Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Those of you who didn't make it to this ride missed a good time!!  Hubby and I didn't make it last year...I had to catch a plane from Houston to Cinncinnati the morning after the ride, and we decided the logistics were just a bit too challenging.  But we made it this year.

The recent rain was not a problem.  Much of western Louisiana, and parts of the East Texas piney woods, are blessed with very deep sandy soils that suck up the rain like a sponge.  So, knowing what that area was like, we weren't worried about mud.  And we were not disappointed...the footing was great.  The trails were on motorcycle trails.  There were a few roots, and one had to pay attention and watch for the occasional hole, but overall, it was nice.  The four of us that went over from Texas often ride the motorcycle trails on the Sam Houston National Forest in East Texas, which have *far* more roots and washed out areas than did the Gumbo trails, and are also more twisty and turny (and more fun <G>).  So, we're used to riding those types of trails.

We set up camp on Friday.  My husband Ross and I, as well as Elaine, were going to do the 25.  I had my new horse Bear, who I'd only had for 6 or 7 weeks, and Ross would be riding our little 13.2h Paso Fino mare Barbarita.  Elaine was riding Chief, who she finally purchased the day before the ride (although she'd been riding him for a couple of years).  Rae was moving a step up, and doing the 35 miler on her gelding General, so she'd be starting early with the 55 milers.

Saturday morning Rae headed out, and the rest of us tacked up.  A first time rider, David, was camped near us and had asked if he could join us, since we'd be riding slow (it was Bear and Barbarita's first ride).  We of course said "sure!"  We let most of the riders go, then headed out at a slow trot.  Elaine and Chief led, since the rest of us were on first time horses who had brains very vulnerable to excitement. <G>  This was going to be used as a training ride for them.  We trotted and walked the first loop, and I keep tabs on the time, aiming for completing the ride with about 30 minutes to spare (to allow for any emergencies).  Bear's brain finally engaged about halfway through the loop, so I let him lead for a bit.  We traded off the lead among all of us, although David's horse was still pretty keyed up, so he wisely opted to keep him behind some of us so he would pay better attention.  We finished the first loop right on schedule, everyone pulsed down immediately, and we entered our 45 minute hold.

We headed out on the second loop (which was loop 1 done backward) right on time.  That "30 minute emergency cushion" was about to come in handy.  About 1/3 of the way into our loop (which the 55 milers were doing as their second loop, coming toward us), we heard shouts, then saw a gray horse bolting through the woods, with its 55 mile rider having a day that was going from bad to worse.  **whump!!** she hit the ground hard and the horse kept going.  We heard her riding companions calling to her, we called to her, no answer, and she didn't appear above the grass.  Not good.  One of her friends went out to her, the other went after her horse.  David and I also went out to her.  She was sitting up.  She'd hit her head (thank goodness for her helmet) and the wind had been knocked out of her.  Her right wrist didn't look good.  She's just recovered from a broken left wrist.  (we found out later that she did break the right one).  Everything else seemed to work, so we helped her out to the trail, and stayed with her while her friend went to find the other friend, who had shouted that she'd found the horse.  They eventually returned, and my husband showed her where we were (he knows this area well), and which road to follow to get back to camp, which was not far away.  After about 30 minutes, we headed on our way.

We were now running up against the clock, but certainly didn't regret stopping to help  the rider...I've been on the receiving end of riders holding up their ride to stay with me after a fall, and really appreciated it.  We picked up our pace, and boogied down the trail.  This is where our experience in riding these types of trails really helped us.  We were able to canter many sections.  We pulled up at several puddles to let the horses drink, then went on.  I kept one eye on the trail and one eye on my watch.  We made it to the arrival timer, and I asked, what's the time?  She said 1:26 (cut off was 1:30).  We scurried to the water tanks, let the horses have a quick drink, and then to the P&R...everyone was down, and everyone vetted through fine.  :)  

I was really proud of Bear.  He led much of the latter part of the second loop, and did great!  He still had plenty left in the tank at the end.  Chief and Barbarita also did well.  David's horse did great...he's got a really nice bay gelding who is going to be a good one.  

Ride manager Fred Meyer and crew did a good job.  The trail was marked very well, the Friday night gumbo was delicious, and everyone who completed got t-shirts and a neat pocket knife/multitool with the ride name engraved on it.  He had feed scoops for top 10 in the 25, and buckets for top 10 in the 35 and 55.  Y'all missed a fun ride.  We'll be back next year!