{"id":1952,"date":"2014-11-05T11:32:31","date_gmt":"2014-11-05T11:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/?page_id=1952"},"modified":"2022-02-12T01:40:37","modified_gmt":"2022-02-12T01:40:37","slug":"mustang-memorial-50-mile-end-2014","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/?page_id=1952","title":{"rendered":"Mustang Memorial 50 mile END 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

I missed out on Jersey Devil<\/a> two weeks ago due to ten days of fevers.\u00a0 Had five days running as high as 104.1, then three days with no fever, then three days running around 102.\u00a0 It is a mystery!<\/p>\n

Now, I woke up this morning with congestion.\u00a0 I DON’T CARE!\u00a0 I am going to the last ride in the NE Region if it kills me!\u00a0 And it might kill me, but what a way to go out!<\/p>\n

The last time I rode The Mustang Memorial 50 mile endurance ride was in 2008 on Flame.\u00a0 We had an awesomely fast ride (6 hours 45 minutes) but finished in 24th place.\u00a0 WOW.\u00a0 This is a fast flat ride and I am hoping that Miss Daizy doesn’t take control of the pace and set us too fast to complete.<\/p>\n

Miss Daizy is a mountain horse.\u00a0 She does so very well on those trails with lots of ups and downs.\u00a0 Her CTR scores on mountain trails are high.\u00a0 On the flat rides, she doesn’t do as well and her CTR scores are lower.\u00a0 I know this and suspect it has a lot to do with my crooked riding style.\u00a0 I am prepared to be the best balanced rider I can be this weekend to help her get through the ride.<\/p>\n

Miss Daizy kicked butt at Big Loop Boogie 50 mile endurance ride<\/a>, still going strong at the end like the energizer bunny when the two horses she was riding with were done and wiped out.\u00a0 Let’s see how we do on a flat fast ride.<\/p>\n

Ever since I did the Big Loop Boogie I have been DYING to get back on a 50 mile ride.\u00a0 I have so missed the challenge and freedom of riding 50 miles.\u00a0 I am more excited that you can even guess at going to Mustang Memorial this weekend.<\/p>\n

Dom was going to be riding Steel in the 50 mile ride.\u00a0 There were some issues with Steel at the Jersey Devil<\/a> and Dom was heartbroken to get pulled.\u00a0 She wrote a great blog post about it, click the link here and go read that story.\u00a0 Anyway, Steel fully recovered before Mustang but Dom’s doggie needed surgery for a tumor and she decided she should be making money to pay for it instead of spending money to ride Steel.<\/p>\n

Last minute (and I do mean last minute because I was catching Miss Daizy in the pasture to leave for Mustang when the text came in to my phone) Kathy wanted to know if Steel was available to do the 30 mile LD at Mustang.<\/p>\n

Why YES!<\/p>\n

So I caught TWO muddy horses instead of one and put them on the trailer in all their muddy glory (we had a heavy rain the day before and they had fun playing in it!)<\/p>\n

I was totally packed and ready to roll so after putting Miss Daizy and Steel on the trailer, I locked the back and took off.\u00a0 I was so proud of myself, I was going to get to the ride around 2:30 and have plenty of time to set up camp, get two horses vetted in, and run around visiting everyone and selling some books to the people that asked me to bring them with me.<\/p>\n

Oh, the best laid plans!<\/p>\n

Without a single hitch or adventure, I arrived at the base camp right at 2:29 pm.\u00a0 I found Cindy and Cheryl, they had a most excellent parking place.\u00a0 I was not sure I was gonna get there since the rain had the sand all loose and deep.\u00a0 I was sinking into the sand about four inches as I traveled across the field to the parking spot.<\/p>\n

Eek<\/p>\n

But, good ol’ Ruth plowed right through it and we parked.\u00a0 Cindy and Cheryl were standing there to greet me and I was so excited to be there that I hopped out of the truck to hug them and …<\/p>\n

OOPS<\/p>\n

I did not grab the keys.<\/p>\n

While I was hugging Cheryl, I heard the truck beep and then CLICK<\/p>\n

NOOOOOOOOOOOO<\/p>\n

Ruth is a very bad girl.\u00a0 Occasionally, she decides “Safety First” and she locks herself.\u00a0 I have owned Ruth for two years and I know this about her.\u00a0 In fact, I so know this about her that is almost second nature to grab the keys as I get out and put them on the bed cover.\u00a0 I have had her to the dealer about this quirk of hers and they told me it is an issue with this year Silverado HD and they have no clue how to fix it.\u00a0 I have also talked to several other people with this year truck and they tell me their dealers told them the same thing.<\/p>\n

