Race Day in Dubai! - Becky Hart

Beckyharthorsepro.com - Full Story and Photos

January 21 2012

The HH Sh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum Endurance Cup

With the help of a little blue pill, I had a great nights sleep the night before the ride. Both Judith and I set our iPhones for 4:30 am so we would be ready for pick by Dr. Jim Bryant at 5:20. We were actually awakened by room service at 4:45 (thank goodness we had ordered breakfast). Since the time difference is 12 hours, and our phones have been in airplane mode so as not to accrue charges, the phone time was was 4:30 pm. With all our clothes laid out and gear ready to go, we had not problem meeting Jim at the appointed time. We were at the venue by 6:00 am. Soon the horses appeared and were hand walked for 30 minutes.

About 10 minutes before the start we mounted and Jordi, Julien and I lined up in a row and did a little trotting and cantering. Pete remembered his dressage and was able to give me some leg yield and shoulder in, to help supple him before the start. Juma had us wait behind the start gate for 10 seconds after the start of the ride, then had us leave at a pace of 23.5 kph.

The horse in the lead was nice and relaxed, the horse in the middle a little afraid of everything and Juma was concerned that Pete might be afraid of all the cars racing by us on either side (he could have cared less). Since I was third in line, I had no responsibilities except to ride the horse. Jordi took care of the pace. We had two cars to hand off water bottles and I must admit Pete and I rocked...

Read more here:
http://beckyharthorsepro.com/race-day-in-dubai/

Mi Primer Raid/My First Ride - Alvaro Galisteo (Spain)

El Raid Blog - Gabriel Gamiz

December 5 2012

[google translate]

This is the chronicle of a child for nine years, which has started in this world of Raid, youth is increasingly early age and with so little, and expresses perfectly and begins to know and love the horses and Riding like this mode, which is causing so much furor among the young. Nothing but must attend an initiation test and we can see the amount of chavalería together with their horses participate in the first test of this specialty Riding, as is the Equestrian Endurance, with its routes campers both pleasing to the fans.

This is the chronicle of Alvaro Galisteo their first Raid:

"My first raid

My first raid started on a Saturday in October where we were riding to prepare our horses were Vint corresponding with Celia, Bold with Miguel, Anais with Forev ... er, David with Gorki, Iris with her ​​mare Eritrea and Luis with Pacharán .
prepare When we gave gifts to Michael, and it was his birthday. At nine we left to dispute the raid Coin. That raid was very important to me, because it was my first raid and had been punished enough time.

Upon arrival, we got down to business. Horses started pulling the truck to pass the first veterinary control. Flora was the horse with the way I ran it with no problem, only the vet told us he was a little nervous about the shuttle but that did not matter, it was very normal to happen.

At twelve I started to warm up with Flora and the 0:15 and we are very happy with the illusion of leading a prize. The place was amazing, like views, with many breathtaking landscapes. We were very quiet, to our pace and unhurried. When we do not care because they were skipped fewer miles than expected. After we assisted a man named Hugo, came with us to the finish.

Upon arrival at the goal dismantle the horses and got to refresh them to go down the beats. Flora not only get tired so soon recovered. After 15 minutes we went to veterinary control and Flora what happened, although no proof of trot trot and Celia wanted my partner helped me. After we spent all veterinary checks went to eat...

Read more here:
http://ggjineteraid.blogspot.com/2012/12/mi-primer-raid.html

A Ghoulish Finale - Karen Bumgarner

Karenshorsetales Blog

November 22 2012

The last ride of our NW season was just before Halloween at the Teeter's in Oreana. We had a rather small group but it was a blast. It felt very much like a family get together as you got to ride, hangout and feast with your best horsey buddies!

The first day it was oh so cold!!!! 20 degrees and oh yes put yet another layer of clothes on! I hate cold but its always warmer once you are on the horse. Thunder didn't seem to mind at all. As usual I forgot the darn splint boots so had to go back and put them on and then we really had a late start. At least the big T behaves himself that way! It did warm right up once we were trotting along and I had a great time riding with Carol Brand. We did the 55 in 6:45 and placed 8th. That made us right in the middle which is pretty much what we do. Yeah more points and miles for Thunder Wunder pony! Thunder has had an awesome year of 905 miles!! So what to do for day 2. Thunder looked great and it is so hard to leave him in camp. But I started the ride season on Blue so it seemed like I should do the last one of the year with him also. Blue needed one more ride for his lifetime AERC 1000 miles. He spends all his time on the backburner, in Thunder's shadow, and seldom gets his own shining moment. So I decided to take Blue, and sponsor a Junior Tori Church. Now this was costume day and Tori shows up in the flowing flapping ghoulish outfit. My horse is big eyed and definitely disapproving and I am thinking this is not going to work...

Read more here:
http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2012/11/a-ghoulish-finale.html

Canyons, Caves and so much more - Karen Bumgarner

Karenshorsetales - Full Story

Just when you think Steph Teeter has had you on every trail in their neck of the Owyhees, she finds something new.

