Day 24, 2001 XP

[imgoneriding@worldnet.att.net]

Hello from Farson, Wyoming!   We just finished up the 24th day of the 2001 
XP.  It's raining and storming on us now, but most of the day was 
absolutely gorgeous.  Today was another long day, over 52 miles.  Weaver 
seems to be the one who gets all of the longer days, the last time I rode 
him he went 53 miles.  The days are long, usually ranging from 9 to 11 1/2 
hours with 5:00 a.m. starts.

The rain is really coming down right now.  The horses have their rain gear 
on, and are happily eating away.  Everything is covered so I just have to 
wait until the ride meeting in half an hour then go to bed.  Tomorrow is 
the last day of the week and then we get one day off before starting the 
next ride week which will only be four days long. The schedule is going to 
change on us from here on out.

We walked over to the local cafe tonight and ate dinner there, it was 
great! Then we went and got an ice cream at the mercantile store, which was 
extremely good -- huge scoops, and I don't think there is anybody here that 
didn't get one (or two!!)

The trail today was on more of the official Pony Express trail, completely 
marked with historical trail markers--it's really something to be riding 
thru this country, most of it totally unchanged since the original Pony 
Express riders and Pioneers went thru.

We went over South Pass today, it was a gradual enough of a climb that it 
didn't seem like much.  The wind kept us cooled down which was of great 
benefit for the horses.  Crews were out watering us which was really 
appreciated.  Along the way there is an occasional creek or pond to water 
the horses, and grass for them to eat.  The Duck was out along the way with 
a water trough in the morning too, so that was nice.

On the way into lunch, not very far out from the vet check we were riding 
along, Kayla and I.  She asks me every day "are you sick of me yet can I 
ride with you tomorrow", and of course I say yes because she smiles and is 
always happy.  Some of those grown-ups get pretty grouchy you know! 
<bg>  So anyway.....her horse Buddy takes a stumble and then falls down and 
then next thing you know, with Kayla on his back he flips completely 
over.  I was behind her and saw the whole thing and was so scared that he 
was going to land on her.  Luckily, she fell off to one side and after he 
flipped over he sort of rolled onto her leg.  She was able to get out from 
under him and get up and then she grabbed his reins and waited for him to 
get up.  He was having trouble, and finally got up onto two legs.  His back 
leg was bent backwards really oddly and the front leg was being held out as 
well so he could hardly stand up at all.  I made sure that Kayla was 
allright, she said her leg hurt but she was okay and to go get help.  So I 
ran the rest of the way into the vet check....Bonnie Way was ahead and went 
back to make sure everything was okay and John and Steph were behind (but 
didn't see any of this happen)......Dave Rabe was in camp and he knew 
something was wrong when I came running in on pavement because he told my 
husband that he knew I'd never run my horse over pavement if something 
wasn't wrong.  The Duck and John (Kayla's grandpa) and Jim Mitchell all 
drove out to where Kayla was right away and they all took care of her, and 
of Buddy too.  Kayla did say that nobody seemed to care about her horse 
(just her), which of course was all that she was worried about.  After a 
few moments Buddy did get much better and was able to walk the rest of the 
way in camp, where he was taken care of.

Kayla is a real trooper though, and in true Pony Express 
fashion.......saddled up another horse and rode the second half of the 
ride.  She doesn't want to miss any of it!   I was so glad that she did 
that, and that she was out there again with a smile on her face.  She 
wasn't going to do that until everybody promised to take care of Buddy for 
her until she got back.

On the way back there was a huge horned sheep of some sort, and Weaver 
chased him away for us. Rocky would have ran the other way---it's always 
funny how when things like that happen I seem to be on the horse that deals 
with it the best.

John and Libby Bass stopped by to visit us on their way to the Bighorn 
ride.  We might see them on the way back going thru Schellbourne.

After lunch I rode a lot of the way with Steph, Patty, Karen B., and some 
with Jeff and Debby, and Carol.....finished with a whole hour and 20 
minutes to spare, got into camp about 4 p.m. (5 a.m. start), these days are 
long and hot and tiring but nowhere else I'd rather be.

Tinker left today to go get more horses, and Louise is leaving tomorrow for 
the weekend.  Most everybody else has been staying, though not everybody is 
riding every day.  Steve Shaw rode one of Louise's horses today, and Pat V. 
rode a grey horse.

Happy XP Trails,

Karen
in Farson, Wyoming
24 days down, 16 left!