Endurance 2018....or "Plans? We don't need no stinking plans!...or do we?"

As I'm sure you can gather, this is a scheduled post.  I'll reveal the info about Sunday at River Run (did I or didn't I ride?  If I rode, who got to go out?!  I'm sure you're really just dying...LOL!).

Instead, as I sit in the quiet of my office before my shift begins, most of the people already out on holiday break, I got to reflecting on this past endurance year, and what my 2018 endurance year will look like.

Perhaps this is an early New Year's post.  Not sure. 

So, 2017 has been rough and fun as well!!

Let's take a look at our AERC break down and see, stats-wise, where we ended up this year.

Horses competed at endurance rides:
3 (Strider, Dakini, Socks)

Miles each horse got credit for:
Strider: 50 endurance / 60 LD
Dakini: 30 LD
Socks: 0

Miles rider got credit for:
50 endurance / 90 LD

Miles attempted: 100 endurance / 170 LD

So, as you can see, my stats this year....pretty bad.

Reasons for non-completion:

2 Lameness
2 Rider Option

Disappointingly, in September, Strider took a very bad tumble.  We were lunging on the line in the front yard.  It's flat.  There was nothing happening that was out of the ordinary.  He was cantering as he was acting like a fool, but not out of control, when all of a sudden, he stumbled and went crashing down on both front legs, his head making contact with the ground as he skidded a few feet.  When he regained his feet, he was non-weight bearing on his left hind (LH).

I managed to convince him to cross the yard where I cold hosed him, then gave him a small dose of bute and left him out.  The constant motion is good for him.

But, as time dragged on and on...he just...wasn't getting better.

Well, I THOUGHT he was better until I took him to my trimmer for a touch up trim before taking him to a clinic.  She saw immediately when I led him off and had him pivot left that he was BAD. 

So, since then, he's been off.  And his LH has been swollen.  It's FINALLY gone down, around the beginning of December, but...he's still not quite right.

I've had Jodi Brassard of Brassard Equine Acupressure (https://www.brassardequineacupressure.com/) come out now to start doing acupressure on him.  We started doing that in October, and he's now had 3 appointments. 

All of that to say this; I'm not sure where my 2018 ride season is going. 

Dakini was given back to H, who finds her a MARVELOUS fit for her bad back.  So, while I sure do miss that sweet face, I'm beyond pleased that she's able to help someone who has helped me so much.

Socks is Socks.  He is always game to try whatever I wish to try.  And he may occasionally get to go to easy LDs.

And now there's Tilly.  Tilly needs a conditioning program.  And to be ridden more.  Joe and I gauged the road we live on and determined that one route is better than another for me to road ride, so, that's the plan.  It's not a LONG stretch of road (less than 2 miles, unless I get adventurous and tack on some of the more "main" road), but it's got wide shoulders, not as "curvy" where drivers wouldn't see us, and the shoulder looks fairly flat, not INCREDIBLY rocky, but hopefully enough to help keep toughening up soles. 

Now, on my calendar, I've written down ALL the rides I'm currently HOPING that somehow I can attend.

That list includes:
High Roller at 7iL
Old Glory at Trace Trails
Shanghai Trails at the Shanghai Pierce Ranch (and I'm on the fence...there's so much bad juju..that I should go to get rid of that!)
Racing Stripes at the Priefert Ranch
Last Hoorah at the Six0 Ranch
Quitaque Climb at the Pole Canyon Ranch
Armadillo Run at the Davy Crockett National Forest (this one isn't posted yet, but it's an annual thing!)

One ride not listed is Heart of the Hills in Bandera.  I've yet to be able to have a horse with reliable foot protection to make that ride.  It's on my "to ride" list, but not this year again.

So, as I'm looking at that list...I'm trying to decide, which will I REALLY go to?  And which ones could I potentially have a horse ready for?

