Make your miles count - don't let yourself get lazy

I have been giving lessons to my friend Kandi and her wonderful horse Syd. Not that I am the worlds best teacher but I work for cheap.

Our goal has been simple; to help Syd learn how to carry herself better and to help Kandi learn how to use her aids. Simple, right? Well as you all know, becoming a great rider takes lots of work and producing a really great horse takes lots of work. But the reward is so worth it!

As I've been helping Kandi a lot of our focus has been on being very “strict” with Syd about what we want. Syd now knows what we are asking for so if we ask for a circle, an oval will not do. If we ask for bend on the corner, collapsing in on the shoulder is not what we will accept. We don't scold her or rant and rave, we merely do it again and let her know that's really what we want and we are willing to work till she does it. Syd is willing and good natured mare so it doesn't take that much. But from time to time she sees if she can get away with less.

This got me thinking. The other night I was out conditioning Bunny in the dark. We were going back and forth on a ½ mile long strip of gravel rode that's out between fields, so no cars. Working in the dark gives you lots of time to think. About two miles into our little workout it dawned on me Bunny was not traveling as good as she is capable of. She was a bit heavy on the forhand and not as light on her feet as I would have liked. She was kind of in freight train mode. In my mind I could hear what I would tell Kandi if Syd was traveling that way. So I followed my own advice. I picked her up, helped her engage her butt and get it under her and pretty soon we were going along much better!

Which brings me to my point. If you are like me, endurance can have a tendency to make you lazy. No not in the, not getting your butt off the couch sort of lazy but in the we focus so much on our miles, we let other things slip through the cracks sort of lazy. We ride so many miles it's easy to start seeing them as just that, miles we need to do to keep our horses in shape. But they should be so much more then that.

(At this point I feel the need to add that I am not going to hard core condition my horse all winter. She gets a brake but I do ride. Mostly because I need that to stay sane. A lot of it is arena work, trail riding and light conditioning rides but nothing like when we really go back to work after the first of the year. )

Each time we ride we should work to better ourselves and our horses and no, that kind of work is not limited to the arena. Our horses don't need to be fancy, they don't need to be flawlessly groomed but the better trained they are, the better and more efficiently they travel, well the benefits are pretty obvious.

So I challenge you this winter, as you maybe do lessons, or take a bit of a break. Set some training goals for yourself and your horse that aren't just about miles. Then work to make those happen. Be deliberate about each time your ride your horse, focus on all aspects of your ride, not just the obvious athletic ones.

I'll go first. Here are a few of my goals for the winter.

Continue helping Bunny to improve her way of going. She has come so far in this, I can't even tell you. My friend Ruth is probably the only one who can fully appreciate this since she saw us when I first started riding Bunny. Even though Bunny has come a long way, she still has the tendency from time to time to become heavy on the forhand. I will keep working on that. I think we'll do some more cavaletti work as well.

Help Bunny to be able to relax. This girl is wound pretty tight. Not in the crazy way but in the overachiever sort of way. Guess what, so am I. I am trying to become very aware of this in both of us and learn to do our work relaxed, not loosing our focus and energy, just loosing the tension that often comes along with it. We've both come along ways with this but we still could use improvement.  

Continue to work on Bunny's canter. I can get a canter, usually going up hill. We are starting to work on reliable canter departs in the arena. I want to continue that work. She falls apart after a few strides, partly because she gets heave on the forhand. What do you know. Crazy how the same issues keep popping up all over the place.

Work on my own fitness and flexibility. One thing that I love about endurance is that it gives me motivation to want to improve my own fitness. I've also discovered that flexibility is huge. When I started having problems with my hamstring last season, the problem, not being flexible and that muscle getting strained because of it. I worked last winter on really trying to gain flexibility in my hamstrings and you know what, I didn't have one tiny bit of trouble this season. This winter I'm working on my hip flexibility. Hip flexibility is huge for being able to ride correctly. Oh and my riding like a drunken sailor at OR 100, caused primarily by tight hip flexor muscles (in that case made worse by a fall).

Every time I ride I am going to do my best to pay attention, to stay present and to work on any issues that arise, with me or my horse.

So what do you need work on, how about your horse? A piece of advice... get all the help you can, both for you and your horse.

So how about it, are you ready to step up your game and make your miles count for more?

The end of the season - it wasn't the season I had hoped for but that's okay!

To tell you the truth, I am struggling not to be kind of bummed out about how this season turned out. I keep reminding myself of all the good things.

For one thing I saw a tone of progress in my lovely mare, in every way. Fitness wise she reached a whole new level. The last few conditioning rides I had preparing for the Hallowed Weenies ride she was focused, she was carrying herself like a pro and she was the fastest she had ever been and she was loving every minute of it, and so was I!

Even more then the fitness side, however, I am thrilled at the progress I've seen on the mental front. She didn't loose it once this season. Yes, she had times she was full of it but she was manageable. We were able to start someplace other then the very back, we were able to ride with complete strangers, almost from the very beginning and have her relax. First ride of the year we rode with Patty and it took Bunny quite a bit to relax. At Oregon 100 I rode with Hannah and her mare and Bunny started to relax almost at once. Now don't get me wrong, she is still all business. That horse hates messing around, but she was relaxed in her all business mode. And let me tell you that is a thing of beauty.

At the first vet check at Sunriver she needed a little reminder about how to behave like a lady. At the first vet check at OR 100 the pulser wasn't sure what she was doing. I was squatted down on the ground in front of Bunny, she had her head down and did not move a muscle for the several minute it took the pulser to figure things out. I was so proud of her, there were horses coming and going and almost running her over and there she stood, like a champ.

This season I just saw a whole new level of maturity from her and it makes me so excited for the future.

The reason I'm bummed is because due to one thing after another I didn't get to ride anywhere near the kind of miles I would have liked to. First ride of the season, Dean (who hauls Bunny for me) had an old retired horse pass away just as he was packing up to leave for the ride. Just one of those things.

Because of my job, running a daycare and preschool out of my home, I can't just change plans at the blink of an eye, I have to give people several weeks notice before I take a day off. So when something comes up and I can't do a ride, that makes it hard.

We did April Daze, which was great. I was able to warm Bunny up right in the middle of everyone and she was calm and focused, I can't even tell you how big that was.

Mt. Adams I was so excited to do 75 miles. I did that last year and loved it. I knew she was a lot more fit this year and I couldn't wait to do it again. But alas I got pneumonia and riding 55 miles took all I had.

Sunriver we rode the 100. That is one of those days that I will always remember. It was just great, start to finish. I was so proud of myself, so proud of my horse and we just had a great time, all day and even came in second place. That was definitely the highlight of the season for us!

Next I was really looking forward to Santiam. I was going to get to ride my 75, but then fire season put and end to that and the ride was canceled. Bummer but I found out in enough time that I made plans to do Prator Mt. Instead, only 50 miles but it would be a great tune up for Oregon 100.

But Bunny had to go and be crazy chasing Syd around and bang herself all up. I just didn't feel quite 100% about her so I made the tough choice to sit it out.

Even though we didn't complete at Oregon 100 I don't feel bad about that ride. My horse was awesome for the 75 miles that we went. I could tell she was in even better shape then she had been at Sunriver. She was so good and it was exciting to see her progress.

