Armadillo Run (take 3)....or "Part two"

Finally rolled out of my trailer around 6 and got to work.  Pulled Socks out of his pen and started getting him dressed.

I mean, as always, he looks gorgeous once he's dressed!

Yes, reins on.  What you can't see is my "Booma Rein" holder
to prevent them from falling over his head.

Ears up and a happy face!!  My body was already flinching.

I made sure to put my HRM on, and when I turned on my Garmin...nothing.  In fact, my Garmin started acting SUPER strange.  Like the numbers went sliding sideways.  The ONLY field that worked was pace per mile.  I'm unsure what happened, and I turned it off and on several times, but it never EVER wanted to work.  Frustrating.  BUT, I have my watch, so I can keep an eye on the time, which is really all I NEED to do.  HRM is just bonus.

I almost forgot to eat my own breakfast and prep my water, so quickly did that.  I also pre-loaded some Aleve.  I walked over to another friend's trailer (we were going to start out together, and I said I'd drop back when I needed to [spoiler alert; I needed to]).  She then asked if someone had come by my trailer yet to tell me that the LD's start time had been pushed back to 8:30.

I was already upset the LD's were going to start at 8.  It was hot and humid, and I prefer to get started as early as possible so I can get as much as I can done before it gets too hot.

But, that just wasn't to be.  Lovely.

Trail opens, and we do as I'd planned.  Left mid-pack.  It was great.  He was forward.  Happy.  Straining to go.  But not uncontrollable.

We settled in behind D and her large mare and away we went.  Trot, trot, trot.  I actually didn't feel bad.  Socks wasn't slamming my spine into fine sand, he was happy and forward, ears pricked.  D was a little faster than I wanted to go, so we slowed up just a little.

And, in a brief stretch with horses a little behind us, and trail open before us, he spooks at an invisible Boogeyman, and off I tumble.  Two for two at Armadillo where I've come out of the saddle.  I heave a huge sigh, laugh, and the ladies behind me are kind enough to wait (despite my telling them to go ahead and move on, we're okay!) while I hop back on.

Away we move again.

At this point, I'm hot and sticky, and Socks gets me a little TOOOOOO close to a ribbon on a tree, so it clings to my body, and off it and the clothespin come.  Great.  I hear a voice sing out a few horses behind me "I knew you were competitive Erin, but you don't need to sabotage the trail!" with a laugh following!  It's Zurkh's Mom!!!  I crack up and hollar back "Well, you know me, always fighting to win LAST PLACE!!!"

I do manage to get it pinned back on a tree as we keep up our rhythm, but I know that this speed is NOT sustainable for him and I, and the way he's fighting to keep up is NOT healthy for him, so I slow him back down and we drop back again.

He's strong, my hands hurt a little bit, and so do my shoulders.

See?  Compare this image from our first year and they're light years different! And look at GREAT he looks!
Photo by John Nowell (purchased image)

At some point on this loop, we're going along, all alone, and he spooks.  I cannot figure out what caused it, so from my mouth pours some filth (something along the lines of "What the FUCK Socks?! ASSHOLE!!!").  THEN I hear the hoofbeats behind me.  I turn and realize it's Doc Conway and his wife, and I probably turned a million shades of red. 

"I am SO sorry!!!"  

"Don't worry about it!  He probably heard us coming up behind him like a freight train."

I'm hoping that he doesn't put me together as I'm not on Strider as we fall behind them because Socks is back to fighting to keep up.

First loop done, 8 miles down.  We did a pulse down and trot by (had to take a few extra minutes to bring his HR down, but no big deal).

Armadillo Run; First Loop

Swing back up (okay, so not gracefully, I didn't tighten my cinch quite like I need to, so, saddle rolled, and I about fell off...from a MOUNTING BLOCK...in front of the RM!  Lovely).

Back out for loop two.  We're chugging along, and we tuck in behind a junior on the CUTEST mule and his sponsor at some point, and keep on going.  I get a little concerned that he refuses to drink at ANY of the troughs.  He thinks the herd he needs to catch is ahead, and he cannot seem to settle down enough to drink.  The humidity is sky high (at some point my mentor mentioned it was like 90% humidity) and I'm dripping sweat.

