The trail on the second day sucked. OK, I am
a glass half full sort of girl, but this was above my patience level. Rest
assured, the management could do nothing about it due to last minute changes
that were out of their control, and I am certain they will change it for next
year. The bottom line was 50 miles on the headlands of a lightly traveled,
but paved frontage road. The neat thing (here is the glass half full) is
that the cars and trucks up on the four lane (the other side of a good fence)
waved and honked support, and the water truck buzzed along to stop and give us
ice cold water. I also found that my mare would reach in a cooler and eat
ice cubes. We were learning so much about each other!
The footing along the road was either really soft
with some undermining, or gravely and hard, or as my mare preferred,
pavement. YIKES. The headlands had been brush hogged, which was good
when the grass was soft, but some areas were four inch stubble - just pastern
height and nerve wracking. To keep Mo on the grass, I got off and ran
some. Unfortunately, I acquired a few cactus spines in my right shin that
would cause a sub dermal infection and result in the first hospital visit by a
rider. I rode with Diane McSwain that day on her red roan Spanish Mustang,
Lone Lee, who was doing his first 50. The company was excellent but we had
to rush the last 8 miles to make the finish line in time - first time in my
career. We all made it. Mo and I decided to take the next day off to
reshoe and recoup.
Other days run together. We traveled as
a group, loaned equipment, borrowed food or hay, shared water, and laughed
allot. Sometimes it was at ourselves, sometimes at the situations we found
ourselves in, but laugh we did.
Many days, in order to continue in a linear fashion
along the historic trail, we trailered to the start, and trailered
after the finish to the night's camp. Did we love it? Of course not,
but we grew accustom to it, and adjusted. This schedule did not lend
itself to regular ride meetings, or sometimes, even meals. If it was
easy, could it be called endurance? Would I have given up
the trail I rode for one where we went around in circles but had regular
hours? Nope.
We had our share of accidents and outright
tragedy. A total of nine riders went to the hospital at different times
for ailments as simple as my infection and as serious as a dislocated hip and
another with a broken leg from hooking stirrups. The grief and sorrow at
the loss of two horses who ran into the path of a car was immense, but we got
through it and continued on, never to forget the lesson learned. Two
horses were treated with IV fluids, both in the last days of the ride and both
owned and ridden by experienced AERC members.
My mare, who really had not a clue as to what she
was getting into, started and finished seven of the ten riding days. She
did the last day literally hours faster than she had any other, placing fifth
and receiving the high vet score in the BC judging. I am proud
of her. She lost very little weight in seven 50s in fourteen days, and
remained forward and happy. I am thinking she was one of the few horses
out there who drank out of EVERY water
tank!