I also learned from the situation and will be able to manager her better on 100 mile rides from here on out. I will do a better job of stopping to think about all aspects of the ride and how shes doing and if everything isn't 100% the way I know she can be, take steps early to hopefully get us back on track again.

So then I was really hoping to get to do one last ride. Bunny is fit and she is “on”. She is focused and ready to do business!

We were going to have a great Batman theme for Halloween and have one great last ride which would clear us 250 miles (we only have 205) and hopefully give me enough points to stay in the top 25 for PNER awards.

End of the season body condition shot, and of course you have to appreciate my bat clip :)

But alas it wasn't meant to be. Dean's horse got scratches and he couldn't get them cleared up in enough time and I couldn't find Bunny another ride.

So there you have it.

The good news is, none of this means bad things for the future. Bunny is 100% and I can't wait to see the horse she will be next season, because I have a feeling it's even better than this season so watch out!

So I'm trying to put my disappointment aside and be thankful for all the great things I have like a spectacular horse, great friends to ride with, a friend to haul my horse to rides since I am still to broke to own a truck or trailer. A wonderful husband, mother and in-laws who all know how much this means to me and they make sure I get the time to ride. I am truly blessed.

So here's to next year! I know I want to try to ride two 100 mile rides, other than that, not sure. I'm pondering.

Oregon 100 - where we pulled at 75 miles but that was okay!

One of my main goals this season was to ride two 100 mile rides. I almost hesitated to have that as a goal because I can only go to so many rides and I want to complete all my rides. The more miles you choose to go, the more you need to have everything figured out and the more chance you have of getting pulled, even if you do everything right. But I really like the longer distances, so plan I did.

Of course fires, pneumonia and my horse deciding to skin herself up goofing around in the field didn't help my season any. Seems despite how hard I try, I don't have control over everything. Such is life.

Bunny and I had a fantastic 100 mile ride at Sunriver. The day just could not have gone better! Since then I had turned my sights to Oregon 100. First Santiam got canceled, then Bunny skinned herself up and we chose not to do Prater Mountain. But Bunny felt great! We had gotten in some great conditioning miles. Every ride we did she was, faster, more attentive and seemed more fit. I felt great about the whole thing.

My mom wasn't able to come this time so my good friend Ruth Sheriden had even said she would come and crew for me. This was going to be great.

We go there Thursday and got camp set up. It was a new ride camp and so things were running behind. I couldn't find out any real info about our loops, holds ect... till fairly late on Friday. I tried to roll with the punches but I like to plan.

Finally I did get my info and plotted out my plan. I was planning to average between 7.5 and 8.5 mph of course being willing to slow down if I thought we should. My goal was to finish.

I rode Bunny both Thursday and Friday and got a great feel for how all the loops took off. Bunny felt awesome! I did manage to fall off on Friday. There were lots of other people out riding Friday and in the desert you can see for a long ways. We had stopped and talked to several people, Bunny thinks this is a definite waist of time, and were headed back to camp. She was watching more horses headed toward her and horses to the side and then noticed a large rock beside her. She spooked a bit and I wasn't paying attention either and fell off. How dumb. I felt fine at the time, however and didn't think much of it other than that it was dumb and embarrassing.

The morning of she was ready to go but good. I took her to the back of camp and rode her around till just after most of the pack left. Then we hit the road. Several miles in we caught Hannah Summers. I didn't want to ride any faster than she was going and have always wanted to get to know her a bit so I asked if I could join her. We had a great time. Bunny was good about riding along with another horse. I am thrilled about the progress she has made in that area.

Our first loop was 35 miles with a trot by vet check at 18 miles. Just before the trot by vet check Hannah's mare went down. She was looking at the vet check just ahead the trail went down and became deep sand all at once. The mare looked ahead and didn't expect to stick her toe into deep sand. Luckily both were okay and got up and went on.

We took a few minutes at the vet check to use the facilities and let our horses eat. Then we headed off for our 17 miles back to camp. On the way back we were joined by another gal and passed by the three front runners on the 50. Bunny handled it all well!

As we got into camp I realized that we were coming in at the same time as a bunch of 25 milers. There was only one vet in camp at the time so the line was LONG. Bunny drank, stood like a champ for a pulser who wasn't sure what she was doing and then stood in line eating hay. Ruth ran and grabbed me a protein drink for the wait, good help is so nice to have. Bunny vetted great and during the rest of the hold she ate non stop.

I headed out with Hannah for our second loop, only 11 miles this time. I was realizing that for some reason I wasn't riding great. My shins were sore (something that hasn't happened to me in ages), the outside of my left ankle was sore and in general I just felt like I was beating myself up a bit. My horse felt great, she wasn't the culprit. I tried to ride better but I just didn't feel right.

Later it hit me. My fall on Friday. Even though I didn't feel it then I must have messed things up enough that I wasn't riding my best. When I saw the ride pictures I wasn't surprised. I was listing to the left like a drunken sailor. No wonder that ankle hurt!

Photographic evidence that I was riding crooked! 

Photo by Laura Spears

The trail was great! Last year there was quite a bit of deep footing but this year the footing was awesome. The day was fairly cool, it was smooth sailing.

When we came in Bunny pulsed right down, drank and we vetted a bit quicker but still had to wait in line. My one thought was that I needed to do something about my shins and ankle. So as soon as I got Bunny vetted I turned her over to Ruth and set out to see what I could do to make my ride more comfortable.

I rubbed in some anti inflammatory gel into my shins, due to having Crohns disease I am not supposed to use Ibuprofen. I tried to think through the issue with my ankle. Where it hurt, where those tendons ran and then tape it like Kandi would. I know she could have done a better job than me but with what she's taught me I managed a tape job that did it's duty and kept my ankle from hurting.

All to soon our 30 minute hold was up and I was headed to put the bit back in and hit the trail. Only then did I realize that Bunny hadn't eaten as much as I would have liked. She ate, but not with her normal 100 mile vigor. I was so wrapped up in thinking about the miles ahead and the hold being up that I didn't think much more and headed out.

I joined Hannah again and we set out for a 15 mile loop. I felt a bit better and the horses felt great, things were good. Till we hit water. Bunny didn't drink like she normally does. Normally when she hits water she is all business. She barges in and starts drinking loud enough to be heard half a mile away. If you come to a trough and see you are going to have to wait you better act soon and not let her get to close or it will take an act of God to keep her from drinking. Again, she drank it wasn't like she wasn't drinking at all but the normal attitude wasn't there. That made me worried.

The loop went great and we had a 45 minute hold to look forward to. When we got the camp Bunny drank great my worry lifted a bit. She vetted good except for B- on gut sounds. I was sure that was due to her not eating great at the last hold. I talked with the vet about that and my concerns about her not drinking as much as I would like. He said all her hydration stuff was A's and that if she ate good this hold he wouldn't worry about it.

But here's the question, what exactly is eating good? So on that hold she ate the entire time, but the attitude wasn't there. Bunny usually has an attitude about food on a 100 mile ride. You sometimes literally have to drag her away from it. She was eating, the whole time. I know I watched her like a hawk but the attitude wasn't there.

I debated staying longer but she had eaten the entire time. I debated weather to keep riding with Hannah or to ride by myself. I had a feeling Hannah was going to start speeding up and Bunny and I were probably going to keep going the same speed and slow down a bit at the end.

