2013 Bar H Ride, Day 2, 25 miles

After the long and hot day on Day 1, including an unscheduled dismount from Eclipse, I was tired enough I didn't really want to eat. Fortunately Wendy Turner was there by that time. Not only did she do a good job rubbing Eclipse down (in the dark), she badgered me into cooking for myself and getting some food in me.

We awoke bright and early to tend to the horses. I took Eclipse for a short walk to make sure he was adequately recovered from the previous day's ordeal. Despite causing us a bit of worry, he was fully responsive and willing to trot off easily enough. He had eaten over night, and drank quite a lot of water. I felt confident with leaving him alone in camp while we were gone for the day. It turned out our neighbors were leaving a horse alone in camp, too, and they offered Eclipse their empty corral to keep their horse company, so he got to relax untied most of the day.

We got Hoss and DC saddled and left once most of the other riders were well out of camp. DC wasn't sure what was up with this new thing, and was not moving confidently. Hoss, of course, knew the routine and wanted nothing more than to get after it and do his job.

DC seemed to forget everything she knew about trail riding. Every remotely unfamiliar object was a horse-eating monster. I rode more sideways spooks in the first five miles than I have in the last five years. And, of course, because I was under ride conditions, I couldn't really take the time to work on every single act of stupidity. I did work on a few, but it was simply too time-consuming to work on each and every one. I was just going to have to ride it out and hope she'd settle in.

At the water crossing, DC seemed to forget she had learned to quietly and confidently cross water. It didn't help the crossing was full of unusual debris (I think there was a shoe in there, and not a horse one). Hoss, of course, crossed quite willingly. DC was just short of hysterical about the prospect. I did finally get her across without dismounting, but I thought it was going to be the end of us both.

At the "T" intersection, we became confused as the which direction to go. The trail directions said at some point to "go the opposite as Saturday." Well, that presupposes I'll recognize it when I get there. Not helping matters, the trail markers had not been removed, and the sole ribbon in the direction it turned out we were supposed to go looked old and dirty. So we went the wrong way.

Remember I said I could go the rest of my life without riding Dawson Canyon again? I did not get my wish. My error resulted in riding through Dawson. By the time I was sure we were going the wrong way, it was really too late to turn around and pick up the proper direction.

After the wrong turn, and with me feeling insecure because I was pretty sure we were going the wrong way, DC was getting more and more flighty. She was less and less willing to move forward. For most of the day Hoss was unaffected by this, but he started to catch it, too.

Going through Dawson yet again on my green little mare was just as unpleasant as it had been with Eclipse the prior day. Because she's green and really has no base, I hiked as much on Sunday as I had on Saturday. The only difference being, Hoss knows how to tail and I was able to hang on to his tail and get a little help on the steeper parts.

By the time we got out of Dawson, DC's mood was really affecting Hoss. He was just as reluctant to go forward as she was by this point.

We made our way back to camp and vetted through. We were allowed the opportunity to finish, as what we'd done would turn out to be longer than what everybody else had done.

Once we had pulsed down we returned to the trailer to give the horses bran mashes and hay before the last eight miles. After our hold, we headed back to trot the horses out. DC was a little confused as to what was being asked. It was the first time I had asked her to trot out with the reins on her bit. It only took a few steps before she "got it," and trotted nicely.

We headed out for our final eight miles. The first five were terrible. Both horses were dragging. DC wanted nothing to do with passing the Longhorn cattle along the ranch road. She backed up, circled, did nearly everything she could to resist passing. I ended up dismounting and backing her all the way down the road.

After that little fiasco, DC was shying and giving the hairy eyeball to every remotely suspicious item she saw. And now Hoss was doing it, too. Hoss wouldn't move out. DC wouldn't move out. We just kept after it and got them through.

About three miles out, suddenly DC seemed to "get it." She upped her game and trotted out along the trail like the horse I thought I had brought to the ride. She even left Hoss in the dust.

We finished in a "squeaker." We pulled into camp just in time to get our completion. Both horses vetted nicely, and we took them back to camp. By this time Eclipse had been returned to the trailer, as our neighbor had finished before us. He was certainly happy to see us! We got the horses untacked and settled, then broke down camp.

