Monday, September 24, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Making a Comeback
Alright, I'll be honest....dropped off the radar here for a bit. So I'm trying to make a comeback and get better about updating this thing. My cousin started his own blog recently (pretty much about his random thoughts), so I figure if HE can do it, I can do it.
General updates: This season, my focus has been on a few things. I bought my first horse, Fine Ali Bey, in February 2012. She is adorable and has been super-easy to bring along. Her breeding is a mix of Crabbit, Polish, Spanish, and Egyptian. She's very small, maybe 14'2'' and delicate so I've been bringing her along very slowly so as not to hurt her growth or cause an injury. Recently we've put her and Helo on rice bran along with their normal food to try and bulk them up a bit. She carries me no problem, would just like to see a little more on her especially as the weather cools off. My first ride with her will hopefully be Fort Valley in October.
Helo has had a bit of a trying year. He started very well, but also began to get nervous traveling to rides and not holding weight well. Pretty sure he was developing some ulcers. He also came up off of Foxcatcher with a Fistulous Wither, so he's been pretty much left alone these past 6 months. Sarah (his owner) has been slowly bringing him back. His back needs to build up some muscle again and we've got him on rice bran with Ali. He seems very relaxed and happy to be back out on trail with a job again. She and I have both switched to Specialized Saddles; it's the only treed saddle out there that you can adjust with your horses back as it changes. Helo has a weirdly prominent wither that comes back very far; Sarah tried a multitude of different saddles and liked this one the best. Of the other saddles, she felt closest and most secure in this one, and we knew for a FACT that it would stay off his spine (you can see down the entire channel from butt to wither). For my switch, Helo wasn't the only horse I had problems with. I also had pressure points with Kricket (Farah's Testamony) and Ali also got a bad wither rub, even after I purchased an Equipedic pad to help bolster support for them. So I went Specialized, having used it before and loved it. I'm very happy I made the switch; these saddles are great and I will be able to change and customize the fit as she grows and changes fairly easily. For anyone that's interested, their website is www.specializedsaddles.com. You can also order them through Global Endurance (www.globalendurance.com); Christoph and Dian are dealers and can help answer any questions you have.
Kricket has been having an awesome year! Amy is still focusing a lot on Remington, so she let me bring Kricket along for her to get her mileage for National Championships at Biltmore next week. Then in a surprise move back in February, Amy said I could take her! So I'll be racing down in Asheville in TEN DAYS!!!! So excited, and stressed. We're going to be letting Kricket put some speed on and just see where she places; not going to be pushing for a top spot but would like to be in the upper end of the pack. Amy has told me that if I go faster than 6:30 she will kill me. Of course, she also said if I lose in a race-off she'll kill me (we practiced, I clocked Kricket at 27MPH and she still had a gear or two left). So we'll just have to see how the day goes.
Speaking of Champions...Heather and Jeremy both went to the World Championships in London this year! Not to be confused with the Olympics (endurance is not yet an Olympic Sport), the WEC is definitely a big deal. The US Team placed 4th, finishing 4 out of 5 starters. This is a great showing for them and they went super-fast! We are all very proud of our team. You can read about their experience on Heather's blog here.
That's all I have for now. Tonight is Sandy Point night with what I am informally calling the Central Southeastern Virginia Endurance Team (ie pretty much all of us not up in the mountains). Sarah and I are going with Helo and Ali, and we'll be bringing Sarah's daughters on their ponies Aleah and Silver. Will be posting some Garmin Reports on training routes here. I'm registering Ali with AHA and am going to be looking at the different types of competitions they have (one is recording training mileage so I have to be better about that habit). Stay tuned.
Alright, I'll be honest....dropped off the radar here for a bit. So I'm trying to make a comeback and get better about updating this thing. My cousin started his own blog recently (pretty much about his random thoughts), so I figure if HE can do it, I can do it.
