OK, so finally got home and got all the chores done and can get a bit
of a note off regarding May's first 100.
As advertised the Sunriver 100 was a great first 100 mile ride. We
could not have asked for a better situation (unless maybe we could
make it not rain or hail).
We drove up from Reno on Thursday so that May would have a day to
rest. That worked out great as it also gave me a day to get organized
and not feel rushed. The people at the ride were so nice and friendly
and I can't say enough good things about the managment, vets and
volunteers.
We checked in on Friday and while we were waiting to vet we met a very
nice lady who was also riding in Easyboot Gloves. Since we were both
planning on a slow steady pace we agreed to meet up in the morning.
So morning came and just as I was thinking that I really should have
found out where my new friend was parked, there she was. All smiles
and ready to go with her wonderful gelding Thunder. Oh May was going
to be in love in no time at all. My new friend Karen said that she
did not want Thunder to see the front runners or he might get
excited. Of course I was exptecting May to be her typical psycho
anyway so the less stimulus the better. We left the trailers a few
minutes after 5 and headed to the start. Then the most amazing thing
ever happened....May calmly walked out right next to Thunder. We had
the best start ever!
The two of them paced along very nicely all day. The footing was
heaven and for a Nevada horse it was like walking on clouds. The
trail was really well marked as well. Since we were riding in the far
back of the pack we never had to wait in any line and there were
always plenty of volunteers to help us out. There were lots of water
stops along the way and the horses drank well. May did her usual
routine of trying to single handedly drain every tank and ate
everything she could get her face into.
We headed out with 30 miles to go and all A's from the vets (along
with a few comments that we could probably start riding the horses now
- CRIs 44/44). Since we still had loads of time we decided that we
would take our time and be mindful of any bad footing, playing the
conservative card at this point in the game. We did not make it to
the last check before dark which was a bummer but with good headlamps
and a well marked trail we managed to make it with only one missed
turn.
After we left the last check it rained on us a bit which was a downer
but most of the last leg is common trail from earlier in the day and
the horses were ready to get home. We walked pretty much the whole
way. We had picked up another rider so now we were a party of three
which was fun. We were only a few miles from the finish when the
tempurature really dropped. That was uncomfortable but we had
prepared and knew how to keep warm. Our partner was not very used to
the cold and it bothered her a bit more.
Then we saw the finish. The warm fire and the smiling face of Lois
the ride manager to welcome us in. We were later than we had expected
but we were done at 0200. The vets gave us all A's and again CRI
40/40. Well done little May, well done!
It was a great ride with all the key necessities covered tenfold.
Lois and Sharon and their team of vets and volunteers were simply top
notch; the trail was amazing, great footing and marked to the gills.
To top it off every single person in camp was so nice. There were
three distances going on so even though the field for the 100 was
small there were still a large number of folks in camp.
So, long story short, we had the best experience - great riding
partners (huge thank you to Karen and Thunder!), great trail and great
management. I am so proud of my little Mare. She grew up on this
ride and really earned her stripes. Thank you to everyone who made it
possible. Sunriver 100, not just a great first 100, a great ride
period!
Tami and Amatzing Grace (May)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Fort Howes - Karen Cox
I was #2 to sign up for Fort Howes. The 35 mile LD.
My TB mare "Hey Rose" (Rosie) can be, uh, moody. I knew the excitement
of ridecamp would not help. My husband was travelling so could not be
there as my crew (and crazy horse handler) as planned. Just me and my
son and our stock trailer and tent in the "redneck section" of camp :)
We had some good laughs about that with the other tent campers.
Friday night Rosie was pacing on the hi-tie and stomping if tied to
the trailer so I thought I'd take her for a walk. While standing
talking to someone with her on the lead and she stomped her front foot
and caught me hard in the calf, causing a bruise that covered my
entire calf. (Thank you to the girl from Europe with the magic salve,
and to the Bozeman cowboys for the beer and frozen sausage icepack,
and advils). I thought there was no way I’d be able to ride Saturday.
My leg looked scary in the morning, but it wasn’t feeling bad enough
to keep me from at least trying the ride. I mounted up before the
start and Rosie, hopping around and being an idiot (again), tossed her
head back and bonked me in the head causing me to bail off. Thank you
helmet. She also tossed a boot. Instead of trying to put it back on I
just pulled the other one off. By that point I was thinking, if we
ever get going here, and you step on a rock, serves you right, we'll
have to quit and that's fine with me. So stashed the boots in my pack.
The ride began and I started at the back of the pack and within 100
yards from the start Rosie just. FROZE. I could not even budge her
head. I got off and walked her, back on, still no go. I only got going
with the generous help of another rider (sorry didn't catch your name
- but thank you!) that started late. Though a part of me was thinking
it might be a better idea to just stay stuck there forever.
The first 15 miles or so of loop 1 were a fight. I rode with four
lovely ladies for a while. I learned that the Arab trot is faster than
the TB trot but slower than the TB canter. So, we invented a new gait
that was trot in front and canter in back - or something like that -
the right speed but we boing boinged down the whole trail. Sometimes
we did an actual canter, which normally on this horse is like
gliiiiiiiiding, but not today. The last 5 miles or so she finally
seemed to settle in though. We cantered and galloped about the last
mile right before the vet check, thinking I might blow my pulse-down
but I didn't care because we were both having fun - finally. But we
pulsed in at 52, no problem.
I also learned my horse is now a real barefoot horse. At least at Fort
Howes, where the footing was great. I had never ridden her more than a
few miles without boots, but we did the entire 20-mile loop barefoot,
without a bad step, even over the rare rocks we encountered.
We got all A's at our first vet check, except for a B in skin tenting!
No surprise there as she was in a white froth and heavy breathing for
a good part of this loop, using twice as much energy as needed, and
not at all interested in drinking until the end.
The second loop I delayed my start to be able to ride alone and we had
a great ride. I was thinking this is as much fun as riding at home.
(Which made me wonder if I should ever try this again - but like
pregnancy, I'm over it now). I put the boots on a few miles out
because she just seemed a little slow on the shale road, and she
perked right up after that. We had such a relaxed ride I thought our
mph was way slower than the first loop- but it was actually faster.
If she could go like that the whole ride life would be much easier!
She was also drinking well on this loop and we ended up with an A in
skin tenting. B- on gut sounds so I'll work on getting her to eat more
next time.
After the ride I met some friends of the Stevens, non-riders that were
there just to help out in any way (including keeping the ranch clean
of gophers and gopher holes, thank you). And help they did -
cappucino, home-made sausage, and best of all, a gigantic ice pack and
a couch to sit on in their trailer! Not to mention great company.
Their friend kept my son and another boy occupied with rides in his
Ranger.
I’m glad I stuck it out to the finish. But phew, what a workout. After
all the bouncing, it hurts to move - even my fingers! But Fort Howes
is such an amazing beautiful place. We have a long dry season in
Montana so I was happy about all the recent rain and all the green. It
wasn't too muddy, at least on the loops I did.
I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. Thank you to the
Stevens family for putting this on. I hope they do it forever and I
can come back to ride it many times.
I looked at my ride picture and I'm grimacing in every one, but Rosie
(horse #2) just looks happy as can be. Grrrrr! I'll need to do a 50
mile next time and see if I can wear her out. If she can calm down a
bit next time I’ll be able to let her run some, and maybe not go for
the turtle award.
That's my "ride story"! I endured. I finished. I won (the monkey butt
powder).
My TB mare "Hey Rose" (Rosie) can be, uh, moody. I knew the excitement
of ridecamp would not help. My husband was travelling so could not be
there as my crew (and crazy horse handler) as planned. Just me and my
son and our stock trailer and tent in the "redneck section" of camp :)
We had some good laughs about that with the other tent campers.
Friday night Rosie was pacing on the hi-tie and stomping if tied to
the trailer so I thought I'd take her for a walk. While standing
talking to someone with her on the lead and she stomped her front foot
and caught me hard in the calf, causing a bruise that covered my
entire calf. (Thank you to the girl from Europe with the magic salve,
and to the Bozeman cowboys for the beer and frozen sausage icepack,
and advils). I thought there was no way I’d be able to ride Saturday.
My leg looked scary in the morning, but it wasn’t feeling bad enough
to keep me from at least trying the ride. I mounted up before the
start and Rosie, hopping around and being an idiot (again), tossed her
head back and bonked me in the head causing me to bail off. Thank you
helmet. She also tossed a boot. Instead of trying to put it back on I
just pulled the other one off. By that point I was thinking, if we
ever get going here, and you step on a rock, serves you right, we'll
have to quit and that's fine with me. So stashed the boots in my pack.
The ride began and I started at the back of the pack and within 100
yards from the start Rosie just. FROZE. I could not even budge her
head. I got off and walked her, back on, still no go. I only got going
with the generous help of another rider (sorry didn't catch your name
- but thank you!) that started late. Though a part of me was thinking
it might be a better idea to just stay stuck there forever.
The first 15 miles or so of loop 1 were a fight. I rode with four
lovely ladies for a while. I learned that the Arab trot is faster than
the TB trot but slower than the TB canter. So, we invented a new gait
that was trot in front and canter in back - or something like that -
the right speed but we boing boinged down the whole trail. Sometimes
we did an actual canter, which normally on this horse is like
gliiiiiiiiding, but not today. The last 5 miles or so she finally
seemed to settle in though. We cantered and galloped about the last
mile right before the vet check, thinking I might blow my pulse-down
but I didn't care because we were both having fun - finally. But we
pulsed in at 52, no problem.
I also learned my horse is now a real barefoot horse. At least at Fort
Howes, where the footing was great. I had never ridden her more than a
few miles without boots, but we did the entire 20-mile loop barefoot,
without a bad step, even over the rare rocks we encountered.
We got all A's at our first vet check, except for a B in skin tenting!
No surprise there as she was in a white froth and heavy breathing for
a good part of this loop, using twice as much energy as needed, and
not at all interested in drinking until the end.
The second loop I delayed my start to be able to ride alone and we had
a great ride. I was thinking this is as much fun as riding at home.
(Which made me wonder if I should ever try this again - but like
pregnancy, I'm over it now). I put the boots on a few miles out
because she just seemed a little slow on the shale road, and she
perked right up after that. We had such a relaxed ride I thought our
mph was way slower than the first loop- but it was actually faster.
If she could go like that the whole ride life would be much easier!
She was also drinking well on this loop and we ended up with an A in
skin tenting. B- on gut sounds so I'll work on getting her to eat more
next time.
After the ride I met some friends of the Stevens, non-riders that were
there just to help out in any way (including keeping the ranch clean
of gophers and gopher holes, thank you). And help they did -
cappucino, home-made sausage, and best of all, a gigantic ice pack and
a couch to sit on in their trailer! Not to mention great company.
Their friend kept my son and another boy occupied with rides in his
Ranger.
I’m glad I stuck it out to the finish. But phew, what a workout. After
all the bouncing, it hurts to move - even my fingers! But Fort Howes
is such an amazing beautiful place. We have a long dry season in
Montana so I was happy about all the recent rain and all the green. It
wasn't too muddy, at least on the loops I did.
I'm looking forward to doing it again next year. Thank you to the
Stevens family for putting this on. I hope they do it forever and I
can come back to ride it many times.
I looked at my ride picture and I'm grimacing in every one, but Rosie
(horse #2) just looks happy as can be. Grrrrr! I'll need to do a 50
mile next time and see if I can wear her out. If she can calm down a
bit next time I’ll be able to let her run some, and maybe not go for
the turtle award.
That's my "ride story"! I endured. I finished. I won (the monkey butt
powder).
