Rockbridge Hunt 50 or Mud and You

["Snodgrass, Bonnie" <snodgrab@ncr.disa.mil>]

Well,just wanted to pass on to fellow ridecampers what I did and learned
last weekend in Lexington, Virginia. I entered the 3rd annual 
Rockbridge Hunt 50 miler. Two years ago I had entered River in the 25 mile
there, so I knew what  great ride managers Kevin and Brenda Baird are. The
terrain is misleading, foothills only, not really mountains but very
demanding of the horses, hills, hills and hills. Very lovely riding. Last
year they hosted a hurricane the day of the ride. Had some kinda mud and
rain. This year we've had an unusually wet summer and sure enough, the three
days prior to the ride it rained. I headed out early Saturday with friend
Cindy Eyler along as crew.

 We arrived early enough to secure a high and dry parking spot with good
exiting possibilities. The weather was humid, around 100% humidity I would
guess and the temps on Sunday were warm. Because the water levels were high
in the river crossings the trail master took pity on the Ride (wade) and Tie
folks and decided to do last minute trail rerouting. So they sent us out to
do the same loop twice while they changed ribbons on the second loop. The 50
milers headed out at 6:30 onto a very soft trail. I and a couple of friends
hung back and started near the back of the pack. This was only River's
second 50 and High Rise's first. The first time around the loop the trail
was muddy, slick and deep. The second time around we realized how serious a
factor really deep mud is.

MUD IS THE ENEMY!!!! Mud will tire your horse so much that he/she will feel
like they've worked twice the distance. There were shoes left behind in the
mud and probably some tendon strains happened along the way. HUMIDITY IS THE
ENEMY'S ALIE!!! The horses huffed and puffed and panted. Heart rates hung,
CRI's were failed, horses were too, too hot. The first loop was tough and I
began to worry. The next loop was worse, warmer, deeper. River is such a
good hill horse, she can really boogy down a steep slippery hill, sits and
slides on her hind quarters while trotting down with her fore. And she digs
into a steep uphill. The mud took it's toll. At the second vet check I took
lots of time before the P&R knowing what the humdity does to CRI's. She
passed and I decided to pull. I guess I'd already made the decision while
riding in. A friend's horse was pulled. Many went out for their third and
last loop although there were four loops in the fifty. So many people really
regretted their decision to go on. There were no horses on IV's that I'm
aware of, just lots of hanging heads, horses and humans, exhaustion and
regret. As Sheri D. said to me, we weren't the FEI riders pushing their
horses too hard for a big win in a big race, the rider's that are so
frequently sneered at by us down home local riders. No, we were the local
riders, pushing our horses too hard, asking too much. Well, I think there
was a lesson learned by many.

I don't want you to think that all the horses were in bad shape. There were
numerous fit and healthy horses that went on and finished. I was fed and
refreshed, my horse cleaned and wrapped and recovered enough to be digging
holes and slinging her head around. I checked her HR several more times and
she dropped back down to typical resting rate while many still had elevated
HR's. We hit the road home as the ride was finishing up. I don't know the
results. I'd make a lousy reporter! But wit more rain on it's way, and my
horse in good shape I thought we'd both rest better in our own stall/bed. 

Lesson learned: if you doubt your decision to go on, don't go! Listen to
your horse!

Bonnie Snodgrass