Post by zephyrcreek on Jul 21, 2008 15:18:16 GMT -5
Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to share that Rocky and I completed our first two LD (limited distance) rides July 12 & 13th. We completed the 25 mile ride Saturday morning, and another 25 mile ride on Sunday. What an experience!!!! I thought I knew what to expect, but oh boy!! There is nothing like having a ton of Arabians snorting and racing around your campsite warming up to take off at a flat run!! Even level headed Rocky had big eyes, and made me more than a little nervous. For those of you that don't know this was the first Endurance ride for both Rocky and I. And this is far enough into the season that people are getting VERY competitive and trying to secure there spots in year end awards.
Anyways, the ride was 3 hours away from my house, and thankfully my mom volunteered to crew for me. We had a late start, and did not get to camp until a little after 8pm and missed the ride meeting. We were able to get the bare minimum set up, and I had to quickly get Rocky vetted in before the vet left for the night. By the time we were completely set up it was after midnight, and I realized that I had been drinking Pepsi. Caffeine is not a friend to me, and I only slept about 1/2 hour all night. Saturday morning was full of storm clouds, and it sprinkled off and on. My ride time was 6:30 am, and I was up by 5am, getting ready to ride out. Rocky is normally very calm, and nothing much fazes him. This is the first time I have ever seen him really worked up about anything. As soon as I swung into the saddle he started dancing around, and was not using his "thinking brain". ;D We followed a gator out of camp to a starting line, and as soon as we reached the beginning, large open green field, everyone took off at a dead run. My original plan had been to ride a very slow ride, and come in dead last. I consider this year as my learning experience and want to rack up miles and have no intention of "placing". All those thoughts came to a crashing halt as my horse starting lunging forward trying to keep up with everyone else. Thankfully the last person was kind enough to hold back and stay with me. This helped Rocky calm down, but he could still see everyone else ahead of us, and decided to buck about every 4th stride for the 1st 1/2 mile. He was not trying to throw me, but he was definitely expressing his frustration. If Christine had not stayed with me I would have dismounted and headed back to camp. As soon as we made it across the fields, and to the trail he calmed down, and within a mile his head was down, and his stride was loose and relaxed. It was wonderful to have my normally very docile horse back.
After that “interesting” first mile I thought it would be in my best interest to stay with Christine, and not try to hang back. As soon as Rocky had relaxed she started to move up into her normal pace. Come to find out she had been placing at the top in all her previous rides, and had started this ride hoping to win. The pace was much faster than Rocky and I were accustomed to, 10-14mph trots, and often we would jump up into a canter to keep up. Towards the end of the first loop, 15 miles, I had already made the decision to hold back for the last 10 miles, and ride at a much slower pace. When we road into the vet check I did not know what to expect, and watched Christine. We unsaddled the horses, and started pouring water over the backs, necks, and legs. Most of the horses pulsed down within a few minutes, but it took Rocky and I longer to meet criteria. Once we met criteria and passed the vet check we had a mandatory 40 minute hold. Everyone left about 15 minutes before our out time, but we passed our trot out with flying colors. I decided to hand walk Rocky down to the trail start, and we set out from camp. Once I mounted up he set out with enthusiasm. It was not long before the first set of LD riders intersected the trail as they headed into the last section of trail. Rocky hesitated slightly, wanting to rejoin his new buddy, and then continued on as before. The footing was bad, and it had started to rain again. There were sections of trail where the mud was 6-10 inches deep and slick. We moved out where things were nice, and walked through the tough stuff. We crossed bridges, jumped logs, crossed roads, and even rode through a covered bridge. It was not long before that last mile was completed, and we had passed the vet check. We had finished the first 15 miles in 1.25 hours, and the last 10 miles in 1.5 hours. I was extremely happy with my horse’s performance, but unhappy with myself for not having come up with a different strategy for our ride, and knew that I needed to do something different for the next day.
Well, something different is what I did do Sunday. Rocky once again got worked up as all the other horses raced around camp warming up. Knowing that I expect to be in this sport for many years and miles, it’s important for me to teach him the proper way to behave at a ride right from the beginning. I let all the other rides head out and just sat back watching my horse. Within a few minutes I saw the difference. He dropped his head and stopped pacing his pen. As soon as I saw this I tacked him up and headed out of camp. Once again I hand walked him to the trail, mounted up, and away we went. This time we rode at a much slower pace, 6-8mph trot. I had a gigantic smile on my face the entire time! While our overall ride time was much slower, close to 4 hours, we rode our own ride in a fun and controlled manner. We passed other horses, and other horses passed us. This time Rocky seemed to understand, and did not fight to keep up. I have no doubt that our next ride will be even better. The best part was receiving all A’s at the vet check, and having the vet’s comment on what a wonderful horse he was!
I cannot say enough wonderful things about the endurance community, especially after years of 4-H, H/J, and Dressage. How many other riders would have sacrificed their ride to take care of a stranger! I made sure to mention Christine’s help to both the ride manager and the ride vets. She lost her 1st place finish, but she did place 2nd. Even more important than that her horse was presented with the Best Condition Award (more important than 1st place), and she was presented with a sportsmanship award!!! I was so happy for her that I don’t know which one of us was crying more. We were both jumping up and down and hugging each other! She has fallen in love with my sporty little mustang, and I have fallen in love with the spirit of the AERC, to finish is to win!
