Merri Travels

Camouflage

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:16:00 +0000

Friday July 3 2009

Last Saturday, Ridecamp here was half full of rigs and people and horses and dogs for the Almosta Bennett Hills endurance ride. I was roaming about with my camera on the four-wheeler when I saw a killdeer run along the ground.

I looked to where she was running away from, and moved in that direction, and mama killdeer went lame, doing the broken wing display, trying to draw me toward her and away from... her nest with 4 eggs.

Look a little closer at the top photo, in the center: four kildeer eggs. It took me a while to locate them, being well camouflaged in the rocks and gravel, sticks and grass; and m
eanwhile, mama killdeer was flopping and fluttering away, an injured bird in great distress.

To appease her, I backed away from the nest.

Which happened to be not 10 feet from a big horse trailer that had just missed it when it drove in and parked - rather an inconvenient location! But then, how could nesting in the open on the ground anywhere be convenient? It must work, because that's what they do, and there sure are a lot of killdeer around here. (A couple years ago, we discovered a killdeer nest right by our busy finish line - those killdeer went on to hatch and fledge).

I got a couple of fencing posts and roped off 2 sides of the nest so horses and rigs would keep clear. Horses and riders and dogs went about their business all weekend; mama killdeer went about her business, sitting on her nest.

In their courtship, the male killdeer will make loud calls and sham nest-scraping movements. The male builds the nest. (This one was merely a little scraped out depression, though the placement among the camouflage decor was great.) The male and female will share nest duties... but I have yet to see two birds around this nest - you'd think I'd see two of them at least once. Killdeer eat mostly insects, and with all the dang flies around here, mama probably doesn't even have to leave her nest to eat!

When the chicks hatch, they will be downy, open-eyed, mobile at birth, and will find their own food while following their parents. They should fledge in 25 days - fly competently - so hopefully I'll catch the hatch and get to keep an eye on the babies a while.

I rode Stormy close to her today (the killdeer will do the distress show for humans and dogs, I've noticed, but not for horses), a week later, and she's still sitting patiently on her eggs. She didn't bat a bird's eyelash at us.

Shifting Priorities (Mongol Derby)

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:24:00 +0000

Wednesday July 1 2009

I see with a lot of pressure from horse people worldwide, the Adventurists putting on this Mongol Derby (who are not an equine tour company, and have apparently never put on a horse event in a first world country, much less a third world country), have suddenly proclaimed horse welfare "firmly" at the top of their agenda.

Now, instead of "Essentially once the starter gun goes off you are on your own", and instead of 2 jeeps "following the race from a distance" there is now a "fleet of back up jeeps," or a "fleet of jeeps," or the event is supported by five off-road vehicles running alongside the riders (um, which five riders?) and 2 standby 4x4 vehicles.

Now instead of having no established route to follow, and the riders being on their own: "Luck? Judgement? Ask a passing herder? Ride in concentric circles for a week? Divination... You will be given a map before the start with the locations of each Urtuu and the rest is down to you," there is an "established route" to follow, or a "route marked out by the horse stations."

Now, instead of the riders "tackling the challenge of semi-wild horses and surviving alone in the wild steppes of Mongolia", and "It's dangerous, it's unsupported and you could die," now the "safety and welfare of the horses and riders on the Mongol Derby is of paramount importance to us as organisers. With a network of first class professionals, both veterinary and medical, the Mongol Derby's support network is exemplary; before, during and after the race." Now, the "welfare of the horse is guarded and monitored at all times" (I'm a little vague on the math here... 26 riders and horses - or 600 horses, if you want to count all of them - spread out over days or weeks and how many kilometers, with the 5 off-road vehicles following the 5 riders.)

Most enlightening and comforting, now there is also an "extensive horse welfare program and emergency back up system" in place. There's a "fantastic team of equine experts and veterinarians", or "respected British and Mongolian equine experts," or "a network of Mongolian vets". (Mongolia must have a lot of vets, no?) An unnamed British equine vet "with 32 years of experience" will follow the Derby in one of our "fleet of back up jeeps" and the Mongolian vets will have with them "high quality veterinary medicines."

Now instead of: "They're going to give us GPS locations to the wells, where we'll be able to get water, and they don't guarantee that the wells will have water" (apparently said by a contestant - but surely this can not be a real quote!), a recent revision was made "to increase the number of water sources" (um... new wells dug?) that have been clearly plotted for horses and riders, or, an "extensive list of confirmed water sources." Now the provision of water is a prime deciding factor in the route for the horses. Now, "The route will under no circumstances be taken through any area without adequate water provision and has been designed with this primarily in mind."

There still is that weight thing, though. Horses can safely carry up to 20% of their body weight. Mules can carry 25% safely. 95 kg, or 209 pounds, (the weight limit of the riders plus equipment and personal things), is 20% of a 454 kg, or 1000 pound animal. I haven't seen a 14-hand pony yet that weighs anywhere close to 1000 pounds.

Karen C in her blog entry today raised some valid points, besides wondering what really happens to the horses after they are raced. Namely, who is supplying batteries for the GPS units? My GPS only goes 11 hours without a charge (or plug in, which you won't have at the Urtuus in Mongolia). What about the emergency beacons? They will need fresh batteries too. Keeping the GPS's and emergency beacons functional every day would seem rather important since they are paramount to horse and rider safety, and riders will be limited on the weight they can carry. Will the Mongol Derby organisation provide enough batteries for all 26 riders every day at each Urtuu?

All of this new info is from the June 30th press release and the newly released Mongol Derby Horse Welfare and Race Logistics Information from the Adventurists.

It all looks great. After all, IT'S ALL WRITTEN ON PAPER, SO IT'S TRUE.

Right? (Although, which written word is true: those before the press release, or those in the press release?). Now we can all stop worrying and start kvetching about something else.

(An aside, TOTALLY unrelated to this event. I do not believe everything my government and governmental officials have put in writing, or told me, the last decade. Some of it has indeed proved to be false. And now, back to the Mongol Derby.)

Now, aside from the weight factor, I commend the Adventurists organization for seriously addressing valid concerns from serious horse people around the world, and from CLEARLY disassociating themselves from endurance riding or racing. ("The Mongol Derby is not an endurance race for the horses...")

However, I remain skeptical of all of their written declarations.

Since only the riders and Adventurists organization will be there in Mongolia during the Mongol Derby, the world won't really know if all or any of these written declarations will come to pass, will they?

So, how about this: if the Adventurists are dead set (no pun intended) on their wild and crazy Mongolian Adventure, and they are dead serious (no pun intended) on horse safety being at the forefront of this entire adventure, why don't they also bring along a few independent expert horsemen to independently audit the event?

How about a horse expert (who really does ride horses, a lot) from the Adventurists organization (surely there is one), a rider from the Long Riders' Guild, and a third horse riding expert that both agree upon? They can ride in the fleet of jeeps following the riders. That way there can be no question that the WRITTEN WORD is actually what goes down. Riders will still have their uninhibited wild and crazy adventure, horses will indeed be taken care of, the horse world will be put at ease, and Tom Morgan will be absolutely vindicated

How about it, Tom??

You Can Rest When You Die! (Not When You Break Your Toe)

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:58:00 +0000

Monday June 29 2009

So said the back of Janis' shirt (all except the Toe stuff) when we rode off on a 25 mile loop today.

I just couldn't stand it, after missing two 50-mile rides in our back yard (the Almosta Bennett Hills ride), and Janis saying she was going out on a long ride today, so
I just had to go riding with her. This morning I got a bigger sized Croc shoe from Steph and stuffed my right foot in. Yowza. That's when I got the notion that maybe I didn't just rip the toenail off my foot when I got stepped on, but maybe I broke the dang toe too.

Whoooeeeee it hurt and I didn't think there was any way I'd be able to put my foot in the stirrup (hitting the side of the stirrup, putting weight in the stirrup, etc). But it was SUCH a nice day, and Janis was already on her horse Cole heading my way at a canter, the Owyhee mountains in the background framing them, Cole's mane flying in the breeze and Janis grinning, and that clinched it. I was riding.

I hobbled out to catch Jose, limped about getting him ready, and whimpered as I stood on my bad foot to mount. I awkwardly hauled myself up into the saddle (sorry, Jose!), placed my poor toe in the big shoe into the stirrup... and off we went!

It hurt, sometimes a lot, but, who cared! A cooling breeze refreshed us as we trotted north on Steph's ridge; and the view into Hart Creek along the Rim Trail as we headed south on the next ridge made up for the rising temperature. We turned back north and descended the sharp ridge down into Hart Creek, where the horses gulped cool water, and then I almost guided Jose over a rattlesnake at the old Homestead! He saw it before I did and jumped out of the way.

Normally when I ride this loop I'm going the other direction, so this was almost like a new trail today. And I don't know if Jose has ever been this direction - things looked different and interesting to him too, and he had one big spook when we came around a corner and saw a dead log on his left. Sure, we've seen that dozens of times from the right side, but not the left!

I found a long snake skin on the ground (going into a little burrow - did the snake just slide out of his skin when he slithered inside?), and, a GPS! Actually Jose must have spotted it because he stopped right there to get some grass, so I could hop off him and pick it up. So now Jose has his own GPS.

We followed Hart Creek (soon it became dry - the water was diverted) to the Potato Field (full of flowering potato plants this year), and when we turned for home we had another nice breeze at our back.

By now the drinking water in our saddle bags was hot, the day was starting to cook, so it was good to be getting back home when we did. The boys stood in Pickett Creek - which was 10* cooler than anywhere else - for a while and took a deep drink right at the barn.

When I dismounted, I had to lower myself gently to the ground - not land on my right foot - but in general, my toe wasn't too much different after riding. It still hurt. And what a great ride! Heck, I even think I might have been able to do a 50 on Sunday.

Huh - that's the last time I'm letting a little smashed toe stop me from riding in an endurance ride. I can rest my toes when I die!

OUTRAGE

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:46:00 +0000

Monday June 29 2009

Take note of this upcoming 'Mongol Derby' in August - billed as 'The Longest Horse Race in the World'.

Racing 1000 km across 'wild Mongolian terrain' - 25 international 'riders' on hundreds of native horses (i.e. the little Mongolian ponies), will change mounts every 40 km "so the horses will be fresh" (read: not injured or dead), over no marked course, with no confirmed water stops - "They're going to give us GPS locations to the wells, where we'll be able to get water, and they don't guarantee that the wells will have water," says one of the participants.

And, there's the big question about veterinary control. "Hopefully we won't get any horse injuries because the nature of the Mongol Derby means it is the rider under stress not the horse," says the website. (Horses, with presumably no conditioning programs, carrying heavy riders with various or no degrees of endurance or racing experience, racing 40 km, not stressed?)

"12-14 hand" ponies (weight limit for riders is 187 pounds - !) will be "semi-wild" and unshod. "if your horse sustains even a minor injury you will need to get off and walk it to the next Urtuu. (No word on how, if the horse breaks a leg, or crashes metabolically, one would be able to do this.) You will receive training on how to spot injuries and assess their severity before the race in Mongolia."

The website says there will be 'veterinary backup to come to its rescue', but the overall welfare of the horses has yet to adequately documented. No veterinarians have been named to oversee the horse?s medical needs. And how would one do this for 1000 km, when the participants may take up to 3 weeks to finish, where there is no marked course? "They're providing us with these yellow brick trackers, so we can activate the emergency beacon if our horse is injured and we can't walk it in," a rider said.

When asked if V.E.T. Net, a Mercy Corps program which trains Mongolians, would address this critical issue, the charity spokes people did not respond.

And speaking of charities, to further twist things the wrong way, the world-wide charity Mercy Corps has accepted 25,000 British pounds in exchange for helping the English travel company to organize this event.

?Mercy Corps are delighted to be a part of the first ever Mongol Derby,? said Jennifer Adams, Mercy Corps Event Development Coordinator in Scotland. No word from Jennifer on how, or if, any of that 25,000 British pound 'donation' will be spread to the Mongolian nomads who sell or lend (or, perhaps, are told to do so? Makes you wonder) their horses to this 'race', or how, or if they will be reimbursed if their horses are injured or die.

"Bleeding kidneys, broken limbs, open sores, moon stroke and a list of dangers longer than your arm stand between you and victory,? warns the official race website, to entice adventurers and adrenaline junkies.

Hey, I'm all for fun and adventure, and adrenaline junkets; and personally I don't care if people want to put their lives in danger, that's their business. But if it's all about the pain and danger to, and stress on, the humans, why not have them walk, or run, or drive? Why endanger hundreds of horses that nomadic Mongolians depend upon for their way of life? Why should even one horse be made to risk its life for this bit of 'fun' by foreigners?

If you want to ride endurance, come ride in the Tevis Cup or some of our 5-day rides, or the Tom Quilty or the 5-day Shahzada in Australia. If you want to horse tour around Mongolia, take an organized tour with someone who has been there before (The Adventurists, putting in this 'race', have not. Ever.) You can even go with endurance riders, Christoph Shork and Dian Woodward of Global Endurance Training, who lead organized tours over there in conjunction with Boojum Expeditions, a REAL expedition and adventure travel company. You can ride 8 hours a day and learn something about the Mongolian people and culture, not exploit them.

This Mongol Derby is not a sporting event. This is not endurance riding. This travesty of a 'race' is a disgrace to the horse world and an insult to responsible riders and competitors and horse organizations around the world. If you are participating in it, I would really like to know your reasons. Please feel free to comment or email me if you are one.

There will be more to come in my blogs as things develop with this. For now, you can read an Article by the Long Rider's Guild, "Racing into Trouble". You can also read much more on the Mongolia page on The Long Rider's Guild.

And if you care, you can sign a petition to stop this HERE on the Voices for Horses page.

If you'd like more on this "Official Charity" Mercy Corp who is accepting money for helping with this, click here and form your own opinions.

More to come.

Mangled

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:09:00 +0000

Thursday June 25 2009

"Your horse is LAME LAME LAME, 3-LEGGED LAME, DEAD LAME!" in the right hind, for 3 days, on bute, Steph told me right after I got back from the Strawberry Fields ride. She couldn't find any heat or swelling, and didn't know if it might be an abscess... or a break somewhere up high. Kind of puts your heart in your throat when you hear your horse can't put his leg down and is literally hopping on 3 legs - for 3 days.

When I got home, Stormy was finally able to put some slight weight on the foot, and I found a very tiny warm and sensitive spot, top of his hoof on the coronet band - maybe he was going to pop a gravel out of there. It does make them dead lame for a couple of days. I couldn't find anything else poking and prodding up his leg and stifle to indicate anything broken.

