And just so you aren't in too much suspense as to how Kevin did--Miss B
not only finished her first 3-day 100, but she also got 2nd HW and Best
1/2 Arab (a gorgeous pewter plate to be inscribed later--it's a perpetual
trophy donated by Meg Sleeper!). But I'll let Kevin tell THAT story!
The ECTRA scoresheets have been carefully designed to make recording
comments easy and clear. Side views of a horse allow for
drawings, arrows, etc. to alert the judge to initial conditions in the
tack area. We watched each horse trot out, interacted with Dr. Hooten
and came to a decision as to starting soundness.
We observed the horses at two different locations on trail each day
(thank you Ginny, our driver, for negotiating the pine barrens, and the
deep sand!) in addition to mid-point safety checks. I was able to call
on my "teacher's voice" to alert the oncoming riders that they needed to
be single file "SPREAD OUT" "TROT..trot..trot..trot???" Oh well.
Barbara was very helpful in interacting with riders and drivers when
possible problems seemed to be developing. She also coached
two of the riders in properly presenting their horses.
It was a terrific learning experience for me....particularly in training
my eye for catching hind end lameness and discriminating between muscle
fatigue and more serious forms of lameness. Sand, deep NJ sand, is
really tough on the muscles. With the weather co-operating, the horses
were never metabolically stressed (cool, rainy on the last day) so I
could concentrate on learning the signs of mechanical fatigue. The
"clues" I learned were in listening to the footfalls, identifying
"heaviness" in a particular leg and observing the hip movement on the
out-and-back trot-out. The circles at the beginning and end clarified
sometimes, confused me sometimes. For one horse, we each picked a
different leg every trot-out except for one, where all 4 observers landed
squarely on a single choice!
The attrition rate was not as high as in previous years, 23 riders
started, 16 finished--all 3 drivers completed.
If anyone ever asks you to record, remember this one little thing....it's
a LOT OF WORK! Wow, I felt as if I had been through a wringer! It is so
intense. You don't want to miss anything. But I learned to take in the
whole horse, to get a sense of the animal, and then allow myself to focus
on particular areas. There is a distinct flow to the ride, and you can
see/feel how each horse is handling the stress. I always wondered how
the vet can remember each horse, each detail. They must be able to
soft-focus and feel these athletes on the horses emotional level, then
zero in on developing problems.
And the more horses you look at, the more you remember, and the more each
one becomes an individual!
The hospitality and organization for this ride truly make it one of the
premier 3-day 100's! I am proud to have been a part of the process and
hope to do it again next year.
Diane @ Safe Haven