I decided to leave on time. To start the loop with Hannah and part ways if I felt that was best.

Sure enough a little bit into that ride, Hannah was speeding up. Her mare is a great horse, she has more miles then Bunny and more 100's including tevis. She is a great horse. Bunny felt good at the faster speed but I felt like if she had her way she would slow down just a touch. So when we came to a trough I told Hannah that I was a little worried about my horse and was going to slow down a bit. Bunny and I stayed a few minutes and she ate a bunch of grass and then we headed off.

On our own she was great, ears perked forward, drank like a champ. I stopped to let her eat on the trail and even slowed her down a bit at times. She felt great and my worries were easing up. As we finished that 14 miles I felt good about everything. We had taken extra time to eat, she was drinking great, had great energy and we were 75 miles in. Life was good.

I wasn't worried about riding the last 25 miles alone. Bunny is a champ alone!

We came in and she vetted great, her gut sounds were back to A's on one side and B's on the other, perfectly fine for 75 miles in. So I headed to camp to let her eat and get ready to ride in the dark.

Ruth turned her loose in her pen and she just stood there. She didn't even make a move to eat anything and her eye and the whole look about her changed. Then she tried to lay down like she wanted to roll. I stripped her tack and then she didn't try again. I just didn't like the way she looked so I asked Ruth to take her for a walk. Ruth got back and said she had drank again, good deal so we turned her loose again. This time she stood there looking all hunched. She had her front and back feet close together, like that old picture of the Indian on the dead tired pony. All her spark was gone and it scared me. I marched her right back to the vet.

The vet looked her over, all A's except for the B's on the one side for gut sounds. She did a CRI and it was 48/48. She told me unless I had expressed concern she would have said the horse looked fantastic, good job and keep up the good work. But that what I told her was concerning. At 75 miles it should be next to impossible to keep her from eating. She said to give her some time, try to entice her to eat different things and see what happened.

Several people offered different feed options and Ruth went to get some soaked oats. Back in her pen I tried to feed her goodies by hand and she wouldn't even lip them, then she started to paw, that's totally not like her. Right then I knew, even if she turned around and looked great, I didn't feel comfortable asking her to finish 25 more miles. We were done and if we were done I wanted the vet to do whatever she thought best to help her feel better.

So right back to the vet I went. I told her I was pulling and she suggested a half dose of Banemine and a walk and then see how she was doing. At that point Bunny was standing very guarded and the vet hoped the Banemine would help her relax. She suspected that maybe she had a painful pocket of gas.

Within a few minutes Bunny perked up, pooped and started to eat and I felt so relieved. She started to look like her old self again.

I was bummed about pulling but I knew in my heart it was the right thing to do. Bunny gives me her all and we have a great time. But if it's not fun for her then it's not fair to ask her to do it, even if she could have. I care to much about her.

That evening there were many more checks with the vet just to make sure she was doing good and pulling out of it. She was and by that night she was back to her attitude and pulling me around to find food if I stopped to chat with someone.

So after I knew she was okay then my mind switched modes to what could I have done differently... Here are some of my conclusions. Who knows if they would have made a difference or not but they are good things to think about and keep in mind in the future.

Taking more time at holds. It didn't really dawn on me that I should have maybe taken more time to let her eat. That second vet check would have been a good time to think about staying longer. Even though she was eating she didn't eat with her normal vigor,and she didn't have much time to eat due to the lines for the vet. The crazy thing is I totally would have done that, I just didn't think about it. I had to many other things on my mind.

New feed. I wasn't dumb enough to switch feed right before a ride but I did use a feed I don't use all the time. Normally I make mashes with Ultium and beet pulp. A few weeks before the ride I went to the feed store and they were out of Ultium. I got Renew Gold instead. I've fed it before but usually feed Ultium because it's more affordable. Renew Gold is a little higher fat and I figured that would be a good thing and it was a bit before the ride and she had eaten it before. But we hadn't used it at a ride before. Who knows if it played a part but it makes me wonder.

Ride straight! This isn't always possible. I can usually feel if I'm off, but this time I couldn't, I just felt the after affects. If Kandi had been there she might have been able to do something about it on a hold or I could have asked others for feedback on what I looked like and tried to figure it out. But whatever I messed up when I fell off screwed up how I rode and I couldn't figure it out. I know it beat me up and I am sure it wasn't great on my horse either.

You can't finish them all. No matter how hard you try and how many things you do right 100 miles is a long ways. If something is a little off that day with you or your horse it might be enough to end your day early. As much as it pains me to pull, it's okay. There will be another ride. I learned some things and had 75 great miles. To bad I don't get AERC points or miles for those but such is life. Oh and I'm already pondering what 100 miles rides to try next year.

Bunny and I are hoping to do the Owyhee Hallowed Weenies ride at the end of the month. If things work out we'll do one last 50 mile ride there and at least get 250 miles for the season.

Here's looking forward to one last ride this season!

Deciding not to ride - making the right call and trying not to feel sorry for myself

My season is going to hell in a handbasket!!!!

Not really, but that's kind of how I'm feeling right now. I normally don't whine or complain, I can't stand it. But I'm going to take a minute now, so feel free to skip the next paragraph if you like.

The last couple months have been a bit rough. We had our pump controller on our well go out. Fixing it cost more than our cars are worth and we had to empty our savings to pay for it. Thank God for savings. Then both of our dogs ended up with fatty tumors that needed to be removed, at least they weren't cancer. More things broke, insurance premiums were due and one of my daycare kids gave two weeks notice so there goes a quarter of my income.

I have to remind myself that everything that really matters is great! I know God and know that these other things aren't the end of the world. I have a fantastic husband and great kids, who are all healthy. The fires are not near my home. I also have a fantastic horse and we have already had three great endurance rides this season, including an absolutely spectacular ride at Sunriver. Life is good.

Despite this, I was still feeling a bit stressed and really looking forward to a ride. Then Santiam was canceled. Bummer. So I looked at the schedule and decided to ride a 50 at the Prater Mountain ride as a tuneup for Oregon 100. Then I started looking forward to that.

For me riding is part of keeping my sanity. I work 10 hour days with a bunch of little kids and although I love my job, it's a lot of work. Sometimes I just need time where it's just me, no body else needs something from me. Somehow taking care of my horse is different, maybe because she's a lot more quite. I love endurance rides because it's some time away. Away from my house and my giant list of things to do. Time to be in nature. Even if my kids come I have at least six hours to myself on the trails. There is nothing like seeing beautiful country on the back of a fit horse. It's great!

Things were going great till this Sunday. I took Bunny for a little ride and when I got home, the horses were loose in the field and I turned her loose as too. Syd, her half sister, was in Bunny's paddock.

Bunny and Syd have this sibling rivalry thing going on. They chase each other around. Bunny really doesn't like Syd in her pen, so Syd goes in there any chance she gets and Bunny runs her out, any chance she gets.

So Bunny lit out after Syd, hit a corner at a high rate of speed and biffed it. She slid on her side, at one point her feet were almost sticking up in the air. She slid right into the side of her big poly water tank. When she hopped up she took a few iffy steps on her right hind but then looked fine. She had taken a bunch of hair off or her right knee though.