High Roller?  I could take Socks for an LD.  He's completed one there already with gas in the tank when he finished.  But, he'll need to wear bell boots, and there's a LOT of sand there, which could cause irritation and rubs.  BUT, I did buy 2 pair of bell boots, so I can change them out between loops.  Decisions, decisions....

I'll spill the beans about what, if anything, I'll be doing for High Roller later.

That brings me to Old Glory at Trace Trails.  Again, I can take Socks.  It's technical trail.  I went overtime there with Strider when we first started endurance.  So, my DREAM was to return there with Strider and defeat those trails.  However, unless something magical happens when Jodi touches him again in January, that's not going to happen.  So, take Socks again? 

Shanghai Trails next.  I could, in theory have Tilly legged up for a SLOW LD.  Or Strider might be just fine to go by this point, definately for an LD.  And, part of me thinks I need to just avoid this ride after all of the bad juju from last year.  And then part of me thinks I need to return to shake off that bad juju.  I'm really REALLY not sure what I will be doing about this ride.  And it may be that I won't decide until a few days before the ride.  We'll see.

Racing Stripes.  I've already promised my friend J.L. (Cowboy and Jett's mommy) that I would be there.  And I WILL be there.  Now, this ride is in April.  Assuming Strider has been given the green light in January (I'm also looking into doing an ultrasound and perhaps a lameness evaluation), I should have him legged back up again for an LD for sure.  Perhaps back in 50 fighting shape.  Well, SLOW 50 fighting shape.  This ride would be my pick of all the currently posted rides for Strider and I to aim for to try and get year 3 towards our Decade Team done.  ASSUMING he's okay.  And, if nothing else, perhaps by this point Tilly will be ready for back to back LDs.  Any which way, I may only be there and doing Intros, but I'm going.

Last Hoorah.  My favorite ride, but the ride that kicked MY ass last year.  I've yet to earn a completion at this ride.  Now I SWORE to the RM last year I was giving up the 50 mile division last year....and yet....and yet...I just can't seem to quit it.  IF Strider is ready and IF I have proper foot protection...we'll aim for a 50 again.  If we don't have foot protection and he still isn't ready...then LD it is.  And at that point, I'm not sure who would go.  If foot protection is covered, I'll take Tilly.  Or Socks with Hoof Armor (his feet are pretty tough). 

Quitaque Climb in October.  By this point, oh PLEASE Strider has to be better!!  We'll do a 50.  I'll take Tilly as well.  She'll certainly do an LD.  If I'm going to dream big, she'll also do a 50.

Armadillo Run.  This one would be about 2 weeks after Quitaque.  So who knows who I'll take or what distance I'll do.

Okay...so, realizing that this is the PLAN (as scattered and all over the place as it is), the odds are quite good I will have more not-ridden miles than ridden miles again this year.  I make plans, and invariably, something happens.  Such is the way of both horses and endurance.

But, for me, as each year goes by, my goals change a little bit.  I learn a little bit more.  And stretch myself to grow. 
Endurance 2018 holds wonderful things for me.  Once again I am riding with the Green Bean Team of "May the Horse Be With You".  I was invited to ride with the Texas Endurance Riders Association (TERA) team as well.  And now I get to bring Tilly along to start learning endurance!  And I'll re-start Strider.  So two, potentially 3 horses to fit up to go play with me!!  Looks like the name of the game is "Ride one/Pony one" this year!

Endurance 2018, I'm not sure what lessons you have in store for me this year.  But, as long as you leave me with healthy horses, I'll take whatever lessons it is you want to give to me.

Michael Gascon Clinic....or "Hot blooded or cold blooded horse, he's talented"

I'm physically at work, but mentally, I'm at home, dreaming of doing ground work with my horses.

I just spent the most amazing weekend at a clinic with Michael Gascon.

I know, I know, NO ONE knows his name....yet.  But I will almost guarantee you, even if you're NOT "into" horses, you've seen him.

The dude in the dinosaur suit riding a horse.