Freakin’ A …<\/p>\n

Okay, all my paperwork for Steel in in the truck so I can’t check in Kathy just yet, but I can check myself in since I am fast tracked.\u00a0 This means I had already sent everything they needed and all I have to do is get my packet and say I’m\u00a0 here to get my ride number.<\/p>\n

While I am in the ride check in, who sits down next to me but Kyle.\u00a0 HI KYLE!!!\u00a0 I have not seen him in a million years since he became a professional AERC and FEI rider.\u00a0 I have know Kyle (and his twin brother Kevin) since he’s six years old and I take full responsibility for getting his addicted to endurance riding.\u00a0 I can remember all the long drives we did to KY and TN and WI to go to endurance rides.\u00a0 He was great company and I loved every minute of it.<\/p>\n

Anyway, after a tearful reunion (well for me, not necessarily for him) I got down to business with the ride management to get myself checked in, let them know that Kathy was indeed going to be there but my truck was locked and I needed a locksmith.\u00a0 Several of the burly manly-man guys in the cook room volunteered to open my truck.\u00a0 Thirty minutes later, they gave up.\u00a0 Tara was awesome as she googled locksmiths and we found one pretty close.\u00a0 We called and the dispatcher said they would send on right away.<\/p>\n

For an hour, Jeff worked on getting Ruth’s door open.\u00a0 She was pretty tricky and told Jeff that Safety Comes First and even though he was pushing on the door lock and unlock button with a coat hanger, she would not release the door to him.<\/p>\n

\"setting<\/a>While all this is going on, I set up as much camp as I could.\u00a0 The trailer door is locked and yes, those keys are in my basket which is in saftey mode inside Ruth…. so I could not get out water and buckets for Steel and Miss Daizy.\u00a0 I figured they wouldn’t die for an hour or so.\u00a0 I did get their panels set up.\u00a0 While this is going on the wind is blowing so hard that I felt like my face was getting burned.\u00a0 We were having spits of sleet and rain and it was downright crazy!!!!\u00a0 At one point, carrying a panel, the wind hit me so hard it blew the panel right out of my hands.<\/p>\n

Whew!<\/p>\n

\"locksmith\"<\/a>The locksmith shows up after 90 minutes of “Can we break into Ruth” and in three minutes flat he tricked her into opening the door for him.<\/p>\n

YAY MR. LOCKSMITH DUDE!<\/p>\n

I was so grateful I gave him a hug and he blushed.\u00a0 It must have been the best hug he got all day, though because he made me a door opening key to keep in the bed of the truck so if I ever forget to take my keys out again, I can get in.<\/p>\n

THANK YOU MR. LOCKSMITH DUDE!<\/p>\n

\"camping\"<\/a>While all this is going on, Steel was very curious as to why everyone was standing around The lady’s truck and Cheryl snapped this most lovely photo of her.\u00a0 I am going to ask Cheryl to send me this photo is a high res image so I can make a picture to frame.\u00a0 This is a great picture with the clouds in the background.<\/p>\n

And Steel is still stnading there in all her muddy glory because I was unable to get into the trailer to brush her off.\u00a0 How embarrassing.\u00a0 And no-one said a word about it.<\/p>\n

grin<\/p>\n

\"vetting<\/a>Okay, I run back to the ride check in with a check to pay for Kathy’s entry and I get her and Steel all checked in.\u00a0 Now, Cindy (who is freezing, by the way) offers to take Steel while I take Miss Daizy.\u00a0 Cindy is FULLY AWARE of Steel’s separation anxiety when it comes to Miss Daizy.\u00a0 Thank you, Cindy!\u00a0 I know you were freezing and you came out into the wind to help me anyway.\u00a0 I love you.<\/p>\n

We get the two horses vetted in before it gets dark.\u00a0 In fact, we got them vetted in as it was getting twilight so I had to finish setting up my camp in the darkness.<\/p>\n

Fun times!\u00a0 Good thing I know exactly where everything is so I could do this by feel.<\/p>\n

Ride dinner is at 6:00 pm and I had just enough time to drink a Stella Cidre Ale before heading over to the meeting hall.<\/p>\n

\"dinner\"<\/a>WOW, standing room only.\u00a0 (I had to snap this picture of Kyle because I probably won’t see him again for another million years.)\u00a0 I am sure if the Fire Marshall had come along he would have fined everyone for over crowding the space.\u00a0 In fact, had there been a fire we would have died!<\/p>\n

