![\"weather\"](\"http:\/\/newpromisefarms.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/weather.jpg\")
<\/a>I chuckle to myself this morning as I start to put this ride story together because, just like No Frills, I am watching the weather apprehensively.\u00a0 Looks like rain on Friday, to camp in, then rain on Saturday and Sunday, to ride in.\u00a0 Let’s hope that the weather cooperates and we have glorious weather for May 16 and 17 at Huntingdon, PA.\u00a0 I do have to make a small documentation for future readers (like in 2020) … After a brutal winter of cold temps, we leaped from winter to summer after a brief three week spring.\u00a0 Temperatures the week before and week of Mother’s Day were in the upper 80’s, hitting 90 one day.\u00a0 Please notice I am not complaining about the rain for this ride as the temperatures are predicted to be in the mid to upper 80’s.\u00a0 I’m not at all thrilled to be at a two day ride in the rain (for three days) but it’s much\u00a0 better than to poor riders at the Jersey 100 CTR last weekend who competed in 90+ degree weather so soon in the season.<\/p>\nGROOMING FIRST:\u00a0 Thursday before the ride I got body slammed (six times) by a 200 pound dog while trying to get her shaved down for the summer.\u00a0 She was WAY matted and shaving was our only option.\u00a0 Of course, all that body slamming threw my back into a fit so Friday while I’m trying to get everything packed up and get on the road, my back is singing the “I HATE YOU” song.\u00a0 I am praying that the Tramadol prescription I got from my doctor gets me through two day of hard riding.\u00a0 I love the Glass Rides because the trail is either up or down, never flat and never ever boring.\u00a0 I have never worked on a dog that beat me up so badly, I must be losing my touch.<\/p>\n
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TRAVELING FIRST:\u00a0 I’d rather not give people ETA’s on when I’ll get to a ride because – well – you never know with Dodie-Time.\u00a0 I had three people waiting on me so I gave them an ETA of 4:00 pm.\u00a0 Remarkably, my morning went exactly as planned and I was on the road exactly when I wanted to be and I arrived in base camp exactly at 4:02 pm.<\/p>\n
It’s a miracle.<\/p>\n
Of course, (and this is not a first, but it is worth a mention) Poe made the entire 3 hour ride without incident until we hit the dirt roads coming into base camp.\u00a0 At that point, her tummy got upset from all the bouncing around and she puked in her seat just as I pulled into the base camp.<\/p>\n
Ewwwww<\/p>\n
Cindy greeted me as I pulled into camp and showed me where she was parked.\u00a0 I pulled behind her and Sallie along the tree line, thinking to park there.\u00a0 Before unloading anyone, I wanted to check in and get that out of the way.\u00a0 I also had to get Poe’s vomit out of the truck cab before I got sick and did my own vomiting.<\/p>\n
Ewwwww<\/p>\n
SHOE FIRST:\u00a0 I walked down to check in and I had on flip flops.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because last year at this ride, the ground was covered in these brambly thorny catch-your-ankle-and-trip-you vines and I wasn’t sure what to expect as I walked across the grounds.\u00a0 Count them – not one, not two, but seven people that I passed were like “WHOA!\u00a0 You have on shoes?\u00a0 Is it gonna snow?”\u00a0 Last year I came home with three embedded thorns in my foot that I didn’t know were there until Marc saw my feet up on the footstool and asked me if I wanted him to pull them out.<\/p>\n
(snort)<\/p>\n PARKING FIRST:\u00a0 Since I always get to camp late (by other rider’s standards) I never get a good parking spot. While I was checking in, Cheryl and LeeAnne came over to the pavilion, greeted me and pointed “LOOK” and there was a very large parking area right behind the check in, right next to the vet in, and it was all for me!<\/p>\n WHOO HOO<\/p>\n I went back to my rig and told Cindy I was abandoning her to go park be Cheryl and LeeAnne.\u00a0 It was next to the tree line and in the shade (which I knew we’d need tomorrow and Sunday) and it was FLAT so I wouldn’t roll out of my bed and bonk my head in the night.\u00a0 I drove down, backed in and promptly got started setting up camp.<\/p>\n Bonus!<\/p>\n Whoa!!!!<\/p>\n Normally it takes me a bit over an hour to set up camp then I have to get the horses checked in so I usually don’t get to sit down and relax for about an hour and a half.\u00a0 With Linda helping me, I had the camp set up, horses checked in and sat in a chair with a Cidre Ale in 45 minutes flat.<\/p>\n WHEEEE – thank you Linda!!!<\/p>\n FUSSING FIRST:\u00a0 When I found that the prickly brambly vines were not an issue this year, I promptly ditched the flip flops.\u00a0 When I went up to check in the horses, I was (indeed) barefooted.\u00a0 Of course I was, I am the original barefooter (before it was a fad, before it was cool, before it was scientifically proven to be better for your feet, legs and lower back) I have always been barefooted.\u00a0 In fact, I go places like auctions, farmers markets, etc and people will come up to me and ask if I am Dodie Sable. (snicker) because they recognize me by my bare feet and long braid.<\/p>\n Really?\u00a0 Show me the rule in the ECTRA book that says I must wear shoes and I will comply.\u00a0 And everyone knows me, stuff like their fussing usually just rolls off my back but Helen and Betty both had an edge in their voice, I was tired and just wanted to chillax, so it didn’t sit right with me.\u00a0 I “think” I was polite in my response to them, but I don’t know.\u00a0 Linda, who was right behind me with Steel in tow, asked me what that was all about.\u00a0 I waved it off with a smile, saying it was an on-going conversation between me and Helen.<\/p>\n One day, I *AM* going to compete a ride in my barefeet, just to get a reaction.<\/p>\n he he he he<\/p>\n About five people all showed up in my camp so we chatted a bit then went down for dinner.\u00a0 Food was a pot luck and there was so much food it was remarkable.\u00a0 Poe was the hit of the show as we sat on the stairs by the food line and everyone stopped to pet her while they waited for their turn at the grub.\u00a0 Poe was eating it up.\u00a0 A couple times people passed her without stopping to pet her and she looked like, “Hey!”