To get to this ride or anywhere south of us these days - takes real Endurance, tenacity, skill & a huge dose of sheer luck! Butch took Thursday off so that we could leave before the Sea Fair Festivities were scheduled to begin! Only 2.5 hours from home - it can take many hours in stalled traffic... Dependent on the day, time, weather, stupid drivers & what activities are scheduled that put people on the road. So sad - since we used to really enjoy heading south to rides, to the beach & to visit friends. But when we're hauling live cargo... i.e. a horse & driving a rig that's big & heavy - it's easier on my nerves to try to avoid all of it we can!
Nika & Rascal
Leaving about noon, the trip down was really smooth sailing - only a few snarls in the usual places & it took us just under three hours! We stopped at the Farm Boy for lunch - then drove into camp & set up in what to us - was blistering heat! The dogs though so too! :-) It was quiet, only a few rigs in camp, plus the volunteer staff etc. What a gorgeous evening we had! Quiet! NO GENERATORS! I love getting into a camp a day or so early - so much more relaxing for us & for Farah too!
Friday, we woke to cloud cover & coolness - very nice! Everyone out enjoying the morning as more & more rigs pulled in & things started to fill up. We had fun with friends & a short ride prior to vetting in.
Vetting in the shade!
Farah passed with her usual all A's & that was out of the way! Heidi did a great job of explaining the trails & provided us with a map at the ride meeting. There were about 28 riders signed up for the 30-mile Limited Distance & the same on the Fifty.
Ride map
The morning of the ride, we again had some cloud cover. The Fifties left at 5:30 a.m. just as it was getting light. We were to leave at the more reasonable hour of 7 a.m.
Lounging Farah
I decided to try a different tact with Farah - a little lounging first - then right into the saddle & to the starting line. She's now learned enough to know that there is a starting line & that's where she wants to be! Once there - it was great that there was some alfalfa to distract her while we waited the last couple minutes!
We're waiting!
Finally the signal came! "Trail Open" & away we went! A very nice - controlled start - not the race that LD is constantly maligned for by "Endurance" riders who do the longer distances!
Farah was excited as usual, but we left after several other riders & she was listening - which works for me! She has a great memory & knew where we were, where we were going & what she was going to do! Within the first couple miles, we'd passed one of the 50-mile riders, caught up with the two leaders in the 30 & fell into place behind them. Ben was in front, but when he dismounted to run, Julia took over & we moved in behind her.
Farah took a huge drink at the first set of water tanks - so I knew that the electrolytes that I'd used were working fine. (Even though she always drinks when we're out!) We cruised along at a really incredible pace, Julia's little mare was one of those airframe types - light in build & light on her feet with 14-mile trot that got even faster on the downhills! Farah would let her go - then when she had the opportunity move to her amazing canter & we'd be right back on her. The times Ben was ahead of us - Farah tried her best to intimidate his gelding Off the trail. It wasn't until Marco gave a half-hearted kick that she finally listened to me & backed off just a little. This made it tiring for me - as she had to shorten her usual stride.
I'd accidentally shut-off my Garmin - by the time I'd discovered that - I'd lost at least five-miles & wasn't sure how far to the first "walk-by" out check. It was set up this year in the same area as the VC. When we came in - I was ready for a short break & Farah was ready for water! She was looking for Butch! Instead - we found our friend David - who kindly offered to hold her while I took that break! What a guy! By the time I came back - he had her sponged down & ready to go!
Farah was shocked! No Dad to care for her & No food! Why Not??? She was Not happy to have to walk past all the hay & stock piles of slop set up for horses that would be coming in for their hold! Even so - we left behind our two riding buddies & Farah grabbed a mouthful of hay from someone's pile! We flew through the next few miles - dodging holes in the trail & a lot of loose rock to return to the VC at 9:40 for our 45-min. hold. (Butch had decided to stay in camp - rather than come out to crew - since last year he hadn't made it back to camp for our finish.)
As I'd dismounted - Duana & Patty who'd volunteered to crew for their team-mates - (who'd yet to appear) came over to ask if they could help? Who could say no to that? Once Farah was down, Patty had found our vet bag & Farah was eating her slop as fast as Patty could mix it up! She was still looking for "Dad", but decided that food was food & she was hungry! I was more than happy to get to sit down, drink a V-8 & eat a snack while we waited! Nothing like good friends! Thanks guys!
I watched as our two riding companions left ahead of us. (Both riding Arabs who'd pulsed down a minute head of us.) (Both also young & agile enough to get off & run the downhills. :-) Actually somewhat relieved that from this point on we'd be able to set our own pace!
