Wow. 2012 was such an awesome year, it seems a little anti-climactic to talk about the next season. How could it possibly get better from here?
When I sat down and prepared my personal ride calendar for the year, I came up with a little over 2000 miles on the "wish list." Hmmmm. Didn't I say something about slowing down this year? I am such an addict. I think I need to start a group, Endurance Addicts Out Loud.
At the end of the 2012 ride season, I felt pretty burned out. After Desert Gold, I was feeling like Death Valley, a month later, was going to be too soon. I decided to skip the Death Valley Warmup ride, two weeks before Death Valley. And I found myself, the week of the ride, thinking, I could make it to the ride.... I had to play in the bell choir at church that Sunday, though, so we didn't go.
In the midst of all this riding, I need to take care of some things. One is my asthma. I have got to get it under control. My sister had a similar problem some years ago. The scary part is, she very nearly died. I'm headed for much the same problem if I don't get things going my way here. The other thing that must happen is, my hip has got to improve. Lately it's been getting worse, so far as to interfere with getting a good night's sleep (the asthma doesn't help on that score, either).
With that in mind, I've once again come up with somewhat scaled back goals. I'm hopeful something can be done for my hip, but it's likely to require surgery. If I do need surgery, I'm planning to hold off on it until after Tevis. I'm also aiming to have my year goals attainable between now and Tevis, so if it turns out to be ugly, I can lay off the rest of the year and not feel like I've failed.
Here are the goals:
1000 total season miles
2 100 mile rides
Tevis!
It's pretty simple, but considering the potential challenges, it feels reasonable. The way I have my ride calendar set up, if I can just plug along, we may very well end up high in the standings again at the end of this year, too.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
2012 Ride Season Recap
The 2012 ride season turned out to be better than I hoped for. Our mileage goal was 750 miles. We surpassed and nearly doubled that, ending the season with 1415 miles. I wanted to finish at least one 100 mile ride, and we did that. We did pretty good on the pioneer rides (multi-days) as well.
The year is a bit of a blur. I suppose that's to be expected considering we did at least one ride a month except for July and August.
We ended the ride year looking pretty good in the national standings. We finished in 7th place in national miles, 4th place in our weight division in the Pioneer award, and 2nd place in Regional points. I'm pretty sure, if the Intermountain Wild Horse and Burro Association is still doing an endurance award, that Hoss has far and away won it. He is, after all, the only Mustang in the top ten in National Miles. So I am planning to attend the AERC convention this year. It's not exactly on the top of my to-do list. I definitely want to go, but I haven't made all the arrangements as it's more important to me to keep the money in the go-to-rides budget than to go to the convention.
The year was not without it's ups and downs. Our failure to finish at Virginia City was tough. My husband's employment woes really took a toll on our ride calendar for the near, not to mention the stress it caused in our household. We made it through, at sometimes it felt like by the skin of our teeth, but we came out the other side okay.
In mid-June, I decided to try something new. Many years ago, it was recommended that asthmatics cut out all red wheat, dairy, and refined sugars. My asthma had started getting bad, so I decided to give it a try. Rather than just skip red wheat, I went the whole way and went gluten-free -- meaning no wheat, rye, or barley. These days it's pretty easy to go gluten- and dairy-free. The refined sugars were a little harder to get around, but I've found most producers of gluten-free products also don't use refined sugars. It's simply a matter of reading the labels.
A couple of things happened. One was I dropped ten pounds virtually over night. The other, and more important, was a pain I had been putting up with off and on for over ten years vanished within a week. Turns out, I'm probably gluten intolerant. Okay. That's fine. I can live like this.
The only thing that didn't change was my asthma. I had no improvement as a result of the diet. In fact, since October, I've been getting steadily worse. I had to drop out of choir at church until I get it under control. It's bad enough I have a hard time raising my voice to call the dogs.
Hard as it's been to lose out on choir, I did quietly do something else: in September, I started taking piano lessons. When I was a kid, I took lessons for a while, but never really took it seriously. Now I am, and I'm having a good time with it. I'm learning a great deal and trying really hard to take it all in, which is not as easy as it seems. There's a lot I never learned to begin with, and probably an equal amount I've lost due to brain trauma. My instructor often asks if I know something. I've taken to just telling him to pretend I've never learned anything. It seems to work best this way, as it means I get all the "holes" filled in.
The 2013 ride season is looking like it will be good. Tevis, here we come.
The year is a bit of a blur. I suppose that's to be expected considering we did at least one ride a month except for July and August.
We ended the ride year looking pretty good in the national standings. We finished in 7th place in national miles, 4th place in our weight division in the Pioneer award, and 2nd place in Regional points. I'm pretty sure, if the Intermountain Wild Horse and Burro Association is still doing an endurance award, that Hoss has far and away won it. He is, after all, the only Mustang in the top ten in National Miles. So I am planning to attend the AERC convention this year. It's not exactly on the top of my to-do list. I definitely want to go, but I haven't made all the arrangements as it's more important to me to keep the money in the go-to-rides budget than to go to the convention.
The year was not without it's ups and downs. Our failure to finish at Virginia City was tough. My husband's employment woes really took a toll on our ride calendar for the near, not to mention the stress it caused in our household. We made it through, at sometimes it felt like by the skin of our teeth, but we came out the other side okay.
In mid-June, I decided to try something new. Many years ago, it was recommended that asthmatics cut out all red wheat, dairy, and refined sugars. My asthma had started getting bad, so I decided to give it a try. Rather than just skip red wheat, I went the whole way and went gluten-free -- meaning no wheat, rye, or barley. These days it's pretty easy to go gluten- and dairy-free. The refined sugars were a little harder to get around, but I've found most producers of gluten-free products also don't use refined sugars. It's simply a matter of reading the labels.