\u00a0 which cracked me up.<\/p>\n Mmmmm – food.\u00a0 And of course, LeeAnne stole my dog. (That is not a first, that happens all the time!)<\/p>\n After the ride meeting, Linda helped me with everything from getting more water to setting up the hold stuff to throwing out hay for the horses.\u00a0 How nice to have a second set of hands.\u00a0 We were going to ride a little bit in the evening so she could try out Steel.\u00a0 Apparently, EVERYONE had been telling her that Steel was a sweetie and easy to ride and a no worries horses so by the time everything was done and we could go out, Linda decided to rely on the “word in camp” about Steel and just go for it in the morning.<\/p>\n FIRST FOR STEEL:\u00a0 Love it.\u00a0 Steel has her own reputation!\u00a0 And she outshines Miss Daizy in this category!<\/p>\n Kevin came over with Czar and visited with us for awhile.\u00a0 Czar kept sticking his head under the canopy to get involved in the conversation.\u00a0 Then he’d walk away and Kevin would have to move his chair.\u00a0 I commented that the chair needed wheels then it could just roll along with Czar’s travels.\u00a0 Kevin did NOT think that would be a good idea….I laughed, because I thought it would be!\u00a0 LeeAnne had her own version of a wake up call, it involves a flashlight, an evil grin and a sudden appearance at the window of your sleeping area.<\/p>\n Scary!<\/p>\n Everyone left and Cheryl and I sat there laughing and giggling and suddenly it got quiet in camp.<\/p>\n BEDTIME FIRST:\u00a0 Oops, I looked at my phone and it was 10:10 pm.\u00a0 Usually by 9:00 pm I am ready to turn in so I can toss and turn for seven hours before getting up at 4:00 am.\u00a0 Thank you Cheryl and Kevin and LeeAnne for such wonderful conversations.<\/p>\n Ride was going to start at 8:00 am so Buck said he’d give a 6:00 am wake up call.\u00a0 Linda asked me what time I’d be up so she could help me and when I told her I am usually awake about 4:30 or 5:00 every day anyway, and I didn’t expect her to get up that early, she was like .. Ooo Kaay … chuckle<\/p>\n And I was awake at 4:45 am.\u00a0 YAWN.\u00a0 I fed the horses and as they had drank their buckets dry overnight, I refilled them.\u00a0 Thank goodness Linda and I brought water back the night before.\u00a0 It is really humid when I get up and it’s like breathing under water.\u00a0 By the time I finished ten minutes of chores I was drenched in sweat and sticky.<\/p>\n yuck<\/p>\n Poe and I had some playtime while I waited for the coffee to be serves at the food pavilion.\u00a0 Betty said she’d have it there around 5:30 am.\u00a0 While we had some playtime, a nice doberman came over to visit with us and join in our playtime.\u00a0 I thought it was Renee’s dog, but I was not sure because I had seen several Dobermans at the ride the day before and it was still darkish so I couldn’t see the collar really clearly.\u00a0 It was all good, the doberman and Poe had a good workout playing.<\/p>\n Promptly at 5:31 am, Poe and I took a walk to fill my coffee mug.\u00a0 I get down there and the only people there are Betty and Helen *BUT* true to her word, the coffee is ready to go.\u00a0 I can smell it and it smells nice and strong – just the way I like it.<\/p>\n FUSSING AGAIN – ANOTHER FIRST:\u00a0 I’m filling my mug and Poe is sitting at my feet.\u00a0 She is an off-lead dog and she is very very well behaved.\u00a0 I brought her leash with me in case there were people milling about but we were all alone so I didn’t hook her up to it.\u00a0 So, she’s sitting there patiently waiting for me to add sugar and stir my coffee when Helen says (and not too nicely, either) “Why isn’t that leash on your dog?”<\/p>\n I was caught off guard … and good morning to you, too! I stammered a reply, “Oh, well, should I put it on?”<\/p>\n A very tert “YES!” was her response, then Betty chimed in, “It’s in your ride packet, dogs on leashes at all times.”<\/p>\n (sigh)<\/p>\n I became tense, (because I don’t usually get fussed at) which immediately put Poe on alert, so when I reached down to put her leash on, she scooted away from me and hid under the nearest picnic table looking at me like, “What did I do?\u00a0 I didn’t do it!”<\/p>\n Poor Poe.<\/p>\n I was going to sit there and eat a donut and wait for some people to come down for breakfast so I could visit, but now I’m just wanting to get as far away from this nonsense as possible.\u00a0 Had there been other people down here I would have died from embarrassment.\u00a0 Fortunately I was saved from that harrowing death as only one person had come down while I was there fixing my coffee.<\/p>\n How to start your day at the Glass Rides.<\/p>\n (double sigh)<\/p>\n As Poe and I are walking back up to our camp, several people pass us going down for breakfast and we made about six stops to “visit a bit” before getting back.\u00a0 That perked me up again and so I was back in my happy Dodie mode by the time Cheryl got up.<\/p>\n Thank you, Cheryl, for this lovely photo. Black dogs are so difficult to photograph and this is the only nice picture I have of Poe.<\/p><\/div>\n I want to insert a little Poe story here.\u00a0 She is just four months old at this ride.\u00a0 It is her second camping trip.\u00a0 She was a doll at The No Frills Ride last month, and at a mere three months old, she learned the camping routine.\u00a0 She learned it so well, that at the Glass Rides, she didn’t make one mistake.\u00a0 Not one.\u00a0 She was off lead the entire weekend (HA!) and never left the camp area, not once.\u00a0 Even when people came over with their own dogs, she would meet and greet then lay back down in her spot under my chair.\u00a0 When she had to potty she walked over behind the corrals (which she learned at No Frills, NEVER TO ENTER THE CORRALS), did her business, then came back to the chair and laid down.\u00a0 Everyone that visited my camp could not believe how calm and chillaxed she was about being there.\u00a0 Especially being a young puppy.\u00a0 Poe was bred by a Service Dog breeder and that breeder’s bloodline choices shine in Poe.\u00a0 She is calm, she is very very smart, and she is the best dog in the universe.\u00a0 I love her to pieces.\u00a0 When I left the camp, if I wanted her to stay there I told “Wait Here” and she stayed under the canopy.