Mary Coleman:
Finally a multi-day ride in the NE and in Maine always buggy but not usually hot in August. We have family there so it's a great excuse to con Charles into hauling Hawk and me north. We were the first to arrive at the gorgeous Fryeburg Fairgrounds 4 a.m. Friday built Hawk a corral and crashed till morning. Unbeknowst to me (one should learn to read the entry I guess) NO corrals are allowed horses are to be stalled only. This is a problem I really do not want Hawk stalled four days till the ride starts.. So now I read the entry wherein it states come to Tom and Kathys if you plan to arrive early. Without forewarning we drive there, find Kathy at home (whew) and now Hawk has a field. BUT Hawk has to see other horses and he is not happy. Eventually he wins and ends up out with their 5 geldings and abandoned by me as we go visiting.
We went and did the family thing a real strain on me as I have as much in common with my daughter-in-law as I do with the pope. However they did have internet and I could follow the Tevis and we did enjoy Maine lobster. By the way it is downright HOT I mean HOT yet the weathermen keep insisting a cool front is coming.
Monday arrives we go get the boy who had to have his hind shoes reset as somehow he has twisted one. Luckily Kathys farrier had planned to stop in so it was not like he had to come just for Hawk. Hawk had lots of exercise running with his new companions the biggest herd he's ever been with. At home he only tolerates one horse with him.
We vet in with a resting pulse of 36 I told Art that's the lowest it will be the rest of the week. At this stage we do not have the AC on it's not as hot but still not Morgan friendly yet either. Tom has changed all the holds to return to camp which is great because hosing is going to be needed. Also we are starting at 5 we being only 10 in the 50 and 3 in the 30.
Day One: Frying in Fryeburg it is dark I am tacking up cursing the weathermen but loving the hose issue and the fact I had emailed Stephanie Rice and she has agreed to ride with me. One could not have asked for a better partner as her horse Prymtym was happy to follow along. Of course being a gray Arabian he walked right in and pulsed I hosed Hawk 6 minutes and he's down. It was a long HOT 50 with not enough Morgan water thank goodness for crew spots on trail and the Saco River. The highlight was seeing 2 huge bull moose on loop 2 and having Hawk watered by the moving irrigation system in the potato fields this was a first for us.
We finished 10th and turtled at the same time. We were done at 3ish or so I was a mite sick from the heat so went and took a power nap in the AC and try to get revitalized to go another day. I often said if it's hot enough I need to be running the AC Hawk has no business being rode. However it is 600 miles to Maine and I am determined to get at least 100 miles(must be the boiled owl in me). Now the next problem is finding a riding buddy who agrees to go Morgan heat pace. Kim Firestone the only other rider from Penn. agrees since she is attempting her first pioneer. At the awards we get a lovely Western Maine magnet for completion and a Hawk color green shirt for our big top ten!
Day Two: Deja-Vu: Same trail as day one maybe a little less humid but Hawk's fun-meter is getting testy. Kim's horse is fresh and fights to stay in front and Hawk hates following. He's pouting and forging like crazy then on the 2nd loop pulls a shoe right before we see our crew. I blame this on myself since I got the brainstorm to run pads this year which he never needed before. Charles puts my ez boot on with much struggle. Ez boots and ez-ups need different first names if you ask me. The boot stays on the rest of that loop we only have 17 more miles and the farrier only comes if needed each night so we go onto to the last loop with it on then off then on then lost then another one on then off get the picture?
I am depressed worrying Hawk will not have hoofwall left since we have a long dirt road near the end, we are holding Kim up we now another rider Cecily from RI altho there were not many of us I believed I counted 11 states and Canada in the entry list. I keep telling them to go on in I have plenty of time to finish but they would not so we all crossed together tied for 10th (out of 15) and turtling again at 4:11.
Thursdays forecast is the most Morgan unfriendly I have ever seen so I reluctantly cry uncle and stay to help the five pioneers that are still going. Hawk did get new front shoes minus pads now Wednesday night and is sound which is a relief. The camp moves onto to a big field in North Waterford with no hook-ups, hosing etc.. all the more reason to not ride. We left our rig in Fryeburg with Hawk in a stall and followed the riders around with water etc.. The weatherman hit this forecast right. All five riders completed and we left for Penn. five p.m.
Tom did an excellent job and I hope he made out well enough to run it again. Except for the heat I had a great time and would certainly return. Morgan Power! (Hawk is now 180 miles short of 5K AERC I had high hopes of knocking out a big chunk of that in Maine but alas it was not to be).
Mary Coleman
Monday, August 06, 2007
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
You’re Not In Kansas Anymore
Vickey Hollingsworth
Well, I did it! As a reformed Arena Queen, I managed to take the plunge from the dark side and surface in the light. Somewhere on the other side of the arena fence was a big wide world, full of equine athletes, zillions of miles of trails, and adventures I never imagined. I still can’t believe I managed to make my dream come true and complete my very first two LD rides this season! Okay, so I didn’t actually “complete” the second one, but I darned near completed it! And surely that counts. What the heck does 8 measly little miles count anyway?!
Let me back up a bit and tell you that I am not the adventurous type. I’m the kind of person who panics if I leave home without the cell phone because my car might break down between here and the Kwik Trip, 2 miles away from my house. I would be stranded on the highway and would probably die before anyone ever found me. My experience with adventure consisted of going eyeball to eyeball with a Banana Spider in the garden and screaming in bloody terror all the way back to the house. So it goes without saying that this whole endurance riding thing came as a shock to my family. After all, who would imagine that “I” would set out on trails through the woods when the sight of a spider initiates convulsions?!
But, that’s exactly what I did.
I think it all started a few years ago when I bought Padrona Auventera, the scraggly little 10 month old pure Arabian filly. I had dreams of transforming her little 500 pound bay body into an elegant dressage horse, or a flashy halter champion. Those dreams got snubbed out somewhere in the first year of ownership. The little filly was outgoing. She enjoyed taking walks through the woods around the farm, and climbing the manure pile. She played in the water, and seemed to have a love for tarps, small animals, and tree branches. Surely this little horse should be a TRAIL HORSE instead! Yes, that’s it, we will trail ride! The bulk of my trail riding experience was more like hacking around the pastures. But hey, I considered that trail riding. After all, I was riding, and we were on a mowed trail encircling the hay field. Voila! Trail ride!
As Padrona moseyed into her 3rd year of life and was under saddle, I figured it was time we hit the trails! After all, that’s what this horse was destined to be. There was a great trail about 1 mile from my house and I intended to take her there to ride. There was no sense in hooking up the trailer to go 1 mile so I set out on foot with the horse in tow. (And of course a supply of water and snacks, cell phone, first aid kit, helmet, and various other necessities for going 1 mile away from your house.) We arrived at the trail and I mounted the brave Padrona for our very first trail ride!
All my life I’d wondered if God had a sense of humor, or was He serious and stern? I do believe I learned that day that he has a sense of humor that rivals Pat McManus, or Erma Bombeck. He laughed until he cried as he sent a little black bear out of the woods and directly in the path of Padrona and the woman lacking all sense of risk-taking. Aaaaah! A bear! You don’t see bears in Wisconsin! And you sure don’t see them on your very first trail ride aboard a 3 ½ year old green Arabian! There must have been a mistake somewhere. This bear surely wasn’t meant for me! Spiders and snakes send me shrieking for help, so what am I supposed to do about a BEAR?!
Fast forward a bit, and we survived the bear. We even managed to survive some other minor adventures over the next year or so. Turkey and Sandhill Crane sightings eventually became non-events. Creek crossings and railroad tracks were par for the course, and the river was a main staple in our trail riding diet.
So now – the moment we’d all been waiting for...an endurance ride!!! My friend Jane is somewhat of the adventurous sort, like myself (tongue in cheek) and so we began to explore the possibility of endurance riding. We found a ride in the Northern Kettle Moraine and knew that this could be our endurance riding debut! I contacted the ride manager and learned the route that the ride would take. That Saturday, Jane and I packed up our trailer and horses and set off for a day of adventure, exploring the trail where this endurance ride would be held. After all, we didn’t dare go to the ride with no previous knowledge of the trail, because that would be too much adventure for us to handle.
We rode 18 miles of the trail that day. I had read that endurance riders find out within 1 mile of leaving camp what clothing and equipment works, and what doesn’t work, and yes, they were right. I learned that 90% of my chosen gear slipped into the “doesn’t work” category. All the way home we sat in eerie silence as we contemplated strategy. The trail was harder than we had imagined. There were rocks and hills and stumps. Padrona doesn’t “do” stumps. Stumps morph into Swamp Thing and eat horses for lunch. She does okay if I keep her moving fast and forward and focused. So sometime over the next few days we decided that Jane’s mare might be a little too old to complete a full 25 miles over that trail at the needed pace, so I’d need to find another partner. Enter Tracey to the scene. Tracey is more adventurous than myself, so things looked promising. Tracey rides a motorcycle and what can be more daring than that? So it was settled – Tracey would ride my older Appendix Quarter Horse, Twos’ China Doll (affectionately dubbed “Monster”) on the upcoming endurance ride.
The Friday night before ride day arrived, and we were pumped! With the horses loaded and trailer stashed with every manner of portable thing imagined, we were under way! We arrived too late for the pre-ride meeting. Here’s a note to beginners reading this story – you must go to the pre-ride meeting. If you don’t, it’s like leaving for work in the morning without your underwear on. All day you know you’re missing something, and things just don’t quite feel right.
So having missed the meeting, we didn’t know where the trail left from camp, or how far out the vet check was, or many of the other little details one might consider essential. But that was okay, we got through our pre-ride vet check, mounted up, and were under way! Within the first 3 nanoseconds we learned what it was like to be left in the dust. I had envisioned trotting along happily for mile after blissful mile, chatting with other competitors and getting to know people. It was a bit of a slap on the head when I realized the only “person” I was chatting with was Padrona. Okay, so I wasn’t chatting. I was cussing. I couldn’t understand how my sweet little girl had turned into a raging dragon foaming at the mouth and cantering in place.
Oddly enough, there is something about pure mileage that settles a horse. By about the 10th mile, Padrona was settled in to the pace, and Tracey and Monster were holding their own off our right hip. Let me tell you what, I was so happy to see that vet hold pop into view over the horizon that I wanted to kiss every person there. Sweet relief, we made it halfway! Now we can relax for 40 minutes, grab some grub and a soda, and replenish the senses before heading out again. And then came slap on the head number 2 for the day. If anyone ever tells you the vet hold is a place of relaxation, they have as twisted a sense of humor as God does. I had no idea I could pack so many essential tasks into a 40 minute timeframe. I don’t think I moved that fast when I saw the Banana Spider. And I didn’t know Tracey could move that fast either! It was especially funny to watch her 5 foot 2 inch self trudging through the belly deep weeds to the edge of the woods for a potty break. I’m still trying to rationalize this, but, wouldn’t it make sense for the porta potty to be right at the entrance to the vet hold? Why do they make you sprint 500 yards through the weeds to get to it? Is this some kind of rider conditioning program? Or do these ride managers have a sense of humor too?
In any case, we managed to get through the hold, and get back to camp in 5 hours and 1 minute. I was feeling pretty darned proud of our accomplishment until I saw that the front runners completed in 2 and a half hours. How on earth could they have gone twice as fast as us? It looks like I have a lot to learn about this sport!
Ride number 2 of the season was slightly more adventurous. We suddenly realized that sometimes rides will be full of tree roots, boulders, and trails skinny enough to warrant throwing a leg up over the saddle, as the beautiful 2-track trail dwindled down into a deer path. We climbed one hill so steep that our horses’ 4-wheel drive almost failed. I was afraid we’d have to push them up.
Also on that ride we somehow got lost in the woods and covered more territory than was in the plan. It seemed that we kept covering trail that we were sure we’d ridden already. Either this was the twilight zone, or this Arena Queen was a really bad navigator. Tracey of course was as cool as a 5 foot 2 inch cucumber, despite the sweltering heat. I, on the other hand, was cussing and scanning the landscape for berries and a natural water source. I mean, if we’re going to die out there, we could at least have a berry meal first. Then I remembered, the cell phone!! The blessed cell phone! One call to the ride manager would get us out of the pickle. Reality hit when I got her voicemail. We’re lost in the woods, and our only link to civilization is not taking calls! I called my husband. I figured I could share the misery with him and alert him to the last landmark we passed. He seemed a little annoyed with me. So great, we’re lost in the woods, and he’s annoyed because I’m interrupting him from working on his Camaro. In any case, two people now knew that we were going to die in the woods.
Just when I thought all hope was lost, we heard something. We heard something in the woods! Oh no, not a bear. Surely God had had enough fun with me and bears already. No, it wasn’t a bear, it was Steve! Steve was a 100 mile rider out on one of his loops! We weren’t going to die after all! Steve led us out of the woods, and into that blessed vet hold. (Where we worked frantically again for 40 minutes, but this time there was NO porta potty!) I guess they figure when its this sweltering hot, you sweat, you don’t pee. If you feel the need to “go,” just wait a few minutes and you’ll sweat it out. Either that or you were supposed to sprint over the hill to the woods and squat in the poison ivy. (I’m telling you, everybody has a sense of humor but me).
On that ride, we managed to get another 12.5 miles to the second hold before we fizzled out. It was too blasted hot, and we were fading fast. The crew at the vet hold tried to convince us to bang out the last 8 miles, but I couldn’t chance any more excitement for the day. I had reached my quota somewhere along the second half of that red loop. Of course I never “really” thought we’d die in the woods, but I was prepared to gather some firewood and ration water for a day or so.