I was super irritated with her. It was not good timing. I figured I would just leave her be that night and then in the morning trot her out and see if I thought she was sound.

The next morning she looked 100% sound. I trotted her out, lunged her both ways and watched her like a hawk. But her road rashed knee had swelled up quite a bit.

So I started to work doing everything I could think of and that I could find on the internet to get the swelling down. Ice several times a day, clay everywhere but the bunged up part, lots of antibiotic ointment to keep the scraped up part supple. I even tried a brown paper, vinegar and sage poultice and a baking soda poultice. The baking soda poultice brought the swelling down quite a bit.

Every day was a teeter totter of emotions. I was pretty sure the knee was just superficial and swelling was cause by the superficial damage. But would I be able to vet in, should I ride even if I could vet in and what about the iffy steps I had seen in the right hind.

Wednesday night I did some dressage with her. Dressage has many good things about it and one of them is that it allows you to do moves where you can feel each limb bear weight and cross or rotate. It's much easier to feel something off then just trotting along in a straight line. So we did the works, leg yields, bending, shoulder in, haunches in. Most of the time she felt awesome. She wasn't quite as eager to go as she usually was but she was still great. But twice I felt something in that back right leg that wasn't 100%. It wasn't lame. You could only feel it in moves where she was collected and bearing weight pushing off that right hind but it wasn't quite 100%.

I got got off of her, burst into tears, walked into the house and told my husband I wasn't going to do the ride. She could pass a trot out and this morning her knee looks great too. And there is part of me that wishes I was driving to Idaho right now. But deep down in my heart I know I made the right call.

I don't think there is anything drastically wrong with that right hind. I think she fell, slid and banged into a water trough and is probably a little sore. A little of time off and some body work by Kani and she'll be good to go.

Could she do 50 miles tomorrow? I think there is a good chance she could. But there is also a chance that in doing it she would turn whatever it is in her hind leg into an actual problem.

Bunny is more important than this ride. And in a month we will be good to go and hopefully complete another 100 miles at Oregon 100.

I have always said I would make this call if I had to. I have encouraged others to make similar calls. But let me tell you it was hard to do. I really want to be headed to Idaho right now. I really wanted to ride 50 miles tomorrow.

Instead my kids and I are having a “fun day” as they call it. They are going to spend some time riding Quincy and I am going to take them to a park to play. I am going to try not to feel sorry for myself but instead remember all I have to be thankful for.

And if this means that Aarene Storms and Fiddle get more miles than us this year and win the high mileage standardbred award, then I will be thrilled for them.

Well I have a fun day to do so that's all for now.

Next stop, Oregon 100!

When Larissa helped me take my August body condition photo she wanted  me to take a video. 

She told me it's for people who are sad and crying :)

Sunriver 100 - Just about the best day I could have imagined!

Sunriver ride was great, start to finish great!

We got there on Thursday and Kandi and I rode our horses both days. Bunny felt great, not just good but really, really good! She wanted to go but she listened, she felt free and loose and had a big nice floaty trot, the kind she usually gets after she's gone 5 miles or so, she had it from the get go.

My only concern was myself. Bunny and I had a little mishap the Sunday before. We were riding with a group and a skunk ran across the trail between me and the horse in front of me. I stopped Bunny and we avoided getting sprayed but while we were waiting for the skunk to amble off she stepped on a downed tree limb and got her foot stuck in it. Then she stepped back and got a hind foot stuck in the other part of the limb. She was calm but trying to figure out some way to get a foot loose, I wasn't sure what to do. In the end she rolled over on her side, I scampered off, she came loose and all was well. Except somehow in the whole process my pelvis had gotten tilted and I was walking crooked. Kandi took one look at me and said, you have one hip higher than the other. She worked on me and fixed that on Wednesday but then I was sore. I was a little better on Friday and was hoping it wouldn't slow me down on Saturday. But at least I was even now and felt confident I could ride even.

The morning of I got up, went through my morning routine; breakfast, stretch me, stretch Bunny, saddle up and warm up. She was ready to go but calm and good.

I decided since there was 22 starts in the 100 and like 8 starts in the 80 that I wasn't going to start in the front. I would let the speedy people go and then see how it looked. I waited till it looked like all that was left was a few people who really wanted to be in the back and then I went.

I passed two people who had stopped to adjust something so a bit later they passed me. The first gal was going faster than I wanted to go so I let her go and hand Bunny hang out for a minute. Celena Pentrack was next and she looked to be going about the speed I wanted to go, so I asked if I could tag along.

I was so proud of Bunny, she was calm and relaxed. She has happy to be going but didn't feel the need to pass Celena's horse. Occasionally we would get to a good wide spot and she would let me know she'd pass if I said the word, but when I told her no she just settled right back in and followed nicely.

We were going at the faster end of what I wanted to go but Bunny felt great, loose and relaxed and so I just went with it. We got down to the river (18 miles) in just over 2 hours.

When we go to the river she pulsed right down. Celena said she intended to speed up heading back to camp and I wanted to slow down a bit. I knew that was going to be a big part of our climb for the day and I wanted to take it easy. I let Celena go and stayed at my hold a few minutes extra to let Bunny eat and let Celena go. Then Bunny and I set out on our own back to camp.

At the water stop we had a little lesson in standing still. She got away with some bad behavior at Mt. Adams because I was too sick to make her mind and I intended to put a stop to it. So I insisted she stand stock still for me to get off and on. Later in the day I would stop her to get off and electrolyte and she would just let out a big sigh like, okay I'll stand still.

With a few extra minutes to eat and a few extra minutes to remember how to stand still, we got to camp just about when I wanted to (including the extras, 1:45 for 12 miles). We got to camp, pulsed down and had our 45 minute hold.

She was a bit distracted and I had to take her out at one point to graze after she was done with her mash. Last year I had a problem with low gut sounds at this ride but this year every time I would come in the vet would comment on how well her gut sounds were. That made me feel good!

So then we were headed back down to the river. Just out of camp we caught Laura, who we rode with on our first 100 and she kept us company down to the river again. I was glad! Doing all that downhill again was not my favorite and it was nice to have company.

I took it a bit slower this time, partly because the trail had been torn up and in places the footing was deep and rocks had gotten churned up. So we go back to the river in 2:20. Again she pulsed right down, vetted great and ate like a champ. I got some lunch and chatted with my friend Dean. He had gotten pulled and was waiting for a ride back to camp. He held Bunny so I could refill my water and use the bathroom, all that good stuff. Then he said, “You know you are in second place, right?” No I didn't! When I had heard there was so many starts on the 100 I figured I would be lucky to top ten. I won't lie, I was hoping for a few extra points, but riding my own ride is more important to me. But I never dreamed I would be in second place!

I decided I would do the best I could, I wouldn't go any faster than I felt I should but I would do my best not to waist any time and if that kept me in second place, great and if not, oh well.

Laura's time out of the hold was five minutes behind mine so I told her goodby and headed out on my own. We had about 14 miles to the out vet. We were over 50 miles into it now and Bunny had a huge, big floaty trot, a great attitude and we just had a blast. At that point I felt like she was more efficient in that floaty trot and slowing her down wasn't going to help her. We would slow down for anything that was significant up or down and otherwise we just floated along. Occasionally she would stretch out on a good spot in the road, she would lengthen her stride, bring up her back and really stretch all out for a few strides. At first I was worried she was going to use up precious energy using that but I was pretty sure she was doing it to stretch so I let her.