I then walked over to the neighbor's to throw their horses some hay. I wasn't planning on interacting with any horses, but a couple of mares came up behind me. One had some terrible ear itches and came up to have them scratched - and barrelled right into me. And stood on my foot. Which was in a sandal.

I shrieked and flailed at her but she wouldn't get off, and when she finally moved away, she pivoted first, grinding my foot into the ground.

I live in sandals, but I never wear them when I work around horses. I always make sure to take the time to put shoes on. Except today.

Now I am LAME LAME LAME, 3-LEGGED LAME, DEAD LAME in the right hind. Mashed the top of my foot, turned it blue; nothing broken I think, but I ripped a toenail off. It's a bloody mangled mess. Looks like I put it in a blender.

That is true empathy with my horse, don't you think?

And Stormy did blow a gravel out his coronet band.

A New Zealand friend was at the Tom Quilty endurance ride last year, with his old mentor. They were walking around their horses barefoot (!). "That way I know where my feet are."

I know where my feet are - one is soaking in an antiseptic bath and getting wrapped in a bandage from being stepped on, and I won't be able to ride in the 2-day ride we are having here this weekend, dang it!

Two days later, it feels better and I'm not limping so badly (though it doesn't look much better)... maybe I can ride a horse...

Steve B suggested I get an old pair of shoes and cut a hole out where my toe goes, so that it doesn't rub. That's a possibility. What's a little pain? It's not like I broke my leg. It's not like I even broke a toe. It is very tempting.

But then, the thought of just bumping my toe makes me a bit nauseous, and what's the probability of NOT bumping my toe once in 50 or 100 miles of riding?

Well, perhaps there will be some other great opportunities that arise as I hobble around and watch the other riders having fun. At the least, my lame horse and I can hang around and hobble and heal together.

2009 Strawberry Fields Forever - Day 3

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:40:00 +0000

Monday June 22 2009

Well, I can't say I was TOO disappointed about not riding 50 miles today, as Sue and I hunkered down in her trailer early in the morning, watching the rain stream down the windows, and watching the horses stick their heads down and their butts to the gusting rain. Nor was I complaining as I poured myself a third cup of Starbucks coffee, perked in Sue's Moka Expresso Maker on her stove in her horse trailer, as she put on layers of clothes underneath her raincoat, preparing to go out.

I did have a little twinge of jealousy, however, as the 16 die-hard 50-milers and the 4 25-milers headed out on the trail, shafts of sun very briefly poking through the clouds and mist as riders whooped and yee-hawed their way northward up the canyon, back into the mist. I went back to the trailer and had another cup of coffee.

The lunch vet check was out of camp, at the Corrals way up Bjorkman road. I went there with Linda Howard, who had ridden the first two days (on her horse that almost drowned in a bog here a couple of years ago), and who was crewing today for her nephew. She had me drive so she could finish her breakfast, and it was all fine until we got to the corrals - where the road turned to a sea of mud in a meadow. Oh dear! I gunned it and whipped the steering wheel wildly back and forth (a learned desperate habit from the sands of Dubai!) so we wouldn't get stuck, and made it to some dry ground and parked. "YOU get to drive back!" I said to Linda.

Although she didn't ride today, you could also call Linda a hard core endurance rider. Last year she was in a cast from her neck to her waist, after breaking her neck - on Mother's Day. Of course she's back riding now. Linda has over 8600 miles, and over 21 seasons of riding, she has only 4 pulls! And one of those was a Rider Option - the Almost-Bog-Drowning!

Linda loves multi-day rides, her ultimate goal being to finish with a healthy horse that's ready to go again the next day; and with her record, you could say she excels at them. Her main horse, AM Gypsy Realm, has over 3300 miles in 7 seasons, and 67 starts, with only 2 pulls (one of them the Rider Option for the Almost-Bog-Drowning!) That's my kind of endurance riding too: multi-days, horses that go many seasons, many thousands of miles.

I expected to see Sue arrive first at the vet check on Al, but several others arrived before she did. Marty said he'd seen a horse's tracks that missed the turn down off the snowfield. He'd followed them a ways, but then lost them. When more than half a dozen people had arrived at the vet check, I figured the lost rider must have been Sue! Sure enough, when she finally arrived, she said yes, those were Al's tracks - Sue hadn't seen the turn down the mountain, and she got onto another trail where she did see some ribbons, and ended up following that all the way down before realizing she was on the wrong trail. Then she and Al had to climb back up onto the ridge to look for the right trail down! So Al had some hard extra mileage today that he'd be able to tell Khan all about this evening.

While the sun was just beginning to come out in the meadow, Marty said that up on the ridge, it had been a cold hurricane a'blowin', sleet pounding sideways, the wind trying to rip off the visor from his helmet.

It was a tricky trail today: a hard climb, sketchy footing and wicked weather - and everybody was smiling when they came down, having a good time. Tom Noll said it was great - the clouds would briefly part and give him a glimpse down one of the canyons - before pounding sleet and snow on them again. Tom's horse Frank - his 3rd day on the trail - didn't care about any ol' good scenery, he just wanted to go fast, as usual. Tom and Frank have been having this speed argument for 9 years and 4000 miles now. They still haven't worked it out. Frank was loving the personalized Feed Service at the vet check by Linda Howard, who fetched him his favorite food of the afternoon and held it in a feed bucket right up to his nose, so he wouldn't have to walk anywhere or bend his head down.

After Linda's nephew headed back out on the trail, Linda turned her jeep around without getting stuck, and we drove back to camp, where Khan was sweating under two blankets in the sunshine. I spent the rest of the afternoon, while waiting for Sue and Al to come in, between rain storms that swept through camp, taking off and putting back on Khan's blanket(s), and hanging out our blankets and Frank's blankets to dry, then running and grabbing them and putting them back inside from the rain.

A couple of thunderstorms skirted camp to the west - where the riders were coming in - and I watched (cowered) from the safety of the trailer. Drinking more Starbucks.

Sue finished somewhere around fourth, and after she vetted in, then showed for Best Condition, we packed up, loaded up the horses, and headed to her house outside of Park City. A number of today's riders lingered and camped overnight at Strawberry Fields, enjoying a potluck dinner and the cool clear starry evening in the mountains.

In Park City, Sue and I turned Al and Khan out with their 5 buddies. They all sniffed noses, ran around their paddock in circles, then Al and Khan went to the bestest softest dirt, and rolled and rolled, till they came up as black horses.

And so it turned out that neither Sue nor I had to worry at all about the new horse I was getting on for the first time at Strawberry Fields Forever - I now have a new pink-nosed equine pal. It was a great weekend, for humans and horses.

www.endurance.net/international/USA/Strawberry

Strawberry Fields Forever - Day 2

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:39:00 +0000

Sunday June 21 2009

Photo by Vicki Gaebe
Park City Photography

If you want to know what the weather is going to do for the day, don't listen to the forecast (yesterday was supposed to be rainy, today was supposed to be the best day). Just look south out the door of your horse trailer when you get up to see what's headed your way.

Headed our way this morning was rain. Gray everywhere, dark clouds, and rain. It was already wet from rain during some of the night.

If you want to know what to wear, check out what Dave Rabe is wearing. Tank top with his shorts, and raincoat? If so, I only needed 2 layers. That's what I put on under the raincoat Sue loaned me. She offered me a bright yellow, stiff, body length raincoat, which would have kept me dry, too warm, and unable to bend my arms. So I opted for a 99 cent plastic job stored in her tack room door for emergencies. I left my camera behind though... didn't want to take a chance on getting it wet.

I don't think any of us 50-some riders in the 50 and 25 milers were bothered by the rain, especially since we'd gotten such a wonderful freebie good day yesterday. Khan was more relaxed starting out - no shaking while we saddled up, and only a mimimal of jigging. He felt very strong underneath me, and was very willing to move on down the trail. That's what you love to feel on a multi-day ride - your horse feeling stronger the next day.

The trails were more slippery this morning due to the overnight rain, but Khan was being very careful as we trotted along, watching where he was putting his feet, and never placing them wrong. Until, that is, we got passed. Three riders caught up with us and cantered by us on the camping road. Khan would have handled that, but then 5 riders ripped past us at a gallop, and that was it. The racehorse brain switched on, and the careful foot placement, and the collected trot and bowed neck went out the endurance window.

Then I had my hands full the next 7 or 8 miles, trying to keep my horse under control and not lose his marbles, and trip over a log in the trail, or slip on a muddy turn. He wasn't too bad, but I had to really pay attention. When we emerged from the tricky trail through forest into the Strawberry valley again, Khan was so worried about the line of horses he could see ahead of us, he didn't pay attention to the churned up footing coming to the Crick. Both his front feet got stuck in deep mud, and we almost went down. (Wouldn't you know one of the video guys was there filming - they were there to film for a hopeful reality show pilot on endurance.)

Vicki Gaebe of Park City Photography was also in the meadow, and, what exquisite timing she had - the sun came out just then ever so briefly, and I had Khan moving ever so nicely for this fleeting moment in the meadow. (That's Vicki's picture of me up top.)

Not only was it a bit nerve wracking with an inattentive horse going over technical ground, but after a while you start to worry about the horse, who's using up way too much energy, getting worked up for nothing. Khan was SO focused on going forward and going fast, that he wouldn't slow down to take a drink or a bite of grass. It wasn't bad at this point in the ride, but you don't want the horse spending his whole ride(s) doing that, or he'll do himself harm metabolically down the road.

Sue and I stopped at the edge of the meadow, and while her horse Al calmly ate, ripping up grass left and right, I hopped off Khan and kept him from walking in circles and tried to get him to concentrate on grass. He'd eat it if I plucked it for him, but he really wasn't interested in taking the time to do it himself - too many horses to catch! Sue and I hung out there a good five or ten minutes, waiting till all horses were out of sight, and Khan finally calmed down a little.

Then with only one horse in sight ahead of us, we started back down the trail, tucking in behind Sue and Al. Now I was back on a smooth calm, collected, attentive white horse, sailing the few miles to the vet check. It really helped Khan to bury his head in the food at the vet check during our 15-minute hold.

From there we trotted up the Beaver Staircase by Co-op Creek again, to Beaver Junction where we had hung up the Day 2 pie plate yesterday. This time we turned down a side drainage, along another Beaver Staircase - levels of beaver ponds and dams all the way down the creek. You really understand the term 'busy as a beaver' when you see all the work they do, chewing down aspens, gnawing them into dam-building-sized logs if they don't fall in the correct place, dragging them down to the creek, shaping sticks, and building some pretty spectacular dams and domes. One dam we passed on one of the creeks was 50 yards long.

I got off to walk down this creek because as usual my knee was killing me, and since it was muddy and rocky. Once I walk on foot for 5 minutes, my knee works itself out. At the bottom we turned onto another logging road, and began a steady climb again for a few miles, past the Corrals that would be used for tomorrow's vet check, and into the fabled Norwegian Woods.

I couldn't wait to see this, as Sue had been talking about the Norwegian Woods for weeks. How can one aspen forest be so different from any other aspen forest? Well, this one was, somehow, charming and alluring. A perfect aspen forest with a carpet of thick green, knee-high plants just on the verge of busting out in purple flowers. In one place the aspens stood perfectly placed and manicured guarding a big meadow; in another spot our trail dodged close to and around single aspens, like the old Star Wars movie Return of the Jedi where they flew through the Moon Forest.

Normally, aspens and wild rose (with thorns) hang out together and make for an annoying, not-so-friendly forest (see Golden Aspens), but these Norwegian Woods were free of roses and thorns and thickets and just made you want to get off your horse and stay a while. Even with the gray day and the rain it was enchanting, and it was the one time I really wished I'd risked bringing my camera today!

After the Norwegian Woods came the other feature of the ride I'd been hearing a lot about: Slick Snot Slope. A fitting name for a Man From Snowy River stomach-dropping hill if you went straight over it ... only this hill was coated with mud. We took the side slope ... also coated with mud and very slick. Fortunately our horses were quite coordinated, and I just didn't think about what it might be like if Khan slipped and went down. If I'd really thought about what I was doing, I might have gotten a little nervous. I sure didn't feel like any fearless Snowy River rider. My eyes were quite wide for the slide down Slick Snot Slope and I think I held my breath.

Our horses slid down on their haunches, big giant sliding steps that eventually got us to the bottom in one piece. Some riders got off at the top to lead their horses down - that would have been REALLY scary! Some of the riders slipped and fell, hoping their horse wouldn't fall slip and fall on them!

We had just a few more miles of trail into camp - a VERY slick muddy trail. Khan was very carefully placing his feet and adjusting for the surface with every step. What a good horse! It took a lot of concentration from both of us.

As if mud wasn't enough to worry about, I got WHACKED by a tree branch that almost tore me off my horse. Branches had been smacking me all day - Khan was a tall horse, but this was the first time i got it in the eye. Fortunately, I have not gotten around yet to that laser eye surgery, so I still have to wear glasses, which saved me here from putting my eye out. A good reason to keep putting off that surgery (or never getting it) and keep wearing my eye protection.

By the time we got to camp for our hour lunch hold, we were pretty wet, our raincoats - Sue's long oiled 'duster' and my 99 center - having let some of the rain through. Of course, for me that might have been because one whole sleeve had ripped apart. We fixed that right up with duct tape.

Heading out on Loop 2, I forgot that my fleece-padded saddle had briefly been out in the rain, so when I mounted, it was like sitting on a wet sponge. Oh, yuck!

Loop 2 was about 20 miles. We went back out the same way through the forest, cutting across the meadow sooner. Here we came upon a group of 6 riders, and before Khan started getting too wound up again, we decided to move on ahead of them.

After crossing the meadow, and debating several minutes about which way our trail went - yesterday's turn-off to the vet check was still marked, and no pie plate indicating we shouldn't take that one, and no ribbons indicating we should go straight - we decided the Willow Creek trail again was the correct way. Howard had said, "Bring your map!" We did, but we still weren't quite sure for a mile or two.

We trotted steadily along the creek, slowing for bogs, letting the horses stop for a drink when they wanted it, and stopping occasionally to let the horses eat grass. So much grass out there - and the cows were moving in on Tuesday to start mowing it all down. We passed over one very big bog that we'd done earlier in the day, and I'd had plenty of time to get quite nervous about it. Khan had been very good about picking the best way through them, so here I just threw him the reins and held my breath and hoped for the best. He got us through again, just fine, and we stopped for a while to graze on the other side.