And there you have it – a warm welcome to endurance riding! In all my years of riding dressage, I never imagined that my goal for the day would be anything more than making it from A to C and getting that canter transition. I never knew how fulfilling it could be to put your total trust in a horse and know that they will get you back to camp safely. During this ride season I have learned that endurance riders are perhaps the kindest and most caring people in the horse world. Nothing is more important than your safety, and your horse’s safety. And once they know you’re safe, they’ll concentrate on making sure you have a good time. Endurance riders will share their water, their electrolytes, their blankets, their feed, and whatever else you might need. They will congratulate you on a job well done, and offer encouragement to come back and do it again. They will chat with you around the water tank at night, and hold your horse if you need it. So no matter how lacking you may be in the adventurous department, you owe it to yourself to give this sport a try. I don’t believe there can be any more fulfilling and rewarding time you can spend on a horse.
But one last note to the ride managers – could you please move the toilet onto the same property as the vet check? One of these days I might be sprinting through those weeds and come upon a Banana Spider and have to run all the way back to camp without my horse. (Wait a minute, isn’t that called Ride & Tie? I knew there had to be some dirty trick to convince people to do that!)
Cheers!
Monday, July 30, 2007
A Nice Day for a Long Trail Ride (Tevis 2007)
A Nice Day for a Long Trail Ride (Tevis 2007)
Paul Sideo
Imagine you had a booked a 4 day scenic horseback riding vacation with Wrangler Bills Western Rides. But when you got there, Wrangler Bill came up and started talking to you. " Well Pardner, we had a mix up with our new fangled compooter and got ourselves in a heck of a fix. We can't take all four days to go over the beautiful trail we promised in the brochure, and have to get er done in 24 hours. But don't you fret, cause Ole Bob will still have the chuckwagon at the stops we planned. He will have some some of the gals and ranch hands there to help take care of you and the horses. We will have grub and cool drinks. We had to get Doc Brown to show up at our rest stops and look over the horses to keep the PETA people of our butts, but it ain't no big thang. You will still get to see all the beautiful spots we advertised in the brochure, but we just have to cobver the ground a mite quicker. Oh, by the by, the danged compooter also messed up the reservations so bad that instead of 4 other riders, there will be 185 in your group. Kinda a cozy little gathering."
So you say to yourself, " Dang, if we are going to ride that far in one day, I had better ditch the Stetson hat and blue jeans and wear a helmet and tights. Wrangler Bill and the other cowboys may poke fun at me, but that's better than getting rubbed raw." When you show up the next morning there are 185 other horse and riders waiting to head out at the same time. Some are wearing shorts and tank tops, ( Dave Rabe, you know who you are), some are wearing blue jeans and Stetson hats, but most are in tights and wearing helmets, so you don't feel too far out of place.
That is Tevis. For a few dozen who have a realistic chance of winning or even finishing in the top 10, it is a Race, For everybody else it is just a very long trail ride over really pretty countryside. Some riders don't seem to realize that and get stressed over it. I knew that Top 10 wasn't going to happen for me, so we just came out to have fun and complete.
Before my Ride Story, I would like to mention one of the finest examples of Sportsmanship and Horsemanship I have ever witnessed. For me Tevis was just a ride, but for some top riders it is a much coveted win in a historical ride. For a rider to mention they finished first in the So and so Barn Burner LD is nice, but winning at Tevis conveys serious bragging rights. Last year, John Crandel III amazed the endurance world with his sweep of the Old Dominion and Tevis. This year, two horses had a rare chance to duplicate this feat. Since Stagg Newman had tied for 1st at the OD, he was in a position to establish himself and his horse forever in Endurance history. During the ride he was up with the leaders, and in position to win. At Deadwood, the vets passed him through, but he knew his horse wasn't quite right. Super and He have accomplished a lot in their careers together, and with the tempation of a historical win right there in his face, Stagg chose to Ro-M. When faced with that choice between a possible permanent place in history or possibly damaging his horse, Stagg chose to take care of Super.
His actions are a great example to all of us in this sport. If you ever wanted to know what kind of person he is, this showed you. After his pull, he patiently waited for the horse trailer ride back to Foresthill and then on to Auburn. He was greeting other riders from back east as they came in and offering them encouragement. Later that evening, instead of sulking in his trailer, getting drunk and kicking a dog as lesser people might do, he was at the finish line until the wee hours cheering in the other riders as they completed. He may have had a bad day riding in a race, but as far as I am concerned, he had a world class day as a Sportsman and Horseman..It was truely something for our sport to be be proud of.
Last June, my horse Piper and I had just completed Top Of the Rock in Indiana. It was our first 50 mile ride. Later that evening, I wandered down by the vet tent and sat in listening to the folks visit about rides. Dr. Jim Baldwin who has vetted Tevis and completed it as a rider was telling some stories about the ride. The next day, Piper and I completed the LD and so we had done 80 miles in 2 days. That evening I asked Dr Baldwin if he thought that someday my horse and I could complete Tevis. He said it would be no problem as long as I thought of it as a long trail ride and just rode vet check to vet check. That sounded reasonable to me, so I started making plans. See how easy it is to be led astray by evil companions?
Last year and early this spring, while riding with him on a few loops at different rides, Ron Chapman from Tennesse had offered to crew for me if I decided to try Tevis. After Piper and I finished the Old Dominion and Piper came out of it happy and healthy, I called Ron to see if he still wanted to come crew. He was excited and ready to do so. He was planning to try it in 2008, and wanted to see it beforehand. But after we talked, I realized he and his horse were ready this year. I offered to let him bring his horse and do the ride too. He was hesitant about this because he had committed to crew for me, and didn't want me without assistance out there. He finally agreed that if I could find a suitable crew within 7 days he would ride too. The next morning I called him and told him we had a crew. He started getting ready and packing. See how easy it is to be an evil companion too and lead others astray?
Our plan was to not get stressed out and plan for as easy a trip as possible. Instead of basing in Auburn at the farigrounds, we were so fortunate that I had met Dovie and Bob Pickering last year while out here on vacation. They were unbelievably gracious and wecoming to us at their place just outside of Reno. BEsides letting us keep our horses there, they opened up their home to us and fed us great food every night. We got here 8 days before the ride, so our horses had pleny of time to relax from the long (2000 miles) trip. We went down to Auburn on the Sunday before the ride to preride the last 6 miles of the trail . We were very lucky to meet up with a couple of trail riders there headed out for a nice Sunday ride. One of those riders was Leonard Davis, who has 10 Tevis buckles. He was very helpfull with trail details and good advice. We had a nice leasurely ride and came back to Reno to relax. On Wednesday we drove back to Auburn afor the welcoming BarB Que, and slipped into Robie Park on the way down to check it out. We picked out a couple of areas in the back away from the excitement to park when we would come there on Friday. It amazed us that there were already over a dozen rigs there in the heat and dust. Horses were hollering. It didn't seem relaxing to us.
THE CREW: Pam Bowen had posted several times about two women who had flown in from Florida and Minnisota to crew for them last year, Debbie Parsons, and Chip Jack. Pam had mentioned several times that somebody needed to connect with them to crew this year as they were coming out again. Amazingly, nobody had lined them up, so we contacted them and arranged to meet. We met up with Debbie at the BarB Que, and Chip didn't get in until Friday at Robie. Here is the Good News. They were amazing!! Everything Pam had said about them and more. Positive low stress attitudes, self suffuicient, reliable, responsible, full of initiative to do what you needed done but forgot to ask for. Both of them are experienced endurance riders and knew what was needed and what was not needed. We spent zero time having to show them what had to be done. Doive Pickering came down from Reno on Ride day, and they all hooked up at a rest area on I-80 to swap supplies from the big rig to the crew vehicles.
NASCAR drivers can only dream about having such a fine tuned expert crew. That's the Good news. The Bad News is that after 2 years of crewing, (and a 100% completion rate!!!) They probably won't be available next year(:,, Debbie is planning to try the ride herself. I like to think that Ron and I had something to do with inspiring her to do so. If two old .... excuse me... middle aged , still in our prime, farts like us can do this, then she probably can too :). When she saw our level of equitation, fitness and horsemanship, it surely helped her realize that she could do this too. It is a good feeling when you can help othere reach their dreams by example. It is like being an evil campanion leading people astray, but less proactive.
Ride Day came. We were camped and tucked away in the back, away from the starting area with all the noise and dust. We had a nice relaxing evening and a good meal. I went out to feed at 3:30 AM, and two riders were roaring up and down the road in fast flying trots. .. An hour and a half before the ride starts and they are already rocking and rolling! Wow, I was impressed. Since I am a fairly new rider, I didn't know that was what we needed to do before a 100 mile ride like this, so I went back to bed for a little longer. Debbie and Chip managed the camp packing up, Ron and I tacked up around 4:30 and walked done to the start. We were both in Pen 2. There were about 70 fast horses in Pen 1. It was surreal to see horses circling in the predawn darkness kicking up a fog like cloud of dust. About the Pens and the start. This is an excellant and fair way to manage having close to 200 horses hitting a narrow trail at the same time. It really didn't matter which pen you wound up in, as there were traffic issues and wrecks enough to slow down about everybody. We got off on time and away we went headed for Auburn. We left the camp in the capable hands of our crew and took off knowing that they, and our needed stuff, would somehow magically appear at Robinson Flat later that morning, and then reappear later at Foresthill. It did.
Just like in Los Angeles, it isn't the terrain that slows down your drive time, it is the traffic. If you can imgine LA traffic crammed on to a one lane country dirt road, you are prepared for Tevis, The hills were long but not too steep, There were rocks, but less than we train on in the Ozarks. It was warm but not as warm and humid as we ride in at home or other mid-west/southern summer rides. The dreaded canyons were long but mostly very ridable. There were only a couple of places I tailed up, and a few more that I got off and walked down. There were steep places to fall off and get hurt or killed, but as I told Jeanne Waldron a few days earlier, if you fall 40-80 feet off a OD trail bluff you are going to get seriously injured or killed, so what difference does the extra 500 or so feet of falling make? It just gives you time to scream more and empty your bladder on the way down. The trick is to stay on the trail and not fall off. Remember this as good advise. Stay on the
trail and do not fall of cliffs of any size.. If you follow this guidance, your endurance career will be more fun. Trust me on this one.
Piper was his usual reliable self. The rational part of me realizes that he is an average horse in physical abilities. He has his strong parts and less strong parts. We have developed a team that makes the most of his strong points. His heart and brain are well above average, (in my proud owner/rider opinion), and that is what has made him/us do so well. To do Tevis, I firmly believe that you need a horse sound in mind as well as body. There are stretches of trail that you do not want to "ride". You just want to stay in the saddle and let the horse pick its way down the trail. Riding in the dark between Foresthill and Francisco, you are on a narrow (3 foot?) trail with drop offs of 200-500 feet. The wrost thing you could do would be to try and steer your horse through those tricky moonlit shadows. You should just sit back and enjoy the views of the moon shining on the river way down below you. I realize that Piper is not a world class type of endurance horse, but I wouldn't trade him for Heraldic, Super, and Sunny, even if they offered a lot of cash to boot. I was able to ride Piper the entire 100 miles with just a cheap nylon turn out halter with a soft cotton lead rope/reins for head gear. That involves a lot of trust and communication between the two of us, and to me that is what it takes to do Tevis or any tough endurance ride. He is not just a horse, he is my friend.. at least as long as the carrots hold out:)
So we rode. We had traffic jams, ate tons of dust, had equipment issues, Ron fell off about 4 miles into the ride, but all and all we had a nice ride. My back muscles were still sore from hurting them tailing at OD 7 weeks earlier, so I was brought to you by the makers of Motrin, and then later in the evening by the makers of Aleve. The labels mentioned something about not operating heavy machiney, but fortunately said nothing about riding a horse for 100 miles in rough country on the side of cliffs in the dark. I carried a small DVD recoreder and shot videos while riding on trail. Mostly I focussed on taking care of my horse and myself, and enjoying the beautifull views. There was some excitement of being part of this big event, but given the choice I would prefer to take a couple of days to leasurely ride this trail to really get the time to appreciate the scenery.. The only really special thing to me about being a part of the organized ride was the unbelievable warm and
hospitable responses we got from the Volunteers, Ridemanagement, and the Vets. Also going through the little towns of Michigan Bluff and Foresthill where the populace come out to line the streets cheering us on was special. Coming in the vet checks with the trail lined on both sides with calling and encouraging people is not something we endurance riders often experience. It was a very special moment.
All day long Debbie, Chip and Dovie had taken care of us and our stuff at the vet checks. They foccused on taking care of us and the horses so well that all we had to do was sit in a chair and eat and drink until it was time to ride out again. After having done the Old Dominion as Cavalry, this was a nice change and I felt as pampered as I could be. Ron and I had been riding fairly close together timewise early in the day, so at Robinson Flat they had two riders to crew for at the same time, but by Foresthill we were almost an hour apart. We arrived in Auburn and they cheered us home and took care of our horses. As always the very helpfull and postive Volunteers guided us through the final steps. Ron and I completed and got our buckles.