Bunny and I leaving the river, 50 miles down, 50 to go!

We were averaging a bit faster than I had planned and that worried me a tiny bit. It was well within the range of what we condition for, I just tend to be conservative. But I felt like as loose and as free as she was she was more efficient at a little faster trot.

Recently I had someone tell me that you sometimes have to be prepared for the fact that your horse might be more fit than you thought or the weather might be better or some other factor that means it makes sense to go a bit faster than you planned. It felt like that advice had come at just the right time. I am always willing to go slower and be cautious but I think sometimes I work to hard to make her go slower when she is fit, happy and efficient at a little faster speed. So I went with it.

We did that leg in about an hour and a half and go into the out check out in no mans land. She pulsed down, vetted great and settled in to eat. I should also mention that I made a point to always strip her tack at every check. I didn't have to but I felt like it let her cool and rest better. It was worth the extra effort.

I realized at that check that I had made one mistake. I knew there was people water out at the river but forgot to ask about there. There wasn't people water. I had a little left in my pack and a juice I poured in there. Not as much as I would have liked but it would work. Note to self, always ask!!! I realized about three miles out of the check that I could have checked Dean's out bag. He had water and had gotten pulled so I could have grabbed his. Oh, well.

Now it was 16 miles back to camp. We left right on time and away we went. We had a great time. Toward the very end of the loop I felt like she was getting a bit tired but so was I. We took about 2:10 minutes to get back to camp. Once again she pulsed right down and vetted great.

It was time for supper, clean socks, glow sticks and last minute prep for the last loop. We had 20 miles to go and we would be done! I was hoping to leave camp on the last loop by 7pm and we were going to head out just after 6pm. I was so excited and yes, we were still in second place.

I told my mom to expect that last loop to take us 4 hours. I felt she was getting a bit tired and I wasn't going to push it. If we made better time, good but I just had a feeling it would be 4 hours. I was also okay with it being more. The important thing was finishing with a horse who still looked and felt good.

So out we went out by ourselves. We trotted right out of camp but then she slowed down a bit and we walked all of the up hill. We go to see all the people behind us as they were coming in on the same trail. That was fun and gave Bunny a second wind.

So we made great time from there to the first water, about 7 miles. Anything that was significant up, we walked, or I got off and walked on foot. Significant down, I got off and ran with her. I was so proud of myself that I felt good enough to do that. We also stopped several times to eat for a bit. She was pretty hungry by this point.

So the rest of the loop went like this. Stop every now and then to eat. Trot the flat spots or the slight ups and downs. Anything more walk or me get off and walk or run. Looked like our average speed was going to put us just about 4 hours, just like I thought but most importantly Bunny and I were doing well!!! My hip hadn't bothered me all day!

There was a new part of the trail that Lois had told me was going to be a bit tougher to navigate in the dark. I was thrilled to get through that at dusk!

At one point we had a bat following us for a while. He was swooping all around us from side to side.

At about 9:40 or so it got dark enough that I turned on the low light floods on my headlamp. It was just enough light so I knew where I was and could see the trail enough to know what it was like. The other nice part was I had ridden this part before. It was great. I trusted Bunny and we just kept trucking along.

About a mile or so out of camp I got off and ran down a fairly good gravel hill on foot. I was so proud of myself. Then I hopped back on back on for the home stretch. At one point I though I heard someone behind me, but there wasn't anyone.

I got to the last little bit before camp and got off and walked her in on foot. I could see the camp fire and people waiting. My mom saw my light and yelled out, “Heather, is that you?” As soon as I said yes, a huge cheer went up. We were surrounded by people congratulating us, helping me hold her so I could strip her tack. Telling me how great she looked and what good job I had done. Honestly it couldn't have been that much better, even if I would have come in first. I couldn't believe how nice and consistent we had ridden all day, how well both of us had done and that we were finishing in second place just a little over 20 minutes behind the winner! Our total ride time was 14:09.

I held my breath as Melissa looked her over for the last vet check. She told me she looked great. That she was really happy with how she looked and that I had taken great care of her. She even finished with an A on gut sounds! I admit, I cried a little bit. It was a fantastic ride, start to finish and I couldn't have asked for more.

Oh, her 10 minute CRI was 52/52, in case you are curious. The next morning I showed her for best condition and her CRI was 44/40. We lost to Carla's horse but I didn't feel to bad about that. Bunny did great and someday we will win a BC.

It feels really good to see your hard work pay off. To see all the improvement in your horse and yourself in so many ways and to have such a fantastic ride! I am blessed to ride such an athlete who gives me her all and loves every minute of it. I am blessed to have friends and family who know how much this means to me and help me in so many ways so that I can do this. And to have so many fans, it feels like I'm a celebrity! I am a lucky girl.

The season's not over yet and can't wait to see how the rest of it goes! Next stop (if all goes as planned) 80 miles at Santiam!

Bunny doing what Bunny does best, floating down the trail!

Photo by Cassidy Rae

Sunriver 100 - In case you want to know my plan

So it's no secret that I'm a planner.

These days I'm thinking through Sunriver and making my plan. Plans help me to think through how things will work, what I will need and give me a goal to work for. I'm always happy to slow down if I feel my horse needs it but today I also got a good reminder that there may be times where I discover I can go a bit faster than I thought. If you've ridden with me on rides you know I often spend a lot of time rating my horses speed. I'm concerned about going to fast. That's good but I think there will come a day when speeding up a bit will be just fine. I need to keep an open mind to that, pay attention to my horse and ride smart, vet check to vet check.

So what's my plan for Sunriver? Well if you want to know I'll tell you.

A while ago, I started writing out a ride plan. I write down time estimates for each loop. If the hold is in camp there is a list of what I need accomplished during my hold, that way my mom knows how she can help me or remind me of things.

I know some about this ride since I've ridden the 50 twice. I have asked questions about the part of the trail I haven't seen. I know we will have two out check locations. I will have two holds at one and one hold at the other. I've started a list of what to send to each out check location. Yes, I like to plan.

I've thought through how I think I can ride it. If everything goes well I would love to be headed out on my last loop (20 miles) at 7pm. That would mean that I would be able to ride a good portion of that in the daylight, including the few rough parts at the front. To accomplish that I don't have to ride at a fast speed, just our good cruising speed averaging 7-8 miles an hour and not dilly dally or loose any unnecessary time at the holds.

So as I ride, that's what I'm going to be reminding myself of, last loop 7pm!

Again, no problem slowing down if I think Bunny needs it. I struggle on the other end though. There are times where I think we could make better time in a section but then I worry, what if I am wasting energy she might need later? My husband says I worry to much.

So here's my plan. I'll do my best and let you know how it goes!

Sunriver 100 Ride time goal – 14 to 15 hours

1. 18 mile loop - time estimate 2:15 – 2:25 (in by 7:25)

15 minute hold at the river

2. 12 mile loop - time estimate 1:45 (in by 9:25)

45 minute hold

Have waiting at vet check

Rump rug if still chilly.

Bucket and sponge if it ends up being hot.