He's still chugging along, happy to go, ears forward.

Telling the photographer this isn't our good side.  Look at him!
Photo by John Nowell (picture purchsaed)

 Before I know it, we're almost back to camp.  Hop off, loosen cinch and walk in.

Armadillo Run; Loop 2

Pulse through fine (5 minutes to get him to drop), and head off to see the vet. 

And that's where the wheels came off.  Jugular Refill and Skin Tenting, C's.  And, at our trot out...slight gait aberration.  I was told to go back to the trailer and see if we can't figure out why he's slightly off.  Maybe some hoof boots?

I'm basically resigned to pulling, then see my mentor and her husband, and a lightbulb goes off as I go over to ask if they might have any boots for him.  We go to check, and immediately her husband sees the problem.

Remember when I said trust your instincts?  Yep, should have used the bell boots I didn't buy!!  He'd torn up his heels.

I briefly considered borrowing a pair, and then said "No.  That's not right."

My first instinct was the right one.  Pull.  For his welfare.  So, we did.  And I have zero regrets about it.  I laugh and realize I'm going to be chasing those last 5 miles for my LD patch for who knows HOW long.  Who cares.  My ride record is crap, but I'm having fun overall, and learning as I go.  And, I didn't push nor ask him to do anything.  He willingly gave.  And as humid as it was, things could have gone south, so I'm grateful we did the smart thing and pulled.

Our vetting in on Friday night.  As usual, all A's for Socks the Fox!!

And after 14 miles.  Those C's worry me.  But, the humidity probably had a large hand in that!

I spent some time at camp relaxing.  Waited for my new friend and her reiner turned endurance QH to come back to camp.  They looked great when they came back in!!!  And my friend D on her horse finished as well!! 

Overall, it was a great ride.  I had a great time!!  Socks had a great time!  I actually didn't hurt at all as I packed up camp on Saturday evening.

Storms were rolling in, and Joe had to work on Sunday, so I knew I wasn't staying for the breakfast on Sunday morning.  The drive home was painless and easy, though the last few hours were a little hard as I was getting tired. 

Once again, if you're ever in Texas in October, come do the Armadillo Run ride.  The ride managers are simply the best.  And it was at this ride in 2014 that I FINALLY started feeling comfortable in my endurance tribe.  Why?  Because this ride manager, who also is the in/out timer at most of our rides, called me by NAME because she RECOGNIZED me.  And as such, this ride has earned a place in my heart. 

Good job Socks.

PS-He now has TWO brand new pairs of bell boots in my tack trunk.  I'll NEVER make that mistake again!!

Armadillo Run (take 3)....or "Trust your instincts, they're not wrong"

I'm pretty bad with ride write ups!  But, FINALLY here is part 1 of my "Armadillo Run" write up! 

Thursday was a fast run to Tractor Supply to get a gallon of Kaolin Pectin, more CMPK, 2 square bales and a bale of alfalfa for Armadillo Run.

Socks was brought up Wednesday night to begin his electrolyte protocol.  He's so laid back that I can dump the mix into his beet pulp/grain "tea" (it's more water than food) and he'll lick the pan/bucket clean. 

Thursday, repeat.

Now, I waffled back and forth Thursday evening evening, should I pen him up, making it easier to load and go Friday morning?  Or let him have the freedom of movement and stay with his herd overnight.

I opted to do the best thing for my horse, and left him out.

Now, Thursday was our wedding anniversary, but I pretty much warned Joe, I was going to be busy with horse stuff all night long.  Because, as we all probably know at this point, I'm a professional at procrastinating.  Which means the tack/changing room in my trailer was STILL a mess.  And that's where I sleep.  So, I HAD to get it cleaned out.  I did NOT want to do that on Friday once I got to ride camp.  I was done with that before 9pm, and even moved my big tack trunk to the barn after grabbing 2 blankets out that I thought I -might- need at camp.  FYI-I didn't need them.

So, early to bed so I could be up early Friday morning.  I still needed to hook up to the truck in the morning, but I had it loaded with my clothes and blankets and such. 

