I just did a 100 on Labor day weekend. Our hold times were
:30, :45, 1:00, :45 with a stop and go about 9 miles from the finish. The first
and fourth check were in camp and the second and third were out of camp. We
finished with 2 hours still left on the clock. On our first hold we left pretty
close to on time. On our second hold one of the horses got a little too
enthusiastic about his food and acted like he was trying to choke. He ended
being ok but the rider decided to call it a day so we left probably 15-20 min
late. On our hour hold we had an exit exam so I think we left pretty close to on
time. When we got back to camp we decided to go ahead and give the horses some
extra time. We had 23 miles left to go and about 6 hours to do it in so we had
plenty of time. We ended up giving them about 1:30 hours before we left. I
personally like having the longer breaks and will take the extra time even when
it is not part of the hold time. My mare eats and drinks just fine on trail but
the one thing that she will do in camp that she won't do anywhere else is take a
nap. If she is back at "home" (being anywhere her hay, feed and water bucket
are) she will relax and doze off for awhile and I think that helps her
tremendously. JMHO
>[Lindsay Graham and Monk] finished at 6:58 pm (with start time 5 >am); there were 4 hours of hold time >so her actual ride time was 9:58 hours....
Ok,
not being a 100 miler rider yet, I have a Q...is 4 hrs a normal total hold time
for a 100??? I ride fairly slow and to have to spend 4hrs in holds?? I mean 2
1hr holds seem ok, with maybe a few 15 min or one 1/2hr....but 4hrs total??
Maybe I will have to rethink my ideas of trying 100's if I have to spend that
much time off trail... I don't even like when some 50's have 2 1hr holds...it
wastes so much time I could give my horse on trail when he wants to rest/eat out
there...one 1hr or MAYBE a second 1/2hr or better 2 15min ones is plenty... but
then of course I spend lots of my "hold" time grazing on the trail, hanging out
for 10 mins or so at every water stop, etc...which is why I often turtle a ride
and hate spending extra time in too many VC's...though I have been known to stay
longer than the hold time IF my horse is still eating or whatnot...
Nat (really liking multi-day 50's...not sure why I am wanting to try 100's..but
maybe some day...:) )
“Riding a horse is not a
gentle hobby, to be picked up and laid down like a game of solitaire. It is a
grand passion. It seizes a person whole and, once it has done so, he will
have to accept that his life will be radically changed.” –Ralph Waldo
Emerson.
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