Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

You learn a lot on your first 100. I learned to always take two flashlights.
I also learned to leave the flashlight on while you stick it in your pocket
and then turn it off. It's a lot easier to find a lit flashlight on the ground
in the pitch black than an unlit one:-).  

I also learned that you can get sea sick with all that goes with that riding
a black horse in the deep woods on a very dark night. But the main thing
I learned is what incredible beast our horses are. When I turned into the
woods after the last check at 90 miles for the last stretch of trail, I was
riding a runaway and I had little energy to hold her back. 

She knew where she was, she knew where she was going, she knew how to get
there and the passenger on her back better just hold on because she didn't
need any of his help:-).

Incredible day/night. I'll never forget it.

Truman

Drin Becker wrote:

I will never forget my first 100miler , it was in 1990 in Forsyth MT at a ride called the Four Roses which is no longer being held . I started out with a friend of mine who was going to show me the ropes and she got pulled at the 30 mile vet check for lameness . At the 50 mile check I was withen a couple minutes of leaving the vet check of a father and son and another man who were also leaving the vet check on the 100 .  They waited the couple minutes for me and introduced themselves and said we might as well all ride together . It was Richard Hickstein and his son from WY and a George whose last name I forget now . The weather was hot in the high 90's-100 degrees but at least here we have no humidity to contend with . At every gate we had to open they had coolers full of iced water and sacks of candy  for the riders . I was riding in a pair of brand new riding tights that had "grippers" on them and they had rubbed the insides of my legs raw and I was sunbrurned and sore , at the 80 mile mark I said thats it , I have had it and am throwing in the towel ! George had gotten heat stroke and pulled at the last check , I went over to tell the Hicksteins that I was quitting and Richard looked at me and said " One way or another you are leaving this vet check on your horse , preferably astride !" I went back resaddled and with the Hicksteins encouragement finished the ride . I believe it took us something like 23 1/2 hours . I will never forget them for helping me thru that ride and not letting me quit . For awards we were given a wooden horse christmas ornament with our name and our horses name written on it and the date , every christmas when I hang it on the tree I remember that particular ride and the Hickstein family . Lots of lessons learned on that ride :-)

                  Drin Becker

                  Mtn Region