General updates: This season, my focus has been on a few things. I bought my first horse, Fine Ali Bey, in February 2012. She is adorable and has been super-easy to bring along. Her breeding is a mix of Crabbit, Polish, Spanish, and Egyptian. She's very small, maybe 14'2'' and delicate so I've been bringing her along very slowly so as not to hurt her growth or cause an injury. Recently we've put her and Helo on rice bran along with their normal food to try and bulk them up a bit. She carries me no problem, would just like to see a little more on her especially as the weather cools off. My first ride with her will hopefully be Fort Valley in October.
Helo has had a bit of a trying year. He started very well, but also began to get nervous traveling to rides and not holding weight well. Pretty sure he was developing some ulcers. He also came up off of Foxcatcher with a Fistulous Wither, so he's been pretty much left alone these past 6 months. Sarah (his owner) has been slowly bringing him back. His back needs to build up some muscle again and we've got him on rice bran with Ali. He seems very relaxed and happy to be back out on trail with a job again. She and I have both switched to Specialized Saddles; it's the only treed saddle out there that you can adjust with your horses back as it changes. Helo has a weirdly prominent wither that comes back very far; Sarah tried a multitude of different saddles and liked this one the best. Of the other saddles, she felt closest and most secure in this one, and we knew for a FACT that it would stay off his spine (you can see down the entire channel from butt to wither). For my switch, Helo wasn't the only horse I had problems with. I also had pressure points with Kricket (Farah's Testamony) and Ali also got a bad wither rub, even after I purchased an Equipedic pad to help bolster support for them. So I went Specialized, having used it before and loved it. I'm very happy I made the switch; these saddles are great and I will be able to change and customize the fit as she grows and changes fairly easily. For anyone that's interested, their website is www.specializedsaddles.com. You can also order them through Global Endurance (www.globalendurance.com); Christoph and Dian are dealers and can help answer any questions you have.
Kricket has been having an awesome year! Amy is still focusing a lot on Remington, so she let me bring Kricket along for her to get her mileage for National Championships at Biltmore next week. Then in a surprise move back in February, Amy said I could take her! So I'll be racing down in Asheville in TEN DAYS!!!! So excited, and stressed. We're going to be letting Kricket put some speed on and just see where she places; not going to be pushing for a top spot but would like to be in the upper end of the pack. Amy has told me that if I go faster than 6:30 she will kill me. Of course, she also said if I lose in a race-off she'll kill me (we practiced, I clocked Kricket at 27MPH and she still had a gear or two left). So we'll just have to see how the day goes.
Speaking of Champions...Heather and Jeremy both went to the World Championships in London this year! Not to be confused with the Olympics (endurance is not yet an Olympic Sport), the WEC is definitely a big deal. The US Team placed 4th, finishing 4 out of 5 starters. This is a great showing for them and they went super-fast! We are all very proud of our team. You can read about their experience on Heather's blog here.
That's all I have for now. Tonight is Sandy Point night with what I am informally calling the Central Southeastern Virginia Endurance Team (ie pretty much all of us not up in the mountains). Sarah and I are going with Helo and Ali, and we'll be bringing Sarah's daughters on their ponies Aleah and Silver. Will be posting some Garmin Reports on training routes here. I'm registering Ali with AHA and am going to be looking at the different types of competitions they have (one is recording training mileage so I have to be better about that habit). Stay tuned.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Rabbit Run Recap
Hey guys, this one won't be too long I promise.....
Went to the New Jersey ride Rabbit Run with Amy Smoot and Carolyn Vavala. I took Helo, Amy took Remington and Carolyn was on her mare, Becca. Amy and I planned to ride together and go easy, just trying to get Remington through his first successful 50 in a long time and also get Helo conditioned. I wasn't too concerned because the ride is flat and supposedly easy.
We got to camp with no problems and parked on Friday. Immediately I had concern because the sand on the road in and in the vet area was pretty deep; Carolyn's rig was losing some major traction. This was scary, as we had not prepared or conditioned for deep sand (yikes!). Helo was unfamiliar with using a ramp and bonked his ankle unloading; he was sound it was just a little ouchie to the touch. He also was a little dehydrated; I ended up hitting him with a few doses of electrolytes while we rested on Friday. Everyone vetted through fine, and we had a great ride dinner and fast meeting.