I loaded the horses and drove them home, dropping Eclipse off at the ranch in Imperial Beach. All in all, quite a successful weekend.

2013 Bar H Ride, Day 1, 50 Miles

Hoss still needed a little time to recover from his bruise before doing a 50 a week after Twenty Mule Team, so I picked up Eclipse again. This time, I had Hoss, DC, and Eclipse along. Bar H is a two-day ride, so Eclipse would do his first 50 on Saturday, and DC would do her first 25 on Sunday with Wendy Turner aboard Hoss, the ever faithful babysitter.

For once I arrived at camp at a decent hour. I even got there well before dark! I set up camp, including putting up the big tent, as Wendy would be coming up Saturday.

Heidi Helly was performing with her band on Friday evening. They go by Heidi and the Hurricane. They were pretty good, too. And they were between my camp and the vet check. Eclipse handled it pretty well. We even took a moment to "dance" to the music on our way back to camp.

In the morning we headed out on the trail. We had to ride down the entrance road for the ranch, right between the pastures for the longhorn cattle. Eclipse gave them the hairy eyeball but walked along nicely enough.

I had managed to find a girth to use DC's Australian saddle on Eclipse, so that was what we were going to ride in. The western, it turned out, had caused quite a lot of rubbing, so the Australian was a better choice, putting the girth much further back than the western. There was no way I could use the western again on the rubs he had.

I had put my endurance stirrups on the Australian, but I had missed one critical fact: the stirrups had to be bolted on for a reason. When I tried to pre-ride Eclipse on Friday evening (and I'm very glad I did), the stirrup just fell off the saddle. This left me with quite the dilemma. In the end, I had to strip the fenders off Hoss's endurance saddle (Wendy would be riding him in the western) and use those on the Australian. I had quite the franken-saddle going.

As we rode along, I was noticing I did not feel balanced. Several times I had to stop and dismount to try to get the stirrup lengths right. I don't know how I managed to get it so wrong and why it took me so many tries to finally get it right, but I eventually did.

Another problem cropped up: the saddle pad wanted to slide out behind the saddle on the left. I expect this was due to my personal imbalances, not anything to do with Eclipse. A few more stops to make adjustments and we finally got that one under control.

We made our way in to the first vet check, and Eclipse decided he'd learned something from last week's ride: he got a big drink and tucked in to a flake of hay. Now, Eclipse isn't a fast eater. He eats at a sedate pace, seemingly no matter how hungry he is. It's a little funny, watching other horses scarf down whatever they can reach, and he's over there eating like he's being very careful to chew each bite the right number of times.

Eclipse passed the vet check, and we hung out a few minutes to let him eat and drink. The day was quite hot, and he hadn't eaten his electrolyte bran mash in the morning, so I wanted to be careful with him. I had a feeling I wasn't getting any more electrolytes into him, and I hadn't brought any syringes.

(On our way to Twenty Mule Team the prior week, one of the spigots on my water tank had broken, spilling 39 gallons of water in my tack room. As a result, I had pulled everything I kept in the trailer out to dry the floor. Many things didn't make it back in, including the syringe electrolytes.)

We hit the trail again, and rode on through a neighborhood for some time. Another horse caught up to us, and we rode with him for a time.

Riding through the neighborhood, we were passing a house side by side with the other horse, when two large dogs charged the fence. Eclipse couldn't have cared less, but the other horse sure did! He jumped and shied pretty hard (I describe it as he tried to jump into my arms) into Eclipse, resulting in Eclipse losing his balance. The girth wasn't quite tight enough, and I knew it. I planned to tighten it at the next water stop. That wasn't soon enough, because when he lost his balance and tripped, I went to the right, the saddle went to the right, and I got an intimate introduction to the road. I even managed to land on my shoulders and head. I did maintain my grip on the reins, something I would not normally do. We were riding in a neighborhood with people driving like maniacs. I feared if I released the reins, Eclipse might run off and get hit by a car. So I kept a death grip on the reins, and when he started backing up, I used the momentum to get me back on my feet. I adjusted the saddle, tightened the girth, and we headed back out on trail.

The fall happened at mile 17, so I had another 33 to go. My left elbow was banged up and a little bloody, but other than that I felt okay. We continued on with the ride.