This year for the first day of the 5 day multi-day ride she was able to take us out some new trail above Browns Creek and out to the one of the areas oldest homesteads, the Spivey Ranch. The big 50 mile loop gave us our hour vet check/lunch in style as we all went up to the house for lunch and a tour. Then we followed Castle Creek out near the Crazy Woman mine and headed back to camp via the Jackass Trail then if you weren't attacked by the Jack you continued along a different stretch of Browns Creek. Great trail, lots of scenery but it was rocky and a bit slow.

The slow part may have been good because I hoped to ride Thunder all 5 days. We took almost 8 hours for day 1. We lucked out as Jack just watched as we opened the gate and went through, the two bachelors trotted off and we made it through their territory without any problem.

The second day was the Hart Creek trails, two 25 mile loops from camp.One loop takes us into the Birds of Prey Conservation area with lots of rolling hills and fun trails...

Read more here:
http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2012/11/canyons-caves-and-so-much-more.html

Fort Valley 2012 - Flora Hillman

October 30 2012

The weather was spectacular, the scenery gorgeous, and the trail (as always) a challenge. As Head In/Out Timer for both days, I kept asking riders how they liked the trail, and they all gushed over how beautiful the mountains were, how colorful the trees were, and how much fun they were having. Big smiles on all - 30s and 50s, all weekend. The trail can really kick one's backside, but that makes the triumph of riding it all the bigger in terms of the grins we got as riders timed in and out....and finished.

Average about 50 riders on Friday,  close to 100 on Saturday.   Friday temps in low to mid 70s - and cool/humid in morning. Horses came off trail and those we saw around us at the crew tents dove into the water buckets right away. Top ten horses looked great all day long. Pulls on Friday were a few lameness (lost shoes or boots) mostly, I think only two metabolic (tie-up)  Horses that were treated were both experienced horses (one was a 100 mile horse that passed the vet check, but later owner observed NQR symptoms and returned horse to vets), and the one horse that ended up being transported to Morven Park was reported as doing fine, but still taking in lots of fluid, and was expected to stay on for a day or so. Unusual seasonal warmth and high humidity in the air were contributors.

Saturday was significantly cooler, overcast with with a short period of rain showers mid morning as 50s were coming in from their first loop. Morning was cool, afternoon warmer (high 60s), but then breezes picked up by late afternoon with temps dropping into the low 60s, and jackets made a reappearance.  Times for the front runners were faster, but about average for the middle of the pack. Again, lots of huge smiles and riders simply glowing about how beautiful the trail scenery was - one rider described a section of trail as  "this long tunnel of golden leaves all above and around you as you rode along - it was magical!" The photographer (Becky Pearman) showed us some raw shots from the trail, and we were in awe at how spectacular the background was for the rider photos. I was told that a  change of trail this year on the final loop took away a particularly rocky stretch - a change I'm sure many riders appreciated as that stretch had been a bane to riders and trail markers for years (including moi during the many years I competed in this ride).

We had several juniors in the Sat 30 (hooray!!), and a number of newbies in both distances on both days. We passed around smiles and jellybeans freely as we made sure that everyone  felt comfortable, understood the protocol, knew which way to turn going out of ridecamp for whatever loop they were doing (most common question asked "do I go this way??"), and most importantly cheered riders coming in and going out on the trail.  ALL the ride-and-tie riders got huge applause (practically standing ovations) and cheers as they came in and went out. It was great fun, and especially nice for the nearby landowners who stopped in to watch and chat, particularly one landowner and her little granddaughter who visited the ridecamp to see the horses and activity close up and personal. Tons of new "endurance" puppies of all breeds to coo and cuddle over, too. The OD rides are very dog-friendly, and all the canines in attendance had well behaved humans on their leads.

This is one of the most popular fall rides, not the least for the  lovely ridecamp in a spacious flat field on the valley, but also for the mouthwatering dinners prepared by RM Claire Godwin's culinary husband Pete who (with a staff of ever smiling volunteers) can whip up soups and dinners that would rival a 4 star restaurant...and have the entire ridecamp come running to the food lineup as dinner and the ride meeting got underway. They even had big screen set up for showing (horsey) movies each night after dinner - "War Horse" on Thursday night had me sitting in the audience (I'd read the book, hadn't seen the movie).

Don't know who won the Asgard Arabian raffle horse drawing on Saturday night (I have my ticket!!) as I had to leave by sunset, but the winner will be announced on the OD website. Stunning chestnut horse that exhibited a lot of Crabbet features (as breeder Tom Sayvetz explained to me). Whoever wins this horse (and I know a lot of people were walking around with pocketfulls of tickets) will get a wonderful endurance prospect.

Again, massive kudos to RM Claire Godwin and her enthusiastic, fun (ever growing) staff of volunteers for putting together yet another outstanding Fort Valley weekend of rides. If you come next year, look for me as the Head In/Out Timer again.  This annual long-running OD autumn ride is WAY too much fun to miss, either as rider, crew, or  volunteer.

Final results and link to photographer's photos will be on the OD website  (olddominionrides.org) this coming week.