Once out of the VC, Farah moved into her nice trot & we started making time. Soon - we about crashed head-on into bike riders who made fast, evasive maneuvers as they jumped into the bushes to let us pass! Very polite & wished us luck! Now, I was listening for any sound & soon we again came upon bike riders - in total about six sets during that last ten-miles. I knew that no other LD riders had come into the VC while we were there - we were in a perfect time window!
A pretty section of trail~
I actually took the time to take a photo & had to take a short break - since someone - who's name starts with a "P", made me drink & drink at the VC :-) Those last five-miles seemed more like ten, as the day had really warmed up. In the clear-cuts we had full sun, then in the woods - the bugs attacked! Finally, I passed a couple friends on the trail ride & could hear the gun shots from the club - so knew we were close! As we came out of the woods & to where we were to ride around camp - there were new ribbons & I knew that the finish line was to be moved - but to where? DIMER was kicking in - I was Very Happy to hear Butch hail & we turned down the road!
We're close!
Yes! Finally we've arrived!
11:45 a.m. - We finish!
It was a thrill to finish! It's always a tough ride & the heat makes it especially tough on me. I took more electrolyte's than I thought I'd need - but I needed them all! Butch was waiting & having a hose & water to wash Farah off was Wonderful! It cooled her out quickly & her heart rate came right down! This gave us third place!
Trot out for completion
Farah looked amazing! Like she hadn't even gone out! Of course, even knowing that we'd be outweighed by the first place rider - we had to show for BC :-)
The weigh-in! :-)
I just love having to hold all that tack! Not! But I did it! Farah showed great, she didn't have quite the trot that she'd had for completion - (two pans of mash probably had some effect :-) but was ears forward & moving light & free!
Butch trots Farah out!
I didn't expect to receive the BC award, we were up against some tough horses finishing 13-min. ahead of us, one probably a HW. But it was very disappointing when I looked at the score sheet (see below) to find that she'd received a four out of a possible ten in the first category "Standing Evaluation", "Lesions"! Farah is one of the cleanest moving horses ever & has never has so much as a nick or tack gall on her body after a ride... It would be nice to see correct scores...
Our ride card~
Best Condition Score Tab
We've covered a LOT of miles - so that (4) ruffled my feathers - in case you can't tell :-) All of her other scores seemed low too... only a 6.5 in movement, soundness & recovery! She was Completely Sound! These scores were her lowest Ever! She sure didn't look like a 6.5 to anyone who saw her! But hay - that's just me... I didn't get to see how the other two horses looked - so I don't know...
Watching the "neighbors" - after the ride~
I Do know that my girl looked Fantastic & that's Good Enough for me!
We'd been wanting to get together since our first meet-up last October. But since Sandy lives in the Bremerton area & we're up north, it's hard to coordinate our schedules this busy time of year. Regardless, when I told Sandy we'd be driving south to attend the Bare Bones Endurance Ride, we both figured it would be as good a time as any to meet. We'd be closer than at any other time this year.
How close do we let them get?
Ody was gelded shortly after siring Farah - (Now considered a mistake by all!) to improve his quality of life. He was lucky that Sandy found & took him on. It was obvious that both horses recognized each other! Farah wasn't as wired as she had been the first time she met Ody, but nonetheless - she made sure he knew that she was "boss mare"! :-) Ody was not intimidated in the least at her nasty expressions!
Saddled & ready!
We've both wanted more photo opportunities of the two of them together. Hopefully, one day at liberty - but for now we were happy that Butch was there with his camera. Cassidy came by too & took more - I'm waiting for those & will update this post when they arrive.
Hum... What's this? :-)
I've mentioned Farah's fits in previous posts - but for the first time, Butch managed to capture one on film! This is her very typical - "lets go or you will" antics! We wanted to get in a ride & even in the oppressive heat - away we went!
Father, Daughter time :-)
Norm & Butch sat in the shade & drank a cool one while we rode out to see what the trails looked like. We found our way along the blue/pink loop. It was beautiful & a little cooler in the woods. We also ran into a group of local ladies riding & enjoyed meeting them. We're thinking that another meet-up in this area in the fall might be a good idea!
Another hot day - our tenth consecutive day of temperatures above 80 & the count is at 12 so far this summer. With the smoke in the air from the Mills Canyon fire in Eastern, WA making up most of the haze. Linda & I headed out, Farah with a crupper for the first time. I left it a little loose & when I got off to tighten it - she responded "no!" Linda suggested leaving it this time - since she was doing so well & setting it up one more notch on my next ride. We did a lot of hills & I didn't have to practice my emergency dismount :-)
Blooming Thistles
The heat has all the thistles blooming & I'm sure it will only be days until they go to seed. Seems it's going to be a bad year for weeds. The trails are now bone dry - in perfect shape. We were the only ones riding - besides one guy with his bike.
