We did it – We went 80 + miles and LOVED it!

Since sometime in the middle of last season I've had this itch to try longer distances and see how Bunny and I liked them. It's kind of hard to explain it was just something I really wanted to do.

So when we got to the Mt. Adams ride I registered us for the 80 mile ride and vetted in. When I vetted Bunny in the vet noted that her back muscles were tight. She wasn't reactive, like they were painful, just tight. He gave me a B on that and said it was just a little bit of a red flag.

I hate red flags. I mulled it over and couldn't think of anything. I'm pretty confident in her saddle fit, she's been going great and her back has been great. So I gave her a massage, did belly lifts, took her for a ride and just to be on the ultra safe side decided to skip the heart rate monitor (on the off chance that the electrode would mess with her back at all). After all that her back muscles were much softer and I wasn't too worried about it.

She was good on our ride on Friday evening. Full of it but a lot better than she had been before Home on the Range. I was also a lot more confident and relaxed.

I also went to a great little presentation put on by Dennis and Sue Summers. It was all about moving up to the longer distances. I told the group my plan for my first 80. In a nutshell, never average over 8mph, take it really easy on anything steep (up or down) and slow down even more if I thought she needed it. Dennis said that sounded right. He said go where the getting was good (no faster than my 8mph pace) and bubble wrap her on anything steep or rough.

I knew my biggest hurdle was going to be a mellow start. I decided that even though there was only 17 of us starting at 5:30am, I was still going to give everyone a five minute lead.

In the morning I did just that. I didn't even go over to the start or let her see it. I watched my watch, for what seemed like ages and reminded myself that five minutes was a very, very small sacrifice to pay for a nice mellow start. When I was tempted to march over there and charge down the trail I just had to remind myself of the 12 miles of epic fit throwing we did at Home on the Range and I just kept waiting.

At five minutes I walked over to the start, and we walked out for the first ¼ mile and then picked up a nice easy trot and we were off.

Our first loop was 36 miles long. Although we had a mellow start I still had a horse who was full of it but willing to listen. Every little bit she would say, “How about we go 10mph?” Then I would reply, “No, we're sticking to 8mph”. We had about a million little conversations on that first loop but no big fighting or fit throwing. So nice!

I also discovered that when my horse is full of it she's easier to pace when I'm singing. Every time I would stop singing her speed would try to creep up even more. So if you ever hear someone coming up behind you singing, you'll know it's me.

We stopped at about 20 miles and I let her graze for ten minutes while I ate a protein bar. I knew that both or us needed to take good care of ourselves if we were going to finish feeling good.

We got into our first vet check right on time for what I had planned and in great shape.

A couple of friends had warned me that all horses hit a lull on the longer distances, at least at first. They said often it happens on the second to the last loop and to just let them lolly gag for a bit and then they would hit their second wind.

Turns out we hit a bit of a lull on our second loop. Bunny started out well but then a while into she started to lag a bit. That loop we hit a big climb and I decided it was a good time to just get off and lead her. If we were going to go slow up the whole thing I might as well hike and it would be a good stretch for me as well. It really was quite a hill, the big hill in the burn for those of you who where there. We got our picture taken just after that section and then a hit a gravel road and she got her second wind. I was a little worried that if she was hitting a lull before 50 miles we were in trouble but she was going great, I knew she was fit, we hadn't overdone anything and worse case I figured if we had to do the last 25 miles super slow, we would. 

 Here we are coming out of the burn area. Another wonderful photo by Jessica Wynne

Coming in from that loop, about ¼ a mile from camp, I missed a turn and headed back out. I thought that was maybe what I did but went a little farther just to make sure (about 2.5 miles) and then had to turn around and back track. That was a little discouraging. I was kicking myself that I had just added an extra 5 miles to my first long ride. But it was done and I wasn't going to let it ruin my day.

When we vetted she had a B on gum tinting. I told the vet about our extra 5 miles at the end sans water and he said that would definitely explain it and that we should be able to make up for it on our hold.

When we headed back out on our third loop I really wasn't sure what to expect but was thrilled to discover I had a strong, happy horse. She was rock solid through the entire loop!

