NO FRILLS 55 – 2016

I didn’t ride the Bunny Hop CTR after Rabbit Run because although Miss Daizy and I felt wonderful the next day, she was very tired at the end of the ride the day before and why push her?  She’s been off work since October last year and for her first ride back, after little to no conditioning, and she rocked it … well, we just skipped doing another 25 miles and people can call me a wimp, I don’t care!  (This might be the theme of this story, I just don’t care!)

We are also skipping Chesapeake CTR because (1) Steel got a girth sore at Rabbit Run so she would not be going and (2) The weather forecast is almost exactly the same as it was last year (high winds, sustained at 35-40 mph and gusting to 60 mph) and I had such bad wind burn on my face last year, that my entire face peeled.  I really have no desire to do that again.  No sirree (if you want excitement, read last year’s story) and I really don’t care if I miss it.

I was tempted (for about three minutes) to go to Foxcatcher 50.  Then I remembered, Foxcatcher = 5 / Dodie = 0 and I decided to skip it.  Plus, it is the weekend of my 25th wedding anniversary, and I suspect that if I want another 25 years, I better not spend it at an endurance ride.  Yes, about this particular item, I do care because I have the absolute best husband in the universe.  He let’s me go off to endurance rides all summer long, for days at a time and never (not even once) has he had any problem with me doing that.  I am very fortunate that he understands my addiction!

So we wait a month and do No Frills on April 23rd.  This is probably not the best way to get into condition for a 100 mile ride, doing one ride every four weeks, but you know what???  I really don’t care.  I have no goal this year except to ride and have fun and keep my two lovely mares happy and healthy.  I thought about doing both days for a two day 100 mile ride weekend, but again, I thought about that for five minutes and decided to skip it.

So, in preparation for the rocks and gravely roads we are to encounter, I did something I have never done before.  I padded Miss Daizy and Steel.  And to add to the excitement of pads, we added silicone filler.  Let’s see how this works out.

And, thank goodness Praire had her filly BEFORE I had to go to the ride.  If she hadn’t, I would have been a wreck worrying about her.  Filly is gorgeous!  She is destined to be my next endurance partner, assuming I am still able to ride in five years!

No drama getting ready for the ride as I had unpacked everything to put into Lindsey’s trailer for Rabbit Run and then had to repack everything when we got back to the farm … so everything was packed, clean and restocked weeks ago.  All I had to do was add horses, add Poe, stir vigorously and VOILA!

hehehehe

I had two groomings to do in the morning before I could leave and you never saw a groomer get two bichon’s cut, washed, blow dried and finished as quickly as I did.  Remarkably, the ugly sister, whom I always have trouble getting her face correct, turned out beautiful.  I now know how to do her face (after grooming her for three years) … just go really fast.

ZOOM

I rush to the barn, and the added bonus was neither Miss Daizy, nor Steel, decided to play ring-around-the-rosie with me when trying to catch them.  it was almost as if they were looking forward to going to No Frills.  They did really well last year!  Miss Daizy top tenned and stood for BC.  We didn’t get BC (the heavy weight riders rarely do) but she did get High Vet Score which was awesome.  I am not expecting that for this year.  I will be happy with a turtle award.  Miss Daizy is not as fit as she was last year as she was off from riding due to her injury for almost five months.  So, if we complete, I will be very very happy!

Now (shaking fist at the sky) Mother Nature is going to be very uncooperative.  They are calling severe thunderstorms Friday night and rain into Saturday.  For those of you that know me, I hate (hate hate hate) wet stuff.  With that said, I am also not fond of riding in the rain.  Best part is that it is supposed to be warmer so at least we won’t freeze.

The trip to base camp was totally uneventful.  Even Poe enjoyed the drive (for once).  My friend Dawn had suggested a Dramamine pill for Poe before we drive to prevent her drooling all over everything and it worked.

THANKS DAWN!

I arrived before Lindsey and got a most awesome spot inside the small pasture at the top of the lower field.  I was shocked to see how many rigs were in the lower field.  Last year there were maybe 10 rigs in there and half of those left before evening as they were there for the first day’s ride.  This year the field was full.