A couple of things happened. One was I dropped ten pounds virtually over night. The other, and more important, was a pain I had been putting up with off and on for over ten years vanished within a week. Turns out, I'm probably gluten intolerant. Okay. That's fine. I can live like this.
The only thing that didn't change was my asthma. I had no improvement as a result of the diet. In fact, since October, I've been getting steadily worse. I had to drop out of choir at church until I get it under control. It's bad enough I have a hard time raising my voice to call the dogs.
Hard as it's been to lose out on choir, I did quietly do something else: in September, I started taking piano lessons. When I was a kid, I took lessons for a while, but never really took it seriously. Now I am, and I'm having a good time with it. I'm learning a great deal and trying really hard to take it all in, which is not as easy as it seems. There's a lot I never learned to begin with, and probably an equal amount I've lost due to brain trauma. My instructor often asks if I know something. I've taken to just telling him to pretend I've never learned anything. It seems to work best this way, as it means I get all the "holes" filled in.
The 2013 ride season is looking like it will be good. Tevis, here we come.
Friday, January 25, 2013
2012 Desert Gold, Day 3, 50 Miles
The third day was very overcast. I was really tired, still recovering from the 75 in Arizona the previous weekend. As a result, I got up quite late. I did get up early and feed Hoss, but when I went back to bed I slept longer than I usually would. So I was hustling to get myself fed and Hoss saddled. By the time we hit the trail, most of the other riders had already started.
We caught up with another rider we had spent time with on the previous two days. Hoss was feeling pretty good and stepping out nicely. Unfortunately, I realized I had forgotten to pack electrolyte syringes in the saddle bag. This presented a problem, but it was solvable. The first loop was seven miles which came back by camp. We didn't have a vet check, but we certainly got close enough to be able to stop back in. I certainly could not ask Hoss to complete the first 25 miles without electrolytes. He was already behind on his electrolytes, so I absolutely had to get them. Had we not been passing back by camp, I would have been obliged to turn around and go back when I realized we didn't have them.
On the first seven miles, we caught up to Laurie Birch. She commented when she headed out on trail, Hoss was tied to the trailer under his blanket and I was nowhere in sight. And now here we were catching up to them! I really can get myself and my horse together in no time.
When we came back by camp, I turned Hoss off to head back to the trailer. He was not pleased to be going back when all the other horses were going on, but he went on back.
Once back to the trailer, I leapt off and grabbed three tubes of electrolytes. The vet check would be back at camp, but I decided I wanted extra, and didn't want to take the chance I'd forget to get more after our hold. We were only in camp a few minutes before I got back on and we headed back out.
Hoss was not happy. He did not want to head back out. He seemed to be of the opinion that if we headed back into camp it must be time for a hold. It took quite a bit of convincing on my part to get him back on the trail, but he was mad. I couldn't get him to move out more than about 6mph. Now that all the other horses had gotten ahead of us, he felt unmotivated.
The next part of the loop was 18 miles down around a "lollipop" and back up again. The hills were quite steep, and Hoss was really unhappy at this point. At one point he really started to die and, frustrated, I decided to get off and lead him down the hill. Perhaps, I thought, if I led him some, he would start to perk back up. I spent a lot of time not riding my horse that day.
At the bottom of the hill, I clambered back on, with some difficulty, and I allowed him to walk until we got to the wider road. I got him moving on, but I had to really keep after him. Approaching the next water, I let him have a good drink and gave him a second dose of electrolytes. I'd given him the first dose about three miles back out of camp. I decided to try giving him electrolytes about every ten miles to see if that would catch him up.
We made our way around the "lollipop" and by the location of the vet checks on the previous two days. The head vet was camped out here for a "trot by" check. I had a hard time keeping Hoss going for the trot by part of the check, as he was convinced there should be a vet check. I kept him going long enough to satisfy the vet, then let Hoss go to the water. He wasn't really interested, so I turned him back to the trail, but he was still sure it had to be a vet check. It took a little effort, but I got him going.
We got back to the killer hill we'd come down, and I started riding him up. I decided to bail off and tail him up for a break. Like I said, I ended up spending a lot of time not riding my horse.
Horses were now coming back down to do the loop the second time through for the finish. Hoss found this somewhat confusing. He thought he should be going the same way as the other horses. By this point not only were horses going the other way, there were horses passing us going the same direction, except they were "lapping" us.
Once we'd gotten back up the hill I got back on and got us trucking along. It took effort on my part, and I really had to keep after him, but we kept moving.
We got back to camp and vetted through. I took him back to the trailer for the hold and gave him an electrolyte bran mash as well as a good deal of hay. I made myself some lunch and sat down to wait out our hold.
At the end of the hold we got back on the trail, with some reluctance on Hoss's part. But once we got out, he got his groove on. The third dose of electrolyte he got at camp during the hold really seemed to help. He seemed to turn the corner and start perking up.
This time I was able to ride him down the hill. He kept going, albeit slightly slower than I would like him to go. After another ten miles, I gave him a fourth dose of electrolytes. By now the temperature was starting to drop, and between that and the electrolytes he was starting to feel much better.
We passed the previous days' vet check area, this time with little incident. Hoss seemed to realize it couldn't be a vet check. There wasn't anybody there! So we stopped to see if he wanted a drink (he didn't) and continued on our way.
Back up the hill we went. This time I was able to ride him. Which is good, because I'm not sure I could've gotten on him one more time.
We ended up finishing in something close to 10 hours, much slower than I really thought he should be going, and dead last. But, we finished.
We caught up with another rider we had spent time with on the previous two days. Hoss was feeling pretty good and stepping out nicely. Unfortunately, I realized I had forgotten to pack electrolyte syringes in the saddle bag. This presented a problem, but it was solvable. The first loop was seven miles which came back by camp. We didn't have a vet check, but we certainly got close enough to be able to stop back in. I certainly could not ask Hoss to complete the first 25 miles without electrolytes. He was already behind on his electrolytes, so I absolutely had to get them. Had we not been passing back by camp, I would have been obliged to turn around and go back when I realized we didn't have them.
