Noways finishes his 2011 season with an interesting ride!

NOWAYS gave me a great ride at the Yellowhammer in September, even though we were pulled at the end of the 75 miles…boy did that suck… At least we know we can both stick it out and get 75 miles in. He had an odd lameness, but was quickly and progressively better after the ride. So, I decided to give him some time off, since we had really been going at it all year. Eleven rides for 455 miles.

I only rode him a few times between Yellowhammer and our next ride, the Lead, Follow or get out of my Way… here in Scottsdale AZ.

We arrived here on Monday and the ride was the next Sat., so I was hoping the boys could recover enough from the long haul to master 50 miles.  I would loved to have gone for the 75 they offered, but thought maybe that was asking too much. I had enough time to take each of them out on the trails here to access how they were feeling. Well, both were in excellent spirits and full of themselves. Since I have points on Noways in our region, but just barely hanging on to them, I decided to go ahead and ride Noways. Mainly I just wanted to finish, I get so spooked when I am pulled…

Lead, Follow, or Get Out of My Way, (boy what a long name), is only a 30 minute haul, but I had never gotten over to those trails at McDowell Park, so was looking forward to it. Ride Management really had it together!  I have to admit though that when our trail master said that even if all the ribbons were taken down you could do it by following the instructions on the back of the map… So I was thinking the ribbons might be few and far between… As a precaution, I put my reading glasses in my waist bag so I would be able to read those instructions. Getting old so sucks…  However, the trail was marked incredibly well, with lots of ribbons and directional signs. A new one for me though was that all loops were marked with the same color ribbons…but with the signage, it was no problem at all! GOOD JOB!

I guess the only glitch was that the food did not show up on time, as they seemed to have forgotten us…good thing I had packed some leftovers in the fridge… Not sure if the food ever did show, it was getting cold, and I was too hungry to wait.

Ride morning:

Noways and Titan are attached at the brain which sometimes gives me trouble, and this time proved to be one of those. Noways was anxious at the check in, but behaved. However when I was saddling up, I knew he was going to be a bit of a handful, I could see it in his eye…and was he ever. Ride management was handing out some cool glow sticks to put on us or around our horse’s necks…really cool to see, but Noways was having none of it and I had to do lots of disengagements. He even kicked at another horse, and when I smacked him for it, he kicked up again…he was in a mood… He has humped up with me before, and I can usually get him lined out when we get started, but not this time. Off we went with the other horses and he went maybe a 100 feet when he exploded and bucked me off. OUCH! Not in a nice sandy wash but on the hard packed trail with lots of rocks… Thankfully he did stand still instead of tearing through the cactus never to be seen again…so I lead him back to camp and remounted on a bucket. Everyone was very nice and asked if I was OK to go out. All my limbs were moving, and for sure that boy was going out no matter how much I hurt…and we went. He finally got into a groove and we trotted and trotted, passing all those nice people that saw my ungraceful dismount…

Sometimes I think the reason he does so well and can go so fast is because he has it in his head that the faster he goes the faster he can be back to see him buddy…

He was still in a ‘mood’ and not happy with me, but the feeling was mutual even though I did stroke his neck to try to calm him. We were about five or so miles out ( my GPS, bit the dust in my fall) when a cactus flipped up on his belly or hind leg or whatever, so again he lost his mind and tried to buck. This time though I was able to get his head around so he couldn’t get going, but he got into more cholla and he was not a bit happy. He must have thought it was all my fault, because when I flipped it off with a comb a rider gave me, he cow-kicked and struck my hand. OUCH again… I managed to get the big balls off of him but the rest would have to stay until I could get them with some pliers. Oh and one of the balls of spines stuck into my other hand while doing all this… Needless to say he was on the look out for those deadly teddy bear cactus from then on.

I tucked him behind some riders to hopefully help him get his mind back, and went down a steep, narrow rocky trail to a roadway to a check point. We were meeting riders coming back, since it was an out and back. Saw a big group of 75 milers here. This seemed to really confuse him, but he went on and we cantered some here and he seemed to settle some. We caught up to another 50 miler here and seemed to pace well together. However, she cantered up that narrow trail until we met some other riders coming down…not good. I just hate those types of trails and we had to take the outside. We managed, but there were a couple of junior riders that were having trouble with it. I know that feeling. One was off and trying to get his horse off the trail on the up side, but managed to swing his horses butt across the trail. The next one had turned around, so his horse wanted to go sideways too. That was scary for them for sure. But, Noways did not hesitate to scoot by them, with rocks flying off the edge, and made it rest of the way up… I guess that was the hardest part of the trail. He was definitely rockier than I expected and I was glad for pads on his fronts.

