Hey all! Not much to update you on lately. Recently started conditioning Helo and Aleah again with Sarah Seasholls; both horses received a good long rest after Old Dominion and have held on to their fitness level very well. Aleah recovered fine from her lameness issue, something very minor thankfully.
Also last weekend I was able to ride Amy Smoot's mare, Cricket. Cricket is an Anglo (half Arab, half Thoroughbred) and is getting ready for her first 50 in a few weeks at Virginia Highlands. She's got a wonderful attitude, is very steady, and a lot of fun to ride. Amy has been working on building her muscle in her top line, as it has been causing a few problems for her. I'm sending her the link to Christoph's blog (Click HERE) so she can see the different exercises he recommends. She's also been working very diligently on her collection and flexion, bringing her nose down to use the back as opposed to stretching all the way out. With those things working for her, she should come along just fine!
Here is our potential race schedule for Aleah and Helo for the rest of this year. It's a little tentative right now but this is what we'd LIKE to do:
-9/17 Fall Fling (Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC)
**NOTE the entry for this ride is pretty pricey, because they add a "sponsorship" onto your ride fee. Because of lack of entries and complaints about this, they've lowered the cost so the total rider entry for the 50 mile is $180. Still pricey but half of what it was before
-10/22 Sand Hills Stampede (South Carolina)
**We were looking at Fort Valley but I won a free entry through the young rider's raffle. Plus, if the horses do well at Biltmore we'll hopefully be able to let them go a little faster here!
-11/12-11/13 Mustang Memorial (New Jersey)
**Good way to get in 50 miles, pretty flat and the terrain is easy, light sand. Watch out for moguls and make sure your horse is okay with wading through deep water (chest deep)!
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Updates from Endurance Friends
Article from Christoph Schork at GETC; in Moab they have created a group of various type of trail users to work together on preserving the trails and working with each other's needs. Let's get this going for Virginia!
http://networkedblogs.com/kWLK5
MAD PROPS to Heather Reynolds, who just won a huge important race in the UK riding for Sheik Mohammed. Here's her blog entry so you can read about it; she even got to visit with Sammiam (the horse she placed 4th with at the Worlds in KY 2010).
http://reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog
http://networkedblogs.com/kWLK5
MAD PROPS to Heather Reynolds, who just won a huge important race in the UK riding for Sheik Mohammed. Here's her blog entry so you can read about it; she even got to visit with Sammiam (the horse she placed 4th with at the Worlds in KY 2010).
http://reynoldsracing.us/heathers_blog
Friday, June 17, 2011
Sand Hills and Old Dominion Recap
Wow I'm getting TERRIBLE at keeping this thing updated. Sorry guys! Also my garmin has decided to quit on me, that's why there haven't been any reports to post. Need to send that sucker in...
Well the last month has been pretty crazy with everything happening! I've been continuing to work with Sarah Seasholl's horses, Helo and Aleah, and everything has been going fantastic as usual! We even went up to Star Tannery, VA for 3 days and did some hill/mountain training with them to prepare for OD. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Ann Crandell and Becky Boyce for letting us come up! The horses did awesome on the training rides, they were much more fit and prepared than we expected. Good/Bad News was we did have several boot malfunctions in the very muddy technical areas. We lost one and broke another. This is bad because, obviously, we lost a boot and that sucks. And we had to keep stopping, which is not the end of the world just irritating. But good, because it definitely gave us the go-ahead to use glue-ons for the Old Dominion race.
3 weeks back, I was invited to come to Cooper H Black (Sand Hills) and do the South East fundraiser. Mary Howell helped me find a horse to ride, and I ended up getting connected with Cheryl Van Deusen and taking her gelding, Regal (Ebs Regal Marjjan), on the 55. It was HOT and MUGGY and nasty. There were some bad storms the night before, which wouldn't have been a big deal except 3 out of 4 of my tent poles snapped while I was setting up in the dark. Ugh. Didn't get much sleep that night, which was problematic later. I now have a new truck tent, will be setting it up this weekend to make sure it fits and we're good to go. Note to self: don't get that brand again! Will have to see if there's a protectant I can order to put on the tent poles.
