Today we attended our first ride of the season, although we weren't riding.  Ceci and Jason rode and we were there supporting.  It was a local 2 day ride, today being day 1.  There were 32 starters on the 50 and 29 finishers. It was the Gallop on The Greenway ride.  Jason came in 3rd and Ceci (who was doing the last FEI qualifying ride on the horse she was on, so she needed to take longer than 5 hours) came in 6th.  It was nice weather and looked like everyone was having a good time.

Out West our young horse Envol did day 1 of the Desert Gold ride with our friend Lori Oleson.  They did well and completed easily.

On day 2 of Desert Gold our good friend and client, Carol Kraft Edwards tied for 1st on her horse Elvis!  Super cool!  Congratulations to Carol & Elvis, with many more to come for them!

Tonight Jeremy and I got a flavor of hometown Dunnellon.  We went to check out a local hang out restaurant that we had spotted last week.  In driving down there we took a detour when we saw a street fair going on.  It was a Christmas theme street fare with an ice hill for kids to sled on, Carriage rides, Christmas Caroling, crafts and funnel cakes.  Pretty cool little gig, proud to be a Dunnelleon.

We made it to the destination after that.  It is a place called the Blue Gator.  A very cool out door tiki bar style restaurant/ bar.  There is live music every Friday- Sunday.  Jeremy and I sat right down listened to the music and watched a local football game that was on the flat screen behind the musician.  We ate alligator tail, nuggets (like chicken nuggets only better) and sweet potato fries.  It was super fun. The restaurant is below the main road thru town and on the edge of the river.  The owners of the place also give airboat tours and singing river tours.  I liked the place.

Well, I am off to bed as I will be crewing for some new friends that we have met since moving here.  If you haven't seen, I have added a video tour of the Florida place in the video section of this site.

Heather

We made it to Florida!  Hurray! We left California on Thursday the 3rd at noon and made it to our property on Sunday the 6th at 6pm.  We brought 4 horses with us, Kutt, Tiran, Fuego and Marvel.  Stirgess will be joining us around the 22nd. 

There is so much to do and it is hard to decide where to begin.  We have been unpacking, buying furniture, buying ranch equipment, setting up basic things like garbage, mail, propane and internet. 

Most importantly we have scouted (after A LOT of scouting) a trail to get from our house to the park.  We made a path through a cross country section and flagged it so we can keep going the same route.  The park is so massive it is awesome.  The park is the Goethe National Forest.  I don't know how many miles of trail there are but it is a lot.

We have met our neighbors and have been out riding with them.  We also have been out finding the best places to buy things and where not to shop.  There are plenty of places to get horse supplies and feed.  Almost too many places if you don't know what you're looking for.  The locals have helped us with what places to avoid and which are good.  Today we found the best one yet, it is a place that sells a lot to the race track population so the variety is great and the prices are right.

Our horses have been happy on our ten acres of grass and pine trees.  We also have some cactus in our pasture.  Luckily we haven't encountered any crazy things like alligators or boa constrictors.  The worst thing we have had to deal with was a wasp nest beneath our house.  The last of the tough ones are showing up in our house near death.  They should be gone within a few more days.

We have been having to shower in our living quarters.  That should change on Wed when the propane gets here.  Oh the joys of moving into a new place.  At least we have the trailer.

The footing here is the best.  Our horses are all entirely barefoot with no hoof protection.  The sandy footing makes being barefoot fun.

Yesterday we went on a 9 mile gallop with some friends and then had a picnic afterward chatting the afternoon away.  It was fun. 

The scenery is beautiful here.  In the park there are lots of giant Oaks covered with Spanish moss.  When the sun shines through it, it is incredible.  Florida has a surprising amount of trees and forest.  There are palm type varieties as well as pine and oak.  Yesterday I wished I had my camera.  On our ride there was a truck following us with a man sitting on top of the cab holding a gun.  Yes, a gun.  We aren't in CA anymore and it's huntin' season here.  We did see a dead pig on the roof of another truck.

Today it was 80 degrees out.  Oh darn.  It feels like we aren't getting enough done as there is so much to do.   Maybe tomorrow we will get further:)

Our first race here will be on the 26th.  Hope all is well with you.