Old Dominion 55: The Trail to the Best Condition Award
Sandra's Easycareinc.com blog full story
Sandra Fretellier
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
photo: Easycare Inc
Where to start? First, I was not sure I would go to Old Dominion since my mare got pulled at the end of her first 50 at Biltmore. Her recoveries were really good, she never felt lame on trail but was off at the final exam and had a sore foot. She was sound two days later and acted normal during our training rides in Gloves.
I had the opportunity to get a ride to OD and when I heard my good friend Kevin Myers was going to be there, then my mind was set: Twist and I were going! But what distance, 25 or 55? I knew the course from last year and heard it was even harder this year, so I hesitated to enter the 55, but at the same time it was my only way to see if Twist was sound. I knew she could breeze through the 25 without a problem. If she had an issue, it would probably not have shown up in 25 miles.
So I decided to go for the 55 and RO if it was too hard on the pocket pony. She felt really good when I rode her the day before the ride. Kevin glued the boots on (it was tough on him with the humidity, thank you for all your hard work my friend) and we were set to go! The morning of the ride was quiet until I got on her. She is a little fireball and I have to use a Pelham with two reins at the start otherwise it's an endless fight. I prefer having a strong bit to use if needed. If she is gentle, I use the mild part of the bit. If she pulls I can be more reactive and I found it to work much better than fighting and me getting tired and yanking on her mouth.
So off we went, a little bit sideways at the back of the pack. At the base of the first climb Twist was still fired up and wanted to trot. I knew what was ahead of us, so I forced her to walk. Twist quickly gave in and started panting so I got off to help her. She was pooped at the end of the first climb and I let her recover by walking for a long time. We then started to trot slowly, but when we caught up to some horses Miss Twist got a second wind and was eager to go, so we kept trotting.
She pulsed down easily at the first vet check: she always eats and drinks everything in sight, even on trail. So off we went for the second loop, the loop of hell, with a 2.5 mile climb covered with big rocks. It was around noon so the heat was unbearable. Twist was leading a group of horses while I was walking (panting myself) in front of her. I saw she was getting tired so I let the horses pass us and stop for a couple of minutes in the shade (sort of). We kept on going and then it was the going down: I walked all of this.
When we arrived on flat ground Twist agreed to trot but she was dragging her feet so I let her graze and drink (and sponged her) at every opportunity we had. Once again when we caught up to some horses she perked up and it made me feel good. She pulsed down at the second VC in eight minutes. I know it seems long but it was hot and that is when most of the horses got pulled for failing to recover. Her CRI was 52/50, woo hoo!!! I knew the last two loops from last year. Twist was good so we kept a steady pace (nothing crazy around 5.8MPH).
We passed VC 3 with bright As all around, so I was happy and Twist was still eating and drinking. I left a couple of minutes late so she could eat more. The last six miles are not hard and the heat was slowly decreasing so we averaged a speed of 6.5MPH. I caught up to some good friends half a mile from the finish and we decided to tie. Once we passed the finish line they told us we were top 10. I could not believe it, I was sure I was closer to 20th place and would have been happy with it.
I waited to get our completion from the vets before getting too happy. When Nick congratulated me, I jumped on Twist. I was SO happy, her second 50 and top 10 at a tough Old Dominion. What a power pocket pony I have.
I decided to stand for BC, just to give Twist the experience and to get the chance to see how she recovered. I weight 145 lbs with all my tack and arrived an hour and a half after the winners, so I knew there was no way I would get BC, and probably not high vet score since Twist is still a green endurance horse.
A little Twist history: I bought her online (I know her sire has tons of get excelling in endurance), I could not go to see her as I was flying to France for the holidays. I found a vet, had her go through a pre-purchase exam and decided to get her as she was sound and healthy. As you can tell, she was. She arrived at my barn on January 9th, did 2LDs (one she got pulled at the end because of my stupidity). Foxcatcher 25 was OK but she was still a nutcase at the start, even starting 15 minutes after the pack. She still has a lot to learn, but she is quick learner!
Long story short, when they called my name for high vet score at the awards meeting the next morning, I was amazed. But when they told me "Hold on stay here, Twist also got BC", well then I cried. I got Twist because I lost my first horse last year and I couldn't get myself to think of not riding anymore. I'm a foreigner and the endurance community feels so much like a family to me, I had to get a new project to work on to keep riding the trails with my endurance peeps, and Twist crossed my path!
What an amazing little mare she is (14.1), she also has humor, she is a goof and I LOVE her. And I know Mona Tika is giving her all her blessing from the heaven meadows. I miss her every single day but it makes my love for Twist even stronger!
full story and more ...
Sandra Fretellier
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
photo: Easycare IncWhere to start? First, I was not sure I would go to Old Dominion since my mare got pulled at the end of her first 50 at Biltmore. Her recoveries were really good, she never felt lame on trail but was off at the final exam and had a sore foot. She was sound two days later and acted normal during our training rides in Gloves.
I had the opportunity to get a ride to OD and when I heard my good friend Kevin Myers was going to be there, then my mind was set: Twist and I were going! But what distance, 25 or 55? I knew the course from last year and heard it was even harder this year, so I hesitated to enter the 55, but at the same time it was my only way to see if Twist was sound. I knew she could breeze through the 25 without a problem. If she had an issue, it would probably not have shown up in 25 miles.
So I decided to go for the 55 and RO if it was too hard on the pocket pony. She felt really good when I rode her the day before the ride. Kevin glued the boots on (it was tough on him with the humidity, thank you for all your hard work my friend) and we were set to go! The morning of the ride was quiet until I got on her. She is a little fireball and I have to use a Pelham with two reins at the start otherwise it's an endless fight. I prefer having a strong bit to use if needed. If she is gentle, I use the mild part of the bit. If she pulls I can be more reactive and I found it to work much better than fighting and me getting tired and yanking on her mouth.
So off we went, a little bit sideways at the back of the pack. At the base of the first climb Twist was still fired up and wanted to trot. I knew what was ahead of us, so I forced her to walk. Twist quickly gave in and started panting so I got off to help her. She was pooped at the end of the first climb and I let her recover by walking for a long time. We then started to trot slowly, but when we caught up to some horses Miss Twist got a second wind and was eager to go, so we kept trotting.
She pulsed down easily at the first vet check: she always eats and drinks everything in sight, even on trail. So off we went for the second loop, the loop of hell, with a 2.5 mile climb covered with big rocks. It was around noon so the heat was unbearable. Twist was leading a group of horses while I was walking (panting myself) in front of her. I saw she was getting tired so I let the horses pass us and stop for a couple of minutes in the shade (sort of). We kept on going and then it was the going down: I walked all of this.
When we arrived on flat ground Twist agreed to trot but she was dragging her feet so I let her graze and drink (and sponged her) at every opportunity we had. Once again when we caught up to some horses she perked up and it made me feel good. She pulsed down at the second VC in eight minutes. I know it seems long but it was hot and that is when most of the horses got pulled for failing to recover. Her CRI was 52/50, woo hoo!!! I knew the last two loops from last year. Twist was good so we kept a steady pace (nothing crazy around 5.8MPH).
We passed VC 3 with bright As all around, so I was happy and Twist was still eating and drinking. I left a couple of minutes late so she could eat more. The last six miles are not hard and the heat was slowly decreasing so we averaged a speed of 6.5MPH. I caught up to some good friends half a mile from the finish and we decided to tie. Once we passed the finish line they told us we were top 10. I could not believe it, I was sure I was closer to 20th place and would have been happy with it.
I waited to get our completion from the vets before getting too happy. When Nick congratulated me, I jumped on Twist. I was SO happy, her second 50 and top 10 at a tough Old Dominion. What a power pocket pony I have.
I decided to stand for BC, just to give Twist the experience and to get the chance to see how she recovered. I weight 145 lbs with all my tack and arrived an hour and a half after the winners, so I knew there was no way I would get BC, and probably not high vet score since Twist is still a green endurance horse.
A little Twist history: I bought her online (I know her sire has tons of get excelling in endurance), I could not go to see her as I was flying to France for the holidays. I found a vet, had her go through a pre-purchase exam and decided to get her as she was sound and healthy. As you can tell, she was. She arrived at my barn on January 9th, did 2LDs (one she got pulled at the end because of my stupidity). Foxcatcher 25 was OK but she was still a nutcase at the start, even starting 15 minutes after the pack. She still has a lot to learn, but she is quick learner!
Long story short, when they called my name for high vet score at the awards meeting the next morning, I was amazed. But when they told me "Hold on stay here, Twist also got BC", well then I cried. I got Twist because I lost my first horse last year and I couldn't get myself to think of not riding anymore. I'm a foreigner and the endurance community feels so much like a family to me, I had to get a new project to work on to keep riding the trails with my endurance peeps, and Twist crossed my path!
What an amazing little mare she is (14.1), she also has humor, she is a goof and I LOVE her. And I know Mona Tika is giving her all her blessing from the heaven meadows. I miss her every single day but it makes my love for Twist even stronger!
full story and more ...
Sunday, June 06, 2010
The Long Road Back - Karen Bumgarner
Karenshorsetales.blogspot.com - Full Story
Sunday, June 6, 2010
This ride was a long time coming. It wasn't just a matter of getting in shape and doing it, there were so many hurdles jumped to get there.
Wrecks! Injuries. In 2006 I fell down the bus steps and broke my tailbone, blew three discs in my back and missed a whole year of endurance riding. I was lucky to ride at all during late summer but had two patient friends in Carol Brand and Karen Steenhof while I rode Rushcreek Hollie. A year later i felt that I was doing well enough to start riding Hollie's son Thunder. I took him on one 50 miler but the trotting and such was just tough on me. We did finish though and I stuck with trail riding. Then the day before my birthday, Thunder spooked, bolted, I came off when he skidded on the gravel road and that was the end of that ride, and any rides for awhile. Broken ribs, punctured lung, concussion, lost horse for 6 days, great friends out searching for him, oh my gosh what a nightmare.
I learned that I will never ride in a bosal again, a one rein stop doesn't work in a true emergency in wide open spaces and I also learned the horse when panicked is totally unpredictable. I also learned what superb friends I have as they worked so hard to recover my horse which is a story in itself...
Read more here:
http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2010/06/long-road-back.html
Sunday, June 6, 2010
This ride was a long time coming. It wasn't just a matter of getting in shape and doing it, there were so many hurdles jumped to get there.
Wrecks! Injuries. In 2006 I fell down the bus steps and broke my tailbone, blew three discs in my back and missed a whole year of endurance riding. I was lucky to ride at all during late summer but had two patient friends in Carol Brand and Karen Steenhof while I rode Rushcreek Hollie. A year later i felt that I was doing well enough to start riding Hollie's son Thunder. I took him on one 50 miler but the trotting and such was just tough on me. We did finish though and I stuck with trail riding. Then the day before my birthday, Thunder spooked, bolted, I came off when he skidded on the gravel road and that was the end of that ride, and any rides for awhile. Broken ribs, punctured lung, concussion, lost horse for 6 days, great friends out searching for him, oh my gosh what a nightmare.
I learned that I will never ride in a bosal again, a one rein stop doesn't work in a true emergency in wide open spaces and I also learned the horse when panicked is totally unpredictable. I also learned what superb friends I have as they worked so hard to recover my horse which is a story in itself...
