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 ;)