Fort Valley 2012 - Nancy Sluys

October 31 2012

Had a great weekend at Fort Valley ride in Virginia. Starting a new horse in the 30 on Friday and taking my old buddy Blue around the 50 mile course on Saturday. The weather precluding Hurricane Sandy was unseasonably warm on Friday causing  difficulty for some horses whose winter coats were growing so Tari and I just mosied along at a reasonable pace.

   I received Tari (Desert Stahar), a 12 yr old (at that time) Arabian mare,  2 1/2 years ago from a friend who was experiencing a life crisis and had to re-home her. Since then she has had her ups and downs starting with a case of mild laminitis from the change in pasture. We got through that and began conditioning. Last year she finished the 50 at JD's ride but in January was pulled for lameness in Florida. The sand was a bit too much for her. She also had a mysterious metabolic issue early in the summer which we discovered was a magnesium deficiency which we corrected. With all this in mind we decided the 30 miler would be a good test on these tough trails.  

The trail was beautiful and tough and Tari and I were having a great time checking out the scenery and taking lots of pictures. She had no problem completing the ride and looked like she hadn't done a thing at the end and the next day. I was sure proud of my little mare who I have dubbed my "Calgon take me away" horse due to her easy way of going and excellent past training. She is just so easy to ride, a real pleasure!! I  enjoyed the last loop which had been changed from the years before. Instead of doing a slow, extremely rocky loop called the "Drunken Sailor Trail" we were treated to a trip through the beautiful countryside and surrounding farms on a dirt road. It was a delight!

  Saturday was much cooler and included an occasional drizzle of rain, perfect weather for my old guy (22) Blue who has already grown quite a hair coat. He hadn't done a 50 in a year and 8 months although he did a few LDs earlier in the year and lots of casual trail riding. I really wanted to ride the tough 2nd loop which I did not get to see the day before on the 30 which is why we opted for the 50. We hit the trail on the first loop and Blue felt fantastic and really moved along, although faster than I had planned. He is pretty set in his ways and I could not convince him into a more sensible pace. He recovered quickly at the first VC so I wasn't too worried about it. After leaving the first hold I made a really stupid mistake by taking a right turn at the top of the mountain instead of the other side and did about a mile of extra trail putting me behind all the horses who had been behind me leaving the vet check. We found ourselves by ourselves which always makes Blue lose a bit of motivation. At our now slower pace I was again able to take in the gorgeous scenery and get some more pictures and videos taken as we trotted easily down the dirt road along the Shenandoah River. Leaving the river we began the long arduous climb up the infamous Indian Graves Trail. Gradual at first the trail climbs for 3-4 miles becoming ever steeper as it went along. The last several hundred yards are truly brutal with the last bit a leap up some rock faces dubbed the Cougar Rock of the east! Blue started the climb easily but soon began to slow as his breathing became labored. He has recently recovered from a respiratory infection and that was taking it's toll. As the trail became steeper I got off and hiked the last mile or so until the rock faces where I remounted so Blue could carry me over. It took us an extremely long time to climb that mountain although except for having to stop repeatedly to breath Blue handled it just fine. By the time we got to the vet check I realized that we would be finishing the 3rd loop in the dark. Blue passed his check with As although his CRI was a few beats high for my liking indicating to be that he was showing some fatague. After giving it some thought and realizing that Blue had nothing to prove I decided to call it a day and passed on the 3rd loop. We had had a fantastic day and we both felt good, I know he would have done that 3rd loop for me but it seemed like the right thing not to ask him to do it. It was the first time I have pulled from a ride with a horse that could could have continued on but I felt fine about it, after all Blue had given me a huge effort getting up Indian Graves and that was all I felt I could ask that day, we were satisfied!

Happy Trails, Nancy Sluys

Lincoln Trails 2012 - Keith Kibler

Shawneesunrisefarm.net Blog

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Keith Kibler

Lincoln Trails 2012

The tradition of the names of Endurance rides is bemusing. “Dead Dog Creek”, has lots of creaks but none of them are named “Dead Dog”. “Red Barn Run” has no barn, but the word is their used to be a barn. “Raptor Run” is named that because the old growth forest made the race director feel like a dinosaur might use her for lunch. “Lincoln Trails” used to be in Central Illinois. If you know history, Illinois is the “Land of Lincoln” because he did practice law in Illinois and lived most of his life here before going to Washington D.C. However, the ride was not in Springfield and is definitely not within a few hours driving of their now. It is listed as being in “Kinmundy” IL. If you go to Kinmundy, you won’t be at the ride because, it is actually at Stephen Forbes State Park and that is in Omega.

Omega has a population of about 30, but does have a general store with great ice cream and beer. It seems the store’s Sunday beer sales keep it going, as it is the only place allowed by law to sell beer in the entire area.