Read more here:
http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2010/06/long-road-back.html
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Wild West 3-day Ride
Nick Warhol
Hi everyone- sorry for the long gap in stories, but 2009 was a truly rotten year. In fact, it was probably the only rotten year I can ever remember having, but I guess that’s a good thing. It started out bad when my Donnie came up lame in the rear in late 2008. We believe he fell down while running in his pasture. He had this stupid come and go lameness in his right rear that just could not be diagnosed. (I took him to the vets, who said “If this is a pre-purchase exam, I’ll buy him”!) They need to see a lame horse to diagnose it, and I just could not oblige them. So- I did what I had to and gave him the year off. Then Judy got laid off, then I got laid off (but I was only out of work for a week or so), then to top it off Judy took a dive off the top of a hay stack and shattered her wrist, broke ribs, dislocated fingers, just a train wreck. (She’s all better now). I rode two rides in 2009 on her horses, which is the fewest since 1991 or so. So depressing! But as we know, life is good, and things always get better. Judy got a great job, her surgery was a success, and my Donnie is back. I started riding him in November, and found him, how shall we say, a tad energetic? We slogged through conditioning during the stupid wet winter of 09/10, and tried out our luck for a comeback at the Washoe ride in early May. Connie Creech and those Nevada guys are just the best. Washoe is a tough ride, and I have not been on those SOB’s since riding Zayante, but my Donnie is talking Zayante lessons and pulled me through looking great, and most importantly, sound! So far so good. It was very nice to be back at a ride with my horse.
Judy and I signed up for 3 days at the Wild West pioneer ride up at Skillman horse camp, near Nevada City, up at about 4500 feet in the low part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Sierra is famous for the classic saying- “Don’t like the weather? Just wait a minute, it’ll change!” We packed up on Thursday, May 27th, and had to sit in our living room, in beautiful Northern California, waiting for the pouring rain to stop before loading the horses. Come on – this is summer! This El-Nino stuff is for the birds. We drove out with the wipers on, and drove up in the rain to the horse camp, where it was of course snowing. Let me repeat that- it was snowing, and about 34 degrees. We put the heavy blankets on the horses and huddled in front of the heater in the camper. We braved the ride meeting in the snow, where our good friends Robert and Melissa Ribley told us about the “fun” we were going to have tomorrow. Robert, being the smart guy he is, had changed the day one trail to keep us from having to brave the five foot snow drifts up in the high country where the pink loop usually goes. Oh great, this sounds promising. It was. We started out in the morning cold, in the rain, and on very, very wet trails. As Robert had advised us- dust would not be a factor today. It was cold, wet, and sloppy. We were taking it very easy, as it was hard to see the rocks under the snow. It was not too bad, as we had on our rain gear, and at least it wasn’t windy. Just wet, and very slippery. We were walking along in the soggy forest when about 15 pounds of snow fell from a tree right on top of Donnie and me. He leaped very well- we were pretty surprised, and the snow went right down my shirt. Nice!
The first loop today was a better one to do in this weather- it started out on slippery, goopy, sloppy, wet and snowy single track trails that we pretty much walked, but the bulk of the 30 miles were on fire roads that at least were not too steep. It was raining; Judy said she wished it would snow, since that’s a little easier to deal with. So- what happens? It starts snowing again. Thanks Sweetie. It was walk, trot, walk, trot, walk between the puddles and mud bogs through the whole loop. Endurance riding puddle lesson number 1: always walk through the middle, even though the horse wants to go on the edges. A couple of people missed this one and tried the edges; they and their horse took a swim in the muddy, cold water in the road. We wound our way through the wet forest, dripping wet, passing many chained off driveways, until we came to the monster PGE hill that I had Donnie tail me up. What a hike. It took us about 5 hours to do the loop and make it back to base camp, where it was, well, still very wet. Go into camper, change clothes, get nice and warm and dry, then- go back out into the wet. The second loop was supposed to go up into the high country, but unfortunately it was impassible. Robert changed the loop so that when we started to get to the deep snow, we headed back down the mountain towards the camp and on to an out and back road that was in good shape and easy to trot. On the way there in the forest we had to cross through a little soft area, and my poor horse sank up to his hocks in the bog. Oh heart attack! He slogged his way out, and Judy wisely took Color around through the trees. About 10 miles of trotting brought us back to camp and the finish and another change of clothes. The next time someone asks you why you have 20 blankets in your trailer, just refer them to this day. (Half of them are hanging in the back of the trailer, totally soaked!) 50 brave souls started, and 48 finished this true test of endurance riding. Light rain and snow greeted people at the ride meeting; those guys who had just arrived were listening to the horror stories from today’s riders and looking up at the sky. It’s always worse when you get through! Robert just kept saying that the weather was going to keep getting better. The rain on the camper Friday night was not reassuring. If it’s snowing in the morning, do we start? I don’t know……….
[...full story]
Hi everyone- sorry for the long gap in stories, but 2009 was a truly rotten year. In fact, it was probably the only rotten year I can ever remember having, but I guess that’s a good thing. It started out bad when my Donnie came up lame in the rear in late 2008. We believe he fell down while running in his pasture. He had this stupid come and go lameness in his right rear that just could not be diagnosed. (I took him to the vets, who said “If this is a pre-purchase exam, I’ll buy him”!) They need to see a lame horse to diagnose it, and I just could not oblige them. So- I did what I had to and gave him the year off. Then Judy got laid off, then I got laid off (but I was only out of work for a week or so), then to top it off Judy took a dive off the top of a hay stack and shattered her wrist, broke ribs, dislocated fingers, just a train wreck. (She’s all better now). I rode two rides in 2009 on her horses, which is the fewest since 1991 or so. So depressing! But as we know, life is good, and things always get better. Judy got a great job, her surgery was a success, and my Donnie is back. I started riding him in November, and found him, how shall we say, a tad energetic? We slogged through conditioning during the stupid wet winter of 09/10, and tried out our luck for a comeback at the Washoe ride in early May. Connie Creech and those Nevada guys are just the best. Washoe is a tough ride, and I have not been on those SOB’s since riding Zayante, but my Donnie is talking Zayante lessons and pulled me through looking great, and most importantly, sound! So far so good. It was very nice to be back at a ride with my horse.
Judy and I signed up for 3 days at the Wild West pioneer ride up at Skillman horse camp, near Nevada City, up at about 4500 feet in the low part of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The Sierra is famous for the classic saying- “Don’t like the weather? Just wait a minute, it’ll change!” We packed up on Thursday, May 27th, and had to sit in our living room, in beautiful Northern California, waiting for the pouring rain to stop before loading the horses. Come on – this is summer! This El-Nino stuff is for the birds. We drove out with the wipers on, and drove up in the rain to the horse camp, where it was of course snowing. Let me repeat that- it was snowing, and about 34 degrees. We put the heavy blankets on the horses and huddled in front of the heater in the camper. We braved the ride meeting in the snow, where our good friends Robert and Melissa Ribley told us about the “fun” we were going to have tomorrow. Robert, being the smart guy he is, had changed the day one trail to keep us from having to brave the five foot snow drifts up in the high country where the pink loop usually goes. Oh great, this sounds promising. It was. We started out in the morning cold, in the rain, and on very, very wet trails. As Robert had advised us- dust would not be a factor today. It was cold, wet, and sloppy. We were taking it very easy, as it was hard to see the rocks under the snow. It was not too bad, as we had on our rain gear, and at least it wasn’t windy. Just wet, and very slippery. We were walking along in the soggy forest when about 15 pounds of snow fell from a tree right on top of Donnie and me. He leaped very well- we were pretty surprised, and the snow went right down my shirt. Nice!
The first loop today was a better one to do in this weather- it started out on slippery, goopy, sloppy, wet and snowy single track trails that we pretty much walked, but the bulk of the 30 miles were on fire roads that at least were not too steep. It was raining; Judy said she wished it would snow, since that’s a little easier to deal with. So- what happens? It starts snowing again. Thanks Sweetie. It was walk, trot, walk, trot, walk between the puddles and mud bogs through the whole loop. Endurance riding puddle lesson number 1: always walk through the middle, even though the horse wants to go on the edges. A couple of people missed this one and tried the edges; they and their horse took a swim in the muddy, cold water in the road. We wound our way through the wet forest, dripping wet, passing many chained off driveways, until we came to the monster PGE hill that I had Donnie tail me up. What a hike. It took us about 5 hours to do the loop and make it back to base camp, where it was, well, still very wet. Go into camper, change clothes, get nice and warm and dry, then- go back out into the wet. The second loop was supposed to go up into the high country, but unfortunately it was impassible. Robert changed the loop so that when we started to get to the deep snow, we headed back down the mountain towards the camp and on to an out and back road that was in good shape and easy to trot. On the way there in the forest we had to cross through a little soft area, and my poor horse sank up to his hocks in the bog. Oh heart attack! He slogged his way out, and Judy wisely took Color around through the trees. About 10 miles of trotting brought us back to camp and the finish and another change of clothes. The next time someone asks you why you have 20 blankets in your trailer, just refer them to this day. (Half of them are hanging in the back of the trailer, totally soaked!) 50 brave souls started, and 48 finished this true test of endurance riding. Light rain and snow greeted people at the ride meeting; those guys who had just arrived were listening to the horror stories from today’s riders and looking up at the sky. It’s always worse when you get through! Robert just kept saying that the weather was going to keep getting better. The rain on the camper Friday night was not reassuring. If it’s snowing in the morning, do we start? I don’t know……….
[...full story]
Tuesday, June 01, 2010
Owyhee Fandango - River Run!
Karen Bumgardner
Thunder was fine crossing the historic Guffey Bridge but wasn't crazy about stopping high above the Snake River for his photo!
The Owyhees have become one of my favorite places thanks to all the endurance rides put on by the Teeters and their great friends. When I am anywhere where I can see the Owyhees I just gaze at them and all these great memeories come rushing into my head! And now, once again, I was heading South to Oreana. I was pretty excited about going down to ride the 100 on Thunder. His first ever 100 and my first in a few years. The thoughts of new trails drew me like a piece of steel to a magnet.
Sunday at 6 AM my friend Lynn White and I left the Teeter Ranch, beginning our long day's trek. We headed NE to the Sierra Del Rio Ranch, a beautiful oasis not far from the Snake River. This heavenly spot was once a water and rest stop on the Oregon Trail. From here we rode through some awesome wagon ruts left over 150 years ago. When you are out in the remote country, truly very little has changed with time, and it is like taking a step back through history. Later we dropped down into the Snake River Gorge near Swan Falls Dam. Somewhere in here we managed to pass three riders, but I had a feeling we'd be seeing them again. We rode on sandy two-track roads and trails along the river, past an orchard from an old homestead, and into the large rocks decorated with petroglyphs. These boulders washed down in the Bonneville Flood over 15,000 years ago. Our trail later became skinny and hard to keep track of as it wandered through some boulders and rocks that some riders just hated. But I didn't mind, I've helped move cattle through rougher country than that. One section of the river had about 20 pelicans, the fishing must have been good!
full story - http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2010/05/owyhee-fandango-river-run.html
Thunder was fine crossing the historic Guffey Bridge but wasn't crazy about stopping high above the Snake River for his photo!The Owyhees have become one of my favorite places thanks to all the endurance rides put on by the Teeters and their great friends. When I am anywhere where I can see the Owyhees I just gaze at them and all these great memeories come rushing into my head! And now, once again, I was heading South to Oreana. I was pretty excited about going down to ride the 100 on Thunder. His first ever 100 and my first in a few years. The thoughts of new trails drew me like a piece of steel to a magnet.