I keep Noways tucked in behind my new trail partner (Tammy) and he seemed to settle some, but I was still on the brakes. I offered to lead for a while, and he was much happier up front with a bit more speed, but, she kept up with us, and we pretty much rode together the rest of the loop. She was also familiar with the trail, so that was nice, and she was a young upbeat gal, so it really helped to keep my mind off of my hurting body…

At the end of each loop (there was only two) was a very long wash that we had to do right before ride-camp and the vet check. When we hit that I let Noways go and he galloped that and made it back to camp in a hurry…boy was I tired and not feeling well at all.  I was told I was in second place. Wow hadn’t realized that at all.

My sweet husband was there, looking a bit bewildered, poor guy is not into this sort of thing…J but he was there to hold my boy (thank you, thank you) while I got him untacked and cooled off after his gallop. Tammy pulsed down before me though. Noways was still looking for his buddy with his head up and acting silly. But we got through the VC and wasn’t lame even though his front legs were bristling with stickers…

Thankfully Lee had some pliers and I set about pulling out all those stickers. It hurt him, but he stood; after all, he was now with his buddy, Titan… argh…

We had an hour hold before going out on the next and final loop.  After downing some water and munching on some left over banana, and a scrap of chicken, we got ourselves ready to do the last loop. Noways was not happy, but in a much better frame of mind. Resigned?

Tammy had gone out ahead of me and the volunteer timer (thanks so much all of you volunteers) got distracted and didn’t realize why I was standing there even though I had just handed her my time paper (another thing we don’t do in the SE or MW) Anyway we were out right behind Earl Baxter. He was leading the 75 milers who had started 30 minutes ahead of us.  I caught up to him and we rode together for some time, actually most of the loop. This is the slowest we went as it was really, really rocky. We actually walked some of it… But it wasn’t long until Noways saw Tammy ahead and again, he was determined to catch her. Again we paced together. She led most of the way, as her horse would get upset when I was in front…of course I had to ride the brake when I was behind her… Her horse had an awesome lope, but it did not work for Noways at all and he would drop into a jarring fast trot that made my body and especially my head feel like it was going to explode… But she really didn’t want to yield the trail, and I just had to settle for the pain.  We did get in front some, so we could go on at our pace, but, well, let’s just say all I wanted to do was get back to camp… Earl always caught up to us at water stops and at the sign in card that was placed in a spot on the trail so as to verify that we were on the correct trail. Thankfully, Tammy got off and signed us all in… I never would have been able to remount at this point. We finally got back to that long wash. They had told us at the meeting that there would be no ties, but they didn’t want us to race in either as the finish was right in camp…hummm.  So I told Tammy she could have second place, it was not a problem with me. I am sure she thought I was a liar and a sneak when I was finally able to get around her and let Noways go on.  But, alas when I got to the end of the wash before going up to the finish I stopped Noways, she caught up and lead us in.

I was too exhausted and too sore to even think of standing for BC. And the winner came in way ahead of us and outweighed us too, so why go to the effort…

So we got another 50 miles in for our final ride of the season, even though our ride was way too eventful… Hopefully that is it for my semiannual hitting the dirt. At least nothing is broken this time, and everything works ~ although slowly.

We left after Noways was rested, since we only had a short ride home and all I could think of was some hot food and a long hot soak in the tub...  So I really don’t know who finished where. Earl and his horse looked good after their second loop, and I saw him go out on his final loop, so I am sure he got it done!

Again, thanks so much for all you ride managers, trail designers; veterinarians and all the many volunteers that really put themselves out to make we riders have so much fun!

VA Highlands 2011

VIRGINIA HIGHLANDS CHALLENGE 2011 ~ or the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly...

(Photo: by Becky Pearman)

Once again we headed to the ride with excitement, because we do enjoy it so, and I hadn’t missed this ride yet. This would be their fourth year.  Good management, many great volunteers, and beautiful, challenging, well marked trails, great camp site right on the New River; what else could an endurance addict wish for?

Sometimes just getting there can be the most challenging though. A group of us like to travel together so as to make expenses a little easier to take, so first, Brenda was going with me, but had to cancel, then Vickie was going with me, but had to cancel, so that meant going it on my own… However, Mary Lynn and Greg were going, so we caravanned together. I’m always worried about a break-down, alone with the responsibility of the horses to add to the anxiety… But, as it turned out it wasn’t me with the break-down, but Mary Lynn and Greg. Thank goodness for USRider! There was nothing I could do but add to the confusion, so I went on and saved them a spot to park at ridecamp, for when they did arrive. I had spotty phone service but did make out the outcome of the trouble. They would have to stay at an abandoned Humane Society location for the night, (a corral for the horses), but would hopefully arrive the next day when the truck was fixed, ($$$$$$$$$$$$$$$) so as to ride on Sat. instead of the planned Fri. ride.

Nikie & Don entertaining us at ride meeting...