WOW.

campingI started to unpack and setup camp when I quickly decided it was time to put on shoes.  There were briar vines all over this pasture catching on my ankles and ripping my toes to shreds.  I am most positive the vines were laughing at me as I tripped and fell not once, not twice but three times.  This added to the fun later when people commented over and over, “Dodie?  You have shoes on?”  and I snidely remarked, “Why yes I am!  I’m saving my feet from possible death and a most certain torture.”

I was joined by my friend Cindy.  She helped me get my camp setup.  It went rather quickly as Cindy has helped me with the corral panels and other things before and knew exactly what to do.  We had everything finished in about 30 minutes.  Record timing.  Whew.

THANKS CINDY!

The girls were settled but I think they were a little bummed because they were surrounded by lush green grass and couldn’t reach it.  Soon, Lindsey arrived.  Apparently thee was some traveling issues for her because it took her way longer to get to the ride than expected.

We went up to check in and had some confusion about the food.  Last year the meal was at the ride manager area.  So, rather than walk up there twice, I thought I’d take the food along.

Ooops

So much for ASS U ME about anything because they changed the food area to be in the barn up the hill.  Yep, have to carry the food back to my trailer then up the back hill.

Dammit.

Got all checked in and everything was ready for us to rock and roll in the morning.  Steel’s vet in had a small hitch as the vet who checked her in gave her a B on gait.  Said she was crossing her left hind over her right hind.

WHY YES, she does!  That is why she has to wear interference boots.

Sheesh.

triple_crown_awardDinner at 6:30, ride meeting at 7:00.  Plenty of time to sit around and jibber-jabber with everyone.  At the ride meeting, we received our Triple Crown Awards for 2015.  No Frills is “leg one” of the Triple Crown followed by Old Dominion and finished with Fort Valley.  I was very excited to get our award.  It is very nice!  I am hoping to get Triple Crown again this year!  I am planning to enter all three rides again and (with help from the gods) we will complete all three again.

Ride Meeting:  37 riders entered for Saturday’s ride.  WOW!  Last year there were only 16 entered.  They are having a great ride this year with so many entries.  Trail opens for us at 7:00 am.  The rain is supposed to start at 5:00 am.

Great. Rain.  My favorite.  NOT!

Real bummer part of Miss Weather Forecast is that as of yesterday, the rain was supposed to be Friday afternoon, into Friday night and be ended by Saturday morning.  Now that we have actually arrived at base camp, Miss Weather Forecast has changed dramatically with the rain starting late evening and continuing through noon on Saturday.

 What was Lindsey’s thoughts on this matter?  “Suck it up, Buttercup!”

She cracks me up.

We sit around and chit chat for awhile and it’s muggy as heck.  I had setup everything in the back of the trailer so that nothing would get wet overnight.  And Poe was totally about sleeping on top of my mattress instead of her own doggie bed.  This may be a problem for her later when it’s time for bed.  I don’t share my camping bed with ANYONE!

(Remember that comment)

We go to bed just as a light drizzle starts over us.

sigh

I promptly went to sleep, me in my bed and Poe in her bed.  Around 2:00 am I woke up because the rain was coming down so hard on the roof of the trailer it sounded like World War III had just begun.  And there were flashes of lightning, though I couldn’t tell if there was thunder because the rain was so loud.  I was hopeful that the rain was moving through faster than expected as they said the heavy rain would be around 5:00 am.

Fingers crossed.

I slept in one hour increments from 2:00 am to 5:00 am.

Listening to rain.

At 5:00 am the rain was a light drizzle so I quickly got dressed and put on my rain gear.  Out I go into the damp morning to feed the two girls.  I had dressed them in their rain gear the night before,  hoping to keep them a wee bit dry over night.  Miss Daizy was soaked.  her weatherbeeta rain coat was an epic fail.  Steel was dry as a bone under her Mary Coleman special.

THANK YOU MARY!

I’m going to get another one of those from Mary and throw away this expensive weather beeta rain coat.

