Got back from riding the end of this race last night, and it
was quite an experience! Mostly good, but we had our moments. First
of all, I want to say I think that Marilyn McCoy and Carrie Miracle did an
absolutely fantastic job, coming in at the last minute, working hard, and
making it all happen. They were amazing! It was also fantastic to
meet so many people from different regions that I had never met before.
It was a treat to finally meet Laura Hayes, and her husband Mark, and I really
enjoyed riding with Katie Tynes and also Laura Marshall. I never thought
I’d get an opportunity to meet Laney Humphrey or Marge Burton, but I did,
and chatted with them awhile at the finish line one day, and it was an honor
indeed to get to spend some time with them. Mike Urschel is a great guy,
and we rode quite a bit of the last day together – trying to help each
other keep from getting lost – a bit of a challenge that day – pie
plates would have helped where the trail crossed itself a couple of places.
And I do want to thank Rob Phillips for his vision,
determination and dedication to get this new concept in the sport of endurance
started. I know it was a lot of work, and for a first time attempt for
something of this magnitude, he pulled it off quite well.
I wasn’t really planning to do this ride, for we have
a retreat center here in the middle of nowhere New Mexico, and just before I
heard about this race- nearly two years ago - it was all still a bit of a
stretch for an endurance rider to think it was a good idea, we had planned our
10th anniversary celebration for our center for September 8th
– the actual anniversary of our dedication. I also had plans to
ride the NC100 in Idaho, just a week before the start of the ride. But
this spring one of the riders for Team Liberty contacted me about riding with
them, and I was so impressed with their idea of cowboys collaborating with an
endurance rider, and all of us doing our best to get the team through with a
good time. I can’t say enough good things about Dawson and Shawn,
the two riders, not to mention the wonderful people on their support team
– they are just the best! I first met them in person at Ft.
Stanton, where they qualified, and we were all quite dubious when they got
there, but with mentoring from Mike Maul, they put in a great day, and got
their completions, and so their qualifications.
What really got me excited about this race, once it was
safely under the wing and rules of AERC, was the concept that for the most part
it seem like a new sport of team endurance. I really like new and
different challenges, and this seemed like a great opportunity. Team
strategy would offer more opportunities than just riding another ride, and I
really wanted to do my best for my team. So they put me on their roster
– my name and my horse were down for the last three days – the
earliest we could get there, what with my other commitments. Shawn and
Dawson did great up until then, each completing three days – often in the
top five, and with just one pull.
It seems to me that while this started with the concept of
teams and super teams riding the trail in their best overall time, sometime
before I got there it seemed to change into an extra long pioneer race.
Now that is fine if that is what people want, but it is not what I thought we
were doing, nor what I had signed up for. So even though we were
approved, and on the roster, and Rob had announced one night that Team Liberty
was the one team that had done everything necessary to bring in one more horse,
as soon as I showed up, someone was concerned about the arrival of a fresh
horse (who’d done the NC100 just two weeks before – in 100 degree
heat) and so it began. Even though we had done everything right, there
was some question for awhile if my times would count, but later Rob said they
would. I agreed not to race the finish, for Rob was nervous about races
after the disaster of the last day of riding, and to ride safely and
sanely. Imagine my surprise when he told the ride meeting I had agreed to
ride at the back of the pack! I was part of a team, and wanted to give
them the best times I could, considering I was riding the same horse for three
days. So it went on from there.
I don’t know what other people will want. I
really liked the team concept, and that is what I thought this was about, but
that is not what was happening when I got there. It seems to me that if
this was a team race, it would be nice to have results each night, either
announced or on a leader board so the team standings could be seen. There
was a board, but it seemed to list individuals, not teams. We never
knew where we stood – and in fact our team still doesn’t know where
we placed, and I hope we can find out. Granted we had a pull one day, so
would place behind all the teams that finished all days, but we’d still
like to know where we finished.