We were now following the same trail as loop 1, which meant another jaunt through the Norwegian woods! Here we caught up with Melissa Margetts and her Paso Fino gelding Cabo from Colorado. You don't see too many Paso Finos in endurance, and in fact, Cabo is the first one to complete Tevis. Melissa and Cabo started their endurance careers together in 2006. Many people said they'd never make it through the tough 100 miles of Tevis, but they've also completed 2 other hundreds, including the Big Horn in Wyoming.

Melissa had taken a wrong turn - the one Sue and I had debated over - and though her horse argued and argued with her, telling her she was going the wrong way, she didn't listen, and consequently had added about 10 miles to their day. Cabo was quite cranky with her the rest of the day. Those two are entered in the Tevis again this year.

Then it was back to Slick Snot Slope... even more muddier and slippery after the passage of roughly 300 horse feet throughout the day. I just didn't think about it again, and held my breath again, and left the passage all up to Khan. He skidded for yards at some places, sat on his haunches at others, and we slid safely to the bottom of the hill. Then we followed the now REALLY slick trail the few miles back to camp (me successfully ducking at the Eye-Poker branch this time), and soon we were back in camp again for the finish. Perfect timing, because the other sleeve of my raincoat had now ripped out. (Get out the duct tape again!)

Our horses looked great at the finish, and trotted out sound. We unsaddled them, and fixed them up with dry blankets and lots of food.

The Bradleys cooked another human meal of marinated turkey and 'funeral potatoes' (pardon the pun, but they are to die for), which was served during a downpour. Some people crowded under awnings or tents to eat, but I was wearing the Big Banana Raincoat, which kept me dry, though it was still hard to bend my arms to put food in my mouth.

Howard had a brief meeting for tomorrow's ride; he decided to stick with his original plan of taking riders up to 10,000', through some snow, for a scenic ride. It was going to be "very technical," and more rain was predicted. "And guys, BE CAREFUL," said vet Kathy Bacchus. "We can NOT get to you up there if anything happens. Go slow, and take care of each other out there." This is real endurance, for the hard core riders.

That clinched the decision for me not to ride Khan tomorrow. He'd done enough these two days - being only his second and third endurance rides - and, while Khan was generally very careful, I just didn't want to take any chances on hurting Sue's horse. I'd help Sue and Al get ready in the morning and send them on their way.

And then sit and drink Starbucks all morning. : )

Merri

www.endurance.net/international/USA/2009Strawberry

Strawberry Fields Forever - Day 1

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:26:00 +0000

Saturday June 20 2009

You never quite know, when you climb on a horse for the first time 5 minutes before the start of a 50-mile endurance ride, what you will be in for. Is he going to run off with me or dump me? I REALLY don't want to get hurt. Will we get along, or will we be fighting all day - is it going to be fun or miserable? And what about the horse? I REALLY don't want to tie up or colic or hurt someone else's horse.

By the same token, someone who loans you one of their horses to ride that you get on 5 minutes before you leave the starting line, never knows how you and their horse are going to get along, or what they are going to have left at the finish.

And so it was, that just before the start of Day 1's 55-mile ride I climbed on Sue's horse Amazing Khan for the first time, to take him through only his second endurance ride. "He gets a bit excited," Sue said, "but nothing bad." We were letting most everybody go ahead of us because we were going to hang out a pie plate showing the way on Day 2, after all the riders had passed today's turn off. That was probably good for me, so my horse wouldn't have a pile of horses and riders to deal with around the start and down the trail.

Khan, a kind white gelding with pink-rimmed eyes and mouth, (Sue said, "I hate pink horses!" They sunburn so easily, especially at these high altitudes) was quite calm as we saddled up, though he was shaking a bit. When I hit the saddle, he started jigging as we made our way to the start, behind Sue and her horse Al. It was a nervous jig... but, hallelujah, that's all he did. He never pulled hard or threw his head up or down or bucked. Only a few times on the first loop did he pull and hang on the bit, but I got him off of it with little effort.

Not a half mile out of camp, I yelled out loud as we trotted over a great horned owl feather. "Wait!" I'd just heard that a GHO feather is as good as a St Christopher medal. Of course, the person who told me that might have been making that up, but it sounded good to me. "You better get off and get it!" Sue said. Khan was in a good forward mode, but, yes, I better stop him, turn him around and get off to get the feather. (Good practice anyway for the horse, stopping, getting off and on.) Khan and I had 155 miles of travel together ahead of us, and you never know when you'll need the patronage of the Patron Saint of Travelers. (Later I found out that St Christopher also protects travelers against lightning!!!!!)

It was quite the technical trail we traveled on through the fir and aspen forest on the west side above the Strawberry valley. Twisting, turning, up and down, over tree trunks and branches, around rocks, by boggy beaver ponds that are ever-oozing outward, sometimes muddy, sometimes rocky. You needed an athlete for this ride, not a torpid stumblebum. Fortunately Khan was very balanced, and not intimidated by anything - nothing better than a competent, confident, forward moving horse! What a treat - we were a perfect match!

A few miles out, we met a rider coming back. Linda Fisher said she'd broken a rib or two: "I can't ride 50 miles like this!" Riding must have felt better than walking, though, because she was still on her horse as she headed back to camp.

We crossed the little Strawberry River (more like a 'crick') and crossed to the other side of the valley. The trail we followed led through a hillside covered with sagebrush, mules ears, and strawberry plants which, in the fall, must be an oral paradise for humans and animals alike!

We caught up with Mark Wood and Dave Rabe as we entered an aspen forest. Here were a couple of Real Endurance Riders. Mark has 15,000 AERC miles, and Dave has 45,000 miles - ! Dave is always pleasant and always has a good time - rain, snow, sleet, hail, hurricane or sunshine - and he's always wearing shorts. Never wears tights. Wouldn't be caught dead in them. Only once or twice has he been spotted wearing jeans on horseback, and that was for an Easy Boot ad.

I've known Dave a long time and have never seen him in anything but shorts and tank top (maybe a long-sleeved shirt under the tank top, if it's really cold, or a raincoat if it's snowing or raining), so it's normal to me, but several people here who didn't know Dave were awed by it. (It IS awesome, when you're wearing 4 layers and Dave's in shorts and a tank top and he's not frozen.) All I know is that if I DID see him in anything other than shorts, I'd be suspicious or worried.

Many parts of the Strawberry Fields trails we went through were muddy, soft and squishy. Here I followed Sue across a squishy field, and just behind us, crossing in the same spot, Dave and his horse went down in a bog. And here is where I remembered that I have TWO fears in endurance riding: LIGHTNING, and BOGS.

Ever since a couple of years ago, when Gretchen and I almost lost one of her horses in a bog, soft muddy ground has made me nervous. Not a pleasant experience, watching a horse almost drown in mud. (And on Day 3, Linda Howard told me about the time her horse almost drowned in a bog a few years ago - IN THIS RIDE! I'm glad I heard about it afterwards : )

Dave immediately leaped off and was able to quickly get his horse out (he didn't go down far), but I had the Willies for the rest of the ride any time we went over squishy places... which was too often for my comfort level.

We got to the pulse down and trot-by stop in the next valley (which would be the lunch vet check after a big loop), and we waited there till all the riders on the 50 had come through. Khan kept his head buried in food the whole time.

Loop 2 took us up Co-op Creek, climbing and climbing in the forest, along a staircase of beaver ponds and dams, to the aptly named Beaver Junction (where we hung the pie plate and changed ribbons for tomorrow), up onto logging roads, still slowly climbing, up to 10,000'. The aspen forest was spectacular - gold, yellow, lime green leaves against the clear blue sky. Bright sunshine, cool breeze - it was perfect!

Our horses were trotting along easily, Khan enjoying being in front, me enjoying being in front on a strong forward horse that didn't spook at anything. Sue was fascinated with all the carvings on the aspens. Aspen trees in the Hoover Wilderness of the high Sierras in California have carvings from the late 1800s from Basque sheepherders; these carvings were mostly from the 1970's to now, though there were a couple from the 1950's. Mostly it was just names, but there were some pretty outrageous carvings, some artistic, some a bit naughty! There was one Russell Whitehorse who left his carved name everywhere, one of them with a carved horse head. I got off and put my white horse by the carved white horse on the white aspen tree, left by Russell Whitehorse, and took a picture.

We caught up with Dave and Mark again, and with Carla Richardson from Colorado. We all leapfrogged for several miles through the forest. Rounding a corner high on a logging road, I was unprepared for the stunning sight of Strawberry Reservoir about 2500' below us. We had a great view of mountain ranges in the distance, the closest being the Wasatch range, and we heard a fox call from underneath cliffs by a dried up pond.

Our logging road then turned down, gradually downward for miles, out onto a winding trail through the sagebrush in the valley that led us to the vet check.

We were there for an hour, and Khan did not lift his head ONCE from all the horse food: grass (which we'd been snatching from all along the trail), hay, alfalfa, grain, carrots, apples. That's what you like to see in an endurance horse - a good eater! I had to peel him away from the grain buckets as we headed out on our final loop back to camp and the finish.

We crossed over the boggy area again without mishap - Sue flagging a different way around it for tomorrow's trail - following Bjorkman road up and up again along a creek. Parts of the trail were quite muddy from yesterday's rain, but Khan and Al had no trouble with it.

Then suddenly - we were descending the last half mile into camp. It was 5:00, but the day had flown swiftly by, under my horse's fleet and sure feet. A great day for just about everybody. 56 of 58 finished the 55 miler, and 28 of 29 finished the 25 miler. The endurance riding Bradley family cooked dinner for everybody - salad and lasagna, just the thing to hit the spot after a day of frolicking on horseback with my new pal Khan in the Utah mountains.

Just an excellent day all around.

Strawberry Fields Endurance ride on endurance.net

A Ride in Utah!

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:58:00 +0000

Friday June 19 2009

It started with an email from Sue Hedgecock to Steph: "Would any of you like to whip down here, relax and ride at Strawberry?? What would it take??"

A 3-day ride in Utah?? All it took for me was an offer of a horse to ride.

"Do you like a tall horse or a short horse; can you tolerate a sensitive horse, or do you want to be more laid back? What do you want to ride? 25's? 50's? All the days?"

My requirements were 1) a horse that preferably does not buck, because I only stay on them about half the time, 2) a horse that is not crazy, because I prefer to have fun (my motto is, "Lazy is better than Crazy!"), and 3) ride 50's every day!

Sue's only requirement was, "Bring your Starbucks!"

With enough gear to make it look like I was moving to Utah, I caught a ride from Idaho with the rather famous northwest endurance horse Frank, and his driver Tom Noll, to the ridecamp at 8200' up the Strawberry River valley in the Uintah mountains - the highest mountain range in Utah.

Put on by Howard Kent for the 7th year, the Strawberry Fields Forever Endurance Ride webpage says "The terrain is challenging,
but not difficult, with trails winding through aspens and meadows
filled with wildflowers and spectacular mountain scenery. The area is
blessed with some of the most pristine, gorgeous riding terrain
imaginable."

(I also noticed the "You can expect the occasional thunder shower so come prepared" - yikes!). On the trails, if I could peel my eyes away from the scenery, I'd be on the lookout for deer, elk, moose, beaver, and bears that lived in the Uintah range. Doesn't it all make your endurance muscles quiver with anticipation!

By the time we pulled into ridecamp Friday afternoon, the sun was out - first time in days, as the area had been hammered by rain/hail/thunderstorms.

We were set up for a gorgeous weekend of mountain endurance riding in Utah.

Farewell, Dear Friends

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 04:27:00 +0000

Wednesday June 17 2009

Farewell, Dear Friends

There comes a time when it's time to let go.

They've been a long time on this earth, they are well past their prime, and they've long served a great purpose. But their performance is no longer what it used to be and they no longer fulfill their purpose up to their potential.

These great Kerrits tights were hand-me-downs from another endurance rider who probably recognized the GOODWILL stamped all over me, and she passed on her already worn Kerrits to me. I gave them a good home, wore the BeJeezUs out of them for many more years, until the fabric got thinner and thinner, and then so thin there's no patches that would stay on them.

I have a few newer pairs of tights, but they just aren't the same as the faithful old good pairs of Kerrits, who've been with me through thick and thin, rides and falls, good weather and lightning, travels near and distant.

It's the same thing with old shoes - you know how it is. I had a pair of Vasque Sundowner hiking boots that I finally retired and replaced after 10 hard-working years. I threw the old pair in the garbage. And pulled them out before the trash got picked up.

After wearing the new ones for a couple of years, I finally admitted I could throw the old ones out. So I did... and once more pulled them out of the garbage, and have kept them since. They are now at least 16 years old, and have a place in my closet (or on my feet) for life. (They are actually hardier, and made better, than my new pair.) They still go out on hikes in the summers and in the snows.

However, it's time to move on to my newer tights. (Maybe like this pair. Although I always make sure I'm riding a horse that won't put me in the hospital, because if you wear a wild pair like this, you should at least look like you know what you're doing.)

It's time time to let my old friends go. Farewell, Dear Friends.

Brothers

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:17:00 +0000

Sunday June 14 2009

Here they are, Jose and Kazam, reunited. I had kept Kazam locked up apart from Jose for 6 long dreary months over the winter (see I Want My Brother), because he was slightly off in a front leg. We figured he might have gotten it from playing around so hard with his brother (see WWJD). They were sad about the separation, and I had a hard time keeping them apart, as Jose got bored and had nobody to play with, and Kazam got so bored with nobody to play with and nothing to do, he'd eat his fences, and he'd come up to me and try to put a halter on his head. It would have been SO easy just to open that gate separating them...

After six months, the slight limp was still there. Enough already! We turned him back out. Either it's going to get worse or it's going to get better with him free to move around everywhere. (So far, it hasn't gotten any worse.)

But it's so great to see the brothers together again. They really get into their play.

What a treat for them, and for me getting to watch them.

A whole series of Jose and Kazam playing here on endurance.net.

Wyoming

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:54:00 +0000

Monday June 8 2009

I've seen a lot of beautiful places, but that drive from the Big Horn Mountains in northeast Wyoming, going west, down into the Big Horn Canyon/valley, to Cody, along the North Fork of the Shoshone River which borders the Absaroka and Bearthtooth Wildernesses to the north, and on into the southeast entrance of Yellowstone, is fantastic. Keep on going down through Grand Teton National Park, and you'll see some of the most amazing and most varied terrain and landscape and geologic features, some of the most gorgeous places anywhere on the planet. I'll put that area up against anything I've seen.