In any event, the ride application clearly stated in bold print, “There Might Be Mud”. Having ridden there several times, I knew they were right. I had Jazz, a 7 year old twh mare, ready for her first 100. She was 2 for 2 at LD, and 4 for 4 at 50 miles. Kate was in foal, so she stayed home. Sandy had Savanah, her 7 year old mft mare, more than ready for a 50. Savanah can fly and was two for two in Lds and 3 for 3 at 50 miles. Now, I am kind of in charge of training schedules in our program and making sure our horses are ready for rides no matter who is riding them, but my Sandy is in charge of “nurturing”. That means a variety of different things. From my male type “A” perspective, it sometimes means “worrying”. But, if “Mama isn’t happy…….” Well, you get it.

So, Sandy started worrying 3 weeks ahead that Jazz was not ready for a 100. I poured over our training catalogs. I showed her that Jazz had about 1700 miles of training in the 4 years. I submitted the question to a 100 miler friend, okay it was Paul Sidio. He said yes. I submitted it to 2 gaited competitors who are friends. They said yes. I submitted the issue to our close friend who is a local genius gaited trainer who knows the horse extremely well. He said yes. I thought, “I have a lot less trouble convincing juries than my wife”.

Then it rained. Oh, oh, new worries. Then it rained more and the forecast was for a gully washer at the race site the night before. I finally realized I just needed to ride with Sandy in the 50. Mind you, she does not need me to ride with her. Far from it, she won’t even wait for me. The woman, who does not appear to have a competitive bone in her body, turns into Billy Shoemaker when she hears “the trail is open”.

In fact, no one rode the 100 because of the mud. It became a monsoon the night before the ride. They delayed the start to make sure the creeks could even be crossed. This is an Umecra ride and they have lots of rides like competitive trail, Ld, and novice but the field for the 50 was small at 5. This was probably because of the mud. I am never apologetic about the size of a ride. All any of us can do is ride the ride presented to us by the people putting on the ride and ride with the folks that show up to ride. I figure everyone that fails to show up is missing out...

Read more here:
http://shawneesunrisefarm.net/wordpress/?p=288

Old Selam and Golden Trails - Karen Bumgarner

Karenshorsetales Blog

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

Gold was first discovered near Centerville, Idaho on Grimes Creek August 2, 1862. The discovery started one of the greatest gold rushes the world has ever seen….the richest strike in America, with an estimated take of than $250,000,000 from this area in the two decades following its discovery….greater than the California 49er and of the Klondike in Alaska. Nearby Bannock City grew to 6000 people, with 250 places of business. Bannock City was later renamed Idaho City grew to hold 20,000 miners. Idaho City, became the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco, until a couple severe fires in 1865 and 1867 destroyed much of town. Even then thousands of miners traveled to the area with tiny towns springing up everywhere. Most have vanished without a trace. But this year Idaho City, Placerville, Pioneerville and Centerville held their 150 year celebration.

Nowadays its all pretty quiet around the area. With the price of gold a few miners have tried their hand at dredging and sluicing out the precious metal but with marginal luck. The area around New Centerville has been home to the Old Selam Endurance Ride for several years. And I love to go to this ride because its just refreshing to go to the hills and creeks. Oscar Baumhoff allows us to invade his space and camp on his property along Grimes Creek. Just out of camp are some large piles of mine tailings from days of long ago. I went up to the ride this year with a very sore back and was determined to ride a day. I popped some pain pills and wore an Absorbine Patch. I told Thunder that he was in trail horse mode which meant slow, steady and calm. With each mile I got better and by days end of up and down hills, numerous creek crossings on Grimes, Elk and Clear Creeks I felt ready for the dance!...

Read more here:
http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2012/09/gold-was-first-discovered-near.html

Mongolia Madness Reinvented: part 1

Barryarmitage.com - Full Story

August 2012

I walked onto the plane to Mongolia with a sense of considerable relief. The build up to us leaving had been hectic: equipment hiccups, a boxing match, my birthday, then our tickets not being issued until the morning before our departure. All this punctuated by a chronic lack of funds that had caused a limb wobbling crisis, but, with the help of family, friends and our fabulous fans we managed to scrape enough dough together to make it onto the plane, ticket and all!

The flight to Beijing was a four movie flight! I could relax, veg out, eat, drink, sleep and rest my battered body, still smarting from the white collar boxing bout I had fought just three nights before. Boxing has been a fabulous revelation for me. I love it, and along with cycling it has gotten me into the best physical shape of my life. Add to that the fact that stepping into the ring has more in common with riding a belligerent Mongol pony than almost anything else I can think off, and my preparation for our second crack at the Mongol Derby was….well….perfect! The difference of course, is that you feel very much alone sitting on a manic hyper skittish equine in the middle of one of the least populated wildernesses in the world! No baying crowd a few meters away pounding the canvass, witnessing you taking another blow to a bit that wishes it hadn’t. Blood had been spilt in the ring that night and I was still fishing bloody boogers from my nose in the dehydrated air of the plane not realising that, a little over a week later, I would again be bleeding from the nose, having been driven face first into the steppe by my 23rd Mongol pony...