On the first seven miles, we caught up to Laurie Birch. She commented when she headed out on trail, Hoss was tied to the trailer under his blanket and I was nowhere in sight. And now here we were catching up to them! I really can get myself and my horse together in no time.
When we came back by camp, I turned Hoss off to head back to the trailer. He was not pleased to be going back when all the other horses were going on, but he went on back.
Once back to the trailer, I leapt off and grabbed three tubes of electrolytes. The vet check would be back at camp, but I decided I wanted extra, and didn't want to take the chance I'd forget to get more after our hold. We were only in camp a few minutes before I got back on and we headed back out.
Hoss was not happy. He did not want to head back out. He seemed to be of the opinion that if we headed back into camp it must be time for a hold. It took quite a bit of convincing on my part to get him back on the trail, but he was mad. I couldn't get him to move out more than about 6mph. Now that all the other horses had gotten ahead of us, he felt unmotivated.
The next part of the loop was 18 miles down around a "lollipop" and back up again. The hills were quite steep, and Hoss was really unhappy at this point. At one point he really started to die and, frustrated, I decided to get off and lead him down the hill. Perhaps, I thought, if I led him some, he would start to perk back up. I spent a lot of time not riding my horse that day.
At the bottom of the hill, I clambered back on, with some difficulty, and I allowed him to walk until we got to the wider road. I got him moving on, but I had to really keep after him. Approaching the next water, I let him have a good drink and gave him a second dose of electrolytes. I'd given him the first dose about three miles back out of camp. I decided to try giving him electrolytes about every ten miles to see if that would catch him up.
We made our way around the "lollipop" and by the location of the vet checks on the previous two days. The head vet was camped out here for a "trot by" check. I had a hard time keeping Hoss going for the trot by part of the check, as he was convinced there should be a vet check. I kept him going long enough to satisfy the vet, then let Hoss go to the water. He wasn't really interested, so I turned him back to the trail, but he was still sure it had to be a vet check. It took a little effort, but I got him going.
We got back to the killer hill we'd come down, and I started riding him up. I decided to bail off and tail him up for a break. Like I said, I ended up spending a lot of time not riding my horse.
Horses were now coming back down to do the loop the second time through for the finish. Hoss found this somewhat confusing. He thought he should be going the same way as the other horses. By this point not only were horses going the other way, there were horses passing us going the same direction, except they were "lapping" us.
Once we'd gotten back up the hill I got back on and got us trucking along. It took effort on my part, and I really had to keep after him, but we kept moving.
We got back to camp and vetted through. I took him back to the trailer for the hold and gave him an electrolyte bran mash as well as a good deal of hay. I made myself some lunch and sat down to wait out our hold.
At the end of the hold we got back on the trail, with some reluctance on Hoss's part. But once we got out, he got his groove on. The third dose of electrolyte he got at camp during the hold really seemed to help. He seemed to turn the corner and start perking up.
This time I was able to ride him down the hill. He kept going, albeit slightly slower than I would like him to go. After another ten miles, I gave him a fourth dose of electrolytes. By now the temperature was starting to drop, and between that and the electrolytes he was starting to feel much better.
We passed the previous days' vet check area, this time with little incident. Hoss seemed to realize it couldn't be a vet check. There wasn't anybody there! So we stopped to see if he wanted a drink (he didn't) and continued on our way.
Back up the hill we went. This time I was able to ride him. Which is good, because I'm not sure I could've gotten on him one more time.
We ended up finishing in something close to 10 hours, much slower than I really thought he should be going, and dead last. But, we finished.
2012 Desert Gold Day 2, 50 miles
This was the first day of the FEI ride as well as the second day of Desert Gold. During the previous day and evening many riders arrived, including a trailer that parked right next to mine while Hoss and I were on trail. They parked pretty close, too. Like so close Hoss could kick their trailer while tied to mine. They were practically on top of my tent. I tried to be gracious about it, but I'll admit to being annoyed.
During the ride meeting the night before, it came out a junior was in need of a sponsor for the second day. I waited about fifteen seconds before finally raising my hand and volunteering to do it. Generally speaking, it's better for Hoss if he doesn't have to keep up -- or back -- with another horse. I had no way of really knowing how well matched Hoss would be with the horse the junior was riding, but I couldn't see letting the young lady miss out on a ride day just because no one wanted to sponsor her.
So, in the morning, after saddling up, I went in search of my junior. I eventually encountered her heading out toward the trail. We got together and made our way onto the trail.
I quickly discovered the junior's horse was quite a lot faster than Hoss. She had a good 9 mph trot, while Hoss's best pace is about 7mph. I knew it was going to be difficult to manage the day. It was once again hot -- not as hot as the day before -- and the humidity had gone up.
The junior and her mare led most of the day. With the mare being the faster of the two horses, this certainly made sense. Additionally, in my experience, Hoss prefers not to lead if the other horse is a mare. He's happy to follow any horse, but he's much more reluctant to lead if the other horse he's with is a mare.
We came in to the vet check in good time. Once again I had forgotten to give Hoss his electrolytes in the middle of the first loop. To make matters worse, after we had vetted through, I discovered there was very little hay left. It seems ride management underestimated how much they would need. I had to scrounge around to come up with a handful of hay for Hoss to eat. The junior had a bucket full of feed for her mare. Of course it had food in it Hoss can't have, so I had to closely monitor him to be sure he didn't get into it.
After our hold time was over, out we went back on the trail. We were about five miles out when I decided Hoss just did not seem himself. It was hot, and he clearly needed more electrolytes. Despite having given him an electrolyte bran mash at the check, I gave him half a syringe of electrolytes in hopes of helping get him going better.
