Nittany 50 (long)

[lpopp <lpopp@pa.net>]

Hello everybody, 

Headed up to Huntingdon, PA with my mare, Saffron, and my wonderful
crew, good friend Michal and my 5 year old son, Jesse.  The ride was a
50/50, two day 100 and a 25 on Sunday.  We arrived in camp on Saturday
afternoon and the only places to set up camp were in the middle of an
open field.  Fortunately we brought a canopy along for shade as they
were calling for 90 degree temps over the weekend.  It WAS hot and after
getting Saffron settled, setting up camp and getting a bite to eat, we
vetted in.  I was a little worried about Saffron as this was only our
second ride together and she had been real nervous at a ride with a
previous owner and ended up tying up 4 miles out.  Well, I needn't have
worried, she was a peach!  I have been doing a lot of work with her,
just trying to get her to trust me and relax, and I can see that it is
paying off!  She vetted in all A's and drug ME through the trot out.  
The ride start was a little hairy, but we made it.  As I rounded a
corner at the beginning of the ride my saddle started slipping off to
the left.  Saffron was cantering sideways and wouldn't stop to let me
get off to tighten the saddle. As I slipped further and further off the
side of her I figured I'd better just take a chance and jump off.  As I
was adjusting the saddle, a rider came around the corner and asked me if
I needed help.  We ended up riding the first half of the ride together
much to my enjoyment.  Our horses were very compatible and Randi was
very entertaining!  She was only doing the 25, so we parted ways at mid
point.
Saffron was strong and fit and we came through the first check( at 15
miles), again, with all A's and a  12/13 CRI.  She ate and drank well. 
The next loop was 12 miles and there were places to really cruise
along.  I haven't been doing this (endurance) for a real long time, and
I thought we were keeping a pretty good pace.  We arrived at the
mid-point hold at 10:50, which meant we had done the first 27 miles in 3
hours 50 minutes(excluding hold time).  Geez, I thought we were going
faster than that!!  At
mid-point, all A's except one B for capillary refill and a 14/13 CRI. 
She pulsed down to 48 within 7 minutes of arriving at the check.  All
sounds great so far, huh?  Well, here's where everything gets kind of
screwed up!
We left for our third loop, which was 13 miles.  Saffron didn't want to
leave because her new buddy, Spuds, was finished with his ride.  It took
a lot of encouragement, but she went.  We took it really slow this loop
because the heat was awful.  It was 90 degrees or better and we haven't
had any of that kind of weather here until this weekend, and the horses
just haven't had time to adjust to it.  We took 2 hours and 10 minutes
to ride this 13 miles and I let her eat and drink her way through it. 
 Just before the hold  I took a big swig of
Powerade and for some reason (fatigue? dehydration? stupidity?) it went
down the wrong way and I choked.  Just as I was spewing green juice all
over the road a rider came around the corner, heading out for his 4th
and final loop.  "Oh great"  I'm thinking, "a witness".  Well the guy
was real concerned, but I couldn't breathe, much less speak to tell him
that I wasn't dying.  I finally got my breath back, but did
hyperventilate and gave myself a doozy of a headache and felt a little
faint.  The nice fellow did wait there with me until I could breathe
again.  Bless him!  We made it in to the hold, but I was feeling pretty
darn sick by this point.  I thought that maybe after a half hours rest,
I would feel good enough to go out and ride the last 10 miles.
It took me 13 minutes to get Saffron over to the P&R area and she was at
56.  Her CRI was 15/14 but the vet, which I hadn't seen at all at this
ride previously, was VERY hard on her.  I had my crew person Michal trot
her out, since I wasn't feeling well, and of course, the horse wouldn't
trot for her, so she got C's on Impulsion and Attitude but an A on
Gait.  Her other marks were pretty bad too, she was a B overall. The vet
mentioned that she felt tight behind and that I should bring her back
for a re-check before I went out.  When I brought her back she advised
me to pull her.  She said that if it were her horse, she would and
because I was still feeling so sick, I agreed.  Saffron looked much
better than I did when we got back to camp, eating and drinking
everything in sight and looking bright.  Took me several hours to
recover enough to pack up and go home.  
Now, I don't regret for one minute making the decision not to finish the
ride.  If Saffron was tired and a little tight I wouldn't have done her
any good that last 10 miles and the last thing I want to do is hurt
her.  Hey, the whole idea is to have fun, and trying to complete would
have been torture.  But in hindsight, I think the vet was a little too
hard on her.  We rode a conservative ride, and she was all A's with one
exception, up to that point.  Is it possible for a horse to deteriorate
that much in 13 miles, or is it just the varying opinions of different
vets?  
I did go and get my vet card before leaving and it is written there that
I was
pulled for metabolic reasons.  Will that go on my record anywhere? 
Because technically I was not eliminated.  I pulled her myself.  I
learned a lot, as I always do at a ride.  I will keep myself better
hydrated and bring more "people water" along from home.  The water at
the ride was discolored, they said, from a new pump.  But I'm just picky
enough about my drinking water to not want to drink it.  I also learned
that I will always trot out my horse myself, no matter how bad I'm
feeling!
The ride was very well done, as Mary and Cindy's rides always are.  The
trails were well marked and very nice.  I am looking forward to it again
next year.  Hopefully it won't be so darn HOT!!
Take care all,  


Lisa and Rococco Saffron ( but I'm ALWAYS a little tight behind!)


PS>>>>Sorry, don't know ANYTHING about placings.  I hope Mary will post
to the list.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net.    
Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/RideCamp   
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=