For those who might have considered trying Tevis, but have been intimidated, you should just relax and give it a shot as a very long pretty trail ride through tremendously scenic countryside. You don't have to be a super veteran rider on a super horse. All you need to do is get both of you fit, do a little studying, come up with a game plan, and send in your entry. This ride now gives me a grand total of 560 lifetime AERC endurance miles. It was Ron's first 100 mile ride, and his first nighttime ride. He is 64 years young, and this ride put him over the AERC 1000 mile mark. Neither one of us have any real equitition training.
Several people asked how Tevis compared to the Old Dominion. The Old Dominion was a tougher trail, but Tevis is equally as hard a ride due to the number of people on trail and the dust. My belief is that continualy starting and stopping is very hard on a horses body and brain. It is like how in a vehicle "city" miles are considered harder on a car than "highway" miles. I saw two riders fall off due to traffic congestion causing their horse to do something that helped them have a wreck. If the OD had 185 entries, it would have an even higher pull rate.
We are still in Reno recovering from the ride and enjoying the Pickerings hospitality. Tommorrow we head back east for home. Somebody asked me how I would wear two buckles now that I have a Tevis and an Old Dominion pair. Well now a days lots of men wear earings, and I guess I am not too old to get my ears pierced:) Would they be too obvious and gaudy as earings?
Paul Sidio
Piper (510 AERC miles including the Old Dominion 100 and the Tevis 100.. Not too shabby for a unsuccesful show horse)
Paul Sideo
Imagine you had a booked a 4 day scenic horseback riding vacation with Wrangler Bills Western Rides. But when you got there, Wrangler Bill came up and started talking to you. " Well Pardner, we had a mix up with our new fangled compooter and got ourselves in a heck of a fix. We can't take all four days to go over the beautiful trail we promised in the brochure, and have to get er done in 24 hours. But don't you fret, cause Ole Bob will still have the chuckwagon at the stops we planned. He will have some some of the gals and ranch hands there to help take care of you and the horses. We will have grub and cool drinks. We had to get Doc Brown to show up at our rest stops and look over the horses to keep the PETA people of our butts, but it ain't no big thang. You will still get to see all the beautiful spots we advertised in the brochure, but we just have to cobver the ground a mite quicker. Oh, by the by, the danged compooter also messed up the reservations so bad that instead of 4 other riders, there will be 185 in your group. Kinda a cozy little gathering."
So you say to yourself, " Dang, if we are going to ride that far in one day, I had better ditch the Stetson hat and blue jeans and wear a helmet and tights. Wrangler Bill and the other cowboys may poke fun at me, but that's better than getting rubbed raw." When you show up the next morning there are 185 other horse and riders waiting to head out at the same time. Some are wearing shorts and tank tops, ( Dave Rabe, you know who you are), some are wearing blue jeans and Stetson hats, but most are in tights and wearing helmets, so you don't feel too far out of place.
That is Tevis. For a few dozen who have a realistic chance of winning or even finishing in the top 10, it is a Race, For everybody else it is just a very long trail ride over really pretty countryside. Some riders don't seem to realize that and get stressed over it. I knew that Top 10 wasn't going to happen for me, so we just came out to have fun and complete.
Before my Ride Story, I would like to mention one of the finest examples of Sportsmanship and Horsemanship I have ever witnessed. For me Tevis was just a ride, but for some top riders it is a much coveted win in a historical ride. For a rider to mention they finished first in the So and so Barn Burner LD is nice, but winning at Tevis conveys serious bragging rights. Last year, John Crandel III amazed the endurance world with his sweep of the Old Dominion and Tevis. This year, two horses had a rare chance to duplicate this feat. Since Stagg Newman had tied for 1st at the OD, he was in a position to establish himself and his horse forever in Endurance history. During the ride he was up with the leaders, and in position to win. At Deadwood, the vets passed him through, but he knew his horse wasn't quite right. Super and He have accomplished a lot in their careers together, and with the tempation of a historical win right there in his face, Stagg chose to Ro-M. When faced with that choice between a possible permanent place in history or possibly damaging his horse, Stagg chose to take care of Super.
His actions are a great example to all of us in this sport. If you ever wanted to know what kind of person he is, this showed you. After his pull, he patiently waited for the horse trailer ride back to Foresthill and then on to Auburn. He was greeting other riders from back east as they came in and offering them encouragement. Later that evening, instead of sulking in his trailer, getting drunk and kicking a dog as lesser people might do, he was at the finish line until the wee hours cheering in the other riders as they completed. He may have had a bad day riding in a race, but as far as I am concerned, he had a world class day as a Sportsman and Horseman..It was truely something for our sport to be be proud of.
Last June, my horse Piper and I had just completed Top Of the Rock in Indiana. It was our first 50 mile ride. Later that evening, I wandered down by the vet tent and sat in listening to the folks visit about rides. Dr. Jim Baldwin who has vetted Tevis and completed it as a rider was telling some stories about the ride. The next day, Piper and I completed the LD and so we had done 80 miles in 2 days. That evening I asked Dr Baldwin if he thought that someday my horse and I could complete Tevis. He said it would be no problem as long as I thought of it as a long trail ride and just rode vet check to vet check. That sounded reasonable to me, so I started making plans. See how easy it is to be led astray by evil companions?
Last year and early this spring, while riding with him on a few loops at different rides, Ron Chapman from Tennesse had offered to crew for me if I decided to try Tevis. After Piper and I finished the Old Dominion and Piper came out of it happy and healthy, I called Ron to see if he still wanted to come crew. He was excited and ready to do so. He was planning to try it in 2008, and wanted to see it beforehand. But after we talked, I realized he and his horse were ready this year. I offered to let him bring his horse and do the ride too. He was hesitant about this because he had committed to crew for me, and didn't want me without assistance out there. He finally agreed that if I could find a suitable crew within 7 days he would ride too. The next morning I called him and told him we had a crew. He started getting ready and packing. See how easy it is to be an evil companion too and lead others astray?
Our plan was to not get stressed out and plan for as easy a trip as possible. Instead of basing in Auburn at the farigrounds, we were so fortunate that I had met Dovie and Bob Pickering last year while out here on vacation. They were unbelievably gracious and wecoming to us at their place just outside of Reno. BEsides letting us keep our horses there, they opened up their home to us and fed us great food every night. We got here 8 days before the ride, so our horses had pleny of time to relax from the long (2000 miles) trip. We went down to Auburn on the Sunday before the ride to preride the last 6 miles of the trail . We were very lucky to meet up with a couple of trail riders there headed out for a nice Sunday ride. One of those riders was Leonard Davis, who has 10 Tevis buckles. He was very helpfull with trail details and good advice. We had a nice leasurely ride and came back to Reno to relax. On Wednesday we drove back to Auburn afor the welcoming BarB Que, and slipped into Robie Park on the way down to check it out. We picked out a couple of areas in the back away from the excitement to park when we would come there on Friday. It amazed us that there were already over a dozen rigs there in the heat and dust. Horses were hollering. It didn't seem relaxing to us.
THE CREW: Pam Bowen had posted several times about two women who had flown in from Florida and Minnisota to crew for them last year, Debbie Parsons, and Chip Jack. Pam had mentioned several times that somebody needed to connect with them to crew this year as they were coming out again. Amazingly, nobody had lined them up, so we contacted them and arranged to meet. We met up with Debbie at the BarB Que, and Chip didn't get in until Friday at Robie. Here is the Good News. They were amazing!! Everything Pam had said about them and more. Positive low stress attitudes, self suffuicient, reliable, responsible, full of initiative to do what you needed done but forgot to ask for. Both of them are experienced endurance riders and knew what was needed and what was not needed. We spent zero time having to show them what had to be done. Doive Pickering came down from Reno on Ride day, and they all hooked up at a rest area on I-80 to swap supplies from the big rig to the crew vehicles.
NASCAR drivers can only dream about having such a fine tuned expert crew. That's the Good news. The Bad News is that after 2 years of crewing, (and a 100% completion rate!!!) They probably won't be available next year(:,, Debbie is planning to try the ride herself. I like to think that Ron and I had something to do with inspiring her to do so. If two old .... excuse me... middle aged , still in our prime, farts like us can do this, then she probably can too :). When she saw our level of equitation, fitness and horsemanship, it surely helped her realize that she could do this too. It is a good feeling when you can help othere reach their dreams by example. It is like being an evil campanion leading people astray, but less proactive.
Ride Day came. We were camped and tucked away in the back, away from the starting area with all the noise and dust. We had a nice relaxing evening and a good meal. I went out to feed at 3:30 AM, and two riders were roaring up and down the road in fast flying trots. .. An hour and a half before the ride starts and they are already rocking and rolling! Wow, I was impressed. Since I am a fairly new rider, I didn't know that was what we needed to do before a 100 mile ride like this, so I went back to bed for a little longer. Debbie and Chip managed the camp packing up, Ron and I tacked up around 4:30 and walked done to the start. We were both in Pen 2. There were about 70 fast horses in Pen 1. It was surreal to see horses circling in the predawn darkness kicking up a fog like cloud of dust. About the Pens and the start. This is an excellant and fair way to manage having close to 200 horses hitting a narrow trail at the same time. It really didn't matter which pen you wound up in, as there were traffic issues and wrecks enough to slow down about everybody. We got off on time and away we went headed for Auburn. We left the camp in the capable hands of our crew and took off knowing that they, and our needed stuff, would somehow magically appear at Robinson Flat later that morning, and then reappear later at Foresthill. It did.
Just like in Los Angeles, it isn't the terrain that slows down your drive time, it is the traffic. If you can imgine LA traffic crammed on to a one lane country dirt road, you are prepared for Tevis, The hills were long but not too steep, There were rocks, but less than we train on in the Ozarks. It was warm but not as warm and humid as we ride in at home or other mid-west/southern summer rides. The dreaded canyons were long but mostly very ridable. There were only a couple of places I tailed up, and a few more that I got off and walked down. There were steep places to fall off and get hurt or killed, but as I told Jeanne Waldron a few days earlier, if you fall 40-80 feet off a OD trail bluff you are going to get seriously injured or killed, so what difference does the extra 500 or so feet of falling make? It just gives you time to scream more and empty your bladder on the way down. The trick is to stay on the trail and not fall off. Remember this as good advise. Stay on the
trail and do not fall of cliffs of any size.. If you follow this guidance, your endurance career will be more fun. Trust me on this one.
Piper was his usual reliable self. The rational part of me realizes that he is an average horse in physical abilities. He has his strong parts and less strong parts. We have developed a team that makes the most of his strong points. His heart and brain are well above average, (in my proud owner/rider opinion), and that is what has made him/us do so well. To do Tevis, I firmly believe that you need a horse sound in mind as well as body. There are stretches of trail that you do not want to "ride". You just want to stay in the saddle and let the horse pick its way down the trail. Riding in the dark between Foresthill and Francisco, you are on a narrow (3 foot?) trail with drop offs of 200-500 feet. The wrost thing you could do would be to try and steer your horse through those tricky moonlit shadows. You should just sit back and enjoy the views of the moon shining on the river way down below you. I realize that Piper is not a world class type of endurance horse, but I wouldn't trade him for Heraldic, Super, and Sunny, even if they offered a lot of cash to boot. I was able to ride Piper the entire 100 miles with just a cheap nylon turn out halter with a soft cotton lead rope/reins for head gear. That involves a lot of trust and communication between the two of us, and to me that is what it takes to do Tevis or any tough endurance ride. He is not just a horse, he is my friend.. at least as long as the carrots hold out:)
So we rode. We had traffic jams, ate tons of dust, had equipment issues, Ron fell off about 4 miles into the ride, but all and all we had a nice ride. My back muscles were still sore from hurting them tailing at OD 7 weeks earlier, so I was brought to you by the makers of Motrin, and then later in the evening by the makers of Aleve. The labels mentioned something about not operating heavy machiney, but fortunately said nothing about riding a horse for 100 miles in rough country on the side of cliffs in the dark. I carried a small DVD recoreder and shot videos while riding on trail. Mostly I focussed on taking care of my horse and myself, and enjoying the beautifull views. There was some excitement of being part of this big event, but given the choice I would prefer to take a couple of days to leasurely ride this trail to really get the time to appreciate the scenery.. The only really special thing to me about being a part of the organized ride was the unbelievable warm and
hospitable responses we got from the Volunteers, Ridemanagement, and the Vets. Also going through the little towns of Michigan Bluff and Foresthill where the populace come out to line the streets cheering us on was special. Coming in the vet checks with the trail lined on both sides with calling and encouraging people is not something we endurance riders often experience. It was a very special moment.
All day long Debbie, Chip and Dovie had taken care of us and our stuff at the vet checks. They foccused on taking care of us and the horses so well that all we had to do was sit in a chair and eat and drink until it was time to ride out again. After having done the Old Dominion as Cavalry, this was a nice change and I felt as pampered as I could be. Ron and I had been riding fairly close together timewise early in the day, so at Robinson Flat they had two riders to crew for at the same time, but by Foresthill we were almost an hour apart. We arrived in Auburn and they cheered us home and took care of our horses. As always the very helpfull and postive Volunteers guided us through the final steps. Ron and I completed and got our buckles.
For those who might have considered trying Tevis, but have been intimidated, you should just relax and give it a shot as a very long pretty trail ride through tremendously scenic countryside. You don't have to be a super veteran rider on a super horse. All you need to do is get both of you fit, do a little studying, come up with a game plan, and send in your entry. This ride now gives me a grand total of 560 lifetime AERC endurance miles. It was Ron's first 100 mile ride, and his first nighttime ride. He is 64 years young, and this ride put him over the AERC 1000 mile mark. Neither one of us have any real equitition training.