I have to tell you, I made my way to the back of the room and ended up sharing a big stuffed chair that had lost it’s oomph.\u00a0 I sank down into it so far I couldn’t get back out!\u00a0 After getting our food, we ended up sitting three in that chair.\u00a0 Me on the back, Cindy in the bottomless depths and Brenda on the arm. Sitting directly in front of this chair were Cate and Alex.\u00a0 It was pretty funny.\u00a0 I wish someone had snapped a picture of THAT!\u00a0 Cindy did make a comment that she wasn’t sure she wanted to sit in front of me with my dirty knees.\u00a0 I told her that I had to pay for that locksmith somehow and she almost spewed spaghetti all over the place.<\/p>\n

he he he<\/p>\n

Evelyn’s birthday is today so after the ride meeting we headed over to her trailer rig to have some birthday cake and sing to her.\u00a0 Cindy (who usually eats my icing) was too full to eat my icing so it went to waste.\u00a0 But, the cake part was very good!<\/p>\n

We’re all tired and ready for bed.\u00a0 The temperature has dropped remarkably.\u00a0 it’s supposed to go down to 28 tonight and that wind is still howling.\u00a0 The promised us at the ride meeting that there would be no wind for the ride and a clear blue sky with lots of sun.<\/p>\n

Of course, he then proceeded to quantify that statement that he was a weatherman … great, it’s gonna be raining and cold tomorrow (chuckle)<\/p>\n

I slept great!\u00a0 I was roasty toasty warm in my truck. I only woke up once when some horse went trotting down the road in front of where we were parked with a hollering person following close behind.\u00a0 I looked out the window and the moon was so bright it looked like day time.\u00a0 I saw there were three people out on the road so I figured they had that loose horsie thing covered.\u00a0 I went back to sleep and slept until 4:30.<\/p>\n

It was kinda funny to wake up to frost on the INSIDE of the windows.\u00a0 I have never experienced that before.\u00a0 When I threw the covers back to get up I was in instant shiver mode until I got my clothes on.\u00a0 WOW, cold in here.<\/p>\n

\"in<\/a>When I got out of the truck, Crash greeted me with his Crash chuckle.\u00a0 Then Steel greeted me with a soft nicker.\u00a0 Miss Daizy?\u00a0 She didn’t care I was up, she was too busy in the back of the trailer tearing up the second bale of hay and pooping everywhere.\u00a0 She did not poop out in her pen at all!\u00a0 All her poop was in the trailer.\u00a0 Apparently, according to Cindy and Cheryl, Miss Daizy was in and out of the trailer all night and they could hear it.\u00a0 I didn’t hear anything and since I had dropped the hitch to stabilize the trailer, I didn’t feel anything, either.<\/p>\n

I fed Steel and Miss Daizy, gave them time to get it all eaten, then took them out under the full moon (that shone through my windows all night) and trotted them to be sure all was A-Okay.\u00a0 Looking good!\u00a0 They were well behaved, too, as they trotted side by side next to me and didn’t try to pull me down the road.\u00a0 I put them back in their pens to relax and wandered over to the dinner room to see if there was coffee.<\/p>\n

COFFEE!\u00a0 Real coffee!\u00a0 Anyone that manages Big Loop Boogie<\/a> ride reading this?\u00a0 Pay attention!\u00a0 We want real coffee, not store brand instant coffee!<\/p>\n

I sat in there talking to Amanda and Greg for awhile and drank a large cup of coffee and ate a chocolate chip muffin.\u00a0 Then I refilled my cup and wandered back over to my camp.\u00a0 Cheryl and Cindy still aren’t up so I sat in my chair, listened to Steel and Miss Daizy crunching on their hay (they had emptied their hay bags list night – GOOD GIRLS!) and watched the horizon lightening up.<\/p>\n

I love camping.\u00a0 Even in the cold!<\/p>\n

Kathy got in after 10:00 pm so I didn’t see her the night before.\u00a0 I was able to give her a run down of what to expect from Steel on today’s 30 mile ride.\u00a0 I told her ..<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. When Miss Daizy leaves at 7:00, you’re gonna have your hands full until you leave at 7:30 … she has separation anxiety.<\/li>\n
  2. Once you’re in the saddle, she will work for you all day long with no questions asked.<\/li>\n
  3. When you come into hold, here’s her food stuffs and let her eat as much as she wants<\/li>\n
  4. She will be good for you as long as she never sees Miss Daizy all day.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Kathy is happy with her instructions and since she’s ridden Steel, she knows how to go.<\/p>\n