Bah

While I was working around camp I started to heat up.  It is very muggy out here.  And the drizzle is starting to get a little heavier so I made a quick decision to breakout the easy-up canopies.  I figured we could put the mares underneath them to get tacked up.  Just as I made that decision, here comes Lindsey to help … and here comes the rain.

Heavy hard rain.

Dammit.

We got the canopies up.  I made coffee.  Poe refuses to go outside and go potty.

45 minutes until trail opens.

RAIN … pouring rain … drowning rain … decisions decisions.

I am really warm in my full rain outfit and it is not really cold out.  The temp at 6:15 am is 64.  So, do I wear top and bottoms of my Frogg Toggs or just the top?  I decide to leave everything on while I tack up and then make my final decision.

We grab Steel and Miss Daizy from their paddocks, squishing through the mud that is now a prevalent ingredient to the morning mix, and low and behold … Miss Daizy is absolutely NOT going to walk underneath that canopy that sounds like a chorus of demons waiting to devour her with the rain dancing to the tune on the top.

WHAT?  She’s been under this canopy a thousand times.

Steel is like, “Let me under there.  Get out the way, Miss Daizy!”

Miss Daizy is like, “Oh no, you can’t make me get under there and get eaten by a rain monster.”

sigh

Lindsey is already halfway to being tacked up before I convince Miss Daizy (with the aid of a dressage whip) to get under the canopy.

The sky opens up and the rain is coming in sheets of drenching madness.  I get Miss Daizy’s soaked rain coat off and she is shivering.  Hard.  Her whole body is quaking.  First thing that goes through my mind was Foxcatcher 2007 when Flame started the ride shivery and was pulled at first hold with a severe cramp in her hind end.

Nope, probably should not ride Miss Daizy today.  I rub her all over with a face towel to try and get her muscles stimulated (and maybe get some of the wetness off her saddle area) and she is still quivering all over.

Not a good sign.

I mention to Lindsey that maybe she and Steel should go on out without me.

Lindsey looks me straight in the eye and says, “Nope!  We will just walk the first couple miles until Miss Daizy gets warmed up.”

Okay.  I can do that.  I’m still not convinced I should ride my shivery horse, but I agree and get all her tack on.

Let me stop the story here a moment and apologize.  I did take photos of all this getting ready, and the first 10 miles of trail, but I was fearful to ruin my 1980’s phone, so I had it in a baggy.  Yes, it stayed dry.  No, the photos did not turnout very well.

chuckle

And we’re off.  We actually got on trail at 7:06 am.

rumprugSoooo, I put a rump rug on Miss Daizy.  Andddd, Miss Daizy has never ridden with a rump rug.  Whyyyyy is Miss Daizy bucking?  And in the first two miles while we were walking to warm up Miss Daizy, we were passed by eight riders, and she kept trying to ditch her rump rug.

Dang

It’s all good.  Steel and Miss Daizy got a good uphill warm up before we started rocking and rolling.  When I finally released Miss Daizy to trot, she forgot all about that rump rug  and the first 18 mile loop passed in a haze of rainy, foggy, cloudy joy to be riding.  I love riding up the mountain.  I love riding Miss Daizy.

Once we started moving, Miss Daizy set a nice 9 mph pace and we passed a couple riders.  We did have to stop twice for technical tacking difficulties, at which time I took advantage of the break to relieve my bladder.

Note to self, pulling up wet riding tights and underwear is NOT easy.  And then the wet underwear want to be in places that no underwear should ever go.

Owie …

loop12Now check out this ride photo.  Becky had her car setup with the headlights shining across the trail so she could try and capture us in the pouring rain.  She told me later that only about 10% of the photos at this first ride photo shoot came out, and I am very lucky to be one of that 10%!  It is POURING when she takes this photo.  Like, I can’t see more than 20 feet in front of me, pouring.  And look how crisp this photo is.  I am amazed at her talent (and the tools she’s using!)

About three miles from the hold the rain pretty much stopped except for a light drizzle and dripping from the trees..  I was hopeful it was over.  My upper body was dry and warm under the Frogg Togg.  My lower body was soaked as I had opted not to wear my bottoms.  My shoes are soaked and this is the part of rain riding that I hate.  I hate my feet being wet while I ride.