Maybe still not ringing any bells?

Yes, THAT guy. 

Look, I've been to a few clinics.  I've audited a Buck Brannaman clinic.  Seen Chris Cox once.  Attended 2 Clinton Anderson clinics.  And, of course, watched countless videos online of clinicians for ideas.

And right now, Michael Gascon is, hands down, my favorite clinician.

He is ALL about doing what works for THE HORSE.  If X doesn't work, then let's try Y.  Y isn't getting through, that's okay, let's try Z.  Still not working?  Okay, let's try A.

Let me back up.

I had PLANNED to take Strider.  However, a few days prior, while I was lunging him in the front yard, he took a MASSIVE stumble and hit his front knees, and literally slid over the ground (much like a runner into home plate).  He finally managed to scramble to his feet while I screamed and hollared and lost my mind. When he was upright, he wasn't weight bearing on his left hind.  I started crying.  I managed to convince him to follow me (slowly) to the barn where I cold hosed him. 

I went into the house, messaged my Bishes, and B suggested giving him just a little bute for the night.  Which I did.  Next day he seemed just fine.  Was putting weight on that foot.  When Tilly got dropped off, he was running around like a fool, and appeared just fine.

So, I set up an appointment with Holly to trim his feet prior to the clinic and the endurance ride.  I wanted her to check my work and correct any mistakes I was making.

I unloaded him, and, like always, she asks me to walk him out and back.  I told her what had happened, so she said she'd pay a little extra attention.  And, the second I pivoted him to the left, she said "Oh yeah, he's off." 

I was shocked.  He seemed fine to me.  But, it's because when you're leading, you can't exactly focus on what the rear is doing, even at a pivot.  But the second she lead him off and turned him and he had to pivot on the LH, I saw it too.  My heart dropped. 

Remember in the past where I said I bury my head in the sand, and will ask the question, HOPING that I haven't hurt my horse?  Yeah, I asked Holly, knowing and being okay with her saying no, but I wanted to know about the clinic.  She said MAYBE to the clinic, but not knowing what we were doing, it was a gamble.  I pulled the plug on him going to the clinic, and decided then and there to pull the plug on Quitaque Climb as well.  Figured I would re-evaluate him to attend Be Nice or Leave the first weekend of November (it has since been cancelled), but would skip that ride too so that I could take him for our 3rd year towards our Decade Team attempt.

So, knowing he was lame on the LH, I contacted H and asked if I could drop Strider at her house and borrow Dakini.  Sure, not a problem.  Joe suggested I take Tilly, but...I didn't want to drive ALL the way home.  Plus, in a slightly selfish move, I wanted Michael to see Dakini and to know what he thought of her.  AND, bonus, anything to make her a better horse for H, then it's a win.

So, drove to H's, dropped Strider, grabbed Dakini and made my way to Houston.

Stopped at a small nursery to buy a Mexican Sycamore for H to plant for Maggie's grave (her horse she put down), and then swung into South Texas Tack while I waited for L after she picked her horses up from the farm to follow her to her house. 

Got the horses settled in Thursday night, and after B arrived, L, her and I went on a brief, twilight ride around the neighborhood.  It was nice.

But, early to bed to get up early to get to the clinic on time!!!

On day 1, each horse and rider duo came into the arena, gave a brief story on the horse, and our equine goal for the animal.

Michael would then take over, and go through the basic steps of what he does with a horse.  He was calm and patient and explained each step in the process, would stop and answer any question anyone had (owner, auditor...didn't matter, he would answer). 

We watched him work horses in a small circle at a WALK around him.  We watched him tie tarps to horses.  Bounce horse-sized soccer balls on them.  Sometimes he would ride a horse in a tarp, sometimes not.  He had EVERY horse touch the ball and push it around while mounted. 