\u00a0 If I wanted to to come with me, I said “Come On Let’s Go” and she got up and followed me where ever I went.\u00a0 Four months old.\u00a0 What a very precious girl she is.<\/p>\n A POE FIRST:\u00a0 One more little thing that was very endearing, as I was packing up camp, she would watch me.\u00a0 When the canopy disappeared, it was her cue to come and find me.\u00a0 Which she did on several occasions as I disappeared\u00a0 behind the truck or the trailer.\u00a0 Funny thing was, when she found me, she acted all proud of herself like, “Look, I found you so you’re not lost any more.”\u00a0 At one point I was in the trailer and since the corral panels were down, she knew she could go in.\u00a0 I had my back to the opening and felt a cold nose on the back of my knee.\u00a0 I turned to look and upon making eye contact with her, she immediately went into her Happy Dance of “I found\u00a0 you!”.\u00a0 It was so cute!!!!\u00a0 I guess we have learned a new game now.\u00a0 Find The Lady!<\/p>\n Back to the ride story.\u00a0 (Thank you for allowing my small Poe story!)<\/p>\n So, Linda and LeeAnne are out on trail around 8:15.\u00a0 Cheryl, Cindy and I are out on trailer around 8:45. (Our official out time was 8:48) I had asked Betty to separate Steel and Miss Daizy starts by half an hour so Steel would ride with Jack and not worry about Miss Daizy.\u00a0 Betty did a good job!\u00a0 Half an hour on the nose.\u00a0 Thank you Betty, this will help Steel keep focused on her job and not on her usual “Where is Miss Daizy” separation anxiety attacks.<\/p>\n About 7:20 Linda asks me about tacking up Steel.\u00a0 I tell her my normal routine for them is tack up 15 minutes, get on and walk around before going out on trail.\u00a0 Especially because although not overly warm, it is humid as hell.\u00a0 As I am talking about this I am watching black clouds heading towards us.<\/p>\n What the heck?\u00a0 The weather channel said no rain until the afternoon.\u00a0 THEY LIED!\u00a0 Within 10 minutes of saying “hold off a bit” to Linda, the sky opened up and it rained.\u00a0 We huddled under my canopy and watched everyone making a mad dash to get their saddles covered.<\/p>\n It didn’t rain long, maybe 20 minutes, but when that sun came back out the air was like soup.\u00a0 We got Steel dressed and ready to go and out they went at 8:13 am.\u00a0 Cheryl and I had half an hour so we took our time dressing up Crash and Miss Daizy.<\/p>\n argh – I can’t breathe.<\/p>\n We get on our horses and Bailey and Crash are standing so quietly, waiting, while Miss Daizy does circles around everyone.\u00a0 She is calm but refuses to stand still or even eat some grass.\u00a0 She knows.\u00a0 She’s ready.\u00a0 She’s gonna eat up that trail.<\/p>\n Love this mare.<\/p>\n TIME:\u00a0 Let ‘er rip!\u00a0 I had told Cindy about Crash’s fast starts and not to crowd him because that would put him out of control.\u00a0 Miss Daizy decided she HAD to be second (or else) and she cut off Bailey at his every attempt to move forward.\u00a0 Sorry Cindy, Miss Daizy is very rude, I know.<\/p>\n The first two miles is an out and back on a dirt road.\u00a0 Do not ask me what the scenery was like because in the first mile, we were blasting through a little single track to get on the dirt road, and the leaves were wet from the rain, and Miss Daizy is trying to keep up with Crash.\u00a0 She slipped in the leaves and went down on her front knees, which twisted my already complaining back and set it on fire.<\/p>\n DAMMIT<\/p>\n SADDLE DIFFICULTY FIRST:\u00a0 And my saddle was loose, which is probably what precipitated the twist in my back when she went down.\u00a0 I can’t get a balance while ripping through this little single track because the saddle goes left, then the saddle goes right …<\/p>\n ARGH<\/p>\n At the time we left the single track and entered onto the dirt road I asked Cheryl and Cindy to stop.\u00a0 I hop off and adjust the girth.\u00a0 TWO HOLES … how the heck did I miss that when I tacked up?\u00a0 I never ever have a loose saddle on Miss Daizy going out.\u00a0 First the dog, now the saddle … I am losing it!<\/p>\n That first five miles flew by as Crash “crashed” down the trail at his 90 mph.\u00a0 Miss Daizy was in her “Happy Arab Road Trot” and because my back was screaming in agony, I couldn’t relax and get into her rhythm.\u00a0 I was pounding her back something terrible and I felt really badly about it because (once again) I am riding her in this treeless saddle which is not good for her … or me.<\/p>\n I HAVE GOT TO FIND A SADDLE FOR HER AND SOON!!!!!!!\u00a0 She got a terrible rub at No Frills and some white hairs popped up on her right side where I ride crooked after that ride.\u00a0 I have been searching and searching and I have some money set aside, but I still do not have a saddle that fits her.<\/p>\n Whew.<\/p>\n All three horses are blowing.\u00a0 It is hot and very very humid. We stayed here about five minutes and let them catch their breath.\u00a0 This area is a nice view of the valley and mountains.\u00a0 It is breath taking to see!<\/p>\n And they’re off.\u00a0 From this point until three miles before the hold, there is little to no water.\u00a0 We are having serious lack of rain in our state and although Texas is building an Ark as they’ve had over 18 inches of rain this past two weeks, we are doing rain dances praying to every god we know about to get some rain.\u00a0 Where there is usually little creek flows in the hollers, it’s just muddy with no water access.\u00a0 It’s bad because Miss Daizy is looking for water about mile eight and there just isn’t any.<\/p>\n We crossed the trail where it “X” – we had went across this section earlier in the ride and I see Sallie going down as we’re coming across.\u00a0 She’s with a group of horses behind us, she’s riding tail in the group so I slow long enough to greet her and Ivan and wish them a good ride.\u00a0 I tell her that water is at a minimum so suck up anything they find out there!\u00a0 She’s smiling and happy and we give each other “air hugs” as we pass.<\/p>\n FIRST WET TEE SHIRT CONTEST:\u00a0 My shirt is stuck to me from sweat, and since I don’t wear a bra when I ride because they chafe and give me rashes, I am looking down at my chest and see I am creating my own little “wet tee shirt contest”.