Once again, I counted on the generosity of others, and Robby Doll (he is so nice!) agreed to take my crew gear to the away Vet Check, and Amy Whelan’s crew volunteered to help too.  So, after checking in, and getting Noways vetted in, all was set. Since I had an empty space in the trailer, I had decided to take, Paige’s horse, Titan to ride on the second day in the 30 miler. Two horses, one rider = lots of work…

I decided to tie Titan to the trailer for the day since he can be an escape artist in the elec. corral, and my charger didn’t seem to be working well. So he was all set with water and a big bag of hay when I started with the middle group of riders. The boys said good bye to each other, not so calmly, but all looked secure. So off we went.

Noways was a very good boy, just very ‘ready’ as usual. There is a nine mile climb once we cross the creek, but Noways is a good hill horse and we slowly passed some riders after we got passed the narrow switchbacks. Noways is not a patient horse, but he was obeying me nicely and I wasn’t using up too much of my whoa muscles yet. I actually don’t like riding in the front (unlike Noways) since I am so afraid of missing a turn, or taking the wrong one… so naturally there had been trail sabotage  and I did take a wrong turn. I later learned it is called the Snake Pit trail…excellent name… down we went along with another rider, Michelle from N.J.  Rocks on top of rocks and a steep downhill… didn’t remember this trail from the years before, but… finally, we decide we were wrong and turned to climb back out… I so hate to make my horse do extra work because of rider error… He is so willing and works so hard for me. I was feeling bad for him, and beating myself up to have made such an error in judgment already!

But, we do what we have to do and climb back out. We meet other riders coming down and tell them it is wrong, but later learned they went on and went all the way to the bottom before deciding we were right…L I’m guessing we lost a good 20 to 30 minutes here. Argh!

Back on the trail and it is good going, so we go. Got to the water trough, and meet Amy and Jennifer here. Noways is not interested in drinking, way too soon for him, so we go on. Michelle and I rode the first loop together as our horses paced well with each other. We pass a few horses, and then suddenly Noways told me he had pitched a shoe! Good grief, I ALWAYS loose a shoe on this ride. I had an excellent farrier shoe his fronts at the Leatherwood ride, after his win there, so I would be ready for VH. Therefore, expensive pad and handmade shoe was lost. I really, really hate to dismount and put boots on, because Noways hates it even more. Did I mention he is a bit impatient? Fortunately, sweet Michelle waits for me and it makes it slightly easier. As I dismounted, my foot hung in the stirrup, so I landed on my butt… what a pretty picture that was… A couple of riders pass us, so Noways isn’t standing still, but I finally manage it. Thanks so much, Michelle!

Got to the VC, and let the farrier know I’d be needing his services. Find Robby and he has everything set up for me. Gosh that is so nice! Got Noways unsaddled as he takes a good drink, finally, then cooled him, then off to the pulse box. He is good, so off to the Vet., he is good to go…boy it seems nearly every ride wants the trot out on a slight hill side. Trotting down is easy, but making my tired old legs get me back up is HARD! Then to the farrier. Get another shoe and pad on and he spent the rest of the hold eating. Noways is still a bit rived, so he is picky, but he gets some hay down between walking around. Robby holds him so I can get that darn heavy saddle back up on Noways. I notice that the front runners aren’t that far ahead of us, but I don’t see Michelle anywhere. We must have made some time at the pulse box, since we had lost even more time getting that boot on.

We go out alone this time, and I am able to get Noways to walk some of the long two mile climb on the gravel road. Near the top, he is finally listening to me. Whew! My GPS isn’t picking up properly because of the foliage so I spend a lot of time on this loop trying to figure out how far we have come… it seemed like a long loop…I was getting tired I guess. Lots of climbs and it is getting hot. We pass a couple of riders on this loop. Noways is sure he is headed back to camp and his buddy, so has his head up when we finally get back to the VC. The farrier asked if I am still shod. I nod yes, and then look down. NO! The other front shoe is off. He must have just done it, because he was going well, and the foot looked good. Sigh, again, I tell him ‘we would be back’.  Same routine, Noways is getting his appetite back and gets all A’s here. He looks great, and still has his head up, noticing all the bay horses, just in case Titan is one of them…

I had downed a Gu at the first VC and it gave me an awful stomach ache for most of the second loop, so I didn’t eat anything this time. Nina offered me some cold water while I held Noways for his shoe replacement. Boy was that good after drinking luke warm water all morning. She then added some tasteless electrolytes claiming it was the only ones that didn’t make her sick. Not bad and I drink most of it.