Hay if there isn't any at the vet check.

Ready at camp for after we vet

Refill Camelpak and exchange used electrolytes for 2 new tubes, put in 2 gel packet for me

Electrolyte Bunny

Snack for me

Clean out Bunny's boots

3. 18 mile loop - time estimate 2:15 – 2:25 (in by 12:35)

45 minute hold at the river

4. 14 mile loop - time estimate 1:50 – 2:00 (in by 3:20)

30 minute hold at VC 2

5. 16 mile loop - time estimate 2:10 – 2:20 (in by 6:10)

45 minute hold

Have waiting at vet check

Rump rug if still chilly.

Bucket and sponge if it ends up being hot.

Hay if there isn't any at the vet check.

Ready at camp for after we vet

Refill Camelpak and exchange used electrolytes for 3 new tubes, put in 3 gel packet for me

Electrolyte Bunny

Snack for me

Clean out Bunny's boots

Change my socks

6. 20 mile loop - time estimate 3 + hours

Done!!!

Have waiting at vet check

Cooler for Bunny

Bucket and sponge to clean her up a bit.

Hay if there isn't any at the vet check.

Ready at camp for after we vet

Electrolyte Bunny

Ice boots for Bunny

I'm trying to keep track of Bunny's body condition over the season.

Here she is the beginning of June. I'm curios to see how she'll look the beginning of July. 

55 miles instead of 80 - but it was a great 55 miles!

So there is something you should know about me. Feeling week drives me crazy. There is a part of me that wants to believe that if I take care of myself, am healthy enough, fit enough I can do anything. And that's partly true but unfortunately there are limits.

The week before Mt. Adams I woke up with a fever and feeling rotten. I didn't panic too much, I had a week. So I did everything I could think of to take good care of myself, including taking it easy which is so hard for me. Despite all my efforts, Wednesday rolled around and I felt worse than ever so I finally decided that I needed professional help.

The doctor at the walk in clinic listened to my lungs for half a second, frowned and told me I had pneumonia. What, that couldn't be right, I had 80 miles to ride I couldn't have pneumonia. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and I told him about my ride. See I wanted to know what he would say. If he would have said “There is no way in you know what that you will be riding 80 miles, that would be the dumbest thing in the world” well then I would have at least considered not riding. He looked at me, wearing my AERC jacket, and said “It's hard to say, you might be able to kick it and ride on Saturday, but you need to prepare yourself for at least he possibility that you may not be able to do your ride”.

That very evening my fever broke and I started to feel a bit better. I wanted to do Mt. Adams so bad that I didn't even want to really considered the possibility that I might not be able to go. Dean hauled horses on Thursday since he was riding the 100 and I didn't say anything to him. I just sent Bunny and hoped for the best. Thursday I did feel a bit better but it took all my energy to get my stuff ready to go.

Friday morning I work up and felt like I was made of lead, it took so much effort to move. I hoped that once I got up and going things would get better. I had decided that unless I felt just awful that I would go. I didn't have to drive so I could just be along for the ride. If I really lacked the energy to ride, I could at least sit around camp and see friends and hopefully feel a little less sorry for myself than I would have at home.

So we hit the road and it was hard just to keep my head up in the back seat of the car. It took effort to have a conversation, me who loves to talk. This wasn't good. I wasn't totally sure I could even ride but after a bit of mulling it over (about an hour and a half) I decided I didn't have 80 miles in me. To ride 80 miles I need to feel at least pretty good, I needed to be up for a long day of taking care of my horse and myself and mentally staying in the right place.

My friend Kandi was riding her mare Syd on her first 50 (Syd's first fifty, incidentally Syd is Bunny's sister). I started to think that it would be a lot easier to ride with someone than alone, especially someone that I knew how she was going to ride and our horses got along. She could help me if I needed it, keep an eye on me and make sure I didn't die somewhere on the side of the trail. So I finally broke the news to my mom and Kandi, who had been trying not to make comments about the fact that maybe I shouldn't ride 80 miles, that I wasn't going to ride 80 miles I would ride the 55 with Kandi.

I was disappointed but getting to ride with Kandi helped take the sting out of not being able to do the miles I really wanted to do. But to be honest, I still had a question in my mind about weather or not I could ride 55 miles.

We got to camp and got things set up and then set out to pre ride the first couple miles of the trail. Both horses were great, I felt like I shouldn't really be on a horse. I still felt like I was made of lead, like my reaction time was slow and it was an awful lot of effort just to ride a few miles.

The wheels were turning in my head, should I call it now and not ride at all. I had won a free ride entry in the PNER raffle. So it wasn't a money issue either way. I had kind of had this pattern with this stupid illness where I would have a pretty good day, followed by a rough day. So I figured there was a chance that Saturday would be better. So I decided I would get up the next morning, get saddled and start. If I felt like I did then, I would find a spot to get off the trail, let everyone go by and then ride back to camp and pull. If I felt okay, like I was with it enough to ride, I would take it one mile at a time.

Vetting on on Friday, me wearing my AERC jacket and Bunny wearing her Standardbred high mileage halter. 

Yes, I'm a bit proud! Photo by Jessica Wynne

The next morning, I got up and didn't feel like I was made of lead, I didn't feel 100% but I did feel better. I got ready and even took time to stretch Bunny. Kandi had a plan to average between 7-8mph and I told her that was fine, I was just going to be along for the ride. If after the first two loops I felt really good I might go on my own and go a bit faster but for at least the first two loops I was sticking with her and I didn't want her to ride any differently because I was there. I didn't want her to feel pressured to go faster, I knew she know I was disappointed about the 80. Bunny was fit. I was pretty sure we could have gone right through the 80 miles with nice even pace and energy and finished in about 10 ½ hours and I was itching to do it. I didn't want her to try and ease my pain by making better time on the 55 miles. It was Syd's first 50 and although she was fit and ready she shouldn't be pushed, Bunny has a lot more miles behind her.

We warmed up around the masses and both girls were good. I told Kandi we would let the front runners go and then jump in in the gap between them and all the people trying not to start in the front. That worked well and Bunny and I lead our way out of camp for the first few miles. Bunny wanted to go but was good. We passed half a dozen people and Bunny let me know she would really rather average 10mph, thank you very much but I said no, not the plan. Bunny was being good but it was taking energy to pace her and I knew my energy was in dangerously low supply. I asked Kandi if she and Syd were ready to lead and she said yes. So Bunny and I followed them for the rest of the 15 mile loop. They did a great job. Nice even pace, calm and reasonable and I even felt up to chatting a bit.

So if you ever decide to be crazy and ride with pneumonia, make sure you have a crew. We got back to camp for our first hold. Bunny pulsed right down and vetted well. I handed her to my friend Ruth. Ruth had agreed to take care of her during holds. I told her to do whatever she could to keep her eating. So Ruth would let her eat her mash and then hand graze her for me. I would sit in my chair and tell my mom what to get me. My mom would fill my pack, electrolyte my horse, make sure I ate etc... I would arise from the chair in just enough time to go to the bathroom, put the bit back on my horse and leave camp. So nice to have good help, I couldn't have done it without them.