Read more here:
http://www.barryarmitage.com/barry/mongolia-madness-reinvented/

WEC Friday and beyond - Heather Reynolds

Reynolds Racing - Heather's Blog


Wednesday, 29 August 2012
On Thursday evening we had the opening ceremonies. They were awesome as expected. All of the athletes were invited into a big party. There were appetizers and drinks and socializing and then we were all put behind the scenes and organized by countries.

The ceremonies were after dark. It was a small disappointment that not all of the people could be in the seats to watch as there was not enough room. Most of our crew were outside on the grass watching large screens instead of live performances.

All the countries were announced as we marched in with our flag. Then we all sat down and watched the show. It was a variety of dancers, light shows, mounted performances and fireworks, lots of fireworks! Very fun. We had an after party at the barn. It was pretty fun, then headed off to bed.

When we got back to the house my whole family had arrived! My Mom, Dad, Hannah, Jonathan and Dustin. Super awesome.

Friday, Jeremy and I went to the barn very early to get a ride in before the day got busy. At 10:30 our truck arrived to haul the horses over to the venue. It was decided that we would take 6 horses over, due to how the rules were written this time as far as alternates were concerned. Nicki, John, Val, Jeremy, Meg and I loaded up our ponies and made the 15 min drive to the venue. Uneventful.

We hand grazed the horses for a long while and then put them in and took care of things. 4:22 was our countries vet in time and we marched over in uniform and vetted. All but Nicki's horse, Not Tonight, vetted in. It was very disappointing for everyone.

After that we weighed in and things were officially started. Later that day Emmett told us that John, Val, Jeremy and I would make up the team.

When all was done at the barn we headed home and my sister and mom cooked pizza and we ate and went to sleep.

Sat we woke up and left the house at 5 am. Wendy had fed for us early that morning and we didn't start until 7 am. The horses were eating and relaxed when we got to the barn. The whole crew team met at the old barn, not at the race, at 6 am to set out to their points before the traffic started.

Marvel and Kutt were saddled at 6:15 and we started warming up. Both seemed relaxed. We headed over towards the start after a while and joined the masses in warm ups.

At 7 am the announcer announced the start and we were off!! The start was a long shoot with hundreds of cheering fans lining both sides. The horses shot down the stretch through the cheers. Marvel lost Kutt immediately as Kutt was going to be riding faster. Marvel was terrified...

Read more here:
http://reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/410/wec_friday_and_beyond

Saturday in the UK - Heather Reynolds

Reynolds Racing Blog

Saturday, 18 August 2012

Today we got to the barn for our morning cold trot outs and all the horses were examined. More people have arrived so the group is growing.

After trot outs we barefooted Marvel and then put he and Kutt on the walker. There was a group meeting and then we did chores like cleaning stalls etc. We are also all taking shifts now watching the barn, we had the 10-12 slot. I stayed and watched the barn while Jeremy went for a run. Holly went with a group of crew to see the crew points.

When Jeremy returned we glued on Marvel's race boots. They are the new awesome Easyboot Glue On pattern with the great break over. He seemed happy with his cool new kicks on.

We went to the cottage to have lunch and then hung out for a bit. We needed to be back to the barn by 4pm for our afternoon trot outs. As Holly and I hung out on the couch I fell asleep. We woke up and headed back to the barn around 3:15. All seven horses were trotted at 4.

The whole group of people, crew, riders and staff, for the USA contingent are really supportive, helpful and amazing this year! I have never seen a more cohesive group involved in one of these International events. I credit this largely to Emmett's leadership skills and the effort he has put into this to make everyone comfortable not only physically but mentally as well...

Read more here:
http://reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/407/saturday

First Few Days in London - Heather Reynolds

Reynolds Racing Blog

Friday, 17 August 2012

Above is a castle on loop one of the trail and we have also been riding past it in training.

Becky, Judith and I flew out of LAX on Tuesday, the 14th. It was very uneventful. Earlier in the day I got the best news, our horses had arrived at the barn in England a day sooner than scheduled. Jeremy and the horses flew to Luxemburg and instead of staying all day Tuesday and spending the night to drive on Wed, they just landed and drove.

We arrived on the 15th around noon at the Heathrow airport. My sister, Holly, landed before us so she was there waiting for us. After getting our luggage we headed for the rental car office. Judith saved me big time when she overheard that I was about to pay for the rental insurance. She asked me if my credit card company covers that for me. I had not ever checked into this or known about this feature, it turns out that I did have coverage thru my AMEX! That saved me 35 pounds a day, the current exchange is 1.558 USD to 1 pound. That would have been pricey!

After our keys were given to us we took our lives in our sleep deprived hands and got into our cars where the driver sits on the wrong side of the car, on the wrong side of the road and pulled out of the airport onto real roads...

Read more here:
http://reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/406/first_few_days_in_london

Tevis 2012 Ride Report: Part 1 – Getting to the start is the hard part sometimes!

Enduranceridestuff Blog - Karen Chaton

I should rename this post to be: blogging on a netbook with wordpress is more annoying than anything!!! My regular laptop has to get sent in for repair so I am at the mercy of this 10″ mini-me that makes everything I do take twice as long! Ignore the goofy formatting, I’ll fix it when I get my computer back. Well, enough of that…on with the first part of my Tevis ride this year…..

