River Run Year 3; Part 2.....or "Well...? Who/What/Where/When?"

Wow, this has taken a LONG time to get to, hasn't it?  Work and the holidays really threw everything out of wack!!!

So, where was I?

Ahhhh yes, day 2 of River Run, who was on deck, or did I just pack it in and head for home?

So, Saturday evening, before the ride meeting, D.C. came over to our camp and said "If you're game, we think Dez looks good enough to do another day."

GAME ON!!!

We went and got signed up, and then piddled away the rest of the day, hanging out with my girls at the Land Yacht, playing with our horses, taking them for walks, and just relaxing and savoring a ride well done together.

When it was time for ride meeting, we realized we finished comfortably towards the back of the pack, exactly where he needed to be!!

Out of 46 starters, 36 finished.  We were 29th with a ride time of 4:33!  I will take a ride like that day after day after day.  Solid and consistent time without having to race to make cut offs! And plenty of horse left for day 2!!!

At the awards meeting/dinner, we heard some people behind us talking about some horses that had gotten loose.  C.B. had the foresight to quietly slip off and check on all of ours to make sure that they were safe and secure still in their pens (they were). 

So, after we got our awards, we headed back to the Land Yacht, chit chatted some more, and finally started turning in for bed.  However, I was so congested, I was up most of the night.  Around 10ish I was aware of some loud and thumping music.  Truthfully, I thought the music was coming from somewhere in camp, so at about midnight, I left the trailer to take a walk (I kept coughing and choking and didn't want to keep C.B. and T.M. up all night!) and try to figure out who was having a mini-rave in camp.  I fully planned to knock on a door and ask them to PLEASE knock it off.

Turns out, apparently ride camp is near a bar that had some music thumping until 2 am.  Ask me how I know how late the music went on for.  Three guesses, and the first two don't count.

I finally fell asleep around 3ish, and was up again around 5:30ish.  Not an ideal sleep situation, but, work with what you've got!!

Stuffing food in my mouth and racing over to D.C. and R.C.'s trailer to help get ponies ready. 

R.C.'s horse who had done the 50 on Saturday was heading out for day 2 to do an LD in preparation for High Roller's 75.  And today, D.C. swore, come hell or high water, she was riding!!  HOORAY!!!

So, all 3 of  us mounted up, waited a few moments for the hot feet to book it, and away we went!

While out on trail, our motley gang of 2 Paso Finos and 1 Arabian met up with a newbie rider on her horse (M.D. on her horse, who's name escapes me, but according to the results, is River in Motion).  We all quickly clicked together and chugged happily down the trail.

See?!

Having a great ride with great people on day 2 at River Run! 
I love how intense Dezzie looks here! That is a horse on a mission!
Photo courtesy of John Nowell (purchased)

D.C. really seemed to enjoy the river part of the trail.  Truthfully, it's one of my favorite parts as well.  It's shaded, peaceful, and the trails have just enough twist and turn to keep it interesting!!!  I completely enjoyed riding with her, and R.C. (again) and our new friend M.D.  I kept glancing down at my Garmin and was surprised by the time we were making.  It was so nice!

Before we really even knew it, we were all making our way back to camp.

Now, remember when I mentioned that at the dinner, we'd heard about the loose horses?

It was true.

And, in fact, the trail was re-routed because one of them had a catastrophic injury in the dark and they were waiting for the remains to be removed from the trail.

It put a damper on our happy little crew, and made me a little sick to my stomach.  Death can happen in our own pastures, but it's got to be so very painful to make a return trip home without your friend and partner. 

At the end of the first loop.  Yep, I look bad dismounting
but there is a horse who still has juice to keep going!
Photo courtesy of John Nowell.

These are our splits for the first loop.

To say that Dezzie has a nice, forward way of going is an understatement. 

	Time	Cumulative Time	Moving Time				Avg Speed	Avg Moving Speed	Max Speed
1	12:50	12:50	12:38				4.7	4.7	9.6
2	7:42.7	20:33	7:38				7.8	7.9	10.0
3	8:34.0	29:07	8:31				7.0	7.0	10.0
4	9:19.8	38:27	8:55				6.4	6.7	9.6
5	8:56.5	47:23	8:49				6.7	6.8	10.3
6	7:54.4	55:18	7:52				7.6	7.6	10.0
7	9:15.3	1:04:33	9:07				6.5	6.6	10.7
8	9:33.2	1:14:06	9:17				6.3	6.5	10.3
9	9:49.8	1:23:56	9:45				6.1	6.2	11.0
10	13:49	1:37:45	13:09				4.3	4.6	10.1
11	11:28	1:49:13	11:18				5.2	5.3	10.2
12	12:40	2:01:53	10:56				4.4	5.1	10.0
Summary	2:01:53	2:01:53	1:58:28				5.9	6.0	11.0

So, we vetted through just fine and headed back to the trailers to let the horses rest and relax.  R.C.'s boy was a little tired, and R.C. wanted him to have better gut sounds, so he and D.C. opted to wait longer than the mandatory hold to allow him to refuel and get a few more minutes break.  The added bonus is that the two of them could ride TOGETHER.  Which is something that I gather they don't get to do a lot of.  So, M.D. and I headed out together to hit that second and final loop.