When we came to the top of Dawson Canyon, I looked down the trail with a bit of trepidation. The hill was far too steep to ask Eclipse to carry me down it, so I dismounted and carefully led him down, then got back on and we rode away.

Getting down into the canyon wasn't much of an issue. It was when we started going back out that things got rough. The trail out was brutally steep. Eclipse hasn't learned to tail yet, and he's kinda bad at following trail, so I had to lead. At one point, riding through a flat section, we came to the steepest hill I'd ever seen. Eclipse stopped, and we looked at each other. He seemed to think I was about to ask him to climb a wall. Once again I dismounted and led him up. I swear I could have used mountain climbing gear. I consider it some sort of miracle we made it to the top, and then out of Dawson Canyon, which I could go my whole life without ever riding again.

 When we got to the mid-way vet check back at camp, Eclipse was feeling the effects of the heat and lack of electrolytes. It was very hot for a black horse, so I took his saddle off and used a nearby hose to rinse him down and help him cool. He came down in a reasonable period, and we went to the trailer for our hold.

I hoped he'd eat a bran mash, but no such luck. He ate hay well, and drank well, but would have nothing to do with bran or beet pulp. I hoped he'd get enough out of the hay to get him through. At least he was drinking well and sweating, but he also hadn't peed at this point in the ride.

Once our hold was over we hit the trail again. Eclipse was feeling pretty good, and spent some time trotting well and willingly. I did pull him down to a walk several times, and got off for the hills, wanting to spare him as much as possible.

By the time we walked in for the third vet check, I was feeling that fall. All the hiking wasn't helping, and I was beginning to hurt. Only eight miles left, so I got Eclipse through the vet check and we headed back out.

We hooked up temporarily with another rider, and Eclipse followed along cheerfully enough for a couple of miles. Then his spirits started to flag, and he needed to slow down. After 45 miles, he was beginning to think this might never be over.

At this point, Eclipse refused to go faster than a walk on even the slightest hill, and would stop dead and wait for me to get off on steeper stuff. I was willing enough to oblige, but it was getting to be a bit annoying that he was looking at me and saying, "Get off!"

We got to the last water stop before the end and Eclipse tanked up. He still hadn't peed, and I was getting worried about him. So we took it easy the last few miles.

As the sun dipped toward the horizon, Eclipse started to perk up as the weather cooled. I got him trotting for a bit. When we were about two miles from camp, and darkness had settled in, he stopped and refused to move on.

I dismounted and stood with him for a while. I could just hear him screaming, "It's never going to be over!!!" He must've been sure we'd get back to camp only to have to leave again. I gave him time to settle his thoughts, and then started leading him back to camp.

I walked most of the rest of the way back. When I got worried we wouldn't finish on time, I did get back on. He rallied and gave me a little more trot before I pulled him down and we walked in, with 15 minutes to spare.

Still, he hadn't peed. I was pretty concerned at this point, and so was the vet. But he passed the check, despite looking a little dispirited, and I took him to the trailer. He wouldn't eat anything I could put electrolytes in, and I knew that was what he needed. I finally located a syringe, and put some electrolytes and water in it and just slugged it down him. Within fifteen minutes, he was much brighter. He had started eating upon arrival at the trailer, and drank a bunch as well. He remained bright, alert and responsive during this episode. Sometime during the night, he finally peed.

2013 Twenty Mule Team 35

A week before the ride, Hoss had a rock in his foot. I pried it out and thought nothing of it.

Two days before the ride, Hoss was lame. He had a bruise, possibly an abscess, as a result of that rock. I removed the shoe, treated the foot, and knew he would not be doing a 100 mile ride anytime soon.

I called Melissa Ribley, the ride manager, on Friday to let her know we weren't going to make it.

At this point the whole abuse accusation thing was coming to a head. I really hated the idea of skipping the ride altogether, because it would look like I had backed out due to the accusations. I contemplated taking DC for the 35, but of course I really did not want her to do her first ride without Hoss along for a babysitter.

I talked to my trainer, and she didn't like me not going either. In the end, she offered me the use of her horse, Eclipse. I called Melissa, let her know I was coming with another horse, and got myself loaded up.

This was the point at which I was called and told I abuse Hoss and not to bring him to any rides. This was rather the low point in that whole episode.