Earlier this year I had started to plan on going to Tevis. Then I changed my mind. Then I changed it again. I even printed out an official entry form and filled it out.

Then I changed my mind yet again and decided to go do the new City of Rocks multiday ride in Idaho. My thinking was that I’d rather ride both of my horses two days with pretty good odds at getting to ride all four days versus a 50/50 chance of riding one horse one day at Tevis.

Only…..Bo did so well at City of Rocks and came through it in such great shape that I decided what the heck and got my entry sent in – a day after the deadline! Bo had been coming through every single ride all year at 100%. Entering late was okay though, as it gave me less time to worry about what might go wrong. I knew that I was ready and that Bo was ready, now I just had to get all of the final details into place starting with arranging my crew!

It’s really hard to not want to do Tevis when you have a horse ready, I just couldn’t resist. I think my biggest worry was “how much is too much?” in regards to how many rides Bo had already done this season. Our horses all go great until a point at which….they don’t! I always think of each horses’ ride season as having an imaginary line…you know the one that if you cross it, you’ve gone too far? It’s always elusive but also sometimes so very close and often invisible until you’ve gone over it. Then it’s too late. I don’t want to cross that line. It’s what keeps me riding conservatively; fear of going too far, too often, or too fast, and hurting my horse...

Read more here:
http://enduranceridestuff.com/blog/2012/08/tevis-2012-ride-report-part1/comment-page-1/

Tevis - Heather Reynolds

Reynoldsracing.us Blog

Friday, 10 August 2012

Well Tevis started out fun... Jeremy and I rode out to the start with smiles on our faces, the weather was already T-shirt weather and it was really beautiful under the moon. At the starting line I had happy Birthday sung to me by all of the competitors around, that was super fun. The start was easy and our horses felt great. We were riding with our friends, Lisa and Garrett Ford. At mile 2 Cleo, Jeremy's mount, was leading and got spooked by some water/mud on the trail in the dark. She jumped up a very steep bank and then was about to flip over backwards when she did a pirouette and launched back towards the trail. When she landed she fell and rolled, Jeremy came off in the mud and then she scrambled and stepped on him a few times and then disappeared off the edge of the trail. There was a lot of noise and then it was silent. Very disturbing. We yelled for Cleo and there was silence. All the while the 200+ riders were at a halt on the single track waiting to see what would happen. Jeremy ran around, ahead on the trail and found a way down to where Cleo was. He had to push through the dense bushes. When he got down there we could hear Cleo moving and I yelled to see if Jeremy needed help. Cleo was stuck on her back in the brush on the hill side. Jeremy was able to grab her head and flip her over and then walk her out. After a brief inspection, in the dark, and a trot Jeremy got on and we were on our way again.

Just after the highway crossing Garrett, who was riding behind Jeremy, spotted the blood on Cleo's leg. We had to keep going on the single track so we wouldn't block everyone. When we got to the bottom of Squaw, Jeremy got off to have a good look and it was clear that Cleo, although sound, needed medical attention. His ride was over and he walked her down the mountain to get help. It turns out there was a radio guy right at the bottom and a vet with medical supplies and a trailer, very simple. Cleo got her knee stitched up and her heel flushed and went onto Antibiotics immediately.

I continued onwards...

Read more here:
http://reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog/view/404/tevis

In which we attend the Bare Bones ride, my bum is sore and I learn stuff - Aarene Storms

Haikufarm Blog

TUESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2012

In which we attend the Bare Bones ride, my bum is sore and I learn stuff

When we rolled in to the Bare Bones ridecamp on the day before the ride, the sky was clear and the temps were warm...just like the day before the ride last year.

Those of us who attended the ride last year were unconvinced. All weekend I saw people squinting up at the sky, wondering if it was going to fall on us like it did on ride day in 2011.

It didn't. At least, there wasn't any rain.

There was, instead, a lot of HEAT. Anything above 80 degrees F is hot to a Swamplander. The temperature in camp was above 90, and the humidity was high. Ugh. The afternoon before the ride, we mostly hid in the shade (and squinted at the sky).

Just before dusk, we rounded up some cover models for the Endurance 101 book! Monica has been shooting people for a couple of months, collecting images for the book, but we didn't have an image we liked for the cover...so she staged one.

I took pictures of her taking pictures. This isn't the final image for the cover, but it's a tantalizing hint. More details soon.

Ride morning:

No rain in sight. However, instead of a Plague of Rain, we had several Plagues of Bugs...