Within a few miles of giving Hoss the electrolytes, he started to perk up. We were able to pick up a trot for a time. The junior was clearly accustomed to doing less trotting than Hoss and I usually do. Her horse was fast enough to do less trotting than Hoss needs to do. It was quite the challenge to balance my horse's needs with the mare's needs.
We came to the steep hill we had come down the day before. I elected to dismount and tail Hoss up it to give him a bit of a break. It was quite a long hill. By the time we got to the top, I was winded, but managed to get back on and continue on our way.
We caught up with Laurie Birch and "her" junior. It turned out the two juniors were competing for the end of year high mileage award. In the end, the junior with me got second place by five miles.
Hoss really likes Laurie's mare, so when she got in front of him he got quite strong. Laurie trotted on up a hill, leaving us a little behind. I could feel Hoss bunching up, wanting to run. I looked over at my junior, and asked, "Shall we run?" With a grin, she nodded, and up the hill we charged. It was a fun little moment.
In for our second hold, Hoss pulsed down immediately. The mare took a little longer. On the first day, she had suffered a mild colic after the ride, so we were being careful with her this day.
By this time, the hay was virtually gone. It took quite a bit more effort on my part to scrape together hay for Hoss. Also, I was out of water. In desperation, I dipped a water bottle into the horse water for myself. It was either that or risk becoming dangerously dehydrated.
After our hold we headed back toward camp. I had given Hoss the other half of the electrolyte syringe, and a mash at the check, and had another syringe for halfway back to camp. We didn't head out with particular speed, but we certainly wanted to hustle back and make it in before dark.
Our finish time was a little slower than the prior day's. Still, we finished in just under 9 hours, the difference being the five miles longer on day one. I gave Hoss a bran mash and got myself to bed as early as I could.
During the ride meeting the night before, it came out a junior was in need of a sponsor for the second day. I waited about fifteen seconds before finally raising my hand and volunteering to do it. Generally speaking, it's better for Hoss if he doesn't have to keep up -- or back -- with another horse. I had no way of really knowing how well matched Hoss would be with the horse the junior was riding, but I couldn't see letting the young lady miss out on a ride day just because no one wanted to sponsor her.
So, in the morning, after saddling up, I went in search of my junior. I eventually encountered her heading out toward the trail. We got together and made our way onto the trail.
I quickly discovered the junior's horse was quite a lot faster than Hoss. She had a good 9 mph trot, while Hoss's best pace is about 7mph. I knew it was going to be difficult to manage the day. It was once again hot -- not as hot as the day before -- and the humidity had gone up.
The junior and her mare led most of the day. With the mare being the faster of the two horses, this certainly made sense. Additionally, in my experience, Hoss prefers not to lead if the other horse is a mare. He's happy to follow any horse, but he's much more reluctant to lead if the other horse he's with is a mare.
We came in to the vet check in good time. Once again I had forgotten to give Hoss his electrolytes in the middle of the first loop. To make matters worse, after we had vetted through, I discovered there was very little hay left. It seems ride management underestimated how much they would need. I had to scrounge around to come up with a handful of hay for Hoss to eat. The junior had a bucket full of feed for her mare. Of course it had food in it Hoss can't have, so I had to closely monitor him to be sure he didn't get into it.
After our hold time was over, out we went back on the trail. We were about five miles out when I decided Hoss just did not seem himself. It was hot, and he clearly needed more electrolytes. Despite having given him an electrolyte bran mash at the check, I gave him half a syringe of electrolytes in hopes of helping get him going better.
Within a few miles of giving Hoss the electrolytes, he started to perk up. We were able to pick up a trot for a time. The junior was clearly accustomed to doing less trotting than Hoss and I usually do. Her horse was fast enough to do less trotting than Hoss needs to do. It was quite the challenge to balance my horse's needs with the mare's needs.
We came to the steep hill we had come down the day before. I elected to dismount and tail Hoss up it to give him a bit of a break. It was quite a long hill. By the time we got to the top, I was winded, but managed to get back on and continue on our way.
We caught up with Laurie Birch and "her" junior. It turned out the two juniors were competing for the end of year high mileage award. In the end, the junior with me got second place by five miles.
Hoss really likes Laurie's mare, so when she got in front of him he got quite strong. Laurie trotted on up a hill, leaving us a little behind. I could feel Hoss bunching up, wanting to run. I looked over at my junior, and asked, "Shall we run?" With a grin, she nodded, and up the hill we charged. It was a fun little moment.
In for our second hold, Hoss pulsed down immediately. The mare took a little longer. On the first day, she had suffered a mild colic after the ride, so we were being careful with her this day.
By this time, the hay was virtually gone. It took quite a bit more effort on my part to scrape together hay for Hoss. Also, I was out of water. In desperation, I dipped a water bottle into the horse water for myself. It was either that or risk becoming dangerously dehydrated.
After our hold we headed back toward camp. I had given Hoss the other half of the electrolyte syringe, and a mash at the check, and had another syringe for halfway back to camp. We didn't head out with particular speed, but we certainly wanted to hustle back and make it in before dark.
Our finish time was a little slower than the prior day's. Still, we finished in just under 9 hours, the difference being the five miles longer on day one. I gave Hoss a bran mash and got myself to bed as early as I could.
2012 Desert Gold Day 1, 55 miles
Once again, we arrived late to ride camp on Thursday. This ride was on Thanksgiving weekend, and I had made Thanksgiving dinner for myself and my mother, her roommate, and a family friend on Wednesday night. I was understandably tired on Thursday morning and didn't get out until late. It didn't help that I severely underestimated how long it would take us to drive there.
I got camp set up and picked up my rider packet and arranged to vet Hoss in the morning. The weather was rather warm and humid. I began to wonder if I'd made a mistake not clipping Hoss to improve his "air conditioning."