Got up, loaded the last few things and took my final pre-ride shower.  It was still dark at 5am as I was loading the last few things into the truck and then hooking up to the trailer.  At 6, I headed out looking for the horses.  I know they're out in the back pasture as I hadn't seen them out front.  I grabbed a flashlight and, I saw Zurkh's form gleaming as he laid in the grass.  I couldn't resist going over to him and snuggling him for a few minutes.  He was quite content to lay there as Tilly wandered over, wanting to know what I was doing to "my Zurkh".  He then told me he wanted to get up, so I moved, while sweeping my flashlight around, looking for 1 or 2 dark forms. 

Nothing.  So I kept walking. 

And walking. 

More walking.

At this point, I figured I would be better off to just go grab the ATV with its bright lights and come back to look.  Except, I see, tucked behind Tilly (who had followed me some of the way), 4 high whites.  SOCKS.  *sigh*

I ask aloud "Okay, so where is Strider guys?"  And there he is, that SUPER dark spot between Tilly and Zurkh.  Horses.  Sometimes I think they're jokesters at my expense.

As always, get Socks loaded quickly (he's such a saint), and hit the road.


Now, I realize as I'm fixing to leave, Socks USUALLY is ridden in bell boots.  Now, H had bought me 2 rubber gum ones, but they're size large.  I hadn't tried him on them yet, so went to go through my tack trunk to see if I could scrounge up a pair of his bell boots.

I found 1.  Not useful.  Considered stopping and getting him a pair....and then...didn't.  Trust your instincts.  They're not wrong.  But, I was trying to do this ride on the cheap, and didn't want to spend the money.  So, figured the ones H had gotten me would probably fit, so I'd be ok.

The drive was uneventful.  We did a quick stop for groceries.  I spent maybe $25 for food, and didn't eat all of it.  If nothing else, Bo and Linda make sure riders are well fed all weekend long. 

I pull in to ride camp and have a decision to make.  Park where I've parked the past 2 years?  It's open, quiet, NO neighbors, and I can make my pen whatever size I want.  BUT, it's far from the potties, and vet check, and it's in the sun with really no shade.

NOPE!! 

So, I camped in a new spot this year.  As I'm pulling in, I see one of the Blazin' Belles already pulled in and set up, some buckets beside her camp, so I pull down past them, swing wide and pick my spot.  It's a hike from VC, but near the potties AND gets my horse in the shade if I set him back far enough.

Off load and start setting up.

As always, quick and painless.  I'm getting better and better at this part of the endurance process.  The ground was harder than normal, so I had to hammer in my posts.  Unusual, especially since A from the Blazin' Belles mentioned a brief storm had rolled through a little before I got there.  Soften the ground?  NOPE!!  HARD!!! 

As I'm getting established, a new lady pulls in next to me on the other side, and we get to chit chatting.  Another new friend made!!  Who actually happens to be friends with another Paso rider here in my region with a 100 miler Paso.  COOL!!! 

We get smacked with another brief storm (maybe 30 or so minutes), so I hang out in my trailer and read and relax.  That's always nice!

We get vetted in around 5 or 6, prior to ride meeting.  I really like to let my horse relax.  Tank up on water and hay and I made Socks another slushy meal.  As normal, he vets in with a lower HR than Strider ever seems to.  *sigh*  Arabs. 

I try the bell boots on that H had bought me, realize they're so large, I fear rubs.  Consider the Mueller tape I'd bought; discard that idea.  Vet wrap?  Nope, discard that idea too.  The last few rides we'd done, he hadn't overreached, so maybe we're past that?

Any which way, I get settled in for the night after giving him some more electrolytes, another meal, and more fresh hay and I take just a moment to say good night before I turn in.

And realize, I've talked about my set up post "The Ride Which Shall Not Be Mentioned", but I've never really gotten good pictures of it at night.

Here's the quick breakdown.

