We headed out on the 10 mile loop part of which was on the 15 mile loop and
it went by pretty fast. I heard some riders did it in the neighborhood of 30
some minutes. Unbelievable. Not certain about this but it took us a careful
1:03. We pulsed down quickly this time and again vetted out with Dr. Reynolds
with all As except a B+ on guts this time. Still good. The last half of the ride
gets fuzzy for me now...I remember riding by/with several different people on
the 15 mile loop again...had the opportunity to visit a bit with Connie. Another
gal named Nancy. Lucie Hancock rode up along with me for awhile and sang Malik's
praises...Malik slowed down special for her. I am sure he knew we were talking
about him and the possibility of a mare to add to his harem even if it was only
a one night stand! :) I also ended up riding quite a bit with Chris Frame this
last half. I was impressed with ALL of the riders I had opportunity to ride
with....they were all very courteous, waiting for all horses to drink or even
grab a bite of grass before continuing on. Earlier in the ride, a few riders
left us at the cistern as Malik took the opportunity to pee before drinking and
he never did drink and I didn't get a chance to sponge him either since he
insisted on galloping to catch up. So, this behavior renewed my faith in the
fairness and good sportsmanship of endurance riders who care about all the
horses and not just their own. Malik pulled a shoe out in a field not far from
camp and Nancy (I hope that is her name!) offered me an easy boot but Malik has
tough feet and we train on gravel so it didn't affect him one bit. We were all
pretty close together at the last check, pulsing down within minutes of each
other. Nelson slapped another shoe on in a jiffy as he always has one ready to
go just in case though this is the FIRST time on a ride that Malik has thrown a
shoe!!
Before leaving for that last loop, Nancy Gooch's sister, Jackie informed me
that I was running 7th at that point....I thought she was telling a mean joke! I
thought I was somewhere in the middle, maybe 15th or so. Nope. Top ten could
happen!!! We whooped and hollered out of that check. Yee ha!!! Not far out on
this last loop, Connie rode up alongside me and tapped me on the shoulder and
said something to the effect of "Come on, Maggie, you've got lots of horse.
Let's go!".... at least after I got over the shock of her doing that, that's
what it translated to in my brain. :) So, we took off after her. It didn't take
long before we had a small group of 5 or 6 of us (Chris, Nancy, Robin, Connie
and I and I think there was another gal but am not sure...). We realized that
all of us were in top ten positions if we could hold it. There was another group
not too far behind wanting to challenge us so we picked up the pace to keep
ahead. Again, even though the situation was a bit competitive at this point,
everyone waited for everyone else for water or sponging and was gracious and
said thank you and I am so glad to see that!!
About a mile or so from the finish, Chris asked me if I wanted to race in for
first heavyweight. I was so caught up in being top ten that heavyweight hadn't
really entered my mind. I thought about it but knew I couldn't just NOT try.
Nelson would make me WALK back to Michigan if I didn't!!! We mulled it over and
Connie sort of encouraged it and when we got to the steeplechase track, we
agreed on a spot where we would begin...around the one time and past the finish
and then one more loop around....as we passed the barn where the Saluki show was
going on and got to the "spot", we trotted together and then hit a gallop. I was
scared to death. I knew there was a small decline which was quite wet yet and I
had gone wide around it the last time to see if it was drier higher up. We chose
the high side again and as we galloped off, I heard Chris say something like
"Oh, shit...." but I just kept on going. Malik was ecstatic to have this
opportunity to be a real horse and RUN, really RUN. I know he was not all out. I
know he was aware of the footing and I know he knows it was a RACE. When we came
around the bend and saw the white poles at the finish, he turned it on one more
time and I think I either hollered Yee Ha or whooped or some such thing...such
freedom of movement I have never known!!! People were cheering from the "stand"
by the finish line. It was incredible. When we stopped, I got off and hid my
face in Malik's neck, sobbing and slightly embarrassed by the joy and pride I
felt.
We were 4th. We were 1st heavyweight. At Kentucky Horse Park!!! At the
Pyramid Challenge. At the Egyptian Event!!
WOW!!
