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Re: RC: Nittany 50 (long)



Neat Story...finish or not, it is ALWAYS an great time and an education.

About your pull "reasons"...even if a rider "opts" to pull, the true reason
needs to be known.  "RO" (rider option) is intended for something happening
to the RIDER.  It does not reflect on your "record", it is part of a
database of information being collected as to why most horses do not finish.

Many more Happy Trails,

Teddy

lpopp wrote:

> 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.
>
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