BUT!!!!!  (happy happy joy joy)

stirrup2I had purchased a new pair of endurance stirrups.  Easy Care came out with a new design called E-Z Ride and they looked interesting so I bought them.  I had put them on my saddle for this ride, so it was my first time using them.  In the rain, I usually struggle keeping my tennis shoes on the rain slick pads of my stirrups, meaning I am constantly adjusting my feet while I ride.  With these new stirrups and the nubby pads, my feet never moved.  not once.  My shoes were glued to the pads and I was in heaven.

I think Lindsey was tired of hearing me shout, every ten minutes, I LOVE LOVE LOVE MY NEW STIRRUPS.  One thing interesting … see those slots on the sides?  I caught a tree in one of those slots and carried the tree with me until we stopped for a technical tack break.  That was too funny.

on_top_ridgeComing into the first hold, the trail starts to get slow in many paces and we actually caught up to five riders.  One of them was Dom.

HI DOM!!!!!

While we were walking along the rocky trail, I noticed that Steel lost her left interference boot.  I said something to Lindsey about it … and how good it was that we put the spares in the hold bag.  About a half a mile later, after we walked through a small creek, I see that the boot isn’t actually missing, it is simply down around her ankle.  I holler to Lindsey to fix it and we lost Dom and her group … forever.  We never saw them again the rest of the ride.

 First hold – YAY!  We come in and I tell Lindsey, let’s get our pulse and go.  Both girls pulsed right in.

Little did I remember that after pulse comes trot out.

Oops, Lindsey is hollering for me to come back.

Trot out good, let go walk up this slick goose-greased muddy hill to the hold area.

Oh, this is going to be trouble for me next go around.  The mud is very very slick and walking straight up the hill is trouble for my hip as my feet keep sliding out from under me.  Not a fun time slipping and sliding up the hill into the hold area.

We find our hold bags and I mix up a slurry for Miss Daizy … Steel promptly starts eating it.

Hmmmm.

I give some dry grains to Miss Daizy and she’s not really interested.  I look closely and see she’s starting to shiver again.

(*^&(^&%%$^)_P)(_)

Not good.  It’s not really raining now, just a very light drizzle so I take off my Frogg Togg and put it over Miss Daizy’s butt to help warm her up.  I’m thinking I made a mistake not sending a cooler out to the hold in the hold bag.

The volunteers are wonderful in the first hold.  I had someone holding Miss Daizy while I messed around with wet clothing in the porta-john, and she continued to hold Miss Daizy while I messed around in the hold bag looking for snacks.  Then a young fella comes over with chili and a gaterade.  Apparently Lindsey ordered that for me while I was in the porta-john.

THANK YOU LINDSEY!

I eat and drink and Miss Daizy does not.  She’s just standing there shivering.

Not good.

Five minutes to go before we leave on the long rocky loop.  While I am debating whether to leave my Frogg Togg top in my hold bag, it starts to drizzle harder … and the rain is much colder than it was earlier.  In fact, I notice that the air seems much colder than the morning.  I tried to look at Miss Weather Forecast but there is no signal in the hold so I have no idea what is going on.

I put my Frogg Togg back on, climb up on Miss Daizy and tell Lindsey we need to walk awhile because of the shivering.

Steel is fine!  She ate, drank, peed (oh yes, Steel peed!!!!  YAY!!!!!!  She never pees when we compete.)

We leave hold right on time.  That never happens!

grin

rocks3And we’re off.  Now this 25 mile loop was the funnest part of last year’s ride.  Of course, it wasn’t raining and the trail was mud slick, but I am looking forward to this loop.  A lot.  I am concerned about Miss Daizy but once we had a mile under our feet, she was more than ready to move on out again.

The plan for this loop … Miss Daizy leads on the “go go” stretches of trail and Steel leads on the “walking only” sections of trail.  Reason?  Miss Daizy sets a faster pace than Steel at the trot/canter and Steel sets a faster pace at the walk.

Plan set, we get on down the trail.  We are working well and Miss Daizy is eager to get moving so the shivery must not be affecting her too greatly.  My stirrups are working awesomely.  And the rain is letting up.