Sunday at 6 AM my friend Lynn White and I left the Teeter Ranch, beginning our long day's trek. We headed NE to the Sierra Del Rio Ranch, a beautiful oasis not far from the Snake River. This heavenly spot was once a water and rest stop on the Oregon Trail. From here we rode through some awesome wagon ruts left over 150 years ago. When you are out in the remote country, truly very little has changed with time, and it is like taking a step back through history. Later we dropped down into the Snake River Gorge near Swan Falls Dam. Somewhere in here we managed to pass three riders, but I had a feeling we'd be seeing them again. We rode on sandy two-track roads and trails along the river, past an orchard from an old homestead, and into the large rocks decorated with petroglyphs. These boulders washed down in the Bonneville Flood over 15,000 years ago. Our trail later became skinny and hard to keep track of as it wandered through some boulders and rocks that some riders just hated. But I didn't mind, I've helped move cattle through rougher country than that. One section of the river had about 20 pelicans, the fishing must have been good!
full story - http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2010/05/owyhee-fandango-river-run.html
Friday, May 21, 2010
Speed Trap (Mt Adams)
http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/archives/206506.asp
It happened so fast.
I heard the clattering hooves on the hill behind me and nudged Taz off the single-track trail.
One of the skills I was perfecting this time out was swiftly getting out of the way of other horses and riders. There was a reason for that.
Back to the beginning
The ride started at the Mt. Adams horse camp on Saturday, May 15th. I had a plan - discussed with my friends Cathy and Wendy, whose horse I was riding - to go as slow as we reasonably could and still finish within the six-hour time allowed for a 25 mile limited distance ride.
I thought this might be within Taz's grasp, based on his last few conditioning rides. I could have tagged along with a group of others doing the 25-miler, but I wanted to ride alone so I could adjust his gaits to the terrain rather than to another horse. I couldn't count on finding a ride partner as well matched as Louise Baker and Tika, who I hooked up with at the Home on the Range ride in March.
I also knew we might be pushing near Taz's limits, and riding alone would give me a better read on his real energy levels. He's not one of those self-sufficient, lead-mare type horses - it's hard for him to let go of a trail companion, even if they are going faster than him.
You know how it is if you have ever done this on the highway. Having another horse "pull" you along might be useful occasionally, but sometimes it sends you into a speed trap.
[...more] http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/archives/206506.asp
It happened so fast.
I heard the clattering hooves on the hill behind me and nudged Taz off the single-track trail.
One of the skills I was perfecting this time out was swiftly getting out of the way of other horses and riders. There was a reason for that.
Back to the beginningThe ride started at the Mt. Adams horse camp on Saturday, May 15th. I had a plan - discussed with my friends Cathy and Wendy, whose horse I was riding - to go as slow as we reasonably could and still finish within the six-hour time allowed for a 25 mile limited distance ride.
I thought this might be within Taz's grasp, based on his last few conditioning rides. I could have tagged along with a group of others doing the 25-miler, but I wanted to ride alone so I could adjust his gaits to the terrain rather than to another horse. I couldn't count on finding a ride partner as well matched as Louise Baker and Tika, who I hooked up with at the Home on the Range ride in March.
I also knew we might be pushing near Taz's limits, and riding alone would give me a better read on his real energy levels. He's not one of those self-sufficient, lead-mare type horses - it's hard for him to let go of a trail companion, even if they are going faster than him.
You know how it is if you have ever done this on the highway. Having another horse "pull" you along might be useful occasionally, but sometimes it sends you into a speed trap.
[...more] http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/archives/206506.asp
Mt Adams Ride...what I learned & more! - Darlene Anderson
10 things I learned from managing the Mt Adams ride:
1. When you tell people they don't have to bag their horse poop, like the USFS makes us do at all the other rides on public land...they're going to do it anyhow, and then they're going to put their regular garbage in there too & the BCH are going to be really pissed at finding all that in their horse camp poop bins! Side note ~~> THANK YOU Terry Ross & Bob Wooldridge for going up there w/Bob's tracter & trailer & emptying all those bags & clearing out the BCH bins of the rubbish.
2. When you offer to do a 100 miler if you get X # of entries, thinking if you get 1/2, you'll get really stressed out the week before the ride when all but 5-6 of the pre-entries cancel. We ended up with 11 entries. Note to self #1...only offering a 75 miler next year, not matter how much anyone cajoles me!
3. Have friends w/big hearts & bigger chainsaws. Ask them to bring their gloves & boots.
4. No matter how well you explain the trail (I'm a minimalist folks...my ride meeting consists of, "Follow the correct color ribbon, which will ALWAYS be the right color on the RIGHT side of the trail!"...someone is going to get messed up & go the wrong way, or miss a turn, or misunderstand what you said. I tried...really I did.
5. No matter how many miles a person has, they may still make a mistake & you're going to have a crisis of conscience in doing the right thing by the ride & by the person.
I hate that feeling...
6. Involve the local community as much as possible. The little town of Trout Lake, WA, feels such ownership of this ride that they will do about anything to make it happen each year. I was amazed at the people up there. It was refreshing to see how much they care about this ride.
7. Give decent awards. Steph & I wanted to give away a cup that Max had won at another ride w/fresh sharpie writing over the bank logo it had on it, "Best Condition 100 miles, Mt Adams Ride". We got vetoed. ;)
8. Don't overwork your friends/trail crew, they won't come back if you do!
9. If you do overwork your friends/trail crew...FEED THEM WELL! Food & good beer cures a multitude of evils. Really...it does.
10. Build it...and they will come. We had a record number of pre-registrations & equally as many people showed up w/o pre-registering. Can't thank you guys enough. Made my heart happy.
Bonus #11. Have people there that take really good pictures. People love pictures of their ponies. I know this because I do. :) Thank you Jessica & Merri!!
Addendum...Note to self #2...no matter how well you condition your horse, how much you prepare him for 100 miles, find the best jockey available (thanks Mom!)...your favorite horse in the whole world might still find a rock w/his name on it after 37 miles. Ack...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Broxton Bridge Plantation Ride Story - Nancy Sluys
May 18 2010
Hi Folks, those of you who were not at the Broxton Bridge Plantation ride this past weekend in South Carolina missed a stellar event! This was a first time ride and the land owners and first time ride manager Joe Schoeh did an awesome job making us feel welcome and just about thought of everything!! My only 2 complaints about the ride were the heat (can't control that!) and the lack of grass (the owners cut it short right before the ride so everything would look neat). The good stuff...Big camp area with trees and lots of hook-ups, shaded crew area, groomed trails (yes, they went out and watered and groomed the trail the night before the ride!), traditional Low Country Boil (shrimp, potatoes, sausage, corn) for dinner on Saturday, historic civil war battlefield, plenty of vets, super crew awards, southern hospitality etc, etc!!!
I came hoping to finish 2 days on Zanie my now 6 year old youngster. She has started doing 50s this year and is handling that well so a 2 day seemed doable. She performed very well the first day, eating and drinking well on the trail and in the VCs . We were going a moderate pace and I was able to take her directly to the pulse taker at the end of every loop. Her CRIs were fabulous and all other paramiters were As. She was handling the heat very well especially considering that we had 2 days of frost earlier in the week and the temperatures were climbing into the mid 90s! She looked great at the finish and I was surprised to realize that our ride time was around 6:30, almost an hour faster than her previous ride. Of course there was absolutely nothing in the way to slow you down on those flat, groomed sandy trails!
I collected my ride card for the next day but wasn't sure that I wanted to repeat that hot ride. She has been doing so well and I have been so careful to make sure that she is having a good time that I didn't want to push my luck on another hot day.Since I'm still getting to know her at a ride I decided to hang around camp and observe her for the details that I would need in the future to know what is normal for her after a ride. I took her back to the trailer and let her into her pen. Then I hung around in my trailer and watched her out the window to observe. First she ate some hay for about 20 minutes then she stood there snoozing. After about a half an hour she woke up and took a long drink then went back to sleep. I noticed that her nostrils were flaring a bit so decided to check her heart rate. She was still around 58-60 which seemed pretty high to me but she was not uncomfortable that I could see. I decided to check my friends 2 horses heart rates to have something to compare it to. They were also slightly elevated so I decided that they were just trying to cool off in the hot weather which was about 94 at that time. I decided to take her for a walk to get her blood flowing and she ate grass readily. Her manure was a bit dry compared to that morning when it was quite loose so I figured she was slightly dehydrated from the ride. I was curious to see how long she would take to recover completely. When I took her back to the trailer she scarffed down a slurpy mash and drank some more water. She seemed a lot cooler than she had been earlier so the walk had been a good idea, maybe I should have cooled her longer after the ride before turning her loose. These are the details I was wanting to notice so that I would know how to manage her during rides especially when we start doing 100s.
She looked great that night and the next morning but I wasn't ready to gamble on competing her a second day with the weather so hot so I didn't start the ride. Instead I took her out for a 10 mile loop by herself to see how she felt. Well, she felt awesome! Light, sound and forward and ready for more trail. I had the feeling that she totally could have completed a second day with no problem but glad I didn't have the worry of the competition to think about. I feel like I made the right decision and was proud of myself for being sensible and not letting my competitive spirit get in the was of good sense. I now have some pretty good observations of how she recovers and what's normal for her. I'm looking forward to the AHA Region 12 Championship ride at Big South Fork in a month. I'm planning on riding her in the 50 on Friday and the CTR on Sunday and now I'll have the peace of mind to know that she can do it!
Happy trails, Nancy & Zanie
PS...I would definitely put this ride on your calendar. It was a pleasure!!
Hi Folks, those of you who were not at the Broxton Bridge Plantation ride this past weekend in South Carolina missed a stellar event! This was a first time ride and the land owners and first time ride manager Joe Schoeh did an awesome job making us feel welcome and just about thought of everything!! My only 2 complaints about the ride were the heat (can't control that!) and the lack of grass (the owners cut it short right before the ride so everything would look neat). The good stuff...Big camp area with trees and lots of hook-ups, shaded crew area, groomed trails (yes, they went out and watered and groomed the trail the night before the ride!), traditional Low Country Boil (shrimp, potatoes, sausage, corn) for dinner on Saturday, historic civil war battlefield, plenty of vets, super crew awards, southern hospitality etc, etc!!!
I came hoping to finish 2 days on Zanie my now 6 year old youngster. She has started doing 50s this year and is handling that well so a 2 day seemed doable. She performed very well the first day, eating and drinking well on the trail and in the VCs . We were going a moderate pace and I was able to take her directly to the pulse taker at the end of every loop. Her CRIs were fabulous and all other paramiters were As. She was handling the heat very well especially considering that we had 2 days of frost earlier in the week and the temperatures were climbing into the mid 90s! She looked great at the finish and I was surprised to realize that our ride time was around 6:30, almost an hour faster than her previous ride. Of course there was absolutely nothing in the way to slow you down on those flat, groomed sandy trails!
I collected my ride card for the next day but wasn't sure that I wanted to repeat that hot ride. She has been doing so well and I have been so careful to make sure that she is having a good time that I didn't want to push my luck on another hot day.Since I'm still getting to know her at a ride I decided to hang around camp and observe her for the details that I would need in the future to know what is normal for her after a ride. I took her back to the trailer and let her into her pen. Then I hung around in my trailer and watched her out the window to observe. First she ate some hay for about 20 minutes then she stood there snoozing. After about a half an hour she woke up and took a long drink then went back to sleep. I noticed that her nostrils were flaring a bit so decided to check her heart rate. She was still around 58-60 which seemed pretty high to me but she was not uncomfortable that I could see. I decided to check my friends 2 horses heart rates to have something to compare it to. They were also slightly elevated so I decided that they were just trying to cool off in the hot weather which was about 94 at that time. I decided to take her for a walk to get her blood flowing and she ate grass readily. Her manure was a bit dry compared to that morning when it was quite loose so I figured she was slightly dehydrated from the ride. I was curious to see how long she would take to recover completely. When I took her back to the trailer she scarffed down a slurpy mash and drank some more water. She seemed a lot cooler than she had been earlier so the walk had been a good idea, maybe I should have cooled her longer after the ride before turning her loose. These are the details I was wanting to notice so that I would know how to manage her during rides especially when we start doing 100s.
