ridecamp@endurance.net: More ROC

More ROC

WarholNW (WarholNW_at_ABD-US-PO1@ccip.perkin-elmer.com)
Tue, 11 Jul 95 10:58:52 EST

Hi everyone-

I just returned from the ROC in Southern Utah. What a LONG drive. We
have never trailered that far (2100 mile round trip), and it was quite
exhausting. Special thanks to my truck- it was superb, and I am sure
glad I have that camper. (7.9 Miles per gallon!)

The race site was kind of unreal. It was sort of like camping in a
postcard. The camp was the nicest I have ever seen. Mike T was
correct in his evaluation of the ride: I have never experienced a
ride that was even close to being as organized as this one. It seemed
like there were always 3 ride workers for every rider. Nothing was
left to chance, and ride director Susan Gibson knows what she is
doing.

The weather was good, but a little hot. the camp was at 7000 feet, so
people were breathing hard, and drinking a lot of water. Most riders
arrived early to help get their horse and body acclimated to the
elevation. Speaking of arriving, I have never seen such an assortment
of nice trailers and rigs. World Champion Valerie Kanavy wins the
award with her Semi-powered house and horse trailer on wheels.
Everyone was out riding their horses during the days before the ride.
Some people were there for almost two weeks before the ride, and rode
much of the course.

The horses were fantastic. There was not an average horse anywhere.
We felt a bit strange with Warpaint the Appy around all those
fantastic Arabs. (there was one Morgan as well, so we were not totally
outnumbered) There were more Rushcreek horses here than I have ever
seen in my life.

There were some vendors displaying their stuff, Sundowner trailers was
there with a nice selection, Lance Campers had a couple of new campers
there, and there was the Trail ROC cafe serving burgers and such. It
was like a little town in the middle of nowhere.

The ride started out on Saturday morning with a nice sun rise. I
missed the start, but I heard them take off to the sound of music from
Chariots of Fire. We dashed down to the first road crossing, and
watched the best of the best come across the road. Cynthia
Penticolas-Stroud on Zephyr and Pat Olivia on Rushcreek Reid led the
pack, and they all looked great! 75 + top ten horses at the same time.
Wow! Again, not a slouch in the pack. My wife Judy Long and Warpaint
(the wonder Appy) came through mid pack, with WP cantering, and Judy
trying to hold him back. We drove up to the second vet stop and
waited.

The first stop was to close to drive to, so I missed that one. Pat
and Rushcreek Reid were pulled for metabolic problems, as well as a
couple of other horses. Judy got through fine, and WP recovered very
well. The second stop was on top of the world. 10,000 feet above sea
level, and it was like looking into the Grand Canyon. The crews just
sat there in awe, looking out at the view. Until the horses came.
Zephyr and another horse came in together, and were about 15 minutes
ahead of the rest of the pack. Zephyr got pulled for lameness, so the
other horse had a nice lead as they left. (I think they got pulled
later, but I am not sure) The second pack included Valerie Kanavy,
Shirley Delsart (local Northern California speedster on her beautiful
gray Arab K.J. Destination), and a couple of riders I could not
recognize. They had just come up a 2000 foot climb, and were looking
good. Judy had her first problem just before the check- Warpaint
tossed a shoe- Judy found it and put on an easy boot. (of course it
had to be the hoof with the old quarter crack) They got into the
check and vetted through. We had a farrier tack the shoe back on, and
we held our breath as she continued.

The third check was our undoing. Poor Warpaint was a little off on
that same leg. He was still a powerhouse, but the vets saw a slight
bobble when he was trotted in hand. They suggested Judy drop out
since it was only half way, and the trail did not get any easier.
DARN! The leaders had just left as I got there, so I did not see who
was where. Our Internet mailing list member Lari Shea was looking
great on Prince Asheem. I watched her trot along side the highway on
a nice trail for about a mile as I drove down the mountain. She looked
great!

We packed Warpaint back to camp, and took a nap. There were lots of
horses there. It turns out at least 22 were pulled by the last check,
and there may have been a few more. The course was very tough, with
lots of climbing, and VERY rocky. It was, however, the most scenic
and beautiful course any rider had ever ridden on. (that was the
general consensus)

We were able to see the finish- and what a finish it was. Valerie and
Shirley were right together through the entire last section. They came
cantering in to the finish, with the nod going to Valerie and Cash.
Shirley was a few seconds behind! What a finish. I think Steve Rojek
on Hawk got third, and Suzanne Hayes fourth. (I think) The first solo
rider was fifth, but I don't know his name. I don't have any other
official finishers, or know about best condition. (we left early
Sunday morning) I will get the results posted when I get them.

Other memorable tidbits: Julie Suhr did not start the ride on
Zayante, since he has 4900 miles without a pull. The vets thought he
was a little off, and Julie did not want to take any chances. I saw
Lawton Johnson out there riding at the second check. He is the only
person to start every ROC (fourteen!) The minimum rider weight was a
pain for the featherweight riders. There were 2 riders from England,
2 from Brasil, and a few from Canada.

My favorite quote of the week was when Judy was leading Warpaint
through the camp on her way somewhere. I was walking behind her when
some people turned and looked at her horse. One person said "Do you
think that is Nachi Sunshine?" Another person said, "Come on, who
else can it be?"

All in all it was a wonderful week. It was a lot of work, but the
experience was worth the expense and effort. We made a lot of new
friends, and I got the neat experience of taking Joyce Souza's mother
around with me to the first 3 vet stops. She is a great lady. We got
lots of neat ROC stuff, and some cool tee-shirts.

Judy says we will get 'em next year!

Nick