Several people asked how Tevis compared to the Old Dominion. The Old Dominion was a tougher trail, but Tevis is equally as hard a ride due to the number of people on trail and the dust. My belief is that continualy starting and stopping is very hard on a horses body and brain. It is like how in a vehicle "city" miles are considered harder on a car than "highway" miles. I saw two riders fall off due to traffic congestion causing their horse to do something that helped them have a wreck. If the OD had 185 entries, it would have an even higher pull rate.
We are still in Reno recovering from the ride and enjoying the Pickerings hospitality. Tommorrow we head back east for home. Somebody asked me how I would wear two buckles now that I have a Tevis and an Old Dominion pair. Well now a days lots of men wear earings, and I guess I am not too old to get my ears pierced:) Would they be too obvious and gaudy as earings?
Paul Sidio
Piper (510 AERC miles including the Old Dominion 100 and the Tevis 100.. Not too shabby for a unsuccesful show horse)
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
2007 Vermont 100
2007 Vermont 100
Patty Stedman
Last Wednesday I turned forty. I spent the day packing and grocery
shopping and laundering and wondering why previously functional body
parts suddenly hurt for no apparent reason and listening to friend’s
laughingly sing “Happy Birthday!” on my cell phone’s voice mail.
On Thursday, my husband and Ned and I left home to go back to South
Woodstock, the site of the VT 100 Run and Ride, the only concurrent
100 mile ultra run and endurance ride held today in the USA.
VT is special to us, not only because it was where we completed our
first 100 two years ago just before dawn (yawn, stagger) but because
it is a beautiful course, full of climbs and quaint New England farms
and gardens and rock walls and views over the mountains, and more
magical exponentially because the ride course is shared by nearly 300
runners. Sue and John Greenall work tirelessly with countless
volunteers to make it all happen. Quite honestly, camp looks
bizarrely like a circus.
(It is important to know that, amongst other than the runners
themselves, there is clear consensus that while 100 mile riders are
nuts, 100 mile runners are a whole special brand of crazy!)
My husband, as a birthday gift of sorts I’m sure, had volunteered
months prior to just come and crew (without competing himself), and a
new-to-endurance friend, Zoe (also crazy), had agreed to come up from
NJ to try crewing for the first time. Rich knew what he was getting
into – nearly 100 miles of driving from crew stop to crew stop (the
ride is a single 100 mile loop, as opposed to some rides with loops
out of base camp) and slaving over high maintenance Ned and me. Zoe
was in for a baptism by fire, but she’s a manic sort, so we knew we
could put that to good, some might call it exploitive, use.
It rained nearly the entire way to Vermont and it had been raining
copiously at the ride site for some time, but the rain switched to
off and on showers by the time we arrived and set up, and we were
pleased on Friday to see that the ride camp field was draining pretty
well from potentially-government-protected wetland to just a little
squishy.
Runners arrived, filling the camp, going for pre-runs, and we caught
up with friends and packed up the plethora of stuff needed to crew
thru a 100.
The weather was ridiculously Ned-friendly – highs in mid 70s, lows in
the 50s, little chance of more rain. The course is Ned-friendly too,
with lots of climbs and descents, but also a great deal of gravel and
hard-pack wide-open road riding, which is Ned’s favorite kind of
trail. He also seems to love chasing down (but not actually charging
over) the runners and having that much more company on course.
Our plan was to pick up our pace a bit, this would be our fifth 100,
our fastest completed by about 1 a.m.
The runners started at 4 a.m. in the dark to the piped in sounds, ad
infinitum, of Chariots of Fire, and Ned and I started out right with
the pack of eighteen starters at 5 a.m. It was to be about 12 miles
to a 10 minute stop and go, and the pack stayed fairly formed and
traveled at a sane pace, and Ned and I actually took the opportunity
to go up front for several minutes along one road, which allowed Ned
to be ego-boosted (how do they know they are “winning”, I wonder) and
to really stretch and go at his own pace. I told everyone,
laughingly, to enjoy the sight of us up front, it wouldn’t last long,
as we’re well known for finishing mid-to-back-of-the-pack. They
cheered and yelled “Go Ned!” and I was pleased to be sharing the
trail with experienced folks, most of whom I knew and admired.
My GPS said 16 miles when we got to the stop and go at about 6:30,
and we all came in in a pack (those poor in-timers, attacked by the
mob of us). Rich fed Ned, I hit the potty (aka the woods alongside
the barn), and drank some Pepto Bismol. My tummy was not feeling
good at all. Maybe the excitement of leading the pack?
We started passing the last of the runners, giving them plenty of
space, cheering them along and having our photos taken by several of
them, as they stopped and turned to face us alongside the road,
giving us the thumbs-up.
We all headed out in a pack as well, and Ned got chummy with Patti
Pizzo’s Spot, who has an enormous and effortless trot, and at least
seven or eight of us arrived together (including we Pattis, Team
Rojek, Christina on Lana Wright’s horse, Suzette on a cute bay, Wendy
Bejarano on Jake and Doug Lietzke on his chestnut) a few miles later
at the first (18 mile) hold.
Zoe met us there, having stayed in a hotel the night prior after a
nightmare drive north. She’d had to leave later than planned as she
was taking her Citizenship Oath (becoming a dual citizen of the US,
along with Canada, where she was born) in Newark the afternoon prior,
so she just met Rich there. She says she became a citizen simply to
cancel out my presidential votes.
The extra set of hands was great, and Ned vetted thru with As except
for gut and skin tenting – time for some chow and lytes. The weather
was grand, crisp and cool and with fairly low humidity. July? Who
knew?
We headed out of the hold amongst the first riders, and this was a
long loop, 24 miles, but it went fast with two pit crew stops
(Desitin for Ned’s pasterns, a snack for Ned, a few sponges of cold
water on his neck and we were off quickly at each of these) and Ned
trotting along joyously with several of the front runners.
At Vermont, the horses have vet checks, the runners have aid
stations, crowded with family and friends and volunteers, all
cheering you on. It is grand. Ned, alternately puffs up and does
the big trot, sure he’s won the Derby, or later in the ride, asks to
stop and visit for a while.
My favorite question of the day took place at the second pit crew
stop on that loop – Zoe and Rich checked with me on what I needed,
the usual sorts of things – water? Electrolytes? And then Zoe asked
if she should snap the glowsticks attached to Ned’s breastcollar. It
was 10:30.
A.M.
I laughed and laughed and laughed and said it wasn’t THAT long of a
loop and trotted away, still roaring.
Into the 42 mile hold with Team Rojek and Patti Pizzo.
A few minutes to pulse down, but Ned was clearly in his element,
eating like a pig and clearly enjoying himself. We were riding in a
new Solstice saddle at that point, but he’d gotten the tiniest rub
from one of the pads, the Supracor I think (this THRU the sheepskin
pad – Ned is the equine version of The Princess and The Pea), so as
planned, we switched him to the treeless saddle
Crucial error here, related to the potty, which will surprise none of
my friends or those who read the Endurance News article about our
first 100 mile completion (subtitled “A Tale of Determination,
Urination and Hallucination”). I took a walk to the potty while Rich
and Zoe tacked up Ned. Ended up heading out a little over a minute
after my out time.
Patti and Spot were gone. We headed out alone onto the 18 mile
loop. No hope of running to catch them as Ned had switched
immediately over to “pout mode” having lost his new best friend on
the planet and having no company. Eventually Linda Crandall and her
mare, riding in the 75 mile ride, caught us but it was of little
comfort to Ned. He wanted Spot. He wanted to be winning. And if he
couldn’t be winning, he was going to crawl. There was no cajoling,
no spanking, no urging him into going faster. He followed Linda’s
mare in a completely lackluster fashion.
We had an endless climb up a long road, and it was here Ned hit his
low point, allowing Linda’s mare to trot away, refusing to trot at
all, and I climbed off to hand walk for a while. Maybe he was tight
behind, I thought. Maybe I went too fast at the start. His skin
pinch and gums looked good, his eyes were bright, he appeared to be
in absolutely no metabolic distress, he’d been eating and drinking
great all day, but as Mary Coleman likes to say “it was a sit and hit
sort of situation.”
A runner passed us, and I told him I thought we were done, that Ned
might be tight behind. He expressed sadness, but we both agreed that
such things happen. I started to fantasize about being back at camp
mixing up Cosmopolitans and grilling and sitting and watching the
runners come in. Not so bad. I patted Ned and eventually climbed
back on and we continued to crawl along. It couldn’t be too far to
the hold, we’d get him checked out and get a trailer ride back to
camp. I was at peace with this. Some days it was just too much to ask.
Then we heard the pitter patter of hooves behind us. Ellen Tully,
Wendy Mancini and Cara on Irving’s Spark, all in the 75, catching up
with us at a jog. Ned’s head went up, and as I started to tell them
we were done as they passed, he leaped into a trot and joined them.
I wasn’t sure whether to kill him or hug him, so instead I just
laughed and in we went to the hold. Ellen, an old pro, assured me
I’d been duped by the big boy. We were soon caught by Linda Carangia
and Nancy Walker, old chums and entered in the 100, and in to the
hold we came, where Ned was starving but all As, despite his usual
show of displaying his penis during vetting and refusing to trot
until he’d gathered it up. Poor Zoe had to trot him back and forth
and back until Otis could see he was perfectly sound.
Just as soon as he didn’t have to swing his hind legs around his
dangling wanker.
It is always such a relief to have vets who know Ned vet him as I
don’t have to explain and re-explain the penis thing. Ah, the
quirks that make Ned, well, Ned.
We were at 60 miles at this point, and I was hours ahead of my
previous course time, and had the company of two other 100 milers
with whom I could finish. Ned was not in any way, shape or form
tight behind. Things were looking up.
Well, other than the fact that my husband had hit a rock in the hold
area, and dislodged a “non-essential” part of the steering assembly.
Who knew there were “non-essential” parts of a steering assembly?
Zoe continued to crew with zeal and enthusiasm, kneeling on the
ground behind Ned, applying Desitin to his pasterns in the hopes we
could stay one step ahead of the scratches which plague him at 100
mile rides (and ONLY at 100 mile rides).
“That looks unsafe, Zoe.”
“Will he kick me?”
“He could.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“Okay.”
“Would he?”
“He could.”
“Well why didn’t you warn me he kicks?!”
It was going to be a long day.
Ten miles to Tuackenback Farm, a gorgeous farm with yellow buildings
and this huge lovely lawn where we have the 70 mile hold. I got
separated from Linda and Nancy for a couple of miles, and they
stopped at the Margaritaville runners’ aid station and they both had
a margarita!
We were going fast enough that we were pacing along with some of the
Top Twenty runners at this point, and boy, they looked great, running
evenly and smoothly, looking as tho they were just out for an
afternoon jog.
It was about 6:30 when we were at Tuackenback (our cards were kept
for an AERC research study, so I might be lying about some of this
stuff) and Ned was ravenous for grass. Still all As. Well, except
for the B on impulsion given to Ned by Nick Kohut as reward for
another penis dangling lackluster trot out.
Poor Zoe, I can imagine her telling her non horsey husband about the
crewing experience and lamenting about having to trot Ned to and fro
because he has “this penis thing.”
The 50 milers, starting at 2 p.m., joined us on trail here, and it
was a busy place. I chatted with Nancy Roeber-Moyer outside the
porta-potty and we contemplated whether it wouldn’t be more fun to
just do LDs from now on, doing some social drinking in the afternoons
and cutting down on our consumption of Advil.
The temps were dropping and we had another 18 mile loop ahead of us
with two crew stops, one near Smoke Rise Farm (Rojek’s farm) and one
on the road where ride camp was located. Linda and Nancy’s horses
led thru the woods, where big and lanky Ned had more trouble
negotiating the twists and turns and steep downhills of the trail,
and he’d jump out in front on the wide roads. Ned thinks 100 miles
of interstate “trail” would be ideal, thankyouverymuch. The horses
trotted VERY enthusiastically down the road heading to camp, got
crewed and were a teensy bit less enthused as we turned them away
from camp towards Route 106 and O&H Farm, the location for the 88
mile hold.
It was fully dark now, the runners passed us and we passed them
alternately, many had the pace runners they were allowed to pick up
at 70 miles. Many wore headlamps to light their way, and Ned just
hates headlamps. He’s okay when behind them, but hates having the
trail alternately lit and darkened in front of him, it seems. We had
what seemed like a forever-long climb to the trail into O&H Farm, and
Ned was hot when we came in. At 10 at night, we were using ice to
cool him down and untacked him to help the process. I cursed about
that – it is so easy to screw up re-tacking in the dark.
Once again, a penis dangling trot out, and Doug Shearer, who doesn’t
know Ned quite so well, had him trot again, looked a bit perplexed (I
would too if I didn’t know he’d dangled his way through the pre-ride
vetting in, and every vetting for just about every ride for the last
few years), but said he was fine to go on.
At this hour, it gets tough to eat and drink for me. You just want
to be done, but you know you need to keep taking care of yourself, as
12 miles is twelve miles and you need your faculties and strength to
get through it. I managed to down part of a PowerBar and a Snapple
Ice Tea. We re-tacked in the dark and Linda and Nancy waited a few
minutes on me (it took longer for Ned to pulse down) and we headed out.
Nancy was trying out her new headlamp and Linda and I yelled at her
for looking at us when she talked to us, as she blinded each of us a
couple of times. Ned was happy out front on the road until a
headlamp got too close from behind, either from a runner or Nancy and
would walk and pout until his vision was restored.
