Ridecamp: [RC] Biltmore..part 2

  We head out on the second loop. We are still running it
conservatively but the trails are starting to dry up and we
are able to pick up the pace. Sunny has an unbelievable
trot and Reno has to canter to keep his buddy in sight.
Sunny's "I wanna go" attitude has rubbed off on Reno and
now Reno is asking to go faster and getting upset when
someone passes us. I wonder if I have the only horse that
gets more excited as the ride goes on??? We let the guys
gallop where the trail allows and this appeases everyone.
This loop goes by quickly but my knees are starting to hurt
from all the two pointing I'm doing and my feet are
starting to get numb. Back into camp to the welcome sight
of "mom" Joan. Getting off and walking the last bit to camp
has both horses pulsed down by the time we get to Joan.
Once again Sunny gets all A's (when's the real ride gonna
start dad?)and Reno has a new "concern" (groan). Back is
still an A, gut is up to a B, but vet says he's off on his
right front. We trot out again..he looks like he's short
striding but doesn't really look lame. A closer examination
shows a tack gall from his breast collar between his right
front leg and chest, where all the skin folds are. We go
back and show the vet and it is decided I can continue if I
omit the breast collar. Great ..I'm at the hillest ride I
have ever been to and now I have to ride without my breast
collar. Jim just gives me a wicked little grin and tells me
to grab mane and get up out of the saddle when we hit the
"hill's". 
   Off we go on the third loop..trails are dry and we hit a
good lick. This suits me just fine ...my knees are killing
me (not even the aleive I've been popping seems to help) so
the faster we do this loop the sooner I can get back to
"mom" Joan <VBG>. I swear the entire loop was all up
hill...at one point the girth was closer to Reno's flank
than to his front leg...where are those downhills when you 
need them???...we had to stop so I could reposition the
saddle. Sunny is happier now that we have picked up the
pace and toward the end of the loop we leapfrog a bit with
a gal on a very pretty game little Morgan mare. Finally we
are at the last part of the third loop and mercifully I can
get off and try to walk Reno back into camp. Here I am
teeter-tottering along side of Reno trying to regain my
"land legs" and Jim is striding out...no weeble wobble
there...my goodness is this man for real, he just
celebrated his 60th birthday. He has to stop and wait for
me to catch up. I never thought I was sooo out of shape,
but then again I've never two pointed for an entire
ride...sigh.
   Once again the guys are already pulsed down by the time
we get to Joan, so we pull tack, sponge off legs and head
for the vet. Sunny has all A's..heck he has hardly broken a
sweat. Reno is finally all A's with the exception of his
breast collar gall. We are deemed fit to continue...well at
least Reno is...lol. We finish out the hold icing Renos
"boo-boo" and both horse and humans chowing down.
   We saddle up...one more loop to go...9.8 miles...I am
sooo sore and tired...I can do this...I refuse to travel
all this way only to fail because I'm the weakest link in
the partnership...my mantra is now 9.8 miles. While waiting
to time out Jim casually asks Nina where we are in the
group. I'm letting Reno eat grass and mentally chanting 9.8
miles when I think hear her say we are 11th and 12th but
10th left out quite awhile ahead of us. I see a gleam in
Jim's eye that now matches the one in Sunny's...oh no...I'm
in trouble. "you know..we may be able to top ten this." Jim
casually mentions to me as we time out at a very brisk
trot. "Sure" I say to myself, "and pigs can fly, too". I
must confess that a little part of my brain, obviously the
part that hadn't registered the pain coursing through my
body, was excited about the possibility of top tenning.
Shortly into the final loop the game little Morgan mare
came trotting past us. Sunny and Jim were ready and stepped
up the pace and passed the mare. I was self absorbed with
my mantra and since Reno could still see his buddy we fell
in behind the Morgan. Sunny was breaking his neck trying to
keep looking back to see if Reno was following, so Jim told
me to catch up. I did but started sniveling about how tired
I was and that I didn't think Reno could keep up. Well Jim
turned around and gave me the "look". He didn't say a word,
just slowed down Sunny, but that was enough to kick in my