Off we go again for the trip home, same trail that we followed for the first loop, only backwards of course.  Again we are alone, and I manage to get Noways to settle down to a nice trot as we head back. Both of us feeling good this time, other than my helmet feels too hot, those electrolytes must be working!  We get to the open ‘rangeland’ and the some riders that had been behind us catch up at a canter, and there goes Noways race brain. I am able to hold him steady as we fall in behind the leader of the group…sigh. Now my tummy is suddenly not happy, not at all…

We go like this for a few miles and come back to the long gravel road that seems to go up and up forever. I usually trot and walk this but, the other horse is pushing it, and I have to use as much of my whoa muscles that I have left to get Noways to be patient… if he can only hold back, we can catch and maybe pass her on the downhill, to the finish. Noways is a good hill horse, but a fast horse on the down hills (if I can hold down my stomach contents)… We finally get to the top and the other two riders have caught us also. Noways sucks up the water, while I sponge. He lifts his head and knows exactly where we are! We still have some climbing to do, but it is on dirt trail, so I let him trot where he wants and walk where I think he needs to breathe. We are both hot, and I am sick. Again the other rider is with me and we pretty much ride together until we get to the downhill. Good gosh, Noways shoots forward and down we go. We pass some 30 milers and keep going, and going, trot, trot, trot, we are flying! His pulse has dropped down from the hard climb, and his ears are pointed to home! We pass a few of the 50 milers. It is hard to tell, since I am focused on keeping us up right and trying not to disturb anyone else’s ride. We get to the switchbacks (one horse trail) and catch up to some 30 milers walking the tricky trail. But, he picks it up and we get to the rocky creek…Noways wants nothing to do with drinking, so on we go and make it to the road back to camp. Some of this is one horse trail also, but some is two horse. The danger is the cliff sides, so we canter along (Noways favorite and most efficient gait), with other fifty milers right behind me. I am thinking we are first here, but really don’t know for sure, as I really don’t know some of the other riders. We finally get to the wider gravel road, and another rider calls out that she is coming up on the left. She does and asks, “Want to tie or run?” I actually don’t understand what she said until later…I’m too sick I guess, and all I can see is all the people standing at the finish. Now I ask Noways for some speed (all it takes is a little squeeze), and he shoots forward, head down and flying. He is an ex-race horse, so he knows how to do this well, even though it pretty much scares me to death. But, I have learned to trust him. All I am thinking at this point is, ‘please don’t let a dog or person step out in front of us’!

I would like to say that crossing the finish line like this is a thrill, but actually I am so tired and sick that I am just glad it is over. 

Noways looks for his buddy, Titan all day. I look for Nancy Gooch all day…J

The two riders’ right behind us are also racing in and appear to be on runaways…calling out to clear the trail. We hustle off to the ditch and they fly by…whew what a ride!

Nancy tells us we need to do a 10 min. CRI. I have already decided not to go for BC. We ran too hard and Noways is hot. I get us back to the trailer. Noways and Titan exchange greetings and I get the saddle off and start sponging. I don’t have my hand held heart monitor so am clueless to how his pulse is coming down. I just keep sponging and sponging. If I had had a crew here, I would have taken the time to put some ice in his sponge water, but I use what I’ve set out the night before and head to the vet check. Still sick… swallow hard. Noways is still breathing pretty good… that ten minutes goes fast when we need to walk back to the trailer, un-tack try to cool then walk to the vet check… The breeze is gone and it has gotten muggy… no help from Mother Nature.

Greg and Mary Lynn have just arrived. Glad to see they made it! But, can’t talk now…

CRI; Noways’ heart rate is still up, and he is a bit off at the trot out. Now I’m worried that we will be pulled at the end… We get back to the trailer and I take the time to put his foot and leg in a bucket of ice water. Discover he has a cut on his fetlock, a rock got us… and all three white legs have a good case of scratches going.  I continue to cool him while he eats some hay. I put an ice boot on and jump in the shower and try to get myself cool.  Still sick – get on dry cloths, and down some water.

Walk Noways, he is looking better. Cool some more. It is still so hot and muggy we are miserable, the breeze we had most of the day is gone now… So we walk then cool, then walk and cool. We trot. He looks sound now. So, more cooling and walking. If I could throw up, I’d feel better I’m sure…yuck, just got too hot I guess. I drink water as we walk hoping that will help. I have to look as good as possible at the trot out, so Noways will look his best. Still no heart monitor, I take his pulse under his jaw, seems to be around 60. Close, too close…

We head to the vet check for our final, I am worried. We trot and he is looking OK, but when he steps on a rock he takes a couple of bad steps. Oh no.  Then his CRI is 64/64… yuck, rode too fast for the conditions for sure. But we do get our completion and 1^st place… barely. However, on retrospect I’m not sure I would have done anything differently. I felt that I rode to his condition and training. He pulsed down in six minutes at both away VCs. His working heart rate was normal all day. A little less heat and mugginess in camp would have helped, and some cooler water on him (and shade) would have been much better than the luke warm water I had. I should have taken the time to put some ice in his cooling water. Aggressive crewing would have helped also, but it was only my single slow efforts ~ it was just the best I could do with what brain cells that were left in my head at the time. (not many)

Dr. Dwayne Burnett gave the top 15 finishers a dressing down at the awards meeting, so we were properly reprimanded…not a good feeling. Several were pulled…even the BC winner had a really low score…bummer all around. I didn’t see the other horses vet through, so have no comment. The lady that raced in with me said she didn’t walk her horse, just cooled, so he stiffened up and was pulled… that is the only one I talked to. The gal I rode with on the first loop finished 10^th, and I know she was riding within her horse’s condition. He looked good, then at least.