The Grand Tetons emerging from snow and storm clouds just before the sun sinks behind them, with Colter Bay spread out in front of them is nothing short of stunning, no matter how many times you see it. The view punches you in the gut, sucks your breath away.

The sharp smell of the fir and pine forest after a wet snowfall, the pungent odor of the sulphur hot springs in Yellowstone, the iciness of a frozen lake, a crashing river in a deep canyon, the lovely spiraling call of the Swainson's thrush in the twilight, a howling pack of coyotes at nightfall - treasures and mysteries begging to be noticed and explored.

The Raven enjoyed the excursion too, though he was somewhat offended by the "Don't feed the wildlife signs" with his picture on it. Ravens have to eat too!

I saw one tourist in Grand Teton walking around with a mask over his mouth and nose. I wanted to run up and rip it off him and yell, "Breathe this in! The purest cleanest healthiest air you'll ever get a chance to breathe! The crisp cold mountain and forest air will cure your ailment!" But I didn't.

After camping in the rain in Grand Teton, I got up early, made a cup of Starbucks over my camp stove, then took a 2-mile hiking trail along the lake. Two miles of solitary bliss: hugging trees, touching the frigid lake, inhaling the intoxicating smell of the wet forest, wincing at the beauty. Sometimes you couldn't tell where the peaks ended and the storm clouds began.

Nothing but me (and the Raven) and a bald eagle in a tree on the lakeshore looking down at me (don't forget to look up, to see what's looking down at you). He was probably drying off, probably thinking about going fishing, but surely he had to be enjoying the scenery too. I'm pretty sure this encounter was also arranged just for me, since I was the only one around to see him.

Then it was time to rush off again - places to go, appointments to keep - but I got a brief glimpse of paradise again.

More of Wyoming gallery

2009 Fort Howes Endurance Ride - Day 2

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:35:00 +0000

Sunday June 7 2009

IT'S ALL MENTAL

Endurance riding comes in all shapes and sizes: challenging terrain, challenging horses, fun rides, hard rides, long rides, all too-short rides. Day 2 of Fort Howes could have fit the Extreme Endurance category because of the weather and the footing.

"This was a mental ride," said Jan Worthington, who rode the hundred. (After winning the 75-miler yesterday).

Tom Gower, also on the hundred, echoed that: "It was mental from the minute I got up at 4 AM."

Extremely mental for the riders, very physical for the horses, for 8 to 20 hours: wet, cold, and muddy.

There were a dozen forms of precipitation that started at midnight and didn't stop till 4 PM, all of them involving some form of ice. By 8:30 it was sleeting; 9 AM it was sleet/snow; 10 AM it was snowing. One local said that for this time of year in Montana, this was "fluffy hail." An official, bundled up in many layers, said, "Excuse me, I'm from Florida, and this is SNOW!" Temperatures stayed in the low to mid-30's all day.

48 intrepid riders started in the murky weather (which was actually reasonable compared to what was to come), 22 on the 100 miler at 5:30 AM, and 26 on the 55 miler at 6:30 AM. Many were FEI riders, hoping to qualify their horses or get their COC's (Certificate of Completion), or gain ranking points, for the Kentucky World Endurance Championship in 2010 and the pre-ride in Kentucky this October. Only a few people 'wimped out' although I'd call it 'decided not to ride on a dismal day that would be a great challenge for both horses and riders, and besides, I'm here to have fun, so forget it!'

In short, it was muddy and slick everywhere, and it got worse as the day wore on. Car wheels spun on the 'roads' through basecamp, people slipped in the mud around the crewing areas and vet ring, horses slipped on the trails. Most riders stayed on their horses going down steep hills, because they were afraid to try to walk and lead their horses. Some horses slid on their hocks going down steep hills. Jan Worthington's comments, at various vet gates, were, "Oh boy." "It's treacherous out there!" "It's hard to smile for that camera!" Just to illustrate exactly how slick it was, another rider commented, "It's slicker'n whale's turds out there!"

Every step for the horse was a risk. "Mud is the hardest thing for horses," Jan said. It was either slippery, or it was heavy going. One rider observed, "All it takes is one slip, and you're done." She retired her horse after 60 miles.

And it was uncompromisingly cold all day. It was uncomfortable much of the time for the riders - those who had dry clothes changed clothes at every vet check, but eventually they ran out of dry clothes.

While the cold probably was better in general for the horses, it made for difficult crewing. The horses were laboring extra hard out there in the mud, and their pulses were higher than they would have been on a dry surface, coming in to the vet checks. They needed cooling down, but how do you cool down a hot horse on a frigid, wet day? You didn't want to pour water all over them because there was a fine line between cooling down and getting too wet - soon they'd be shivering, and they'd never dry off. And it just never stopped raining. There was no shelter from it - blankets got wet and stayed wet - unless you put up a crewing tent, which a half a dozen crews did.

However, despite all the challenges, the discomfort, the looooooong bleak day stretching out ahead of riders and crews, there were quite a few smiles (or maybe they were just gritting their teeth through the cold) - exhibiting that wry sense of humor that endurance riders and crews possess. It has been proven, after all, that endurance riders are a bit crazy.

One rider, Pamela Hendricksen from South Dakota, was doing her first-ever 50. Going out on her last loop, she said, "I'm a wimp and I'm surprised I'm still going!" She was tickled with how much mud was all over her stirrups and legs. She finished the ride. Think of how enjoyable and easy all the rest of her endurance rides will be when she has good weather and terrain!

Junior Coletan MacLeod was back on his same unruffled horse Zorro's SeaBiscuit for the 55-miler, wearing his same pleasant smile. "How's it going out there?" I asked. "Oh, fine. I just wish it wasn't so cold." (Not, "I'M FREEZING MY A** OFF!" like I might have said.) Zorro's SeaBiscuit and Coletan were the only pair to attempt both 50-mile days of Fort Howes.

Things were looking good for Coletan and his sponsor, Paschal Karl, until Paschal's horse was pulled at the 2nd vet check. Fortunately, Paschal's wife Debra was scheduled to go out on the last loop 45 minutes later, and she agreed to pick up Coletan. The two just waited patiently under blankets until it was time to go out again with their new sponsor.

One horse dumped his rider somewhere out on the trail and came running and sliding back into camp. Jan Stevens and I cornered and caught him, while Jan tried to figure out who was riding #149. It was Lynne Hartman, who eventually made it back to camp, and Rider Option pulled.

It was hard to distinguish between some riders, as they just had their eyes and noses and mouths sticking out of their tight rain hoods. You couldn't go by clothes because they changed them so often, and the horses were disguised in mud. When the rain or snow was beating down into their faces, the horses bowed their necks to avoid it.

Eryn Rapp was always near the front of the 55-mile ride, on Grannys Scarlet, along with the Stevens Young Riders, Heather and Jennifer. Julie Jackson-Biegert of Illinois and Nitro led the 100 all day.

Ed Kidd, riding his 14-year-old black horse Merlin, was next in the hundred, followed closely by Suzy Hayes on her beautiful golden gelding, Tezero's Gold, and Tom Gower on JG Saqr.

Loops 3 and 4 for the 100 (10 miles out, a trot-by the vets, and 15 miles back) led up out of the forest onto the flats, where vets Melissa Ribley and Jim Bryant watched the horses trot out. Ed Kidd was the first to arrive... and the first to get pulled out there. Merlin was off in front; Ed said he'd been going along great until just a mile from this check, Merlin had slid in the mud and hit a rock with his left front, knocking himself good. Ed maintained his sense of humor: "Somedays you're the windshield, some days you're the bug. Today? I was the bug!" He and Merlin waited out there for a trailer to slip n' slide its way up the red mud forest service road, and he said it was quite the slalom ride down back to camp.

That left Julie and Nitro in the lead, with Tom Gower and JG Saqr, Suzy Hayes and Tezero's Gold, and Sue Hedgecock and Steadys Temmpo not far behind. Suzy's horse was giving her grief - "He was a raving maniac on this loop - I had my hands double wrapped around his reins!" Nearing 2700 AERC miles, Tezero's Gold has completed 41 of 43 starts, and is a 4-time top 10 finisher in the Fort Howes 100. He was a beautiful golden sight flying through the green grass on a trail below the forest.

There was no hold at the trot-by, but the first few horses I saw stopped to have a drink and some brief snacks that crews had brought out. The rain had temporarily abated, but there was a swift chilly breeze that discouraged anybody from hanging out too long.

Next time I saw Sue Hedgecock, coming in off of Loop 5 into basecamp, at the end of 85 miles, her horse Temmpo was looking traumatized. "We were going along fine after the trot-by, when both of his front feet hit a bog. He launched me in the air and flipped over, and stayed down." (Jan Worthington said later, "Oh, yea, I know that bog. I knew it was there so I avoided it!") Temmpo was stunned; he wouldn't move. Sue was by herself - nobody else around - so she unsaddled him, gave him a boot in the butt, which sort of snapped him to, and he got up. He seemed to be fine, nothing broken, so she saddled him up again, walked him a while then got on him. He still seemed okay, so she continued on back to camp. He ended up getting pulled for metabolics. Too bad, after all that exertion, and with only 15 miles to go; but with 15 difficult miles anyway, you never really know what kind of internal damage a horse might have sustained from a fall... or when it might show up out on trail. (Back home in Utah a few days later, Temmpo was fine - it was the rider that was "sore, sore," from bruising her ribs from the fall.)

The rain continued in basecamp as the leaders of the 55 approached the finish line. Eryn Rapp and Rita Swift made a race of it the last 50 yards; Rita's helmet flew off in the heated sprint, and Eryn's Grannys Scarlet outlasted Rita's WP Front and Sinter, in just over 5 hours and 40 minutes. The Stevens girls trotted in together, less than 7 minutes behind them. Jennifer's horse Phil ended up getting Best Condition. Phil and Jennifer, and Heather and RSA Count LaQuen finished 3rd and 4th in last year's North American Young Riders FEI 75-miler.

The officials and volunteers in camp were huddled whenever possible in a 3-walled canvas tent by the vet ring, while the vets braved the sogginess to examine the horses. Halfway through the day, veterinarian Ray Randall finally put on a rain hat over his baseball cap. Natually, he is from Montana, so he tended not to notice the 'fluffy hail.' Ann Pfeiffer kept the hot coffee and cocoa coming for everybody, as well as other hot treats of spaghetti and soup.

The rain finally eased late in the afternoon, though the clouds still hung heavy above, and the cold wind kept up. Someone lit a nice bonfire in a barrel by the vet tent that warmed you up if you stood close enough to singe the fine fibers of your fleece.

First out at a canter on the last loop of the hundred was Julie Jackson-Biegert, Nitro looking amazingly fresh for his final 15 miles; and under two hours later, it was Julie and Nitro cantering across the finish line 18 minutes in the lead, with Nitro looking great at his final trot-out. Their finish time was 11:40. Julie got 14-year-old Nitro 8 years ago in Indiana when he was headed to the killers. He was unbroke at the time, and, she said, "He almost killed me." She didn't elaborate other than, "It took me 4 months before I could get on him. He's come a long way." With nearly 3400 miles, Nitro has completed 11 of 11 hundred milers, and he and Julie just finished 15th in the Biltmore 100 in May.

The next 3 finishers of the 100 arrived together at the finish line: Tom Gower and JG Saqr, Jan Worthington and Serloki, and Suzy Hayes and Tezero's Gold. They were going to finish in time to get their COC, so there was no need to come in fast, and there was no need to risk any injuries by racing each other in. They decided to draw straws for the finish, and that's the order they drew... but it all changed when Tom's horse vetted out lame at the finish.

"I HATE pulling a horse at the finish," Ray Randall said. "And what a bitter pill after all that effort, especially today." Tom took it graciously, but what a blow. Tezero's Gold ended up getting Best Condition - "Not bad for a Quarter Horse Palomino!" Suzy said.

Finishing an hour and a half later in 6th place was Canadian Tara MacLeod. It was her mare Cairos Summer Romance's first 100. "I almost cried when I saddled her up in the morning, because I knew how hard this would be for her. Many times I questioned myself: 'Why am I doing this?' I got so cold out there. Several times I almost....." but she didn't say "quit"... because she didn't. "I'm so proud of her!"

Bill Stevens and others went out on ATVs to put out glowsticks on the final 15 mile loop for the final 2 riders still going in the dark: Carol Wadey and her daughter Robyn. They drove 1000 miles, from Alberta, Canada, to get here. Around 2:30 AM they were the final finishers of the 11 that completed the hundred.

"A bit of a low percentage," said Jan Stevens at the awards the next morning, "but most 100's don't occur during snowstorms. In June." The Stevens were still smiling in the morning. Maybe because they'd gotten through the ride, or because it was, ironically, now that all the riding was over, a brilliant sunny day.

The 2009 edition of Fort Howes Endurance was one of those rides that everybody would definitely remember. But despite the weather, I didn't hear one person say they didn't like this ride. One rider thanked the Stevens: "Thanks for your hospitality, it's just like being with family" - and it is. Many people said that the trails were excellently marked, and it was beautiful here, and they would come back.

And they do keep coming back to Fort Howes. It's one of those rides that really gets under your skin (or, maybe the weather gets on your skin...). Suzy Hayes, when Jan Stevens announced Tezero's Gold as Best Condition winner in the 100, said, "I hope the award isn't another free entry to Fort Howes!" But she was kiddding. She keeps coming back.

And those who do keep coming back know that you just come prepared for anything, so there's nothing to be had but a great experience and a great time.

Merri

www.endurance.net/international/USA/2009FortHowes/

2009 Fort Howes Endurance Ride - Day 1

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:03:00 +0000

Saturday June 6 2009

MUD, ANYONE?

It was some pretty muddy trails under some pretty heavy gray skies that 78 hardy riders took to on Saturday at the 3 distances, including 5 Young Riders and 4 Juniors. But so far: no rain.

I had brought my helmet and chaps with me, just in case, but so far I wasn't regretting not looking hard for a horse to ride. Of course I'm not a wimp, but... you know what I mean.

The twenty-eight 75-milers started out at 6:30 on the first of 4 loops, on a controlled start out of camp up a slick muddy road, underneath the hill on which is perched the ruins of Fort Howes. At the front of the pack were Doug Swingley of Montana on Pal of Mine, Suzy Hayes of Montana on JV Laredo, and Jan Worthington of Illinois on Golden Lightning (Leon).

