 |
[RC] My first endurance ride - k s swigartKate said: Being a ctr rider I find most endurance riders I know to be aloof and beyond approach, When I read this line, I was surprised because, from my very first ride, I found exactly the opposite. But this may just be because I am extremely dense and thick skinned, and all those people who answered all of my questions at my first ride were trying to get me to go away and leave them alone and I was just too thick to get it. I showed up at my first ride after reading an article in Practical Horseman (about/by? Lari Shea at the Tevis Cup) and having read a couple of books about how to condition, and then calling the AERC office to find out when/where there were any rides close enough that I could fit into my schedule. I took my horse out for a bunch of long trots and then packed him in a borrowed truck and trailer, drove ten hours through the desert to the Eastern High Sierra Classic. I hadn't a clue as to what I was doing or what to expect. After I arrived, drove through the gate into the open field that was base camp, looked around, realized that I was clueless and stopped by the first person that I saw, told them that this was my first time, and asked him what I should do (oh, and BTW, I have a stallion, if that matters). He pointed me to an open place over near the edge and told me to go ahead and set up camp. After I got the horse out and tied him to the trailer (and my dad started setting up the tent), I looked around and not very far away was another guy with a stallion, went and asked him anything and everything I could think of that I might need to know, told him about the article I had read in PH, he gave ne a copy of a different article from Arabian Horse World about Remington Steele and his Tevis Cup thing, we chatted about stallions in general and he told me his experience with campaigning a stallion in endurance, and pointed in the direction of the water source (a creek) and in the right general direction of the ride "office" so I could go get signed in. When I got to the ride office, I explained that it was my first ride, that I was clueless and to please go through things slowly and explain what all these different pieces of paper were and tell me what I should do next (take my horse to vet in), and when/where the ride meeting was. I watched all the other people vet their horses (was surprised by how quick it all went and though that it was rather a cursory exam....little did I know) and then vetted my horse in, explained to the vet that this was my first ride, that I was clueless ... I went to the ride meeting where they explained the trail and then went on to discuss the P&R criteria, I asked the person sitting next to me "what does P&R mean?" So he told me. Criteria were set at "16, no inversion." So I asked the same guy sitting next to me, "what does that mean?" So he told me. I spent the rest of the weekend asking dumb questions and getting help from people because I was clueless. I even got help loading my horse into the trailer the day after the ride because (and I didn't find out the reason for this until later), I had never loaded my horse into a trailer in the daylight before. And when it came to getting help loading the horse into the trailer, I didn't even have to ask for it, there were plenty of volunteers (you know, those pesky people who give advice/help without even being asked). And here it is, 5,000 miles of competition later; and just last month at the Cold Springs 50 75 100 (not a rank beginner among the bunch), I was chatting with the guy in the trailer parked next to me (he was from Washington, I'd never met him before so the first thing we talked about was the length of the drive and then a bit about riding in the PNW), talking about pads/hoof protection for the rocks, etc. and he told me that he had used Equi-pak on his horse's feet. So I went ahead and asked him all the dumb questions I could think of about Equi-pak and his experience with it. And I may actually decide to use the stuff for the horse I had there (she can't wear EasyBoots) at some future ride. I have yet to meet an unapproachable person at an endurance ride. But that may be because I am just too dense to get it when they are politely trying to get rid of me. kat Orange County, Calif. :) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|