A mom's Hahira (real long) for bored people

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

Just back from the 17th River Run endurance ride in Hahira, GA. That's
just 29 miles north of the Florida Line. I'd planned on being out of
money and off days by now and hadn't given much thought to getting to go
down but didn't bargain on a really tight race for the SE junior
championship (which ain't over yet by the way, but I count this as the
most exciting installment for us).

The following is a mini-drama.  There are dozens of them in every race. 
They're sort of "races within a race" maybe between two friends with two
slow horses who are just trying to out-do each other, or two people
who've noticed they tend to finish together and secretly in their minds
are having a major competition with each other...so this is a tiny bit of
the Hahira comptition, but it was the bit I was involved in.  I am
writing it exclusively for people who are bored and don't feel like
learning anything tonight.  There is nothing of value other than my
version of a fun weekend.

Nobody around here has ever been much for keeping up with points, we've
just gone to the rides that we could and taken what we got, but the SE
juniors ran around with each other the whole weekend at the National
Championships in Kentucky and apparently they got to feeling competitive.
 I knew I was in trouble when Josie wailed on the way home, "Mom, are we
going to Hahira?  Samantha's going to Hahira...we've GOT to go to Hahira"
 Samantha is a good friend and a tough competitor and Josie had slipped
ahead of her in the points.  I said "We'll see". (yeah, I was aware of
the points and already considering it...she just hadn't thought of it yet
and I hadn't figured out how to break it to Bill). I knew she hadn't
given up when a few days later I went to wake her up for school.  I said,
"Josie, what do you want for breakfast?" and she replied in her sleep,
"Points". (guess that's the *real* breakfast of champions) So, off we
went to Hahira. Actually, I found out afterwards that she lost interest
in points pretty fast.  She was far more interested in riding for the joy
of cantering and playing in the hay with her friends afterwards.

The whole family got to go and ended up participating.  Jenny Agnew
offered my 15 year old, Bonnie, a horse to ride in the 25 so we ended up
with 3 riders and just poor Bill crewing and trying to video.  What a
weekend!  The race was great...and yes, I meant to say race.  I've been
doing 50 miles "rides" for a couple of years now, but this weekend we
raced.  Our only goal was to be first junior, and if the 2nd junior had
finished 35th we'd have probably tried to be 34th but no such luck. 
Samantha has a really nice horse.  She her sponsor Mary Yeager were
making great time and we had to really let it rip to keep up.  

Kaboot didn't know what to do with himself with nothing but flat firm
footing with no rocks in front of him...but he had a good idea.  He
galloped, but for once he *relaxed* and galloped and it was great.  We
just flew over the first 15 miles and came into the vet check with the
front runners.  Both horses checked through fine, served the hold and 45
minutes later had gone another 10 miles back to the check back at camp.
Josie was loving all the cantering. There's hardly anywhere around home
that you can canter what with all the rocks and she'd never had her fill
before. 

The trail had been in great shape, but I knew that wouldn't last.  There
were 68 50 milers and 132 25 milers behind us to tear up that trail
before we hit it in the heat of the day with our shaggy horses.  Those
Florida horses sure were looking slick.  The trail had lots of open dirt
road, but also had lots of single track woods where the damage just
couldn't be spread out.  It was *well* plowed by the second time around. 


We left the 1/2 way hold with a 6 minute lead over the 2nd junior and
slowed down some out of respect for the sand.  We were short of pre-mixed
electrolytes since I'd had to use a couple of syringes for Bonnie's
borrowed mount. I wasted 4 minutes on the trail mixing some from a baggie
and soon after Samantha and Mary caught us.  Zoom!  Off we went again
just like that morning.  Josie kept glancing over at me worried and said,
"Mom, I think they have more horse left than I do, I don't think Ben can
go this fast".  Ben was looking really good to me so I said, "we'll just
go 5 more miles like this to the vet check and see how they recover, then
we can slow down if we want to".  She was worried, and I was too, but
every once in awhile you've just got to scare yourself a little.