Pretty soon it was time to head out on the second loop, which was 16 miles. A ways into that loop Syd was starting to wonder about why we were going so far and was dragging a bit. I asked Kandi if she just wanted to slow down for a bit or have Bunny lead. She said she didn't think Syd was tired, just not very motivated so I Bunny and I passed and showed her what motivation looks like. Well Bunny was a bit perturbed that I wanted to let Syd slow down a bit so I had Bunny set a little bit slower pace than she would have preferred. Bunny was great. She would remind me that she was able and willing to take it a bit faster or a lot faster but when I told her no, she would settle right back down, no complaints.

Three standardbreds heading out on the second loop. Kandi and Syd in the lead, me in pink
and Aarene and Fiddle bringing up the rear. Photo by Sierra Westlake

There is one other thing that saved my hide on this ride. I have struggled with what to eat on rides. I'm allergic to milk and as part of controlling migraines I'm on a diet that includes no nuts and a bunch of other things traditionally found in exercise foods. I've figured out a lot of things that work well in camp, including home made proteins smoothies but on the trail it's a bit hard. I found one odwalla bar that I could eat but it doesn't taste very good. Add in the fact that because of the pneumonia I had almost completely lost my apatite. I had decided to try a new product, I tried one at April Daze and loved them. They are called Huma and they ares little squeeze packets of fruit and Chia seeds. I like the ingredients and the taste and best of all I could eat them on the move. I ate one every hour. I would shove one in each pocket of my coat and eat one in the first half of the loop and the other in the second. Those things did wonders, they helped keep up what little energy I had, they were super easy on my finicky digestive system and they even tasted good! They were a bit spendy but totally worth it!

Anyway, back to the ride. Both horses were eating well, drinking well and we made it back in camp, pulsed down and this time I let Ruth vet my horse. She vetted great again so it was back to camp where I sat and let others take care of Bunny and I.

The third loop was 13 miles, we had to stop a few times because my pack was causing me problems. Eventually I figured out the water reservoir had sprung a leak. Same problem I had at Oregon 100 last year. I think I figured it out but I'll save that for another post, since is is already rather lengthy.

In the middle of the loop I was really getting tired. I told Kandi I was going to stick with her for the time being. I spent most of the loop just following Syd and trying not to zone out but trying to stay focused and ride as well as I could.

When we headed out on the last loop (10 miles) I had perked up a bit but I could tell that I hadn't been riding as well as I usually do. I was a bit sore and stiff and I'm usually not. I told Kandi I would start out with her and take it from there. Part of me wanted to just let my horse go and see what kind of time we could make and maybe, just maybe finish in the top 10. But I was tired, I knew I wasn't riding 100% and I enjoyed Kandi's companionship. We also picked up a very nice old gentleman. He was 78 and asked if he could tag along with us. I hope I am still able to ride endurance when I'm 78!!!

It was a beautiful loop. We all trucked along and had a great time. We finished 12, 13 and 14^th (later AERC placed us 11, 12 and 13^th). Our total ride time was 7 hours and 24 minutes, I was very pleased with that. I felt bad because I had told Kandi that I was going to let her finish ahead of me and as we came in all I was thinking about was being done. I had been trotting along in the lead and that's how we came in, later I felt bad for not letting Kandi finish ahead, she deserved it. She did all the hard work on the ride and without her I would not have had the ride I did.

Bunny pulsed down just fine. I vetted her for the last vet check. I wanted to be there and see how she was. She was good but got a B on her gait. The vet said that she thought she might just not be very focused. That she had lots of animation and loft in her stride but seemed a bit spacie and therefore not paying attention to where she placed her feet. Dr. Jen suggested working on focusing Bunny a bit more for her final trot outs. All day Bunny was paying a bit more attention to Syd than I would have liked. I just didn't have the energy to demand her attention and I think she knew that. She was not as quite and focused as she usually is for the vet and pulsers. The other thing is that I think my riding not being at 100% took its toll a bit too. But all in all she looked good!

I was happy to be done, happy to have had a great ride and to have been there to see how great Kandi and Syd did and have been able to have Bunny calmly ride the entire ride with another horse.

It's now two weeks later and I'm still not 100%, that darn pneumonia really takes it out of you. But I'm close and I'm looking forward to doing 100 miles at Sunriver. I have a whole plan, which I will share if I get a minute.

Bunny and I enjoying ourselves and the beauty of this ride. Photo by Jessica Wynne.

See you on the trail!

First ride of the season – and I see all kinds of improvement!

Bunny and I were both more than ready for this ride. We had planned on starting our season with a 75 a Home on the Range. When that was canceled we switched out sites to a 50 at Tough Sucker the same weekend. But just as we were packing up to go to Tough Sucker I got a call that my friend who hauls Bunny for me had just lost his old retired horse. What a heartbreak for everyone.

So Bunny was fit and I was itching to get the season started. I really wanted to do a 75 but I also want to ride an 80 at Mt. Adams and the two are only three weeks apart. A little closer than I would like. So we played it safe with a 50.

My plan was to ride my first loop averaging under 8mph and then hopefully pick up the pace a bit in the last two loops if all went well. I'm really trying to get Bunny used to nice calm starts.

When we got there and set up camp I discovered Bunny was in heat, fun times. She wanted to get cozy with the gelding next to her. After yelling at her half a dozen times to stop leaning on her pen, I switched pens with Syd. Bunny was fine a little farther away from the other horse but she was distracted and not eating as well as she usually does. So I made a mental note to really keep an eye on her.

We pre rode a bit of the start on Friday with Kandi and Syd. Kandi is a good friend who recently bought Syd, Bunny's half sister. This was Syd's first ride. Both horses were great. The trails were a bit technical and Syd was trying to figure out how to handle her feet. I was marveling at how far Bunny had come in that regard. Both mares were nice and calm, just the way we like it.

I had gone back and forth about how to start. I don't like loosing all the time at the start by waiting till the end but I also don't like my mare loosing her mind and in the end that costs me more time and heartache etc... So with her being in heat and it being the first ride of the season with over 50 starts, I decided this wasn't the ride to start toward the front of the pack, I would play it safe once more and hang back.

I was thrilled to discover, however, that I was able to warm up right in the middle of the masses and Bunny was calm and focused. She used to do this thing where she would get excited by all the horses, not be sure where to go so she would stop and back up, at a high rate of speed. Last season I really worked to stop that. This time she didn't do that once! I was very proud of her. Other horses were a bit fractious but she was good.

We let the bulk of the pack go. Then it was just the other people trying to start last who were left. So we headed out. She was great!!! Only a couple miles in we started catching up to the masses and pretty soon it became apparent that we were not going to be able to find a hole, unless we wanted to dawdle, we were going to have to find a spot in the throng and deal. The beginning of last season I had tried this and she couldn't deal. I couldn't let her go forward or she would try to run off. She just lost it. This time she was full of it, she wanted to pass everyone in sight and get the hell out of dodge, but she was manageable and mentally stable. No loud dragon breathing, she was managing. I was happy about that.

Someday if I decide to ride a championship ride or Tevis I would like her to be able to be stuck in a crowd for a bit and not loose it. It's kind of a necessity for rides like that. She still isn't quite where I would like her to be but I saw huge progress and that made me feel good.

So we were stuck in the middle of the pack, moving right along and I got behind this a real joy of a woman, NOT!