Heather

Jeremy had a rare experience of going to a race alone.  He decided to go to the Ride Bear 50 the weekend after the North American ride.  He loaded up Nixon and headed to Gilroy, a 40 min drive for us. 

I wasn't there so the details are less than normal but on Friday night there was a potluck that Jeremy visited with friends, especially Dennis and Judy. 

On Sat Nixon was really doing well.  Jeremy and Dennis rode together and the day flew by.  There was a new section of trail and the ride went into Coe park for a stretch.

At the end of the day Nixon tied for first with Dennis and won BC!!  Super cool day for Nixon and Jeremy.

This year Tevis was a really different experience for everyone who attended.  The week leading up to the ride there had been a storm that had left the sierras covered in snow.  It would be extremely dangerous to attempt to cross through the Granite Chief wilderness area.  On Thursday I called the Tevis office and was told that it would be fine but that I should wait to drive to Robie Park on Friday to let the snow melt a little.  This looked really bad to me as I knew there had to be a lot more snow up in the high country if basecamp was hard to access. 

Six weeks before Tevis I was contacted to help a couple of UAE riders through the race.  I had been preparing horses like crazy for 100 mile races for both Tevis and the North American Championship that had been two weeks before Tevis and was working really hard.  I also went and picked up two of Hillorie's horses to train them as well, Jordan and Sandy, so that we could use Sandy and have Jordan as a back up.  I was now really worried that all of the hard work was going to now be faced with danger.

My friend Chris Long was driving in with Andy Bown from Utah.  Andy was lending Chris a horse so she could help assist me in getting the riders through.  Chris called me to let me know that she had heard there would be an update on the Tevis web page later in the day.

Upon looking it was later learned that we would start from the Auburn Fairgrounds (the finish line) and do the race in reverse all the way to Chicken Hawk, then do a new trail down Gorman Ranch Road to a number check and turn around from there and go back to Auburn, the way we had come.  Essentially Tevis would be an out and back.  What a relief from the hazards that were out in the high country covered in 3 plus feet of snow!!

Friday we drove up to Auburn, which shortens our drive by over an hour.  We found a great parking spot and unloaded the 4 horses.  We had with us Marvel for Jeremy, Tiran for Mohamed, Sandy for Sultan and Bey for myself.

After setting up it was only 9 am.  We had left home at 5 am to get a good parking spot.  We decided to walk to downtown Auburn for breakfast.  We hit up Aweful Annies.  It was a great breakfast but while we were there, there were an alarming amount of Bloody Marys being bought and consumed from surrounding tables.  Not sure what was up with that, I counted at least 12 and we were sitting on the outdoor patio deck!

We looked around a couple of shops then headed back to the ride site.  Around noon the whole gang showed up.  Almost all of the crew as well as the riders.  We visited for a bit and then went to get our rider packets and vetted in. After all of this we went for a pre ride.  I wanted to get the two riders on their horses and make sure the tack would work out.  The ride went well.  On our way back when we were almost back a super, super long train went by and all of the horses had to wait it out.  They did ok with it, a little anxious but ok.

The ride meeting was at 4 pm.  It was shorter than normal which was great.  It left time for dinner before bed without it getting too late.  During the ride meeting we found out the vet check arrangements.  The first vet would be a trot by at the lower quarry, then a full vet check at Francisco's, and hour hold at Foresthill, another trot by at Chicken Hawk, then loop back to Chicken Hawk for a full vet check, back to Foresthill for another hour hold, full vet checks at Francisco's and the Lower Quarry then the finish.

We all headed into town for dinner, I must say having Tevis this way was SOOO civilized, restaurants, real bathrooms with showers and no red dirt! 

Saturday morning we even got to sleep in compared to normal, the ride didn't start until 6:30.  Wonderful!  The two riders showed up around 5:30 and Hillorie even brought us Starbucks!  We saddled up and got on at 6.  Jeremy a little sooner, as he would be riding faster and wanted to get down to the start.