I had brought along my new "toy," a CounterROAM video camera. I had put a mount on the side of my helmet so I could take video as I go. I put it and my iPod in the truck to charge.
In the morning I walked Hoss up to the vet after saddling him up. He passed easily enough. This particular vet always gives him low scores on impulsion and gait. I understand her philosophy -- that, if Horse A deserves an "A," then Horse B, whose movement is not as clean, deserves a "B" -- but I must admit to preferring the philosophy of vets who feel a horse should be judged on his own merits, rather than compared to others.
This ride was a Pioneer, 155 miles over three days, but also an FEI (international) ride. The second and third days were an opportunity for international riders to get miles. Evidently the FEI considers the livestock paint which is typically used to mark horses with the riders' numbers to be unreliable. So Hoss was marked with a black Magic Marker. I found this humorous, as the number, in livestock paint, from Lead Follow was still on his butt from a week before.
The two vet checks were in the same location, so I set up a bag with bran and electrolytes and some lunch for me. I was told there would be plenty of hay, so I didn't bother sending any. I had my saddle set up, but I had forgotten two of my water bottles. I had two with me, so I figured I would be okay. The weather was nice but quite humid. It got rather hot over the course of the day.
We set out on the trail. Hoss was pretty good, but wanted to get moving right away. We didn't have to fight too long, though. Once we'd gotten up the hill, I was able to allow him to pick up the pace and still have his attention.
I knew from driving in the previous night that we were close to the Laguna Seca Raceway Park. I didn't realize how close until we were riding along the trail and came to the back side of the track. It was pretty cool. My parents had their first date at the race track in 1959.
After passing the track, we continued on around the trail. The trails were quite nice, mostly road-type trails. A few single tracks were used, but it was largely over the wider roads. There was a lot of water placed on the trail, which was good, since it was so hot and humid.
We came in to the vet check in good time. Because this was an FEI event as well as AERC, even though this day was not FEI the check was set up as if it was. Which meant we were funneled in to pulse down and straight to the vet. I used to be more resistant to this, when Hoss would pulse down but not really stay down until he had had a chance to eat and rest. These days it's not such a big deal. He pulses right down and stays down, and he's gotten more accustomed to going straight to the vet. There is something to be said for it, as it gets it out of the way. Waiting until later means pulling Hoss off his food or rousing him from a nap.
The hold was 45 minutes. We found our crew bag and set up to wait. I found a flake of alfalfa hay for Hoss and got his bran mash set up.
During the first loop I had forgotten to give Hoss his first dose of electrolyte. So it was even more important that he eat his bran mash at the check. Of course, this did mean I had a spare tube if he didn't finish the mash.
While we were waiting, I heard the distinctive sound of rapid hoofbeats on pavement. Initially I thought someone had ridden out of the the vet check. It turned out someone's horse had decided to split for camp while she was off getting something to eat! Fortunately ride management had an ATV at the vet check and was able to chase the horse down and return him.
After our hold we got back on the trail for the second loop. Hoss was feeling chipper enough, but it was hot! I really did not push him particularly hard due to the heat and humidity. The trail also included quite a few hills and at least one hard climb. We were certainly not up to doing our normal pace under those conditions!
Back at the vet check for our second hold, Hoss once again pulsed down quickly and well and vetted right through. We then went back to the spot we'd set up earlier. There was considerably less hay about, but enough to get by for another 45 minute hold.
By this time I had run through all my water. After setting Hoss up, I went in search of water. Ride management had provided hot chocolate, and Cup O'Soups, and the hot water to go with such. But they hadn't brought rider water. Just plan water was not available. And, of course, I couldn't have either the soup or the hot chocolate. So I ate my lunch and sucked it up. It wasn't far to the finish, and I had brought along plenty of water.
Again on the trail, Hoss was starting to flag a bit despite the dropping temperatures. He perked up a bit when we were joined by other horses for the rest of the way back to camp, but still was not quite his usual self. He had ended up only having two doses of electrolytes over the course of the day.
We arrived back at camp and the finish at about 5:30, finishing in just under 9 hours. Considering the conditions, and it being a 55 mile ride, I couldn't complain.
This is the video of our ride. The pictures are the last stills I've taken since getting the video camera, and thus represent the last stills I will post with my blogs.
I got camp set up and picked up my rider packet and arranged to vet Hoss in the morning. The weather was rather warm and humid. I began to wonder if I'd made a mistake not clipping Hoss to improve his "air conditioning."
I had brought along my new "toy," a CounterROAM video camera. I had put a mount on the side of my helmet so I could take video as I go. I put it and my iPod in the truck to charge.
In the morning I walked Hoss up to the vet after saddling him up. He passed easily enough. This particular vet always gives him low scores on impulsion and gait. I understand her philosophy -- that, if Horse A deserves an "A," then Horse B, whose movement is not as clean, deserves a "B" -- but I must admit to preferring the philosophy of vets who feel a horse should be judged on his own merits, rather than compared to others.
This ride was a Pioneer, 155 miles over three days, but also an FEI (international) ride. The second and third days were an opportunity for international riders to get miles. Evidently the FEI considers the livestock paint which is typically used to mark horses with the riders' numbers to be unreliable. So Hoss was marked with a black Magic Marker. I found this humorous, as the number, in livestock paint, from Lead Follow was still on his butt from a week before.
The two vet checks were in the same location, so I set up a bag with bran and electrolytes and some lunch for me. I was told there would be plenty of hay, so I didn't bother sending any. I had my saddle set up, but I had forgotten two of my water bottles. I had two with me, so I figured I would be okay. The weather was nice but quite humid. It got rather hot over the course of the day.