Just wanted to share that Rocky and I completed our first two LD (limited distance) rides July 12 & 13th. We completed the 25 mile ride Saturday morning, and another 25 mile ride on Sunday. What an experience!!!! I thought I knew what to expect, but oh boy!! There is nothing like having a ton of Arabians snorting and racing around your campsite warming up to take off at a flat run!! Even level headed Rocky had big eyes, and made me more than a little nervous. For those of you that don't know this was the first Endurance ride for both Rocky and I. And this is far enough into the season that people are getting VERY competitive and trying to secure there spots in year end awards.
Anyways, the ride was 3 hours away from my house, and thankfully my mom volunteered to crew for me. We had a late start, and did not get to camp until a little after 8pm and missed the ride meeting. We were able to get the bare minimum set up, and I had to quickly get Rocky vetted in before the vet left for the night. By the time we were completely set up it was after midnight, and I realized that I had been drinking Pepsi. Caffeine is not a friend to me, and I only slept about 1/2 hour all night. Saturday morning was full of storm clouds, and it sprinkled off and on. My ride time was 6:30 am, and I was up by 5am, getting ready to ride out. Rocky is normally very calm, and nothing much fazes him. This is the first time I have ever seen him really worked up about anything. As soon as I swung into the saddle he started dancing around, and was not using his "thinking brain". ;D We followed a gator out of camp to a starting line, and as soon as we reached the beginning, large open green field, everyone took off at a dead run. My original plan had been to ride a very slow ride, and come in dead last. I consider this year as my learning experience and want to rack up miles and have no intention of "placing". All those thoughts came to a crashing halt as my horse starting lunging forward trying to keep up with everyone else. Thankfully the last person was kind enough to hold back and stay with me. This helped Rocky calm down, but he could still see everyone else ahead of us, and decided to buck about every 4th stride for the 1st 1/2 mile. He was not trying to throw me, but he was definitely expressing his frustration. If Christine had not stayed with me I would have dismounted and headed back to camp. As soon as we made it across the fields, and to the trail he calmed down, and within a mile his head was down, and his stride was loose and relaxed. It was wonderful to have my normally very docile horse back.
After that “interesting” first mile I thought it would be in my best interest to stay with Christine, and not try to hang back. As soon as Rocky had relaxed she started to move up into her normal pace. Come to find out she had been placing at the top in all her previous rides, and had started this ride hoping to win. The pace was much faster than Rocky and I were accustomed to, 10-14mph trots, and often we would jump up into a canter to keep up. Towards the end of the first loop, 15 miles, I had already made the decision to hold back for the last 10 miles, and ride at a much slower pace. When we road into the vet check I did not know what to expect, and watched Christine. We unsaddled the horses, and started pouring water over the backs, necks, and legs. Most of the horses pulsed down within a few minutes, but it took Rocky and I longer to meet criteria. Once we met criteria and passed the vet check we had a mandatory 40 minute hold. Everyone left about 15 minutes before our out time, but we passed our trot out with flying colors. I decided to hand walk Rocky down to the trail start, and we set out from camp. Once I mounted up he set out with enthusiasm. It was not long before the first set of LD riders intersected the trail as they headed into the last section of trail. Rocky hesitated slightly, wanting to rejoin his new buddy, and then continued on as before. The footing was bad, and it had started to rain again. There were sections of trail where the mud was 6-10 inches deep and slick. We moved out where things were nice, and walked through the tough stuff. We crossed bridges, jumped logs, crossed roads, and even rode through a covered bridge. It was not long before that last mile was completed, and we had passed the vet check. We had finished the first 15 miles in 1.25 hours, and the last 10 miles in 1.5 hours. I was extremely happy with my horse’s performance, but unhappy with myself for not having come up with a different strategy for our ride, and knew that I needed to do something different for the next day.
Well, something different is what I did do Sunday. Rocky once again got worked up as all the other horses raced around camp warming up. Knowing that I expect to be in this sport for many years and miles, it’s important for me to teach him the proper way to behave at a ride right from the beginning. I let all the other rides head out and just sat back watching my horse. Within a few minutes I saw the difference. He dropped his head and stopped pacing his pen. As soon as I saw this I tacked him up and headed out of camp. Once again I hand walked him to the trail, mounted up, and away we went. This time we rode at a much slower pace, 6-8mph trot. I had a gigantic smile on my face the entire time! While our overall ride time was much slower, close to 4 hours, we rode our own ride in a fun and controlled manner. We passed other horses, and other horses passed us. This time Rocky seemed to understand, and did not fight to keep up. I have no doubt that our next ride will be even better. The best part was receiving all A’s at the vet check, and having the vet’s comment on what a wonderful horse he was!
I cannot say enough wonderful things about the endurance community, especially after years of 4-H, H/J, and Dressage. How many other riders would have sacrificed their ride to take care of a stranger! I made sure to mention Christine’s help to both the ride manager and the ride vets. She lost her 1st place finish, but she did place 2nd. Even more important than that her horse was presented with the Best Condition Award (more important than 1st place), and she was presented with a sportsmanship award!!! I was so happy for her that I don’t know which one of us was crying more. We were both jumping up and down and hugging each other! She has fallen in love with my sporty little mustang, and I have fallen in love with the spirit of the AERC, to finish is to win!