I ordered a set of beta tack from "Trail Blazers Tack" off Facebook for Dakini in wine and reflective silver (I've shown it before on this blog).
I ordered indoor/outdoor "fairy lights" in 100 feet (came with a remote control even!) that I string up on my pen.
I bought some inexpensive solar lights that I stake/zip tie to all corners of my pen and then put sporadically on posts as well for additional light.
I USUALLY tie a glow stick to the halter overnight (for this ride, I forgot).
And I JUST bought battery operated bands to go around the pastern.

No, I don't play anymore.  People think the lights are pretty, but they serve a few purposes on my fence.  One, so that my horse can SEE the barrier at night.  Two, so that any potential LOOSE horses can see the barrier at night.  Three, to add one additional layer of "fencing" for my horses.

Glowstick on the halter.  Light up high, so if they get loose, I stand a chance of seeing it.

Reflective?  Shine a light on my horse, I can see them.

Battery operated bands?  Again, lost, hopefully I'll see them, even if they ARE down low!

Lights on the pen at the corners?  Again, to help ward off loose horses so they don't go crashing through my pen.

These were ALL ideas tossed about after that unfortunate incident, so I have put ALL of them to use in my camp.

And these photos are the end result.

Not a great picture because of the flash, but this is my usual set up.  Socks is in Dakini's old tack, so it's silver reflective.  "Fairy" lights that twinkle all night long.  Solar lights at all corners and some of the posts.  And, a new addition, blue flashing pastern bands for my horse.  I usually also do a glow stick on the halter, but didn't for this ride.

This is what it looks like without the flash on! 

And a profile view of my pen.

So, I set my alarm for 4 am to do another electrolyte dose, a little bit of beet pulp and I doze until about 6 for our 8 am start time.

Monday morning musings....or "Same ol' same ol'..."

Ever follow a blog, and then it just abruptly stops?  I always wonder where those bloggers went.  What happened to them? 

Some I know transitioned to Facebook.  But more often than not, they just seem to disappear for no reason I can discern.  I always wish they'd come back just once more to say goodbye.  As I've mentioned, I go back to the start of every single blog I read and work my way through.  I don't care how many years of blogging you've done, I'm going start to current.  So, if I've invested ANY time at all into your blog, understand, I'm interested in you and your life.  Don't vanish on me, ok?

Why do mushrooms grow so well out of horse poop?  I have mushrooms growing willy nilly at the house.  They're fascinating, and they amuse me, but they sure do seem to love growing in shit.  And why do horse poop mushrooms look so different from the other types?  I'm sure there's a reason for all of these things, but, I'm not feeling inspired enough to go hit up Google and ask why.

Why do passwords have to expire?  No, seriously...why?  And why don't you get reminders about how the password should be structured?  Some websites will remind you that your password will have required both letters AND symbols.  But, more often than not, they don't remind you of that, so I'm there banging out my password (I have just a few variations on the same theme), over and over again, whirling through my combinations, to be locked out.  So I reset it, and when I'm resetting my password, it reminds me I need both letters and symbols, and when I go to do it...well, guess what?  That was my previous password, so sorry, you can't use that one!  So. Frustrating.  And incites a level of rage on a Monday morning that I probably shouldn't have. 

I don't like Gala apples.  Not sure why.  Maybe because the fruit is so soft?  But I love a Granny Smith apple.  The tart and the 'crunch'.  My favorite. 

So sorry I'm so tired.  I think that right now life is a little stale for me.  I'm not really riding.  I did trim up Socks' feet on Friday evening because he was cracking and chipping.  And I did learn something fascinating.  I am LESS concerned about screwing up his feet than I am about Strider's feet.  And I suspect there's a lot of factors at play there.

With Strider, if I take off too much heel or I don't push that toe back far enough, it stresses his tendons.  And he's already prone to tenderness with his tendons.  So I don't want my poor trim job to be the root cause of that. 

With Socks, well, everything about him is so "go with the flow" that it's ridiculous.  He stands still like a statue when I'm trimming his feet (Strider isn't BAD, but he will wiggle and squirm).  I did remember a few things Holly had gone over with me when doing Strider's feet.  Socks remains fairly well in balance, but he does flare to the outside some.  But, I was able to easily clean up his feet and get them rasped up, and they looked WORLDS better. 