At this point, I knew he was a little sore and leg-weary. He sought
out the shoulders of the road rather than the concussive road surface
and asked to walk the downhills. Still, he was doing the big Ned
walk, ears forward and plucky so I let Nancy and Linda go on ahead
and like we’ve done so many times before, we enjoyed the last several
miles on our own.
Saw Rich and Zoe at the crew stop about five miles from the finish,
gave Ned a snack and told them to skip the final crew stop and meet
me at the finish. Boy, that sounded great! The finish.
I had quite a lot of horse left, and Ned alternately walked and
jogged in. I changed diagonals to make sure he was still even on
both hinds, tried to keep myself straight and light in the saddle
despite being sore and weary myself, and we had a long chat about
what a treasure he was, and how sorry I was for having screwed up his
good time with his fast friend Spot. I told him to make sure he told
Sarge, his barnmate, that he had been WINNING until I messed up.
Lessons learned, once again, and clearly for Ned 100s are largely an
emotional and mental (more than physical) challenge – just as they
are for his human partner.
Shared a couple of granola bars with him, let him snatch grass here
and there but kept him moving on, promising him lots of grazing time
once we were done.
Soon the trail glowsticks turned to glowing jugs on each side of the
trail, marking the last downhill section of trail into the finish line.
In we came, at about 12:30 a.m. (4 hours cut from our previous VT 100
time, and I was NOT the turtle this time). Rich and Zoe there to
cool him down and cover his rump with a wool sheet. We vetted out
amongst more laughter and eventually got Ned to trot. He looked
grand once he got his innards back, well, in. Hugs and
congratulations, and all As except for that damned “impulsion” mark.
Nancy and Linda had finished in fine form several minutes before.
Had heard that Patti and Spot came in 2nd, and that there was a good
completion rate, no serious problems. Such a relief.
Runners were coming in (and would continue to do so until 10 a.m.),
and Ned planted himself grazing the lush grass alongside the runners’
tent while Zoe and Rich hauled his stuff back up to camp. I chatted
with one runner shortly after he finished and asked him what he’d be
doing first now that he was done.
“Hot chocolate” he said.
We chatted for a while, comparing the horses and the runners, and
places we’d be sore, and how we might consider the possibility of
going down stairs backwards for a day or two, and how long we’d rest
before starting up again, looking for the next ride, the next run,
the next challenge.
Two, make that three, crazy creatures, communing on a starlit July
night, reveling in a success few aspire to, and even fewer achieve.
And most profoundly humbled by it.
Patty Stedman
Last Wednesday I turned forty. I spent the day packing and grocery
shopping and laundering and wondering why previously functional body
parts suddenly hurt for no apparent reason and listening to friend’s
laughingly sing “Happy Birthday!” on my cell phone’s voice mail.
On Thursday, my husband and Ned and I left home to go back to South
Woodstock, the site of the VT 100 Run and Ride, the only concurrent
100 mile ultra run and endurance ride held today in the USA.
VT is special to us, not only because it was where we completed our
first 100 two years ago just before dawn (yawn, stagger) but because
it is a beautiful course, full of climbs and quaint New England farms
and gardens and rock walls and views over the mountains, and more
magical exponentially because the ride course is shared by nearly 300
runners. Sue and John Greenall work tirelessly with countless
volunteers to make it all happen. Quite honestly, camp looks
bizarrely like a circus.
(It is important to know that, amongst other than the runners
themselves, there is clear consensus that while 100 mile riders are
nuts, 100 mile runners are a whole special brand of crazy!)
My husband, as a birthday gift of sorts I’m sure, had volunteered
months prior to just come and crew (without competing himself), and a
new-to-endurance friend, Zoe (also crazy), had agreed to come up from
NJ to try crewing for the first time. Rich knew what he was getting
into – nearly 100 miles of driving from crew stop to crew stop (the
ride is a single 100 mile loop, as opposed to some rides with loops
out of base camp) and slaving over high maintenance Ned and me. Zoe
was in for a baptism by fire, but she’s a manic sort, so we knew we
could put that to good, some might call it exploitive, use.
It rained nearly the entire way to Vermont and it had been raining
copiously at the ride site for some time, but the rain switched to
off and on showers by the time we arrived and set up, and we were
pleased on Friday to see that the ride camp field was draining pretty
well from potentially-government-protected wetland to just a little
squishy.
Runners arrived, filling the camp, going for pre-runs, and we caught
up with friends and packed up the plethora of stuff needed to crew
thru a 100.
The weather was ridiculously Ned-friendly – highs in mid 70s, lows in
the 50s, little chance of more rain. The course is Ned-friendly too,
with lots of climbs and descents, but also a great deal of gravel and
hard-pack wide-open road riding, which is Ned’s favorite kind of
trail. He also seems to love chasing down (but not actually charging
over) the runners and having that much more company on course.
Our plan was to pick up our pace a bit, this would be our fifth 100,
our fastest completed by about 1 a.m.
The runners started at 4 a.m. in the dark to the piped in sounds, ad
infinitum, of Chariots of Fire, and Ned and I started out right with
the pack of eighteen starters at 5 a.m. It was to be about 12 miles
to a 10 minute stop and go, and the pack stayed fairly formed and
traveled at a sane pace, and Ned and I actually took the opportunity
to go up front for several minutes along one road, which allowed Ned
to be ego-boosted (how do they know they are “winning”, I wonder) and
to really stretch and go at his own pace. I told everyone,
laughingly, to enjoy the sight of us up front, it wouldn’t last long,
as we’re well known for finishing mid-to-back-of-the-pack. They
cheered and yelled “Go Ned!” and I was pleased to be sharing the
trail with experienced folks, most of whom I knew and admired.
My GPS said 16 miles when we got to the stop and go at about 6:30,
and we all came in in a pack (those poor in-timers, attacked by the
mob of us). Rich fed Ned, I hit the potty (aka the woods alongside
the barn), and drank some Pepto Bismol. My tummy was not feeling
good at all. Maybe the excitement of leading the pack?
We started passing the last of the runners, giving them plenty of
space, cheering them along and having our photos taken by several of
them, as they stopped and turned to face us alongside the road,
giving us the thumbs-up.
We all headed out in a pack as well, and Ned got chummy with Patti
Pizzo’s Spot, who has an enormous and effortless trot, and at least
seven or eight of us arrived together (including we Pattis, Team
Rojek, Christina on Lana Wright’s horse, Suzette on a cute bay, Wendy
Bejarano on Jake and Doug Lietzke on his chestnut) a few miles later
at the first (18 mile) hold.
Zoe met us there, having stayed in a hotel the night prior after a
nightmare drive north. She’d had to leave later than planned as she
was taking her Citizenship Oath (becoming a dual citizen of the US,
along with Canada, where she was born) in Newark the afternoon prior,
so she just met Rich there. She says she became a citizen simply to
cancel out my presidential votes.
The extra set of hands was great, and Ned vetted thru with As except
for gut and skin tenting – time for some chow and lytes. The weather
was grand, crisp and cool and with fairly low humidity. July? Who
knew?
We headed out of the hold amongst the first riders, and this was a
long loop, 24 miles, but it went fast with two pit crew stops
(Desitin for Ned’s pasterns, a snack for Ned, a few sponges of cold
water on his neck and we were off quickly at each of these) and Ned
trotting along joyously with several of the front runners.
At Vermont, the horses have vet checks, the runners have aid
stations, crowded with family and friends and volunteers, all
cheering you on. It is grand. Ned, alternately puffs up and does
the big trot, sure he’s won the Derby, or later in the ride, asks to
stop and visit for a while.
My favorite question of the day took place at the second pit crew
stop on that loop – Zoe and Rich checked with me on what I needed,
the usual sorts of things – water? Electrolytes? And then Zoe asked
if she should snap the glowsticks attached to Ned’s breastcollar. It
was 10:30.
A.M.
I laughed and laughed and laughed and said it wasn’t THAT long of a
loop and trotted away, still roaring.
Into the 42 mile hold with Team Rojek and Patti Pizzo.
A few minutes to pulse down, but Ned was clearly in his element,
eating like a pig and clearly enjoying himself. We were riding in a
new Solstice saddle at that point, but he’d gotten the tiniest rub
from one of the pads, the Supracor I think (this THRU the sheepskin
pad – Ned is the equine version of The Princess and The Pea), so as
planned, we switched him to the treeless saddle
Crucial error here, related to the potty, which will surprise none of
my friends or those who read the Endurance News article about our
first 100 mile completion (subtitled “A Tale of Determination,
Urination and Hallucination”). I took a walk to the potty while Rich
and Zoe tacked up Ned. Ended up heading out a little over a minute
after my out time.
Patti and Spot were gone. We headed out alone onto the 18 mile
loop. No hope of running to catch them as Ned had switched
immediately over to “pout mode” having lost his new best friend on
the planet and having no company. Eventually Linda Crandall and her
mare, riding in the 75 mile ride, caught us but it was of little
comfort to Ned. He wanted Spot. He wanted to be winning. And if he
couldn’t be winning, he was going to crawl. There was no cajoling,
no spanking, no urging him into going faster. He followed Linda’s
mare in a completely lackluster fashion.
We had an endless climb up a long road, and it was here Ned hit his
low point, allowing Linda’s mare to trot away, refusing to trot at
all, and I climbed off to hand walk for a while. Maybe he was tight
behind, I thought. Maybe I went too fast at the start. His skin
pinch and gums looked good, his eyes were bright, he appeared to be
in absolutely no metabolic distress, he’d been eating and drinking
great all day, but as Mary Coleman likes to say “it was a sit and hit
sort of situation.”
A runner passed us, and I told him I thought we were done, that Ned
might be tight behind. He expressed sadness, but we both agreed that
such things happen. I started to fantasize about being back at camp
mixing up Cosmopolitans and grilling and sitting and watching the
runners come in. Not so bad. I patted Ned and eventually climbed
back on and we continued to crawl along. It couldn’t be too far to
the hold, we’d get him checked out and get a trailer ride back to
camp. I was at peace with this. Some days it was just too much to ask.
Then we heard the pitter patter of hooves behind us. Ellen Tully,
Wendy Mancini and Cara on Irving’s Spark, all in the 75, catching up
with us at a jog. Ned’s head went up, and as I started to tell them
we were done as they passed, he leaped into a trot and joined them.
I wasn’t sure whether to kill him or hug him, so instead I just
laughed and in we went to the hold. Ellen, an old pro, assured me
I’d been duped by the big boy. We were soon caught by Linda Carangia
and Nancy Walker, old chums and entered in the 100, and in to the
hold we came, where Ned was starving but all As, despite his usual
show of displaying his penis during vetting and refusing to trot
until he’d gathered it up. Poor Zoe had to trot him back and forth
and back until Otis could see he was perfectly sound.
Just as soon as he didn’t have to swing his hind legs around his
dangling wanker.
It is always such a relief to have vets who know Ned vet him as I
don’t have to explain and re-explain the penis thing. Ah, the
quirks that make Ned, well, Ned.
We were at 60 miles at this point, and I was hours ahead of my
previous course time, and had the company of two other 100 milers
with whom I could finish. Ned was not in any way, shape or form
tight behind. Things were looking up.
Well, other than the fact that my husband had hit a rock in the hold
area, and dislodged a “non-essential” part of the steering assembly.
Who knew there were “non-essential” parts of a steering assembly?
Zoe continued to crew with zeal and enthusiasm, kneeling on the
ground behind Ned, applying Desitin to his pasterns in the hopes we
could stay one step ahead of the scratches which plague him at 100
mile rides (and ONLY at 100 mile rides).
“That looks unsafe, Zoe.”
“Will he kick me?”
“He could.”
“He wouldn’t.”
“Okay.”
“Would he?”
“He could.”
“Well why didn’t you warn me he kicks?!”
It was going to be a long day.
Ten miles to Tuackenback Farm, a gorgeous farm with yellow buildings
and this huge lovely lawn where we have the 70 mile hold. I got
separated from Linda and Nancy for a couple of miles, and they
stopped at the Margaritaville runners’ aid station and they both had
a margarita!
We were going fast enough that we were pacing along with some of the
Top Twenty runners at this point, and boy, they looked great, running
evenly and smoothly, looking as tho they were just out for an
afternoon jog.
It was about 6:30 when we were at Tuackenback (our cards were kept
for an AERC research study, so I might be lying about some of this
stuff) and Ned was ravenous for grass. Still all As. Well, except
for the B on impulsion given to Ned by Nick Kohut as reward for
another penis dangling lackluster trot out.
Poor Zoe, I can imagine her telling her non horsey husband about the
crewing experience and lamenting about having to trot Ned to and fro
because he has “this penis thing.”
The 50 milers, starting at 2 p.m., joined us on trail here, and it
was a busy place. I chatted with Nancy Roeber-Moyer outside the
porta-potty and we contemplated whether it wouldn’t be more fun to
just do LDs from now on, doing some social drinking in the afternoons
and cutting down on our consumption of Advil.
The temps were dropping and we had another 18 mile loop ahead of us
with two crew stops, one near Smoke Rise Farm (Rojek’s farm) and one
on the road where ride camp was located. Linda and Nancy’s horses
led thru the woods, where big and lanky Ned had more trouble
negotiating the twists and turns and steep downhills of the trail,
and he’d jump out in front on the wide roads. Ned thinks 100 miles
of interstate “trail” would be ideal, thankyouverymuch. The horses
trotted VERY enthusiastically down the road heading to camp, got
crewed and were a teensy bit less enthused as we turned them away
from camp towards Route 106 and O&H Farm, the location for the 88
mile hold.