We set out on the trail. Hoss was pretty good, but wanted to get moving right away. We didn't have to fight too long, though. Once we'd gotten up the hill, I was able to allow him to pick up the pace and still have his attention.
I knew from driving in the previous night that we were close to the Laguna Seca Raceway Park. I didn't realize how close until we were riding along the trail and came to the back side of the track. It was pretty cool. My parents had their first date at the race track in 1959.
After passing the track, we continued on around the trail. The trails were quite nice, mostly road-type trails. A few single tracks were used, but it was largely over the wider roads. There was a lot of water placed on the trail, which was good, since it was so hot and humid.
We came in to the vet check in good time. Because this was an FEI event as well as AERC, even though this day was not FEI the check was set up as if it was. Which meant we were funneled in to pulse down and straight to the vet. I used to be more resistant to this, when Hoss would pulse down but not really stay down until he had had a chance to eat and rest. These days it's not such a big deal. He pulses right down and stays down, and he's gotten more accustomed to going straight to the vet. There is something to be said for it, as it gets it out of the way. Waiting until later means pulling Hoss off his food or rousing him from a nap.
The hold was 45 minutes. We found our crew bag and set up to wait. I found a flake of alfalfa hay for Hoss and got his bran mash set up.
During the first loop I had forgotten to give Hoss his first dose of electrolyte. So it was even more important that he eat his bran mash at the check. Of course, this did mean I had a spare tube if he didn't finish the mash.
While we were waiting, I heard the distinctive sound of rapid hoofbeats on pavement. Initially I thought someone had ridden out of the the vet check. It turned out someone's horse had decided to split for camp while she was off getting something to eat! Fortunately ride management had an ATV at the vet check and was able to chase the horse down and return him.
After our hold we got back on the trail for the second loop. Hoss was feeling chipper enough, but it was hot! I really did not push him particularly hard due to the heat and humidity. The trail also included quite a few hills and at least one hard climb. We were certainly not up to doing our normal pace under those conditions!
Back at the vet check for our second hold, Hoss once again pulsed down quickly and well and vetted right through. We then went back to the spot we'd set up earlier. There was considerably less hay about, but enough to get by for another 45 minute hold.
By this time I had run through all my water. After setting Hoss up, I went in search of water. Ride management had provided hot chocolate, and Cup O'Soups, and the hot water to go with such. But they hadn't brought rider water. Just plan water was not available. And, of course, I couldn't have either the soup or the hot chocolate. So I ate my lunch and sucked it up. It wasn't far to the finish, and I had brought along plenty of water.
Again on the trail, Hoss was starting to flag a bit despite the dropping temperatures. He perked up a bit when we were joined by other horses for the rest of the way back to camp, but still was not quite his usual self. He had ended up only having two doses of electrolytes over the course of the day.
We arrived back at camp and the finish at about 5:30, finishing in just under 9 hours. Considering the conditions, and it being a 55 mile ride, I couldn't complain.
This is the video of our ride. The pictures are the last stills I've taken since getting the video camera, and thus represent the last stills I will post with my blogs.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
2012 Lead, Follow or Get Out of My Way 75
Lately it seems like I can't get away from home in time to make it to a ride before dark. Or even in time for the ride meeting. Perhaps I've just subconsciously decided I want to spend as little time actually "camping" as possible. After a long drive, Hoss and I arrived at McDowell Mountain just as the ride meeting was ending.
No matter, making it for the ride meeting wasn't high on my list of important things. I found a place to park and got Hoss out of the trailer and set up with food and water while I went to get my rider packet. The vet elected to vet him then, so I trekked back up with Hoss and got him vetted in.
Once vetting in was done, I got the rest of camp set up for the night. The two vet checks would be back in camp, so I needed to be sure everything was just right so I could take care of both of us during our holds.
The ride started at 6am -- 5am to me -- in the pre-dawn light. I have been working on being able to better negotiate in the dark by not using a light while walking around the ranch at home. It has made a big difference, but we did get a little lost on the way out of camp. Hoss was very strong, and I couldn't let him try to keep up with the other horses, especially since I couldn't really see them and thus would have a hard time keeping him at an appropriate distance.
As the sun rose over the mountains, we found ourselves a little "pocket" to ride in. Hoss was keeping a good, solid pace. It was a beautiful morning. Not too cold, not too hot as the day went on.
We made it up to the top of the ridge line and down into sort of the bottom of a hill. Not really a canyon. We rode all the way down to the check point, where there was water. It was just about halfway through the first loop, so I took the opportunity to give Hoss a dose of electrolytes before we rode back up the hill.
Back at the top of the ridge, Hoss suddenly farted and bucked. He's not a particularly demonstrative horse, so this behavior was disturbing. I got him stopped and dismounted to check him over. Sure enough, he had gotten some cholla (what is commonly known as jumping cactus) in his front left pastern. I suspect the bucking was the result of some of it being thrown up into his belly. I got my Leatherman tool out and plucked the spines out, then ran my hands carefully over his belly to be sure he didn't have any stuck anyplace more tender. Once I was sure he was fine, I got back on and we headed on down the trail.
We arrived back at camp for our first hold at just after 10am, making the first 25 miles in slightly over 4 hours. The vet, seeing us come in, hollered, "You're here! It's not noon!" Last year we hadn't completed the first loop until after 11am. We kept the ride crew going until we got in, over time, past midnight. So they were understandably happy to see us stride in earlier than we had last year.
After vetting through, I took Hoss back to the trailer for our hold. I tossed out a flake of alfalfa hay and made him an electrolyte bran mash. While he ate, I made myself a sandwich and sat to wait out our hold time. Hoss didn't eat as well as I would have liked, but he did lick the bran mash bowl clean.
