[RC] [RC] Whirling Windmill First ride story Part 2 - Suzi Maiorisi
Back to the vet check after the first loop, no watch so I'm clueless as to
heart rate and Holly's looking pretty good but didn't eat or drink as well as I
would have liked on trail so I delayed a bit at the water trough and then got
her vetted in with A's and one B. We took our hour hold....here comes
another bunch of incredibly kind and helpful people...Cressy and her husband
(I'm sorry, bad with names and I don't remember) were my neighbors in camp and
she was riding out for her second loop as I came in from my first (we were
turtles!). Her husband aside from excellent advice about caring for me and
my horse, held Holly and let her eat while I cleaned up a bit and got ready for
round 2. The night before I let them know I was new when I arrived and
they helped in so many ways I can't thank you enough...excellent advice, and
lots of learning in camp this weekend.
Back on Holly and out of our hold knowing we had to go a little faster on
this loop or we wouldn't make it in time. The first 6 miles went well, she
was moving pretty fast and not giving me as much grief as on the first
loop. Just after the 6 mile marker she was sure...absolutely SURE there
was someone coming from behind us and she was determined to wait for
them...listening to mom was not an option. We did circles, we backed, we
turned, all to no avail. She ranged from slug walking (really stiff I
don't want to go walking) to standing like a statue for a good 2 miles. We
finally had another rider come along and we paired with her - she was a 50 miler
- Ms. 548 from Daingerfield, thank you so very much for letting us tag along
with you . I'm pretty sure on this loop we were
not far from camp and she was well aware of it. It helped to have a
'friend' to encourage her to move on. We stayed with Ms. 548 til we
reached the 1/2 mile from camp sign and realized we were just going to miss the
cut off so I let her walk the rest of the way. The heat and humidity was
incredible the second loop and no, we missed it by 5 minutes or so, but we made
it...we passed our vet check (thank God there is no vet check for riders or we
wouldn?t have!). Sand in the jeans early on in a ride is one thing I don't
care to experience again...I'll be wearing my badges from this one for a while
. Many many lessons learned regarding
camping alone, my horse and mostly myself. I was so very proud of Holly
for being a trooper and getting me through this. The limitations were more
my own than hers - have an appt. with my ortho tomorrow and my physical
therapist on Thursday, LOL, I know EXACTLY what needs work after this
ride!
Sincere thanks to all the wonderful, kind, helpful people I met at the
ride. I don't remember all the names, but I do remember the deeds and the
information. I took my map to the meeting with a pen (in a baggie in case
it rained again) and made notes about hints and ideas and items to purchase that
were freely shared by other riders.
What a great bunch of people, what a great ride and I can't wait to do it
again!!
Suzi and missed it by 5 Holly (but we'll get it next
time!)
. I'm pretty sure on this loop we were
not far from camp and she was well aware of it. It helped to have a
'friend' to encourage her to move on. We stayed with Ms. 548 til we
reached the 1/2 mile from camp sign and realized we were just going to miss the
cut off so I let her walk the rest of the way. The heat and humidity was
incredible the second loop and no, we missed it by 5 minutes or so, but we made
it...we passed our vet check (thank God there is no vet check for riders or we
wouldn?t have!). Sand in the jeans early on in a ride is one thing I don't
care to experience again...I'll be wearing my badges from this one for a while