Me and Regal on Loop 2, Photo courtesy of Becky Pearman
Anyway, I rode Regal with Cheryl and 2 other of her riders, Kevin from PA and Marcia from Michigan. We also later hooked up with Delia, riding a wonderful draft cross named Hootie. As mentioned, the day was NASTY hot and the horses had some trouble coming off loop 2. Regal pulsed down fine, but his CRI was really high. The others were having trouble pulsing. I was also getting sick from not getting much sleep the night before. With the hard work of Cheryl and the team, we rested for an extra hour and got everybody approved to go back out and complete the last 10 miles. We walked and did a little trot, and everyone got their completion! I also got my first turtle award ever! Needless to say it was a very long but satisfying day.
Two weeks later, Sarah and I headed up to Orkney Springs for Old Dominion with Aleah and Helo. After the horses did so well in training, we had signed up for the 55. We took the "scenic" route up, which was a little nerve-wracking since we've been having truck trouble but we made it just fine (though Helo was a little car sick). Ann and Becky saved us a great parking spot in the shade right next to the vets, and we got there in the morning and had tons of time to setup, vet in, etc.
Base Camp, in the crease of two mountains
If you haven't done OD, let me tell you....it is no ride for beginners
. There were four loops, 17, 19, 12, and 6 miles. First loop was really nice; plenty of spots to move out and there was one pretty good climb with beautiful views. We were travelling with Amy Frederic, a junior who normally trains with Becky and Ann and who I crewed for at No Frills. Amy rode Maggie, a 19-year old mare and endurance veteran. Amy had some digestive problems the night before and gave us a scare, so we were going easy so we didn't push her too hard. We also had Amy Smoot from the Gloucester area, on her gelding Remington. We finished loop 1 much faster than we were anticipating and everybody looked great! Amy Frederic's parents were crewing for us and did a FANTASTIC job. Thank you again!
Loop two was nasty. Unfortunately, there was some confusion with the timers and Amy (Smoot) left just before us thinking we had already gone. There is no other word for it. 19 miles, and I think we walked 15 of them. That's probably exagerating, but not too much. We went up, and up, and up, and UP the mountain, then up some more along the ridgeline at the top. The horses had to go over very technical terrains and slippery boulders. Once we were FINALLY at the top, there were two close water stops (a trough and then a little pond) and we got to head straight back down into the vet check. Trail was technical again until we hit the road but all was okay. Remington lost a shoe at some point on the down hill and was done for the day; those rocks chew up feet FAST. The other horses came into the vet check just fine, though tired. This one was a rough one because we were allowed no crew gear, only what was provided. The volunteers did the best they could but there were A LOT of horses and it was tough to keep up. Plus, we got a nice pop-up thunderstorm right in the middle which was great to cool off, but got everything soaked. Blegh.
From here it was easy-peasy to the finish....or so we thought. At some point in the first 3 miles of the next loop Aleah managed to knock herself with...herself and came up a little off. Which was crazy, since it was nice open trail with no obstacles. Her tendon started swelling too right above her fetlock. So we walked/hiked it the rest of the way in and called it a day (yup, pulled at mile 49 of 55). Helo and Maggie (with Sarah and Amy) continued on, though Maggie had some gut sound trouble at the hold. They got her picking up and did the last 6 miles very slow, finishing with plenty of time to spare and even in time to go get dinner! All in all, a semi-good day.