Suzy has over 18,000 endurance miles, having started endurance 44 years ago, before the AERC existed, and Jan has over 26,000 miles, also starting endurance pre-AERC. Now though Doug is a relative newcomer to endurance riding on horses, having started in 2006, with 'only' 2000 AERC miles, he knows a thing or two about real endurance: he's a 4-time winner of the Iditarod. Not bad company to be trotting along with.

Thirty-six 50 milers started at 7:30 AM, with Bob Steller of Colorado leading the way on his 14-year-old gelding MSA Majestic Star; and the fourteen 35 milers started a half hour later.

The leaders on the 75 were averaging under 10 miles an hour as they came in off their 23-mile first loop, with Ellen Rapp and Jennifer Poling leading the way. Jan and Leon came in a minute later, Leon looking perky and happy. "He's having a great time!" Jan said. "The trail isn't as bad as I thought it would be." You could stay off the main trail and use the grass to either side... though you couldn't see holes or bogs, so you took your chances with that.

Ellen was pulled at this vet gate, and Jan's horse Leon recovered fastest, which left Jan and Leon in the lead going out on Loop 2, with Jennifer just behind them.

Bob Steller led off the 2nd loop of the 50, with Wisconsinite Tom Gower next, followed by mother and daughter team, Karen and Jessica DiCamillo.

Karen's got over 13,000 AERC miles, and 16-year-old Jessica already has over 4300 miles (!). Together they won the Thornburgh Family Award in 2004 with 2410 miles. Jessica's gotten in trouble more than once with all the school she's misses going to the rides, but she's keeping up her homework and grades, and what better education and use of time than endurance riding for a teen!

Jessica's mount, RGS Cimatars Cricket, is "sort of" her horse. She'd borrowed the mare from her mother to do work on one day at their ranch, rode her on the ranch for 3 more days, and then sort of took her over.

Jessica won last year's 75-mile NAYRER Young Rider endurance ride in Colorado with 'Woody' - the horse she'll ride in the 100 tomorrow; they're aiming for the NAYRER ride again this July.

Bob Steller was pulled after loop 2; Majestic Star was lame in the hind end, the same leg that got him pulled at the Owyhee Fandango two weeks earlier. "It's a shame," Bob said. "His pulse was always down, he was going good, we were soaring through the woods like a falcon!" This allegory might have been for my benefit, as Bob calls me the Bird Lady, and I call him the Bird Man, both of us being bird watching fans.

Meanwhile, coming off Loop 3 on the 75, Jan and Leon were increasing their lead, though not intentionally, as they were keeping the same steady pace. "Leon just feels AWESOME! He's just skipping along out there!" Indeed, Leon still looked great, showing no signs of having covered 60 miles on a slick course. "He was downer than a rock" at every vet gate - referring to his pulse: by the time they walked past the out-timer, then past their crewing area, Leon was able to go straight into the vet ring.

The skies were still heavy and threatening, but still no rain; but the temperature was dropping, and a breeze kept everybody hunched down in their thick Carharts (those clever enough to bring them). Karen DiCamillo noted that "It's cold for these flat-lander horses, coming from Texas or New Mexico, where it's almost up to the 90's already!" Their horses had 3 blankets on during their last vet check, and Jessica kept massaging them to keep their muscles loose.

Common trails were getting pretty muddy - the same trail out of the vet gates onto the trails, and the same mowed stretch of the finish. Ridecamp was starting to get sloppy in places too - the 'roads' in the grass through camp where vehicles kept driving, and the path that people were walking to and from the vet gate.

Throughout the day, volunteers and vets and officials kept getting plied with hot coffee and cocoa and various snacks made by Ann Pfeiffer. Formerly the owner of Animal Tacker, Ann now travels around the world to endurance rides (and reining and eventing), baking outrageous unique treats for everybody. She'd been on Bill and Jan's ranch for about 2 weeks baking non-stop before the ride. You don't have to worry about starving or getting dehydrated at any ride that Ann attends.

The 50 mile ride came to a close conclusion: approaching the finish line 3 abreast were the DiCamillos and Sue Hedgecock. In the last 50 yards, the three started a sprint for the line, but Sue thought better of it and immediately backed off, not wanting to risk that last gallop over the finish trail that was getting slick. Jessica edged her mom out for first place... but unfortunately her horse vetted out lame at the final vet check. That left Karen the winner, with Sue and National Security in second.

Jeff Stuart has his eye on the possibility of Kentucky 2010 for his horse, 'Nash', but thinking he's too heavy of a rider, Nash and Sue teamed up with that goal in mind. Nash was sort of a rescue horse. Though he looks pure Arabian, he's unregistered; Jeff got him in a horse trade, but what he got was not what he expected. The horse was very underweight and unhealthy when Jeff got him, and it took 6 months to nurse him back to health. Jeff and Nash just finished 2nd at the Owyhee Fandango 2 weeks ago in the 55 miler.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the pack of the 50 miler were two juniors.

10-year-old Granger Eichhorn rode his first 50 mile ride on his very cute pony with his dad, Kevin Eichhorn, also riding his first 50 on a Quarter horse. Kevin and Granger regularly crewed for Kevin's wife and daughter, but this was the men's first time on an endurance ride longer than an LD. "We had to start riding or else we'd get bored!" After Granger finished, he said, "It was easy." I think his mom and sister may have lost their crew.

Just behind them was 10-year-old Coletan MacLeod, riding with his friend and sponsor, Lisa Sharkey. Coletan and his mom Tara and sisters hauled for 20 hours to Fort Howes down from northern British Columbia with 4 horses.

Coletan rode his 5-year-old gelding Zorro's Sea Biscuit. They're extremely mild mannered and pleasant - both horse and rider. And both appeared to be enjoying their first 50-mile ride. Coletan always had a smile on his face when he rode by.

There was one brief instant during the day - less than two minutes - where the thick gray clouds parted to let a few rays of sunshine down to - where else - the finish line for - who else - Jan Worthington and Leon. They finished the 75 miler 1 1/2 hours ahead of the next pair, Young Rider Devan Horn and DJB Royal Blue Star. Another Young Rider, Kirsten Kimbler, finished third on Cody Canuck.

Grace Ramsey was ribbing Jan all day about how fast she and Leon went, but Jan insisted, "I didn't ask him, he just did it!" And they had kept up the same steady pace all day. "I was riding my race. If somebody wanted to pass me, then fine." But nobody could keep up with them. She was focused on exactly what she wanted from Leon, their goal also being Kentucky 2010. And Leon really looked terrific all day, at the beginning and the end of the ride. He skipped through his final vet exam too, and later ended up getting Best Condition.

It was in fact a family affair for Jan - her son Guy Worthington finished 9th in the 50; her sister Jeanne rode the 35; and two other sisters, Becky and Carolyn showed up. Becky's husband said, "We've learned to come to the endurance rides - that's the only way we can all get together!"

Following the conclusion of the rides was another excellent meal cooked on the barbecue. Starving riders and crews and at least one photographer hung around like hungry vultures waiting for the meat to be thrown on the grill.

Jan Stevens didn't pump the crowd up with enthusiasm for tomorrow's weather. "We're hoping not to have to get snow shovels out for tomorrow." (groans) "Low of 34* tonight. High of 42* tomorrow. Chance of rain: 60% (big groans!). "But remember, if you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change!" And, "Wimping out is not acceptable, because our vets and volunteers will all be out there, all day and night."

So in other words, get on your horses tomorrow and ride. I was thinking I was really glad I didn't look hard for a horse to ride tomorrow. Not that I'd wimp out or anything, but... you know what I mean.

Merri

2009 Fort Howes Endurance ride on endurance.net

2009 Fort Howes Endurance Ride - Friday

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:02:00 +0000

Friday June 5 2009

Here's a short list of essential items to bring along if you are planning to go to the Fort Howes endurance ride on the Circle Bar Ranch in southeastern Montana in June.

Shorts and tank tops.
Long underwear, winter fleece and wool layers, hat, gloves.
Very good rain gear.
Muck boots.
A sense of humor.
At least 3 changes of everything.

If you have all that, you'll stay comfortable and have a great time no matter what the conditions.

The first thing you might notice when you get to this ranch 20 miles south of Ashland is the simple beauty of the setting in the rolling hills of the Custer National Forest, at about 3000'. Bill Stevens' great great grandfather homesteaded here in 1883 - he was a former sea Captain from Massachusetts - and Bill and Jan's girls are the 6th generation on this ranch. You could say ranching is in their blood.

You could say endurance is too - this is the 13th year the Stevens have put on the Fort Howes Endurance rides. And there really is an old Fort - it had been put up in the late 1800's, "just in case," though it was never needed for protection. The outer walls are still there, and occasionally a roof is, also. A big thunderstorm blew the last one off, and Bill just hasn't gotten around to replacing it yet.

This year was again a 2-day ride: Saturday was a 35, 50, and 75; Sunday was a 55 and 100, all but the limited distances being offered as FEI rides also. And Saturday's 50 was also the Region 6 AHA Championship.

It was warm enough for shorts when I arrived - and it got hot and muggy too, but I'd heard it had been raining the last two days, and more was forecast. Jan and Martin Marsh had come here to Forth Howes from our Owyhee rides two weeks ago - Jan had both her horses entered here, but was sitting on the fence. "We'll see what the weather does. No sense in risking anything if it rains like it did the last 2 days straight."

There were some big rigs that brought 3, 4, 5 horses. Darolyn Butler from Texas brought 2 rigs and 12 horses! Many people drove 2 or 3 days to get here. A lot of riders would be riding the 50, or 75, on Saturday, and the 100 on Sunday. You might say they were a bit deranged, or you might surmise that most FEI riders are either trying to qualify themselves or their horses under the most recent FEI qualification system, for the World Endurance Championship in Kentucky in 2010.

Jan Worthington and Grace Ramsey brought 4 horses from Illinois, a thousand-mile drive. Jan was one who'd be riding the 75 then 100. She'd be on Leon - Golden Lightning - on the 75. Leon and Jan were in the World Championships in Malaysia last year, finished the ride and were pulled at the finish - this after about knocked down by a lightning bolt and getting thrown to the ground. They then finished the President's Cup in February in the UAE, followed by some time off for Leon. He'd just finished 3rd in a 50 last month, so he was ready for a 75. And although Jan probably gets tired of hearing it, it's worth noting that Jan is 69 years old, and is stronger and fitter than most of us.

A couple of Utah-ans had shown up - Sue and Tony Hedgecock, and their almost-neighbor, Jeff Stewart. Jeff brought his horse for Sue to ride in the 50 on Saturday, and Sue brought her own horse to ride in the 100 on Sunday. I sort of cozied up to this group when Sue offered the use of her trailer, for coffee, warmth, "whatever you need." What I needed was a Starbucks coffee right off the bat, so I provided the coffee, and Sue provided the expresso maker.

Sue and Tony had gone out for a warm-up ride; their neighbor Jennifer Poling from West Virginia had joined them. They'd gone out a ways, when Sue and Tony were ready to turn back. Jennifer kept going, and going... and got lost out there. She was gone for hours, and eventually Bill took his airplane up to look for her. He did find her, but then I think her crew got lost and they then had to be found!

Vetting in for tomorrow's rides took place in the afternoon, and as evening approached, the Big barbecue grill was fired up. As the now-chilly wind whipped around the big tent, (I now had fleece layers on, not shorts), riders and crews gathered inside for the ride meeting and the best ranch-cooked steak and potatoes meal you'll find anywhere. Jan gave everyone a dismal weather forecast: 80% chance of thunderstorms tonight, 20-40% chance of rain tomorrow. She did remind everybody of the saying, "If you don't like the weather here, wait five minutes, and it will change".

I'd pitched my tent the night before, heeding the warnings of two people: "Make sure you're on high ground! My tent about washed away one year." It was up on higher ground and I figured I'd be fine.

But Jan Stevens said, "There's a comfortable couch in the house up there, you'd better grab it, it's going to get wet out here." "Aw heck, I've got a good tent, I'll be fine." "You'd better take the couch..."

I decided to listen to the locals who know what they're talking about, so I took down my tent, and moved to the house for the night.

Smartest thing I did all weekend. It started raining around midnight, and didn't stop till the start of the 75-mile ride at 6:30 AM.

Merri

2009 Fort Howes Endurance ride on endurance.net

Yellowstone

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 04:45:00 +0000

Wednesday June 3 2009

Oh, the forest! I love the desert, but it's when I get into a forest that it all comes back to me. The sound, the feel, and most of all, the smell, of pine and fir needles on a snowy pass. There is nothing like it. Oh, I miss the forest.

On my way to Montana to cover the Fort Howes endurance ride, I passed through Yellowstone. It really seems a crime to whiz through such a grand National Park, a felony to stop for a few minutes at spots and quickly jump out and take a picture, of Tower Falls, or a resting big-horn ram, or a raging river, and not spend time, like a few days, or weeks, exploring the backcountry (which I have yet to do). What do we really understand of a place if we only run the tourist route? We never seem to have, or take, the time to do it right.

But as I have no other time right now, that's just what I did.

Does it really count seeing wildlife if you see it from your car or you get out of your car and walk to the shoulder of the road? Well, sure it does. Immediately upon entering the park I saw a bald eagle on its nest (a sign announced: "Bald eagle area: no stopping or parking for next 1 1/2 miles" - if they'd posted nothing, probably nobody would have noticed). Then came a coyote, trotting down the shoulder of a road, delaying traffic, on what was probably a well-used trail for his ancestors along the river, before man came and put a road in. There was the bighorn sheep resting in a meadow, (always stop at a crowd of people, to see what they are looking at), buffaloes out the ying yang, elk with some HUUUUUGE racks, and of course Ravens. I missed the antelope with a newborn fawn that was keeping a coyote at bay. This was at a little rock rise over a meadow - this must be a normal spot for things to happen, because there were just too many photographers hanging out up there. And there were some big, I'm talking HUGE, lenses, some about as big as my car. I don't think even my binos are that powerful.

On my way out of the park today, 3 bighorn sheep were gallivanting along the edge of some cliffs above me. They didn't have to be at the edge, right where I could see them... but they were. I have to think the timing and placement of me and the bighorns was all arranged for me, because nobody else saw them.

And what do you think the animals think of us humans scurrying to take their pictures and standing around and pointing at them? I always scan the ridges and look behind me to see what else is around. (I learned this in a game park in Africa: if you are stopped to look at a lion on the side of the road, you better look at the other side of the road because there's likely an entire pack of lions watching you.)