    People started waking up and generators were kicking on, horses started talking (how good of my two girls to be always quiet and never carry on at camp – poor Evelyn was camped next to a screamer.\u00a0 She said he screamed all night long.\u00a0 Yes, I know all about that as I had that same experience at the Muckleratz Ride<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

    Cheryl and Cindy got up just about the same time.\u00a0 They fed their horses and saw I was sitting there with coffee (Cindy called me a brat … told her I would have brought her one but didn’t know how she liked it)\u00a0 But I did tell her it was REAL COFFEE which made her smile.\u00a0 Yep, she remembers BLB, too.<\/p>\n

    It’s light out.\u00a0 YAY!\u00a0 Start time for us is 7:00 am.\u00a0 Okay, time to clarify … Cindy I know you’re reading this and do not be offended<\/strong><\/span> by the rest of this story.\u00a0 This is how I was feeling and has nothing at all to do with anything other than that.\u00a0 We had a great ride together and I will always want to ride with you and Bailey!!!\u00a0 It may have been running through my brain “TOO FAST TOO FAST” but it definitely was not too fast for Miss Daizy and she loves working with Bailey.\u00a0 We are a good team on the trail!<\/p>\n

    Cindy wants to know the plan.\u00a0 Well, she is very competitive and I’m not.\u00a0 We are the Odd Couple to be sure.\u00a0 She’s wired and I’m laid back.\u00a0 She worries about everything and I worry about nothing.\u00a0 So, MY PLAN would be to wait about ten minutes after everyone starts and then head out.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because Miss Daizy has never learned “race brain” and I don’t want her to start learning that today.\u00a0 She is very comfortable with horses starting without her from her 500 ECTRA miles.<\/p>\n

    Cindy’s plan?\u00a0 She wants to go right out with everyone.\u00a0 She compromised a bit as we walked around and around and she waited three minutes.<\/p>\n

    I am smiling inside because I know that was the hardest three minutes of Cindy’s life.<\/p>\n

    \"out<\/a>We are out on trail at 7:04 am.\u00a0 Cheryl caught this picture of us leaving.\u00a0 It is the only “on trail” picture that I have and I do not know if there was a ride photographer because I never saw one.\u00a0 I was totally unable to get any photos (yes, I took some but they are totally fuzzy because we cantered 95% of that 50 miles.)\u00a0 So, thank you Cheryl for getting this one picture for us.\u00a0 Miss Daizy is on a loose rein doing about 10 mph in her big trot.\u00a0 She left the ride without any race brain and she was relaxed and ready to work.\u00a0 I love this mare.<\/p>\n

    The first loop (Red Loop) was a blur.\u00a0 We passed many horses as Miss Daizy and Bailey were on a roll.\u00a0 We cantered everything, including around the puddles.\u00a0 Miss Daizy was showing me how talented she was doing flying lead changes as we weaving in an out of the puddles.\u00a0 We did have one small issue.\u00a0 They told us at the ride meeting that we had to be careful of these puddles because some of them were bottomless pits.\u00a0 In the first three miles, there was one puddle that had no go around.\u00a0 Well, it had a kinda go around on the left which I put Miss Daizy to.<\/p>\n

    Oops<\/p>\n

    It was a mud bog and we sank down to her chest (I know because when we got to first hold there was mud all the way up her legs to her chest.)\u00a0 She lunged up out of there like a pro but in doing so, she put me into a tree ripping my thumb wide open.\u00a0 Cindy and I joked about that … that I was simply marking the red trail.<\/p>\n

    grin<\/p>\n

    The rest of the first loop went well, we came into the hold doing twenty miles in 1 hour and 39 minutes.<\/p>\n

    HOLY CRAPOLEY<\/p>\n

    Too fast, we’re\u00a0 moving too fast.\u00a0 This is Miss Daizy’s second 50 mile ride and she’s a much better hill horse than on the flat horse.\u00a0 This trail is FLAT and sandy, with lots of loose deep sand.\u00a0 We are going much too fast and I know that because it took her ten minutes to pulse down under 64.\u00a0 First hold, CRI is 60\/56 and A’s and B’s … okay, she’s not tired yet and she did pulse down and it kept going down.\u00a0 She hasn’t really drank any water but she’s eating everything put in front of her.\u00a0 She did get sweaty but not overly so as it’s still very chilly.\u00a0 I’m not going to worry about the speed just yet.<\/p>\n

    Note to my fan club.\u00a0 On the first loop my daisy flower became separated from my helmet.\u00a0 I am sure Sasquatch did it!<\/p>\n