My group had a relaxing walk to the start. I was wearing a red glowing armband so that my riders could spot me easily in the little darkness in the morning.  It worked well.  We all kept together easily.  It is about a 15 min ride down to the start so we got there a little over 10 mins before the start.

The ride began and we were off.  All of our horses did well.  We got to cross No Hands Bridge first thing in the day, that was pretty cool.  On the far side there were a lot of people cheering, including our crew.  Then across the highway and we were able to move out for a brief time on some of the only level trail of the day.  The trot by was simple.

Then the river crossing.  At this point Bey decided I had wasted enough of his time telling him what to do and went through the river very quickly hopping through it.  The horse is so goofy!  He has no fear of water just a need to go!  We all made it through although I got my feet really wet while Bey was rushing across.

The first full vet check was very crowded.  The manager told us later that 176 horses had been through that spot in an hour and 10 min!  If you have ever been to Francisco's you will know that it is not a very big place.  We made it through the place with out a glitch.  Someone did get kicked while we were there.

The trail from the start to Francisco's is pretty much 30 miles of up hill.  We made the horses take it easy, the goal was 4 belt buckles.  After Francisco's we got to travel on the trail that is usually sooo scary narrow above the cliffs.  This year there had been so much trail work done and it really showed, the trail was amazing!  I was super happy about how great it turned out.

Almost halfway between Francisco's and Foresthill there is a spot the management now hauls in water.  It is so amazing and helpful that this is out there.  We stopped, got a great drink and electrolyted.  All 4 horses looked really good.  It was very humid all through this area.  All of the horses were steaming and soaked. 

We reached Foresthill the first time around 11:30 am.  All of the horses recovered and vetted perfectly.  All of the riders ate and rested while our awesome crew of approximately 13 people, (including 3 vets) took care of the 4 horses.  Jeremy had already come and gone and it was reported by our crew that he was looking great.

Sultan and Mohamed got a massage while Chris and I ate and sat down.  It was a nice rest. 

We hit the road and headed to Chicken Hawk.  We were climbing up the canyon just about to the check when Jeremy appeared, coming head on, back towards Foresthill.  He was about 14 miles and a vet check ahead of us!  Marvel looked great and so did Jeremy, a couple minutes later and Rachel flew by us as well.

The trot by went well and we stopped to feed the horses for a min before heading down the 7 mile hill to the number check.  Down the hill we made good time.  It was fun because we got to see everyone that was ahead of us.  We were in about 70th place.  We got to the number check and headed back up at a much slower pace. 

Chicken Hawk for the second time, we had a full vet check.  Our crew was once again awesome.  We fed the horses.  Sandy was taking a little while to come down and Chris's mount started to get a big cramp in his shoulder.  It was crazy, his shoulder was very hard and when you touched it it was vibrating beneath your hand.  We gave him some of our electrolyte mix and Chris walked him.  After 30 min all 4 horses vetted through.  We decided we should split up.  Mohamed and I would go ahead while Chris and Sultan would stay a little longer to feed their horses.

Mohamed and I left and shortly after we dismounted and led down Volcano Canyon to the bottom.  We were in Foresthill before long.  Our horses were starving and vetted through quickly and ate like champs.  I took a shower and borrowed my second pair of shoes for the day, making them the third ones I had worn!  They kept getting wet and I really hate wet feet.  At this check Hillorie gave me the shoes off her feet, now that is a friend!

In preparing to leave from this check I couldn't decide how warm of clothes I would need.  Luckily I went with the heavier jacket choice.  I also switched helmets to my headlight helmet.

We left out of the check around 5:30 pm.  We were in about 60th place.  Mohamed and I were in a great mood as it was becoming more realistic that we would make it to Auburn.  We chatted into the darkness.  Our headlamps lighting the way.  We were making very good time.

At one point we were talking about how fun it would be to pass Mohamed's friend, also named Mohamed, who was riding with Christoph.  We decided it would be most fun if we could pass him without him knowing.