Do you think they pick a day for amusement, go hide behind the trees, and send Randy Ram to go out and graze in this meadow, to stop traffic so people get out to look, so the animals can have their own entertainment for the day? "Hey Randy - it's your turn to be the decoy today."

My path through Yellowstone was chosen by the name of the pass: Dunraven. How could I not drive over Dunraven pass with the Raven? We ended up in a big campground by a busy road (the good smaller quiet campgrounds were of course filled up early). I took a short hike up a hill near the campground near dark, breathing in the cold thinner air at 6500 feet, hearing the raging Garner river below, getting a whiff of the sulfur smell of the Mammoth Hot Springs nearby.

In the morning I beat some of the crowd to the Hot Springs, taking a hike early on the boardwalks, then whizzing through the rest of them like an armchair car tourist (felony).

Time to move on toward Ashland and endurance... but I'll be back to Yellowstone for a week with my backpack and my own two feet one day.

Workin' For A Living

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 00:46:00 +0000

Monday June 1 2009

You gotta love a guy who loves to work, and works hard at what he does. Always eager to go to work, always works hard at work, always reluctant to leave work. He's at it seven days a week.

Steph takes her garden very seriously. Stormy is the resident lawn mower. He takes his job very seriously. Keep the lawn trimmed so it looks neat and doesn't distract from Steph's beautiful flower garden. (Once Stormy was so zealous at his job, he started trimming Steph's flower beds too. John had to throw his hat at him to remind him to mow the grass only.)

Like one endurance rider (who likes to ride hundreds, and rides a horse who's does 24 of them!) says, "Work never hurt a horse."

Stormy would agree with that.

Owyhee Fandango Day 3

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:17:00 +0000

Monday May 25 2009

About half the riders that were signed up for the 55 didn't start today. One rider suggested that probably had to do with the fact that several were FEI riders who were burned out and worn out after two days of riding and trying to qualify horses, topped off by yesterday's 100 and the hours of standing around afterwards waiting for their horses to be tested.

As it was, the rest of us went out just to have fun in the desert. Only 2 riders started the 75-miler at 6 AM, 16 started the 55 at 7 AM, and 8 started the 25 at 8 AM. One on the 50 was Tom Noll... not on Frank, and not on Whiskey, but on Karen B's extra horse Blue Lightning. Another guy was going to ride her gelding with Karen on Thunder, but right away, he got bucked off at the start and said forget it. Karen left on the 50 with Lightning tied to her trailer and her friend Linda Ballard about to unsaddle him. However, Linda spied Tom Noll and asked him if he wanted to ride the horse. "Sure!" he said, never having even seen the horse before, and he hopped on Blue Lightning, and away they went down the trail on Blue's first endurance ride (with not a bit of bucking.) Karen saw them later : ) and was happy Tom was riding him.

It was another great day on the trails for Jose, me, and the Raven. The first 15 mile loop is one of two trails we take visitors on that we really like: the Hart Creek Homestead loop, south into the Hart Creek drainage, following the creek, then climbing back up onto the flats on a steep and sharp ridge past the narrows and overlooking the upper canyon. Gretchen and Mickey and I hooked up with Tinker Hart on her gray mare RTR Quiet Riot, on a morning that was just about perfect in temperature.

Crossing through the old Homestead at the creek we had a big surprise - a camper! Never in my years of riding here have I ever seen anyone camping down there. It's a sweet spot, but not many people know about it. By the time we came through, he seemed rather resigned to the fact that his quiet morning had a lot of drop-in-pass-through visitors. "How many more behind you?" he asked. I said "Oh, about a dozen or so." I didn't think it appropriate to yell, "Where the bacon???"

After our 40-minute hold back at camp, we had new trail to blaze: a 25 mile out-and-back loop west to Regina's place. We crossed the highway into the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, trotted over little hills, around little bluffs, through washes, Jose nimbly zipping along eagerly with his ears pricked, curious to see what was around every next corner.

I almost had some serious trauma on this loop: we were trotting along the twisting trail through the sagebrush when Gretchen behind me yelled, "Oh NO! Merri, your Raven fell out!" We all four screeched to a halt, I turned Jose around, and there was the Raven, laying upside down in a sagebrush, enjoying life. I hopped off and grabbed him, stuffed him way down in his bag and cinched it down tight. The Raven bag was also carrying horse treats, and I'd just reached in to give one to Jose and hadn't tightened it back up! Good thing Gretchen spotted the Raven's dive, or Jose and I would have had to backtrack miles or dozens of miles along our trail till I found him! What do you think our pull code would have been if I'd gone overtime looking for him - RO - LR (Rider Option - Lost Raven)?

The miles flew by, with the different scenery, and just as we got to Regina's, we caught up with Christoph Schork, who was the only rider left on the 75. Tracy Kaden had been pulled after the 1st loop.

We had an official 'Snack Break' at Regina's. Steph was going to have us all stay 20 minutes on our honor, but 2 of the radio people went out there, to take numbers and hold us. Regina had set out two wheelbarrows, with hay and alfalfa, and she'd hauled crew bags out there. She said we could all go in and help ourselves to the beer and snacks in her fridge, but I don't think anybody did.

Our horses crowded around the wheelbarrows helping themselves, spilling hay all over, knocking over the pitchfork, and trying to avoid Regina's fat goat who was trying to horn his way in close to anywhere a horse was eating grain. All except for Jose, who was very curious and wanted to investigate.

We took the same trail back, but in this direction it was completely different scenery. It was warm in the washes, pleasant breeze up on the flats. Jose and I moved on ahead a while by ourselves until we got to the water troughs near the highway crossing. He drank, I got off and dunked my bandana in the water, and Jose watched, transfixed, as the other 3 horses come down off the flats and up to us at the water trough. Jose loves to watch things. Seven more miles to go, and we arrived back at basecamp for our second 40-minute hold.

Spice was out on lameness here, and Dublin waited a bit to go out, so Mickey and I went out together on the last 10-mile loop. This is the other trail we take visitors out on if we like them: the Hart Creek Rim Trail. It follows the edge of the bluffs along the northwest side of Hart Creek canyon, looking down on what we rode in this morning. There were no scary thunderstorms this afternoon to deal with, just a few clouds that kept the heat at bay, a nice breeze, and miles and miles of easy trotting in the Owyhee desert, wildflowers lining our passage and and lizards and horny toads shooting ahead of us.

Mickey and I came in with happy mounts (and happy riders), the 55 miles having flown quickly under our swift horses' feet.

Local rider Amy Weidner won the 25 on Angel of Mercy (all 8 finished). Michael Thomas of Auburn California won the 55 on Luanne Holmsen's gelding Kasino GM. Michael can remember the exact date of his first endurance ride: "July 27 2007!" The reason it was so memorable is because Luanne talked him into an 80-mile ride for his debut! He didn't do another endurance ride till Death Valley in December, but he confesses he enjoys endurance. Kasino GM also won Best Condition. 11 of 16 horses completed the 55. Amanda Wilson finished on Jubals Boot Scootin Boogy, making her the only rider to complete all 3 days on the same horse.

The final finisher of the day was the winner, turtle, and Best Conditioned horse in the 75: the stallion DWA Express ridden by Christoph Schork. Express is one of several DWA horses - Drinkers of the Wind Arabians - Christoph and Dian Woodward have had over the years at their Global Endurance Training Center in Moab, Utah. "We like them," Christoph said. "in general they have good bone, good recoveries, good minds, and perform well." Express and Christoph won the Big Horn 100 last year.

The last Blue Canoe meal was a homey affair, mostly the usual local group of endurance riders. Steph's head was still spinning from the weekend, and the results of the 55 miler were a bit out of whack. She pointed to her head. "There's nuthin' left up there!"

It was mostly a good time over all (since we survived it), the 2009 Owyhee Fandango. It wasn't TOO chaotic, except for the two runaway horses, and, on the last afternoon, a turned-over radio guy's RV on Bates Creek Road (he'd pulled to the side of the road to let a horse trailer pass). And all the paperwork - the mounds and mounds of paperwork involved in putting on not just a 3-day AERC ride and not just an FEI ride with its OWN rigmaroles of paperwork, but a 3-day AERC and FEI ride with 4 different distances, and also an AHA Region 4 Championship 100 ride, and a Pioneer ride, (so, if you want to get technical, that's 21 rides, more or less) and whatever else I might have missed. I'm sure we'll be discovering lots more things as the weeks pass. It was certainly a unique experience!

I got to spend some time with friends, get reacquainted with old friends, meet new people, and best of all, the Raven and I got to do some of our home trails on my pal Jose. (Did I mention I love Jose?)

Next year we've already got the Motto for the new 4-DAY ride Steph has planned: All Party, No FEI!" As Steph said, "At least we went out with a Bang!"

Merri

Owyhee Fandango Day 2

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Sun, 31 May 2009 02:38:00 +0000

Sunday May 24 2009

I'm not sure how or why it works this way, but it was one of those nights I was so exhausted I couldn't sleep. Another night with no sleep - darn it!

Today was the Most Momentous of Days: not because I was riding Jose again, but because Tom Noll was NOT riding Frank! In almost 4000 miles since 2002, nobody had ever ridden Frank on a single AERC mile. Everybody knows how Frank likes to go go go - that head up in the air and the black mane flying, pulling incessantly on Tom's hands double-wrapped around his reins - but today Frank and Connie were going to be babysitting Frank's 'pupil,' the mustang Whiskey, who did his first endurance ride at the Tough Sucker in April. I thought maybe since Tom rode Frank in the 50 yesterday, that might take some of the wind out of his sails, but Tom just laughed at me. Never happen. To top it off, it was Connie's birthday.

The 100-milers (29 of them) and 75-milers (9 of them) were on the trail at 5:30 AM, just as it was getting light. By 6:30 AM I was driving Tim Floyd and Tracy to the Sierra Del Rio ranch to get set up for the two vet checks out there. Tim had ridden the 25 yesterday (with a broken rib) and volunteered to help today; Tracy was glad to get out from behind the computer and help at the in-timer's table out of doors. I was happy to be at the in-timer's table because I could run out and take pictures of horses when we weren't swamped with little timer cards from riders.

The Sierra del Rio Ranch, formerly the Nahas Ranch, was a stop on the Oregon Trail in the 1800's where travelers could water their stock. Today, it's still a working ranch, and the manager, Craig Baker, happily and generously opens it up for our endurance ride every year. I'm not sure why he does it, but we are glad he does. We do make an effort to really clean it up after we leave. The center of the ranch is surrounded by rich green pastures (I've never seen it so lush), some with perplexed ranch horses watching the endurance horses do their thing, and towered over by the high buttes typical of the area along the Snake River. One of the cliffs holds a golden eagle nest (endurance rider Karen Steenhof took me to see it last year), and though I don't know if that one was occupied this year, I did spy two eagles flying around it way up high in the morning.

The last two years Craig has opened up a big pasture for the endurance horses and riders and crews to hang out in during their stops; there was also a tree-lined lane if anybody preferred the shade. It was overcast and a pleasant breeze was pushing through the ranch, keeping the heat and the bugs away.

Half of the 15 horses in the 50-miler were in for their first vet check, at 18 miles, by the time the hundred milers started rolling in for their second vet check (33 miles). Cheryl Dell and TR Reason to Believe, Joyce Sousa and LV Integrity, and Joyce's daughter Jennifer Niehaus and MC Gallantly led the 100's.

Now there was a trio of amazing horses. "Reason" has 1155 miles over 6 seasons, with 20 completions in 22 starts, and 8 wins and 4 Best Conditions. Cheryl and Reason were on the US team for the World Endurance Championships in Malaysia last November, and were thought to have a great chance of completing, when Cheryl was stricken with a severe intestinal virus during the ride and had to withdraw. "You know endurance riders can ride with anything - the flu, broken bones; I once rode with a cut on my face down to the bone, blood everywhere, but I had to complete the ride, so I slapped on 10 bandaids and went out and finished and won the ride (and went to the hospital for stitches afterwards, and got chewed out by the doctor)... but this came on fast and it knocked me out!" She ended up in the hospital on IV fluids, sleeping for 24 hours. Reason had had the winter off, and was back in training for this ride for just 2 1/2 months; he'd won the American River Classic 50 mile ride in April as a prep. But Cheryl wasn't bent on winning; she had a plan on the speed they would go, because their ultimate goal is the World Championship in Kentucky 2010. Everything else is preparation.

Between LV Integrity ("Ritzy") and MC Gallantly ("Gallo"), these 8 hooves have covered almost 10,000 miles between them. Gallo, 14, has completed 70 of 78 starts over 7 seasons, and 7 of 12 100's. Rizty, 16, has completed (this is not a typo) 88 of 90 starts over 11 seasons, 21 of 23 100's, including Tevis in 2006.

Joyce and Jennifer didn't come to win either: they came on a family vacation. Jennifer wanted to ride her dad Dennis' horse, and he agreed to crew. Gallo hadn't done a hundred in two years, and Jennifer hadn't ridden him in two years, so Joyce was the pacesetter for him.

"I LOVE 100's," Joyce said. "To me, 50's are like going to the door of Macy's. 100's are like getting to go in and shop." She loves them because of the work and the challenge. "I think it's more difficult to win a 50, because there's so much speed involved. 100's are safer too, for horse and rider, not as much risk because you don't go so fast, and working never hurt a horse."

The Sousas give no adequan to their horses, they don't do accupuncture or chiropractic work. "If a horse needs that to keep him going, then they need to be doing something else." Their horses certainly do look to be thriving, and they looked excellent every time I saw them throughout the day.

At times there was a lull between riders, so I could run out and take pictures, and at times it got busy at the in-and-out table. After the first 40 minute hold there, all horses except those on the limited distance 35 mile ride (who took a different 16-mile loop back to basecamp) went out for a 15 mile loop around Wild Horse Butte and beside the Snake River before returning for their second 40 minute hold at the ranch.

Regina Rose helped us at the timing table until she got a full load of 4 horses (pulled for lameness) at the holds, which she then shuttled back to basecamp (about a 45-minute drive one way.) One rider was pulled for lameness, didn't think the horse was lame, got impatient having to wait for so long for a trailer ride back to camp, saddled up the horse and apparently rode 18 miles back to camp. No comment.