I have to say though; a friend that rode in the 30 miler was pulled at the end for a high hanging heart rate. Her horse is in excellent condition. She never races, and takes great care of her horse, so I’m thinking (guessing) that the combination of a really tough trail and the humidity in camp was the kicker for most of us…

I was very proud of Noways. He is a wonderful horse. I continued to cool him back to normal, and iced his leg for the rest of the day, not sure if it was his leg or foot, but worrisome for sure. He was eating and drinking well, and happy to be back with his buddy. He trotted out sound that evening before bed, so I put some Green Gel on his legs and turned him back in his pen, and began to get ready for the next day’s ride on Titan.

I have ridden Titan on conditioning rides, but this would be the first competition for me on him. My granddaughter rides him most times on training and competitions. They get along great together, and I think he is a fun ride. However, he was a brat at his check-in, gosh; he has never acted so badly. Then I realized he was not happy because Noways was yelling his head off back at the trailer, and Paige and I usually checked in together, so this was a first for Titan…argh… I apologized, then took him back to the trailer for some ‘get real’ training… it didn’t take very long before he realized I was on the end of the lunge line…but it sure was hard on my sore ‘whoa’ muscles…ouch. After that he was an angel…J

Next morning, I felt pretty good. Just sore arms and shoulders, but good to go. Looked forward to a good ride on Titan. Noways was all set up tied to the trailer as he gets really upset when his buddy leaves. That is putting it mildly…

Titan is a good boy to mount and walk around to loosen up. We finally take off and right away I notice he isn’t going right. He is so different than Noways way of going, that at first I think I am just comparing the two. But, no when we hit rocks, he is off on the right front…oh no.  Mary Lynn and Greg are riding along with me and the horses are fresh to say the least. ML advises to wait and see if he warms out of it, so we continue on and he does get better when the ground softens up, but still gives occasionally on the rocks. We go up the switchback and he is gearing up. Still, I am questioning his soundness. I finally decide to pull up and go back, I didn’t want to risk an injury if something was seriously wrong. The trail was a bit wider here, so I wait until most of the riders were past me before leading him down again. He didn’t like the situation, but behaved as best he could. When I thought all the riders had passed us and Titan had settled down, I found a high spot to climb back on him. Titan is even taller than Noways, so getting on these two can be a struggle when they are being antsy… We did meet a couple more riders who were having boot troubles already…’been there’. I offer my roll of vet wrap to help fit the boot tighter. She takes it, but I can see it is going to be a long day for them…bummer. (They eventually give up and ride back to camp.) We only had a couple of training sessions going back because of his calling out for Noways…I hate that… He finally got so he would swell up to call out, flip back his ear to me, then think better of it and let out his breath..it was funny to see his mind work.

I had plenty to do in camp, so got busy and moved the horses to fresh grass, cleaned up all the horse’s pens, poulticed both of boys and generally cleaned up the trailer, and ate and ate…I am famished after a ride for at least two days… Then the wind picked up and I let down the awnings…where was this nice wind yesterday???

Amy and Jennifer were crewing for us today, so when they came back in I got our gear back to the general right location and got ready to crew for ML when she came in. Greg had gotten pulled at the VC, so he was being hauled back. Bad luck got him too; with a wound on Buzz’s fetlock…it is a tough trail… However, ML had left the VC in second place! Boy did she move up! Since LD has to be down to 60 bpm for a finish time, we got prepared for some serious crewing, knowing seconds count… In the mean time we enjoyed some wine that Amy had won for top tenning at the Biltmore 100 miler…nice!

A rider comes in for a solid first, then we wait and wait…did she keep up the pace? Did she back off? Are they OK? Then more riders come in, stopping at the water tank, then walking in, then finally, there is ML cantering in nice and relaxed…we motion for her to come on in to the water tank closer to our trailers and the VC. She does, we quickly get her off and strip the tack while Wiley drinks and drinks…we sponge all the while…then we slowly walk him to the VC with the heart monitor to his side. Sponging, sponging, heart rate going down, down. A bit more cooling and into the pulse box. Other horses are being checked too…  Wa Hoo he hits 60 and he is done!  Third place for Mary Lynn and her boy, Wiley!! She is very pleased, but tired to the bone…smiling though! Greg takes Wiley for his completion vet check, and he passes with only a bit of soreness on one loin. Well done!

The Virginia Highlands Challenge is a well run, big, frills ride. I love it! But, it certainly has its challenges and will grab you when you aren’t paying enough attention…

A big THANK YOU to all who make it so much fun for us riders. The list is huge!! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leatherwood 2011

Leatherwood Endurance Race, 2011

My first thought of the overall impression of the ride, now that I am home and can look back on it, is: Wow, What a Ride!