Back on the trail after our hold, we headed out of camp and up a bit of a climb. Hoss is pretty slow on hills, so we had to allow other horses to pass us a couple of times. It was a single track trail, and Hoss has decided lately that no horse should be allowed to pass him on a single track. I had to work pretty hard to get him far enough off trail to be safely passed. Once another horse was past him, he would be kinda sulky and make a half-hearted attempt to keep up with the horse. He didn't really mean it, though. He was regularly left behind quite quickly each time.
Once we topped the hill, Hoss moved out better and we got back in the groove. We had to pass the turn back toward camp on our way, and Hoss got it into his head we should go back. Fortunately he didn't put up a big fuss about it. Really he takes correction amiably enough.
On our way out, other horses were coming in to finish the 50. At one point, someone said, "You're in thirteenth place! We've been counting!" I had no idea how many horses were in our distance, so I didn't know if that was middle of the pack or last place.
As we made our way through the loop, I paid careful attention to where we were. I knew the last loop would repeat much of the same trail, just in the opposite direction. Last year we got lost on the last loop, so I wanted to have a clear picture in my mind to help prevent it from happening again.
The ride is largely flat, so I was pushing Hoss to keep up a decent pace. He got into a bit of the doldrums and really didn't want to move out. He started looking for excuses to slow down, and a great one appeared -- three trucks driving along the trail! I had to really push to keep him moving.
After we managed to get by the trucks, the next excuse was not long in coming up. We came across mountain bikers. Hoss is of the opinion I should stop and have a conversation with anyone we meet on the trail. We do often stop to chat on the trail when we're at home, but I really try not to do it at rides. Guess I'm going to have to limit the times we do it, because now he sees every human being as an opportunity for a stop-and-chat. It's all the more enticing when he wants to slow down. But we worked through it and got down the trail.
We made it back to camp about 3pm, finishing another 25 miles in just over four hours. It was something closer to or over 26 miles, really, so I was happy with our time. I was really pushing to finish in as close to 12 hours as we possibly could.
I took Hoss straight to the vet and got him through quickly before heading to the trailer for our hold. Once again, Hoss did not eat hay very well during the hold, but he did finish his bran mash. For much of the hold time he slept.
I made myself a quick roast beef and bacon sandwich and rested in a chair for the duration of our hold.
We headed back out on the trail at 4pm, as dusk began to settle in. I was extremely happy to be getting back on the trail before it got dark. The trail used to leave camp is difficult for me to find in the dark, so if there aren't other horses on the trail at the same time, I stand a pretty good chance of getting us hopelessly lost or turned around.
Hoss was more chipper about trotting on our way back out. He does seem to get happier about life as the temperatures drop. Even if the highs are only in the 70s, and he goes out in 115 at home.
As the sun dropped, Hoss concentrated on getting his butt on down the trail. Once full dark hit, we were riding through a wash, and I heard a coyote yipping behind us. It was pretty clear the thing was following us. While we were obviously not in any danger from it, it was still a little creepy. Hoss didn't care, though. I tried hollering at the thing to no effect, but Hoss just ignored it and kept on trucking.
We made it through the area we got lost in last year without incident and before full dark. We made it to the last check point, some 10 miles before the finish, with plenty of time to spare. At this point Hoss was suddenly starving to death. I ended up letting him eat for some time. He hadn't eaten well at the vet checks, so I couldn't bring myself to drag him off the hay, even though I knew camp was close.
I finally pulled Hoss away from the hay and we headed on down the trail toward camp. By this time it was full dark and we were following glo-sticks. This year, it seems they had a sufficient number of glo-sticks, which was certainly nice.
At this point we were leap-frogging with another horse and rider. This helped keep Hoss motivated. For a time they were ahead of us, and Hoss was chugging along wanting to catch up to them. I could see a pair of glo-sticks ahead of us in a line. The trail was difficult to distinguish in the dark. I had already discovered it wasn't until we got off trail that I would realize we had gotten off trail. I was not using my head light, as I have discovered that it can be limited. While it lights up the area within about ten feet ahead of Hoss, it casts his shadow across the trail, and makes it harder to see the trail beyond the circle of light. So I've really worked on being able to determine where I am in the dark rather than rely on a light. We were riding toward the first glo-stick, and I directed Hoss to go straight toward the second. About ten or twenty feet on, I realized we'd left the trail. Hoss quickly got us back on track and I realized the problem. There was a U-bend in the trail. The glo-sticks had been put up in line of sight of each other, but the trail went left from the first, then right, right again, and left where the second was placed. This showed the perils of placing glo-sticks!
We made it back to camp about 8pm, about an hour later than I had hoped for. Still, I was quite pleased with our finish. In the end, a 13 hour 75 mile ride is a great finish.
No matter, making it for the ride meeting wasn't high on my list of important things. I found a place to park and got Hoss out of the trailer and set up with food and water while I went to get my rider packet. The vet elected to vet him then, so I trekked back up with Hoss and got him vetted in.
Once vetting in was done, I got the rest of camp set up for the night. The two vet checks would be back in camp, so I needed to be sure everything was just right so I could take care of both of us during our holds.
The ride started at 6am -- 5am to me -- in the pre-dawn light. I have been working on being able to better negotiate in the dark by not using a light while walking around the ranch at home. It has made a big difference, but we did get a little lost on the way out of camp. Hoss was very strong, and I couldn't let him try to keep up with the other horses, especially since I couldn't really see them and thus would have a hard time keeping him at an appropriate distance.
As the sun rose over the mountains, we found ourselves a little "pocket" to ride in. Hoss was keeping a good, solid pace. It was a beautiful morning. Not too cold, not too hot as the day went on.
We made it up to the top of the ridge line and down into sort of the bottom of a hill. Not really a canyon. We rode all the way down to the check point, where there was water. It was just about halfway through the first loop, so I took the opportunity to give Hoss a dose of electrolytes before we rode back up the hill.