It was fully dark now, the runners passed us and we passed them
alternately, many had the pace runners they were allowed to pick up
at 70 miles. Many wore headlamps to light their way, and Ned just
hates headlamps. He’s okay when behind them, but hates having the
trail alternately lit and darkened in front of him, it seems. We had
what seemed like a forever-long climb to the trail into O&H Farm, and
Ned was hot when we came in. At 10 at night, we were using ice to
cool him down and untacked him to help the process. I cursed about
that – it is so easy to screw up re-tacking in the dark.
Once again, a penis dangling trot out, and Doug Shearer, who doesn’t
know Ned quite so well, had him trot again, looked a bit perplexed (I
would too if I didn’t know he’d dangled his way through the pre-ride
vetting in, and every vetting for just about every ride for the last
few years), but said he was fine to go on.
At this hour, it gets tough to eat and drink for me. You just want
to be done, but you know you need to keep taking care of yourself, as
12 miles is twelve miles and you need your faculties and strength to
get through it. I managed to down part of a PowerBar and a Snapple
Ice Tea. We re-tacked in the dark and Linda and Nancy waited a few
minutes on me (it took longer for Ned to pulse down) and we headed out.
Nancy was trying out her new headlamp and Linda and I yelled at her
for looking at us when she talked to us, as she blinded each of us a
couple of times. Ned was happy out front on the road until a
headlamp got too close from behind, either from a runner or Nancy and
would walk and pout until his vision was restored.
At this point, I knew he was a little sore and leg-weary. He sought
out the shoulders of the road rather than the concussive road surface
and asked to walk the downhills. Still, he was doing the big Ned
walk, ears forward and plucky so I let Nancy and Linda go on ahead
and like we’ve done so many times before, we enjoyed the last several
miles on our own.
Saw Rich and Zoe at the crew stop about five miles from the finish,
gave Ned a snack and told them to skip the final crew stop and meet
me at the finish. Boy, that sounded great! The finish.
I had quite a lot of horse left, and Ned alternately walked and
jogged in. I changed diagonals to make sure he was still even on
both hinds, tried to keep myself straight and light in the saddle
despite being sore and weary myself, and we had a long chat about
what a treasure he was, and how sorry I was for having screwed up his
good time with his fast friend Spot. I told him to make sure he told
Sarge, his barnmate, that he had been WINNING until I messed up.
Lessons learned, once again, and clearly for Ned 100s are largely an
emotional and mental (more than physical) challenge – just as they
are for his human partner.
Shared a couple of granola bars with him, let him snatch grass here
and there but kept him moving on, promising him lots of grazing time
once we were done.
Soon the trail glowsticks turned to glowing jugs on each side of the
trail, marking the last downhill section of trail into the finish line.
In we came, at about 12:30 a.m. (4 hours cut from our previous VT 100
time, and I was NOT the turtle this time). Rich and Zoe there to
cool him down and cover his rump with a wool sheet. We vetted out
amongst more laughter and eventually got Ned to trot. He looked
grand once he got his innards back, well, in. Hugs and
congratulations, and all As except for that damned “impulsion” mark.
Nancy and Linda had finished in fine form several minutes before.
Had heard that Patti and Spot came in 2nd, and that there was a good
completion rate, no serious problems. Such a relief.
Runners were coming in (and would continue to do so until 10 a.m.),
and Ned planted himself grazing the lush grass alongside the runners’
tent while Zoe and Rich hauled his stuff back up to camp. I chatted
with one runner shortly after he finished and asked him what he’d be
doing first now that he was done.
“Hot chocolate” he said.
We chatted for a while, comparing the horses and the runners, and
places we’d be sore, and how we might consider the possibility of
going down stairs backwards for a day or two, and how long we’d rest
before starting up again, looking for the next ride, the next run,
the next challenge.
Two, make that three, crazy creatures, communing on a starlit July
night, reveling in a success few aspire to, and even fewer achieve.
And most profoundly humbled by it.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Big Horn 100-2007, Don's adventure
Well I guess this story starts with Willy's (Wild West) finish at Tevis last
year. After his fall several years ago, and he came back and beat that
trail, I promised Willy that I wouldn't ask him to do Tevis again. Since my
heart is with Tevis, and having many friends that live in the area, I will
surely ride Tevis again, just not on Willy.
So this year Willy would start his preparation for the Big Horn 100. He
completed at the 20-Mule Team 100 for cold weather training, not Willy's
favorite. We also completed all three days at Eastern Mojave, with some
altitude and a lot of rain, sleet and snow on day three. Next would be
Cuyama for three days with some speed work. Cuyama was most memorable this
year because on the third day, when Willy finished, the Duck actually asked
Willy, "well Wild West, how was your day?". He was missing a shoe but
trotted off sound and finished in the top ten for the day and again,
completed all three days.
So after Cuyama, I called Tom VanGelder and said Willy and I were planning
to come to the Big Horn 100 this year, depending on the fire season and if I
could get the time off. The next challenge was to help my wife, Pam, manage
the Malibu Ride and still get some work in for Willy. I have a lot respect
for ride mangers and even more now, and somehow Pam and I managed to stay
together after Malibu!
Four weeks later, it was off to the Californios 100. This is the ride the
Pacific South riders do to make their final adjustments before Tevis. Willy
looked good all day and ate well. We did most of the ride alone so this was
another good test for Big Horn. Willy finished well and looked great. So
another call was made to Tom about our status and my current situation.
On July 4, the National Situation was level 2, meaning there were enough
fire fighters throughout the country to handle the amount of current fires.
I called Tom that night and said Willy and I would be leaving Saturday
morning and would be arriving Sunday night or Monday morning. Well, Saturday
at 2 a.m., Willy was caught, and by 2:30 a.m. the Malibu white trash boys
were on the road to Wyoming. After passing Las Vegas the trailer got a flat
and I changed it before Mesquite at one of the stations. You should have
seen the look on the faces of some of the people watching me change the
tire, I had to hurry, it was getting hot. I called Pam to see if anyone had
a tire on ahead so I would still have a spare and it was BIG O Tire. The
good thing is there are a lot of them in Utah and they never made me wait
because there was a horse in the trailer, I was in and out.
At 11 a.m. the fire office called to see if I wanted to take out a Hand Crew
for a fire assignment and that the National Level had been raised to 3. Well
I was already past Cedar City in Utah having a first hand account of the
fire that was in that part of the state. As Willy and I were traveling up
Interstate 15 we experienced the biggest fire in Utah history. We were at
the I-70 detour when the fire bumped the road. For some reason all the
traffic was stopped and not moving. The fire had to be within a couple
hundred feet and we were not moving, so there I am in my truck and trailer,
hay in the bed, windows down on the trailer and we're stopped on the road, I
start honking to get people to move. I was thinking, "great, I slip out of
the Park just to go on this trip so I don't have to fight fire yet and now
I'm going to burn up the truck and trailer, Willy and myself, because these
people wont move". Well the next flash in my head is I have 5 gallons of
diesel in the back, how much backfire can I make, with that much diesel, and
get back to the truck. (Remember I'm a wildland fire fighter so I wouldn't
suggest this plan for everyone.) Well I didn't have to set a backfire
because traffic started moving and we were out of the smoke an hour later.
As we were traveling down the 70 I was calling Pam to explain my situation
and that I needed a new route change to get to Salt Lake. We pulled into the
Spanish Fork fairground before reaching Salt Lake City that evening and
called it night, I still had my truck, trailer, hay and Willy. Here, you can
have a stall with shavings for $10 a night and the caretaker will give you
access to a human shower.
The next day we left early for the Big Horn. At Rock Springs I let Willy out
for a travel break and usually we got the tourist questions and petting. One
lady just couldn't believe a horse could do a hundred miles in 24 hours so I
teased her and told her in the early days of the sport we used to ride them
to the ride. After Rock Springs we headed north and crossed the South Pass
of the Continental Divide which was something I had never done before so
that was pretty cool. As a side note, fuel is a lot cheaper in Rock Springs
than Lander or Riverton. The next cool thing was the drive along the Wind
River and its mighty canyon with railroad tracks on the other side. When we
got to Greybull we had crossed the Big Horn River a couple of times. I
figured we were getting close and had just another 25 miles to go.
When we got to Antelope Butte, Tom VanGelder was waiting for me. He looked
just like picture on the website and I am a better man for meeting him. We
settled in for the night, truck, trailer, hay, Willy and I with the night
sky. We would have days before the ride to eat, rest and get fat before the
ride. As the days went by people started to arrive and settle in and to my
surprise some of these folks actually knew of Willy the flying horse and me.
I did some trail marking with Tom, and got to meet Cindy Collins, who also
knew of Willy, she and her friend were there to mark the Horse Creek canyon
part of the trail for the first loop. The best part of the day was spent
riding around with Tom and getting to hear maybe a third of his stories, my
favorite was one about the flying mules of the army, after all Tom was a
Calvary man for a short while. I also got to spend some time with Teddy
Lancaster, the traveling vendor (Running Bear), and made a trip up to the
top of the ski lift in her jeep. Teddy will have to tell that story some
time.
It's finally Friday and I'm going to spend time getting ready for the ride.
That night, Tom approached me about taking a junior through the ride. She
would be riding his horse Charlie and was the junior of the ride management
staff. I later found that other riders had been asked as well, but for some
reason weren't able to, either way, I was honored to be asked and looked
forward to the ride.
The ride started with a controlled start at 4 a.m. Mountain time until we
crossed the highway. Then we were on our way, Willy and me, Charlie and
Bryla. I thought Willy would be the oldest horse there at 17, but Charlie is
22, so the two oldest horses on the ride would be traveling together. When
we got to the first vet check Sue Lyke had already tied in with us and spent
most of the ride with us. One bonus for riding with the junior is she came
with crew. Lisa, sorry I don't remember her last name, was at every stop we
needed her to be. The horses came in at criteria, ate and vetted well. Next
would be the canyons of Horse Creek? Four of them as I remember and as usual
I did my share of leading and tailing. I guess we were in last place but it
didn't mean much because we were there to finish, not place. When we got to
the 50 mile hour hold we had made good time and the horses were looking
really good.
So we headed up on the second loop with plenty daylight to make time, except
someone forgot to tell the Wyoming weather we were riding that day. About an
hour into the second loop a hail and rainstorm came that lasted around a
half hour. It was bad enough that we had to shelter in the trees until it
was over. Due to the storm we lost our good footing for a little while but
ten miles later it was good again. When we got to the 70-mile vet check I
had misjudged the distance and thought we had gone further. Jeanette and Tom
asked me how long I thought it would take to do the next loop, not knowing
the course I guessed three hours for the14 miles, Bryla and I did it in two.
One thing about being a heavyweight, I go a little slower during the day,
let the horse graze several times during the day, so at night when we need
it they have the reserves and that's how we did that loop so fast. The rest
of the way back was trail we came out on so the horses knew the way back and
we made our plans for climbing the hills. When we got back on top the
footing was poor so we walked in the last eight miles. The two old horses
finished well and strong in 2nd and 3rd place and looked good the next
morning.
That morning Willy was his usual self, stall walking in his corral because
he could see cows off in the distance and I went to the ride breakfast and
completion awards. Also that morning there were 6 horses with no feed or
water and nobody to be found. I helped feed and water, and I removed the
twisted blanket from the horse that allegedly later died. I did see one of
the gals later on while I was packing and let her know what we had done.
That is really all the contact I had with them since I rode a different pace
than they did.
Willy and I said our good-byes and loaded up. We headed off the mountain and
spent the rest of the day and night in Thermopolis at the Healing Waters RV
camp. This is a great place to stop with two mineral pools for healing and
the owner does a little acoustic concert at 9 p.m. I tied Willy to the
trailer but I think they would have let me set up corrals if I wanted, the
cost was $30 a day. The next morning we headed for home with a stop over in
Cedar City. When we got to Cedar City they were having a huge thunder and
lighting storm and I couldn't get into the Equestrian Center to bed Willy
down for the night, the gate was locked. I started calling fellow AERC
members for suggestions. First I called Judy Hall and she gave me Dean
Jackson's number. While on the phone with Dean the caretaker saw me parked
and asked if I needed help. So we got Willy settled in a stall for the night
and watched the show for the next two hours. The stall rate at this
Equestrian Center is $12 a night. We were up at 3 a.m. and home early that
afternoon. As I climbed the hill to the house I could see Willy's nose
sticking through the bars and then he whinnied. I let Willy out of the
trailer and he ran down to his favorite rolling spot, rolled, got up and
started playing with the babies!
This was one of toughest rides we've done and probably the most satisfying.
Willy is incredible and I am blessed and privileged to ride him, after all,
God takes care of addicts and alcoholics! Willy is now 6 for 6 in 100
milers. The Ride Management was really great and I felt they were really
there to help us finish. The whole time I was there I felt like I was
family. Thanks Uncle Tom, Aunt Jeanette and the rest of the families for
keeping this ride going. I will never forget the third night at ride camp
when after dark we heard the howl of the wolves in the mountains around us.
Thanks to the Big Horn Mountain range for that!
Don Bowen
Wild West, better known as Willy, "the flying horse"
year. After his fall several years ago, and he came back and beat that
trail, I promised Willy that I wouldn't ask him to do Tevis again. Since my
heart is with Tevis, and having many friends that live in the area, I will
surely ride Tevis again, just not on Willy.