\u00a0 My girls are shining through the wet yellow material and – Oh Well.<\/p>\n chuckle<\/p>\n We come into the hospitality water stop which is three miles out from the hold.\u00a0 Thank God!\u00a0 Miss Daizy drinks a half a tub of water all by herself.\u00a0 She sucked it down.\u00a0 WOW!\u00a0 I watched the water level dropping and wondered how we would slosh ourselves through the last three miles.\u00a0 I got off and sponged her and the water was wonderfully cold.\u00a0 Of course, sponging her meant sponging myself as well because she won’t hold still for sponging, so the wet tee shirt contest got very very interesting at this point.<\/p>\n oops<\/p>\n We stayed here for a good 10 minutes and I didn’t care.\u00a0 We were rolling along at a very good clip so we had plenty of time.<\/p>\n Off we go for the last three miles into base camp.\u00a0 The sun was out in full force and the humidity levels were outrageous.\u00a0 I was hitting my water bottles with the NUUN tablet in them and by the time we reached hold at 11:04 am, both bottles were empty.\u00a0 I then drank another full bottle of ice cold water that Justin gave me AND I drank an iced tea and I ate a yogurt and I ate a ham and cheese sandwich and I ate two oreo cookies.<\/p>\n GO ME!\u00a0 I am determined not to dehydrate like I did at No Frills.<\/p>\n Oh bummer!<\/p>\n So while I was making ready to go back out on trail, Crash was resting and Cheryl was doing everything she could to get him cool.\u00a0 Not easy to do when he was standing in the full sun.\u00a0 Poor Crash.\u00a0 (UPDATE:\u00a0 Crash was fine and Cheryl packed up and left while I was out on the second loop.\u00a0 She updated me when she got home that all was right in Crash’s world!)<\/p>\n THE HOLD FIRST:\u00a0 I have never (not ever) seen so many horses inverted in my life.\u00a0 Every horse in the hold was panting, and panting hard!\u00a0 The thermometers were getting a work out.\u00a0 This is even worse that the one Green Lane ride in 2004 where the temps were in the upper 90’s with 80% humidity.\u00a0 Anyone who was at that ride will remember that over half the horses were pulled or over time and the ride was a heat nightmare.\u00a0 Miss Daizy pulsed in at 56\/24 … not bad.\u00a0 She had been panting up a storm so I was relieved to see her breathing was at 24.\u00a0 I had heard that on the first loop three horses were pulled off trail and in the hold seven horses were disqualified or rider option pulled.\u00a0 I am amazed at the hard breathing I am seeing on every horse in the hold.\u00a0 Even Miss Daizy is at 24, which is about double her normal range for a first hold.<\/p>\n WOW<\/p>\n This trail is brutal, even in good cool weather like last year (where we were freezing at the start) because there is no flat anywhere except the first two miles of service road.\u00a0 It is either up or down and this isn’t long slow pulls, they are short steep pulls.\u00a0 The horses have to work hard at this ride to stay on time.\u00a0 I love this trail because it is so challenging.<\/p>\n I had passed Cindy in the hold area as she was walking Bailey out of her vet check.\u00a0 I knew Crash was being pulled and I told her Crash was pulled we were going out again without Cheryl.\u00a0 Cindy is parked up the hill from us so I was thinking Cindy would come down for me when it was time to go out.\u00a0 Imagine my surprise as I was getting ready to tack up Miss Daizy and I looked up to see Cindy leaving on trail.<\/p>\n sob<\/p>\n I’ve been abandoned.<\/p>\n Well okay, the name of this game is “Ride Your Own Ride” and I knew Cindy wasn’t very happy on the first loop with the pace we were setting.\u00a0 I got this.<\/p>\n MISS DAIZY FIRST.\u00a0 To date, I have not ridden her alone.\u00a0 She’s always had a buddy.\u00a0 This should be interesting to see if she is still the go-go horse when she’s alone.\u00a0 Actually, let’s see if she will even go out on trail alone.<\/p>\n (For those of you that do not know Miss Daizy … here’s another short story)\u00a0 I became Miss Daizy’s new riding partner after her breeder\/owner decided enough was enough.\u00a0 Miss Daizy would go out for a mile by herself, then stop and refuse to go any more.\u00a0 This because a habit with her and the frustration level for Renee was too much.\u00a0 After I got Miss Daizy, I did find that a 5 mile trek by ourselves could take as long as three hours as she would go a mile, then stop and refuse.\u00a0 I’d light a cigarette, drink some water, and wait her out.\u00a0 We always finished the ride but never well.\u00a0 I got so I would dread taking her out alone.\u00a0 After the first season of competing, she did get better at riding alone on trail and by the end of last year I could go do a 10 mile loop with her alone and pretty much finish it without stopping.\u00a0 We weren’t fast, when she’s alone she does this little slow trot like, “This is boring” and 10 miles can take us two hours.<\/p>\n Okay, I set my mind to being happy on the second loop, even though I’m riding alone, and I also set my mind to letting Miss Daizy figure it out on her own.\u00a0 I am out on trail at 11:44, which means I have 2 hours and 11 minutes to finish this loop and still be at the maximum time of 5 hours and 10 minutes.\u00a0 I’m thinking if she is going to do this loop at her slow 5 mph jog, we are going to be in trouble for time.\u00a0 I’m half hoping that we can catch up to Cindy who is only about 10 minutes in front of us.<\/p>\n I have to make mention here in the story of some things I heard from MANY people that were pulled at this first hold.\u00a0 And there were many!\u00a0 People in the hold area would do a HR monitor check on their horse and then call for on official one.\u00a0 They would have a digital reading of high 40’s to low 50’s and when the volunteers came over, their horses were in the 60’s.\u00a0 Many people – like 14 people told me this.\u00a0 ALSO, on three horses that were pulled due to temperature being over 103 (instant disqualification by ECTRA rules) they were back to back to back and they didn’t feel their horses were that hot and when they went back to their camp and checked temperature for themselves, their horses were not high at all.