Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Sonny completed his first ride, 50 miles, Saturday at the Lake Oroville
ride. Not quite the ride I was expecting out of him, as he is usually so
laid back and relaxed even in groups of 5 or 6 horses, fast trotting,
cantering, behind, ahead or in the middle of the pack, he never needs
any pressure on the reins, just a slight tip of my wrist tells him slow
down, and this is with halter riding. I had even thought he might not
have enough "fire" to keep him going for 50 miles, but knew he had the
conditioning to get it done. 

The ride start in the dark and circling around until start time went
well. He was no different than being out on a trail ride. This continued
for about 5 miles. Then after a water stop while I was waiting for my
ride partners (Dan & Jeanne), a horse galloped by us and Sonny became
impatient and started violent "head slinging", nearly knocking himself
over, at least it felt & looked that way. My partners thought I was
going to lose control and that he was getting ready to explode, but I
know Sonny well, he doesn't have a mean bone or thought in him, he was
just expressing his impatience. I stuck with him and although I had to
PULL HARD on him for the next 15 or 20 miles (I did have the option of
switching to a bit, but decided against it as I'd rather be hard on his
nose than his mouth) and stay right behind his trail partner, Halogen, I
knew he'd probably get his mind back after the 30 mile lunch break.  He
would become more anxious as riders came up behind us, at least for
awhile. He finally got over this, and I eventually tied his halter lead
to the pommel of my saddle so when he started slinging, he couldn't get
his head down too far. Not that I was worried about any bucking, he
never has, it just made one less action that I had to correct. 

After lunch, he & Halogen switched places, Sonny leading on a loose
rein, at a pace that I picked, and Halogen using him as a rabbit to keep
motivated. We finished at 4:30, had about 1:45 minutes of non-ride time,
including not getting out of checks on time, so our actual time on the
trail was just under 9 hours. 

Sonny didn't pulse down quite as quickly as he usually does, too much
excitement, but it was never a problem. He drank well along the trail,
ate less than I would have liked, wouldn't touch his mash overnight or
at the lunch stop, but still got A's all day, except for a B on
hydration at the completion check. Now I know for sure he does have at
least some of what it takes to be a good endurance horse. Time will tell
if he has it all. Today he's in his pasture with his buddy, spending
lots of time at the water & salt lick. 

BTW, we rode for a while with young Colton Medeiros and Little Diego.
Colton said he thinks this was his 6th or 7th week of 50 mile rides. He
was happy and talking a mile a minute about everything under the sun.
Colton was enjoying every minute, talked highly about his horse, Little
Diego. There were a couple other very young juniors on the 50, all
looking like they were "born to ride" and enjoying every mile of the
trail. 

It was a great ride, wonderful footing most of the time, no DUST!!!  And
NO RAIN!!!  Dinner was great, and although ridecamp isn't pretty (gravel
parking lot), management did a great job of having adequate facilities,
and we didn't have to worry about mud or getting stuck. Lunch was
outstanding, they actually make your sandwich the way you want it,
choice of ham, turkey, or roast beef (can you imagine?) hard boiled
eggs, muffins, coffee, hot cider, chips, fruit, it doesn't get much
better than this. I have to mention the awesome volunteers. Always ready
to help and looking & listening for someone in need of help, then
offering, not waiting to be asked.  Lots of hay for the horses, even the
last ones in, and having been near the end before and having no hay left
at some other rides, I really appreciate that. And not a chance of
getting lost, it is so well marked, and any place where there was a
slight possibility of not seeing markings, a volunteer was there
directing.

Kathy
Grass Valley, CA 



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