in the 107km team, Jordan Piripi, in our camp throughout the weekend, as she was on Joyce Corbett's mare Murland Park Mikhala. Jordan didn't have a very good introduction to Mikhala to begin with, however she persevered and eventually was successful in completing the 107km ride well. Congratulations to both Jordan and her groom, Chris.
The King of Malaysia was in the 160km ride, and the security was pretty intense every time he was around! There were plenty of dark suits, sunglasses and stony stares, however in general the atmosphere around the King was fairly laid-back and relaxed. I was fortunate to see him come in off the final phase of the ride, and I can tell you that he was pretty tired! He rode one of Brook Sample's horses (actually I think the horse belonged to Leigh Ann Sample!), and the Royal Stables trainer, Paul Brown, accompanied him throughout the ride on another of Brook's horses. Both were successful.
I was amused to see the King walking back to his camp after weighing in on the final leg. He was a little shaky on the pins, and eventually just collapsed onto the ground (to the great consternation of his minders) in exhaustion. But he was so obviously happy to complete (and qualify!) that he just brushed off all help, and righted himself.
Another high point for me personally was to meet one of my Malaysian internet friends, Amir, and his wife Nadia. I was very pleased to finally put a face to the name and the interesting conversations we have had by email. Both also completed their rides, and both were headed home very tired!
So, now to the thank yous: This ride would not have been made possible without the vision and sponsorship of Matthew Sample of Sample & Partners. Matthew also announced that he hoped to make the Sample & Partners FEI Series an annual event in Queensland, which was greeted with much enthusiasm!
But it was Barb Timms who put in the majority of the work in order to get this ride under way. Barb has worked tirelessly for the sport of endurance riding in Australia for more years than we all can count (!), and the success of this ride is just another notch in her belt. Thank you Barb!
Barb rounded up an incredible amount of support in the way of the volunteers who assisted in getting this ride going, including Margie Lee Madigan and Scott Madigan, Colleen Shaw, Lesley Nancarrow, Nev Badman, the Sandy Ridges Rural Fire Brigade, the Nanango SES, and a host of other people holding down the jobs of time keeping, secretariat duties, computer operations, weighing, pencilling, communications, horse rescue, farrier, etc.
The FEI Ground Jury was highly visible and extremely helpful, and consisted of Irene Malone, Ieva Peters, Denise Trollope, Sarah Adams, Ron Guest, Kerry Spratt, Ady McIntosh, and all the way from England, Pauline Dickie. Toby Crockett was the TD, and Allan Renner was the CS.
The Veterinary Commission was just an eye-opening gathering of the best Vets!!! Dr Brian Sheahan headed up a crew consisting of Anne Barnes, Pat Hodgetts, Jon Fearnley, Kathy Webb, Prof Chris Pollitt, Judy Law, and international Vets Andre Bereznnowski from Poland and Len Beach from England.
It was an absolute pleasure to see Dr Len Beach again, as I had originally met him at a ride in France last year, and had invited him at that time to come to Australia to participate in this ride. He bought his wife, Pauline Dickie along, and the two of them worked extremely hard over the weekend to assist with the smooth operation of this ride.
I must thank Jenny Bidner, who gave up her weekend to come and strap for our team, as well as Beck Forgan and Gerard Bou (both Splendacrest riders) who also came along to watch and learn. Thanks guys! And a final thanks to Shane Hopkins, who safely drove all my beautiful horses there and back. Thanks, Shane!
Now we are all looking forward to the Spring Mountain ride in two weeks. See you all there!!
Best regards
Jay Randle
SPLENDACREST ENDURANCE TRAINING
www.freewebs.com/splendacrest
Q41392
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
LBL Express
by April, Nashville Tennessee
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
Monday, May 21, 2007
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
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
Monday, May 07, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
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/
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/
Monday, April 09, 2007
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
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.
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
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
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
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
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