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My first LD ride - Del Valle Vulture Venture (long)



This past weekend Bob and I attended the Del Valle Vulture Venture Endurance
ride in Livermore, CA.  This would be our first attempt at a 25 mile endurance
ride.  As ride date approached, I was extremely anxious about this ride.. we had
done 25 miler CTRs before, but I knew we'd have to step up the pace to make it
within the 6 hour time limit.  We are used to Novice CTR speed which usually is
about 3.5-5 mph.  In hindsight, I'm so glad we did the CTRs before we entered in
an endurance ride.. it taught us how to camp, how to take care of our horses,
how to vet in a horse, etc.. so without further ado...

We arrived early on Friday to set up camp.  The campsite was nestled between
hills on one side and huge, fall-colored mountains on the other.  When I woke up
that morning I was totally stuffed up and my throat was sore.. waaaahhh!!  I'm
sick and weak and can't do the ride!  Thankfully they were just allergies and my
head cleared up when we arrived (I'm such a drama queen).  The weather was cold
- quite a contrast to what was being forcast a week before (mid-eighties).  We
met up with Celeste, who we met through ridecamp - she was a source of boundless
energy the whole weekend!  Full of encouragement and positive energy..  a total
crackup that kept both Bob and I smiling.   As camp filled up, we saw some
amazing rigs pull up and I began to match names with faces..  saw Bob and Julie
Suhr, Trilby.. and others I'd heard of through ridecamp.  Robert Ribley parked
in front of us with his little mule who entertained EVERYONE who passed by
running in place, bucking, rearing, and rolling from the time he arrived in camp
to the start of the ride in the morning.  Rumor has it that he was found tied up
somewhere in the hillside at about 5am. Heheh..

We went ahead and checked in our horses.. Isabella got all As except for
'Impulsion' and 'Attitude'.  She pulsed in at 36.  I guess I brought her over
right after a nap or something.. she was pretty calm and relaxed.  I had asked
Melissa Ribley, DVM if I could ride her barefoot for the ride and I was given
the go ahead, as long as I had easyboots for her.  Bob was using easyboots on
Tavi with keeper straps (BAD IDEA, folks!).  Tavi vetted in I believe with
mostly As as well.  Melissa was pleased to see a non-arab entering the ride.. I
think he was one out of four  non-arabs I the entire weekend (others being one
TWH, 2 mustangs)

Morning came around after a frigid night (thank god for Coleman sleeping bags!).
I slept pretty soundly except for when Bob got paranoid twice during the night
thinking our horses got loose.. haha.  Turns out both times one or the other was
lying down and yanked on the Tralor Tie.  Both horses stayed tied during the
night (yay, a first!).  We woke up at 5:30 and had 2 hours to get ready for the
ride which was nice.  Wasn't too nervous at this point but I got really excited
once I saw the 50s begin to leave.  I was really nervous about the start, but
found out it would be a controlled start beginning through an extremely rocky
riverbed then up a big hill.  We started about 5-10 minutes after everyone else
and we weren't even the last to leave.  Bill Coburn rode with us with his new
young gelding.. all of our horses got along well (aside from Isabella giving
grouchy looks) and he mentored us newbies along the ride and our horses provided
stable riding compaions for his boy.. it worked out great!

Okay.. the ride..  the ride was TOUGH.  Celeste told me there were 3 big hills
to watch out for.. so the first one comes along.  The second one comes along..
the third one comes along.. the fourth, what?? There's more! Okay.. I lost count
after about 30 hills!  Well, maybe I'm exagerating, but there were quite a few
loong climbs and descents.  We had to trot our little butts off during the flat
parts to make up time.. and we had to stop about 4 times for Bob to keep putting
back on the easyboots until finally he decided, the heck with them!  My stirrups
must've stretched also because I was having a hard time posting.. and when I put
them up a hole my knees would start aching like a (fill in the blank).  We did
get some incredibly scenic views up on top of those hills.. Del Valle lake is so
incredibly beautiful with the sun glistening on the water.  Finally, we reached
the lunch check and Judy Reens vet checked Isabella out okay.. we walked into
the check and Isabella was at 44.  I was concerned because she wasn't interested
in any water.  She got a B for mucus membranes and Judy said to keep an eye on
her and make sure that she drank.  I gave her a sloppy beet pulp/bran mash and
she ate about half.. she was more interested in the grass hay provided.  Argh.
The hold was frantic, only 30 minutes where we had to feed, pee, eat, cool down,
etc.  I think if I hadn't pushed Bob he'd still be there with Tavi. *grin*