Visiting Japanese rider Yurika Tachibana, riding FLF Federalee of Tracy and David Kaden's Flight Leader Farm, was passing a horse on trail when it kicked out at her horse. Federalee shied and dumped Yurika, and took off running in the desert. Details back at the ranch were sketchy, and rumors abounded, and the only thing we knew for sure was it was a chestnut horse with yellow tack. Christoph Schork, riding the 100, later said, "I was out there trotting along, when I heard this horse galloping up behind me. I didn't turn around to look, but I was very surprised that somebody was running that hard. Then suddenly this chestnut with yellow tack blew by me, kept going, and was out of sight. There was no chance of stopping him or catching him. Then a little bit later, I heard another horse galloping up behind me - it was the same horse that blew by me. I figured 'Well, they'll probably catch him now, since he ran in a big circle.'"

But it turned out - now there were two chestnut horses wearing yellow tack loose in the desert. Jeanette Mero and Triassic were knocked into by Federalee; she got off to try to catch him, and her horse got loose, and they turned into a runaway train for a while. Last place riders in the hundred, Connie Creech and Carolyn Dawson saw them too; Carolyn couldn't figure out either why some rider was galloping her horse down a narrow rocky trail. But it turned out to be one riderless horse - followed by another one. They got off the trail to let the horses sprint past.

Steph was racing in and out of camp on her 4-wheeler, looking for horse-less riders and rider-less horses; Tracy Kaden and crew went out to look, and Tim Floyd jumped in the van with them, since he was a doctor and his services might be of use. (Fortunately they weren't.) Jeanette's horse was caught first - he had made his way back to the ranch, where he stopped like a good endurance horse and drank from a water trough before someone caught him. Federalee was gone for hours. They'd tracked him a ways in the desert before losing the tracks. Someone later spotted him not far from the highway, grazing, and they were able to catch him; he got a ride back to basecamp. Both horses had only minor scrapes.

It got hotter at the ranch as the day went on, though a breeze kept things bearable. Tracy and I packed up around 2 PM to head back to basecamp, as the last of the riders were completing their last hold.

I had been heckled last night at the ride meeting when I gave the weather report: "30% chance of thunderstorms during the day, 20% chance of heavy rain tonight." "You could have said 70% chance of good weather!" Sure enough, late in the afternoon it clouded over again, heavy gray and blue clouds and some more thunder, but the rain stayed away. The clouds actually cooled things down by 10 degrees which helped the horses on the trail and the volunteers in camp, some who'd been at their posts all day, like Tammy Bromley and Marla, and Neil and Liz Smallwood.

The winner of the 50 had already come in: Canadian Jan Marsh and Morning Line. This duo had won 2 days (and got 1 BC) at the Owyhee Canyonlands last September. Jan brought him with her when she moved to Alberta 7 years ago. "He is a very special horse. He's laid back, but he's not as sleepy as he looks!" Jan likes to ride fast, but says, "My horses are precious to me and always will be and come above a desire to ?win? at any cost!"

Coming in last in the 50 were Connie and Frank, and Tom Noll and Whiskey. When Whiskey did not pass his final vet check, that left Connie and Frank the turtles... but don't tell Frank! If he knew, he would be appalled.

Coming in shortly after that were the winners of the 75, Canadian Gail Jewell and Apache Eclypse. Another horse with an excellent record, Eclypse, 13 years old, has completed 48 of 55 starts over 7 seasons. Gail has been riding 'serious' endurance for three seasons, after vetting it for 20 years. She realized one day the riders were having more fun than the veterinarians. Gail and husband Elroy Karius and family friend Kate Coady laugh at the character-full Eclypse's antics. "He's very self-absorbed. If he was human, he'd stop and look at himself in every mirror he passed." He was quite wound up at the beginning of the ride and during the first loop - "he does the tranter" - but they hooked up with Susie Hayes on the second loop, he settled down, and was "fabulous" the rest of the day, most of his CRIs being 44/44.

The evening sun had emerged from the storm clouds as the first 100-mile riders came in to the finish line: Joyce Sousa and LV Integrity, Cheryl Dell and TR Reason to Believe, and Jennifer Niehaus and MC Gallantly. None of them wanted to race, none of them needed to, and they'd already decided on their placings coming in. They walked across the line together in that order. Cheryl said she was antsy at the final vet check - "the vets voting at the finish made me very nervous." But there was no need to be - each horse looked terrific. Final ride time was 9:49, on a not technically difficult course. Jennifer's mount Gallo won the BC award.

Meanwhile, as more hundred mile finishers came in during the evening, the dinner bell rang, tomorrow's course was discussed, and eventually awards were handed out. By no means take this as a sign things were running easily and smoothly. There were still mounds of paperwork and vet cards and timing slips and BC scores to sift through, some of the results were tied up on an official's computer, people were still making changes for tomorrow's ride, some people were leaving so wanted to pay now, there were horse chores to do, Jose to be vetted in for tomorrow, pictures to post (OK, I didn't even get those done), people to talk to, people to find, errands to run, and on and on. Not complaining or anything, just pointing out that this was really only halfway through an FEI weekend ride.

And a little glitch happened with the FEI horses in the 100: after they finished their ride (after being on the trail from 9 to 11 1/2 hours, since 5:30 AM) they were all required to remain near the vetting area to have their blood drawn... and to wait till they peed for some officials to collect urine samples. Some horses did not have to pee for two hours. Some people understandably got a bit irate. Several people had ridden the day before, had planned to ride the next day, and had other horses to take care of, nevermind the horse they'd just ridden. If the horses didn't pee after two hours, they were allowed to leave, but you can imagine the mood around the vetting area.

Meanwhile, the non-FEI horses kept trickling in off the trail; around 12:30 AM, Nance Worman and Jazzbo, Chris Yost and Turbo BLY, and Lynne Fredrickson and White Zin came in and got completions. It was a big finish for Lynne, who'd attempted this hundred 3 times before. Last year she was pulled at the finish - ugh! This year - hooray!

And finishing last at around 2:30 AM were Connie Creech and LS Steele Breeze, and Carolyn Dawson and Orzo. How about Carolyn Dawson: 70 years old, "been riding since oh, a hundred years ago," hadn't completed a hundred-mile ride since 1999, but finished tonight on the laid back gelding Orzo, who used to be a rocket ship ridden by Dabney Finch in the Pacific Southwest region 1999-2004.

The Dawsons got Orzo in 2006 with free suspensory problems... but they've taken their time with him and gone slow, and completed all but 3 100-mile rides with him since then. (Two were rider option, one was lame.) And Orzo's not crazy fast anymore, or crazy, like he used to be. "At one ride down south, he was racing so fast into the finish with Dabney, it took a half mile AFTER the finish to pull him up!" Dabney won the 20-Mule Team 65-miler on him one year in 5:30. (To compare, our fastest 50-mile ride time here at the Fandango was 5:14, and the 20-Mule Team course is a little tougher than this one.)

Both Carolyn and Orzo also looked great the next day. Orzo was dragging Dick all around basecamp in the morning.

Carolyn had a great time on the ride: "It was magical out there at night! I'd call out to Connie ahead of me, 'I've got this mad grin on my face!' It was so neat to be here, I really enjoyed it. It was beautiful." I suggested maybe now she's gotten the hundred milers out of her system. "Maybe I've gotten them back INTO my system!" Orzo was "Mr 44" all day - his pulse at the vet checks all day. "The horse just went along and did his thing."

18 of 29 hundred-milers completed; 1 was pulled at the finish. (One was pulled at the finish of the 75, one at the finish of the 50). 6 of 9 finished the 75, 12 of 14 finished the 50, and 4 of 6 finished the 35. Many people felt the vetting was pretty strict; one rider said he thought the vetting was tougher than the Tevis.

Joyce Sousa commented on the ride: "The trail was so well marked, the vets were a class act. So nice and so helpful and kind, a wonderful group of vets, they know their job. It's great to hear them say, "your horse looks great, go have fun.'"

Go and have fun indeed - I'd be doing that again tomorrow on Jose in the 55.

Owyhee Fandango Day 1

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Sat, 30 May 2009 22:52:00 +0000

Saturday May 23 2009

How could that alarm be going off already - I was still exhausted and I didn't remember sleeping at all! Well, no matter - up and out of bed, drink a cup of coffee, force down some breakfast, and get ready for a 50-mile ride on Jose! It's always a good day when you get to ride Jose.

Seventy-six riders hit the Owyhee trails today. That might have been a record. The 75 milers started at 6 AM, Jose and I (and the Raven) left at 7 AM with 50 other horses and riders, the sun already up and starting to warm up the earth. The LD riders left at 8 AM.

Jose was raring to go - he'd had a hard hilly ride at the Eagle Extreme two weeks ago, and here he was on flat ground and here he was on home turf, and he wanted to go! Fast riders and FEI horses were up front and moving out fast; we tucked in afterwards with Gretchen and Spice, my old riding pals from Bridgeport, California, Mickey and Dally, another old pair of riding pals from my winters in Ridgecrest, and local riding pal Nance and Quinn. Up a wash onto the northwest flats, the 15-mile loop followed the rim of Bates Creek Canyon along a nice single-track and two-track (dusty) trail. We crossed Bates Creek road and worked our way back along a ridge to the head of Pickett Creek Canyon, and back home into basecamp.

Sometimes it's a blessing when you are on your home turf, because your horse knows every step of the way. Sometimes it's not a blessing, because he knows every step of the way, and isn't going to slow down or dilly-dally around to do something as unimportant as taking a drink in the flowing Bates Creek or the nice water troughs put out by neighbors Rick and Carol. Sometimes the home horse just wants to cruise right back home to camp, with his friends and his piles of hay and beet pulp.

Jose ate and drank the whole 40-minute hold, and when we headed out on the 25-mile second loop, I thought he would be more casual. Wrong! He was really revved up now. We stayed with Gretchen and Nance till I just started fighting him too much, then we moved on ahead.

Jose thought he knew the way, but Steph had flagged a new route, partially due to a new fence going in > : ( and partially for variety. We headed down to Hart Creek (also flowing with water), crossed it and did a loop to the southeast in the Brown's Creek drainage.

Some of the trail was common trail, and some of the front runners coming back passed me yelling, "Were you one of the lost ones?" No, not us... but a half-hour later, Bob Stellar caught up with me. He's usually riding in the front - and he had been in third place today, till his little group got lost somehow. We were on the orange loop, and some of the ribbons were orange-and-black... and Steph hadn't mentioned that, and some of the riders thought they were on the wrong loop. I myself had to pay attention when I was on Jose, as it was new trail to me, but Jose and I had no trouble. Jose seemed to enjoy the new trail and the new perspective of the Hart Creek Rim we rode under. Bob called me "the Bird Lady," and I called him "the Bird Man." We'd talked birds the previous night at dinner after he heard me mentioning screech owls.

On one part of the trail by Hart Creek, we spotted a horse coming towards us. Wait - I knew that waving tail, it was Rhett! Connie was out riding Rhett, flagging the last bit of trail for Day 3. Jose was a bit confused when we parted - why wasn't Rhett going our way??

We had a nice breeze to cool us up on the flats, but down in basecamp it was still and hot. I moved Jose to some shade for his 40 minute hold. I kept dunking my bandana in the water troughs to keep my head cool.

We had one 10 mile loop left, along our scenic Hart Creek Rim Trail. Jose left camp at a more lazy pace now, and Dian Woodward and Deborah Whorf of Moab, Utah caught up with us. Deborah's legs had been bothering her a lot on the second loop because of an unfamiliar saddle, but they changed at the last vet check, and though she was still hurting, she was (like most crazy endurance riders) gritting it out to the finish.

Our trail along the rim led us towards the Owyhee Mountains to the southwest... where a biiiiiiiiiiiiig dark cloud was building, with poofy cumulonimbus clouds around it. Most of you know how I feel about riding in lightning (if you don't, I'm TERRIFIED), so I was keeping a suspicious eye on those growing clouds. I know a building thunderstorm when I see one! It wasn't a question of If, but when. We reached the fence where we turned around to head for home, with those clouds at now our back, but steadily moving to blot out the sun.

As we moved along at a steady trot, I kept peeking over my shoulder to make sure no bolts were falling out of the sky. Most of you also know I can't hear thunder unless it's right on top of me (i.e. Way too late). Finally I couldn't stand it, and asked Dian and Deborah if they'd heard any thunder. "No, haven't heard any." When I ride with people and ask them this, I never really know if they are pulling my leg or not. I hear them saying "No, don't hear thunder," and picture them whispering, "Let's not tell Merri it's thundering!"

Jose isn't afraid of any dark clouds. We cruised on in down Pickett Creek Canyon as a trio for the finish, just as it was getting dark - and thundering! Even I heard it now. But we finished before the lightning - it was a good day on good trails on a good horse. (I love Jose... have I ever mentioned this?).

The skies stayed dark and stormy, with thunder booming all around, and whirlwinds of dust whipping through camp, blasting the vets and the riders trotting their horses out and the volunteer in timers, but the rainfall missed us altogether. Nobody came in screaming to the finish line, so either there were no lightning bolts up there, or else nobody else gets as scared as I do.

This is what's so great about endurance: you can do it at any age. Today we had the oldest and youngest riders on the trails: 7-year-old Spencer Falk and his mom Jannelle Wilde rode a 15-mile trail ride; 9 and 11-year-old sisters Burkleigh and Kennedy Yost rode the 50 with their dad Gentry, and 79-year-old Dot Wiggins rode the 25. Steph said at the awards dinner: "As far as I'm concerned, when you ride endurance when you're 80, all ride entries are free!"

Head vet Mike Vanzwol was surprised at the number of lameness pulls today (9 in the 50), several of them more than a one-leg lameness. The finish percentages were still great, however: all 18 horses finished the 25, 39 of 51 finished the 50, and 5 of 7 finished the 75. The only treatment today was "a horse who tried to open a barbed wire fence by himself" - one of the hazards of riding out here in the Wild West. Once the horse got back to camp - he was about 5 miles out - and got cleaned and doctored up, he was okay.

Ginger Head won the 25 on JLA Slew, crossing the line together with Amy Palmer and Navaar, and Rick Glass and DA Al Rasan. She's a local who just started endurance riding this year... our April Owyhee Tough Sucker was her first one!

Cody Boysen was the winner of the 50. Another relative newcomer to endurance, he did his first ride in 2007. He did some showing, then was about to get into cutting, but found endurance instead. He hauled in a couple of horses from Iowa to the Fandango, and hadn't planned on winning, but only moving out fast the first loop when it was cooler. But his mare was moving so well, she just kept going fast all day.