Saturday morning, Amy and I waited until the main pack was out of sight before we headed out to trail. Kelly Lane (riding her horses, Dinero) decided to head out and pace with us. It ended up working out great! Remington calmed down much faster then normal, Helo was energetic but very well-behaved, and it was great experience for everyone. For the first two loops we held about 9-10mph trot, except for on the moguls and deep sand (we slowed down for all of that). Unfortunately, there was a LOT of deep sand. Apparently this is not common for this ride, but because they didn't get a lot of rain the trail wasn't as compressed as normal. Good to know if we come back in future years. There also is almost zero food and very little water on trail, so it's good to bring some horse snacks on the saddle and not take too long out there.
Helo and Remy started to get tired around mile 30, so we backed them off to make sure they finished. Unfortunately Dinero pulled at mile 35 (hind end lameness). Amy and I went VERY slow on the last loop; we were all kind of dead brained and sore from the very flat ride and Helo wasn't eating or drinking as well as I wanted him too. I hit him with Probios and some Balance at the vet check and he perked right back up again, and his vet checks were good all day. Good experience for both of us now, I'll definitely have that handy for future rides!
Amy, Carolyn and I all finished successfully and headed home Saturday night (again a note for this ride, they make you leave Saturday night unless you want to pay extra to stay). Next year, we'll pay the extra. Since we were all very tired it took us a lot of extra time to get home, and the horses took longer to recover over the next few days. Lesson learned.
Next up, Foxcatcher!
Went to the New Jersey ride Rabbit Run with Amy Smoot and Carolyn Vavala. I took Helo, Amy took Remington and Carolyn was on her mare, Becca. Amy and I planned to ride together and go easy, just trying to get Remington through his first successful 50 in a long time and also get Helo conditioned. I wasn't too concerned because the ride is flat and supposedly easy.
We got to camp with no problems and parked on Friday. Immediately I had concern because the sand on the road in and in the vet area was pretty deep; Carolyn's rig was losing some major traction. This was scary, as we had not prepared or conditioned for deep sand (yikes!). Helo was unfamiliar with using a ramp and bonked his ankle unloading; he was sound it was just a little ouchie to the touch. He also was a little dehydrated; I ended up hitting him with a few doses of electrolytes while we rested on Friday. Everyone vetted through fine, and we had a great ride dinner and fast meeting.
Saturday morning, Amy and I waited until the main pack was out of sight before we headed out to trail. Kelly Lane (riding her horses, Dinero) decided to head out and pace with us. It ended up working out great! Remington calmed down much faster then normal, Helo was energetic but very well-behaved, and it was great experience for everyone. For the first two loops we held about 9-10mph trot, except for on the moguls and deep sand (we slowed down for all of that). Unfortunately, there was a LOT of deep sand. Apparently this is not common for this ride, but because they didn't get a lot of rain the trail wasn't as compressed as normal. Good to know if we come back in future years. There also is almost zero food and very little water on trail, so it's good to bring some horse snacks on the saddle and not take too long out there.
Helo and Remy started to get tired around mile 30, so we backed them off to make sure they finished. Unfortunately Dinero pulled at mile 35 (hind end lameness). Amy and I went VERY slow on the last loop; we were all kind of dead brained and sore from the very flat ride and Helo wasn't eating or drinking as well as I wanted him too. I hit him with Probios and some Balance at the vet check and he perked right back up again, and his vet checks were good all day. Good experience for both of us now, I'll definitely have that handy for future rides!
Amy, Carolyn and I all finished successfully and headed home Saturday night (again a note for this ride, they make you leave Saturday night unless you want to pay extra to stay). Next year, we'll pay the extra. Since we were all very tired it took us a lot of extra time to get home, and the horses took longer to recover over the next few days. Lesson learned.
Next up, Foxcatcher!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Boy Scout Powwow and Season Update!
Once again, I'm SUPER slow at updating this. Apologies, I'll try to get better!