\u00a0 They started wondering if the people madly running around with thermometers were remembering to shake them back down after they finished with the horse.\u00a0 Because a horse’s temperature will not drop from 103 to 100 in the 30 seconds it takes to walk back to your camp area.<\/p>\n This got me to thinking while I was riding alone.\u00a0 And yes, riding alone gives a person lots of time to think about things.\u00a0 Why doesn’t ECTRA use digital Heart Monitors and digital thermometers?\u00a0 It is much more accurate that a person trying to count for 15 seconds while the horse is moving around or other horses are making commotion.\u00a0 And a digital thermometer would automatically reset itself each time so there could be no “accidental bad readings”.<\/p>\n Just a thought<\/p>\n Okay, hold time is over, Miss Daizy is saddled up and I have been abandoned by both my riding partners so I’m going it alone.\u00a0 And they’re off.<\/p>\n Miss Daizy is like … “WHAT????” and she’s turning to look back at base camp as I’m trying to turn her to go out on the trail.\u00a0 Finally I yelled at her to “Stop it already and get your ass in gear.”<\/p>\n Her ears went up, her eyes went big and she went down the driveway.\u00a0 (I’m told by two people that saw us leaving that when I yelled at her, they heard me all over the camp – grin – and Miss Daizy immediately threw her tail over her back and beat-feet to get going.\u00a0 They were highly amused!<\/p>\n It’s not a first, but I don’t often yell at her so she was quite surprised!<\/p>\n Trotting trotting trotting, jogging jogging, jogging – 5 mph.<\/p>\n sigh<\/p>\n We come up on two horses on that little single track where she fell and twisted my back.\u00a0 The horse behind has RED RIBBON in the tail. (means kicker, for those of you that don’t know)<\/p>\n Oh shit.<\/p>\n Miss Daizy perks up seeing horses in front of her, and she’s a crowder so I’m spending all my time trying to keep a two horse distance between us and the red ribbon.\u00a0 Fortunately for me, they pull off the side of the trail and let me pass.\u00a0 I’m thinking that Miss Daizy will get out front then slow down to keep them in view.<\/p>\n Actually, passing them perked her up a bit like she thought she was winning or something.<\/p>\n snort<\/p>\n I can hardly breathe.\u00a0 The air is so thick with humidity and the heat rising off Miss Daizy is cloying.\u00a0 I keep telling myself drink drink drink.\u00a0 I had reloaded my saddle pack at the hold with two bottles of half and half water\/gaterade and three miles into the trail I was already hitting them hard.\u00a0 About the time I took a second pull from my water bottle it occurred to me that I had no watch for time.<\/p>\n NOT A FIRST because I never wear a watch and tend to make speed decisions based on my own internal clock (and asking my riding partner what time it is as a double check) but here I am on trail, alone and about the time I realized I was going to run out of water before the loop was over, I also realized that I had no way to tell the actual time.\u00a0 I knew when I left the base camp that I had 2 hours and 11 minutes to finish within the maximum time frame.\u00a0 If Miss Daizy keeps working at her “I donna wanna go by myself” 5 mph trot, we’re gonna be screwed on time, for sure.<\/p>\n Once we got off the road and into the woods, Miss Daizy perked up and we were moving along at a good 8 mph.\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 Couple times she even broke into a nice rolling canter and moved along nicely.\u00a0 Funny thing, these trails criss cross, and run switchbacks side to side so occasionally I would catch glimpses of Cindy in her bright orange through the trees.\u00a0 I kept thinking I would catch her, but I never did.\u00a0 Turns out later that I came in two minutes behind her.\u00a0 LOL – that means that Miss Daizy made up eight of those ten minutes.<\/p>\n What a good horsie.<\/p>\n So we’re trotting along and I’m listening to my bells and I’m actually enjoying myself quite a bit and we’re coming up on that “X” crossing … and who is coming down the trail but …<\/p>\n Seriously?\u00a0 We have to stop meeting like this.\u00a0 She is alone, I am alone, so we stop and chit chat for a minute or two.\u00a0 We comment on how bizarre it is that we saw each other on trail at exactly the same place on both loops.\u00a0 Miss Daizy is very happy to see another horse.\u00a0 We haven’t seen any horses since we passed that group going out.\u00a0 I am happy to see Sallie and Ivan are doing well.\u00a0 They were very very hot at the half way hold.<\/p>\n So we cross the trail and Miss Daizy is like. “Wait, can’t I follow Ivan?”\u00a0 I tell her no, not unless she wants to do an extra five miles on this loop.<\/p>\n snicker<\/p>\n After leaving Sallie, Miss Daizy is doing her 5 mph jog again.\u00a0 She’s not happy leaving the only horse in the world on this trail.\u00a0 She is certain that she is going to die without another horse to lead.\u00a0 She keeps looking over her should in the direction that Ivan went.<\/p>\n DAMMIT<\/p>\n Pretty soon we come up on the back side of the three mile water stop and I see buckets on this side of the barrier.<\/p>\n BUCKETS!\u00a0 YAY!<\/p>\n We have not had any water at all for six miles.\u00a0 All the muddy creek crossings have been sucked dry and there are no puddles.\u00a0 I know because we did actually stop at a couple of them and walk up and down looking for a little water to suck up.\u00a0 Judging by the large amount of hoof prints up and down this creeklets, other riders had the same idea.\u00a0 I hope they had better luck than us in finding some water.<\/p>\n Miss Daizy literally RUNS to those buckets and starts drinking and drinking.\u00a0 She sucked the first bucket (which was about halfway) to the bottom then quickly dunked her head into the second bucket and was drinking and drinking.\u00a0 I got off and waited for her to finish then started sponging her.<\/p>\n For the FIRST TIME since I’ve been riding her, she didn’t dance around complaining about being sponged.\u00a0 Seriously, she stood still as a rock and didn’t move.\u00a0 That never happens.\u00a0 She hates to be sponged.\u00a0 She hates it so much that I can usually only get two sponges on her at creek crossings because she runs out of the water so I will stop torturing her with the water.