Michael is slightly different from MOST clinicians out there in that he specializes in working with "hot" blooded horses (such as Arabians, gaited horses, etc [he actually raises and trains Paso Finos...we're talking National Level winning Paso Finos]), but he can, does and DID work with "cold" blooded horses (QHs, Paints, your basic stock horse).  As such, the method is slightly different than the other big name clinicians, but the results speak for themselves.

One of the MANY amazing things he said; "You do NOT need a bit to get a horse to gait."

THANK YOU HALLELUJAH AMEN!!!!

But, as an example of the results he gets, we had a gentleman bring in an unbroken 2 year old QH gelding.  This video shows just snippets, but LITERALLY in less than 45 minutes (and that's the long side), Michael was riding him softly.

Michael Gascon rides an unbroken quarter horse.

I was there.  I watched it start to finish.  Yes, this really happened.

I mean, here's Dakini pushing a ball on day 1, and me speaking to Michael about how I worry about people judging the change in my seat.

Dakini with the ball

Day 2, Michael had every horse and rider pair come in to the arena, and the rider did all of the foundation work that Michael had taught on day 1 while he offered guidance if you hit a wall, or weren't quite doing it right.

Now, when B and I arrived at the clinic on day 2, as we go to unload the horses, Dakini had her front left foot hung up in the hay feeder (not net) in B's trailer.  Not sure how long she was like that.  Then she stood tied all day long at the hitching post.  Suffice to say, she was SORE, but we didn't really see it until she was asked to gait off.  So, I hopped off and said no more riding for her that day.

I had the worst luck with horses this week.  *sigh*

But, I walked in to the clinic with an open mind, wondering if I'd learn anything new, and I walked away an enthusiastic Michael Gascon fan. 

I'm currently working to see if I can put together a clinic here in the Austin area.  He's still a reasonably priced clinician to get, and, if I can coordinate arena availability AND his availability, I think I can fill a clinic quickly.

Suffice to say, I'm now eager to get to work on all of mine.

And, yes, I now have some swag.  I own a Michael Gascon hat.  Yes, I believe in him THAT much. 

Little gray mare...or "Goodbyes aren't easy"

One of the last photos of my "Three Musketeers" together.

Man, just typing that title for this blog post brought tears to my eyes.

It was a hectic weekend; picking up my "dead" car from the mechanic, some plumbing work that needed done at the house, an oil change (which turned into an oil change, fuel filter and rear deferential change) for the truck and finding both gas AND diesel to fill our tanks up with.

Saturday, basically, was shot with chores.  We had hoped to get to H's sometime Saturday afternoon to get the carports, but,  once again, it wasn't meant to be. 

So, H and I arranged for Sunday to be the day we did the pony swap.

To be honest with myself, I kind of buried my head in the sand about it all day. 

Had my heart almost ripped out when I bribed Kaylee to get her out of the house that she could go "pet the horses", and she went running out of the house to Dakini.  Little legs flying as she clutches her "Baby D" (her stuffed dinosaur), screaming "DAKINI!  DAKINI!!"  She runs up to her, and Dakini just stops grazing, doesn't move a muscle as my daughter gently touches her nose.  "Hi Dakini," that little voice says.  I tell her to give Dakini a hug, knowing this was probably the last time she'd hug that sweet mare.  She gave her a hug, and booped her on the nose (Kaylee is a big-time nose booper).  I stuffed down the "OMG, that was probably the last time she'll do that" feeling and we went to the store.

Kaylee petting Dakini.

"Hey kid, whatcha doing?"

Just how Dakini is; unfailingly patient with my daughter.

I finagled Joe to take Kaylee and meet my parents so H could bring Chantilly and we could swap.

In the quiet, after Joe and Kaylee left, I took a break from assembling our new bar stools.  Went outside and spent some time with Dakini.  I hugged her neck.  Thanked her for EVERYTHING.  Told her I loved her.  Begged her to be a good girl for H.  Gently blew into her nostrils for the last time then walked away.

It didn't hurt then.