But, here's the magic.  I know that, for the horse's health, their feet really DO need to be trimmed properly.  But, Socks has a higher tolerance for my mistakes, if that makes sense?  So, while I can butcher the job, as long as I haven't LAMED him, he'll be okay ultimately.  So I was able to just nip, nip, nip around, level things out, rasp and round the toes....and when I set his feet down, while I know that a professional would look at them and point out issues, I felt good. 

Tonight I need to rasp Strider's toes back again on all 4.  Check his feet.  And then fit on the shells for the Easy Boots I've got sitting in the house. 

I'm fairly certain that he will be sitting out Armadillo Run at the moment.  I will re-evaluate him this weekend and see where he's at though.  I keep hoping he'll bounce back so I can take him. 

Otherwise, I'll go and take Socks again.  Which I both look forward to...and dread.  Socks ADORES the rides.  LOVES them.  Just, my body doesn't.  But, we'll take it nice and slow.  I believe I'll be potentially sponsoring a junior through this ride (unless it's hot and humid, then her mother will drop and do the LD with her).  And...oh PLEASE let me get it done.  Because I am 5 miles away from my 250 LD patch.  I ONLY NEED 5 MILES!!!!

So, bring it on home Socks.  Or Strider.  PLEASE let it be Strider.  But, if not, then bring it on home Socks!!!!

Armadillo Endurance Ride (Or How I Learned to Love the One I'm With)

What's funny is I have half-written posts here and there that I want to complete and put up. 

Half written ride stories from our first, second, third endurance rides.

What's worked for me.  What hasn't worked for me.  What I'm fumbling with.  You know, all that stuff.

So here's another ride story.  We shall see if I can get it finished.

This one, however, features an unlikely player.  The "dark" horse, if you will.  The unsuspecting quiet character who is always there in the background, but who I haven't spoken much of.

My darling Socks.  "El Sidar" is his registered name.  I know he doesn't come from endurance lines.  Let's be honest, he's a backyard bred horse in case I haven't covered this aspect before.  His redeeming qualities, while many, are not typey for the Arabian breed.

He is thick and stocky.
He was a stud until 6 years of age, and he DOES have foals on the ground.
He is a beautiful bay horse with 4 high whites, some belly spots and a large blaze (sabino, in fact, though the belly patches qualify him for the pinto association).
He has the kindest, most forgiving personality of ANY horse I've come across. 
And he has the kindest, most gentle eyes. 

So, I had the first ride of my fall season last weekend.  The Armadillo Endurance ride in Kennard, Texas.  This butts up against the Davy Crockett National Forest.  I've been excited for this ride for months.  Everything I've heard said that this ride would be great to bring my slimmer and trimmer Paso Fino to.  I was eager to see what I now had for a 30 mile ride.

I had the truck totally loaded on Thursday evening.  My clothes packed and in the truck.  All I needed to load were my pillows and myself in the morning.

I was up early, took my "last" shower and was out the door by 8 am.  Quick Wal-Mart run for ice and a few last minute things, then a hop/skip/jump to Tractor Supply for a bale of hay. 

My goal was to be on the road to Kennard by 9:30.

I was at the barn by 9.  Which meant I could still make my goal easily.  Hooked to the trailer in 5 minutes.  Drive to the pen and start loading up my water tank.  Rinsed out one of my coolers, and piddled a little bit waiting on my tank. 

Figured that as the tank was taking longer than I thought, I'd go grab Strider, load him so that I could turn off the water and go.

I go and grab him, and bring him out of the pen and take him to the trailer to look him over.

And then I saw it.  It?  Them.

Tears welled in my eyes as I saw two LONG scratches down his back and side.  RIGHT where my saddle would sit.

No.  Nonononono.  This isn't FAIR!  Why?!! 

"Well," I tried to reason with myself.  Maybe it's not so bad?  Maybe?

I touched the one closer to his spine.  No reaction. 

"Well, saddle doesn't sit there...so, maybe....?"

But that second one.  Oh that second one. 

I touched it.  Lightly.  And he flinched.  Touched it again.  Another flinch. 

More tears. 