I, like most of us worry and obsess over every little detail, and then we do something totally stupid, which of course makes us worry all the more… This weekend, Noways gave me two things to worry over. First he turned his nose up at the water I brought from home, which is also the water I use to put in his slurry mix, which he also sniffed at like I was trying to poison him. Fortunately, he liked the Leatherwood water, so we managed, but getting water into an endurance horse is paramount, and I immediately thought he looked dehydrated.  Then I discovered that although he had been shod only two weeks earlier, a heel nail was loose and sticking out just right to cut him up if not removed.  The rider farrier didn’t show up until after dark, so I worried and worried, since I had no way of removing it. Joe S. volunteered to do it, but he was saved just in time when Jeff P. showed up. Thanks guys!

Vickie C. and her horse Boo, shared the ride with us, which made it much easier all round. It is a beautiful drive, but long (7 ½ hours) and lots of climbs with a heavy load. Traffic was heavy and we had a couple of white knuckle moments, but we survived. Poor Vickie held onto the door and did some quiet whimpers every time we started down a steep grade…

Both horses checked in with all A’s and good to go. We were excited and looking forward to the day’s ride. We decided to go ahead and put up my Pop up tent close to the Vet Check, just in case it was sunny and hot, even though we planned to take the horses back the short walk to the trailer for the hold times. The ride meeting was informative and the Southern Hospitality was over flowing…What a great welcome, since neither of us had done this ride before. We had dinner at their restaurant, Saddlebrook. The Hillbilly Taco was wonderful! We were ready!

I slept well, Vickie did not… got the horses their morning feed and got ourselves ready. Nice morning, but it was going to be a warm day, unlike the cold front that had entered KY the day we left. Hmmm.

Noways was good to tack up like always, but his eyes get really big with all the goings on and he of course knows what we are about. When I mounted, I got that wonderful feeling of a good day about to start! Love that feeling… Boo was a little fussy, but generally behaving.

When Nancy announced ‘the trail is open’, we followed the control vehicle out to the trail, and started to climb up a gravel road. Noways, as always started to maneuver his way to the front. That boy has the track engrained in his brain; fortunately, he does let me have some control over how fast he does this. It wasn’t long before a small group of us pulled away. I generally rode with Tom H. most of this loop of 22 miles. I knew there would be lots of elevation changes, but boy so many! Noways is a good hill horse, but really, enough is enough (ha, ha), we did have some good going along the side of some pavement, then some two tracks. Noways favorite gait is the canter, so we got to do that in these areas. It was hot when we slowed down, but Ride Management had lots of water out for us. Unfortunately, Noways does not drink on the first loop, no matter how long it is. He is in race mode and doesn’t want to be distracted by drinking…but, I did get him sponged a couple of times.

Tom H. and I finished this loop in two hours and two minutes.  Whew! Noways was down (pulse) when we walked in, but was informed that we needed to remove tack. Hmmm. Never had to do that before, but it took only a minute or so, so no problem. But, this allowed Tom H. to get into the pulse box at the same time, so I wasn’t able to make time on him here. Noways checked out with all A’s and we headed back to the trailer for a short rest. He still didn’t like his beet-pulp/grain mixture even with local water, but he ate his hay well and had drunk well at the tent. I downed some orange slices and saddled up again. This is where I made a stupid mistake. My woolback pad tends to slip over to the right and I obsess over getting it straight when I lift that heavy saddle up. Horse is tall, saddle is heavy, and gets heavier every time I lift it up there…What I didn’t do was to check the electrode that goes under the pad.

Vickie got in about the time we were to leave, and she was iffy on going back out, because Boo was off in one of his fronts ~ what a bummer.

Off we go again, and although we had the same out times, Tom H. made his move to get out of camp and loose me. Boy was he flying down those little techy trails! And, Noways converted to race brain making me have to use my whoa muscles to get him to watch where he was going for goodness sakes…I knew I could catch him, if only Noways would be patient…but, patience is not one of Noways abilities. This was to be the shortest, (12 or so miles) but the toughest loop, and was it ever! Up, down, up down, with hardly a break. One rider said after the ride, he was sure he would see God at the top of those climbs.  OH yes!

Noways saddle pad was slipping under his saddle and off to the right, arrgh, then I noticed his pulse was 84 no matter what he was doing. The electrode was under there somewhere, I prayed it was right side up so as not to cause any pain. Noways seldom tells me if anything is wrong, the only thing on his mind is GOING!  Tom had to dismount to straighten his pad earlier. Those climbs had our saddles going forward and back like a sled.  Still, we completed this loop in 1 hr. and 11 min. Still together ~

This time I did pulse down before Tom H., but only by one minute! Now the race was on! Vickie had been pulled and was there to help cool and maneuver that saddle that now weighs a ton…

Again we did well at the Vet Check, with only a couple of B’s, recoveries were still excellent. And the wondering electrode didn’t bother him…whew… He was drinking and eating, yes!