Amy Smoot and I took her two horses, Remington and Kricket, down to Georgia for the Boy Scout Powwow last month. It was a haul, but I had heard good reviews about the ride and we wanted to get some good miles on Kricket towards getting her qualified for Nationals. Remy has been having some internalizing issues too, so we were hoping if we went together and just took it easy we could help him work through it.
The drive down was rough, we went overnight and had to switch off a lot to stay awake. Also, if you're ever driving from the North DON'T follow GPS directions. Hit me up, I'll get you better ones, otherwise you'll end up spending the last 3 hours on Georgia backroads driving 35mph. Blegh.
We got to the campground on Friday morning and set up camp. The camp area is really nice, pretty wooded so there's shade and real bathrooms. There are showers too but they are across camp (no problem for us, we were just happy to have them!). After setting up camp we took a nap and then vetted through. Both horses looked great, very relaxed and happy. We also ran into my good buddy Heather Reynolds; she had brought two youngsters up from Florida and was looking to get a 50 in both days on them as well. After vet in we went for a quick warm up ride with Heather to stretch out (everybody was feeling feisty) and then went to dinner. The dinners every night were GREAT! Hot food and we got to eat inside in the dining hall.
The next morning we tacked up as usual and headed to the start line. Remington was doing his normal "trembling" which didn't bode well for him; Amy hasn't quite figured out what's going on and why he does that, but we're working on different supplement combos (leaning heavy on the magnesium right now) to try and get him settled back down. The start was kind of crazy, they let all 120 riders and horses go at once! Thankfully, the trail was nice dirt with lots of winding through the trees which gave us an opportunity to slow down.
Both our horses were pretty keyed up for the start and it took them a little while to settle down. Kricket was awesome, forward but listening to me. I did suggest to Amy that we start her in a stronger bit, just to give my arms a break (she has since ridden her and agreed haha). The first loop was 15 miles, then a trot-by, then another 10. The trail was pretty nice wide dirt with very little climbing. There were some spots out around the fields where the dirt was very deep like sand, so we slowed down for those. Remy looked a little iffy coming in off the first loop and unfortunately got pulled at mile 40; his trembling had tightened up the muscles in his hind end and he had a really bad cramp. Boo. Kricket rocked it, she held nice and steady all day and when Remy pulled, she looked around for him but kept heading on down trail with minimal issues. Her vet scores were all A's all day (except for the last check, her gut sounds were a little quiet but I think it was because she was looking around for Remington).
Remy's cramp was bad enough that we decided not to start him the next day and let him take it easy. Kricket rocked it even more on Day 2, the trail was almost exactly the same and she did not seemed fazed at all. She went alone or with other horses and just held a steady 9mph with little to no effort. We ended up riding a lot of day 2 with a vet who was going about the same pace but stopping every 45 min or so to let the horses get a grass snack. We cut an hour off our time from the day previous and again she had all A's on her vet cards. The vets seemed really impressed with her, her metabolics were great and she was super-solid on her trot outs. Not bad for a big anglo-arab!
I highly recommend this ride to anyone; it's very well-run and organized, the trails were nice, and it's good for both beginning and advanced horses. There is some deep dirt that resembles sand (especially because you repeat trail and it gets really churned up) but not so much that you can't still make time easily. And despite the long drive, it is actually really easy to get to. Just have to have the right route mapped out!
After we got back from Georgia, Amy offered to let me take Kricket to Nationals in September no matter what happens with Remington. Needless to say I am SUPER excited and this is a huge deal and very generous of her. She still needs two more races to get qualified but based on her performance in GA, I don't see her having any trouble. We're also going to continue to work with Remy to see if we can't figure out what's going on.
Next weekend we'll be in New Jersey for Rabbit Run! Amy is taking Remington and I'll be taking Helo (owned by Sarah Seashols). Helo has a very busy season planned too; in fact if all goes well he will also be qualified for Nationals, so I have convinced Sarah she should go if possible. We're also planning on Foxcatcher, Biltmore, and Old Dominion.