We were trotting along where the cliffs are the worst on the California Loop when Mohamed said that something had fallen.  I looked back just in time to see Mohammad trying to turn Tiran around and I saw Tiran's back leg slip off the edge.  I yelled with adrenaline rushing, "DON'T TURN, DON'T TURN!!!"  It caught Mohamed and he stopped turning and Tiran was able to right himself.  I quickly said "forget about the thing that dropped we are going to go forward!".   After Tiran and Mohamed were safely moving forward I told him to look to his left. He quickly saw why I had screamed to him.  The trail was on a cliff that was at least 500 feet up.  I was still pumped up for the next 10 mins or so with my heart racing.  Mohamed was very glad that I yelled!

 A while later I spotted Christoph and the friend in the darkness.  We did manage to pass them without being noticed in the darkness.  It was really a fun game.

We then were in the Francisco's check and we thought for sure we would be spotted.  We managed to not be seen and after staying for 15 mins to feed the horses we vetted through and left.  (It was at this point the vet told me Jeremy had won and that his horse looked amazing when he had passed through here.  I was super excited for him!)

We reached the river crossing before too long.  The volunteers down there were having fun with the music playing and the decorative lights out.  The river crossing was marked with floating glow sticks that are anchored.  Bey was much better this time, walking through like a gentleman.  I was just getting out of the water when I heard a splash.  I looked back and Tiran and Mohamed were on their side in the water.  Mohamed had the reins in his hands and was directly in front of the horse.  From where I was it looked like Mohamed was getting trampled by the front legs.  I started yelling to let go of the reins.  He did and Tiran got up and came to me.  Luckily Mohamed was ok.  He was very wet and probably soon very cold but unhurt. 

Mohamed took a minute to make sure he was really ok.  While he was assessing himself he said," I know why this happened, I played that trick on Mohamed and now God is laughing at me!"  (At least he still had his sense of humor, this is when I knew he was ok)  We got going again and everything was ok.

We reached the Lower Quarry and there was a nice fire going, it smelled really great, that campfire smell.  We let the horses eat some more. 

Tiran and Bey vetted through and we were on the home stretch.  Mohamed was pretty cold by now, after standing around at the vet check soaking wet (he never complained), oh and did I mention that the full length saddle cover was soaked through as well?  Poor guy.

The highway crossing had a lot of spectators cheering.  We headed over the hill to No Hands Bridge.  Our crew was there cheering and had grain for our horses.  They ate a few bites and we pushed on.  The bridge is always fun to cross as you know you are almost there.

The last stretch was very peaceful.  There was a light breeze and the crickets were chirping under the full moon.  The new finish line was ok, it would be much worse than the old one if you actually had to race for it but that was not the case for us.

After walking back up to the fairgrounds we went to the stadium for our official finish and vet check.  Both Tiran and Bey had done it!  We were 34th and 35th.  Just a crazy note: Tiran was 35th in 2010 as well as this year!

Jeremy was there and he had a big smile.  Marvel had given him a wonderful ride!  It was Marvel's first 100 and he had done it in style. They had finished over 3.5 hours ahead of us in a ride time of 10:31.  We bought Marvel from our friend Scott Sansom (who had been riding him and doing endurance with him for the past two years) and we had had him since July.

Now we had to see if Chris and Sultan would make it.  I took care of Tiran and Bey with the help of some of our crew, Peter, Kiki and Alena Vale.  Jeremy and Tim went to get me an In and Out Burger while I did this.  They are awesome.

Jeremy hit the hay after I ate and I took a shower and joined the crew to see Sultan and Chris come in.  Around 1:30 or so they came in!  They had done it, we had all done it!  All five of our group that set out finished the Tevis!  All five were also wearing glue on Easyboots.  What a great day. Five finishes & a win!

I hit the pillow hard that night/ morning.  All through the night our crew had taken shifts to walk the horses.  Super cool for us.  I slept like a log until the alarm went off.  Jeremy and I got up to prepare for Best Condition.  Marvel looked great!  I would be showing him.

At 10 am we went to the Haggin Cup judging.  Marvel was first up.  He was spooking at the grandstand and other things but looked great.

After all the horses were shown we hung out and waited for the awards.  During this time I got to visit with a highschool friend that lives in Cool, Jenny Harvey and her two adorable little girls, Madrone and Scarlett.  Madrone even got her picture on Sandy.  That was really fun.