She looked great that night and the next morning but I wasn't ready to gamble on competing her a second day with the weather so hot so I didn't start the ride. Instead I took her out for a 10 mile loop by herself to see how she felt. Well, she felt awesome! Light, sound and forward and ready for more trail. I had the feeling that she totally could have completed a second day with no problem but glad I didn't have the worry of the competition to think about. I feel like I made the right decision and was proud of myself for being sensible and not letting my competitive spirit get in the was of good sense. I now have some pretty good observations of how she recovers and what's normal for her. I'm looking forward to the AHA Region 12 Championship ride at Big South Fork in a month. I'm planning on riding her in the 50 on Friday and the CTR on Sunday and now I'll have the peace of mind to know that she can do it!
Happy trails, Nancy & Zanie
PS...I would definitely put this ride on your calendar. It was a pleasure!!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Mt. Adams Endurance Ride, May 15th, 2010 - Akhal Tekes, Cascade Gold Blog
May 17, 2010
I'm pretty sure I now know the meaning of 'endurance'. We're back from our lovely weekend on the slopes of Mt. Adams, near Troutdale, WA. Absolutely gorgeous views, snowcapped peaks, tall firs, lovely meadows, wonderful trails, lots of happy horses and riders. So, why the comment, you ask?
At my last 50 mile ride, Home on the Range, I did great until the last mile, where I ended up getting off my horse, putting my head between my knees and waiting until the world quit rushing around. We finished, the horse was fine, but after that I've been doing more conditioning rides and I really worked on what I'd eat and drink at the next ride, so I wouldn't have this problem ever again. Well....
We rolled into ride camp around 3 pm on Friday, got camp set up, vetted in, met some friends, took care of the horses and hit the sack pretty early. None of us slept well, a common problem before a ride - lots of excitement! We were up at 4:45, ate a good breakfast, got the horses ready and hit the trail a little after 6 am. We had a little bit of excited horses, until we got out of camp and then both Galen and Allie settled into their work. Nice loose reins, long, steady walk to warm up and then a good trot up and down stunning trails. Both Wendy and I had to comment on how many trees the ride manager's crew had to cut up - the numbers were amazing! At the ride meeting, they mentioned 80 downed trees cut on ONE loop. I think they undercounted...
Read more here:
http://cascadegold.blogspot.com/2010/05/mt-adams-endurance-ride-may-15th-2010.html
I'm pretty sure I now know the meaning of 'endurance'. We're back from our lovely weekend on the slopes of Mt. Adams, near Troutdale, WA. Absolutely gorgeous views, snowcapped peaks, tall firs, lovely meadows, wonderful trails, lots of happy horses and riders. So, why the comment, you ask?
At my last 50 mile ride, Home on the Range, I did great until the last mile, where I ended up getting off my horse, putting my head between my knees and waiting until the world quit rushing around. We finished, the horse was fine, but after that I've been doing more conditioning rides and I really worked on what I'd eat and drink at the next ride, so I wouldn't have this problem ever again. Well....
We rolled into ride camp around 3 pm on Friday, got camp set up, vetted in, met some friends, took care of the horses and hit the sack pretty early. None of us slept well, a common problem before a ride - lots of excitement! We were up at 4:45, ate a good breakfast, got the horses ready and hit the trail a little after 6 am. We had a little bit of excited horses, until we got out of camp and then both Galen and Allie settled into their work. Nice loose reins, long, steady walk to warm up and then a good trot up and down stunning trails. Both Wendy and I had to comment on how many trees the ride manager's crew had to cut up - the numbers were amazing! At the ride meeting, they mentioned 80 downed trees cut on ONE loop. I think they undercounted...
Read more here:
http://cascadegold.blogspot.com/2010/05/mt-adams-endurance-ride-may-15th-2010.html
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Mt. Carmel XP story and GETC results
Globalendurance Blog
05/10/2010
Christoph and Dian just came back from a successful 5 day ride at Mt Carmel, southern Utah. The Mt. Carmel ride is part of Dave Nicholson XP series. Scenery was beautiful, the weather just about perfect.
Dave, the "Duck" added two days to this years ride, for many years it has been a 3 day ride. This time we went up to over 10.000 ft on two of the days. With the heavy snow Utah experienced last winter, the riders had to negotiate over some snowy patches still left at elevation.
As always, the Nicholson family did a terrific job managing this ride. Everybody was in good spirits and had a lot of fun.
Deb Whorf, a long time friend and former Moab resident, flew in from Maine to attend the ride. She rode Trinity on 3 days and placed two times 3rd and one time 6th. On the last day, her horse GE Trinity, received the BC award. GE Trinity was formerly owned by Garrett Ford and resides now at the GETC facility in Moab.
Christoph placed first on all days, tying for first on 3 days with Dian and one time with Tennessee Mahoney, who rode Just Magnum, a horse formerly owned by GETC...
Read more here:
http://globalendurance.typepad.com/global-endurance-blog/2010/05/mt-carmel-xp-story-and-getc-results.html
05/10/2010
Christoph and Dian just came back from a successful 5 day ride at Mt Carmel, southern Utah. The Mt. Carmel ride is part of Dave Nicholson XP series. Scenery was beautiful, the weather just about perfect.
Dave, the "Duck" added two days to this years ride, for many years it has been a 3 day ride. This time we went up to over 10.000 ft on two of the days. With the heavy snow Utah experienced last winter, the riders had to negotiate over some snowy patches still left at elevation.
As always, the Nicholson family did a terrific job managing this ride. Everybody was in good spirits and had a lot of fun.
Deb Whorf, a long time friend and former Moab resident, flew in from Maine to attend the ride. She rode Trinity on 3 days and placed two times 3rd and one time 6th. On the last day, her horse GE Trinity, received the BC award. GE Trinity was formerly owned by Garrett Ford and resides now at the GETC facility in Moab.
Christoph placed first on all days, tying for first on 3 days with Dian and one time with Tennessee Mahoney, who rode Just Magnum, a horse formerly owned by GETC...
Read more here:
http://globalendurance.typepad.com/global-endurance-blog/2010/05/mt-carmel-xp-story-and-getc-results.html
I wonder if Ruth remembers???
Horsegenes Blog - Full Story
I wrote this for mouthy mondays on mugwump chronicles about an endurance ride my dear friend Ruth and I did years ago... I wonder if she remembers it like I did?
I must have been about 14 and my favorite riding buddy at the time was 12. We found a flyer for an endurance ride at the local feed store. It was over the same trails we rode almost every weekend. We just knew we were going to be a shoo-in to win this ride. We had no idea what the ride entailed or what endurance rides were all about, we just knew that our horses knew those trails and were in excellent physical shape. We were giddy and excited about our big find and made a pact not to tell the rest of our little group so we wouldn’t have so much competition.
The ride started way out on the outskirts of town instead of at the trail head. It only added a few miles onto the ride itself but since we didn’t have a horse trailer it would add a good 5 miles to our ride. But we figured that if we just rode more and more on the days leading up to the ride and really kept our horses in tip top shape we could do it. So we planned, rode and did everything a couple of teenage girls could dream up to get in shape for the big event. We made sure our horses were shod two weeks prior, we each bought some light weight saddle bags to carry our food and drinks in and of course we talked about what to wear.
So the big day comes, we get up, are saddled and ready to go by 3:30am. The ride started at 8:00 am but we wanted to be there in time to let the horses rest for a while before we actually took off on the ride. It was dark outside when we took off down the rode. We figured that the fastest, shortest way to get to the starting point was to go down the main drag through town. It was a large four lane boulevard, shouldn’t be too busy at 4am and after all there were plenty of stoplights. Finally we get down to the freeway, (yes I said freeway)...
Read more here:
http://horsegenes.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-wonder-if-ruth-remembers.html
I wrote this for mouthy mondays on mugwump chronicles about an endurance ride my dear friend Ruth and I did years ago... I wonder if she remembers it like I did?
I must have been about 14 and my favorite riding buddy at the time was 12. We found a flyer for an endurance ride at the local feed store. It was over the same trails we rode almost every weekend. We just knew we were going to be a shoo-in to win this ride. We had no idea what the ride entailed or what endurance rides were all about, we just knew that our horses knew those trails and were in excellent physical shape. We were giddy and excited about our big find and made a pact not to tell the rest of our little group so we wouldn’t have so much competition.
The ride started way out on the outskirts of town instead of at the trail head. It only added a few miles onto the ride itself but since we didn’t have a horse trailer it would add a good 5 miles to our ride. But we figured that if we just rode more and more on the days leading up to the ride and really kept our horses in tip top shape we could do it. So we planned, rode and did everything a couple of teenage girls could dream up to get in shape for the big event. We made sure our horses were shod two weeks prior, we each bought some light weight saddle bags to carry our food and drinks in and of course we talked about what to wear.
So the big day comes, we get up, are saddled and ready to go by 3:30am. The ride started at 8:00 am but we wanted to be there in time to let the horses rest for a while before we actually took off on the ride. It was dark outside when we took off down the rode. We figured that the fastest, shortest way to get to the starting point was to go down the main drag through town. It was a large four lane boulevard, shouldn’t be too busy at 4am and after all there were plenty of stoplights. Finally we get down to the freeway, (yes I said freeway)...
Read more here:
http://horsegenes.blogspot.com/2010/05/i-wonder-if-ruth-remembers.html
Monday, May 10, 2010
Karen's Horse Tail: Prineville Endurance Ride
Karen's Horse Tails blog - http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2010/05/prineville-endurance-ride.html
Monday, May 10, 2010
photo: Snowy Cascades to the West
Getting away to go to the Prineville Endurance ride was my Mother's Day present to me. I hadn't been to the ride in years and there were so many people that I wanted to visit with. What fun to catch up, it was like a reunion! This was the first time Thunder and I had ventured off to Oregon for a ride. And it was to be his first 75 miler.
My plan was the usual, start late, keep him by himself and out of trouble. Which wasn't too hard since most everyone took off fast and then I got on and we headed out of camp. He was a bit wound up but I thought the climb up Grey Butte would settle him down. Wrong! I was keeping him in a trot, but he was a boing machine with a pogo stick trot. On the narrow trails he was pretty good but whenever he got out in the open he was pretty spooky. Only came close to dumping me once and I hooked a heel in his side and hung on. :-) Whew! I really like those trails the Ridge Riders have built over the years! And the views of the Cascades are phenomenal!
My biggest concern was that he was so intent on wanting to catch horses ahead that he didn't want to stop and drink. I'd get him to stand at the water but he'd just stare on up the trail - watching. He breezed up Kings Gap and on into the vet check at Cyrus Horse Camp. He still didn't drink and he was pushing me everywhere. Despite his antics his pulse dropped well and he vetted with A's and we went back out the trail. A couple 50 milers caught up to us and now he really wanted to go. I got off and led him for about a mile and he calmed down. I got back on and he hit a nice trot. It is just easier to settle him down that way than fight with him.
[...more] - http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2010/05/prineville-endurance-ride.html
Monday, May 10, 2010
photo: Snowy Cascades to the WestGetting away to go to the Prineville Endurance ride was my Mother's Day present to me. I hadn't been to the ride in years and there were so many people that I wanted to visit with. What fun to catch up, it was like a reunion! This was the first time Thunder and I had ventured off to Oregon for a ride. And it was to be his first 75 miler.