The turtle in the 50 was Carla Richardson from Colorado, venturing out here to our Owyhee rides for the first time. Carla's been following some of my stories, and she knew all about the infamous Dudley (who's always getting into trouble). I couldn't wait to point out Dudley to her, but she'd noticed him as soon as she arrived - and who could miss him. He was front and center pen at the Teeters, tossing his head in circles, (think Angus Young of AC/DC), sticking his head through his gate and trying to lift it off, banging his feed trough, reaching a big barrel through his fence and pulling it in closer to play with, then of course knocking it over - in general annoying everybody within earshot (especially the vets in the vetting ring) ALL WEEKEND. I believe I was not the only person yelling at him, or throwing things at him all weekend.

Jeanette Mero of Mariposa, Caliornia, was going for a win in the 75... and she got it, with her horse Maksymilian. Jeanette is a veterinarian, and started riding endurance in 2003. Maksymilian had 18 finishes in 20 starts before this ride, including a 10th place finish in the Tevis in 2007, and first place and BC in both the Californios 100 and the Swanton 100 in 2008, so she knew he was capable. Jeanette was very athletic in high school and college, and with endurance, she's able to combine her love of horses with athletic events. She used to do some showing, but likes endurance because it's so objective: you aren't paying for someone else's opinion, and it all falls on you to take care of your horse and get the best out of him. Her goal (like many of the FEI riders) is to ride in Kentucky in October, with a long-term goal of the WEC in 2010.

Turtle in the 75 was Tinker Hart, who brought 3 horses here from Minden, Nevada. "If I'm going to drive this far, I'm riding a horse every day!" Her ride time was... well, "It was really really long," Tinker offered, when Steph couldn't come up with it at the awards dinner. She got a cool colorful wooden turtle Steph brought home from Malaysia.

Things seemed to run pretty smoothly all day, on the trail (except for the few who got lost, and the Barbed Wire Fence incident), in camp, in the vet checks. The Blue Canoe dinner was great as usual, and my friend Tracy had caught up enough on most of the ride paperwork (though people were still arriving today, and some were changing mounts for tomorrow) so she got to actually sit down and have some real dinner.

My day wasn't over after my ride; I still had pictures to take, people to talk to, horses to feed and water and check on, (including one of Steph's mares, Princess, due to foal yesterday), Jose to give treats to, dinner to eat, shower to take, things to get ready for tomorrow (I was working, not riding), pictures to upload, and, a glass of wine or two to help things along. (And Brian Malkoske brought with him from Canada a batch of homemade Klondike bars that his wife Darla made, so I HAD to eat some of those too.)

Steph and John's day wasn't over either... between the paperwork and officials and paperwork and people asking questions and trying to get results done to have a ride meeting and organizing things for tomorrow's 4 rides (with two out vet checks at the Sierra Del Rio ranch), all I saw of them was a blur. I wouldn't call it a relaxing weekend for any of us. Not complaining... just an observation. And this was only Day 1.

It was an early night for most people, with an early 5:30 AM start scheduled for the 75 and 100-milers tomorrow. It was a quiet night in camp, with the crickets chirping and the screech owls tooting and Pickett Creek running in the background - one would never have known there were some 130 horses in camp.

Pre-Fandango

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:28:00 +0000

Friday May 22 2009

Geez - where to begin!

The 2009 3-day Owyhee Fandango is over - and I'm not sure about Steph, but I sure feel like I've been hit with two freight trains going in opposite directions. Steph's probably about the same, although for different reasons, because her voice and body posture was the same as mine on the Tuesday morning after: gravelly and dragging!

The first big rigs started pulling into basecamp on Wednesday, and from there things went non-stop. I'd talked my friend Tracy into coming from L.A. to do all the secretarial work for the ride. She'd worked on rides for Jackie Bumgardner in southern California, it was a break from her routine, and it was Owyhee county in Idaho with all our famous celebrity horses - who could refuse that! It sounded good to her, so Steph flew her in... only neither of us had happened to mention the incredible amount of work she would be swamped with: instead of a "3-day multi-day ride," she got buried under, technically, 18 different rides, when you count all the distances, AERC, FEI, AHA, and OMG (as Steph later put it).

I picked Tracy up at the Boise airport on Thursday (and we ran errands
for the ride) and she immediately went to work as soon as she got to
basecamp. As more rigs steadily pulled in, and as USA Chef d'Equipe
Becky Hart and USA Team veterinarian Jim Bryant Jr held a couple of
USEF clinics for international-aspiring riders, and Christoph Schork
gave a hoofcare clinic in the morning, and as the local radio club set
up their equipment, I was busy with our horses and helping set up for the ride.

It didn't slow down at all on Friday, and neither did the steady stream of horse trailers pulling in, most of them carrying more horses than people. Basecamp was almost full, and there would probably be a few more riders trickling in on Saturday. The regular local riders brought their usual one or two mounts, and those FEI riders hoping to start or continue qualifying their horses (since FEI changed the qualification rules beginning of this year, much to the disgruntlement of many riders) brought multiple mounts. Christoph Schork and Dian Woodward of Moab Utah hauled in 9 horses! You'd often see one rider taking three horses at a time on a walk.

FEI requires you have all these extra vets and officials, so there were extra runs to the airports and shuttles to the hotel in Grandview or to Regina's house where at least one person stayed every night.

Tracy was drowning in registration papers - a 3-day ride with two distances is busy enough, what with people riding different horses on different days, then deciding to switch at the last minute, but add in the (ridiculous - I'm sorry, any way you look at it, it's ridiculous) amount of paperwork for the FEI horses and riders that ride management has to sort through, and switching rides with those at the last minute, and one person coming in with 4 horses and/or riders to register or change for 3 days, well, some people were waiting for several hours to just check in. But what can you do when there's so much paperwork required? People kept setting food and drinks in front of Tracy because she did not leave her desk from 11 AM till 11 PM.

Vetting in for Day 1 went on during the afternoong. There was a Wine and Cheese party at 6 PM sponsored by VETTEC, with wine from the local winery, Sawtooth Vineyard. Our regular caterers, Deb and Al of Blue Canoe, provided a hamburger and hot dog dinner for everyone.

I couldn't imagine why I was so tired by 9 PM - I'd felt like I'd ridden 50 miles and I hadn't even been on a horse! Only later I figured I'd probably walked 50 miles all day, what with moving horses around, feeding horses, running to find things for people, fetching this, setting up that, running around taking pictures, meeting up with Gretchen who'd come up from Bridgeport, vetting in Jose (who I'd get to ride tomorrow : ), and, oh yea, fetching horses all day for the shoers in the middle of everything.

If I was this tired already, it was going to be a loooooooooong weekend.
Fun, but long...

But where else would I want to be!

Merri

Hot Horse

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Wed, 20 May 2009 03:20:00 +0000

Tuesday May 19 2009

How do you stay cool on the first 95* day of almost-summer? How do you keep the biting bugs off on the buggiest day of almost-summer?

If you are one of The Others, you stand motionless with the least surface area facing the sun that's beating down, and you try to use somebody else's tail to fend off the bugs.

If you're Jose, obviously you walk up to where the sprinklers are going, and you hose yourself down.

You pivot in circles so you get all sides covered,

you spray your chest really well where the bugs bite the worst,

you spray your head,

you get your butt,

you spray under your head,

you spray your cheeks,

you get one last sprinkle from the top.

Then you go have a good roll in the dust, so you have a nice coating of dirt and mud that keeps the intense heat and the bugs off.

What kid doesn't like playing in the water sprinklers and dirt and mud?

SIX HOLES!!!

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Tue, 19 May 2009 21:18:00 +0000

Tuesday May 19 2009

It's been excruciatingly hard work, but Dudley did it!

I got back from travelling again in mid-April after being gone about 2 months, and the Duds was a Pudge again: round as a bowling ball and dimples everywhere. I'm not talking about the cute dimples over his eyes when he gives you that cute innocent look. I'm talking about the Fat Dimples on his butt above his tail and the Fat Dimples along his cresty neck.

He went back on a painful (because it was strict) diet, and he started getting ridden again. Then he had another little break from riding when he ripped a shoe off his crumbling feet (which are finally growing out from a laminitic episode) and got a sore suspensory for a while.

Now he's got shoes on and he's back on a regular riding schedule; but while he is still on the diet and getting exercise, he still wasn't quite losing any of his circumference. We'd always been stuck on tightening the cinch up to 5 holes (OK... and that IS with the extra big cinch).

But today was a momentous occasion:

WE GOT SIX HOLES!!!!!

But we aren't stopping here. Next, we go for the Magic Seven.

Owl's Well

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Tue, 19 May 2009 04:40:00 +0000

Monday May 18 2009

Connie took the dogs for a walk, so I snuck up the crick to get me a dose of some Owl. There's a long-eared owl roost not too far from here, and I like to check up on them once in a while. I don't go around there with the dogs because one human crashing and stumbling through the brush is bad enough, but one human and 3 rabid dogs running crashing panting heavily in and over and around their neighborhood is just too much disturbance. Besides, this is the time of year for babies, so I sure didn't want to bother them if there were any around.

Long-eared owls look similar to great horned owls but are smaller and more slender. They're nocturnal owls that rest in roosts of dense foliage near tree trunks during the day. They're found throughout most of the US except the southeast, and they occupy much of Canada. They forage out in the open, preying mostly on small mammals, and boy are there lots of gophers around here this year. They don't build their own nest, but use abandoned nests of Ravens and magpies.

Long-eared owls are amazingly good at looking like a part of the tree/brush/vines they are hiding in. Once the biologist Karen S took me to another long-eared owl roost. We crept right through the area where she knew they normally hung out and we didn't see a one. We walked back the same way a bit later and we flushed at least half a dozen. They'd been there all along; we'd just walked right by them without noticing them.

I crept along the crick here, slowly and as quietly as I could - which was about as quiet as a herd of elephants - and sure enough, I flushed a long-eared owl. I followed with my eyes where it went, then looked back to where it came from - and there was a baby! Looking just like part of a tree. I'd have never seen him if the mother (or father) hadn't flown away. I stood still and stared at him a good long while, and he stood and stared at me, unmoving, unblinking. It's their best defense. The parent circled around, to get a better bead on me, taking up different positions, barking a warning call. After a few motionless minutes I moved on, leaving the baby alone. The adult flew further up the creek, leading me away, then circling behind the trees on the other side of the creek and returning in the direction of her baby. And there were probably more babies; I just couldn't see them.

I slowly (and, sadly, loudly) followed upcreek, and soon 2 more long-eared owls flushed. They peered at me from between leaves and branches. One hooted several times, which became more of an insistent WHOO-UP WHOO-UP call. The other barked warning calls. I just stood and watched them a while. One flew out in the open to have a good look at me, and kept hooting.

Then it was time to leave them alone - I'd gotten my Owl Fix. "Thanks Owlies," I said. I turned and walked back along the creek (noisily), flushed the mother again, didn't go to look at the baby again. The mother led me away from the baby again, one tree to the next, before circling behind the creek and back his way.

I'll leave the owls alone for a while, now that I got my Owl Fix and now I know they are still there and thriving.

Owl's well that ends well.

Fandango Footwork

mer@TheEquestrianVagabond.com (Merri) — Mon, 18 May 2009 05:16:00 +0000

Sunday May 17 2009

Fandango Footwork

It will take place here next weekend - the 3-day Owyhee Fandango endurance ride.

"Our goal is to bring riders together to ride historic trails in America's 'Wild West', to build friendships and International camaraderie, and to experience it all on horseback.

Ride a relaxed pace - or a competitive race, for 50 miles, 100 miles, or 150 miles ... Any way you want it! " There are also trail rides of 10 or 15 miles for those folks who prefer that.

John and Steph are finishing putting ribbons out on trails. I'm ribboning a portion of trail on foot (I won't do 4-wheelers on trails any more, after I rolled one!). Carol and I hung colorful OWYHEE RIDE signs up on the highway today, pointing the way to base camp. Steph's pulling weeds, planting flowers, mowing and watering the lawn. Dudley's trying to lose a little more weight so he looks really good in his dappled coat.

John the radio guy was here, coordinating times with Steph so he can get his volunteer crew of 15 set up at the right places and the right times on the ride days.

If you want to pick up a little education while you're here, there's the USEF "education session" for riders, and there's a hoofcare clinic to attend.

If you want socializing, there's the Wine and Cheese Social Friday evening sponsored by Vettec, not to mention the nightly meals (during the awards) cooked by Blue Moon Catering.

Of course, the BEST reason to come is to ride our Owyhee trails. The scenery is quite picturesque: high desert country with hills and draws and hidden canyons and washes; a loop around Wild Horse Butte and along the Snake River; a vet check at the Sierra Del Rio ranch - formerly the Nahas Ranch which was an original stop on the Oregon trail where you could water your horses in the Snake River; Hart Creek Canyon and an old homestead; all with the snow-covered Owyhee Mountains to the southwest framing the whole shebang.

Any season the scenery is awesome, but this spring we've got a good helping of green grass (green for the desert, anyway), and a big variety of wildflowers, with new ones popping out every week.

Here Jose gives you a mini-tour of what to expect:

Indian paintbrush

Phlox

Arrowleaf Balsamroot

Field o' purple flowers

Globemallow just came yesterday. There's also monkshood, lupine, buckwheat, purple sage, asters and plenty others I don't know.

The green carpet is already edging towards brown, and it's quickly getting dry, so if we don't get another shower this week (not in the forecast) it will be browner and dusty. The flowers will still be around for a while, however.

You'll see and hear a variety of birds during the day - Ravens, red-tailed hawks, kestrels, magpies, killdeer, bright yellow goldfinches, red-winged blackbirds, and if you're lucky, a golden eagle or two in the desert canyons, or maybe a bald eagle near the Snake River. In the morning you'll probably hear downy woodpeckers hammering away and if you're lucky, at night you might hear (or see, if you're very lucky) a family of screech owls (two parents and two babies).

But don't forget this is the Wild West: keep your eyes peeled for rattlesnakes. I came upon the first one of the season today while out marking trail, leading Dudley on foot. Yikes! Thereafter I was very jumpy, leaping in the air any time a bird flew out of bush or a sagebrush rattled when I brushed against it.

There's also peril in the scattered Death Camas - they look a bit like wild onions, but don't be fooled and taste them like I almost did! All parts of the plant are poisonous for you or your horse. We've seen a bit of locoweed around, though your horse would have to chow down on it for a while before he started doing cartwheels. But that's just a little part of the Wild West experience.

The Fandango starts in 6 days (May 23-24-25) - get your horse's dancing shoes on, and head on down. (I'm hoping to dance with Jose...)

Preview of the Fandango on Endurance.net

2009 Fandango on Endurance.net