But, once she was loaded, and Strider was losing his mind about her being on the trailer...and Chantilly was losing her mind at Blondie (H's horse) leaving on the trailer...and H pulled out of my gate, Dakini looked back at me, and I lost it.  I sat on the ATV sobbing my heart out.  My rational mind KNOWS this is best.  My emotional heart...well, it's not ready. 

That little mare came so far in the little over a year I had her.  I know I can't take credit for it.  She did it herself.  She did amazing things for me.  She dug down deep and did what was asked of her.  Sometimes she dug too far.  Which is why I know this is best for her.  She doesn't LOVE LDs.  She did them because I asked it of her.  And she's game to do anything I want, even to her own detriment.  And I didn't want to ultimately be responsible for her being hurt because of something I did, intentional or unintentional. 

Please don't misunderstand, I'm excited to learn and meet Chantilly.  To learn her.  To play with her and figure her out.

But, I guess the reality is that there is always going to be a hole in my heart that is Dakini sized.  I'm GLAD she's with a friend.  And I hope she BEHAVES for my friend, or else she'll get moved down the road.  But if she behaves, she'll have a home for life. 

And if she doesn't...I may strong arm Joe anyway to letting her come back.  Because there's something about a snippet on a gray muzzle that requires a soft kiss.
 

Not so good with the selfies.

And then we were there....or "How I Simply Missed the Turn"

At 6am, I couldn't sleep any longer.  I was sore and stiff, and past ready to find camp and get settled in so the horses would have a long day of resting and eating ahead of them.

So, I rolled out of the truck, grabbed the horses and took them off for another graze while I looked around.

The view, well, not of my "campsite" was pretty.  Mesas and "mountains" and beautiful greenery as far as I could see.

I mean, just about anything looks prettier than "camp", doesn't it?

This right here, THIS is ugly.  At one point I guess this was the boat ramp parking lot?
For me, it was camp, Night One.

 

But tell me that isn't pretty?  In that "rough and rugged" beauty sort of way.

This was taken facing down towards the permanently closed boat ramp. 
More beautiful views.

The kids having made quite a mess overnight at our temporary lodgings.

What?  Wasn't us.  We're PERFECT!

Endurance ponies doing endurance pony things.  Like relaxing.  And pooping.

I have NO idea what was over there, but apparently Dakini found it fascinating.

Yep.  Messy ponies.  And no, no I didn't clean it up.

My neighbor overnight.  I think it was some kind of "honey" truck (for cleaning out bathrooms).

Anyway, after our handgraze, I put both ponies back in the trailer after breaking camp.  Which took all of 15 minutes so I was on the road by 6:30.

Apparently in the dark, I missed the low, brown with yellow paint signs pointing me to the equestrian area.  But, with the sun up, I was able to find it, pull in to camp and decide where I wanted to put myself.  I had almost my choice of campsites.  I opted to go beneath some trees for shade for the trailer.  And, while it was sandy next to me, the ground where I parked looked firm and solid.  So, I was in camp, offically, by 6:20ish or so.  My neighbor was like "Wow, you must have gotten up early to get here this early!"  My response?  "Something like that." 

Offloaded the kids and started to set up my pen.  I had forgotten at some point that with the hullabaloo at Shanghai, that Llano had said 1 horse per pen.  So, my neighbor came over to let me know.  No big deal, I had a jumper, so I could make it work if I cut my electric tape.  But, she said she was going to go check with ride management.

So, as I'm partially through getting posts in, she comes back, says it's okay to have 2 in one pen as AERC's new ruling seemed to come down on that side.  I was okay either way, but glad that's what happened.  So, get the kids arranged, and camp set up, and then....I sat around for the rest of the day. 

Let me say, if I ever have the time to arrive a day early to camp in the future, I'm going to take FULL advantage of that!!  It was so nice to just relax in the shade, watch my horses, read, nap, get my gear slowly set up and ready for the next day.  Take them out for hand walks and just, in general, enjoy my time off.