    Of course, Bailey pulsed in right away so Cindy walked away from me and MIss Daizy and her heart rate shot up to 72.\u00a0 Dang it, Cindy.\u00a0 We had to leave the hold and come back for a recheck.\u00a0 Now, Cindy’s out time is before mine.\u00a0 I think it killed her to have to wait on me and Miss Daizy for out time.\u00a0 I will teach Cindy patience yet!!!<\/p>\n

    We’re just getting ready to get tack up and HERE COMES KATHY AND STEEL.\u00a0 Oh no .. oh no .. oh no.\u00a0 Steel immediately gets excited to see Miss Daizy.\u00a0 Miss Daizy could give a crap about Steel.\u00a0 Steel is all wound up.\u00a0 I tack up and tell Kathy that once we’re out of camp Steel will settle down if she stays with Crash.<\/p>\n

    Nope, apparently Steel was SO excited to see Miss Daizy that she started hollering and carrying on and it took Kathy the full 30 minutes to get her pulse down.<\/p>\n

    Oh Kathy, I’m so sorry.\u00a0 Hopefully we will already be gone when you come in to finish so you won’t have that at the end of your 30 mile LD ride.<\/p>\n

    Off we go for loop #2 (White Loop).\u00a0 Miss Daizy left the hold with her ears forward and tail up, trotting loose and free.\u00a0 I haven’t killed her back yet, which is amazing as we’ve been cantering so much and her canter is NOT the most comfortable gait.\u00a0 She is a ground pounder when she canters.\u00a0 I have worked diligently on lightening her up in her canter to no avail, she likes to pound the ground (hence pounding me) and it doesn’t matter if I ride in two point, ride in a full seat, or throw my feet out in front of the vertical.\u00a0 She pounds ground.<\/p>\n

    Owie<\/p>\n

    It is a lot of fun on the white loop, though.\u00a0 There were tons and tons of puddles to go around and I was practicing flying lead changes with my Pegasus horse.\u00a0 She was perfectly changing leads and doing it very smoothly.\u00a0 On a couple of straight away sections, since we were just cantering and not galloping like the first loop, we did some flying lead changes just so in the soft sand and she executed them perfectly.\u00a0 Towards the end of the white loop, she wasn’t as easger to go on her left lead.<\/p>\n

    Uh Oh.\u00a0 I must be making her right side sore.\u00a0 That is what happens in this treeless saddle because I ride crooked.\u00a0 At one point I got in front of Bailey and backed her down to a trot and tried changing diagonals.\u00a0 Yes, right side of her back is definitely getting sore.\u00a0 She was seriously pissed at me for posting on the left diagonal.<\/p>\n

    Dammit.<\/p>\n

    We’re making good time and a little bit slower speed, but still too fast for my tastes.\u00a0 I want to have horse left at the end of the ride.\u00a0 I finally manage to get Miss Daizy in front of Bailey for a while and slow us down.\u00a0 We’re still cantering, but at about 8 mph instead of 10 or 11 mph.\u00a0 We’re doing great, we’ve settled into a rythmn, and then<\/p>\n

    WHAM<\/p>\n

    Here comes the 75 milers.\u00a0 They pass us like we’re sitting still and Miss Daizy cranks it up.<\/p>\n

    NOOOOOO<\/p>\n

    We’re three miles out from hold, slow down. Miss Daizy.\u00a0 Please!!!!!<\/p>\n

    Nope, Miss Daizy and Bailey get caught up in the glory of racing and they’re hot on the heels of the 75 milers coming into base.\u00a0 We cantered right into base.\u00a0 We did 18 miles is exactly 2 hours flat.\u00a0 Still to freakin’ fast for my tastes.\u00a0 Since I have been competing Miss Daizy, I have not asked for, or allowed for, top speed on a ride.\u00a0 This is her second year competing and only her first year of doing 50 miles and I just want her to learn to complete them, not to race them.\u00a0 I was hoping to do a mid-pack 8 mph ride and have a lot of horse left over.\u00a0 My goal is to do a 100 mile ride with Kevin as my mentor and if Miss Daizy won’t learn to pace herself, then she won’t finish 100 miles.<\/p>\n

    &^%*%$^)*(&)(&*(*_)*+)+_)<\/p>\n

    I know this is going to be a long hold for me because her pulse is at 84 when we got into base.\u00a0 Good grief.\u00a0 I untack her and she’s eating everything in sight.\u00a0 Well, that’s not going to help her heart rate come down but I am never going to tell her not to eat. I took her over to the water trough and she did take a sip.\u00a0 Not a deep drink, just a sip.<\/p>\n