Dezzie was ready to rock and roll, but we tried to keep it to a dull roar.  I think he was starting to feel a little back sore as he was stretching down, not to rip the reins through my hands, but, it felt more like he was trying to stretch his back out.  I was using their Barefoot on him with a Skito, but he kept asking to canter, and I wanted him to take it easy as M.D.'s horse didn't seem to mentally be prepared for that on ride day.  So, he and I had lots of discussions about it.  And I made a mental note that if we rode together again, he would need a different saddle, at least for the second loop.  Maybe swap him out for my own saddle if needs be.

And, once again, before we knew it, we were heading back to camp.  And, unsurprisingly, Dezzie just REFUSED to drink the whole damn ride.  He has race brain still something fierce.  You would think on day 2 he'd be more settled down and in, and, oh, I dunno, maybe THIRSTY?!  Nope.  Not Dezzie!!

I kept thinking R.C. and D.C. would catch up to us on trail, and they did, as we were coming in to camp!  :)

These are our splits for the second loop.  We took it nice and easy.

	Time	Cumulative Time	Moving Time				Avg Speed	Avg Moving Speed	Max Speed
1	11:28	11:28	11:22				5.2	5.3	9.9
2	12:13	23:42	11:57				4.9	5.0	9.3
3	9:00.8	32:42	8:56				6.7	6.7	9.6
4	10:35	43:17	10:27				5.7	5.7	9.3
5	13:27	56:44	12:58				4.5	4.6	10.4
6	10:09	1:06:53	10:07				5.9	5.9	11.2
7	11:35	1:18:28	11:27				5.2	5.2	10.6
8	14:16	1:32:44	13:13				4.2	4.5	12.6
9	12:33	1:45:17	12:24				4.8	4.8	11.0
10	16:53	2:02:09	16:20				3.6	3.7	4.7
11	14:12	2:16:21	13:52				4.2	4.3	9.6
12	7:42.2	2:24:03	7:24				3.5	3.6	4.2
Summary	2:24:03	2:24:03	2:21:24				4.8	4.9	12.6

And, is anyone at all surprised that Dezzie completed?

In fact, our entire crew completed!!!

Dezzie was ALMOST Turtle (R.C. took turtle, dangit!  LOL!!!) with a ride time of 4:57

Overall, it was a great weekend with a fine horse!!

AND!!! I earned my 250 LD mile patch on Saturday on Dezzie.  It was such an honor and a blessing to be trusted with such a fine animal to carry me across the finish line (such as it is for an LD ride). 

I am ever so grateful that they offered me the use of their horse.  I'm ever so grateful that I met R.C. at River Run 3 years ago and got to ride with him that day.  And I'm beyond grateful to call them friends and part of my endurance tribe.

Thank you R.C. and D.C.

And thank YOU Dezzie!!!

Now...about High Roller.....

Where have you been....or "Good, bad and forever good byes"

Sorry for the long absence!!  I partially blame AERC for not having ride results posted yet, and partially....well...life has gotten so freaking busy! 

I have a post in the works regarding River Run...and a post in the works for High Roller (spoiler alert, I went).

However....there's other stuff too...which won't be as time intensive, so I thought, in the interim while I wait for AERC, I'll drop this post.

Good news?
Strider has an appointment on February 3rd to have an ultrasound done on his left hind.  So, I can FINALLY know if he's ready to go back to work, or if he continues to need more time off work to finish the healing process (and perhaps a rough idea of how long it will take).  I've considered hopping up bareback so many times, or saddling up for a walk around the property, but the fact is, the last time I was on him bareback, he wanted to go so badly.  And, yes, he has the freedom to run and jump and act a fool on his own, but add a rider to the mix, and all of a sudden his balance changes.  So, I resist the urge and wait.  And I'm constantly touching that left hind and comparing it to the right.  Some days, I think I feel NO puffiness.  Other days, I'm positive I do.  So, now I'll know for SURE.

