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[RC] Part 2B Biltmore & Flood Adventure - Darolyn Butler

Only a bit drained, (no pun intended), we started East on I-10 hoping to make at least 500 miles (about ½ of the journey) that day.  We arrived at an RV Park near Mobile and parked for the night.  We had a successful early start on Thursday morning expecting to arrive at Biltmore around 4:30-5:00 PM.  That would have still given the horses a fairly good rest for the competition.  However, the demons were rampant and we had a double blow out on the right rear side of the trailer just across the Georgia state line.  One wheel/tire had been totally sheered off, and the battered rim was all that was left on the other.  This event alone could make a small novel, but the short version is, US Rider sent us a local trailer to pick up the horses & place them safely on a small farm, but the mechanics they sent were not anywhere capable of taking on this massive repair issue.  Coincidentally, a mechanic had had a flat just behind us, and it turned out his company was the best garage for miles around, A La Grange Automotive, in La Grange, Ga.  These guys were amazing, The blow outs occurred at 1:30 PM, they started work around 2:30, they had to order/pick up parts, etc., and they did all the work on the side of the road as there was really no way to get the trailer towed without using two tow trucks they told me.  They had me rolling by 5:30 PM.  I went back south to get the horses, back North and stopped in La Grange for fuel and to have them install two new batteries while we had a gourmet dinner at Waffle House and on our way by 9 PM. 

 

We rolled into Biltmore around 4:30 AM… I did have to stop once and take an hour nap.   Unloaded, built pens and crashed for a few hours.  I had kept our “on-the-road & in-the-air” riders and crews apprised of the issues and progress throughout the day, because at one time I really thought there was no way to get that trailer fixed and having desperately, but fruitlessly searched for a 6 horse trailer to rent in the area it looked like mission impossible.  We even considered having Jason start driving with my 4-Star…. But time certainly wasn’t on our side there.  So to have these guys fix the trailer and get us on the road was like a small miracle
 

Darolyn Butler  (see Part 3)