True Grit

[Jackcrook@aol.com]

Several of my riding buddies ride endurance.  Rhonda had a neighbor Pam 
riding her older horse and Pam wanted to move up.  We introduced Pam to my 
very over weight (read-ready to founder) out of shape ex-endurance horse 
Ghambit.  Ghambit had been standing around eating while I competed on my 
other horse ReinBeau.  We pulled Ghambit out of his three year vacation and 
went to work teaching Pam to ride him.  Pam had taken riding lessons for 
awhile, but lacked basic riding skills.  She and Ghambit progressed together 
starting from scratch.  Pam had this "I can do it" attitude and sometimes 
Ghambit had an attitude.  Pam had probably never ridden more than eight miles 
at one time.  We brought them both up slowly.  Soon Pam was asking Rhonda and 
I about endurance riding and soon convencing Rhonda to ride the Warner 
Springs 25 miler with her while I did the 50.  Teaching someone endurance 
skills who lacked riding skills was a challenge.  We set out goal and we went 
after it.  Along the way (about a month ago) while out conditioning we met up 
with another friend Laurel riding her dark, heavily muscled Morgan Ambush.  
She seemed interested in joining us and soon she was also signed up to do 
Warner Springs.  I set them up with heart monitors, showed them how to use 
them and the conditioning program continued.  We have a big hill near us that 
we ride up that we call Power Pole.  We would get to the top of Power Pole 
and have mock vet checks.  They learned to trot their horses in hand and how 
to present their horses to the vet.  We talked alot about what to expect and 
where the weakness would be.  Laurel wasn't to sure about Ambush getting an 
endurance hairdo, but knew it was necessary if she were going to do this 
ride.  Ambush was an angel for his haircut and I convenced Laurel that Ambush 
would not be the only one that looked like that at the ride.  On Tuesday 
evening before the ride I came down with the lower intestinal flu and Pam got 
the upper respiratory flu.  Would we be able to do this ride?  As the ride 
got closer Pam and I both were very sick but both determined that if there 
was any way we could- we would.  I could not eat a thing without my stomach 
going spastic.  Pam kept getting more and more congested.  We packed up 
Thursday night and Friday morning headed up to the ride.  I hadn't eatten 
anything by this time for three days and knew that I would have to do the 
ride with no food.  It was real cold  also.  I started off on the 50 with 
only eating six saltine crackers and taking a cereal bar for lunch.  I kept 
going with no food and finished the ride at 3:00.  Pam, Rhonda and Laurel 
were progressing along well on the 25 miler and at mile 18 Pam got real sick. 
 She wasn't able to post, canter or anything, just walk.  She could not 
breath.  The cold air finally had gotten to her lungs.  They finished the 
ride in last place, had a good ride and a good time.  The vets thought Pam 
had pneumonia and needed to get home.  She worked so hard to get through her 
first ride, had a good time, but could not even make it to the awards.  She 
feels very good about accomplishing her goal.  She came along way in four 
months.  Rhonda and Laurel said that they had a real nice, fun, long trail 
ride, but Pam had an endurance ride.  I also think it amazing that I was able 
to ride 50 miles on crackers and a cereal bar after three days of no food.  
True Grit does prevail.  A good time was had by all of us, even though we had 
to endure several additional obsticles.  Hopefully Pam will get to enjoy the 
next one, and she's already planning the next one.  Thanks Terry for another 
good ride.

Cindy Crook
Lakeside, CA
Mentor for Pam Bentley and Laurel Dehnel


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