guilt mechanism. Man I felt bad but, not bad enough to
disappoint this wonderful man who had taken me into his
home and shared his knowledge with me. Not only could I not
disappoint this man I didn't want to be the limiting factor
in my partnership with Reno. Reno was giving me his all...I
had no idea what a big heart this horse had until this
ride.
The gal on the Morgan was ahead of us saying something
about her mare being able to run with the Arabs..well I
guess this was the straw on the camel's back. I decided to
"cowgirl up", stop whining and "just do it".... besides, I
think, the faster I do this the faster it will be over!!! I
asked Reno for a bigger trot and told Jim that we were
ready to follow him and Sunny. Reno was ready, Jim and
Sunny were ready so we boggied. I wouldn't have been able
to live with myself knowing I was close to top tenning and
didn't try. Plus which I knew it would give Jim a licsence
to forever more rub it in on how I had wussed out of a top
ten.
    We kicked in the Ay-rab afterburners and roared down
the trail. The pretty Morgan mare was gamely trying to keep
up but after a couple of miles at this pace she was huffing
and puffing so her trail wise owner pulled her up to finish
at a pace more comfortable to her.
    A few more miles I heard the huffing and puffing again
and assumed the Morgan had caught up to us...then I
realized that sound was coming from me... geez,you would
have thought I was doing the running the way I was weezing!
I was sore, tired and exhausted but boy was it fun going
down this trail at what seemed like warp speed to me. We
breezed past two people/horses walking down the
trail...could one of those be number 10??? Jim looked
backed at me with that gleam shining in his eye and asked
if I was ok. I managed to huff out YES. His reply was to
picked up the pace...yee haw...we were flying!!! I was
offically now a passanger and just trying to hang on.
   The rest of the loop is a blur to me, but all of a
sudden we are passing more horses and Jim says something
about the finish line and to get up with him...NOW!!! We
surprise this group of riders and they take out after us. 
I see the finish line and people are standing around
cheering. Jim is shouting at me, telling me to ask Reno for
all he 's got. Jim pulls up on Sunny as I ask Reno to go
faster and keeps Sunny's nose by Renos flank. I know Sunny
has to be confused, as this is probably the first time he
has been asked to slow down before crossing the finish
line!I'm sure Sunny thinks Jim had lost his ever loving
mind that day..lol
   We did it...our first top ten..and on a pretty technical
trail at that! As I pass the finish line,I feel like I am
going to pass out...I now know where the saying "ride til
you puke" comes from. The rest is pretty fuzzy in my
mind..I vaguely remembering Jim handing me a margarita and
me getting sick after two swallows...then I remember
somehow trotting Reno for BC; well Reno trotted, I
wobbled...then in between that and waiting for the awards
meeting I passed the time calling for my friend RALPH and
laying down.
    Yes, this vacation was a learning vacation, I learned
the benefits of having a mentor. Without Jim's guidance I
would have never top tenned, I would have never reached
within myself to see what I was made of and I would have
never experienced of really being able to say "yes, I gave
it my all". I also learned the benefits of riding the trail
you are given and riding one loop at a time. I learned I am
the limiting factor in my endurance partnership with Reno
and am using this information to revamp my conditioning
program.
     I have had the priveledged of riding breath-taking
trails and making life long friends. As Jim, Joan and I
were saying our goodbyes I could have sworn Jim was
muttering something about OD next year with that same
wicked gleam in his eye I have learned to respect and fear
at the same time. As my daughter would say, "Nothing good
can come from this". Hummm.....as I'm driving back to Texas
I find my mind wandering to thoughts of getting a treadmill
for me...spending more time two-pointing and teaching Reno
to tail....

I would like to thank Bob Mangus for putting on this well
run ride, All the cheerful volunteers, the vets for being
fair while still looking out for the welfare of the horse,
Joan for letting me whine and Jim for not letting me whine!

Regards,
Penny



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