The ride meeting was quick and easy.  Vetting Strider in was simple as well.  I gave my Renegades to a friend who needed them for her horse.  Told her to just keep them.  It's good karma, and I asked her, if she ever had the chance, to pay the karma forward to someone else. 

Had some time to talk with my mentor, share the Doc. G electrolyte protocol and share some of my supplies so that she could try it out on their two horses.  (Fast refresher; Enduramax powdered e-lytes, kaolin-pectin [or ProCMC] and a splash of CMPK).  Spoiler Alert; My mentor said that she feels it really made a good difference in her two horses.  She uses Perform and Win, but was happy with how it worked. 

I ran into town after the ride meeting and spent some time at Braum's eating dinner, being lazy and checking up on my phone.  Ran into WalMart for more ice and some beer for my mentor's husband and headed back to camp later than intended. 

Crawled into bed around 10, but couldn't sleep.  I'm always attuned to issues or just the general "noise" of camp.  I read until I finally said I HAD to get some sleep. 

Rolled over, and attempted to get some.

Tomorrow, our first LD!!

What a rollercoaster of a day....or "Amarillo by morning...not really, 10:30pm"

The plan? 

Leave the house by 6am, run to the barn, get the horses and head up to ride camp.

The reality?

Leave the house by 6ish am, run to the grocery store, run to Discount Tire, get the horses and head up to ride camp.

So, the mechanic went over the truck with a fine toothed comb on Tuesday.  I was in a tizzy at about 1pm as they still hadn't diagnosed the problem.  At about 1:30 Joe calls and tells me what the issue is.

Apparently Discount Tire put a wrong size tire on my truck.  Just one.  They're all supposed to be 65Rs.  I had 3 65Rs and 1 70R on my truck.

This is the WRONG BLOODY SIZE!!!

This is the RIGHT size!!!

So, I called them on Tuesday afternoon and told them what they'd done.  They were apologetic and said to bring it by Wednesday morning and they'd get me fixed up.  I then spent the rest of the afternoon considering leaving work early so I could get this issue fixed and get on the road early.

But, I had things to do after work (like replace the debit card I'd LOST on Saturday!), and this wasn't one of them.

So, 7:45am, after a quick and final trip to the grocery store, I was at Discount Tire, angrily seething as I stared at my watch.  "I should already be out of the Austin area by this point.  I should already be near 2 hours on the road by this point."  And on and on the litany went in my head.

So at 8 the moment they opened their doors, I was through the door and told them "Look, I brought my truck in on Saturday, you put a wrong sized tire on and I needed to be on the road to Amarillo TWO HOURS ago and you've set me back and HORRIBLY inconvenienced me, nevermind how dangerous my truck was to DRIVE."

Apologies and "Oh how awful!" and...apparently my time, inconvenience and potentially my life was worth...$32.  *sigh*  As Joe is fond of saying "Well, it's better than a stick in the eye."  Which, I guess, is true enough.

So, at 8:17 I was out of there and on the road to the barn.  I was wondering what to do about hay as I still needed to swing by H's house to grab a fence charger (as mine stopped working at Last Hoorah for some unknown reason!).  I had forgotten that there's a place on the way to the barn that sells fairly nice square bales.  So I stopped and grabbed 2 (I almost always keep a full bale in the trailer, so figured I could get by with 3 bales and a half bale of alfalfa...in hind sight, for as long as I was gone, 4 squares would have been better.  Thank goodness for the fresh grass at ride camp!).

Now, as I drove along, I could tell there was, maybe, something still wrong with the truck.  Back end feels "wiggly".  Like it corners on glass like an ice skater.  Let me assure you, as I was to find out, for 10 and a half hours, it is nerve wracking, gut knotting and swear inducing.  Especially with a loaded trailer behind you.

My view in Goldthwaite on 183 at 1:27pm.  The turtle is one of my turtle awards...
in fact, from my very FIRST 50, which I turtled.