Read more here:
http://haikufarm.blogspot.com/2012/08/in-which-we-attend-bare-bones-ride-my.html

Llano Estacado Challenge - 2012 - Autumn

Endurance101andbeyond.com - Full Story

June 16th & 17th 2012

June 15, 2012: Kenlyn Pristine, Deals Midas Moon and I headed northwest to Lake Meredith north of Amarillo for two days of riding some of my favorite trails. I had not been to Llano Estacado since... I’d have to look it up; it’s been at least two years, probably more like three years. This ride site has some history and memories for me with one particular year being “stuck” there for four days due to flooding rain that kept us all in the valley-like camp ground, unable to get out. This ride used to be held toward the end of September and in the last three years has been moved to June. And there have been many improvements made over the last decade with not only road work, but now the addition of covered picnic tables and a permanent bathroom. The trails are absolutely gorgeous. If you have ever been in the Amarillo/Dumas, Texas area, you know the terrain is, well, flat. Not at Lake Meredith though. As you enter the park, you drop down into a valley with canyon-like formations. Very pretty.

After getting a semi late start on Friday morning, we arrived in camp around 3:30 p.m. It had rained quite a bit in the days prior including Thursday night so the ground was boggy and it was humid. I set up camp rather quickly and was able to get Kenlyn Pristine vetted just prior to the ride meeting. The forecast called for near 100-degree temps but not more rain. The plan was to ride Kenlyn Pristine Saturday in the 50-miler and then Deals Midas Moon Sunday in the 50-miler. The loop order was to do 20 miles, 10 miles and then 20 miles. They put the 10-mile loop in the middle because it did not have any water available on it other than one trough about a mile out of camp and they didn’t want the last loop of 50 miles to be “dry” in the heat of the day.

June 16th; 6:00 a.m.: There were 26 starters in the 50 with 24 finishers. Kenlyn Pristine and I started out toward the front with four other riders. It was a bit of a yo-yo for me as we would move out on the flat and then drop back to slow down on the hills, only to catch back up with the other four on the flat… she didn’t care much for the “easy girl” on the hills part, but she listened fairly well, or at least my hands weren’t too blistered! All five of us came in off the first 20 miles about the same time in approximately two and a half hours. I was a bit trepid about the pulse criteria of 60 beats/minute with the temps, but I was pleasantly surprised that she pulsed down quickly...

Read more here:
http://endurance101andbeyond.com/llano-estacado-challenge-2012/

Vermont 100- Nancy & Zanie's ride!

july 25 2012

We got home last night from the Vermont 100 and I am just starting to reflect on the fabulous experience it was!! Zanie and I have had bad luck this year even getting to the start line of a 100 miler! At Biltmore she had a freakout at the trailer right before the start when her buddies suddenly left and was off after bruising her shoulder on the trailer, Then I was too sick with a sinus infection to do the Old Dominion so when I got bucked off my young horse just 2 weeks before the Vermont 100 bruising/cracking my ribs and hurting my shoulder I thought I was done for this one too. We were going to make the trip anyway just in case I could recover, also my sister lives in northern Vermont and we were going to pay her a visit for a few days before the ride anyway. 

Well the power of positive thinking won out and with lots of arnica, Alieve and my bionic Enell bra to support my ribs I made it to the start of the Vermont 100!!! How far I was going to get was anybody's guess. I had a fabulous crew to help me out which consisted of my husband, Bill, sister Betsy, niece Lisa, friend Lisa and her sister Karen. It was a real family affair!! After having no crew for most of my 100s it was so nice to just hand the horse over and plop my butt in a chair!!!

Well you know how it goes, as soon as we get on our horses all ailments miraculously disappear! At least while riding! I actually felt pretty good so I was optimistic that we had a chance. 

Actually I almost didn't get to start as the vet thought he saw something at vet in in Zanie's rear end and I had to represent later. Thinking that it was probably some stiffness from the trailer ride I massaged her and warmed her up better and she thankfully passed but is was niggling at my brain which made my stomach upset. Argh! Not what I needed the night before the ride!

Zanie started the ride feeling great and I soon stopped worrying about her soundness and started really enjoying the ride! The "trail" took us through downtown Woodstock and people were on the street corner cheering on the riders and runners! We got in with some horses at first that were too fast paced for my liking and Zanie was a little hyped up at the first 2 vet holds causing her to have a B on gut sounds and a CRI that was 2 points higher(very unlike her!). I realized that I had to disconnect and get her to start taking care of herself! We came into a pit crew stop by the side of the road (not a hold) and I chose to stay there until she calmed down and started eating well. There was good grass and soon she settled and ate a good meal and drank a bunch of water. After about 15-20 minutes we continued on at a more relaxed pace and really started to have some fun!. I had my camera and took tons of pictures and video clips (soon to be on Youtube). The runners were amazing and many times we came on their aid stations with the roads lined with their crews and spectators, it was like running a gauntlet of well wishers! "Good job!" was the main compliment/encouragement statement of the day! I was decked out in purple as usual and after a couple of these aid stations people started to recognize us and cheer us on even harder! Many times we would pass the same runner over and again as we would overtake them then have to stop for a vet hold only to overtake them further down the trail. The runners are not required to stop. A camaraderie developed between the riders and runners that intensified throughout the ride. 

The weather could not have been more perfect, the high was 82 with low humidity. After we got by ourselves Zanie started to get into her zone and by the time we got to hold #3  she vetted in with all As and stayed that way for the rest of the ride! The vets were surprised and pleased with her recovery and complimented my care of her and the decisions I had made.