    Dang it.\u00a0 She needs to drink.<\/p>\n

    \"hold2\"<\/a>Cindy and Bailey already pulsed so I went in for Miss Daizy.\u00a0 She was at 68.\u00a0 I left the hold and immediately she peed – a big pee – a puddle making pee.\u00a0 Went back in and sure enough, pulse at 56.\u00a0 YAY.\u00a0 Hold #2 CRI 56\/50.\u00a0 She’s not really tired, but she is starting to question me on getting her saddle back on.<\/p>\n

    Bailey is not eating.\u00a0 Miss Daizy is eating everything in sight, including Bailey’s food (see the picture).\u00a0 She’s also eating his hay, which is quite funny as every horse that comes into hold loves Miss Daizy’s hay and they’re stealing bites.\u00a0 I don’t care!\u00a0 If your horse will eat my hay, then let him eat!<\/p>\n

    Now, at hold #2 there was some confusion … not just for me, but for Cindy as well.\u00a0 First, let me tell you how awesome Bailey is.\u00a0 He arrived at the hold and pulsed at the same time (according to her ride card) which is too funny.\u00a0 And with that said, her out time is WAY before mine.\u00a0 And when they calculated Miss Daizy’s out time, they did it wrong and Cate came to find me to get my card.\u00a0 Then they did it wrong again and Cate promptly ran it back to the timer to get yet a third out time for me.<\/p>\n

    chuckle<\/p>\n

    Okay – the speed hasn’t killed Miss Daizy yet.\u00a0 I am concerned that Cindy said Bailey had a slight shoulder issue when he was vetted and now he’s not eating.\u00a0 In fact, he’s kinda standing with his head drooped and eyes at half mast.\u00a0 Miss Daizy is busy busy busy, knocking over buckets, trying to get into everyone’s feed dishes and being a general nuisance.\u00a0 Love this Pegasus mare.<\/p>\n

    I am getting in the saddle to leave on the last loop and HERE COMES STEEL.<\/p>\n

    Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo<\/p>\n

    Steel immediately greets Miss Daizy and Kathy’s face looks like … well … like she just lost her best friend.<\/p>\n

    Oh man, couldn’t you have been two minutes later?\u00a0 Then we would have been gone already.\u00a0 Apparently, Steel didn’t get as crazy this time when we left because Kathy got her completion right away and Steel had A’s on her card and a good pulse and an excellent bouncy trot out.<\/p>\n

    \"Theresa<\/a>

    Theresa Ecker holding Steel for Kathy at the final hold.<\/p><\/div>\n

    YAY … thank you Kathy for riding her.\u00a0 She was very happy to get to come to the ride today, even if she was bad about missing Miss Daizy.\u00a0 Kathy and Steel finished 12th place out of 33 starts in the LD … and that’s after having to stay in hold a full 30 minutes to get her pulse down, and then have to wait another 45 minutes to go back out on trail.\u00a0 Steel must have been cranking out that last loop on her own.\u00a0 Kathy said they rode 90% of the last loop alone and Steel was remarkable as an alone horse.<\/p>\n

    I love Steel so much.\u00a0 She is the sweetest horse ever.<\/p>\n

    \"loop2\"<\/a>Okay, back to Miss Daizy.\u00a0 Here we are, Miss Daizy is like, “Hey!” … Out we go for the last loop (Blue Loop).\u00a0 Bailey starts out ahead of us but quickly drops back.\u00a0 Cindy makes the comment that he’s being lazy.\u00a0 LISTEN TO YOUR HORSE!\u00a0 I put Miss Daizy in front and set a nice easy 7 mph pace.\u00a0 I am happy at this speed.\u00a0 Cantering with trotting.\u00a0 This is a good way to finish the last loop.<\/p>\n

    Cindy is not content behind me at that speed and she puts Bailey in front.<\/p>\n

    sigh<\/p>\n

    We’re back up to 10 mph.<\/p>\n

    Bailey is working, but he looks tired.\u00a0 Miss Daizy is pounding the ground so hard my teeth clack together a couple times.\u00a0 She’s starting to get tired, too.<\/p>\n

    I push Miss Daizy out in front of Bailey and slow us down.\u00a0 At one point I ever stop us to a walk so I can drink my water.\u00a0 As soon as I’m done, Bailey gets out front and starts cranking us again.\u00a0 That didn’t last long and he dropped behind Miss Daizy.\u00a0 Cindy commented to Miss Daizy to keep Bailey moving.<\/p>\n