I loaded up Hoss and we left to pick up Eclipse. I had to bring Hoss along so I could continue to treat his foot.

We arrived at camp far too late to vet in, so I got myself set up and the horses settled. Since it was Eclipse's very first ride, we were doing the 35, giving us quite a long time to get arranged in the morning.

Due to the extra excitement of leaving for a ride at the last minute, I unfortunately neglected to bring along my video camera. I was able to get a few stills with my phone.

After the 100-mile start, I headed over and arranged our entry. Once that was done, I started the process of saddling Eclipse.

The only piece of tack I had taken from Beth was Eclipse's bridle. We were pretty sure one of my saddles would fit just fine. We were right. DC's Australian saddle sat on him beautifully. One problem: the girth was too short. Oops. Well, the Western saddle fit him well enough. The girth was way forward, and with Eclipse's "extra padding," I knew I would have to be very careful not to gall him.

I set out late, after most of the other horses had left camp. It had dawned on my sometime during the ride up that I had never, not even once, not even for 30 seconds, ridden Eclipse. Additionally, the last time he'd done a ride (a 15 mile fun ride several years ago), he had been a handful. So I was giving myself the best chance to have a reasonably decent start.

I got up on Eclipse and we headed out toward the start. Although I'd never ridden him, or perhaps because I hadn't, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. I let him have a loose rein. He would have to give me reason to ride him harder. Eclipse had a hard time, but he worked very hard and did as he was asked.

Once we were well out on trail, we set out at a trot. Eclipse was excited and a little confused. As far as he was concerned, the farrier had stolen him. Now the farrier had saddled him up and taken him riding. Really bizarre!

We hooked up with another horse after a time. The two were relatively well matched and seemed to be okay with each other.

I pulled Eclipse back on most of the uphills, wanting to ride conservatively. It was his first ride and I didn't know him well at all. We trotted on the flats and any gentle downhills we came to, plus some of the uphill pulls which weren't steep.

We finished the first 19 miles in just about 3 hours. Wow, that's fast. I was impressed with his speed, but a little worried about going quite so fast the first time out. So I pulled him back and let the other horse go on ahead of us.

It turned out that other horse had been somewhat messing with Eclipse's normal energy. When the horse was gone, Eclipse sighed and released quite a bit of negative energy he had gradually built up riding with him. I liked this horse better, even though I hadn't realized it was happening.

The vet check was at 25 miles. I dismounted a distance out, wanting to give Eclipse at least a little signal it was time to wind down a bit. My little toes were going numb on me, too, from riding in that western saddle.

Eclipse met criteria in good time, and I presented him to the vet. He stayed at criteria for a while, but he was looking around like he was on high alert. I never did convince him to eat. Nor had he taken a drink during the first 25 miles. It was a cool day, and we were doing 35, not 65, so I didn't fret about it.

After our hold, we set back out on trail. We had sort of hooked up with yet another horse, whose energy was better. The other horse caught up to us shortly out of the vet check, and his rider allowed him to crowd Eclipse. Eclipse did not take this especially well and lashed out. I knew the other horse kinda deserved it, but I got after him for it anyway. He should have let me know he was unhappy so I could remedy it for him, and I'm pretty sure he knew that. Still, I had to give him some slack. It's not like he's spent a lot of time being ridden in crowds or with horses allowed to run up under his tail.

The last ten miles were great. Eclipse is not a large horse, and the horse we were loosely riding with was longer-legged. So we'd fall behind, and Eclipse's competitive side would come out and he'd want to catch up. Once we had topped the hill, I got him up to a trot and we blew past the other horse and kept on going.

We went on for the rest of the day, alternating trotting and walking. Once the finish line was in sight, I pulled him down to a walk, and got off when we were close. It took him several minutes to come down, after finally taking a huge drink there at the end. I think he needed to pee, and would have recovered more quickly had he taken the time to do so, instead of waiting until we were walking back into camp.

When I presented Eclipse for the final check, I was pulled aside and given the best news I'd heard all week: someone was on my side in the whole abuse thing. As I walked through camp and talked to different people I knew, I found many others also in my corner. By the time I went to bed, my stress level had dropped incredibly. I hadn't realized how much I was carrying it until I laid down. I fell asleep and slept harder and better than I had all week.