Some 30 mile riders come up behind us and lo and behold, it is Daryl!

HI DARYL!

We shared a couple miles of trail laughing and talking until the 30 mile trail broke off from the 55 mile trail and we had to say our good-byes.

BYE DARYL!

rocks1The sun is trying to peek out and we are in the clouds.  It was way cool to be riding up so high on the world that you’re in the clouds.  I tried to get photos of us flying in the clouds, but they didn’t turn out so well.  This is the best image I got on my archaic phone camera.  We climbed up so high we were literally riding in the clouds and it was awesome, just awesome.

ride_photo1I was thoroughly enjoying the long 25 mile loop.  I was cracking jokes, which Lindsey kept missing the punch lines .. mostly because she couldn’t hear me … and I was having a grand ol’ time of it.  Steel was stopping at every mud puddle for a drink.  Miss Daizy took a couple sips here and there but she wasn’t up to her normal drink, eat and be merry self.  Although when we came to the open trail and she took lead, she was moving right along at her normal pace, ears up and tail up.  This photo on the second loop shows how much Miss Daizy is enjoying herself.  She was doing very well on the first 15 miles, moving out when we could and walking along when we couldn’t.

We came into the hospitality stop, which is about 15 miles on the second loop and Miss Daizy discovered a huge muck tub full of beet pulp.  She dived right in.

Uhm, Miss Daizy, I think that is the tub they’re using to give out portions.

Oops

Miss Daizy didn’t care, she was going to eat that entire muck tub by herself.

WAIT!  ALFALFA HAY????  She quickly moved from the muck tub to the bale of hay.

Uhm, Miss Daizy, I think you’re supposed to eat from one of these piles, not directly from the bale.

Miss Daizy didn’t care, she was going to eat the entire bale of hay by herself.

Hmmm, guess her appetite is back.

I didn’t realize how many riders were behind us until they started coming into the hospitality stop.  I was not going to stop Miss Daizy from eating so when those riders started leaving out ahead of us, I didn’t care.  I saw Lindsey starting to get a bit agitated that we were staying here so long, but by the gods, I was going to let Miss Daizy eat as long as she wanted to eat and I didn’t care if we ended up dead last.

Soon, Miss Daizy notices that riders are leaving and she’s not “winning” anymore so we mount up and get rolling.

Uh oh.

We trotting up this nice grassy trail and Miss Daizy is not letting me get on the left diagonal.

Oh no …. not again.

This is my cue that her back is starting to trouble her.

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.

She breaks into a canter, on her right lead.  I bring her back to a trot and then ask for her left lean.

Nope!  Not doing it.  She picks up the right lead, totally against my left pressure.

Dammit.

We’re riding along and I start doing the riding stretch exercises that I learned from my equine chiropractor.  Not sure what Lindsey thought I was doing in the saddle, because she didn’t comment.

Stretch left, stretch right and Miss Daizy starts to loosen up.

Left diagonal???  Okay, she’s not fussing at me anymore.

Canter on the left lead?  She picked it up and help it for about a mile, but was not happy about that.

Okay, you did it so I’ll let you be now.

Dammit.

hold2We get onto the mile long single track back into the hold and I’m walking the horses.  I am pretty sure that we’re going to be pulled because Miss Daizy is not working square, which means she will probably be off at the trot.  This photo is of her in the hold while I’m untacking her for pulse in.  She does NOT look happy, does she.  Poor Miss Daizy.  I have had it up to my eyeballs with trying to find a saddle.  We tried three saddles during the season last year and I demo’d six saddles over the winter.  I had a saddle custom made to her and while it fit her like a glove, I hated it because it was too confining to my back.  Lucky Naoma to get herself a new endurance saddle.

chuckle

Oh man, oh man, oh man.

Tack off and I slide down the muddy hill to the pulse in.

Pulse 52.  Let’s trot.

Oh, she passed her trot out.  Really?

Everything else is A’s.

Really?

Okay.  Let’s see what happens on the last 10 miles.  I’m not hopeful but, okay.