My plan was the usual, start late, keep him by himself and out of trouble. Which wasn't too hard since most everyone took off fast and then I got on and we headed out of camp. He was a bit wound up but I thought the climb up Grey Butte would settle him down. Wrong! I was keeping him in a trot, but he was a boing machine with a pogo stick trot. On the narrow trails he was pretty good but whenever he got out in the open he was pretty spooky. Only came close to dumping me once and I hooked a heel in his side and hung on. :-) Whew! I really like those trails the Ridge Riders have built over the years! And the views of the Cascades are phenomenal!
My biggest concern was that he was so intent on wanting to catch horses ahead that he didn't want to stop and drink. I'd get him to stand at the water but he'd just stare on up the trail - watching. He breezed up Kings Gap and on into the vet check at Cyrus Horse Camp. He still didn't drink and he was pushing me everywhere. Despite his antics his pulse dropped well and he vetted with A's and we went back out the trail. A couple 50 milers caught up to us and now he really wanted to go. I got off and led him for about a mile and he calmed down. I got back on and he hit a nice trot. It is just easier to settle him down that way than fight with him.
[...more] - http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2010/05/prineville-endurance-ride.html
Monday, May 03, 2010
My Biltmore Store - Mary Howell
This was my 11th year at Biltmore. I was transporting a friend's horse from SE Virginia and planning to crew for that friend and a few others in the FEI 100. We arrived just before dawn on Friday to find camp already almost full. After a few hours sleep, I headed over to registration to sell raffle tickets to help subsidize this year's AERC championship (visit www.2010aercnationalchampionship.com for details). While there, I enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new ones as folks came by our table after registering.
Early that afternoon, Kathy Downs asked my if I could ride a horse for her in the 50. After checking with those I'd promised to crew for, who were very understanding, I squeezed in registration and vetting "Gibby" along with my other duties. To check tack, I took him out for a half hour before the ride briefing, and de-spooked him on the big rock you pass near the start. He was leery at first but then started licking it like a salt block - too funny!
Friday afternoon was windy and fairly cool, but ride morning was much warmer than the previous morning and I knew we were in for it. The 50's 7am start was mellow, thanks to Jeannie Waldron and Sarah Fletcher, who led at a steady trot. I enjoyed riding behind Meg Sleeper's veteran horse "Troy," who never broke a trot and barely broke a sweat as he negotiated the trail. HIs rider, Sarah from NH, was one of the many young riders there prepping for the Young Riders Championship in July.
Since this was Gibby's first 50, I eventually slowed up and came into the first hold around 8:40. Kathy's husband Stan helped me crew while I ran back to the trailer for a t-shirt and my favorite reins. Leaving on the 2nd loop, I hooked up with Leigh Ann Pauley who set a great pace. The first part of the trail went along the woods behind my rig, so I called out through the trees to my now-retired Shiloh, who was serving as a buddy horse that weekend and whinnied back as he recognized my voice. He seemed glad to have the day off!
After a long drink at the water tub, our horses headed off the riverbed into the hills and that's when my left stirrup broke as the bolt holding its bar in place came unscrewed. I sent Leigh Ann on while figuring out how to patch it together. Claire, a SE region rider who caught up to me, loaned me some wire but I ended up using my sponge string after taking about 15 minutes to try patching with the wire.
I needed to go slower anyway since Gibbey's owner wants to take him through the FEI series, which means 3 50s slower than 5 hours before trying an FEI 50. I rode the last half of the 2nd loop with Natalie Muzzio and Steven Hay, who were great company. Gibbey vetted through around 11:40, and by that time the heat and trail were starting to take their toll. My friend Sarah Schick's horse Legs was off so she was out of the 50, which was a real bummer since it was her birthday. Megan, my friend in the FEI 100, had also pulled. Teddy at RunningBear was very hepful in trying to help with my stirrup, but since we couldn't find the right size bolt and nut, I borrowed a stirrup from Lynn Kennelly,.
With no other horses to pull him along, Gibby was sluggish leading out on the last loop so we just walked along in the sun and heat until Steven Hay caught up. He explained that Natalie had rider optioned. They pulled us along at a better pace and halfway through, Sandy Thompson, one of my teammates (Biltmore lets you pick teams and gives out special awards) came blazing by on her wonderful mare. We stayed with her a bit, but then slowed since Steven just needed a completion to be able to go to Young Riders and I was close to being under the 5 hour mark. We crossed 8th and 9th with a 5 hour 6 minute ride time. I was so proud of Gibbey, who was 9 but had just been under saddle about a year. Kathy said I could ride him again for her!
Now I put on my crew hat and started helping Eone, Megan Savory's protege from South Africa who had already qualified for the WEG in Kentucky on one of Megan's other horse and was now trying to qualify a second horse, the same one I had ridden with Megan in the 2009 Biltmore 100. Shammi is an elegant, gentle Saddlebred cross who is easy to crew and trot out. I also enjoyed watching other finishing up their rides - Nicky Meuten's horse, who won the 75, looked fantastic cantering out on the last loop.
Sarah and went into town to get supplies and watch the Derby (I'd promised Eone some ice cream when she came into her last hold around 7:30pm). We drank margaritas in a nearby sports bar and had a great time watching the TB's who looked like they'd been mud wrestling as they came around the muddy track. That rain was heading our way from Kentucky, but it was still hot when we got back to camp and the pink of cookies and cream disappeared in about 10 minutes between Eone and Austin Shaffer, who she was sponsoring since Deb Shaffer's horse had been pulled.
Standing by the finish line around 9:30, we first watched Samantha Sandler and Elliptic canter across all by themselves looking great. Our riders came in about a half hour later (ended up 3rd and 4th), as spurts of rain came down here and then. By the time Shammi finished vetting through and I'd shown her for BC, it was well after 11pm and time for bed.
At awards the next morning, we learned the completion rate was lower than usual - 70% of the 50s and only about 50% of the 75s and 100s completed. There were some hard luck stories, but one of the worst was the horse Anne Hall sold to Mr Hasumi. She had flown the horse in from California and he had flown in from Japan, only for the horse to step on a screw somewhere between his pen and the way to the vets in and not even be able to start. Ann was amazingly composed when we talked, saying at least the vets caught it before it could have been a career ending injury.
Sarah had a chance to have the vets check her horse before we left and fortunately his lameness appears due to a minor issue. We were on the road by 10:30am and I reflected how fortunate my Biltmore experience had been (Our team of Sandy, Ruth Sturley and myself was 2nd team in the 50).
Every year, Biltmore can serves up a share of disappointment, but if you hang in there long enough in this sport, you'll eventually have enough good days to make up for the bad luck ones and be able share in the joys of your friends when they have their GREAT days! - Mary
Early that afternoon, Kathy Downs asked my if I could ride a horse for her in the 50. After checking with those I'd promised to crew for, who were very understanding, I squeezed in registration and vetting "Gibby" along with my other duties. To check tack, I took him out for a half hour before the ride briefing, and de-spooked him on the big rock you pass near the start. He was leery at first but then started licking it like a salt block - too funny!
Friday afternoon was windy and fairly cool, but ride morning was much warmer than the previous morning and I knew we were in for it. The 50's 7am start was mellow, thanks to Jeannie Waldron and Sarah Fletcher, who led at a steady trot. I enjoyed riding behind Meg Sleeper's veteran horse "Troy," who never broke a trot and barely broke a sweat as he negotiated the trail. HIs rider, Sarah from NH, was one of the many young riders there prepping for the Young Riders Championship in July.
Since this was Gibby's first 50, I eventually slowed up and came into the first hold around 8:40. Kathy's husband Stan helped me crew while I ran back to the trailer for a t-shirt and my favorite reins. Leaving on the 2nd loop, I hooked up with Leigh Ann Pauley who set a great pace. The first part of the trail went along the woods behind my rig, so I called out through the trees to my now-retired Shiloh, who was serving as a buddy horse that weekend and whinnied back as he recognized my voice. He seemed glad to have the day off!
After a long drink at the water tub, our horses headed off the riverbed into the hills and that's when my left stirrup broke as the bolt holding its bar in place came unscrewed. I sent Leigh Ann on while figuring out how to patch it together. Claire, a SE region rider who caught up to me, loaned me some wire but I ended up using my sponge string after taking about 15 minutes to try patching with the wire.
I needed to go slower anyway since Gibbey's owner wants to take him through the FEI series, which means 3 50s slower than 5 hours before trying an FEI 50. I rode the last half of the 2nd loop with Natalie Muzzio and Steven Hay, who were great company. Gibbey vetted through around 11:40, and by that time the heat and trail were starting to take their toll. My friend Sarah Schick's horse Legs was off so she was out of the 50, which was a real bummer since it was her birthday. Megan, my friend in the FEI 100, had also pulled. Teddy at RunningBear was very hepful in trying to help with my stirrup, but since we couldn't find the right size bolt and nut, I borrowed a stirrup from Lynn Kennelly,.
With no other horses to pull him along, Gibby was sluggish leading out on the last loop so we just walked along in the sun and heat until Steven Hay caught up. He explained that Natalie had rider optioned. They pulled us along at a better pace and halfway through, Sandy Thompson, one of my teammates (Biltmore lets you pick teams and gives out special awards) came blazing by on her wonderful mare. We stayed with her a bit, but then slowed since Steven just needed a completion to be able to go to Young Riders and I was close to being under the 5 hour mark. We crossed 8th and 9th with a 5 hour 6 minute ride time. I was so proud of Gibbey, who was 9 but had just been under saddle about a year. Kathy said I could ride him again for her!
Now I put on my crew hat and started helping Eone, Megan Savory's protege from South Africa who had already qualified for the WEG in Kentucky on one of Megan's other horse and was now trying to qualify a second horse, the same one I had ridden with Megan in the 2009 Biltmore 100. Shammi is an elegant, gentle Saddlebred cross who is easy to crew and trot out. I also enjoyed watching other finishing up their rides - Nicky Meuten's horse, who won the 75, looked fantastic cantering out on the last loop.
Sarah and went into town to get supplies and watch the Derby (I'd promised Eone some ice cream when she came into her last hold around 7:30pm). We drank margaritas in a nearby sports bar and had a great time watching the TB's who looked like they'd been mud wrestling as they came around the muddy track. That rain was heading our way from Kentucky, but it was still hot when we got back to camp and the pink of cookies and cream disappeared in about 10 minutes between Eone and Austin Shaffer, who she was sponsoring since Deb Shaffer's horse had been pulled.
Standing by the finish line around 9:30, we first watched Samantha Sandler and Elliptic canter across all by themselves looking great. Our riders came in about a half hour later (ended up 3rd and 4th), as spurts of rain came down here and then. By the time Shammi finished vetting through and I'd shown her for BC, it was well after 11pm and time for bed.
At awards the next morning, we learned the completion rate was lower than usual - 70% of the 50s and only about 50% of the 75s and 100s completed. There were some hard luck stories, but one of the worst was the horse Anne Hall sold to Mr Hasumi. She had flown the horse in from California and he had flown in from Japan, only for the horse to step on a screw somewhere between his pen and the way to the vets in and not even be able to start. Ann was amazingly composed when we talked, saying at least the vets caught it before it could have been a career ending injury.
Sarah had a chance to have the vets check her horse before we left and fortunately his lameness appears due to a minor issue. We were on the road by 10:30am and I reflected how fortunate my Biltmore experience had been (Our team of Sandy, Ruth Sturley and myself was 2nd team in the 50).
