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[RC] Scottsdale Ride - Bruce WearyMan, oh man. What a ride.Rusty Toth did a magnificent job of organizing this ride. Basecamp was a large gravel parking lot in the middle of McDowell Mtn. Park, with sweeping vistas all around, punctuated by saguaro cactus, and a desert that was sporting it's best spring flowers. There was even plentiful grass to nibble on throughout the ride. There were 53 horses in the 55, and over 80 in the 25. The weather was warm, giving a hint of the seasonal desert heat that is on it's way to the Valley of the Sun, with the temperature reaching 90, but a steady, firm breeze all day, and plenty of water tanks and hoses to keep our horses cool. Rusty was calm, cool, and collected, and, apparently, cloned. I personally saw and spoke with him on at least five different occasions along the trail, at water stops and at the vet checks. I don't know how he did it. Not possible without a good bit of down-home cloning. He had a fabulous crew of volunteers who actually knew what they were doing--tracking times, doing P&Rs, steppin' and fetchin.' The first loop was a single track that wound through the desert up to a moderate climb that offered even more circumferential views of the surrounding mountains and blossoming desert. The trail was so well marked that two celebrity riders couldn't help but comment: "If you get lost on this trail, it's your own damn fault," said recording artist, Stevie Wonder. "I could have done this ride with my eyes closed," said Helen Keller. There were ribbons everywhere, pie plates, arrows, and staff that knew the trail, how far away the next checkpoint or water was--just phenomenal. The dinner afterward was a truly catered affair with real Italian food from a real Italian restaurant. Awards were plenty and included wormers, liniment, fly spray, hoof supplement, butt blankets T-shirts, crew bags, and more. My wife Dayna was all bubbles and tears when it was announced that her horse, Crickett, had taken the BC award. A first for them both, though Dayna now has over 4,000 miles. Most of those miles have been spent riding herd on our little girls when they did the rides with us, or riding at the back of the pack with her heavyweight husband as he was bringing yet another candidate along. For those who know Dayna, the unofficial basecamp caretaker, she more than deserved it. We would also like to thank our friend, Linda Morelli, an experienced rider newly relocated to Prescott from California. She is no stranger to winning and BC awards, and has shown Dayna how to go a little faster safely, and shown me that there is still some fight in the old dog. My foxtrotter top-tenned for the third time in a row, and helped me earn exactly, my 8,000th endurance mile. In short, this ride was wildly successful, and we look forward to attending again next year. Dr Q, and "Princess Dayna," as she now insists on being called. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 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!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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