So this year Willy would start his preparation for the Big Horn 100. He
completed at the 20-Mule Team 100 for cold weather training, not Willy's
favorite. We also completed all three days at Eastern Mojave, with some
altitude and a lot of rain, sleet and snow on day three. Next would be
Cuyama for three days with some speed work. Cuyama was most memorable this
year because on the third day, when Willy finished, the Duck actually asked
Willy, "well Wild West, how was your day?". He was missing a shoe but
trotted off sound and finished in the top ten for the day and again,
completed all three days.
So after Cuyama, I called Tom VanGelder and said Willy and I were planning
to come to the Big Horn 100 this year, depending on the fire season and if I
could get the time off. The next challenge was to help my wife, Pam, manage
the Malibu Ride and still get some work in for Willy. I have a lot respect
for ride mangers and even more now, and somehow Pam and I managed to stay
together after Malibu!
Four weeks later, it was off to the Californios 100. This is the ride the
Pacific South riders do to make their final adjustments before Tevis. Willy
looked good all day and ate well. We did most of the ride alone so this was
another good test for Big Horn. Willy finished well and looked great. So
another call was made to Tom about our status and my current situation.
On July 4, the National Situation was level 2, meaning there were enough
fire fighters throughout the country to handle the amount of current fires.
I called Tom that night and said Willy and I would be leaving Saturday
morning and would be arriving Sunday night or Monday morning. Well, Saturday
at 2 a.m., Willy was caught, and by 2:30 a.m. the Malibu white trash boys
were on the road to Wyoming. After passing Las Vegas the trailer got a flat
and I changed it before Mesquite at one of the stations. You should have
seen the look on the faces of some of the people watching me change the
tire, I had to hurry, it was getting hot. I called Pam to see if anyone had
a tire on ahead so I would still have a spare and it was BIG O Tire. The
good thing is there are a lot of them in Utah and they never made me wait
because there was a horse in the trailer, I was in and out.
At 11 a.m. the fire office called to see if I wanted to take out a Hand Crew
for a fire assignment and that the National Level had been raised to 3. Well
I was already past Cedar City in Utah having a first hand account of the
fire that was in that part of the state. As Willy and I were traveling up
Interstate 15 we experienced the biggest fire in Utah history. We were at
the I-70 detour when the fire bumped the road. For some reason all the
traffic was stopped and not moving. The fire had to be within a couple
hundred feet and we were not moving, so there I am in my truck and trailer,
hay in the bed, windows down on the trailer and we're stopped on the road, I
start honking to get people to move. I was thinking, "great, I slip out of
the Park just to go on this trip so I don't have to fight fire yet and now
I'm going to burn up the truck and trailer, Willy and myself, because these
people wont move". Well the next flash in my head is I have 5 gallons of
diesel in the back, how much backfire can I make, with that much diesel, and
get back to the truck. (Remember I'm a wildland fire fighter so I wouldn't
suggest this plan for everyone.) Well I didn't have to set a backfire
because traffic started moving and we were out of the smoke an hour later.
As we were traveling down the 70 I was calling Pam to explain my situation
and that I needed a new route change to get to Salt Lake. We pulled into the
Spanish Fork fairground before reaching Salt Lake City that evening and
called it night, I still had my truck, trailer, hay and Willy. Here, you can
have a stall with shavings for $10 a night and the caretaker will give you
access to a human shower.
The next day we left early for the Big Horn. At Rock Springs I let Willy out
for a travel break and usually we got the tourist questions and petting. One
lady just couldn't believe a horse could do a hundred miles in 24 hours so I
teased her and told her in the early days of the sport we used to ride them
to the ride. After Rock Springs we headed north and crossed the South Pass
of the Continental Divide which was something I had never done before so
that was pretty cool. As a side note, fuel is a lot cheaper in Rock Springs
than Lander or Riverton. The next cool thing was the drive along the Wind
River and its mighty canyon with railroad tracks on the other side. When we
got to Greybull we had crossed the Big Horn River a couple of times. I
figured we were getting close and had just another 25 miles to go.
When we got to Antelope Butte, Tom VanGelder was waiting for me. He looked
just like picture on the website and I am a better man for meeting him. We
settled in for the night, truck, trailer, hay, Willy and I with the night
sky. We would have days before the ride to eat, rest and get fat before the
ride. As the days went by people started to arrive and settle in and to my
surprise some of these folks actually knew of Willy the flying horse and me.
I did some trail marking with Tom, and got to meet Cindy Collins, who also
knew of Willy, she and her friend were there to mark the Horse Creek canyon
part of the trail for the first loop. The best part of the day was spent
riding around with Tom and getting to hear maybe a third of his stories, my
favorite was one about the flying mules of the army, after all Tom was a
Calvary man for a short while. I also got to spend some time with Teddy
Lancaster, the traveling vendor (Running Bear), and made a trip up to the
top of the ski lift in her jeep. Teddy will have to tell that story some
time.
It's finally Friday and I'm going to spend time getting ready for the ride.
That night, Tom approached me about taking a junior through the ride. She
would be riding his horse Charlie and was the junior of the ride management
staff. I later found that other riders had been asked as well, but for some
reason weren't able to, either way, I was honored to be asked and looked
forward to the ride.
The ride started with a controlled start at 4 a.m. Mountain time until we
crossed the highway. Then we were on our way, Willy and me, Charlie and
Bryla. I thought Willy would be the oldest horse there at 17, but Charlie is
22, so the two oldest horses on the ride would be traveling together. When
we got to the first vet check Sue Lyke had already tied in with us and spent
most of the ride with us. One bonus for riding with the junior is she came
with crew. Lisa, sorry I don't remember her last name, was at every stop we
needed her to be. The horses came in at criteria, ate and vetted well. Next
would be the canyons of Horse Creek? Four of them as I remember and as usual
I did my share of leading and tailing. I guess we were in last place but it
didn't mean much because we were there to finish, not place. When we got to
the 50 mile hour hold we had made good time and the horses were looking
really good.
So we headed up on the second loop with plenty daylight to make time, except
someone forgot to tell the Wyoming weather we were riding that day. About an
hour into the second loop a hail and rainstorm came that lasted around a
half hour. It was bad enough that we had to shelter in the trees until it
was over. Due to the storm we lost our good footing for a little while but
ten miles later it was good again. When we got to the 70-mile vet check I
had misjudged the distance and thought we had gone further. Jeanette and Tom
asked me how long I thought it would take to do the next loop, not knowing
the course I guessed three hours for the14 miles, Bryla and I did it in two.
One thing about being a heavyweight, I go a little slower during the day,
let the horse graze several times during the day, so at night when we need
it they have the reserves and that's how we did that loop so fast. The rest
of the way back was trail we came out on so the horses knew the way back and
we made our plans for climbing the hills. When we got back on top the
footing was poor so we walked in the last eight miles. The two old horses
finished well and strong in 2nd and 3rd place and looked good the next
morning.
That morning Willy was his usual self, stall walking in his corral because
he could see cows off in the distance and I went to the ride breakfast and
completion awards. Also that morning there were 6 horses with no feed or
water and nobody to be found. I helped feed and water, and I removed the
twisted blanket from the horse that allegedly later died. I did see one of
the gals later on while I was packing and let her know what we had done.
That is really all the contact I had with them since I rode a different pace
than they did.
Willy and I said our good-byes and loaded up. We headed off the mountain and
spent the rest of the day and night in Thermopolis at the Healing Waters RV
camp. This is a great place to stop with two mineral pools for healing and
the owner does a little acoustic concert at 9 p.m. I tied Willy to the
trailer but I think they would have let me set up corrals if I wanted, the
cost was $30 a day. The next morning we headed for home with a stop over in
Cedar City. When we got to Cedar City they were having a huge thunder and
lighting storm and I couldn't get into the Equestrian Center to bed Willy
down for the night, the gate was locked. I started calling fellow AERC
members for suggestions. First I called Judy Hall and she gave me Dean
Jackson's number. While on the phone with Dean the caretaker saw me parked
and asked if I needed help. So we got Willy settled in a stall for the night
and watched the show for the next two hours. The stall rate at this
Equestrian Center is $12 a night. We were up at 3 a.m. and home early that
afternoon. As I climbed the hill to the house I could see Willy's nose
sticking through the bars and then he whinnied. I let Willy out of the
trailer and he ran down to his favorite rolling spot, rolled, got up and
started playing with the babies!
This was one of toughest rides we've done and probably the most satisfying.
Willy is incredible and I am blessed and privileged to ride him, after all,
God takes care of addicts and alcoholics! Willy is now 6 for 6 in 100
milers. The Ride Management was really great and I felt they were really
there to help us finish. The whole time I was there I felt like I was
family. Thanks Uncle Tom, Aunt Jeanette and the rest of the families for
keeping this ride going. I will never forget the third night at ride camp
when after dark we heard the howl of the wolves in the mountains around us.
Thanks to the Big Horn Mountain range for that!
Don Bowen
Wild West, better known as Willy, "the flying horse"
Monday, July 16, 2007
Barefoot AT Ft. Howes Montana
Hello Fellow Barefooters & those that like to read about it. Here’s my Barefoot Story of my recent Endurance Excursion to Fort Howes in Montana, June 2007. btw I'm leaving for the Canada ride... as I write, so I won't be able to answer any responses to this for about two weeks.
Darolyn Butler, Jason Stasiuk (CeCi Butler’s husband), & Devan Horn (crew) left the Houston, Tx area & started for Ft. Howes on June 4th. Rich Hill (crew) flew out to Denver & we picked him up at the airport on Wed. morn. Then on to Stan Sandick’s home in Cheyenne, Wy. Got the Renegade boots that we had ordered to be shipped there & started fitting them with Stan’s help & assistance since he was familiar with them. Jason was marvelous as usual when it came to the mechanics of fitting the boots etc. In fact he showed Stan some tricks too. We had brought DJB Cytron out for Stan to ride in the 100 mile ride.
We started driving to the ride, but got a call from Andy re: the ride site & mud & they were telling people not to come in too early as the parking field was too muddy. I was already stressing about keeping boots on in the mud now… as all our horses were barefooted & we planned to ride in the Renegades. We got to camp & only got stuck once a little bit be4 we settled in.
On Friday we got up & finished our camp set up, then went for a ride. Jas put boots on Roy & we let Rich ride Razz, Devan rode Mac, & I was on Merci for our exercise run. The rest of us were barefooted.
When we got back we assisted Stan getting boots set up on Cytron best we could. He had decided to use a combination of Epics & Bares by EasyCare. I discouraged him from using back boots as I thought he wouldn’t need those for sure, but his plan was to boot all the way around.
We were actually mounted & ready to go for the 50… I let Jason/Razz (he was booted in the front only, with Renegades) start with me at the front, then told him after we got out n the meadow that he needed to back off & stay n the middle of the pack for Razz since Razz had done no speed training in the last few months and is 18 years old. I was riding DJB DC Macproof totally barefooted and I ran up front. We did the 19 mile loop in 1:15 hour. (That’s about 15 mph). Jason came in about 10 min. later & Razz had a cramped n back left buttock & was pulled. About an hour later he was ok… but too late for Jason.
I busted on Pulse on the 2nd check & it cost me 2 min. I went out behind leaders about that. Kept them in sight around the loop & Elroy (national champ from last year) was vying with me. We both caught the other two, Mel Hare was on one of Christoph Schork’s horses) & it was a four horse race for a while. Mac really wanted to go with the two front horses, but I kept him back. Mac was magnificent on the back side of that loop. The part of the trail that was road was all torn up, large hand size rocks laying everywhere & erosion bumps to boot. He flew through that with such agility that it really increased my resolve that BAREFOOT was the way to go.
About 4 miles from the finish Roxy Rivkin’s horse ran out of steam & she fell back. I kept the other two in sight for a while, but they were going just too friggin’ fast, it was FEI & I only had a 20 min. recovery time & didn’t want to blow it. We ended up averaging 17 mph on that loop. & that is the one with the lonnnnggg climb on that gravel road & the really steep climb down about 10 miles out. I have always felt there was no way I could do that 1 mile gravel road climb barefooted, but both Macproof and Mercy had no problem with it this year & Mercy did it going up & down the next day in the 100.
I came in about 4 min. behind the first two, 3:56 I think, total time. Elroy’s horse was exhausted. He ended up getting treated about 10 min. after I came in, so that moved me up to 2nd place in the AERC, & 1st in the AHA & BC in the AHA. Elroy’s horse was ok in a couple of hours & he was lucky. Macproof also won the AHA 1st to Finish & the Best Condition Award.
We got a few more things ready in the crew area for Sunday, and at 10:30 PM found out that Stan was going to have to haul Barb’s horse to surgery (another twisted gut) & that’s when we decided to let Devan (14 year old Crew girl) ride Cytron in the 100. We quickly got Stan to get the saddle out of his trailer b4 he left, & the vet card… then Devan had to get all of her stuff ready. I now made the decision to at least start Cytron with no boots, and just be prepared to boot him if necessary. The Renegades are so quick & easy to put on it’s not nearly so daunting as other more mechanical types.
John Crandall on Heraldic, Steve Rojek on Finch (has won 3 100 miles this year), Joey Mattingly on his World horse & a tough gal from Cal. Cheryl Dell, Mel on one of Christoph’s horses, Christoph on the good mare, Elroy Karius, Sue Horn, were the front runners. Naturally, all of them were shod.