    Listen to your horse.<\/p>\n

    Blue Loop had a lot fo straight aways and no puddles to jump or weave in and out of.\u00a0 It was getting a bit on the boring side … long straight aisleways.\u00a0 The scenery was beautiful, but it was the same same same.\u00a0 In fact, it was so same that I thought we might have gotten turned around and doing the same trail again.<\/p>\n

    We were going along well but I was getting loopy from the Percacet I took at Hold #2 and though for sure I saw a turn arrow and then I didn’t see a turn.\u00a0 And there were no confidence markers for a good 1\/4 mile.\u00a0 I told Cindy we had to go back because I was SURE we saw a turn marker but we didn’t make a turn.\u00a0 (Remember, things are starting to look the same everywhere)<\/p>\n

    Stupid Percacet drugs. (grin)<\/p>\n

    Cindy was grumpy about it but she turned back.\u00a0 When we got to the turn marker I realized that we did (in fact) make a turn, I just didn’t realize it.\u00a0 Cindy grumbled about lost time and wasted a half a mile.<\/p>\n

    sigh<\/p>\n

    It’s never a waste to be sure.\u00a0 Just in case, don’t want to be off trail.\u00a0 Better to check it and add a half a mile then to be wrong and have to do even more miles.<\/p>\n

    Doesn’t matter.\u00a0 We’re on the home stretch and I have us set at a good pace of 7 mph.\u00a0 I tell Cindy that I want to slow jog (not even a trot) the last mile so we can start relaxing the horses.<\/p>\n

    DAMMIT!\u00a0 Here comes those 75 mile riders again.\u00a0 Blasting past us. Miss Daizy is racing again.<\/p>\n

    DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT.<\/p>\n

    (I do have to admit that I can’t wait until Miss Daizy is strong enough to work that hard!\u00a0 Those 75 milers were having a great time!)<\/p>\n

    Well, as we make the turn on the field, we see that there are still people sitting at the finish line.\u00a0 That means that we could possibly be in the top ten.\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 I had no clue where we were running in the pack.\u00a0 This is amazing, but not surprising considering how fast we were moving today.<\/p>\n

    TOO FREAKIN’ FAST.<\/p>\n

    We cross the finish line and we are 12th and 13th.<\/p>\n

    Not top ten but what an amazing finish.\u00a0 Fifty-five riders started the 50 mile ride.<\/p>\n

    I tell Cindy that we need to walk the horses but she’s wound up because they didn’t tie us for 12th.<\/p>\n

    It’s just a number.\u00a0 OMG.<\/p>\n

    She’s still trotting Bailey even though we already have our finish time.\u00a0 That’s it.\u00a0 I literally hop off Miss Daizy at the trot and make her walk next to me.\u00a0 I am going to pulse down and get my completion if it kills me.\u00a0 I’m walking along and Miss Daizy is actually pretty content walking next to me.\u00a0 I see Kyle in front of me and he thought we were in front of him.\u00a0 WOW, really, I am right behind the FEI riders?\u00a0 No way!<\/p>\n

    \"hold3\"<\/a>We walk into the hold and Miss Daizy is looking for food – not now, I hate to tell you that you can’t eat, but not now.\u00a0 We only have 30 minutes to get under pulse and I know you’re tired and your back is sore from pounding me all day and you’re not going to eat.\u00a0 I stand her at the water trough and she drinks … and drinks … and drinks … and I watch her belly swell up and she’s still drinking.<\/p>\n

    FINALLY!<\/p>\n

    I stand there.\u00a0 Miss Daizy leans her head on my chest and closes her eyes.\u00a0 I think Renee took a picture of that.\u00a0 I hope she did because it was the best part of the ride.\u00a0 Yes, I am a little weird that way.\u00a0 She looks horrible.\u00a0 Caked sweat and sand all over her body, her mane is a tragedy (like my own hair) and she just stands there with her head on my chest while we wait.<\/p>\n

    Kyle came over and talked to me while I was waiting on Bailey.\u00a0 I have sure missed Kyle.\u00a0 I was so glad to see him.\u00a0 He looks really good, happy and healthy and I’m so glad to see that.\u00a0 He’s always special to me.\u00a0 I taught him to play piano, I taught him to jump his horse, I gave him a start into endurance … and he’s like my own kid.<\/p>\n

    He owned Miss Daizy’s mom at one point and he was impressed to see Miss Daizy working so hard at endurance.\u00a0 He was also surprised by her little size when he stood next to her.\u00a0 At one point on Loop #1 we blasted right past Kyle and he said he tought she was bigger than she was based on her big ol’ trot going past him.<\/p>\n

