I did the first day of Survivor's Trek and now I am soooooo disappointed that I was not able to change my schedule and stay for the second day. This was absolutely the most spectacular trail I have ridden on in a long time and I still can't believe that the entire ride was in Los Angeles County. The ride was held in the forest and we did not have to ride by any houses, on any pavement, or see the usual park users like mountain bikers, groups of hikers, etc. Most of the ride was on single track trail. Rides like this remind me of why I got hooked on endurance back in the 1980s and why I continue to compete in this sport when other hobbies and interests have eventually lost my interest.
The trail was absolutely the best Tevis training ride I have done and I didn't even have to trailer 8 hrs. If there were more 50 mile endurance rides like this one the Tevis trail would not be such a big deal for horses and for the riders.
The ride was really fun and as always the help at Vickie's ride was nice and helpful. I really enjoyed the casual atmosphere. Ride management provided lots of water on the trail and hay at the vet checks. I noticed that riders shared crew and there was lots of support in the checks for those riders that did not have their own help.
I want to mention that the horse that came in first place on Saturday is 17 years old and has been competing in endurance since 1992. I am not mentioning Freebee and Cherry's accomplishment just as a brag but to encourage those of you who think this type of ride is too hard for yourself and your horse to go ahead and try. Freebee is not a one in a million endurance horse (although I think he is really special) and if he can complete a ride like this at 17 years old your horse probably can with proper management and conditioning. All the horses looked really good after the first day and three horses went on to complete Sunday's ride.
There are so many different types of rides we have the opportunity to attend in endurance and especially this year, there are so many rides to choose from in our region. I really recommend taking a little detour off the usual endurance path of point chasing, mile collecting, frill rides, and 5 1/2 hour winning times and go on an adventure like Survivor's Trek. How many opportunities come along where you can ride trails in a new area that someone has previously checked out as being rideable, provided water along the route, a vet to check your horse along the way, a beautiful campsite and food at the end of the trail and have great companionship all along the way? The cost of the entry fee is nothing compared with the experience provided.