Medium news?
With that in mind, I've started legging up Socks, with an eye to a VERY slow 50 at Buffalo Run in April.  I've never done a ride out of state, but when J.L. (Cowboy and Jett's mommy) mentioned that it wasn't much further away than going to Racing Stripes in Mount Pleasant, and she could do more than stay and ride for one day, the decision was simple. 

Buffalo Run, here we come!!  Need to find out if it's also TERA sanctioned.  Hoping it is!

Right now, we're doing some lunging as I just don't have time to ride at night when we get home.  We started with 20 minutes of solid trot (and some canter) on the line, and we're now up to 25 minutes (and some canter).  I'll be taking him out for a road ride this weekend.

On the 15th, I took Tilly out for a road ride, which wasn't exactly the most pleasant.  We practiced wearing a rump rug.  We lunged with it covering her butt, and with it drawn up.  Then it was head out the gate, practice the "Come pick me up" cue and get in the saddle.  Then we fought about which direction to go.  Ultimately, I let her win because she was willing to go left out of our gate, but started getting downright dangerous when asked to go right out of our front gate.  If you'll move your feet, I'm semi-willing to allow you to pick our route.  So, we rode the entire length of the county road that parallels our property.  We had some spook moments.  Some freak moments.  But, her slow walk is about 4.5, and her medium, not even pushing hard at a gait speed is at 8.5.  Impressive.

However, I only got in about an hour and 10 minutes.  I wanted a little bit more time in the saddle, so Joe let us in the gate at the house and I went to ride around some more.  Yeah.  Not a bright idea, truth be told.  But only is obvious in retrospect.  The rest of the herd was loose, so as she and I went to the back pasture, they came thundering up behind her, which caused some tension and anxiety.  We fought for a bit, and I realized, she was just getting more and more worked up, and I would be better off to get off and work with her on the ground.

And that's when all hell broke loose.  The herd bolted off through the trees, and Tilly took off with them.  And she just kept accelerating.  No one rein stop (she's stiff as a board, and I forgot to work on flexing her before I got on, as Michael Gason teaches...I just spaced out).  And I realized, perhaps, for my own safety, it's just better to bail off a fleeing horse on semi-soft ground.

So I did.  Oh, I was cussing and swearing up a blue storm the entire time, but I bailed off.

There's a reason I now always wear a helmet.  I'm semi-sure I got a mild concussion as I don't remember getting up and walking to the house very clearly.  I don't remember when Kaylee joined me either, but she was there with me.

I dread to think about how bad it might have been had I NOT been wearing my helmet.

And, sadly, it was a brand new helmet.  So already, I need to replace it.  ANNOYING!!!  But, cheaper than an ER visit any day of the week!

After that ride, I realized our next session was perhaps better spent on a lunge line.  So, that next Sunday I worked her for 20 minutes.  Girl didn't even break a sweat, knew to conserve her energy, but, when working to the right, she could stretch out.  Gorgeous to watch.  Just gorgeous.

The bad news?
Sometime early Tuesday the 23rd, Tilly passed away. 
It was my worst nightmare made reality.  We were leaving for work and as we were going down the driveway, I saw her, and I knew, I KNEW the second our headlights hit her, she was gone.
Hysterical crying and sobbing ensued while Joe checked her.
But, she was gone.

Ground was undisturbed, and she was on her side, no trauma.  We opted to not do a necropsy on her.  Suspicion is an aneurysm.

Joe stayed home with me, and he was tasked with finding someone to come get her.  I couldn't remain calm enough to talk to anyone.

Thankfully, he found a very kind gentleman who was able to come and collect her.  I couldn't go outside either during the process.  But, he told Joe that the low fee he charges really only covers his costs.  He views this service as an act of love (he's a horseman himself), and he understands it's necessary.  He told Joe that she wouldn't be alone; she's going to a state approved facility where other equines are buried.  And, for whatever that was worth, it eased my pain a little.  The idea of a horse going to the dump (which is, sadly, where many end up), pains me.  And, while I didn't love her as I love any of my boys, I loved her still. 

Kaylee doesn't seem to understand where Tilly went, just that she's not coming back.  Sometimes she's at "Miss H's" (where Dakini is).  Sometimes she knows Tilly is in Heaven.  And last night, Tilly became a unicorn who lives in a rainbow.

Any which way, bless you Tilly.  They say you learn the most from the most challenging of horses.  You had more lessons to teach me, and I wish we'd had more time so I could have learned them, but, run free big girl. 

Tilly and I at Lake Sam Rayburn in November.

Socks, Strider and Tilly (right after her arrival at HGR).

Larger than life. And a unicorn to boot.