Every year, Biltmore can serves up a share of disappointment, but if you hang in there long enough in this sport, you'll eventually have enough good days to make up for the bad luck ones and be able share in the joys of your friends when they have their GREAT days! - Mary
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Amanda: Training Ride
Amanda's blog: Training Day http://blog.easycareinc.com/blog/easycare/0/0/training-day
A couple weeks before the Tough Sucker Ride, my friend and I headed out for a training ride with our two barefoot ponies. We wanted to really get some riding in, as our winter had limited us to the sand draws and flat roads around the ranch, which had left us itching to get out and really ride! We hauled a few short minutes up the highway to the head of Spring Valley Ranch, which recently sold its property to a development company. We have ridden these mountains for years, usually parking at the ranch which is operated by a friend of ours. Considering the development company has actually committed to saving the trails and allowing equestrian access, we decided to forgo parking a few miles up the road at the ranch and parked in the designated horse-trailer parking lot and headed out on foot through the paved roads of the neighborhood. Wish I had pics of my friends tough gelding hop-skippity-hopping through the man-holes!
Although I had been riding Replika completely barefoot, I decided to pack boots just in case. She had been doing wonderfully completely bare throughout our rides this winter, but considering we didn't exactly know where we were going, I figured I would rather be safe than sorry! I shoved two Easyboot Gloves into my Stowaway Cantle Pack and off we were!
[...more] http://blog.easycareinc.com/blog/easycare/0/0/training-day
A couple weeks before the Tough Sucker Ride, my friend and I headed out for a training ride with our two barefoot ponies. We wanted to really get some riding in, as our winter had limited us to the sand draws and flat roads around the ranch, which had left us itching to get out and really ride! We hauled a few short minutes up the highway to the head of Spring Valley Ranch, which recently sold its property to a development company. We have ridden these mountains for years, usually parking at the ranch which is operated by a friend of ours. Considering the development company has actually committed to saving the trails and allowing equestrian access, we decided to forgo parking a few miles up the road at the ranch and parked in the designated horse-trailer parking lot and headed out on foot through the paved roads of the neighborhood. Wish I had pics of my friends tough gelding hop-skippity-hopping through the man-holes!
Although I had been riding Replika completely barefoot, I decided to pack boots just in case. She had been doing wonderfully completely bare throughout our rides this winter, but considering we didn't exactly know where we were going, I figured I would rather be safe than sorry! I shoved two Easyboot Gloves into my Stowaway Cantle Pack and off we were!
[...more] http://blog.easycareinc.com/blog/easycare/0/0/training-day
Friday, April 09, 2010
2010 Lucky Pup Ranch Ride - Living A Dream
I was given the opportunity to be a pulse-checker, of the horse that is, but declined because I am still slow at detecting a horse pulse and did not want to hold up any competitor. This was a 50 mile and a 25 mile ride, with a 15 mile fun ride thrown in for good measure.
So I was stationed in the outback, at a gate with a watertank and my job was to ensure the cows would not get out. I did have the opportunity to see the 50-milers leave and it was interesting to see the different horses, different tack, different ways of dress, and different attitudes toward the horses. Some people are out for the competition, others just to enjoy the scenery and have fun. After all, the motto of the AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference) is "the finish is to win".
More ... http://whoadammit-livingadream.blogspot.com/2010/04/lucky-pup-ranch-ride.html
Sunday, April 04, 2010
We are Tough Suckers
Karen's Horse Trails Blog- http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2010/04/we-are-tough-suckers.html
We left home in high winds and driving rain mixed with snow Friday on our way to the first ride of the season, Tough Sucker. This year the ride was held at Regina Rose's a few miles out of Oreana, Idaho.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtIz8JRSr0VJ7IiY-VST1qyoUAlqPf8oqlR7TT-wvtuYIyC9Ef707rB57KeGTFcyBsdzK6_A4l_KNJqGPkJQH-th-RpPFa1LaaOYHYDfIkiOP0oqIVi-GO9LppGHRx-lTMyjI/s320/IMG_1911.JPG")
Regina's place is near the site of the Utter Disaster, a bit of early Idaho history. On September 9, 1860, the Elijah P. Utter wagon train was attacked by Indians along the South Alternate of the Oregon Trail northeast of the present day town of Murphy, Idaho. The attack on the 44-member wagon train resulted in the deaths of 11 emigrants and an estimated 25-30 Indians.
The view of the snow covered Owyhees greeted us Saturday morning. The wind was cold but at least we had sun. The rain and snow had subsided and there were two brave riders on the 75, about 30 on the 50 miler and close to 20 on the 25. Considering the weather, it was a great turnout. I had planned on the 75 myself but decided Friday that there was no way I was doing 75 miles in that cold cold wind. And I'm glad I just rode the 50.
Thunder was really good at the start and we teamed up with Lynn White. Her mare Agnes traveled the same pace as Thunder and it was a great day! I had many layers of clothes so I wasn't cold even in the wind. Actually everyone was so buried in layers of clothes that it was tough to know who was who. We went out to Wild Horse Butte and along the Snake River. We passed through the Birds of Prey area and rode a portion of the Oregon Trail. The footing was fantastic!
This was also our first endurance ride in the Easyboot Gloves on Thunder and they worked beautifully. We did have one gaitor rub but a little vet wrap took care of it and he was fine. We did the 50 in a bit over 7 hours finishing 12th. We vetted through with no problems and I thought he looked great!
What a day! We all earned the title of being tough suckers! An apprpriate name for this fun but cold ride!!
Karen Bumgarner
Karen's Horse Trails Blog- http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2010/04/we-are-tough-suckers.html
We left home in high winds and driving rain mixed with snow Friday on our way to the first ride of the season, Tough Sucker. This year the ride was held at Regina Rose's a few miles out of Oreana, Idaho.
Regina's place is near the site of the Utter Disaster, a bit of early Idaho history. On September 9, 1860, the Elijah P. Utter wagon train was attacked by Indians along the South Alternate of the Oregon Trail northeast of the present day town of Murphy, Idaho. The attack on the 44-member wagon train resulted in the deaths of 11 emigrants and an estimated 25-30 Indians.
The view of the snow covered Owyhees greeted us Saturday morning. The wind was cold but at least we had sun. The rain and snow had subsided and there were two brave riders on the 75, about 30 on the 50 miler and close to 20 on the 25. Considering the weather, it was a great turnout. I had planned on the 75 myself but decided Friday that there was no way I was doing 75 miles in that cold cold wind. And I'm glad I just rode the 50.
Thunder was really good at the start and we teamed up with Lynn White. Her mare Agnes traveled the same pace as Thunder and it was a great day! I had many layers of clothes so I wasn't cold even in the wind. Actually everyone was so buried in layers of clothes that it was tough to know who was who. We went out to Wild Horse Butte and along the Snake River. We passed through the Birds of Prey area and rode a portion of the Oregon Trail. The footing was fantastic!
This was also our first endurance ride in the Easyboot Gloves on Thunder and they worked beautifully. We did have one gaitor rub but a little vet wrap took care of it and he was fine. We did the 50 in a bit over 7 hours finishing 12th. We vetted through with no problems and I thought he looked great!
What a day! We all earned the title of being tough suckers! An apprpriate name for this fun but cold ride!!
Karen Bumgarner
Karen's Horse Trails Blog- http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2010/04/we-are-tough-suckers.html
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Meet the Rider: Jen Allen, Susan Keating
DrawWisconsin.com
by Nicole Herrmann
Jen Allen has been distance riding since 2007. She’s accumulated many miles, on a few different mounts. When you talk to her about how she got started, she fondly remembers hearing that another Illinois rider, Lori Windows, was looking for a rider to help condition a horse. Conditioning turned into campaigning, and that’s all it took. Jen was officially a distance rider!
Equipment should be chosen according to the comfort of horse and rider. Jen commented that she likes beta-biothane tack due to the easy and quick changes you can make with it. She also likes the Abetta saddle for competing, but has used a heavy roping saddle for conditioning. You’ll also see her riding in an English saddle. “Whatever works!” she stated.
When asked about which distance division she preferred, she replied, “All of them! Competitive teaches pacing and the conversations are usually fun! Limited Distance gets you going a bit faster, or slower when you or the horse wants/needs to. It also has fewer rules. Endurance is a challenge, but a lot of fun.”
Jen likes to condition on her property. It offers fields, timber, hills etc. She also likes to get out to the Hennepin Canal, and Keithsburg, IL where there are hills and sand.
Her favorite rides are many, and she’s competed in many states including; IL, MN, MI, WI, and KY. You can really tell she just enjoys the time in the saddle! Her favorite that was mentioned was AHDRA 1 or MBYR, which is held on her own property in Illinois. Endless Valley was also a favorite. It takes place in Spring Green, Wisconsin. “It’s challenging. The first year I was there, it rained heavily; so heavily that I had water in the trailer!”
Winning the AHA National Competitive Championship in 2008, and finishing her and the horse’s first 50 miler with the same horse, Salero’s Legacy, is at the top of her list for proudest moments thus far. When asked what her goals for the future are, she replied, “To compete. I’ve never been a real competitor at anything, until now. I would like to do the Tevis, maybe the Big Horn, and other major rides someday. I still want to do the local rides, because I know them and love them. I want to continue to have a good time, and see the world by horseback!”
When asked what distance riding advice she could offer, Jen adds, “It’s hard, but stick with it, because it’s worth it. You learn so much about yourself and your horse(s). I have expanded my already large knowledge of general horsemanship. I have become a much better rider and horsewoman, not to mention I’ve met some exemplary horse people too!”
Jen can be found at many Wisconsin rides. She is an avid competitor, and active member in many different distance riding groups.
Susan Keating
by Nicole Herrmann
Susan Keating, 55, is a force to be reckoned with! The retired shepherdress, currently instructing weaving and working as a dental hygienist, can usually be found at any of our Wisconsin distance rides. You might see her successfully competing in either riding or driving events. Her enthusiasm for horses and the different distance events is very obvious when you meet her. Her bubbly personality and positive attitude always “draw you in”, as does her excitement for learning and attacking challenges that come her way.
In 2007 Susan was looking for something constructive to do with her arab cross rescue, named Henry. She delved into distance riding and found it to be a great match for not only Henry, but herself as well. “I liked the folks I met and the positive impact it had on Henry,” Susan recalls. The pair continued their hard work and effort conditioning together, and received Novice Competitive Champion in 2007, and Rookie Reserve Competitive Champion in 2008.
In 2009 she decided to test the waters of distance driving with her Halflinger, Belle. The cute little team could always be seen in cart and harness at most distance events. Again the hard work, effort and conditioning paid off. She and her partner, Belle, received Rookie Driver of the Year for 2009, and Limited Distance Driver of 2009 as well.
For the upcoming 2010 season, Susan hopes to compete on Amazing Grace Experience, a five-year old Standardbred mare. She stated, “I intend to start Mazy in Competitive this year, and then move up to Endurance in the future.” There’s no doubt in my mind that she’ll reach those goals, as she is a very determined competitor!
When questioned if she had a favorite ride, she shared, “You bet I do! DRAWARAMA in the Southern Kettle Moraine, near Palmyra, WI is my favorite. It’s an intense 4-day competition and the sense of accomplishment from it, is great!” Susan has competed in Wisconsin and Illinois, and hopes to get to Minnesota and Indiana soon.
You might be wondering where she gets all of this conditioning done. “I condition on roads mostly, but like farm fields when they are available. I also like to go to Lake LeAquaNa State Park in Lena, Illinois. A real conditioning treat is going to JG Ranch at Scales Mound, Illinois!”