After seeing the treatment vet (AERC new rules from 2010 ALL Horses who are pulled MUST check out with the treatment vet), I took Aleah back to the trailer and wrapped her leg in ice, then wrapped both. I also put some poultice on but covered it so that it would stay moist. The best way to do this is to put wet paper bags like from the grocery store over the poultice, then plastic, then polo wraps. I didn't have paper, but I had plastic and polo wraps so we managed the best we could. Sources vary but most say that you need to keep the poultice wet, or it starts to do some damage while it dries pulling things apart. In any case, the injury seems pretty minor and I was confident that she absolutely would have finished if she hadn't come up off.
Both Helo and Aleah were tired, but bright eyed and taking great care of themselves. Maggie was still having a little digestive trouble, but seemed to be okay. Ate and drank and then napped (standing). And napped and napped and napped. Definitely will have to keep a watch on her to make sure everything is okay for the next ride she does.
Our friend Ann Crandell won the 100 on her horse Sunny and one of the Best Condition awards for the day (OD has 2)! We got to see her finish and it was so exciting! Great job to Becky and Justin (and Amy's parents) crewing for us all.
The glue on boots worked GREAT. We didn't lose them or have any issues at all! Helo's were really chewed up but still on at the end and important part of the foot protected. We think it was a combo of rocks and the way he moves. Good test run!
So now we have a lot of time off. Aleah and Helo will have a few weeks to rest up and heal before we start up with them again. Sarah Seasholls is looking into getting a new saddle, and my friend Kelly is picking up a new gelding so I think I will be helping her work with him when he first gets back. Next ride I'm pushing for (if Sarah is okay with it) is Virginia Highlands in August. One of my favorites, it's beautiful and challenging, but not as much so as Old Dominion. Don and Nicki Meuten manage it and have done a great job the last two years it's been running! We shall see....
All photos of Old Dominion are courtesy of Sarah Aitken Seasholls. Good thing ONE of us takes a camera around. ;-)
Well the last month has been pretty crazy with everything happening! I've been continuing to work with Sarah Seasholl's horses, Helo and Aleah, and everything has been going fantastic as usual! We even went up to Star Tannery, VA for 3 days and did some hill/mountain training with them to prepare for OD. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Ann Crandell and Becky Boyce for letting us come up! The horses did awesome on the training rides, they were much more fit and prepared than we expected. Good/Bad News was we did have several boot malfunctions in the very muddy technical areas. We lost one and broke another. This is bad because, obviously, we lost a boot and that sucks. And we had to keep stopping, which is not the end of the world just irritating. But good, because it definitely gave us the go-ahead to use glue-ons for the Old Dominion race.
3 weeks back, I was invited to come to Cooper H Black (Sand Hills) and do the South East fundraiser. Mary Howell helped me find a horse to ride, and I ended up getting connected with Cheryl Van Deusen and taking her gelding, Regal (Ebs Regal Marjjan), on the 55. It was HOT and MUGGY and nasty. There were some bad storms the night before, which wouldn't have been a big deal except 3 out of 4 of my tent poles snapped while I was setting up in the dark. Ugh. Didn't get much sleep that night, which was problematic later. I now have a new truck tent, will be setting it up this weekend to make sure it fits and we're good to go. Note to self: don't get that brand again! Will have to see if there's a protectant I can order to put on the tent poles.
Me and Regal on Loop 2, Photo courtesy of Becky PearmanTwo weeks later, Sarah and I headed up to Orkney Springs for Old Dominion with Aleah and Helo. After the horses did so well in training, we had signed up for the 55. We took the "scenic" route up, which was a little nerve-wracking since we've been having truck trouble but we made it just fine (though Helo was a little car sick). Ann and Becky saved us a great parking spot in the shade right next to the vets, and we got there in the morning and had tons of time to setup, vet in, etc.