The drive was a drive.  I stopped a few times to offer water.  Fresh hay.  Stopped for a good 30 minutes and gave them smushes to eat while I ate at a Taco Bell (don't ask.  Geeeez.  NOT my choice, but I could get in and out and it backed up to a large parking lot....so Taco Bell it was).

Then at about 8:30 I was in Claude, Tx.  With my truck telling me to check my air filter.  Cue my hysterical texting to the Bishes (3 out of 4 of us have Super Duty Fords) and asking what to do.  Because, I cannot get to the air filter because of this..."thingy" (seems to be a gauge, but I'll go with the more technical term of "thingy") which blocked my ability to open the top for the air filter so I could pull it out and get a good look at it.

See how it blocks my ability to open the lid?  ANNOYING!!!  However, as the "thingy" has a blue button on it that says "Push to Reset", guess what I finally did?  Damn right, I pressed it...which took away the error code, and I said "Well, from what I can SEE of my air filter, it's not black, doesn't look clogged, let's keep going!"

So, I kept going.  I had about an hour and a half left to go, and, overly optimistic, I thought MAYBE I could pull into camp with just a sliver of light left to me.

Nope.  HAHAHAHAHAA!!!  What a laugh.

The directions I had weren't great, and like an idiot, I didn't print off the ride flier.  I had GPS coordinates someone had provided to me, so I had those plugged in to Waze.  Which, as I pulled into the Lake Merideth area, had me on "Plum Creek" road, which I followed.  Now, I eventually knew I was in the right place as I saw ribbons in trees.  But, by this time, it was dark and about 10pm.  I was tired and my nerves were shot from dealing with my "NQR" (that's "Not Quite Right") truck and I wanted to get out, and I wanted to get the horses out.

I couldn't find camp.  There wasn't a sign to point me in.  So, as I'm slowly driving, I see a large parking lot to my left and think "If I can't find camp, I'm going to just park there for tonight, offload the horses, let them graze, tie them off to the trailer and sleep in the truck."

About 500 yards later, guess what?  Yep, boat ramps and the end of the road.  So, fine, turned it around and did exactly that.

I offloaded the horses, and we hand grazed for an hour while I waited for both of them to pee and poop (which they did, much to my relief!).  I then grabbed their coil ties, tossed hay into a hay bag, filled up a big bucket of water and told them goodnight as I crawled into the cab of the truck to get some crappy sleep.

Now, I had cell reception, so I was briefly chatting with the Bishes to let them know I was AT the lake, but not in camp.  Coyotes were loud and a little disconcerting.  And getting comfortable took a while.  I mostly dozed.  Woke up cold at one point (who knew it got so COLD?!) and kept an eye on the clock waiting for the sun to come up so I could figure out where I was and how on earth to get to camp.

Well then...or "What a mixed bag that was..."

This is also going to be a short and sweet post, which I hope to flesh out in the coming days.  I'm a little swamped at work (gee, who would have thought that?!  4 days out of the office and I came back to a lot of things to do!).

I will simply say this; someone needs Needs NEEDS to save the Llano Estacado Pioneer ride.  I have been to some beautiful rides.  I have been to some well run rides.  I have been to rides that were well marked.  And those with water on the trail. 

This ride though.  This ride had ALL of that!!  There wasn't a single blessed thing I would have changed.  Well, except for the duration of the drive from home to there, which with a loaded trailer...and a truck that STILL wasn't quite right, took a good and solid 10.5 hours one way. 

When all is said and done, from home, to the barn, to Lake Merideth, to Dumas and back twice and then home again with a detour to Holly's to drop off Strider, I rolled over 1700 miles on Hannibal.  Yes, really.

So, here's a preview of our rides.

Day 1 with Strider.

That's right.  ALL A's baby!!  Well, except those TWO A-'s. 

Day 2 with Dakini.