Susan has accumulated many miles, accomplished much, and looks forward to the future in distance riding. When asked what advice she would share with people just starting out? She replied, “Take full advantage of the novice and rookie divisions. You should definitely attend any of the clinics offered in the spring, through DRAW or ApDRA. It’s a fantastic chance to learn about this sport from experienced folks. Remember our motto. . . “To Finish Is To Win”. It’s true. Get started NOW! You and your horse will be winners!”
by Nicole Herrmann
Jen Allen has been distance riding since 2007. She’s accumulated many miles, on a few different mounts. When you talk to her about how she got started, she fondly remembers hearing that another Illinois rider, Lori Windows, was looking for a rider to help condition a horse. Conditioning turned into campaigning, and that’s all it took. Jen was officially a distance rider! Equipment should be chosen according to the comfort of horse and rider. Jen commented that she likes beta-biothane tack due to the easy and quick changes you can make with it. She also likes the Abetta saddle for competing, but has used a heavy roping saddle for conditioning. You’ll also see her riding in an English saddle. “Whatever works!” she stated.
When asked about which distance division she preferred, she replied, “All of them! Competitive teaches pacing and the conversations are usually fun! Limited Distance gets you going a bit faster, or slower when you or the horse wants/needs to. It also has fewer rules. Endurance is a challenge, but a lot of fun.”
Jen likes to condition on her property. It offers fields, timber, hills etc. She also likes to get out to the Hennepin Canal, and Keithsburg, IL where there are hills and sand.
Her favorite rides are many, and she’s competed in many states including; IL, MN, MI, WI, and KY. You can really tell she just enjoys the time in the saddle! Her favorite that was mentioned was AHDRA 1 or MBYR, which is held on her own property in Illinois. Endless Valley was also a favorite. It takes place in Spring Green, Wisconsin. “It’s challenging. The first year I was there, it rained heavily; so heavily that I had water in the trailer!”
Winning the AHA National Competitive Championship in 2008, and finishing her and the horse’s first 50 miler with the same horse, Salero’s Legacy, is at the top of her list for proudest moments thus far. When asked what her goals for the future are, she replied, “To compete. I’ve never been a real competitor at anything, until now. I would like to do the Tevis, maybe the Big Horn, and other major rides someday. I still want to do the local rides, because I know them and love them. I want to continue to have a good time, and see the world by horseback!”
When asked what distance riding advice she could offer, Jen adds, “It’s hard, but stick with it, because it’s worth it. You learn so much about yourself and your horse(s). I have expanded my already large knowledge of general horsemanship. I have become a much better rider and horsewoman, not to mention I’ve met some exemplary horse people too!”
Jen can be found at many Wisconsin rides. She is an avid competitor, and active member in many different distance riding groups.
Susan Keating
by Nicole Herrmann
Susan Keating, 55, is a force to be reckoned with! The retired shepherdress, currently instructing weaving and working as a dental hygienist, can usually be found at any of our Wisconsin distance rides. You might see her successfully competing in either riding or driving events. Her enthusiasm for horses and the different distance events is very obvious when you meet her. Her bubbly personality and positive attitude always “draw you in”, as does her excitement for learning and attacking challenges that come her way. In 2007 Susan was looking for something constructive to do with her arab cross rescue, named Henry. She delved into distance riding and found it to be a great match for not only Henry, but herself as well. “I liked the folks I met and the positive impact it had on Henry,” Susan recalls. The pair continued their hard work and effort conditioning together, and received Novice Competitive Champion in 2007, and Rookie Reserve Competitive Champion in 2008.
In 2009 she decided to test the waters of distance driving with her Halflinger, Belle. The cute little team could always be seen in cart and harness at most distance events. Again the hard work, effort and conditioning paid off. She and her partner, Belle, received Rookie Driver of the Year for 2009, and Limited Distance Driver of 2009 as well.
For the upcoming 2010 season, Susan hopes to compete on Amazing Grace Experience, a five-year old Standardbred mare. She stated, “I intend to start Mazy in Competitive this year, and then move up to Endurance in the future.” There’s no doubt in my mind that she’ll reach those goals, as she is a very determined competitor!
When questioned if she had a favorite ride, she shared, “You bet I do! DRAWARAMA in the Southern Kettle Moraine, near Palmyra, WI is my favorite. It’s an intense 4-day competition and the sense of accomplishment from it, is great!” Susan has competed in Wisconsin and Illinois, and hopes to get to Minnesota and Indiana soon.
You might be wondering where she gets all of this conditioning done. “I condition on roads mostly, but like farm fields when they are available. I also like to go to Lake LeAquaNa State Park in Lena, Illinois. A real conditioning treat is going to JG Ranch at Scales Mound, Illinois!”
Susan has accumulated many miles, accomplished much, and looks forward to the future in distance riding. When asked what advice she would share with people just starting out? She replied, “Take full advantage of the novice and rookie divisions. You should definitely attend any of the clinics offered in the spring, through DRAW or ApDRA. It’s a fantastic chance to learn about this sport from experienced folks. Remember our motto. . . “To Finish Is To Win”. It’s true. Get started NOW! You and your horse will be winners!”
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Independence Day: Home on the Range - Monica Bretherton
Blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes
by Monica Bretherton
At the jampacked ride meeting for Home on the Range, those with Verizon service were perhaps a little smug. As an iphone user with AT&T, I shrugged off my lack of bars. I had warned my husband I might not be able to call. The motto of this first ride of the season was independence, anyway.
Picture
My mentors, Cathy Leddy and Wendy Connell, were going out at 7 a.m. to start their fifty-mile rides, and I would have to handle Taz's anxiety about being left behind on my own.
Picture
I knew he would be upset - he's emotional and has had a lot of changes in his life recently. So I filled my pockets with treats, knowing him to be susceptible to culinary distraction. When they left the trailer to warm up, he began a morning concert.
Read more here:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/archives/199980.asp
by Monica Bretherton
At the jampacked ride meeting for Home on the Range, those with Verizon service were perhaps a little smug. As an iphone user with AT&T, I shrugged off my lack of bars. I had warned my husband I might not be able to call. The motto of this first ride of the season was independence, anyway.
Picture
My mentors, Cathy Leddy and Wendy Connell, were going out at 7 a.m. to start their fifty-mile rides, and I would have to handle Taz's anxiety about being left behind on my own.
Picture
I knew he would be upset - he's emotional and has had a lot of changes in his life recently. So I filled my pockets with treats, knowing him to be susceptible to culinary distraction. When they left the trailer to warm up, he began a morning concert.
Read more here:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/archives/199980.asp
Virginia Highlands - Kat's View
It was a fine ride, I met some fine people, I was provided with a fine horse, and I had a fine time."
..differences between west coast and east coast rides?
And judging from that statement, which I stand by, I must confess that there really aren't many differences between east coast and west coast endurance; except at endurance rides closer to home (i.e on the west coast) I usually bring my own horse so the "I was provided with a fine horse" doesn't apply. However i do think that pretty much every endurance ride I have ever been to can be summed up as;
"It was a fine ride, I met some fine people, I rode a fine horse, and I had a fine time."
I am not being facetious here; I really do think (especially after having gone to Australia the next month and could sum that experience up the same way) that endurance everywhere is more the same than it is different.
But somehow I am not sure that that is going to satisfy Tom so.....
Now I will "write something about the west coast perspective."
Shortly after the break up of the Soviet Union (1994) I was sent to Moscow to help set up the computer systems for the naiscent Russian stock market, during which time I had the chance to live and work in Moscow and visit some of the outlying regions (like Siberia). It was an assignment that entailed spending five weeks in Russia and then returning home for one week to go back and do the same five weeks on/one week off again. I distinctly remember after my first five weeks in Russia, returning home to Southern California and going to the local supermarket, walking in the door and seeing "all that food" and being amazed. In 1994 there was NOTHING like that anywhere in Moscow or, probably, anywhere in the former Soviet Union. But what amazed me the most was not so much that there was "all that food' but also that there were all those people in the supermarket who considered it TOTALLY unremarkable.
Bear with me here, this is relevant.
If somebody were to ask me what is the major difference between west coast and east coast endurance, what truly amazed me was the absolutely profligate use of water (the amount of water that ends up on the ground after having been dumped on the horse is staggering to me); however, what was even more amazing to me was not so much the profligate (from a west coast perspective) use of water, but that there were all those people who considered it TOTALLY unremarkable.
Please note that I am not saying that I think it wrong for riders on the east coast to use water in the way that they do--when in Rome...., just that, well....at the rides that I go to, even those where Ride Management provides a lot of water and it is accessible, on the west coast, we just don't use water that way.
So, for west coast riders who go east, be prepared to see water used in a way that you have never seen before; and for east coast riders who come west, be prepared not to use water the way that you are used to. The rule at the Death Valley ride (and a lot of other desert rides) is "you may NOT use the water that we have trucked out into the middle of the desert to pour on your horse; water is for the horses to drink, period." And don't expect to find any water on the ground.
Other than that, expect to have a fine ride, meet some fine people, ride a fine horse, and have a fine time.
And if you go far enough east or west (depending on which way around you go) to Australia...you will probably get to see a kangaroo, but HOPE that it isn't too up close (like on the front bumper of your car).
kat
Orange County, Calif.
:)
..differences between west coast and east coast rides?
And judging from that statement, which I stand by, I must confess that there really aren't many differences between east coast and west coast endurance; except at endurance rides closer to home (i.e on the west coast) I usually bring my own horse so the "I was provided with a fine horse" doesn't apply. However i do think that pretty much every endurance ride I have ever been to can be summed up as;
"It was a fine ride, I met some fine people, I rode a fine horse, and I had a fine time."
I am not being facetious here; I really do think (especially after having gone to Australia the next month and could sum that experience up the same way) that endurance everywhere is more the same than it is different.
But somehow I am not sure that that is going to satisfy Tom so.....
Now I will "write something about the west coast perspective."
Shortly after the break up of the Soviet Union (1994) I was sent to Moscow to help set up the computer systems for the naiscent Russian stock market, during which time I had the chance to live and work in Moscow and visit some of the outlying regions (like Siberia). It was an assignment that entailed spending five weeks in Russia and then returning home for one week to go back and do the same five weeks on/one week off again. I distinctly remember after my first five weeks in Russia, returning home to Southern California and going to the local supermarket, walking in the door and seeing "all that food" and being amazed. In 1994 there was NOTHING like that anywhere in Moscow or, probably, anywhere in the former Soviet Union. But what amazed me the most was not so much that there was "all that food' but also that there were all those people in the supermarket who considered it TOTALLY unremarkable.
Bear with me here, this is relevant.
If somebody were to ask me what is the major difference between west coast and east coast endurance, what truly amazed me was the absolutely profligate use of water (the amount of water that ends up on the ground after having been dumped on the horse is staggering to me); however, what was even more amazing to me was not so much the profligate (from a west coast perspective) use of water, but that there were all those people who considered it TOTALLY unremarkable.
Please note that I am not saying that I think it wrong for riders on the east coast to use water in the way that they do--when in Rome...., just that, well....at the rides that I go to, even those where Ride Management provides a lot of water and it is accessible, on the west coast, we just don't use water that way.
So, for west coast riders who go east, be prepared to see water used in a way that you have never seen before; and for east coast riders who come west, be prepared not to use water the way that you are used to. The rule at the Death Valley ride (and a lot of other desert rides) is "you may NOT use the water that we have trucked out into the middle of the desert to pour on your horse; water is for the horses to drink, period." And don't expect to find any water on the ground.
Other than that, expect to have a fine ride, meet some fine people, ride a fine horse, and have a fine time.
And if you go far enough east or west (depending on which way around you go) to Australia...you will probably get to see a kangaroo, but HOPE that it isn't too up close (like on the front bumper of your car).
kat
Orange County, Calif.
:)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)