Newbie news first ride

[Deanna German <dgerman@earthlink.net>]

Rides 2 Far wrote:

> The best thing you could do for the sport is go ahead and start
> competing.

Well Angie, I took your advice. Salina and I did a 20 mile novice division
CTR yesterday. I had absolutely no expectations what-so-ever for my coming
5YO mare, even though I've been working regularly on training and
conditioning. Wow!! Did she show me what potential she has!

We did 20 miles over mostly flat terrain (a few small hills and trails
weaving through trees) in just under 4 hours. We walked the last 4 miles
because there was no reason to finish faster (our window was 3 1/2 to 4 1/2
hours), and frankly, I wouldn't have gone faster anyway. The first 4 miles
were a bit of a control struggle, but she settled in after that and proved
to me that this is her destiny. Gone were the baby-brains. Gone was my
spooky Magoo. Gone was my mud refusing horse. Gone was the horse who bucked
at the suggestion of a right canter lead. In her place I had a strong,
sure-footed, brave horse with ears up looking eagerly through the bridle
with a trot to die for. She pulled on me most of the way. At home I have to
urge her forward.

I was worried that all of this came from the adrenelin rush of following
other horses and that she would "crash" at the end, but she did great. Even
drank on trail for me. Pulses didn't come down as well as I would like, but
then, I've been doing mostly slow conditioning for bones, tendons and muscle
not aerobic conditioning. Plus, it was her first ride. Some allowances need
to be made for excitement. Still, she came down easily to parameters. Most
importantly to me, I brought in a happy, completely sound horse with no
deductions for impulsion, animation, coordination, willingness or soreness.
Metabolics were great. We both had an absolute blast and she looked fresh as
a daisy at the end.

So, yeah, I'm pretty darned happy. I'll never believe her ever again when
she balks at mud. As my husband says, she must be a "gamer." Ready for game
day, but hates to practice.

The CTR format gave me a wealth of information about my horse's condition
that I never could have gotten from LD. We rode at a good clip, so I think
this was a good test. Placing, of course, is according to condition, so I
saw how she stacked up against the other horses.

Thank you ridecampers for getting us off to a great start. I've picked up so
many, many helpful hints for training, camping, metabolic management,
shoeing, etc. etc. I'll continue to bring her along slowly and keep you all
posted on the progress.

Deanna (aspiring endurance rider, 185 CTR miles)
and Salina (aspiring endurance horse, 20 CTR miles)