Real woods~
Just love riding the trails through the big trees when it's hot - the temperature is at least ten degrees cooler. The hole on this trail that Farah had stepped in - is a Big one, so have to figure out how to carry some rock in to fill it. Someone put a large branch in - as warning, but it's right in the middle of a nice trotting trail.
Linda & Count
By the time we reached the far end of our "range" we decided that it was darn Hot & time to head back! Both horses were sweating & all the water puddles have dried up. When we returned to Linda's - Farah was ready for water! Count got a bath & tried to drink the spray :-)
Farah too :-)
Farah had her bath once we were home - she enjoyed every minute! Her weight has held really well - even as the miles have been adding up. We're ahead of where we were this time last season. Looking forward to heading down to Bare Bones. Just hope that all the hikers are aware that an endurance ride will be happening. Know that many we saw as we were coming in last year - were unhappy at our pace. Hard to finish a ride top ten & drop to a walk to past all the hikers...
We spent most of Thursday packing, shopping, washing, doing all the stuff that seems to take forever when you're getting ready to go to a ride... It's always been difficult for me to understand Why it takes so long to pack - yet half the time & effort to unpack? It rained off & on, but we woke up Friday to a beautiful morning. The 2.5 hour drive down was uneventful, so nice to only have a short distance to travel!
We arrived in Ride-camp to the sound of Loud gunfire! Wow! It's a gun club - but gee - isn't this supposed to be a "horse" weekend? It was - until the club double booked our ride on the same weekend as a long standing black powder shooting event! Oh well, we have neighbors at home who on occasion fire off high powered rifles, so Khari took it in stride.Still, less than relaxing for the horses & riders alike.
Sirie braids Khari's mane
We sat up our little camp next to Aarene's Pirate encampment & the Fish Creek Team. Pulled out chairs & enjoyed the sunshine! Registration was really organized & I was first to sign-in for the 50, giving Khari #100! Butch vetted her through & she received her usual all A's :-)
Heidi was hoping for the 80+ riders who had confirmed that they would be attending the ride, so held off on the ride meeting until about 8 p.m. We had really nice maps of our route & everyone was looking forward to a good ride.
Ride Info. sheet
We had fun catching up with everyone's news & meeting a new friend too! Karen, owner of the Wren Loop Thoroughbreds blog! Was so much fun to see the big bay Cartman in person!His owner too of course :-)We'd watched him vetting in, admiring his shiny, big Thoroughbred form!
I didn't check to be sure our alarm was set correctly, so found myself waking up at 5:30 instead of 5! That put me under pressure to get ready & get Khari warmed up for the start at 6:30. Linda had told me her ride plan for the day, which was similar to my own. Go out, make time - get our completions. We decided to leave together & see how the ride went.
Linda & Connie before the start~
It was cool, cloudy & very overcast - but believing the weatherman, neither of us took rain gear, thinking that by the time the rain was forecast to move in, we would be in camp for a hold & could pick it up then...Not! We left in the front & started making time, heading up the long climb to the top of the mountain when it started to mist.The mist turned to drizzle...Linda said; "Aren't you glad that we're used to Western Washington weather?" The words were hardly out of her mouth - when it started to Rain!The rain turned into a Downpour!Within minutes we were soaked through. The trail had turned into a mud bath, water was standing several inches deep in the trail furrows. We continued to climb - right up into the rain-making clouds - we couldn't see anything of the view - it was a complete white-out. I started watching my GPS. We were only about 7 miles into the ride! We knew we'd be coming up on the trot-by at Fall Creek. The Vets gave a wave & we passed them by - both mares moving really well.
Bare Bones per my GPS
After a few more miles, a rider caught up with us, the trails continued to deteriorate. Khari hates being tail-gated & totally stopped paying attention to what she was doing to worry about the horse behind her. (She slipped hard once, caught herself just in time to keep us from taking a bad fall.) I moved aside & asked the rider to move ahead. If I was going down, I didn't want to get stepped on! The three of us continued on & on & on. My GPS was reading over 20-miles & still no out-check in site. Suddenly - no more ribbons! Oh NO! We didn't want to make a mistake in that weather! We turned & went back to find the last ribbon & ran into other riders trying to make a decision as to which way to go. Kathy was somewhat familiar with the trails, we followed her advice & found ribbons again! The out-check came up quickly - we were in at 9:54. Butch was waiting for Khari & dropped a blanket over her. What was to be a 45-min. hold time was shortened to 15-min. due to the cold. We'd ridden 25-miles & the horses were hungry. Khari ate all the time we were there, but we decided to go ahead, leave on time & finish the ten-miles back into Ride-camp for the 45-min. hold. Due in part to the fact that we were soaked to the skin, dreaming of changing into dry clothes & rain gear!