Base Camp, in the crease of two mountains
Everyone hanging out at the campsite
If you haven't done OD, let me tell you....it is no ride for beginners
. There were four loops, 17, 19, 12, and 6 miles. First loop was really nice; plenty of spots to move out and there was one pretty good climb with beautiful views. We were travelling with Amy Frederic, a junior who normally trains with Becky and Ann and who I crewed for at No Frills. Amy rode Maggie, a 19-year old mare and endurance veteran. Amy had some digestive problems the night before and gave us a scare, so we were going easy so we didn't push her too hard. We also had Amy Smoot from the Gloucester area, on her gelding Remington. We finished loop 1 much faster than we were anticipating and everybody looked great! Amy Frederic's parents were crewing for us and did a FANTASTIC job. Thank you again!
Loop two was nasty. Unfortunately, there was some confusion with the timers and Amy (Smoot) left just before us thinking we had already gone. There is no other word for it. 19 miles, and I think we walked 15 of them. That's probably exagerating, but not too much. We went up, and up, and up, and UP the mountain, then up some more along the ridgeline at the top. The horses had to go over very technical terrains and slippery boulders. Once we were FINALLY at the top, there were two close water stops (a trough and then a little pond) and we got to head straight back down into the vet check. Trail was technical again until we hit the road but all was okay. Remington lost a shoe at some point on the down hill and was done for the day; those rocks chew up feet FAST. The other horses came into the vet check just fine, though tired. This one was a rough one because we were allowed no crew gear, only what was provided. The volunteers did the best they could but there were A LOT of horses and it was tough to keep up. Plus, we got a nice pop-up thunderstorm right in the middle which was great to cool off, but got everything soaked. Blegh.
From here it was easy-peasy to the finish....or so we thought. At some point in the first 3 miles of the next loop Aleah managed to knock herself with...herself and came up a little off. Which was crazy, since it was nice open trail with no obstacles. Her tendon started swelling too right above her fetlock. So we walked/hiked it the rest of the way in and called it a day (yup, pulled at mile 49 of 55). Helo and Maggie (with Sarah and Amy) continued on, though Maggie had some gut sound trouble at the hold. They got her picking up and did the last 6 miles very slow, finishing with plenty of time to spare and even in time to go get dinner! All in all, a semi-good day.
After seeing the treatment vet (AERC new rules from 2010 ALL Horses who are pulled MUST check out with the treatment vet), I took Aleah back to the trailer and wrapped her leg in ice, then wrapped both. I also put some poultice on but covered it so that it would stay moist. The best way to do this is to put wet paper bags like from the grocery store over the poultice, then plastic, then polo wraps. I didn't have paper, but I had plastic and polo wraps so we managed the best we could. Sources vary but most say that you need to keep the poultice wet, or it starts to do some damage while it dries pulling things apart. In any case, the injury seems pretty minor and I was confident that she absolutely would have finished if she hadn't come up off.
Both Helo and Aleah were tired, but bright eyed and taking great care of themselves. Maggie was still having a little digestive trouble, but seemed to be okay. Ate and drank and then napped (standing). And napped and napped and napped. Definitely will have to keep a watch on her to make sure everything is okay for the next ride she does.
Our friend Ann Crandell won the 100 on her horse Sunny and one of the Best Condition awards for the day (OD has 2)! We got to see her finish and it was so exciting! Great job to Becky and Justin (and Amy's parents) crewing for us all.
The glue on boots worked GREAT. We didn't lose them or have any issues at all! Helo's were really chewed up but still on at the end and important part of the foot protected. We think it was a combo of rocks and the way he moves. Good test run!
So now we have a lot of time off. Aleah and Helo will have a few weeks to rest up and heal before we start up with them again. Sarah Seasholls is looking into getting a new saddle, and my friend Kelly is picking up a new gelding so I think I will be helping her work with him when he first gets back. Next ride I'm pushing for (if Sarah is okay with it) is Virginia Highlands in August. One of my favorites, it's beautiful and challenging, but not as much so as Old Dominion. Don and Nicki Meuten manage it and have done a great job the last two years it's been running! We shall see....