At 1 we went to the awards lunch and presentation.  The guys arrived as well.  We had fun looking through the race pictures together. There was a great one of Bey rushing through the river.

All of the buckles were handed out. Then the top ten was announced with the horses present, then the first place buckle was given and Jeremy made a speech.

After the speech we went back to where all the top ten horses were waiting while the Best Condition was being announced.  Marvel had won!!!  We all rushed back up with Marvel.  Skip, Scott, Jeremy and I were all there very excited with Marvel in the middle.  Jeremy made another speech.  Super, super cool.

The cool part is that in the 56 years of Tevis the double cup win of first place and Best Condition has only been awarded 7 times and Jeremy and I have 3 of those 7.  We have in all, 4 Tevis Cups and 3 Haggin Cups.

The whole group was on cloud nine.  Our friends from the UAE had had fun, Jeremy had won and gotten BC, Chris had her buckle and all had finished!  Super great weekend for Crew, Horses and Riders!!!






 

This is a little over due!  Jeremy and I are still going full steam preparing five horses for Tevis.

On Tuesday before the NAETC we headed up to the ride.  It was super hot out so we left at 6 pm.  Skip was hauling our trailer up as we had had a license issue with our hauling vehicle and Jeremy was still in the process of getting his class "A" non commercial license.  We pulled into camp about 12:30 am.

Wed we got up and Jeremy took Dee and Kutt for a nice long walk.  Then we made coffee with the amazing machine Jeremy had gotten me for my birthday.  The rest of the Pac South team trickled in throughout the day.  Becky called and was having some rig issues and would be coming much later in the evening than planned.

We went out for a ride and both horses felt great.  After hanging out and saying hi to friends we went to town for a few items and for dinner.  Greenville is a small town.  It is a very welcoming town and the locals all seem like friends.  We had dinner in the local cafe/diner.  It had a very hometown feel to it.

Thursday everyone had arrived that would be riding for our zone.  My main crew Nicole Chappel arrived.  We started to get all of the crew stuff out and buckets organized.  The Pac South riders were: Alex North, Nicole Smith, Becky Hart, Jeremy Reynolds and myself.  You should have seen the piles of buckets, ice chests and crew stuff that we had out! 

A group of crew also went to scope out the crew points.  Skip was keeping everybody informed as he was our chef and he was attending daily, morning meetings with the officials, who would go over logistics and details.

All of the teams had their passports inspected with the horses present.  After the inspection we rode Dee and Kutt again and they got to see the change that had been made to the finish line loop.

I clipped both horses after the ride.  It was still very hot and they both had decent coats growing.

Our team vet, Jay Mauro looked all of our horses over thoroughly and watched them trot in straight lines and circles to evaluate their soundness.

Becky went out for a ride on Pete and wasn't happy with him, she was feeling something funky in the front end.  She asked Jeremy if he could check him out.  She was thinking about not riding!  It was decided that Jeremy would mess with his feet after he vetted in Friday.

That night there was a wine and cheese reception hosted by Pac North.  It was fun to visit and see everyone.  A lot of people were dancing to the live music.  Jeremy and I left early and hit the hay.  The next morning we heard that a few of our team mates and friends from other teams had shut the place down and then had headed into town to the local bar!

At O'Dark Thirty Rebecca Silva arrived.  Jeremy had to drive her to the cabin where she would stay.  About :45 after Rebecca, in the middle of the night when you are dead asleep Jeremy's main crew and identical twin brother, Tim arrived with Lori Olson, Becky's crew. Jeremy had to get up and drive her over to the cabin she would be staying!  Becky you owe him!

On Friday we rode first thing in the morning as vetting in would be at 9 am.  Dee and Kutt were both feeling ready. 

Skip would have to figure out who he wanted to have as the official team of 4 and who would be the 1 individual rider.  He would have to decide very shortly after vetting.

Our whole team got in uniform and walked over to the vetting.  All  5 horses vetted in just fine.  Becky hadn't been able to go for a ride yet on Pete and Jeremy hadn't changed anything yet so Becky told Skip that she didn't feel like she should be on the team, she would be the individual.

