Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

I think I've recovered enough to make a few comments on Frigid Digit.

I was sick all week prior to the ride and seriously considered not going,
but as I had worked all week not feeling well, I decided if I was well
enough to work, I was well enough to play.

With that said, although I seriously considered riding the 75 miler, I was
very happy I chose not to.  As Jonni said when we were coming in off the
second loop, "aren't you glad you decided not to ride 75". YES YES YES.  I
really felt for those riders going out after dark for that last 10 miles
with it starting to rain.

The weather was nice, cool and pleasant.  The trails were in good shape
considering the amount of rain the previous week.  I've had a couple people
say the trails at Decatur are never slick, but I beg to differ.  I've ridden
out there when it was "slick as snot", so I was very happy not to have
horrible trail conditions.

I didn't get to camp until after dark on Friday so I missed the rider's
meeting.  I missed punching my ride card on the first loop as I had no idea
I was suppose to do that.  I came to a sign that said hole punch followed by
a tree with a bunch of long multi-colored ribbons; there was a slightly
muddy gulley there and I looked hard for the hole with something sticking
out that might provide a "punch" to my horse.  I guess this kinda shows how
brain dead you can be when you're half sick.  Anyway, ride management
forgave my ignorance so I continued my ride with the knowledge of what to do
at the hole punch stops.

I tried to pace exactly as if I were riding a 100 mile ride with a goal of
nothing more than to finish well which is my goal for Tevis.  I was able to
accomplish this even though I was among the riders that wandered around
trying to find the correct way on loop # 1.  I was riding alone so I wasn't
blindly following the group, but most of the group must have done exactly
what I did which was miss some marking that were apparently "cow chewed to
small nubbins".

The ride was extremely well managed and the checks went very smoothly and
quick considering the amount of horses competing.  I don't know the overall
count, but there were 30 something in the 50.  In this area, I think there
are usually more in LD and of course there were the 75 mile riders as well.

 THANK YOU, everyone who put on this ride and the volunteers that made it
possible.  It was nice to see some familiar faces at the vet checks, Liz,
Patsy and of course Carla Jo.  Tracey was walking Amira so I had a chance to
visit with her briefly on Friday night.  Sorry you weren't able to finish
Tracey.  I was almost in that position myself.  I almost quit before I
started.

I always enjoy riding with Jonni.  She is a riding encyclopedia of
information.  I learn each time I ride with her.  Hank and Orion travel well
together, but I can't ride with anyone too long or too often.  Orion being
the social creature that he is, forms attachments too easily.  I don't want
him to become dependent on another horse.  He must be willing to work on his
own without the crutch of another horse.  I find this particularly important
in Endurance where the necessity to ride and pace according to how your
horse is working physically is so critical.  When you throw in the emotion
of having to have that riding buddy or the need to keep up with or wait on a
particular horse, it is impossible to ride your own ride and maximize your
horse's performance.

There was an outstanding group of well conditioned equine athletes
participating.  If there were problems, I didn't see them.  The vets were
excellent, thorough, but quick.  Orion pulsed down immediately at the
checks, but at an average pace of slightly less than 6 mph in cool
conditions, I would have been surprised had he not.  He checked out at the
end pretty much the same as he checked in.  He had a couple B pluses after
loop one when we ran around a couple extra miles.  His gut sounds at check
in were B, but improved to A minus at check out so overall he was better at
check out than check in.  He showed no signs of stiffness or soreness in any
part of his anatomy today (wish I could say the same for myself).

He was barefoot.  NOT because I'm a barefoot advocate, but because the
trails at Decatur don't require shoes.  I try to leave my horses barefoot as
much as possible for several reasons.  My pocketbook being one.  I can do my
own trimming so I save some $$$.  I also think horses are better off well
trimmed and shoeless when possible.  He has soft feet and I have very little
rock to condition on, so I know he cannot go barefoot all ride season.  I
can't believe people actually haul in rock to good pasture land or even in
paddocks.  Coming from a semi farming/ranching background, rocks are to be
gotten rid of not hauled in from my prospective, but I leave each to his own
devices and if hauling rock makes sense to your program, more power to you.
Orion was in excellent spirits when we got home saturday night, did his
usual "check the place out, roll immediately routine".  Over all, it was an
excellent weekend.  Orion thoroughly enjoyed the slightly faster pace.  The
first loop would have been at a much faster pace if he'd had his way.  This
is the only horse I've not been able to ride without a bit, but I was happy
to have my curb bit this weekend.  As he gets stronger and wants to go
faster, I may go back to a snaffle rein/draw rein combination.  He is VERY
strong mover and had learned to run through snaffle bits before I got him.
I know, with enough specialized training, I could reverse this, but since he
works well in a curb and I'm to lazy to do all the work necessary I'll
continue to ride with a curb.  He's happy with it and so am I.  If something
isn't broke, I see no need to fix it.

This was Orion's first "real" 50.  I did a very slow, overtime, 50 shortly
after I got him.  He had absolutely no conditioning. My only goal at that
ride was helping a friend with a fractious horse.  This ride was mainly for
"brain training" for her horse.  He finished fine with no problems, but we
were a little over time.  My friend's horse had learned what it was to be
tired and was a much better horse at the end than when we started.  Orion
does have about 2500 miles in CTR so he has a good base to build on.  Time
will tell if he is truly a 100 mile horse.  Things look very positive at the
moment.

Again, A BIG THANK YOU to all who made the ride possible.

Linda Courts



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