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Re: Fell Off At Cougar Rock



Frank...how lucky you are and how wonderful a horse Ranger must be.  One
thing is for sure many of us feel the same about losing that irreplaceable
member of our family.  After teaming up with a horse for so many hours I
find it hard to believe anyone would not feel the same.  Thank God you are
both alive and healthy.......and that your helmet is now in your trailer.
God Bless you both and your crew--what a nightmare!  Best of luck in the
future.........................

Sheryl and Twist (I could NEVER be replaced!)

----- Original Message -----
From: <DVeritas@aol.com>
To: <ridecamp@endurance.net>
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2000 9:50 AM
Subject: RC: Fell Off At Cougar Rock


>      (DISCLAIMER:  I write this and provide it for those with an interest
in
> surviving this sport.  Flames, fingerpointing and lectures are okay, too,
but
> are not necessary.  The lessons I learned from the following experience
are
> much better teachers than anything anyone sitting in the comfort of their
own
> home could pontificate.
>     Everything was ready, we had arrived ready...my horse, me, etc.
>     Then we fell over backwards at Cougar Rock.
>      I had just witnessed LuLu (Frank Smith's mule) slip and fall to her
> belly and resolved to go around the rock this year.
>     Then the horse ahead (shod all around in Easy Boots) of me made it and
I
> changed my mind.
>     Typically, I listen to my  intuition....
>     Ranger was taking his final step over the rock when his back right
foot
> slipped (shod in iron).
>      Then, he moved both back feet up under his girth area and we lost our
> center and started over backwards.
>      I turned my head to my right and saw nothing below but Cougar Rock
and
> at the base (some twenty feet below or so) bushes.
>    (I had forgotten to load my helmet, had it in my hand, phone rang, set
it
> down, finished the call, walked to the truck and headed to Tevis.)
>     I thought of that as I dove (headfirst) for the bushes.
>     I didn't make it, but managed to deflect some of the concussion with
my
> hands, arms, hip and legs.  My face just grazed the rock as I deflected
down
> into the shrubs.
>     I got up immediately, nauseated and looking for Ranger, afraid of what
> I'd see.
>     He had landed on his right side, head on the downhill side of the rock
> and appeared to not be moving, eyes closed, breathing shallow.
>     People sprang from the crevices and went to him.
>     I asked them to stay away from him and made my way to him.
>     I tasted my own blood and felt my body began to swell.
>     Climbing up the rock, I felt my right hand and noted my ring finger
was
> pointed in the wrong direction.  Not wanting to, I put it back into place.
>      Reaching Ranger, I touched him and said his name through the choke in
my
> throat.  He didn't respond.   I touched the cinch strap to loosen the
girth
> and his eyes opened and he jumped to his feet.
>     Then, he fell the balance of the way down, scrambling headfirst,
fighting
> for purchase.
>     A young man grabbed the reins and led him out of the shrubs and he
walked
> him gingerly around the rock and up to the trail where I would meet them.
>     A nurse at the rock, washed my wounds (which were numerous), pulled
> pieces of wood from both my hands (puncture wounds are so nasty) and
Ranger
> stood, his breathing getting normal.  His pulse was 88. We checked him
over
> very carefully.
>     He had lost five or six patches of hide the size of quarters, but
> suffered no other visible wounds.
>     I thanked everyone and started walking up the trail, while some
> photographer remarked loud enough for me to hear that "I've taken pictures
> here for the last five years and that was the worst crash I've ever seen."
>     I bit my lip, still feeling my own blood run down my throat.
>     We walked like this for a while, then I decided to mount him.  I did,
but
> as I did my right ring finger got dislocated again.  Again, I put it back
> where it was supposed to be.
>      Needing more time to assess the condition of my horse as well as
myself
> we walked a while longer, then Ranger, hearing a horse coming up behind
us,
> eased into a trot and he was SOUND!
>      More than that, he was eager to get moving.
>     The nausea had all but left me and we worked to Robinson Flat,
arriving
> forty-five minutes before the cutoff.
>     Ray Randall vetted the horse and witnessed the trot-out and gave him
> mostly A's and B's.  Then I asked him to look at Ranger more closely
please,
> cause we had tumbled down Cougar Rock.  Now noting the torn and bloody
> garments I wore, Ray did a thorough exam of Ranger and said that we were
> lucky.  (It was more than that, in my opinion, I felt the hand of God in
all
> this.)
>     I went to the treatment vet and taped up my fingers while the family
> Pruss and Lynn's mother Lauri took care of Ranger.
>     Long story shorter, we were up against the clock from there on out, as
> well as some other things that seem to always rear their ugly little heads
> during a ride of this nature and we had to HUSTLE through Deadwood Canyon
and
> the canyon before Michigan Bluff.  When one tails an Arabian gelding of
> Ranger's size (over 16.0hh) out of a canyon, you will find yourself flying
> and we did.
>     But, my mistakes of the day reached a terminal state at Michigan
Bluff.
> He reached criteria okay, but his CRI was less than impressive, and he was
> tired, needing more time to eat and drink and we were pulled.
>     Mistakes?  Yeah, several, but the biggest was not going around the
rock.
> That changed the nature of our ride and we never recovered from it.
>     Perhaps next year I will be rider equal to my mount.  I pray it will
be
> so and will work harder at it.
>     We trailered back to Nebraska, which he handled with ease and now is
in
> his pasture awaiting the next time I approach with the halter.
>     I love Ranger and it sickens me that I was capable of making such a
> stupid decision (riding over the Rock).  Not for loss of the buckle, but
for
> the potential loss of an irreplaceable member of my family and large piece
of
> my soul.
>
>      Regards,
>          Frank.
>     PS:  My crew at ForestHill had been informed that we had been hurt at
> Cougar Rock and would be medivac'd out.  (I never found out who informed
them
> of that.)  They were besides themselves, then they saw our number clear
> Robinson Flat, then Pacific Slab, then Deadwood,.....their day must have
been
> hell.  Glad mine wasn't...I got to ride. :^)
>     Ranger has not evinced any ill-effect from the fall and I only
suffered
> one fractured finger and am covered in road rash that will heal. MY HELMET
IS
> IN MY TRAILER NOW AND WILL BE THERE AVAILABLE FOR ALL RIDES, TRAINING OR
> OTHERWISE.
>
>
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