Steve Rojek/Finch got pulled at 65 Mi. before that long pink loop on the West side. … the one with several long uphill climbs & where you go to that out check at Cow Creek… I heard that another horse actually stepped on his heel. Cheryl & I took the lead when John Crandell took a wrong turn for a few minutes some how. We ran that first 10 mi. in 50 min. I’ve never, ever done it that fast. We did the whole 26 mi. in 2 hours… that’s 13 mph.
It probably was too fast. Our horse’s came in well, but her horse was pulled due to metabolics and I went out strong with a couple of min. lead over Joey & John, but Mercy ran out of steam after we climbed that long gravel hill. They caught me about 2 miles later as we were walking up another hill. I stayed with them for a while, but she was more interested in eating so until she ate for about 15 min. or so, she wasn’t the racer that she had been. I eventually finished about 35 min. behind them. Joey did not challenge Heraldic at the finish & John was 1st & Joey 2nd. It was pretty impressive. They did the course in 8:34, 8:35 & I was 9:11. And yes, the vets did take pictures of her hooves. I’m not positive, but I’m guessing that is the first time (not one, but two) barefoot horses have finished Ft. Howes totally barefooted. That’s two hours faster than I ran the Bluebonnet course. That’s totally the difference in a non humid race course, even though it’s a
tougher course. However, I’ve thought about it since… and it was probably humid to the “arid” type horses… maybe explains why there were several metabolic problems.
I had the Renegades waiting in the wings, but, I ran barefooted on Macproof (50 Mi) & Mercy (100 Mi), & Devan ended up riding Cytron, (100 Mi)‘ barefooted also. Jason Used Renegade boots on Royal Blue Star in the 100. Royal had gotten a little rope burn on the way out there. The boot abbraised it just enough that he got pulled at 82 miles from that or the start of an abscess. Myna Cryderman picked up Devan at 82 miles & got her in. Devan did have her hallucinations & was kind of teary at the 90 mile point. She got over it though & came in strong at the end. Cytron looked great… did whole race Barefooted and got all A’s on his last check.
We had a 2/3rds finishing ratio on our barefooted horses… the race finished 25/44. Texas rides equaled 1/5 of the finishers… thought that was pretty cool too.
Weather was spectacular both ride days. Could not have asked for anything better, AND there was lots of water on trail as well.
If you care to look at my ride record, or any of the DJB horses that I own or board with me… u can just about figure that I always ride barefooted if at all possible. I only shoed for two races in 2006 & had miserable luck in both with at least 2-3 horses. We usually have 4-6 in the big races & up to 18 in the local Texas races.
So… all u folks that wonder if endurance can be done barefooted…. Yes, yes, yes… & yes, I would use boots if I just have to… and right now it appears that the Renegades maybe the latest star! Just make sure your trim is appropriate and as often as needed. No one can quite tell you that… depends on the ground and the amount of riding you do.
Good luck to all … learn how to trim your own horse… no one knows it better than you.. I learned at 50 years of age & now I trim almost all 60 head of horses on our place.
Check out my web site for more great barefoot web pages… www.horseridingfun.com If you're interested, check out Mercy's ride record.... she's only done one ride in her career shod, all others have been barefooted.
Darolyn Butler AERC#25 27000 Miles and Counting
Ft. Howes Results
50 Mile Saturday
Placing Rider Name Horse Name Ride Time
1 Hare, Mel DWA Sabku 3:52:32
2 Butler, Darolyn DJB DC MacProof 3:56:54
3 Rivkind, Roxi FCF Kenya 4:10:54
100 Mile Sunday Texas Riders 1/5 the finishing field 3 top tens
Placing Rider Name Horse Name Ride Time
1 Crandell III, John Heraldic 8:34:49
2 Mattingley, Joseph SA Laribou 8:35:22
3 Butler, Darolyn DJB Mercy Merci 9:11:58
4 Horne, Susan Kavod 9:29:10
5 Windows, Lori Nelly's Thunder 10:14:00
6 Hayes, Suzanne Tezeros Gold 10:56:14
7 Worthington, Jan Grace Lightening 10:56:40
8 Stevens, Heather RSA Count LaQuen 11:40:08
9 Stevens, Jennifer Genuine Pizzaz 11:40:09
10 Holzer, Cameron Xtreme Buckaroo 11:41:40
11 Holzer, Vicki HK Rikoshay 11:41:41
Darolyn Butler, Jason Stasiuk (CeCi Butler’s husband), & Devan Horn (crew) left the Houston, Tx area & started for Ft. Howes on June 4th. Rich Hill (crew) flew out to Denver & we picked him up at the airport on Wed. morn. Then on to Stan Sandick’s home in Cheyenne, Wy. Got the Renegade boots that we had ordered to be shipped there & started fitting them with Stan’s help & assistance since he was familiar with them. Jason was marvelous as usual when it came to the mechanics of fitting the boots etc. In fact he showed Stan some tricks too. We had brought DJB Cytron out for Stan to ride in the 100 mile ride.
We started driving to the ride, but got a call from Andy re: the ride site & mud & they were telling people not to come in too early as the parking field was too muddy. I was already stressing about keeping boots on in the mud now… as all our horses were barefooted & we planned to ride in the Renegades. We got to camp & only got stuck once a little bit be4 we settled in.
On Friday we got up & finished our camp set up, then went for a ride. Jas put boots on Roy & we let Rich ride Razz, Devan rode Mac, & I was on Merci for our exercise run. The rest of us were barefooted.
When we got back we assisted Stan getting boots set up on Cytron best we could. He had decided to use a combination of Epics & Bares by EasyCare. I discouraged him from using back boots as I thought he wouldn’t need those for sure, but his plan was to boot all the way around.
We were actually mounted & ready to go for the 50… I let Jason/Razz (he was booted in the front only, with Renegades) start with me at the front, then told him after we got out n the meadow that he needed to back off & stay n the middle of the pack for Razz since Razz had done no speed training in the last few months and is 18 years old. I was riding DJB DC Macproof totally barefooted and I ran up front. We did the 19 mile loop in 1:15 hour. (That’s about 15 mph). Jason came in about 10 min. later & Razz had a cramped n back left buttock & was pulled. About an hour later he was ok… but too late for Jason.
I busted on Pulse on the 2nd check & it cost me 2 min. I went out behind leaders about that. Kept them in sight around the loop & Elroy (national champ from last year) was vying with me. We both caught the other two, Mel Hare was on one of Christoph Schork’s horses) & it was a four horse race for a while. Mac really wanted to go with the two front horses, but I kept him back. Mac was magnificent on the back side of that loop. The part of the trail that was road was all torn up, large hand size rocks laying everywhere & erosion bumps to boot. He flew through that with such agility that it really increased my resolve that BAREFOOT was the way to go.
About 4 miles from the finish Roxy Rivkin’s horse ran out of steam & she fell back. I kept the other two in sight for a while, but they were going just too friggin’ fast, it was FEI & I only had a 20 min. recovery time & didn’t want to blow it. We ended up averaging 17 mph on that loop. & that is the one with the lonnnnggg climb on that gravel road & the really steep climb down about 10 miles out. I have always felt there was no way I could do that 1 mile gravel road climb barefooted, but both Macproof and Mercy had no problem with it this year & Mercy did it going up & down the next day in the 100.
I came in about 4 min. behind the first two, 3:56 I think, total time. Elroy’s horse was exhausted. He ended up getting treated about 10 min. after I came in, so that moved me up to 2nd place in the AERC, & 1st in the AHA & BC in the AHA. Elroy’s horse was ok in a couple of hours & he was lucky. Macproof also won the AHA 1st to Finish & the Best Condition Award.
We got a few more things ready in the crew area for Sunday, and at 10:30 PM found out that Stan was going to have to haul Barb’s horse to surgery (another twisted gut) & that’s when we decided to let Devan (14 year old Crew girl) ride Cytron in the 100. We quickly got Stan to get the saddle out of his trailer b4 he left, & the vet card… then Devan had to get all of her stuff ready. I now made the decision to at least start Cytron with no boots, and just be prepared to boot him if necessary. The Renegades are so quick & easy to put on it’s not nearly so daunting as other more mechanical types.
John Crandall on Heraldic, Steve Rojek on Finch (has won 3 100 miles this year), Joey Mattingly on his World horse & a tough gal from Cal. Cheryl Dell, Mel on one of Christoph’s horses, Christoph on the good mare, Elroy Karius, Sue Horn, were the front runners. Naturally, all of them were shod.
Steve Rojek/Finch got pulled at 65 Mi. before that long pink loop on the West side. … the one with several long uphill climbs & where you go to that out check at Cow Creek… I heard that another horse actually stepped on his heel. Cheryl & I took the lead when John Crandell took a wrong turn for a few minutes some how. We ran that first 10 mi. in 50 min. I’ve never, ever done it that fast. We did the whole 26 mi. in 2 hours… that’s 13 mph.
It probably was too fast. Our horse’s came in well, but her horse was pulled due to metabolics and I went out strong with a couple of min. lead over Joey & John, but Mercy ran out of steam after we climbed that long gravel hill. They caught me about 2 miles later as we were walking up another hill. I stayed with them for a while, but she was more interested in eating so until she ate for about 15 min. or so, she wasn’t the racer that she had been. I eventually finished about 35 min. behind them. Joey did not challenge Heraldic at the finish & John was 1st & Joey 2nd. It was pretty impressive. They did the course in 8:34, 8:35 & I was 9:11. And yes, the vets did take pictures of her hooves. I’m not positive, but I’m guessing that is the first time (not one, but two) barefoot horses have finished Ft. Howes totally barefooted. That’s two hours faster than I ran the Bluebonnet course. That’s totally the difference in a non humid race course, even though it’s a
tougher course. However, I’ve thought about it since… and it was probably humid to the “arid” type horses… maybe explains why there were several metabolic problems.
I had the Renegades waiting in the wings, but, I ran barefooted on Macproof (50 Mi) & Mercy (100 Mi), & Devan ended up riding Cytron, (100 Mi)‘ barefooted also. Jason Used Renegade boots on Royal Blue Star in the 100. Royal had gotten a little rope burn on the way out there. The boot abbraised it just enough that he got pulled at 82 miles from that or the start of an abscess. Myna Cryderman picked up Devan at 82 miles & got her in. Devan did have her hallucinations & was kind of teary at the 90 mile point. She got over it though & came in strong at the end. Cytron looked great… did whole race Barefooted and got all A’s on his last check.
We had a 2/3rds finishing ratio on our barefooted horses… the race finished 25/44. Texas rides equaled 1/5 of the finishers… thought that was pretty cool too.
Weather was spectacular both ride days. Could not have asked for anything better, AND there was lots of water on trail as well.
If you care to look at my ride record, or any of the DJB horses that I own or board with me… u can just about figure that I always ride barefooted if at all possible. I only shoed for two races in 2006 & had miserable luck in both with at least 2-3 horses. We usually have 4-6 in the big races & up to 18 in the local Texas races.
So… all u folks that wonder if endurance can be done barefooted…. Yes, yes, yes… & yes, I would use boots if I just have to… and right now it appears that the Renegades maybe the latest star! Just make sure your trim is appropriate and as often as needed. No one can quite tell you that… depends on the ground and the amount of riding you do.
Good luck to all … learn how to trim your own horse… no one knows it better than you.. I learned at 50 years of age & now I trim almost all 60 head of horses on our place.
Check out my web site for more great barefoot web pages… www.horseridingfun.com If you're interested, check out Mercy's ride record.... she's only done one ride in her career shod, all others have been barefooted.
Darolyn Butler AERC#25 27000 Miles and Counting
Ft. Howes Results
50 Mile Saturday
Placing Rider Name Horse Name Ride Time
1 Hare, Mel DWA Sabku 3:52:32
2 Butler, Darolyn DJB DC MacProof 3:56:54
3 Rivkind, Roxi FCF Kenya 4:10:54
100 Mile Sunday Texas Riders 1/5 the finishing field 3 top tens
Placing Rider Name Horse Name Ride Time
1 Crandell III, John Heraldic 8:34:49
2 Mattingley, Joseph SA Laribou 8:35:22
3 Butler, Darolyn DJB Mercy Merci 9:11:58
4 Horne, Susan Kavod 9:29:10
5 Windows, Lori Nelly's Thunder 10:14:00
6 Hayes, Suzanne Tezeros Gold 10:56:14
7 Worthington, Jan Grace Lightening 10:56:40
8 Stevens, Heather RSA Count LaQuen 11:40:08
9 Stevens, Jennifer Genuine Pizzaz 11:40:09
10 Holzer, Cameron Xtreme Buckaroo 11:41:40
11 Holzer, Vicki HK Rikoshay 11:41:41
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Never know how to navigate by pyramids... -- Maryanne Gabbani-Stroud
Never know when our riders need to know how to navigate by pyramids...
Blog: Turn Right at the Sarcophagus
Post: Pyramid Navigation
Link: http://haramlik.blogspot.com/2007/06/pyramid-navigation.html
Blog: Turn Right at the Sarcophagus
Post: Pyramid Navigation
Link: http://haramlik.blogspot.com/2007/06/pyramid-navigation.html
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
NASTR 75 - Lucy Trumball
Roo n' me got one step closer to being a real endurance team when we completed NASTR 75 last weekend. 75 miles was a first for both of us, and didn't come without a few nerves (for me at least - Roo din't really care one way or the other
Lucy Trumball's NASTR 7r - Full Story
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
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