Bill, Bob and I left the vet check about 5 minutes late.  The second loop had
quite a few hills as well, however less than the first half.  There were some
nice single track trails to boogie over and we stopped at the lake to offer them
water.  Apprently Isabella prefered the larger water container (the lake) than
the ones offered at the vet check because she draaank.. and draank.. and drank.
Good girl!  Isabella and Tavi were real happy to get into the water.. whereas
Bill's horse didn't know what to think about the huge entity that wanted to
swallow him whole.  Bill did a great job on his little boy.. that man must have
a velcro-butt with the way he sat his spooks!  The first big spook was at a cow
patty and the second was at the sound of the lake waves lapping up on shore..
heheh..

The 23 mile vet check went smoothly as well.. it was at the end of a long,
gravely descent.  Isabella did great over the rocks and gravel, not even a
flinch.  This is one amazing mare.  She met the minimum pulse criteria (64 - I
should've gotten off of her and walked her in) and we were on the home stretch!
Going into the vet check we were all a little disappointed because we didn't
think we'd come in on time, but the people there informed us we had 40 minutes
left to do the last 2 miles!  That got our spirits up and we did the mandatory
walk through the picnic area, then trotted into the finish.  Bill, Bob, and I
walked in together, tying at the finish.  (None of them wanted to race in like I
did, heheheh..what? no race for 33rd place?? *grin*) :)

All the horses pulsed down almost immediately at the end and we had 30 minutes
before we had to present for the vet.  I checked Isabella's hooves and she had
nary a chip on her feet.. good girl!  We brought them over to Judy Reens and
Isabella got all As and one B, improving on both her previous vet scores !  That
just made my day.  Her B was for 'Impulsion' which I guess compared to a
pure-bred arab, she does gait a little flat *grin*.  Tavi was a little off on
his left front, probably a small stone bruise from the whole easyboot fiasco
during the beginning of the ride.. but he was still deemed 'fit to continue'.
Bob and I both hollered and high-5'd each other and generally looked like happy
fools, woohoo!  Judy congratulated us on our first 25 miler.  Yay!

When we got back to the trailer, Isabella wasn't too interested in eating her
food.. she was just standing there, staring at the activity going on the other
side of the fence while Tavi was Mr. Vacuum cleaner as always, chowing down on
his hay.  Worry wort that I am,  I e-lyted her with the Acculyte/carrot baby
food mixture I made up.  I think this was too salty for her.. she wouldn't eat
her beet pulp or hay after that and only reluctantly ate carrots out of my hand.
So I sat there with my 10 pound bag of carrots and hand fed her one by one until
she decided she loved carrots again.. took about a 1/2 hour or so until I think
the salt burn left her mouth.  Next time I'll make sure I use a pre-made e-lyte
paste more palatable to her tastes.  Within the next hour she was gulping down
her beet pulp/Forco and hay and drinking happily.

More about the ride - challenging, ride management EXCELLENT!, trail markings ?
EXCELLENT! food - good, although Bob's a vegetarian and he had a little
difficulty getting food, the views were pretty amazing on top of the those
hills.  Everyone we met was nice and full of helpful advice.  We were warned
that some endurance riders could be pretty ruthless in competition, but to be
honest, I didn't see one person like that at this ride.

Anyhow, that's my first LD ride story!  I'm so proud of us..  I found myself
feeling more accomplished with this LD ride than the other CTRs we've been to..
I think mainly because in endurance I feel more of a responsibility to take care
of my horse and I did that successfully even with going the faster speed.. and
the hills definitely made the ride even more challenging.  This will be our last
ride of the year..  next year we'll probably stick to continuing to ride CTRs
and LD (sorry Kathy, I'm not ready for a 50 miler yet *grin*)


Julienne
& Isabella Mari (amazing barefoot paso fino/arab mare, extraordinaire, 66 CTR
miles, 25 endurance miles, and counting!)





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