For this loop, I switched to my very old an trusty saddle pad, and off we go again for the final loop of 16 miles, which they said was easier going with plenty of flat to move out on if you had enough horse left. HA! There were still plenty of hills, hard climbs, and one was right out of camp. This is where I heard then saw Tom and his horse closing the one minute gap down below, so I asked Noways to hustle and he did…we never saw Tom again, although we both could occasionally hear him. The volunteer at one of the cross sections was surprised to see me, and asked about Tom. (Many wonderful volunteers BTW!!). I told him he was sure to be right behind me… When I made the little TOUGH loop and returned to the volunteer, I asked how far behind me Tom was, wondering what the answer would be. He said, “Oh 10 min. or so, but he said he wasn’t going to try and catch you.” Oh sure…LOL. I hadn’t ridden with Tom before, but he didn’t strike me as one to settle for second without making me work for it. Yet, I also knew by the way he rode the first two loops, he would do what was best for his horse.

Now it was getting hot, and Noways was hot, the climbs were getting brutal I was ready to be done. If I was younger, I would get off and tail up those final climbs, but alas Noways has to carry my old body every step. But, camp wasn’t too far away and if we could keep up the pace we could win this thing… although I fully expected to hear Tom and his beautiful horse come galloping up at the final stretch for a race off.  We never heard him, so slowed a bit. Other than his bout of race brain going out on the second loop, Noways was a dream to ride, then he saw the black culverts, which he had crossed at least three times that day and spooked hard. I lost both stirrups but Noways jumped back under me for a save. Then we heard Nancy and her helpers cheering when they heard us coming, so we cantered across the finish line… What an uplifting sound that is!
WOW, what a ride!!
Total ride time, 5 hr, 2 min.!!

I am so sorry Vickie did not get to finish such a gorgeous but challenging ride, but boy I was glad she was there to help me though the Vet Check and then to take charge of Noways while waiting for the BC judging. Then again for doing the presentation and trot out. Not only because my legs were done for, but it is so nice to watch your horse along with the Vets. I am so amazed by what our horses do for us and still look so good.

Oh, I have to mention the delightful homemade ice-cream…oh man was that good after that ride! Wet, cold, sweet, perfect!

We headed back to the trailer for a shower, rest and food. Turned on the AC and chilled for a while. While I rested, I listened to Noways chewing on his hay…I love that sound.

Before the awards and ride meeting, we ate hot dogs and hamburgers, and watched some movies that Dr. Ottis has taken over the years of some endurance rides, all the while discussing the ride of the day.

Ride management had gathered all kinds of award goodies, and again shared the southern hospitality with us all. This challenging ride had a 91% finish! So most of us were happy…

I of course knew I had the 1^st place finish, but to also win the Best Condition and the High Vet score was just overwhelming. I still get teary eyes thinking of it. All the credit goes to my wonderful horse, Noways who is giving me the opportunity to live the dream!

It is impossible to thank everyone that made this ride so successful, so I will just say a big THANK YOU to Mike Everett and his dream team! The Endurance Family is the BEST!

Old Pueblo Ride 2011

Noways has been such a good fellow these last few rides, I have to add this story to his blog...

Last year was a good one, although we 'did not finish'  three of our ten rides.  Two of those was RO and the other for lameness. Top of the Rock, a rock had our name on it, Sand Hills, he was fine and feeling really good, but I was struck down by the heat, and at Ride B/w the Rivers, he was in a snit the entire time, from when we left the barn, until we returned home...so I pulled him after 2 of the 3 loops. Would not eat, would not drink, stood at the back of his corral and pouted, so he was getting way too dehydrated and I didn't want to risk doing the last ten miles. Unfortunately, it is recorded as lame..huh??  Should have been, RO M. Anyway, his other rides were good ones indeed. 


This year, we arrived in AZ a bit earlier and managed to get to one of the Springdale Romp rides. As it turned out it was the best day of the six to ride. Weather can be a fickle mistress... This was Noways' kind of ride, flat and can see forever... He cantered and galloped the whole way. I think we only walked a bit in a long 3 mile wash with deep sand.And we jogged some of that. Then it was canter, gallop, canter, gallop...hard on my muscles holding one position for so long, but Noways loved it. Lucky for me we paired up with a gal from NM, Marcella H. She was a delight to ride with and kept this old lady from flagging at the end, when all I wanted to do was stop to breathe... To my delight, Noways got 1st and his first BC!! And he looked terrific the next day. Not me though...ouch.


Mary Lynn arrived for her annual visit with me in AZ to ride my new horse (well, mine and Paige's) Titan.  Titan, who I was able to wrangle from Genie Stewart-Spears,  has been fun to get to know and I had several rides on him before ML arrived, but he is still a newbie to endurance, so we didn't really know what to expect.  I had taken him to the Springdale ride along with Noways, simply because no one was at home to care for him.  I missed the fun ride I had planned for him, so the Old Pueblo ride would be his first with ML aboard.