All photos of Old Dominion are courtesy of Sarah Aitken Seasholls. Good thing ONE of us takes a camera around. ;-)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Training Update 4/24/11
Did 15 miles on Helo today out to Sandy Point and back, with Michelle Graham and Ace. Sarah was celebrating Easter with her family and couldn't come. Went pretty slow, also went without Renegades since we don't have a new one to replace the broken one yet. Other than getting beat up by some downed branches from recent storms (my fault, not the horse), everything went great. Helo was a perfect gentleman! We also conquered the Hill of Doom on the way home.
For cuteness factor, here is a picture of Michelle's colt, Cowboy (nearly two months old) and his daddy, Ace. Photo is care of Seven Diamonds Photography. How cool is it that you can put a baby out with a stallion and they are both totally fine and play together!?!? He is growing VERY fast! Love the blue eyes on both horses!
For cuteness factor, here is a picture of Michelle's colt, Cowboy (nearly two months old) and his daddy, Ace. Photo is care of Seven Diamonds Photography. How cool is it that you can put a baby out with a stallion and they are both totally fine and play together!?!? He is growing VERY fast! Love the blue eyes on both horses!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Ghost Update - More good news!
Forgot to put in this one too....Ghost has been progressing very well down in NC! Jonie and Dennis have been ponying him on 5-10 mile trail rides, and now Jonie is even riding him! Mary went down and also tested him out; said he was wonderful on trail and she even got on and off him a few times. The plan is hopefully to meet up in South Carolina for Sand Hills, and have both Frank, Halo, and Ghost there for the ride (I will probably ride Halo but it all depends on Mary and Jonie). Dennis reports: 
"Jonie, believe it or not is riding Ghost on trail. I ponied him four times, eight miles each trip and then she ponied him 5 times about nine miles each trip. Two weeks ago, she rode him 9 miles, and now has had him out on trail for the 6th time today. He is now fully shod, crosses water like a champ trotting some on trail and really coming along. Still have mounting issues, but not getting off. Jonie stands on the wheel well of the trailer, then slides herself on and he is fine. If she uses a mounting block or steps in a stirrup, well you know the story....I will keep you in the loop..."Great news! He's going to be a very nice horse. I need to go down and ride him soon (you know, if you fall off get back on whole thing). ;-)
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Foxcatcher Recap and Exciting News!
Alright folks, just now sitting down for this one... Foxcatcher! Sarah and I were able to hitch a last minute-ride with Carolyn Vavala (and her most luxurious rig) to this race in MD. We decided to do the LD, since it was our ponies' first ride out. Having done this ride before, I knew what to expect from the trail: rolling hills and some fun bridges and tunnels to get through.
We arrived at ride camp Friday afternoon and set up. We knew bad weather was coming for Race Day, and already the ground was very soft and wet. Not so good when you're in a 44ft 18,000lb rig. Indeed, rigs were already getting stuck and needing to get moved/pulled out with a tractor. Good on ride management for having it ready and waiting to go!
Vet in went fine, both horses were good with the vets. Aleah's heart rate was 48, Helo's a little higher. Everyone was sound and happy, and eating and drinking A LOT. I think we
went though 3 buckets of water before dinner! Ride meeting went fine, though the tent was SUPER crowded. I should note that this ride is notorious for having poorly marked trail, and it appeared we were in for it once again. Not only would the trail be the same, but there were other running races going on the same day that had similar markings to follow. AND their trail overlapped ours. Fabulous. Having done it before, though, and knowing we were going just to train and have fun I had confidence that we would get through ok. Once it started to get dark, we blanketed the ponies, made sure things were set for the AM, and then bunked for the night. Carolyn and I passed out early, with Jack the dog pouting (though I think it was from incoming bad weather, not from being bored. or at least I tell myself that).
