Big South Fork/Josie's mom (long)

[Rides 2 Far <rides2far@juno.com>]

Just back from Big South Fork. It was incredible. Karen Clark is
superhuman...not only did she manage a 3 day, but she won the 50 mile
RIDE AND TIE on the third day!!! Everything was first class. I've been to
this ride every year they've had it, but I think they've moved up a notch
from being a really good ride to a classic.  I can't begin to do the
official ride report since I was only there one day, but I do have a
story to tell. :-)

Turn back the clock a few years.  In 1990 I was officially the ride
manager of the Tennessee 25/50/100 ride...but I'd warned the club that
I'd actually only do the work leading up to the ride since I was pregnant
and due a week before the ride.  As it turned out Josie was a week early,
born Friday 13, but also Good Friday (mixed signals) I ended up taking
her to the ride at about 10 days old and Nina Warren held her while I did
the breifing. Her dad rode 50 the next day (Bill's one ride) and I
managed the ride with Josie in her car seat. I guess that's enough to
mark any kid. >g<

Josie is now 10 and has grown up at rides.  She and her older sisters can
play a hundred games with surveyer flagging, and have exercised every
endurance dog in the Southeast.  At home she's always had ponies, but I
never had a mount that I felt safe to take to a ride.  While her sister
accepted the fact that kids ride at home and *mom* rides endurance, Josie
has been a complainer from the start.  The SERA rule that Juniors have to
be 8 saved me for awhile. I blamed it on them. But when age 8 rolled by
and we still didn't have a way to let her on the trail things got
difficult. Meanwhile, every time I started a race and felt my life
flashing before my eyes for the first 15 miles or so I kept thinking, "I
can't *imagine* getting my kid out in this mess!  Josie kept setting
target dates for her first competition. "Sure, maybe we can have Stormy
ready for Longstreet's Charge" etc. etc. But then the date would arrive
and we still weren't ready.  

Finally, a horse showed up. Dave Bennett decided to give us an "extended
loan" on Ben Amil, a wonderful horse that I've known for about 8 years
and actually trust with my child...and on top of that...he can outtrot
Kaboot!!! How lucky can you get?  Josie was beside herself. She couldn't
believe how easy it is to ride Ben. Like most kids I guess she figured
the bigger they are, the harder to control...and actually he's a machine.
 But, she was so funny. She has a major fear that her pony's feelings
will be hurt, and won't let her pony see Ben wearing the pony's new
halter.

So, you've got a 10 year old daughter who's mostly just ridden ponies
around in the yard and wants to do a ride in 4 weeks. What distance do
you sign them up for?  Ummm hows about a 50? >eg< Let me interject
here...she WANTED to do a 50! I was a little concerned, but hey, she's
stubborn, and she put her foot down that she was doing 50.  So, I took
her on a couple of 20 mile training rides. I'd yell over my shoulder,
"Are you ready to trot?" and she'd always answer, "I was BORN ready". 
Josie doesn't talk much, but she sure grins a lot when she rides, and the
faster you go, the bigger she grins.  The first long ride we'd been on
the trail for 4 hours or so and I said, "How are you holding out?" and
she said, "Fine, but my foot is numb".  She's like her dad. She'd never
have mentioned it if I hadn't asked.  After we did a 21 mile ride at
speed (over the Longstreet Trail) I said, "would you want to go out
again?" and she said, "Yes!" so, heck, I entered her in the Big South
Fork 50. 

This is about the time I posted to the list the question of 
"What do you do when you've got *two* kids and one *really* wants to
compete".  Bonnie is my 14 year old. After the initial shock of the idea
Josie might do a ride before her (she'd never really asked to) She
recovered well.  She not only accepted the idea, but was very brave about
telling her friends, proudly, that her sister was going to do a
ride...after which they inevitably asked had she done one. I think she
will do one when we can work it into her schedule, but she was very kind
not to expect Josie to wait until after that. 

By now Josie was acting like a real endurance rider.  For days before the
ride she moaned that Ben probably wouldn't vet in. (there was nothing
wrong with him). She just kept waiting for what was going to stop her
from riding. The day before we left the forecast was thundershowers Sat.
Josie is TERRIFIED of lightning.  But, she still planned to ride. 
Finally we got there and picked up our rider packets and she looked at
her rider card with her name on it and I SWEAR she's never looked so
excited on Christmas morning.  She couldn't wait to trot him for the
vets.  I've got to point out here that she's been teaching her ponies to
do trot outs since she was 3 years old. Her old Shetland wouldn't go when
she was on it, but it would trot out. Now the fact that she was really
trotting a horse out for a vet thrilled her speechless.