Steel?  I’m telling you she has become a perfect endurance horse.  She is eating and drinking and she peed again!  YES!  And she’s alert and happy and wow …

One thing she did start doing on this ride that I have never seen her do before.  Not sure if it was because of the rain and fog, or because she simply wasn’t trussting Lindsey like she should, she was starting to “see things” and would stop.  Not spook … she’s be trotting along and STOP dead, throwing Lindsey up on her neck.

Not sure why she was doing that.

Hmmmm

Okay.  This hold killed me.  Well, not really, but the goose grease mud caused Miss Daizy to slip which in turn caused me to slip and

POP

There goes the back.  Have to say, up until this point, I was having no issues with my back.  This is the first competition since my injury that I have ridden without any drugs at all.  Not an aspirin, not a tylenol, nothing.  And I felt great!  And I was riding strong, working with Miss Daizy instead of against her.

And then the mud did me in.

Oh my gosh, I’m digging through my hold bag looking for the drugs.  Lindsey comes along and sees my face and she knew…she knew I was in trouble.  She’s helping me dig through the bag looking for the little baggy of drugs.  We found it.

YAY!

Tylenol or Tramadol?  That is the question of the day.

I opted for Tylenol.  I really had hoped to get through this ride without any drugs.

But … it is what it is.

Lindsey brought me some chili and a roll to chase the tylenol.

THANK YOU LINDSEY.

I can’t get up off the ground.  This is bad.

I stand and stretch my back .. I can barely bend over half of my normal range.

Oh man, oh man, oh man.

Time to go and I have to get my saddle on.

Owie.

Time to go and I have to get in the saddle.

Owie (Thank you Lindsey for pushing my butt up into the saddle)

Time to go and we’re walking out of camp.

Owie .. Lindsey stopped to let Diane adjust her girth.  Oh thank you for that because walking was killing me.

Time to go and we’re trotting.

Owie.

Oh thank goodness … tylenol has kicked in but now Miss Daizy is like,
No, I’m not gonna trot and you can’t make me.”

()*&^$&+_)+__+)*()(%^54

Crap.

This is the easiest part of the ride.  It’s all rolling service road, no rocks, no hill climbs, and last year we cantered the entire thing in about 45 minutes.  This year?  We’re barely crawling along because Miss Daizy doesn’t want to trot and Steel keeps stopping at every little obstacle at the side of the road.

Good Lord.

We’re never gonna get there.

Couple riders came up behind us moving at a good clip and suddenly Miss Daizy woke up and took off after them.

I have no idea what Lindsey and Steel were doing, it was all I could to to hold onto Miss Daizy as she’s blasting along in a hand gallop.  Okay, let’s see if you will pick up your left lead.  I fought her to bring her into a trot and change leads.  She was NOT happy but she did it and then took off again to catch those two horses.  She is blasting along on her left lead and I’m flat out riding two point while my back screams, “STOP IT!  Just stop it!”

chuckle

I have to admit, even with the back complaining, I was loving every minute of that gallop!

Finally I decide I need to slow them down because I don’t want to use up the last reserves we have.

Oh – look, there’s Route 55 … two more miles and we’re finished.

I am feeling better now that the tylenol has kicked in.

Miss Daizy is feeling better because (apparently) the hand gallop stretched out her back and now she’s trotting along with her ears forward and tail up.

Whew

And I’m not sure what’s going on with Lindsey because she hasn’t said a word for the past eight miles.

Steel looks perky as I put her in front of us to finish out the ride on the single track.

Almost there, let’s walk.

Steel stumbles and all four feet go into four different directions.

sigh

Walking walking walking.  I can see the top of the timer tent at the finish.

YAY!!!!

Walking walking walking.

We’re here!  5:17 pm we cross the finish line.  And we’re not the turtles!

snort

Okay, I get off and as soon as my feet hit the ground, my back sings out, “Oh listen to me.”

Owie.

I pull off Miss Daizy’s tack and I’m pretty sure, when I run my hand along her back and she drops like a stone, that we are not going to get a completion.  Steel is happily drinking when I notice blood on her leg.  Lindsey noticed it at the same time and we’re like,

Oh shit.