Unlike last year, the weather was warm and sunny. Still had wind, and the dust, ah the dust was everywhere, inside and out, in every nook and cranny of every object... But, beautiful country.


I had signed up for the first day with hopes of riding again the next day with ML & Titan. I had my fingers crossed that we would both be able to do as planned. Then at the ride meeting, it was announced that the 50 miler was the 55 miler instead... OK, what's 5 more miles...and the trail was different than the one I did last year...OK not a problem.
ML and friend, (and future endurance rider), Dani were to crew for me, so I had it made, and all the VCs were in camp, so that is a plus for sure.

Ride morning, we left at 7, horses feeling good. Noways was so good! We left with friends Bill Wilson and Earl Baxter for the controlled start. The only difficult obstacles on this ride is the gates.The ones that swing and have easy horse friendly latches are no problem, but oh those wire ranch gaps are another matter. Christoph did the first wire gate then let us go. It was no time until Noways had worked is way to the front pack and we stayed there for the first loop. Noways loves to lead and he was feeling great. I was surprised at how much rock there was though, and was kicking myself for not anticipating that possibility and putting pads on him. I was remembering the trail we used last year, and didn't think I needed the extra protection, but we sure did. We pulsed down first and breezed through the VC with all A's.
I took off a couple of layers of clothes and was good to go out again. Noways had eaten and drank well too. So off we went again and again we ran with the front group, but lost position when a volunteer sent me the wrong way, not too much time lost, at least it wasn't a whole loop like what happened at another last year. I decided to slow down a bit then, as I was getting worried about his tender feet on those rocks.  We continued on into camp for the second VC alone. It had heated up some and I wasn't feeling as well as I should have, but again, Noways pulsed down and whizzed through the VC. At the trailer I checked his left front and discovered he'd scalped his bulb and it was really nasty looking. It did cross my mind to pull, but he wasn't too tender on it, so I vowed to slow down over the rocks and nurse him along so as to finish.  We were in 4th place and I would be happy with a top ten finish. Mostly I wanted to finish!

Cantered out of camp and could not locate the 3rd loop ribbons...cantered back into camp before going too far and got detailed instructions...LOL, my brain was cooked.  Went back out much to Noways chagrin, and finally picked up those pink and white ribbons..whew. That final loop was long....my brain was hot, we were alone, and I had to dismount a few times to open gates...urgh.  My horse is tall and my bones are old.  But, when we are alone, Noways is very good and stood for me to crawl up.  We actually had a good ride all alone, just my horse and me, talking to each other and enjoying the scenery. We slowed way down, walking over the rocks and picking it up when the going was good. My brain was way too hot and I poured water on me as much as in me. Noways drank really well, and was as bright as ever, so we eventually made it back to camp. I was really surprised no one caught up to us, so we were still in 4th position at the finish! I had forgotten to switch on my GPS, so that didn't give me any help as to how near we were to camp, until we picked up the trail in from the first loop. Noways kept an ear turned back though to keep checking...that horse is so funny.
 Boy was I hot and tired.  Thankfully, Mary Lynn took over for me and did the trot outs and Vetting while I looked on. Again we passed with all A's and no bobbles.

At the awards and ride meeting, we were informed that the next day would be 30 miles instead of 25, much to ML's chagrin...LOL... But, she sucked it up and since I wasn't killed, I and Noways were to go too and get Titan his first ride done with his pal babysitting.


A good nights sleep and we left at the leisurely time of 8:30!  Wow, was that nice. No saddling in the cold and dark. Dani was crewing for us today and took my truck to the away VC. So nice! Thank you Dani!!
Titan was really calm, and we left camp dead last.  He just got a bit anxious when we were catching up to some riders ahead, but mostly he was in control of himself and happy to be going along with Noways. This trail was the one we rode last year and it was much prettier and much better footing (much to my and Noways relief). Titan didn't care for riders running up his butt, but, most do not. After they got by us on some narrow trail, all was well again and we had a wonderful ride. Noways was his eager self, but much easier to pace today. I so marvel at what our horses can do.
Titan learned to drink out of all sorts of containers, to go calmly by cows, to canter for over a mile at a time, to extend his trot, to pick his way over rocks, to let the vet examine him, to drink with a bunch of horses and even cows at a noisy water tank, to go calmly through narrow gates and to wait on Noways to open and shut them. To believe it is best not to step in his feed pan at the VC, and to eat while the eating was good. To stand by a log so ML could get back on after helping me manhandle the last, tight, heavy, wire gap...geesh...I'm glad we weren't riding alone at that one. 
Both horses pulsed down and vetted through without a problem...ye haw, Titan did his first ride and Noways showed how much endurance he has... I think if he hadn't had that scalped bulb he could have done another day...And Titan looked none the worse for wear either. We were 8th and 9th place!! 

How fun was that?!
For a slide show of the ride > Thanks to Mary Lynn for all the great photos!

Some interesting data of Noways ride.