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[RC] Cobre Ridge - The Ride that Wasn't - WRSINOSKYOkay, I'll admit I've been really lax in reading my emails and so I don't know if somebody has already told ya'll about Cobre Ridge last weekend. If not, here's my personal adventure. (Remember folks, this is my third LD ride...Oh God! I didn't say LD! Did I????) Just kidding, so nobody get upset, okay?Anyhoo, I left Buckeye around 7:30am on Friday, April 2 in a driving rainstorm. I mean DRIVING RAINSTORM. All I could see were the taillights of the semis in front. Sebastian was very unhappy even in his blanket. Cold, windy and pouring rain. Okay, so I get halfway through Buckeye, 10 miles from home and I'm thinking maybe I should turn around, but nooooooo! Heck! I'll ride anytime of the year and I figure most endurance people are of the same ilk. I continue on with white knuckles clenching the steering wheel. After accidents and detours I get through Tucson, blah blah, drive the neat, pretty winding road to the sign for Arivaca Lake (or Lake Arivaca) and make the turn, thinking this ain't too bad. Okay. The dirt and rocky road goes downhill rather steeply and is getting washed out. I'm at the point of no return, can't turn around and God forbid if I try backing up. Get down the hill(?) mountain and cross the cow pastures. The rain is torrential and I see two (count 'em) horse trailers. Okay, so I'm early (it's around 1pm) I circle a tree, thinking I'll park with the truck pointing toward the road and home. Almost made a complete circle when the tires whirred and I'm stuck in the clay mud. Looks like a good place to park. I find the very wet ride managers who say they were considering cancelling the ride. I tell them they can't 'cause I'm a captive audience. I chat with them awhile (really great ladies, I might add) and slop back to my truck to sit and watch other people pull in and get stuck. So about 18 of us hardy souls are there and it's starting to get dark when the vets come thru and say they are cancelling the ride. The nerve! We decide we'll ride in the morning anyway. A woman had come down to volunteer, got stuck in the mud and became my own personal crew. Thanks again, Patti. Couldn't have done it without you. She was a Godsend! Helped me set up Sebastian's panels so that he could get back inside the trailer if it started pouring again. Dale and Iris were stuck next to me and I couldn't have had better neighbors. Around 9:30 that night the heavens opened and I was stuffed in my sleeping bag trying to get my wet icy feet warm when there was a huge caluump as Sebastian decided he'd had enough rain and went into the trailer. Oh yeah! Most importantly, A.D. Williams showed up in his BIG truck and reassured me and all the stuck neighbors he would pull us out the next day if we couldn't make the mountain. Whew! Since I knew I was going to live at Arivaca Lake until it dried out, this came as a huge relief. I owe you big time, A.D.! So the next morning was beautiful and those hardy souls remaining (somewhere along the line of a dozen) went riding. The trails were fantastic with all the little streams and it was great fun. I really want to tell the ride managers that their hard work was not all in vain. A few of us stayed and really enjoyed outselves. Hopefully, next year will be sunny, and not just on the day of the ride. We all got out safely with A.D. leading the pack. Now for a word about LD's. I absolutely love doing the 25 and 35 milers. Perhaps in a year or two I'll be ready for a 50, but not now. I'm comfortable and pleased as all get out when I bring my horse back in the same condition he went out. Yes, there will always be knotheads who abuse their animals. I don't condone it or approve. Yes, there will always be people who want to compete and fly down the trails at top speed and my hat is off to them, if that's what they like to do. I didn't get involved with AERC to be the fastest; I joined to be among other people who love to ride as much as me. And yes, I drove 5 hours in the driving rain to ride 25 miles. So what? If you don't want to, fine. It gives me an excuse to load my horse in a trailer, go places I'd never get to any other time, meet new people, learn knew things and enjoy myself and my hooved buddy. I even spent $100 to get a letter from my vet attesting to the fact that Sebastian is sound and another $35 for front shoes for him (and I never, EVER shoe my horses). Then my ol' man bought new back tires for the truck and had to do another $100 worth of maintenance on it before I could even load my horse. It's worth it, in my opinion, and I'll keep going to all the rides in AZ and NM that offer LD. Cindy Edwards, Sebastian & Doimas Buckeye, AZ
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