Back at the top of the ridge, Hoss suddenly farted and bucked. He's not a particularly demonstrative horse, so this behavior was disturbing. I got him stopped and dismounted to check him over. Sure enough, he had gotten some cholla (what is commonly known as jumping cactus) in his front left pastern. I suspect the bucking was the result of some of it being thrown up into his belly. I got my Leatherman tool out and plucked the spines out, then ran my hands carefully over his belly to be sure he didn't have any stuck anyplace more tender. Once I was sure he was fine, I got back on and we headed on down the trail.
We arrived back at camp for our first hold at just after 10am, making the first 25 miles in slightly over 4 hours. The vet, seeing us come in, hollered, "You're here! It's not noon!" Last year we hadn't completed the first loop until after 11am. We kept the ride crew going until we got in, over time, past midnight. So they were understandably happy to see us stride in earlier than we had last year.
After vetting through, I took Hoss back to the trailer for our hold. I tossed out a flake of alfalfa hay and made him an electrolyte bran mash. While he ate, I made myself a sandwich and sat to wait out our hold time. Hoss didn't eat as well as I would have liked, but he did lick the bran mash bowl clean.
Back on the trail after our hold, we headed out of camp and up a bit of a climb. Hoss is pretty slow on hills, so we had to allow other horses to pass us a couple of times. It was a single track trail, and Hoss has decided lately that no horse should be allowed to pass him on a single track. I had to work pretty hard to get him far enough off trail to be safely passed. Once another horse was past him, he would be kinda sulky and make a half-hearted attempt to keep up with the horse. He didn't really mean it, though. He was regularly left behind quite quickly each time.
Once we topped the hill, Hoss moved out better and we got back in the groove. We had to pass the turn back toward camp on our way, and Hoss got it into his head we should go back. Fortunately he didn't put up a big fuss about it. Really he takes correction amiably enough.
On our way out, other horses were coming in to finish the 50. At one point, someone said, "You're in thirteenth place! We've been counting!" I had no idea how many horses were in our distance, so I didn't know if that was middle of the pack or last place.
As we made our way through the loop, I paid careful attention to where we were. I knew the last loop would repeat much of the same trail, just in the opposite direction. Last year we got lost on the last loop, so I wanted to have a clear picture in my mind to help prevent it from happening again.
The ride is largely flat, so I was pushing Hoss to keep up a decent pace. He got into a bit of the doldrums and really didn't want to move out. He started looking for excuses to slow down, and a great one appeared -- three trucks driving along the trail! I had to really push to keep him moving.
After we managed to get by the trucks, the next excuse was not long in coming up. We came across mountain bikers. Hoss is of the opinion I should stop and have a conversation with anyone we meet on the trail. We do often stop to chat on the trail when we're at home, but I really try not to do it at rides. Guess I'm going to have to limit the times we do it, because now he sees every human being as an opportunity for a stop-and-chat. It's all the more enticing when he wants to slow down. But we worked through it and got down the trail.
We made it back to camp about 3pm, finishing another 25 miles in just over four hours. It was something closer to or over 26 miles, really, so I was happy with our time. I was really pushing to finish in as close to 12 hours as we possibly could.
I took Hoss straight to the vet and got him through quickly before heading to the trailer for our hold. Once again, Hoss did not eat hay very well during the hold, but he did finish his bran mash. For much of the hold time he slept.
I made myself a quick roast beef and bacon sandwich and rested in a chair for the duration of our hold.
We headed back out on the trail at 4pm, as dusk began to settle in. I was extremely happy to be getting back on the trail before it got dark. The trail used to leave camp is difficult for me to find in the dark, so if there aren't other horses on the trail at the same time, I stand a pretty good chance of getting us hopelessly lost or turned around.
Hoss was more chipper about trotting on our way back out. He does seem to get happier about life as the temperatures drop. Even if the highs are only in the 70s, and he goes out in 115 at home.
As the sun dropped, Hoss concentrated on getting his butt on down the trail. Once full dark hit, we were riding through a wash, and I heard a coyote yipping behind us. It was pretty clear the thing was following us. While we were obviously not in any danger from it, it was still a little creepy. Hoss didn't care, though. I tried hollering at the thing to no effect, but Hoss just ignored it and kept on trucking.
We made it through the area we got lost in last year without incident and before full dark. We made it to the last check point, some 10 miles before the finish, with plenty of time to spare. At this point Hoss was suddenly starving to death. I ended up letting him eat for some time. He hadn't eaten well at the vet checks, so I couldn't bring myself to drag him off the hay, even though I knew camp was close.
I finally pulled Hoss away from the hay and we headed on down the trail toward camp. By this time it was full dark and we were following glo-sticks. This year, it seems they had a sufficient number of glo-sticks, which was certainly nice.
At this point we were leap-frogging with another horse and rider. This helped keep Hoss motivated. For a time they were ahead of us, and Hoss was chugging along wanting to catch up to them. I could see a pair of glo-sticks ahead of us in a line. The trail was difficult to distinguish in the dark. I had already discovered it wasn't until we got off trail that I would realize we had gotten off trail. I was not using my head light, as I have discovered that it can be limited. While it lights up the area within about ten feet ahead of Hoss, it casts his shadow across the trail, and makes it harder to see the trail beyond the circle of light. So I've really worked on being able to determine where I am in the dark rather than rely on a light. We were riding toward the first glo-stick, and I directed Hoss to go straight toward the second. About ten or twenty feet on, I realized we'd left the trail. Hoss quickly got us back on track and I realized the problem. There was a U-bend in the trail. The glo-sticks had been put up in line of sight of each other, but the trail went left from the first, then right, right again, and left where the second was placed. This showed the perils of placing glo-sticks!
We made it back to camp about 8pm, about an hour later than I had hoped for. Still, I was quite pleased with our finish. In the end, a 13 hour 75 mile ride is a great finish.
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