I am bent over in agony and along come Cindy who begins massaging my back.

I hate being massaged but somehow, Cindy knows exactly where and how much pressure to use, because every  single time she has done this for me it feels wonderful.

THANK YOU CINDY!

Pulses are good.  Let’s trot.

I trot Miss Daizy down and when I turn around, I see the sad faces on both vets and I know.  She didn’t trot sound.

Dammit.

Steel was definitely off on the leg that had the bloody boo-boo.  Of course.  Steel rides 55 tough crazy rocky miles then stumbles in the last two miles and injures herself.

WHAT THE HELL?

Dr. Art says – “You have 30 minutes to try and get a completion.”

Okay.  There is a hose by our camp, Lindsey – you go hose and hose and hose Steel’s leg while I massage Miss Daizy’s back and hind end.

I massage Miss Daizy and Cindy massages me.  She also gave me some back heat packs and WOWZA did those really help me out.

30 minutes, let’s go back to the vet.

We represent and I trot Miss Daizy down.  When I turn around, both vets are grinning ear to ear and as I’m trotting back, Dr. Art says, “That is amazing.  She is a totally different horse and looks perfectly wonderful.  You complete!”

Little did he know I used the massaging techniques he showed me last year at OD.

Steel trots down and she looks 80% better but is taking an off step occasionally – like every 8th or 9th step.  I hear the vets conferring and I’m pretty sure that Steel is not going to get her completion.  We don’t get our ride cards back because they have to go to the ride manager to get documented.

Poor Steel.  Riding all those miles just to get a pull at the end because she’s clumsy.

Poor Lindsey.  Had to put up with my silliness all day, just to get a pull at the end.

Oh my.

So, we are a mix of elation and dejection as we go back to camp.  I let the horses eat grass while I start cleaning stuff up.  Lindsey broke down the canopies (before the sun started to go down and the dew formed up on them)

Poe was so very very happy to see me and get let out of the trailer.

Note to Poe fans … I forgot to put away the loaf of bread before we left out on trail in the morning.  The whole ride, all I could think about was that Poe was going to eat all the bread and be sick to her stomach.  Poe did NOT touch the bread and she was in that trailer from 7:00 am until 6:00 pm when I let her out.  She did sleep on my bed, but how was I going to complain about that when she was such a good girl and didn’t eat the bread????

And now for my second favorite part of the ride.

SALLIE!!!!!

Sallie came over and spent the evening with us, we had a great supper together and she brought my favorite, Not Your Father’s Root Beer.

Mmmmmm

THEN!  Oh yes, then she offered us her shower.

HEAVEN!!!!

I had a great visit with Sallie that evening and went to bed clean and fresh.

Of course, by midnight I was freezing.  Temperatures dropped all day and into the low 30’s that night.  Now I’m trying to convince Poe that after yelling at her the night before for trying to get into bed with me, now I actually do want her to get into bed with  me.

Poe was like, “Uh, no … “

(teeth chattering) “Please?”

Big Eyeballs, “Uh, no … I do not want to get yelled at again.”

(lips turning blue) “Oh, please Poe, just lay right here, it’s okay.”

Squinting eyes in confusion.  “Uh, no … “

Dammit

I survived the chilly night.

And nice to find out the next day that Steel actually did get her completion!  We did not do the ride fast.  But we did get our completions.  To Finish Is To Win!!!

ride resultsAnd as another interesting note … I did not take any more drugs for my back after the last hold.  Mostly because Cindy’s massage and heat packs really loosened it up.  And when I got up Sunday morning, my back wasn’t stiff or sore so I was able to cruise along packing stuff without any issues.

My thighs, however, had another story to tell me … LOL

Now, I am once again on the hunt for a saddle.  I have decided it has to be treeless because Miss Daizy is built like a square.  Flat front to back, and flat side to side and a treed saddle is just not going to cut it.  I have been researching for the past couple days and have asked for a demo from Saddle Solution for their Startrekk Comfort.  Let’s see how that works out.   http://www.saddlingsolutions.com/startrekk-saddles/startrekk-comfort-comfort-shorty/