Morning of the ride, both 25's and 50's were leaving at the same time, but from opposite ends of camp. Horses were a little wired while tacking up, Helo especially was nervous. But between the two of us we got through, and Aleah confidently led us through to the start time and out on trail where we started slow and then settled in to a nice medium trot. The horses did pretty well for it being their first time off and passing, being passed, etc. Aleah was a little racey, but nothing out of line. Helo seemed to loosen up and get over his nervousness as soon as we started moving. Trail was exactly as I expected it to be.....absolutely beautiful and well-maintained, but marked poorly. Confidence markers where we didn't need them, and no markers around blind turns when we came out of the woods and didn't know where to go. Several people missed turns, it was very frustrating.
Coming in to the first vet check, Aleah was down right away! Helo took a little more time, coming in to camp seemed to make his nervousness return. It took us FOREVER to vet through, the pulse takers were quick but because half of the vets were out on trail at a gate-n-go for the 50's, there weren't enough back in camp and we had to wait forever in line. It really came in handy to have both Sarah and I there, because one of us could hold the horses while the other went and got blankets and buckets for the horses while waiting. By the time we got through, we only had 20 minutes to really rest at our crew spot. Helo was still nervous and a little slow in eating, so we took some extra time getting ready before going out. A personal note here, the out timer at this ri
de was totally rude. I was fuming about it for a while, he seemed inexperienced and was not nice to us as we asked a.) if it was okay for us to go and b.) which way the trail left camp (he actually refused to answer the second question). After complaining about it later, I found out he had been that way with several people during the day. I know I know....we all love our volunteers! But this guy was definitely a grade A dump! Probably would have been smarter to put someone more experienced and a little happier at that post! Yes the weather was crappy. But we were really nice in asking him if we could leave! Don't know why he was so mean to all of us.
Second loop was quick,
horses came in and both vetted in even better than the first time. Aleah's finishing heart rate was 48/36!!!! Whoa. We came in perfectly in mid-pack, as planned. Helo was also much better and calmer through this check, and both passed with flying colors. Very happy and proud of both of them! Just after we finished the weather started to get SERIOUSLY bad. Rain, wind, cold, yech. Carolyn was doing the 50, we watched her leave for her last loop and went up for her finish (she finished mid-pack out of 60+ riders. Good job Carolyn!
Since it was a last-minute decision, we went in Renegade training boots and not glue-ons. The course was really muddy in some places; Aleah kept all of her boots on all day but Helo lost 3 of his. The first was a freak accident; he did a little spook while on the pavement and got it caught and flipped. The second and third times were definitely bc of mud, one came off completely and the other flipped sideways. We think we have developed a plan to winch down his toe straps a little tighter to see how it works, but may switch to glue-on for future rides to be safe. Otherwise they worked just fine.
Once we were all finished, we had the tractor pull out the rig from the mudbog and up to higher paved ground. We moved the horses up there and packed up, taking our time so they could rest and we could relax a bit before hitting the road (we were leaving same-day, Carolyn had events on Sunday and the weather truly was terrible). Again, hooray for having a tractor there!
And now for the exciting news....I got a new trailer! It's a 2001 CM in PRISTINE condition, just needs new tires and bearings packed and we're good to go! I still have my old one, but it really turned out to be way too small and I wanted something the horses would like better (and in better shape). Very excited to be able to travel and go to rides wherever I need now (without being embarrassed). :-) Still trying to sell the old trailer as a pony or livestock rig, in case anyone is interested.
That's all for now folks!
We arrived at ride camp Friday afternoon and set up. We knew bad weather was coming for Race Day, and already the ground was very soft and wet. Not so good when you're in a 44ft 18,000lb rig. Indeed, rigs were already getting stuck and needing to get moved/pulled out with a tractor. Good on ride management for having it ready and waiting to go!
