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[RC] Big Horn 100 & 1-day 100's in general - joyce andersonI am probably one of the few (only) people in AERC to have more 1-day 100's (8) than 50's (5) - and 6 of those 1-day 100's are over the Big Horn trail. My own reason for not attending more 1-day 100's is that I do not like to ask my horse to go round & round thru base camp at the current 'state of the art' Loop-rides. I have taken 4 horses to their 1st 1-day 100 on the Big Horn trail & every time they were pulling at the end and just vibrating with the success of taking me safely home. The few 50's I have done that came back thru camp more than once felt like my horse was asking: "are we done yet?" on loop 1 - "now?" on loop 2 - and by loop 3 they didn't really care anymore, it was just miles. I am sure there are LOTS of people out there who love the loop rides & have horses who tackle each Loop with energy - it just hasn't been my experience - plus, I personally, do not like endless loops back thru camp. Endurance is my escape from my
programming & management cubical - it gets me out for a challenge in the real world, & the Big Horn is surely one of the most real & fabulous places on the planet. The 2005 Big Horn was marked beautifully and the ride briefing given by Cindy Collins was as detailed as anyone could want. The weather cooled off a bit and the sky just glittered with stars, brilliant as they can only get at high northern elevations. I was very fortunate to do the ride this year on Lisa Cooks fabulous new horse 'Brady' which was his 1st 1-day 100 and he just got better all day - he led thru the wilderness & was perfect to the inch working his way thru the 'jackstraw' - he found the 4am start a little intoxicating but settled quickly and handled the slickrock like the pro he is. I rode the 1st 75 miles with Lisa and a friend from Colorado - Kathy Grimes on her very classy gelding 'Mystiko' and all three horses worked absolutely great all day - entering each vet
check with pulses well below criteria. We had a world class crew with Nancy Smart & Joe Selden coming from Maryland to experience the magic of the Big Horn mountains, and I can never thank them enough for their perfect '10' crewing! Though we had a little bad luck late in the ride, Lisa & I finished in just over 20 hours, following the night trail well marked with glowing flashers lighting our way home. I absolutely LOVE the Big Horn and will continue to ride the trail as long as I can, & support the ride when I can no longer log the miles. The whole event was really well run this year & having Running Bear tack in camp added a little opportunity for 'retail therapy' - For those who still long for an endurance ride that is the essence of: "1 horse, 1 rider, 100 miles of trail, in 1 day" - come to the Big Horn 2006 & experience for yourself the difference of a big time NO-Loops ride! ~~
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