Oh, and in other news...I brought home MY first horse about a month ago! Her name is Fine Ali Bey (bred by Melisa Trott) and she is a 4 year old purebred Arab. She is small right now but definitely will grow, and what I really love is her mind. Inquisitive but level-headed, very solid and smart about what's going on around her. Best part, she loads and unloads on the trailer beautifully! We went for our first slow trail ride at Sandy Point last weekend and she did fantastic. A few little starts when she caught something in the corner of her eye, and she jumped over a trickle of a creek instead of stepping, but everything was very quiet and easy. My plan is to bring her along very slow and maybe do an LD in the fall to see how she does. I want to make sure she gets plenty of time to learn and GROW so that she has a good successful start to her endurance career.
As always, feel free to hit me up if you have any q
uestions!
Amy Smoot and I took her two horses, Remington and Kricket, down to Georgia for the Boy Scout Powwow last month. It was a haul, but I had heard good reviews about the ride and we wanted to get some good miles on Kricket towards getting her qualified for Nationals. Remy has been having some internalizing issues too, so we were hoping if we went together and just took it easy we could help him work through it.
The drive down was rough, we went overnight and had to switch off a lot to stay awake. Also, if you're ever driving from the North DON'T follow GPS directions. Hit me up, I'll get you better ones, otherwise you'll end up spending the last 3 hours on Georgia backroads driving 35mph. Blegh.
We got to the campground on Friday morning and set up camp. The camp area is really nice, pretty wooded so there's shade and real bathrooms. There are showers too but they are across camp (no problem for us, we were just happy to have them!). After setting up camp we took a nap and then vetted through. Both horses looked great, very relaxed and happy. We also ran into my good buddy Heather Reynolds; she had brought two youngsters up from Florida and was looking to get a 50 in both days on them as well. After vet in we went for a quick warm up ride with Heather to stretch out (everybody was feeling feisty) and then went to dinner. The dinners every night were GREAT! Hot food and we got to eat inside in the dining hall.
The next morning we tacked up as usual and headed to the start line. Remington was doing his normal "trembling" which didn't bode well for him; Amy hasn't quite figured out what's going on and why he does that, but we're working on different supplement combos (leaning heavy on the magnesium right now) to try and get him settled back down. The start was kind of crazy, they let all 120 riders and horses go at once! Thankfully, the trail was nice dirt with lots of winding through the trees which gave us an opportunity to slow down.
Both our horses were pretty keyed up for the start and it took them a little while to settle down. Kricket was awesome, forward but listening to me. I did suggest to Amy that we start her in a stronger bit, just to give my arms a break (she has since ridden her and agreed haha). The first loop was 15 miles, then a trot-by, then another 10. The trail was pretty nice wide dirt with very little climbing. There were some spots out around the fields where the dirt was very deep like sand, so we slowed down for those. Remy looked a little iffy coming in off the first loop and unfortunately got pulled at mile 40; his trembling had tightened up the muscles in his hind end and he had a really bad cramp. Boo. Kricket rocked it, she held nice and steady all day and when Remy pulled, she looked around for him but kept heading on down trail with minimal issues. Her vet scores were all A's all day (except for the last check, her gut sounds were a little quiet but I think it was because she was looking around for Remington).
Remy's cramp was bad enough that we decided not to start him the next day and let him take it easy. Kricket rocked it even more on Day 2, the trail was almost exactly the same and she did not seemed fazed at all. She went alone or with other horses and just held a steady 9mph with little to no effort. We ended up riding a lot of day 2 with a vet who was going about the same pace but stopping every 45 min or so to let the horses get a grass snack. We cut an hour off our time from the day previous and again she had all A's on her vet cards. The vets seemed really impressed with her, her metabolics were great and she was super-solid on her trot outs. Not bad for a big anglo-arab!
I highly recommend this ride to anyone; it's very well-run and organized, the trails were nice, and it's good for both beginning and advanced horses. There is some deep dirt that resembles sand (especially because you repeat trail and it gets really churned up) but not so much that you can't still make time easily. And despite the long drive, it is actually really easy to get to. Just have to have the right route mapped out!