We  all came into the vet check together and it was a *mad* dash to get
pulses down.  We were pretty much the only ones there and I think the
workers were feeling pretty relaxed.  We got the pulses down pretty
quick, Ben was about 60 and Kaboot was 63 and we entered the box.(this is
when his official time  "down" but he has to prove it when they take his
pulse or it doesn't count)  The pulse taker took Ben's and tried to tell
the timer, but the timer was busy and ignoring her.  I asked her to go
ahead and take Kaboot's but she was pretty inexperienced and wanted that
one recorded first.  I was feeling pretty impatient because the sun was
hot and we were waiting, and waiting...while they discussed something or
other.  Finally, she started taking his pulse on one side and I was
watching our heart monitor which Bill was holding on the other side. 
Some horses started arriving at camp from the woods behind the hold and
Kaboot's head shot up and he focused on them.  Our heart monitor shot up
to 79 and I was about to have a stroke.  I saw by the look on her face it
was high, then he sighed again and looked away and boom, it was back down
to 60. >whew<!!! We made it though the check with a 2 minute lead .

At Kentucky we'd had a lead on Sam & her mom several times and they'd
caught us every loop.  Josie knew that and thought it was inevitable that
they'd catch us, but I didn't need a tie this time and I sure don't like
races at the finish.  Josie said, "What will we do when they catch us?"
and I said, "I guess you'll just find out which horse is faster".  She
was shocked.  I don't think she'd ever thought I'd let her race in, but
heck, Hahira's got about as safe a finish to race at as you'll find, and
I consider racing like fighting.  I don't approve of it, but ever once in
awhile you need to do it just so everybody will know you will and won't
take advantage of you. >g<

Fortunately it didn't come to that.  We did the last 10 miles in 46
minutes and cantered in side by side finishing in 4:21. (by the way, by
the point Josie had finally had her fill of cantering for the first time
in her life)  I'd planned to tie with Josie, but she fooled me and pulled
up at the last second so I got 5th and she got 6th. We were 4 minutes
behind 2nd place, don't know about first.  I'd had no idea since we
hadn't focused on anything but trying to be first junior and had been
looking back. Got back to the trailer and found out Bonnie had finished
the 25, once we got her awake. She told Josie, "No way I'd have pulled
up, I'd have made mom take it if she wanted it". >g<

After the last horse finished there was the traditional "sky diving
exhibition" which has got to be the strangest way around to test electric
corrals for security...dropping a couple of people with flapping
parachutes overhead to spin around over camp and then land in the vet
check area, but what the heck, the horses are *fairly* mellow by then and
it's a hoot.  All the juniors piled in the back of a pickup truck to
drive out to the grass airstrip out back of the farm and then ran down
the runway waving at the plane as it took off.  I love seeing them
playing together after the ride.  They're all making memories.

The awards at River Run are always a lot of fun and the food is THE BEST.
 Try half a roast chicken, beans, salad, rice, bread, desert, ice
tea...yum!  Even though they'd given t-shirts the night before, Bonnie
got a long sleeved t-shirt for "junior finisher", then Josie got a
beautiful horse cooler with the logo for first junior, and a free entry
to the Boy Scout Pow Wow ride in Jan.  We got bale bags with the logo AND
A BALE OF COASTAL for top 10. Man! I'd forgotten what it was like to take
home all that loot! :-) 

Finally, they got ready to announce the BC award.  As they called the
names out one by one we realized we hadn't heard Ben's yet.  I sort of
sat up and paid more attention, as they called out more, then they came
to the final one and I looked at Josie, who was just frozen looking
confused and they called out her name. :-D  Ben, at age 19 just won his
2nd lifetime BC...within 8 weeks of his first.  The award was a GPS!!!  
So...did WE have a great weekend or what? :-))  

I'm well known for trying to justify the cost of a ride by pointing out
all the financial plusses of going.  "See, we get free camping, a
physical for the horse, a t-shirt"... finally I convince Bill the ride
only cost me $25 or so. >g<  Bonnie followed the tradition by telling all
her friends, "For $30 I got a short sleeved t-shirt, a long sleeved
t-shirt, AND HALF A CHICKEN! ;-)

I want to thank the Linahans for putting on one of the finest family
weekend vacations around, thank Samantha & Mary who prove you can truly
love and admire your competition and still want to beat them back to
camp, and Dave Bennett who has turned over Ben to Josie.  You gotta love
a horse who keeps your kid safe and does it in style.  Congratulations to
Samantha for being the SE junior mileage champion and Vickie Parker on
her first 50 mile win.  

Still smiling,
Angie
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