She was yelling at me, just in case I thought about tail gating, at the girl she was riding with, just in case she thought about tail gating and at anyone else she thought wasn't doing what they ought to be doing. I listened to that for a few miles and finally decided I had enough. So when we passed a group containing a lady I knew to be nice and sane, I just parked my horse behind hers and asked if I could tag along for a bit.

We rode the rest of the loop together, the only struggle being that when her horse would walk Bunny had a hard time. I think that horse probably walked about half as fast as Bunny. In the horses defense, her legs were only about half as long as Bunny's. But we made it in to camp right when I wanted to and by the time I got to the pulser Bunny was at 52!

She vetted great, ate well if I hung out with her to keep her focused and then we headed back out on our second loop. Patty, my friend from the first loop, was headed out at the same time so we headed out together and struck up a conversation. I'm a social person and it was nice to have someone to chat with. I was hoping we would move along at the same pace we did on the first loop but Patty was planning on slowing down. We tagged along for most of the loop and Bunny actually relaxed with Patty's mare. She usually doesn't fully relax around another horse till oh, more than 50 miles. Every once in a while we would have a wide trial and Bunny would let me know that if I gave her the word, she was ready to pass Patty like she was standing still. I would tell her, “no, not now” and we would go on calm and relaxed.

Now even a relaxed Bunny is all business. We go down the trail, when there is water we drink and the second she is done she is ready to go again, stop for a bite then immediately go again. Toward the end of the second loop we said goodby to Patty and took off at a pace more to Bunny's liking.

I wanted to do my last loop faster, not because I cared about placing but because I wanted to challenge her a bit more to help her be ready for our 80 at Mt. Adams. I knew at the pace were going with Patty I wasn't going to challenge her at all.

At our second hold she was much more focused and did her job of taking care of herself. When it was time go, we headed out of camp and hit the trial. Where the going was good we moved right on out, where it was rough we took it easy. Bunny was loving every minute of it. She was watching the trail, watching her feet and doing a great job! We rode with three gals for a bit, we caught up to them coming up to a rough part in the trail. So we tailed along for a bit and then when we got to better trail we said goodby and away we went. Following those horses she was calm and quiet and followed very respectfully, I didn't have to fight with her one bit. She was happy to find out that those horses had a walk that was more to her liking.

This photo shows business Bunny, going down the trail and loving it.

Photo by Monica Bretherton

About half a mile from camp we caught up to a guy, we caught a lot of people on that loop. I ride with bells and am often singing, so I'm not exactly stealthy. He heard me coming and started looking back over his shoulder. Just as I was about to call to him that I wouldn't pass him, he took off. He cantered a good bit down the trail, looked back and apparently decided he hadn't put enough distance between him and myself, so he took off again. It made me chuckle! That's the first time somebody really hasn't wanted me to catch them.

We got in vetted great and headed back to our camp. On the walk back to camp Bunny was hungry, I was hungry and I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have. Larissa was walking right by me and Ryan was on the other side of Bunny. I usually always make sure my kids stay on the same side as me and usually have them hold my hand. Just about the time I realized Ryan was over there he tripped and fell, almost right in Bunny's way and my heart stopped. Luckily Bunny didn't want to step on him any more than I wanted her to step on him so she did a funny little and move and half tripped herself to avoid him. I was so glad Ryan was okay, I felt like a bad mom. But most of all it was a good reminder to always watch and play it safe.

We finished 21 in about 7 hours and 15 minutes. I was hoping to finish in under 7 hours but I hadn't been planning on so much technical trail and I had really enjoyed riding with Patty. I think riding with someone else was good for Bunny too!

So now we are planning for Mt. Adams. I finished the 80 miles in 11 ½ hours last year and I'm hoping to finish a bit sooner this year. Last year we had a pretty good lull in the middle of our ride but Bunny is fitter and more experienced this year and I'm hoping we'll be able to just trudge right through the 80 miles at a nice even pace.

Seeing all the various improvements in Bunny is so rewarding. She is fit, she is getting better in a crowd and she's becoming more of a mountain horse every day.

Can't wait to see what the next ride brings! See you on the trail, if you can catch us ;)

Thoughts on this new year – since I finally have a minute to write

In the past several months I've written tons of blog posts in my head. Great things like “Personal fitness – your horse is an athlete you should at least attempt to be one”, “Horse shopping – some thoughts on what's important”, “Hoof abscesses – they are from the devil”, and much more. The problem is I just can't find the time to actually sit down and write.

On top of horses, family etc... I've been homeschooling my son Ryan in first grade. Doing preschool with 5 other kids ranging in ages from 2-5, oh and teaching parent child swim lessons. Lots of good stuff but to say I'm busy would be an understatement.

I finally have a few minutes so I wanted to share an update.

This winter has been a bit crazy on the horse front too. I got the privilege of helping my friend Kandi look for a horse. We made a trip to Canada and I got to meet Bunny's breeder and see how she was raised. No wonder she is such a nice horse! A lot of thought went into her breeding and she had wonderful care, training and handling. In the end, Kandi ended up buying Syd, who is a half sister to Bunny. I've been helping them get started under saddle. They are a wonderful pair and I can't wait to see what they will be like in a few years.

Kandi's new horse Syd the Kid, a half sister to Bunny.

Bunny and I have been taking it easy and enjoying relaxing rides, dressage and helping Syd figure things out. But in the middle of that I also got my first experience with hoof abscesses. Let me just say I hope it's my last. You can't see what's going on, you just try to help the darn thing get to the point where it will drain, soak it, keep it clean and hope for the best. I was just thankful it wasn't in the middle of the season. In case you are curious, there was no puncture wound or nail etc... the vet and farrier said that sometimes when it rains a lot, like it did right before she got the abscess, the hoof expands, traps a bit of debris and the rest is history.

When I have a minute to think, I've been thinking about this coming season and what I want to do. I've been asking some questions of people who's advice I value and then thinking some more.

I LOVE the longer distances, 75 and 100 miles. I love the people who ride them, I love the way they ride them, the challenge of it all. This season I'm going to try to ride two 100's and as many 75's as I can fit into my season (I'm thinking 6 rides total, works well for my family and my budget). The problem is, there aren't that many longer distance rides. Now I understand why people gripe about that. If you only want to do one now and then, great! But if you would like to do several of them, on the same horse, well then things get tough. I'm not so patiently waiting for all the rides to make it on the ride calendar so I can try to figure this out.

In the meantime, Bunny is sound and we started going back to work about 2 weeks ago. It feels great to work her again and she is happy to be going somewhere.

I have to say I am super bummed about there being no HOTR (Home on the Range, a ride close to home, in terrain much like home, usually my first ride of the season) this year. I was planning on riding a 75 there. I've wanted to ride a 75 there for a while now and this was going to be the year, not so much... Hopefully they'll have it again sometimes so that I can get my chance. In the meantime I'll keep conditioning and try to figure out what ride I will do instead.

Hopefully you all have some ideas of what you want to do this season. I think it's great to have something you are working toward. Maybe you should think about moving up a distance, if you haven't already.

Hopefully I'll see some of you at convention or I'll see you on the trail!

Bunny and I pulsing down at Oregon 100.

I love the look she has, it shows just how kind and hard working she is. 

This pictures was taken after we had done 75 miles already.