As luck would have it, that ten-miles was the nicest of the day. The footing improved, horses knew they were heading back & we clicked right along. We did run into several groups of trail riders & a few of the riders on the LD. That slowed us down in places, where we were on single-track - but everyone was so courteous about moving aside as soon as space allowed.
At 11:39 a.m. we arrived back in camp! What a relief, the rain had stopped! Time to eat & find those dry clothes! The break went quickly, but we were ready to leave again at our out time.
12:26 p.m. Ready to leave on the last loop
Back out on the blue/pink loop for the last 15-miles. We weren't on the trail for more than five minutes when directly in front of us there was a loud "BOOM!" Freebie threw on the brakes & tried to whirl! Linda managed to keep her seat! There was a man with a Huge black powder rifle firing just around the trees from where our trail merged & turned away. Nothing like a little adrenalin to keep you moving!
The three of us continued on. We were drizzled on a few times, but by the second half of the loop the sun came out! That's because we'd all worn our rain gear! The trails were still slippery, but were actually drying out in some areas. I'd so looked forward to this ride, hoping for a bright sunny day... Even with the rain -- it always feels So good to get out there & GO! Khari was strong all day & as per usual - didn't spook once! When she puts on her game face - she's as professional as it gets. Drafting the leaders, she can set her own pace, stop to poo or grab food as she wants, then move out & catch back up. This doesn't win us any rides, but it's sure a nice way to travel :-)
We crossed the finish line at 2:16 p.m. in 3rd place!
2:17 p.m. Our Finish!
Sweet! After sixteen-years in the sport - I have a mare that's reached 1,000 miles. 20-fifties without a pull. Not bad for a backyard horseman :-) I reached my personal goal of 2,000 endurance miles at this ride too. Butch was waiting, we took Khari back to camp & washed all the mud off before presenting for her final VC. Her only low was gut sounds... which is not like her - but she just didn't have the time to fuel-up that she usually gets.
Butch trots Khari for completion~
Only one rider out of the 14 who finished showed for BC. It was a really tough trail. The rain & cold temperatures didn't make it any easier on horses who'd just acclimatized to our short summer of 80's. When we returned to our camp, the sun came out & it actually felt warm again! Khari laid down, then began eating her hay :-) Dory came over with her camera, saying that her 3,000- mile retired endurance horse FT, used to do the same. She took some cute photos that she's going to forward to me. I'll post one. Sirie came over & laid next to Khari,other friends stopped by. Poor Khari - she gave us all a look like; "You know... I was trying to take a nap here! :-) I wasn't as honest with her as I should have been going into this ride. I should have & could have done more conditioning - but was distracted by the fun of riding my new girl. I won't make that mistake again.
Heidi & her crew did a first-class job of making everyone feel welcome, marking a super beautiful trail & arranging a beautiful ride-camp! With four Vets, there was No Waiting! It didn't feel a bit Bare Bones! :-) But... I'm still going to hassle her to have the logo made for t-shirts! :-)
What a difference in our weather! From high 80's & blazing sunshine, to cool, gray - drizzle. Joyce & I met at Bracken yesterday, for late morning ride. We were the only two rigs there when we headed out on the trails just after 11. Joyce made familiar trails look new as we logged a good ten-miles of trotting. I rode Khari, who again showed me that her temperament has mellowed over the last couple weeks.
Another great ride!
Really looking forward to Heidi's Bare Bones ie. No-Frills Ride down at Capitol Forest this coming weekend! The Evergreen Sportsman's Club used to host the American Diabetes ridein the early 90's. It was the first competitive type of ride that we ever did on our first horses! We also used to camp there for Competitive Trail Rides sponsored by the Washington State Horseman.
In 2006, I entered my first Competitive Trail ride in years with Khari! It was really fun & Khari learned a lot! The floating yellow slicker on a hanger that a man was moving back/forth at the side of the trail - was Not something that she thought should Be there! She tried to back away, rear, etc. After I asked him to just throw it at me & I draped it over her withers - she calmed down & we passed that obstacle test!
If you've never done CT, consider it! Especially with young horses! It teaches them a lot & it's a great place to learn how to pace your horse!
.jpg)