It worked out really well that this was a 3 day ride and we were in day
3. The start was very calm and I never had that "life flashing before the
eyes" thing.  I'd call over my shoulder, "How are you doing Sport?" and
she'd yell "THIS IS GREAT!!!!"  When we got to our first creek crossing I
threw my sponge and got ready to hand it to her and saw she'd unsnapped
her sponge from the saddle.  I said, "Don't do that, there's no time" and
could tell she was disappointed. She knows sponging is a big deal to me
and thinks to be a *real* endurance rider she's got to be able to sponge
(she's spent hours sitting on our porch rail throwing her sponge at a 5
gallon bucket below).  We took off again and were maybe 12 miles or so
out when I heard her yell "MOM STOP!" I hauled Kaboot down and looked
back and she was in tears. Ben had cut a corner sharp and had hit a tree
pretty hard with her shin (she's got a great purple bruise and scrape to
show off at school tomorrow). There wasn't much I could do but
sympathize.  She said she wanted to trot on, but kept crying harder.
Finally she said, I'm not crying cause it hurts, I'm crying cause I'm
MAD.  This is my first endurance ride and I'm supposed to be happy and
now everybody will think I'm a wimp". >sigh<  I said, "Josie, that's
behind us, we've got 35 miles of trail in front of us, you'd better
forget about that and worry about the rest of the ride".  It's amazing
how much a perfectionist 10 year old who's riding 50 miles can worry that
somebody will think they're a wimp!

For those who think a 25 would have been best...well she made it great
for probably...25 miles.  The loops consisted of 16 miles, 23 miles and
10.  The 23 miler section would have been rough on many experience
riders. That's a long way with no break.  For the first 10 miles she kept
asking me if I was sure Ben could go this fast.  We were doing lots of
cantering on the nice flat trail.  Once I convinced her I'd done this a
few times she accepted it and was whooping and hollering (very out of
character for her) and said *many* times THIS IS GREAT!!! 

Then....the WALL. I had no idea at the time, but we were apparently
running 5th and 6th.  I'd planned to let the horses move on since they
can both handle it well and I figured it would be easier on Josie to ride
6 and a half hours than 9.  All was well when suddenly she yelled, "Mom
stop!" I got Kaboot stopped expecting a crisis and turned to see a little
girl who was looking a little green around the gills. She said, "My
stomach hurts, I can't trot". Put yourself in my place guys. You're going
down this fantastic trail along the river, you've got a ton of horse
who'd doing great, your kid was looking like a million bucks, all's well
with the world...the gorgeous scenery is flying by, you're coming up on
slower traffic and calling out, "On your left"...and suddenly you've got
to WALK! >sob<  Poor kid. I felt so bad for letting her have her way and
entering the 50.  Kaboot was prancing and circling. I said, "Are your
legs O.K.?" She said her foot hurt a little, but her stomach hurt bad. 
We walked a little, I had the friend who was riding with us go on.  We
watched 5 more horses pass us with Kaboot fussing to go with them, and
she decided she could canter, just not trot.  This trail had huge mud
holes every 100 yard or so.  Kaboot can now compete in Western Pleasure.
He learned over the next 13 miles to go directly from a walk to a canter,
then do a slide stop back down to a walk with no trotting in between.
There were way too many rocks and mudholes to maintain a canter for long
at any time. It was a LONG 23 miles and I told her she might want to quit
at the vet check. That brought on a tirade that scared *me*.  She made it
very clear that she would NOT quit no matter how much I tried to get her
to.  I said, "We'll get Bonnie to trot him out for the vets". Oh no!
That's her FAVORITE part! :-P We finally cantered into the vet check and
everybody went to work on her.  P&R workers had her do stretches, she ate
a little, and took a break.  I was picturing a painfully slow 10 miles
watching my poor kid suffer. Instead as we headed out I said, "How do you
feel?" and she said, "Great! As good as this morning!" (Ahh to be young
again).  We hauled it out of there at a gallop and the only complaining
she did the last 10 miles was worrying that soon the ride would be over
and then what? "When's the next ride mom?" and "I'm riding 50 miles and
I'm first junior, this is as good as it gets!!" As we passed the sign
that said, .7 miles to finish, I said, "Take us home Josie" and she
brought Ben around me. He hit his BIG trot, then broke into a
canter....then a gallop...and I was a little worried we were getting
*pretty fast* (Ben is an ex-race horse). She looked back and said "Is
this O.K.?" and I yelled, "Let's trot till you see the finish".  We
rounded a turn and she saw them up ahead and let him out.  She passed the
finish line in a classic Valarie Kanavey pose with one fist in the
air...a very happy kid. 

I've sponsored Juniors before, but never my own child.  I've got to say,
she was great.  Always worrying about her horse before herself, and being
very brave. Bonnie crewed hard along with Bill all day with no complaints
and made it a real family effort. After we crossed the line, Bonnie
hopped on Kaboot and rode the .7 miles back to camp, and they entered
camp riding hand in hand.  

Now Josie's sitting behind me begging to do the Hungry Buzzard 60..."Mom
please, it's ONLY 10 more miles"....

Angie (proud mom)