I took a photo to send to Holly (my farrier and trusted horsewoman).  A second opinion.  Though in my heart I knew.  And she agreed with my assessment.  If he's flinching, no riding.

There I was, in tears.  Not mad at my horse, but the situation.  Knowing this was our ONLY ride before our potential first shot at a 50 in December. 

I called Joe in agony and told him I guess I wasn't going.  I was going to scratch and come home.  I'd wasted my day off of work.

"Take the old, fat nag," he told me.  "What's the worst that can happen?  You're already packed and ready to go.  At worst, you'll spend the day riding your horse."

"But...but..."

"Just go Erin."

With a sigh, I agreed and grabbed unsuspecting Socks. 

And away we drove.

The drive was uneventful, little twisty and windy and some hinky backroads (I apologized a few times when I hit humps in the road that shook the truck; can't imagine how the ride was for him!).

Got to ride camp and knew I wanted to be near some friends who I knew were coming.  I actually really liked my campspot for this ride.  Near the tree-line, but right at the 50/100 mile finish line and no one near me.  Of course, long hike to the potties, but...well, gotta make concessions!!


Got him unloaded and started trying to soak the hay and get him hydrated before vetting in while setting up camp and my portable corral.

We vetted in, all A's except for his jugular refill.  That's a little concerning as I always get all A's down the line.  Asked one of my trusted friends on how to combat that in the future.  "Electrolyte a few days prior to the ride."

Ah.  Yes.  Would make sense.  I hadn't done that and had never thought of doing it before rides.  Will be making THAT a part of my ride protocol, that's for sure!!

Other than that, it was attend the ride meeting and make plans on how to ride this ride in the morning.  I decided to ride with a friend, which is a fine and noble thing...but on reflection now...the adage is true "Ride your own ride."

So, morning dawns, no big deal.  I get saddled up early, Socks is a little confused about what's going on, but he's such a mellow guy, he just settles in and we walk around, milling with the crowd at the start line.  I opt to leave this situation as some horses really do get riled up, and the lady I was planning on riding with hadn't yet shown up.  Ride over to her trailer, she's still tacking up and it's a few minutes until trail is open.

I'm a little panic'd, but internalize it and think "Well, I usually leave after the front and mid-pack, so we'll be alright." 

By the time she's ready, trail has been open for about 15 minutes.  As we're leaving, the out timer calls out "You do know trail has been open for a while, right?"

"Yes!  Thank you!!!"

And off we go down the trail.  It is a gorgeous single track with nice footing (a few roots) through these pine trees.  We're having a good time just walking and trotting.  We eventually managed to catch up to some of the back of the pack riders and we all fall in together leap-frogging as we go down this wide road. 

Ignore the bad riding.  No, seriously please.  Focus on the pretty pony!!

My friend and I eventually decide we're just going to move on ahead, which we do with ease.  Both horses feeling great and moving out beautifully.  Socks is having the time of his life. 

Look, Socks is the "nag", the "plug", the "babysitter".  I put people up on him who want to ride, but are intimidated by speed.  He's a horse, so he will occasionally spook, but he's never mean, and never malicious.

But this ride.  My goodness, he wanted to canter and trot.  Canter and trot.  He was having FUN! 

Now, here's why you shouldn't chit-chat at ride meeting and actually PAY ATTENTION!!!

This loop was marked with yellow ribbons.  However, we're also riding in a national forest, which has permanently marked trails.  I vaguely remembered during ride meeting them talking about the permanent markers and that we could follow them.

Wrong.  SO MUCH WRONG.

My friend and I are canting down a path and it splits.  To the right, trees with yellow diamond markers attached to them.  To the left, nothing at all.  We mill around for a few minutes and decide that DEFINITELY we should take the right fork and ride on.  On we go.  Cantering here and there.

And on.  And on.  Until we get to a real road and a T intersection.  And we realize we've seen neither ribbon nor rider in a while. 

Oh yeah.  We're off trail and not sure where to backtrack too.

Turn around and walk back.  Now, we spot the ride photographer and ask him if he has any idea where we need to go.  Nope, just keep back tracking.

So we keep back tracking.  And run into the intro group of riders.  At that fork.  However, as we backtrack, we see what we COMPLETELY missed before. 