Vet in went fine, both horses were good with the vets. Aleah's heart rate was 48, Helo's a little higher. Everyone was sound and happy, and eating and drinking A LOT. I think we
went though 3 buckets of water before dinner! Ride meeting went fine, though the tent was SUPER crowded. I should note that this ride is notorious for having poorly marked trail, and it appeared we were in for it once again. Not only would the trail be the same, but there were other running races going on the same day that had similar markings to follow. AND their trail overlapped ours. Fabulous. Having done it before, though, and knowing we were going just to train and have fun I had confidence that we would get through ok. Once it started to get dark, we blanketed the ponies, made sure things were set for the AM, and then bunked for the night. Carolyn and I passed out early, with Jack the dog pouting (though I think it was from incoming bad weather, not from being bored. or at least I tell myself that).
Morning of the ride, both 25's and 50's were leaving at the same time, but from opposite ends of camp. Horses were a little wired while tacking up, Helo especially was nervous. But between the two of us we got through, and Aleah confidently led us through to the start time and out on trail where we started slow and then settled in to a nice medium trot. The horses did pretty well for it being their first time off and passing, being passed, etc. Aleah was a little racey, but nothing out of line. Helo seemed to loosen up and get over his nervousness as soon as we started moving. Trail was exactly as I expected it to be.....absolutely beautiful and well-maintained, but marked poorly. Confidence markers where we didn't need them, and no markers around blind turns when we came out of the woods and didn't know where to go. Several people missed turns, it was very frustrating.
Coming in to the first vet check, Aleah was down right away! Helo took a little more time, coming in to camp seemed to make his nervousness return. It took us FOREVER to vet through, the pulse takers were quick but because half of the vets were out on trail at a gate-n-go for the 50's, there weren't enough back in camp and we had to wait forever in line. It really came in handy to have both Sarah and I there, because one of us could hold the horses while the other went and got blankets and buckets for the horses while waiting. By the time we got through, we only had 20 minutes to really rest at our crew spot. Helo was still nervous and a little slow in eating, so we took some extra time getting ready before going out. A personal note here, the out timer at this ri
de was totally rude. I was fuming about it for a while, he seemed inexperienced and was not nice to us as we asked a.) if it was okay for us to go and b.) which way the trail left camp (he actually refused to answer the second question). After complaining about it later, I found out he had been that way with several people during the day. I know I know....we all love our volunteers! But this guy was definitely a grade A dump! Probably would have been smarter to put someone more experienced and a little happier at that post! Yes the weather was crappy. But we were really nice in asking him if we could leave! Don't know why he was so mean to all of us. Second loop was quick,
horses came in and both vetted in even better than the first time. Aleah's finishing heart rate was 48/36!!!! Whoa. We came in perfectly in mid-pack, as planned. Helo was also much better and calmer through this check, and both passed with flying colors. Very happy and proud of both of them! Just after we finished the weather started to get SERIOUSLY bad. Rain, wind, cold, yech. Carolyn was doing the 50, we watched her leave for her last loop and went up for her finish (she finished mid-pack out of 60+ riders. Good job Carolyn! Since it was a last-minute decision, we went in Renegade training boots and not glue-ons. The course was really muddy in some places; Aleah kept all of her boots on all day but Helo lost 3 of his. The first was a freak accident; he did a little spook while on the pavement and got it caught and flipped. The second and third times were definitely bc of mud, one came off completely and the other flipped sideways. We think we have developed a plan to winch down his toe straps a little tighter to see how it works, but may switch to glue-on for future rides to be safe. Otherwise they worked just fine.
Once we were all finished, we had the tractor pull out the rig from the mudbog and up to higher paved ground. We moved the horses up there and packed up, taking our time so they could rest and we could relax a bit before hitting the road (we were leaving same-day, Carolyn had events on Sunday and the weather truly was terrible). Again, hooray for having a tractor there!
And now for the exciting news....I got a new trailer! It's a 2001 CM in PRISTINE condition, just needs new tires and bearings packed and we're good to go! I still have my old one, but it really turned out to be way too small and I wanted something the horses would like better (and in better shape). Very excited to be able to travel and go to rides wherever I need now (without being embarrassed). :-) Still trying to sell the old trailer as a pony or livestock rig, in case anyone is interested.
That's all for now folks!
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