<\/p>\n I didn’t want to hang here because I knew it was two miles down and back up to get to the other side of the barrier and into the three mile water stop.\u00a0 I was heating up myself just standing there so I knew it was bad for Miss Daizy.\u00a0 I had emptied both of my water bottles already and I knew I could get a refill when we got over to the other side.<\/p>\n Oh man, now Miss Daizy doesn’t want to leave the buckets.\u00a0 She knows on the other side of that barrier is goodies.\u00a0 I ask a volunteer if I could have a couple carrots for Miss Daizy and she climbed over the barrier to give her some.<\/p>\n THANK YOU VOLUNTEER!\u00a0 You made Miss Daizy’s day!<\/p>\n And they’re off.<\/p>\n Down the hill we go and that water really perked up Miss Daizy.\u00a0 She’s doing her 12 mph downhill trot.\u00a0 (Remember her new nickname, Downhill Daizy?)\u00a0 We are beating feet, down and down and we make the turn to head back up the hill and she’s like …<\/p>\n NO!<\/p>\n Oh no .. not this.<\/p>\n She stops halfway up the long hill and says …<\/p>\n NO!<\/p>\n Oh shit.<\/p>\n She puts her head to the ground and she’s panting hard.\u00a0 I can feel her sides beating on my legs and I decide we can just stand there as long as she needs.\u00a0 I am not going to kill my horse just to make time.\u00a0 As a matter of fact, I have no idea what the time is anyway, so who cares.<\/p>\n She’s panting and panting and the heat coming off her is making me nauseous.\u00a0 I ask her to walk, because at least walking will stop that heat coming right up at me.\u00a0 Remarkably, she agrees with me that she can walk.\u00a0 We walk that long hill to the top, cross out onto the field and she can see the water stop so she perks up and trots up to it.<\/p>\n And she drinks and drinks.\u00a0 I beg a refill on my water bottles and promptly drink one straight down.<\/p>\n Ahhhhhh and it’s cold …<\/p>\n I decide to see if I can dunk my sponge without getting off.\u00a0 Will she stand or won’t she, that is the question.<\/p>\n Nope, not happening.\u00a0 I guess the last sponging was a fluke.\u00a0 Or maybe she was asleep.<\/p>\n As soon as I dunk that sponge and go to squeeze it on her she’s like, “I’m out of here.”<\/p>\n And she RACED away from the water hold.\u00a0 We cantered for the next mile and a\u00a0 half with little effort.\u00a0 She was in heaven because LOOKEE THERE another horse.<\/p>\n Wait … stop … slow down Miss Daizy … see the RED RIBBON.\u00a0 Yep, we came up on yet another horse with a red ribbon.\u00a0 I asked her to back off and she did.<\/p>\n Whoa.\u00a0 A FIRST.<\/p>\n And she held that two horse distance without me asking her again.\u00a0 She didn’t crowd that red ribbon mare nor did she try to pass her and she was on a loose rein, trotting about 8 mph.<\/p>\n WHOA.\u00a0 YET ANOTHER FIRST.<\/p>\n Alrighty then.<\/p>\n I wanted to walk in the last mile but Miss Daizy had other thoughts on that.\u00a0 The red ribbon mare pulled over and we passed.\u00a0 Miss Daizy was hollering like crazy because that last mile is around base camp and I could hear Steel screaming.\u00a0 Then Miss Daizy screamed.\u00a0 Then Steel screamed.\u00a0 And it was a screaming fest.<\/p>\n gawd<\/p>\n So we came into hold (and I looked for the timer’s clock with great trepedation.\u00a0 I felt that we had made it in time, it felt like we were out there roughly two hours, but I have no watch so I don’t know for sure.)\u00a0 WOW!\u00a0 Finished with 2 minutes to spare.\u00a0 Yep, I made the maximum time by two minutes, riding alone the second loop, with no watch to keep me in line with time.<\/p>\n Amazing!<\/p>\n I get my final day slip and go down to the trailer so the two screaming mimi’s would shut the *&^%^$ up.<\/p>\n I put Miss Daizy under the trees with her slurry, sponged her off a bit and checked her HR.\u00a0 She was at 52.\u00a0 Okay.\u00a0 We’re golden.<\/p>\n I let Poe out of her crate.\u00a0 Cheryl locked Poe up when she broke camp and left so Poe wouldn’t get a fine for being off leash.<\/p>\n chuckle<\/p>\n Linda came over and asked if she should bring Steel up with Miss Daizy.<\/p>\n I MADE A MISTAKE (DEFINITELY NOT A FIRST, i MAKE MISTAKES ALL THE TIME) when I said “No. Miss Daizy won’t care.”<\/p>\n Well, Steel set to screaming as we left to go get our final PR which set off Miss Daizy and while they’re trying to get her PR, she’s jumping on my head, half knocked me out, and body slammed the poor volunteer trying to take her pulse and it was 70.<\/p>\n WHAT?????<\/p>\n *&^%*&%$$^%$^&)(*&)(<\/p>\n I go to the vet, explain the situation, he checks her and she’s at 66 … back to get Linda and Steel, then go back to the PR for her pulse and it’s 64.<\/p>\n Better.<\/p>\n Then I go back to the vet and it’s 56.\u00a0 We do our safety check trot out and she’s golden to continue for the next day.<\/p>\n YAY!\u00a0 I am a bit worried about her back, and I had asked Betty when I came in for the first hold if it was too late to change to the 25 for the day – at which point Betty (who is probably hot, tired, and worried with all these horses coming in inverted) was a bit terse with me and said, “Yes, Dodie.\u00a0 You would have had to tell me BEFORE you started the day.”<\/p>\n Well, I was pretty sure, being an RM and ECTRA Rep, that I couldn’t change, but gosh, Betty – it never hurts to ask!<\/p>\n Alright.\u00a0 I decide that I am going to ride her in the Abetta saddle the next day to try and save her back.\u00a0 As Linda and I get back to the camp and we put them away, she tells me that she had already pulled Steel from riding the second day.<\/p>\n OH NO … why?\u00a0 Did she do something wrong?\u00a0 Was she not a good girl for you?\u00a0 Linda did say she had a most remarkable ride on Steel and she is a grand horse to take down trail.\u00a0 She said she even peed in the hold (A FIRST FOR STEEL!\u00a0 We cannot get Steel to pee while she’s working so WHA HOO!)\u00a0 She Linda asked me if there was anything she could do and I said, “Nope, just let me set these guys up, wash myself in a bucket, put on some cooler clothes and sit for a bit.”\u00a0 I must have been a bit terse because she promptly vanished.\u00a0 I’m sorry Linda!\u00a0 I didn’t mean to run you off.\u00a0 I was distracted in my head thinking on what I could do to save Steel from a certain disaster.