We made good time where the getting was good and in three different stretches of rough country boonie crashing I got off and led her again. We both just had a fantastic time. Life was great and we enjoyed every mile, and didn't add any extra.

Came in to the vet check and confirmed that we had recovered from our previous minor dehydration and all was back to A's with the exception of a B+ on gut sounds.

When we headed back out we were down to our last 10 miles. I figured we would just go whatever speed we needed too and at that point even if we walked the entire thing we were going to make it in before dark.

I could tell she was a little tired so we did a combination of trotting and walking. The loop was beautiful and I was feeling on top of the world. We came into camp at 7:30pm with a nice little springy trot I couldn't have been more happy. I was trying not to celebrate too much till the vet had the final say but I knew that we had done it!

She vetted great! All A's with the exception of the B+ on gut sounds. She still had a nice willing trot out. I couldn't have been more proud of her or myself really.

It was just a fantastic ride all the way around. I felt like I had managed myself and my horse well. I was so proud of the fact that all day long, in the mountains Bunny didn't take one wrong or off step. I had micromanaged her speed and exertion level all day and it payed off.

I was proud of myself that after 11 ½ hours in the saddle I was still doing well and riding pretty darn good! Don't get me wrong, the tendon on the outside of my right foot was getting a bit tired and letting me know it, but all in all I was doing well. I'd stayed hydrated, drank an insane amount of Gatorade and my mom had helped me stay eating well all day. Oh and the foot I hurt last October didn't give me one bit of trouble.

I could write a lot more about how great the day was but really you would have had to been there to believe it.

I can tell you one thing, this won't be our last long distance ride!

We are going for it – 80 miles here we come!

After HOTR Bunny got a few weeks off and then we eased back into work. Then three weeks after the ride we did a great hill conditioning ride. It's a great loop that climbs for 6 miles and then you come back down for 5 miles. And I'm not kidding that it climbs. There may be two spots that are flat for 100 yards but that's it. I figured this would be a great conditioning ride and let me know how she was doing. After all we'll see a hill or two at Mt. Adams.

She was awesome! We steadily climbed at a pace of almost 9mph. Her heart rate stayed in the 130 – 140 except for the very top of the steepest hill. She was eager to go and we had a great time.

The rest of that week we did two snappy rides around here, each one she was faster with a lower heart rate.

Then two weeks out from Mt. Adams we did a 28 mile depletion ride. We made great time and had a great ride. We did this one particular stretch of road several times, over the course of our ride. It's a mile long stretch that I try to make great time on and clock myself. The last time over it she was flying (15 mph trot) and her heart rate was 120. A month ago on that same stretch her heart rate was 140 doing about 12mph. I love seeing solid proof of progress. It makes me smile.

So she's fit and working great, we are going to go for it. We are going to try an 80 mile ride at Mt. Adams. I'd thought about waiting till later in the season, I tend to be cautious in case you haven't figured that out yet, but it just didn't work out, if I waited I'd have to wait longer than I want.

My only concern about Mt. Adams is that it's a mountain ride and will be a harder 80 miles than say the ride we had to pull from at Jubilee last fall. But her fitness this season is coming right along, that's a nice ride and it looks like the weather will be good. All factors in our favor.

So I think it's time. Time to see how we both feel about the longer distances. I plan to start in the back, nice and sane, and keep a nice steady pace throughout the day (7-8 mph) take it easy in the rough places. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and we'll keep you posted!

Electrolytes that I prepared for our ride (did that this morning).

In case you are curious. I electrolyte every hour (approximately) a light dose if we are on the trail and a bigger one in camp, when she's eating more and I have time to rinse out her mouth better. I have 7 trail syringes and 5 hold syringes (yes, I forgot one of my hold ones in the picture).

Here's my secret recipe (amount changes due to work and weather predictions).

Trail: 1/3 oz of Pureform Electrolyte Concentrate

Hold: ¾ oz of Pureform Electrolyte Concentrate

Mixed in a special mixture of honey yogert, ground flax seed and Aloe Vera.