I went to my first AERC ride this past weekend,
Color Country at Hurricane, Utah, and had such a GREAT time. Thank
you so much, to Marian, the RM, to Dave the vet, and to all the
volunteers. Everyone was so friendly, and helpful, it made the weekend
very relaxing and fun.
My original plan, a few months ago, was to do my
first 50, my first AERC ride, at Color Country. It didn't turn out
that way, though, because I hurt my knee 3 weeks ago and didn't ride at all in
the last 3 weeks. I knew there was no way I could do a 50.
I didn't even know for sure that I could even get ON my horse, but I
decided to go ahead and make the trip and "wait and see" how I felt...
Naturally, it snowed about 3 inches on Thursday morning, slowing me down
considerably -- I arrived late, late Thursday night, with the intention of
riding the 25 on Friday. But I missed the ride meeting, didn't know where
the horse water was, and didn't feel settled in enough to attempt to ride,
first thing Friday morning. So I just went for a trail ride instead
of competing. Very gingerly mounted Top, my horse (MT Top Gun), with him
standing in a ditch and me very, very carefully getting on -- I was really
nervous about my knee. But -- it didn't hurt! I spent about 3 hours
riding around, enjoying the gorgeous, gorgeous scenery and watching the riders
going down the trails. The great news, my knee was absolutely pain free
while I rode, and I became more confident.
Saturday morning I decided to attempt the LD
ride. My horse was calm and relaxed (we did do 10 rides last year in
NATRC, novice, so it wasn't brand new to him). We went faster than I'm
used to in the ctr rides, though -- we did the 12 mile loop in 2 hours 10
minutes (I know, to you experienced riders, that's NOT that fast (ha!), but
it's faster than we're used to in competing). When we came in to the vet
check, Stacy offered to do a CRI right then, just to see where he was
-- she checked his pulse and he was already down, we were cleared
immediately! Cool! I was happy to hear that, I had felt Top was
in good shape, even with 3 weeks "down" time, and even with his winter coat
still on. So we went to lunch, he ate and drank alright. We had 30
minutes but I gave him an extra 15 minutes just so he could eat and drink
more.
The second loop was 13 miles, and it went slower --
it was getting hot - at least to me! And we had some sand washes to travel
in, where I went slower. At any rate, we barely made it in time, and
checked out. First LD completed!
Everyone was so courteous on the trail, I saw lots
of smiles and people laughing all day. If this is what AERC rides are
going to be like, I'm one of the luckiest people in the world to be able to
participate in the fun. It will probably be a while before I'm in shape to
do a 50, though -- I was very impressed with the quality of horses and riders I
saw this weekend, and I know I'm "not there yet," in all honesty. My horse
could do a slow 50 now, I really have no doubt, if he had a better rider that
was in better shape! So I have my work cut out for me -- what am I saying,
who am I fooling? Work? It's play time!
I'm so happy to be part of the AERC and NATRC
families... I love horses and I love horse people. Again, I send my
heartfelt "thank you's" to everyone who put on this great ride!