It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't elegant, but baby girl got it DONE!!  On the HARDEST day!!

Day 3 with Strider.

What ISN'T on this vet card?  Our placing.  5th place!!  Out of 20-something horses.  TOP TEN FOR STRIDER!!!  You'll note that, until he stood for BC, all A's again, except those two A-'s.

This ride was a challenge to get to, literally, with a truck that wasn't quite right.  Me being unable to find camp on Wednesday night so just pulling into the boat ramp parking lot, unloading the horses and camping out there for a night.  Going out with a new rider and riding her ride and not ours, but still getting it done.  Massaging Dakini through what I honestly feel was the HARDEST day out on the trails.  And then on day 3 letting Strider leave with the hot feet, just KNOWING we would drop back at some point.  And never having that happen.  To coming in to the hold with not 1 missing shoe, and not 2 missing shoes, but 3 missing shoes.  And him still moving strong and proud for the last 7.5 miles.

Yes, that's right.  Trail opened at 6:15 and I was DONE with the entire 30 miles (according to my Garmin, it wasn't 30 miles though) at 10:49.

90 LD miles for me this weekend.  90 miles for my team.  90 miles for my amazing Paso Finos. 

And a gorgeous endurance ride to be lost.

Thank you Llano Estacado volunteers, RM and everyone else who made this ride happen.  It shall NOT be forgotten.

I will do a more extensive write up later to include all of the issues and problems.  And the aftermath and fall out for Strider, which I confess has left a very sour taste in my mouth.  Albeit, it has made me both prouder of him than I should be.  And worried that he's going to hurt himself and I won't be able to stop him from doing it.

But for now.  For this moment....this second...I shall stand up tall and proud and say "Paso Finos can do ANYTHING an Arabian can do.  And do it JUST as well.  And JUST as fast."

Tip of the hat to the Green Bean team "Wind Riders".  They let me tag along on days 1 and 2, and then on day 3 helped me prep AND stood Strider for me for BC (I was too nervous and anxious).

And also to "Abbi and Abbi's dad" (sorry if I misspelled your name!) for allowing me to tag along on the last loop on Sunday.  Abbi and her father did a true pioneer ride.  All 3 days at the same distance on the same horses.  And they looked amazing at the end of the ride.

What an experience.  What a ride.  What amazing horses.

Work it girl!!!...or "How all the ponies modeled new tack"

Forewarning.

Photo heavy post.

So, a week or so before our endurance ride, I ordered a trail halter/bridle, breast collar and hackamore noseband for Dakini from Janet Grimes Stoltz of Trail Blazer Tack.  Earlier this year (maybe late last year?) she had posted this gorgeous set of wine/reflective silver and I saved it because I KNEW it would look good on Dakini.

I finally took the plunge and went all out on this set.  I upgraded everything and did what I wanted.  Because, how often do I order such things for my horses?

Padded noseband and breast collar.  Diamond cut.  Bling!  Upgraded hardware. 

And the final result looks FANTASTIC!!

I put just the halter/bridle and breastcollar on all 3 horses.  Really, looks the best on Dakini, is okay on Strider and just isn't my thing on Socks.  But, push comes to shove and someone needs to wear it, they'll wear it!!

(PS-Sorry she's so filthy!!)

And then, I tossed it on Socks!!

He didn't look over impressed with the whole thing.  And is so chill that he didn't care that I was jumping up and down and hollaring in an attempt to get his ears forward.  Crazy Arab?  No.  Not even close.

And then, Strider's turn!!

In his, I snapped more photos of the detail that Janet does which, for me, puts her stuff over the top.

Bling on the keeper loops.  Beautiful buckles.  Bling on the strap that attaches to the cinch for goodness sake!! 

And she was easy to work with.  I had the set in my hands in a little over a week from the day I ordered it to delivery to my box. 

HIGHLY recommend Trail Blazers Tack (Janet Grimes Stoltz) on Facebook!!