<\/p>\n I was parked next to Corrine, who lives across the street from Paula (where I keep my horses).\u00a0 I knew she had an empty stall in her trailer because the third horse that was supposed to come along was not happy to be in the trailer, so they left her home.\u00a0 I ask Corrine if she can take Steel home.\u00a0 She quickly agrees.<\/p>\n OKAY, we’re saved.<\/p>\n So I’m sitting there chillaxing with Poe and Corrine is getting worried about Tiffany and her mare.\u00a0 They came in with a minute to spare and her mare is not pulsing down.\u00a0 Corrine comes over and says, “We’re not going home tonight, I don’t want to haul a horse that might be having trouble.”<\/p>\n sigh<\/p>\n I ask LeeAnne if she is going home tonight and she says, Nope, staying here tonight and going home in the morning.”<\/p>\n Okay.\u00a0 No trailer ride for Steel to go home.\u00a0 I go find Betty and and ask if she knows someone that might want to ride tomorrow.\u00a0 Betty is definitely being stressed today and she gives me a quick, “No!”<\/p>\n Okay.\u00a0 I decide that this must be my cue to go home.<\/p>\n When the stars align, you must follow them.\u00a0 I’m already not happy about beating up on Miss Daizy’s back in the treeless saddle and if Steel has no rider for tomorrow and no trailer ride home, then I am being told to go.\u00a0 Just go!<\/p>\n MY FIRST RIDER OPTION:\u00a0 I get it.\u00a0 I listen to all those signs and I go up and pull Miss Daizy from her two day ride.\u00a0 Everyone up there is like “WHY???? She was fine!!!!”\u00a0 I say I am not happy with the weather, I am not happy with my saddle and I have a second horse that will not be happy to be left behind tomorrow.<\/p>\n Salllie was at the vet when I went up and she asked me to trot out Ivan for her.<\/p>\n SURE!<\/p>\n However, Ivan was like, “You’re not the boss of me.” and he wouldn’t do the circles.\u00a0 Dean hopped through the fence and encouraged Ivan to let me be the boss of him so I did help Sallie get her final vetting done.<\/p>\n Then Sallie was like “Why are you pulling???”\u00a0 I told her about the problem I was having with saddles and even though I loved my new Orthoflex, the panels were too long for Miss Daizy.\u00a0 She marched right down to my trailer, pulled that saddle apart and showed me how to cut the panels shorter so I could use it on MIss Daizy!<\/p>\n I AM SO EXCITED!\u00a0 My FIRST saddle modification.\u00a0 I made good mental notes and I will have my handy dandy husband use his magic dremel to to the modifications.\u00a0 I will test that out next weekend and see if that works for Miss Daizy.<\/p>\n THANK YOU THANK YOU SALLIE!<\/p>\n So I start packing camp.\u00a0 Linda sees me and comes over (I guess she wasn’t THAT scared.)\u00a0 I tell her I decided that to pull Miss Daizy.\u00a0 Linda gets all sad and I tell her not to worry.\u00a0 I’m not like that, and it’s all good.\u00a0 And I mean it but Linda is still very sad and she feel like she ruined my weekend.<\/p>\n NOT AT ALL!<\/p>\n LINDA!\u00a0 I had a most remarkable weekend.\u00a0 I had many firsts and I visited with tons of people I haven’t seen since last year and I had a great time on trail and Steel and Miss Daizy performed most excellently given the weather and trail conditions.\u00a0 I am not sad at all.\u00a0 I am most happy!<\/p>\n Linda helped me pack up.\u00a0 God, I love having a second set of hands!\u00a0 It makes it so easy.<\/p>\n Adrienne pulled in where Cheryl and Crash had been parked and her new rig is awesome!\u00a0 Miss Daizy greeted Zayna like they had just seen each other yesterday, not last year.\u00a0 So cute.\u00a0 Adrienne started setting up as I was breaking down.\u00a0 I tell her that I’m leaving and she’s like, “WHY????? We were going to ride together tomorrow because no-one but Miss Daizy likes Zayna.”\u00a0 It breaks my heart to be disappointing so many people.\u00a0 I tell her the stars aligned story and she’s like, “WHY????”<\/p>\n While we’re packing it starts to drizzle.\u00a0 I’m trying to get stuff into the trailer and back of the truck as quickly as possible so that it doesn’t get wet.\u00a0 I broke camp in a record 30 minutes.<\/p>\n ANOTHER FIRST!!!!!\u00a0 Whoo Hoo, thank you Linda!<\/p>\n I load them up and head out.\u00a0 I was stopped twice on my way out, people asking me “WHY??? Miss Daizy was looking so good!!!” So (of course) I had to explain how the stars lined up and sent me packing.<\/p>\n Now, it’s the next day as I write this story, I look at the weather for the ride Sunday.\u00a0 At 8:45 am, riders are out on trail in rain.\u00a0 And the rain is expected to go all day long.\u00a0 The people who actually finished the ride said they were rained on all day.\u00a0 Good for keeping the horses cool on that trail but bad for making a rider miserable. (Especially me!)<\/p>\n I get on the road and settle into my three hour drive with some good tunes.\u00a0 Corrine is behind me.\u00a0 They decided to go ahead and haul home tonight because Tiffany’s mare recovered and she was eating and drinking and peeing so they felt it was safe to travel\u00a0 her.<\/p>\n See?\u00a0 Even though Steel could have went home with them, the stars aligned.<\/p>\n I’m so glad they were behind me.\u00a0 I got out onto route 522 and we’re open to 4 lanes so I’m moving right along then<\/p>\n KA-BLAM<\/p>\n What the???<\/p>\n sigh – Yep, you guessed it, A FIRST.\u00a0 Well, in theory, it’s all LeeAnne’s fault.\u00a0 My trailer was trying to keep up with her trailer.<\/p>\n snort<\/p>\n I have the world’s best husband.\u00a0 Why do I bring this up now?\u00a0 Because he insists I check my spare tire each and every time I get into the truck to drive it, and I do.\u00a0 He also set my truck up with every conceivable tool I might need for an emergency and it’s all packed within easy access so I don’t have to unpack anything to get at these items I might need.\u00a0 That’s why!<\/p>\n I get out the trailer helper and set it in front of the good tire, ready to roll up on.\u00a0 I get out the cross bar and proceed to take off the spare tire.\u00a0 While I’m doing that here comes Corinne.\u00a0 They pull in behind me and her dear sweet husband makes my day as he takes over the tire changing.<\/p>\n WOW!