[RC] Las Cruces Ride -Alexis - cold - Richard Sacks
Alexis you're right. It was extremely cold. Most of the lameness pulls were
fromuscles tightening up. In some horses you could see large muscles in the hind
quarters that were significantly cramp. I know my legs were sarting to cramp up
from the cold. You'll see these a lot in human marathons or ultra marathons (160
miles or more) like my friend Terri Schneider in Santa Cruz does. I think she is
a little out there but to each their own. She thinks I'm crazy for riding
horses. It was these type of pulls that resulted in the 36% completion rate in
the 100. If the weather had been warmer you would have seen higher completion
rates in the 100 and winning times closer to 8 hours given the course was
designed for speed (flat). So they were going slower than they normally would
have. Don't forget that both the 50 and 25 had 100% completion rates. If you are
in the Las Cruces area and looking to ride call me. I am right near Mesilla Dam
and have direct access to BLM land (lots of it).
Just a side note note to Barbara McCrary. I feel your pain about the rain.
I remember the year I moved to Santa Cruz in 82/83 and the storm we had that
January that almost wiped out the wharf. I hope you are not looking at the same
thing. I sure miss riding with everyone (say hello to Becky G., Becky H, Judith
O., Alex, Michelle Deb C. and everyone else) but I sure don't miss the cold
rain. I'm hoping to be back there in Aug for your ride.