We past through the most beautiful Vermont countryside, crossed a covered bridge, climbed the "Sound Of Music" hill, rode through private farms, it was just awesome!! People would put water tubs out in their yard and on several occasions would actually be there hosing off horses and runners! There were many times we passed runners aid stations and were handed watermelon or carrots for the horses, you could not go hungry on this ride! 

After a while I connected with several other riders whose pace was similar to ours and we enjoyed the company into the night until I missed a turn while they were getting some water and I lost them for the rest of the night. I only went a little ways out of the way before I realized my mistake and soon got right. The night riding was beautiful but with no light at all from the sliver moon I relied on my headlamp for navigation. Soon I started to hear the music from the finish line party and knew we were nearing the end. We rounded the curve and into the finish line to cheers form the large crowd and I realized that we had done it!! Zanie looked great at the final vet out having all As once again and an energetic trot and really was fit to continue!!

There is so much I could write about this ride and this is but a summary. Some day I will write more details but in this format you at least get the idea!!
To finish is to win!!!

Nancy Sluys

Rockin' the City of Rocks - Karen Bumgarner

Karenshorsetales blog

The hot temps of day 2 I knew had taken a lot out of Thunder. He wasn't tired but even though he is a big red bugger sometimes I still don't want to hurt my horse. But his appetite was good all night and he was raring to go in the morning. There was no way this boy was going to be camp lizard!

My friend Trish Frahm wanted to ride Blue on Day 3 and I figured the "two boys" would enjoy the trail together. Steve Bradley got a great shot of us on the trail! We came into the vet check near Twin Sisters when Colleen who was riding the 25 miler had only 9 minutes left, and we managed to keep her out of the boys sight so not one nicker was heard! Rushcreek Hollie looked great and CM gave me a thumbs up. They went on to finish 3rd in 2:51!! Woohoo!! And another great shot by Steve Bradley!

The route took us on some gravel roads but at least we could usually find a nearby cow trail. The Teeter crew had hauled LOTS of water and the horses stayed tanked up in the cooler weather than day 2...

Read more here:
http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2012/07/rockin-city-of-rocks.html

City of Rocks: Castle Rocks - Karen Bumgarner

Karenshorsetales Blog

Day 2 of City Rocks promised to be a scorcher and it warmed up fast as soon as the sun came up.

Our trail headed towards Castle Rocks Park, a section of private land that had been purchased for National Parks. We rode past the Castle Rock Lodge and up to the Circle Creek trail which we looped around twice.

Then out to the Tracy Homestead for a vet check in the City of Rocks Reserve. Some of this was beautiful and great footing, however we had quite a few miles of hard pack gravel road to connect it all. This was probably my least favorite day because of the rocky roads with no shoulder.

Because it got so hot, 101, several horses had to be rechecked for their Cardiac Recovery Index, including Thunder. His pulse jumped to 68 on the trot out but for our recheck his CRI was 48/48 so I was very relieved and happy about that!!...

Read more here:
http://karenshorsetales.blogspot.com/2012/07/city-of-rocks-castle-rocks.html

City of Rocks 2012 – 200 Miles in Idaho! - Karen Chaton

Enduranceridestuff Blog - Full Story

Just back and finding time to write a bit about the City of Rocks ride in South East Idaho. The ride also crossed state lines into Utah.

We had a great time and really enjoyed each day of the ride! I decided at nearly the last minute to go. I had been hemming and hawing over it for some time as I really wanted to go, but then also was weighing going to do Tevis again.

In the end, I decided that I wanted to ride both of my horses and that I’d have a greater chance of riding each horse 100 miles at City of Rocks over going to Tevis where I’d have a 50/50 chance of riding one horse 100 miles. Plus the ride looked like it was in nice country that reminded me a lot of Fort Schellbourne.

The trip to camp was almost 600 miles for me. When I got there, I found the instructions from endurance.net took me to a campground rather than to ridecamp.

Fortunately I was able to call my husband who looked up Steph’s # and by some miracle was able to reach her and find out that the instructions were indeed wrong and that I was only a mile and a half from where I should be. I was one of the first ones to get to camp, that’s why I had trouble finding camp on my own. A day later and I would have seen enough rigs that I probably would have been able to figure it out on my own. They were able to put up more signs, ribbons and arrows and update the website so others would be able to get to camp without the detour.

I had a day and a half to let the horses rest before the ride started. I like to give them at least a day to rest after they have hauled a long distance. It was hot in camp. I was able to get a pretty good spot on an overgrown RV pad (camp was in an old RV park) with the trailer facing so that it provided shade to the horses in the afternoon when it would be the hottest part of the day. As it turned out, the ground temperature in the sun where my horses were reached 135 degrees. In the shade, it was in the 90′s. It is amazing that the difference in ground temp was consistently 40 degrees different between the sun and shade...

Read more here:
http://enduranceridestuff.com/blog/2012/07/city-rocks-2012-200-miles-idaho/