<\/p>\n He did comment that it was lucky I had all those tools because he didn’t have anything in his trailer to help me.<\/p>\n Uh oh … Corinne comments that now it will be their turn to get a blow out.\u00a0 I said, well then, let me drive home behind YOU just in case.\u00a0 She took a picture of us changing the tire to send to LeeAnne.\u00a0 I asked her for that picture so at some point it will get posted here.<\/p>\n chuckle<\/p>\n 15 minutes spare is on and we’re on the road again.\u00a0 I decide I have to pee out some of that five gallons of water I put in my body, so at the 322 split, I ran into town to hit a bathroom while Corinne’s rig passed me by and traveled on down the road.<\/p>\n Good, now I’ll be far enough behind them that if they DO blow a tire, I will be able to stop and lend my tools.<\/p>\n double chuckle<\/p>\n And I’m back on the road and arrive home without further ado.\u00a0 Poe didn’t puke, the horses didn’t collapse, and I had everything unpacked and put away by 9:00 pm.<\/p>\n I still have an hour before my bath time.<\/p>\n It was a good two days.\u00a0 And the very bestest news of all is … I did not dehydrate myself, I felt good after the ride and I feel great the day after.\u00a0 My back is bothering me, but I blame that on the 200 pound dog that body slammed me on Thursday.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I am titling this story “A RIDE OF FIRSTS” This is the last year for The Glass Rides.\u00a0 Many of you will remember back in the day when Betty hosted two rides a year, one in the spring and one … Continue reading <\/a>I have to post this little picture here because at the same time I was arriving at camp (oh yes, the time stamp on Facebook proves it) Destiny posted this meme on my daughter Naoma’s FB wall and said, “I thought of your momma when I saw this so I’m sharing.”\u00a0 How appropriate!\u00a0 And to think that people ALWAYS think of me and my bare feets!<\/p>\n<\/a>CAMPING FIRST:\u00a0 Usually I arrive in camp with my two horses and do not I see Dom until the next morning as she rolls in late at night after doing a full day’s work then driving xxx hours to get to the ride.\u00a0 So, it is me and my invisible crew setting up camp for the two horses.\u00a0 As I pulled the horses off the trailer, Linda magically appears at my side and says, “What can I do for you?”<\/p>\n<\/a>With that said, I was coming back from vetting in and Helen saw me walking out of the ring with my horse and no shoes and promptly gave me the “what for” because there are children around and I need to set an example by wearing proper foot attire.\u00a0 She has “mentioned” this to me before at other rides, but today she was a bit on the “testy side” about it and I did not appreciate being fussed at.\u00a0 Betty was there, too, and she also gave me a “what for”.<\/p>\n<\/a>Ride meeting was going to be later around 8:00 pm so we went back to my camp and chatted some more.\u00a0 It was so nice to see Cheryl and catch up.\u00a0 I haven’t been up to ride with her since January.\u00a0 My schedule has been slammed with groomings and in my couple of minutes of free time I’ve been managing very little go away time to be able to truck up to her place and ride.\u00a0 Then she had shoeing issues so she couldn’t truck down to my place and ride.\u00a0 We were all enjoying a bit of alcohol before the ride meeting so there was a ton of laughter coming from my camp!!!\u00a0 Especially after we hear LeeAnne’s story about getting a flat tire on the trailer, calling USRyder to come fix it, waiting two hours only to have the guy show up and he didn’t know he was changing a tire on a horse trailer with a horse in it.\u00a0 TOO FUNNY!\u00a0 Kinda reminded me of my Shut Up and Play Cards story (read the first book, the story is in there!)<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>Cindy came down and she looks sharp in her new saddle and outfit.\u00a0 She had on a tank top and about one mile into the ride I wished I had put on a tank top instead of a tee shirt.\u00a0 I was drenched in sweat and my shirt was soaked through before we hit five miles.<\/p>\n<\/a>We come up a long hill and (finally) Crash decides that he can do 8 mph instead of 90 mph.\u00a0 We stop for a little grass break (and breathing break) and all of a sudden, my back let loose and I was finally out of pain.\u00a0 In this photo is when it let go and I swear to you that Miss Daizy knew it because immediately after my back released, she dropped her head and started to eat grass.<\/p>\n<\/a>Now for a sad part in the story.\u00a0 Cheryl told me in the last three miles that she felt Crash was struggling.\u00a0 Now, I have been riding with Cheryl for years and she does tend to worry a bit more than I do about things, so I told her he was probably fine, just hot.\u00a0 Little did I know that he WAS hot.\u00a0 In fact, he was so hot that although his pulse was down to parameter, he was inverted – this means that his breathing is faster than his pulse.\u00a0 Not a good sign.\u00a0 They did a temperature check on him and he was at 103.3.\u00a0 Immediate disqualification.\u00a0 Crash will not be finishing the ride today.<\/p>\n<\/a>SALLIE and IVAN.<\/p>\n<\/a>just\u00a0 felt that Steel was working too hard and she didn’t want to put her out on the trail the next day, in conditons that were reportedly going to be worse than today.\u00a0 I wasn’t riding Steel so I couldn’t make that call.\u00a0 Steel’s final PR were most remarkable given the conditons, and Steel probably could have been fine for Sunday’s ride, but I had to to bow to Linda’s judgement.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 However, this puts me into my own judgement call.\u00a0 I cannot go out on trail and leave Steel in the corral.\u00a0 There will be a disaster because Steel has the worse case of separation anxiety of any horse I have ever met.<\/p>\n<\/a>You see!\u00a0 The stars lined up and told me to get the &*%^*&%$% out of there.\u00a0 I am SO HAPPY not to be riding on Sunday in this weather,.\u00a0 It’s a bit cooler than Saturday, but with the storms and rain and humidity, I would have been miserable and would not have had a good ride.<\/p>\n<\/a>Trailer tire blew.\u00a0 And it blew good, not a sidewall, on the tread.\u00a0 And the steel cording was sticking up everywhere.<\/p>\n