In a bush, there at the fork and hanging low.  3 yellow ribbons.  And a trail off to the left....with more yellow ribbons.

SON OF A....UGH!!  When the ride was over and I checked Endomondo, we basically added almost 5 miles due to this blunder. 

Said good bye to the intro riders and off we tore attempting to make up some time.  Completely do-able, we just needed to trot as much as possible.  I am nothing else, during a ride, if not a perpetual optimist.

We get back in to camp for our trot-by.  Socks trots out just fine; my friend's horse is a little "off", but the vet clears her to ride the next 5 mile loop.  We take too long during this time, but eventually get back out on trail, and I keep an eye on her horse as we move out down the single track.  I don't SEE anything, and he seems to be moving out fine.

The loop flies back, we get back to camp for our hold.  Again, Socks is fine, her horse is still off.  He leaves it up to her, and she opts to RO.

I now have 17 miles to do.  Alone.  I am at the back of the pack and I'm pretty sure I can make up the time. 

Cleared after my hold and I hit the trail again.  No getting lost, nothing goes wrong. 

Well, except down a single track, as Socks and I are cantering along merrily, and all of a sudden, he stumbles and tumbles, and I go flying off.


I lay there on the ground, his reins still in my hands and catch my breath.  And think "Oh please oh please oh PLEASE don't let any of the 50's come up on me now.  How embarrassing."  Thankfully no one does, but I take a few moments to just lay there and assess myself.  I know I'm fine, but I know I'll pay hell for the pain in the morning.

Whatever.  Let's find a stump and get back on the horse, right?  Which I do, after checking HIM over to make sure he's intact and not hurt.  Nope.  He's fine.  Away we go again.

Now, I had my hydration pack on...and it had been working fine most of the day, but I had somehow convinced myself it would work better if I left the top a little bit loose so I could "suck" out of the bladder better.  Except, as we get going again, my back starts getting wet.

SHIT!!  Did my bladder BREAK?  No, I can still get water out of it.  But now I'm drenched down my back and into my buttcrack.  This sucks.  Whatever.  Keep riding.

I spend lots of time singing and talking to him.  Enjoying the scenery, but I'm a little bored.  I don't mind riding alone, but I'm starting to hurt.  And a little worried I might run out of water.

But, we keep chugging.  He's such a trooper that boy.  No horses anywhere in sight or sound, but he keeps going along.  I'm a little frustrated there aren't more troughs, but eventually we get to some and he gets a drink.  And away we go again.

I can tell he's starting to flag just a bit.  I certainly am.

And behind us comes a 50.  Now, this is a well-known endurance rider.  She rides to win.  She has a large stable of horses and always has a GROUP of riders with her.  I know she's not always well-liked, but I was so eternally grateful that she saw us and said "Hey, you are more than welcome to tail us for as long as you want or can keep up."

I am sure some of it is she saw we're in different distances...but I am sure some of it is she could see we were wearing down.  So we did.  Now, Socks can't keep up with a fit as hell Arab, but he trotted for a good long while.  A few canter stretches.  But they kept pulling further and further away.  Which was fine.  I'm not going to push.  I'd rather OT than hurt my horse.  Especially one so plucky and game!! 

Somewhere on trail, I started to bonk.  It was like I started to fall asleep in the saddle.  Hard to explain, but I became just a passenger while Socks continued gamely on trotting as best as he could with a lump on his back.  I do so love that boy.

After what seemed forever, we finally come out in the field.  I know I'm nearing cut off, but I put on a brave face as we trot by the ride photographer.  I know I'm a hot mess in the saddle, but I don't care anymore, I'm done!!  30 miles DONE!!!

We're done!!  Ignore my ugly and bad riding!

I race to the P&R area where I almost fall out of the saddle in pain.  My friend who stayed behind happened to be there, so she helped strip tack and then trotted him out for me.

Now, here's where things are weird. 

Vet said he was a little off on the trot out.  We were also told we came in over time.

But, we earned a completion.  Don't ask me HOW.  I contacted AERC.  I contacted the RM.  It's still on my ride record as a completion.