    Kathy was helping us as crew and she ran to the trailer to get her HRM.\u00a0 She put it on Miss Daizy and she was down under 60.\u00a0 Good to go.\u00a0 I was riding on Pegasus all day and had a wonderful ride with very enjoyable company (Cindy!) and I was thrilled that we did the ride so quickly.\u00a0 I was sure Miss Daizy had that in her, I just wasn’t mentally prepared to ask that out of her (just yet).\u00a0 Love my little Pegasus!<\/p>\n

    I asked her to check Bailey because Cindy said his HR was still way up.\u00a0 Now, Cindy says that something was wrong with her HRM because it was hung at 72 with Bailey and she didn’t believe it.\u00a0 I think it was working jsut fine and Bailey was trying to tell her something.\u00a0 Cindy brought him over to go in so I walked Miss Daizy in with her.<\/p>\n

    Right at 60.\u00a0 The ride parameter was 64 so we are good to go.<\/p>\n

    By the time the vet was ready for us, she had dropped to 56.\u00a0 Her final CRI was 56\/60 … oh yes, she is tired but still in parameter so WE COMPLETED!!!!\u00a0 YAY!!!!!\u00a0 She was consistent with A’s and B’s in the same places all day.\u00a0 B on back, B on attitude, B on impulsion.\u00a0 Everything else was A’s.<\/p>\n

    I look over at Bailey doing his trot out and<\/p>\n

    OH NO OH NO OH NO<\/p>\n

    Visions of Muckleratz and BLB flash in front of my eyes and he gimps down and back.<\/p>\n

    NO NO NO NO NO<\/p>\n

    I walk over and Cindy looks near to tears.\u00a0 The vets are checking hom over and he appears to have a cramp inside his left rear leg.<\/p>\n

    They tell her it’s a 3 and they will give her half an hour to work on it and try to get him sound enough to complete.\u00a0 Cindy massages and walks and massages and walks but to no avail.\u00a0 He is cramped hard, or has pulled his inner muscle, and he does not get sound enough to complete.<\/p>\n

    Oh man.\u00a0 I feel her pain.\u00a0 I was pulled at OD after finishing 55 miles for lameness.\u00a0 I know how that feels to finish the ride only to not get a completion.<\/p>\n

    And this is Cindy.\u00a0 She is so strong in her competitive nature.\u00a0 This is got to be killing her.<\/p>\n

    It’s now 2:30 and I have plenty of time to pack up and go home…which I want to do because the wind is kicking up and it’s downright chilly to my tired body.\u00a0 I ask Kathy if she will help me pack up camp and she is eager to do so.\u00a0 We pack up in a record time of 30 minutes and I’m ready to rock n roll.<\/p>\n

    First, I pull out my boo-boo kit and clean off my thumb.\u00a0 It’s bad.\u00a0 I had wrapped it in vet wrap that Cindy gave me, and once I got it cleaned up I see that a bandaid isn’t gonna cut it.\u00a0 I find a little needle and I give myself three stitches.<\/p>\n

    OW OW OW<\/p>\n

    God.\u00a0 Good thing the boo-boo is on the right hand being as I’m left handed.\u00a0 I didn’t make too much of a mess of it.\u00a0 of course, I had to use my teeth to tie them off (germs) but they did stay in all night and the wound looks very clean and not read this morning.\u00a0 I completely forgot to take a picture of me giving myself stitches.\u00a0 You’ll just have to believe me on this one.<\/p>\n

    When I got home and stripped out of my riding clothes, I found two more boo boo’s.\u00a0 Apparently that tree took out my knee (bad scrape) and bruised my thigh (big purple bruise).\u00a0 I didn’t feel that at all.\u00a0 I know I’ll feel it tomorrow!!!!<\/p>\n

    (TOMORROW)<\/p>\n

    OH MY GOSH … I am sore.\u00a0 Thighs are screaming at me.\u00a0 Calves are screaming at me.\u00a0 And don’t touch that bruise because it’s on fire.<\/p>\n

    Other than that, I feel great and I’m in good spirits.\u00a0 My back survived the ground pounder Miss Daizy and her all day cantering.\u00a0 And she’s running around the field like she didn’t even do a 50 mile ride.<\/p>\n

    Wish I could do that the day after a 50 mile ride!!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I missed out on Jersey Devil two weeks ago due to ten days of fevers.\u00a0 Had five days running as high as 104.1, then three days with no fever, then three days running around 102.\u00a0 It is a mystery! Now, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":5162,"menu_order":11,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1952","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1952"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5199,"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1952\/revisions\/5199"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}