After we got back from Georgia, Amy offered to let me take Kricket to Nationals in September no matter what happens with Remington. Needless to say I am SUPER excited and this is a huge deal and very generous of her. She still needs two more races to get qualified but based on her performance in GA, I don't see her having any trouble. We're also going to continue to work with Remy to see if we can't figure out what's going on.
Next weekend we'll be in New Jersey for Rabbit Run! Amy is taking Remington and I'll be taking Helo (owned by Sarah Seashols). Helo has a very busy season planned too; in fact if all goes well he will also be qualified for Nationals, so I have convinced Sarah she should go if possible. We're also planning on Foxcatcher, Biltmore, and Old Dominion.
Oh, and in other news...I brought home MY first horse about a month ago! Her name is Fine Ali Bey (bred by Melisa Trott) and she is a 4 year old purebred Arab. She is small right now but definitely will grow, and what I really love is her mind. Inquisitive but level-headed, very solid and smart about what's going on around her. Best part, she loads and unloads on the trailer beautifully! We went for our first slow trail ride at Sandy Point last weekend and she did fantastic. A few little starts when she caught something in the corner of her eye, and she jumped over a trickle of a creek instead of stepping, but everything was very quiet and easy. My plan is to bring her along very slow and maybe do an LD in the fall to see how she does. I want to make sure she gets plenty of time to learn and GROW so that she has a good successful start to her endurance career.
As always, feel free to hit me up if you have any q
uestions!
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
1/15 Training Ride with Helo at SP - Garmin Report
Untitled by schicksa at Garmin Connect - Details
Good day today! Helo was a little spooky so it was probably good that we were out alone. Confidence builder for both of us! Started with all 4 boots but had a few wardrobe malfunctions so ended up taking off the rears and going with fronts only. Very happy, forward boy who was excited to go out! Love this horse!
Good day today! Helo was a little spooky so it was probably good that we were out alone. Confidence builder for both of us! Started with all 4 boots but had a few wardrobe malfunctions so ended up taking off the rears and going with fronts only. Very happy, forward boy who was excited to go out! Love this horse!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Ride Schedule 2012
In case anyone was curious, here is my tentative ride schedule for 2012. Yeah, I'm going to be crazy busy, and this DOESN'T include the potential 5 year old Heather and Jeremy may be sending me to work with....deep breaths Sarah....
2/10-2/11: Boy Scout Powwow (GA)
Kricket, 2 days, 50 each day
3/24: Rabbit Run (NJ)
Aleah (50)
5/5: Biltmore (NC)
Aleah (50)
6/9: Old Dominion
Aleah (55)
Late August: VA Highlands (VA)
Aleah or Helo? 50 or 50 and 30 (2 day)
9/22: Nationals Biltmore Estate (NC)
Tentative – Kricket, depends on Amy and Remington (50)
10/26: Fort Valley (VA)
Helo or Aleah? 50
Garmin Report - 1/7/2012
Garmin Report 1/7/2012 - Yorktown Battlefield with Amy, Kricket, and Remy
Long day today! We did over 26 miles, trying to keep at speed (12mph) as often as possible. Had to slow down for pavement, gravel, etc. Both horses did great!
Long day today! We did over 26 miles, trying to keep at speed (12mph) as often as possible. Had to slow down for pavement, gravel, etc. Both horses did great!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Garmin Report 1/1/12
Training Ride at York River State Park by schicksa at Garmin Connect - Details
Training ride with Sarah Seashols and her horses, Helo and Aleah.
Training ride with Sarah Seashols and her horses, Helo and Aleah.
Training Report 12/31/11
Training Ride at Graves Mountain by schicksa at Garmin Connect - Details
Hooray new Garmin for xmas! Used it today on a training ride with Amy Smoot and her horses, Kricket and Remington. Had to push Kricket today, she was a little lazy. Both horses got a good workout in but neither were over-taxed. Good stuff!
Hooray new Garmin for xmas! Used it today on a training ride with Amy Smoot and her horses, Kricket and Remington. Had to push Kricket today, she was a little lazy. Both horses got a good workout in but neither were over-taxed. Good stuff!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