After vetting Jeremy worked on Pete and then Becky went for a ride and he was fine.  What a relief. 

Chris Martin also asked Jeremy if he could do Monk's boots for him as the boots Monk was wearing, Chris was not happy with.  Jeremy is such a great sport that he went over and did Monk's boots, a horse on the Pac North team & our biggest competition! :) 

Another crew mate, Lili Wren arrived.

Around 5 we had a team photo session without horses.  That went quickly.  At 6 there was opening ceremonies and a ride meeting.  While all of this was going on it was starting to get dark. 

Immediately following the meeting Skip, Nicole and a couple others went to pick up a few items as well as pizza for the team.  Everyone walked back to camp and got the last little things done and then we all ate pizza and went to bed.

Sat. we were up bright and early.  It was very quiet and nice in the morning.  Dee and Kutt warmed up well.  We stopped to fix something and Kutt started eating grass!!  He is so laid back. 

The start was very civilized.  We trotted up a very long mountain for the first 6 miles.  Pete was actually out front then Jeremy and I then a space.  It was relaxing.  As we neared the top the rest of the pack showed up. 

The trail had beautiful scenery but the footing was very tricky for high speeds.  There were rocks all over the place.  The views were amazing though.

The trail approaching vet gate one was following the shore of a stunning lake and in the background was Mt Lassen, snow capped beyond the lake.  Very postcard perfect.  Lisa Green was the first to arrive and we were right with her.  Kutt recovered first then Dee.

Both horses vetted fine and went to eating really well.  After a 30 min hold we were off.  After about 20 min we were caught and rode with other riders.  Meg Sleeper and Becky rode with us for the rest of the loop.  Doug Swingley and Christoph passed us.  (Jeremy would not see Doug again until about the 75 mile mark.)

We rode up and back over the mountain from the morning loop and back into base camp for vet check two.  I was yanked aside for weighing.  My crew had my horse.  I took my saddle over to the scale and I got on and it said I weighed 42 KG.  It was suggested to switch it to LBS. I then weighed 102 pounds with tack.  If you cut off my leg I might weigh this!  I told them to find me when they sorted out the scale problem. 

I went back to the vet area and my horse was going in for the check and was already past the P&R timer.  I caught up to her and she was super hot to the touch.  I was not happy.  She met criteria but after her CRI trot the vet told me that her second pulse was 64 and that I would need to recheck her. 

As soon as I got Dee back to the crew area I started cooling her down.  After a few mins she was cool and her heart rate was 36.  She ate happily.  Kutt was looking good too.  I went for my recheck 15 min before we were out.  I had walked Dee a few times but when I jogged her before heading to the vet she was off in the front.  I went up and withdrew.  Her right shoulder was spasming.  It was really odd.  After the 45 min hold Kutt was out on trail again and I went and took care of Dee.

Kutt's next vet check would be a one hour hold, in camp at the 50 mile mark.  On this loop the speed started to increase.  At one point Lindsay yelled out, she was behind the group so Jeremy looked back and saw that Lindsay's stirrup had flown off!  He stopped Kutt mid canter and spun back to aid Lindsay.  Monk was jumping around as he wanted to catch the group.  Jeremy helped Lindsay get everything back in working order and they went to catch back up with the group.

Doug arrived first.  About 10 mins later Kutt and Jeremy came in with Meg Sleeper, Becky Hart, Lindsay Graham and Cheryl Dell.  Kutt recovered first followed closely by Revielle.  I am not sure beyond that in the recovery order. 

This hold had an exit exam.  It was the only 60 min hold.  Kutt ate well and was happy to be with Pete.  The exit exam went well and soon Kutt was back on trail.  This next section of trail would go to an out vet check.  The whole crew hopped into cars and headed out to the vet check.

After the crew got to the check we all topped off our water buckets.  At this check you had to fill buckets from a stream and carry them up to the road.  We also iced our buckets so that when we cooled our team horses it would be more effective.  Then we waited.  We got word from Carolyn Hawk, who was at the crew point out on trail, that they had passed her.

Doug arrived and got his pulse about 5-10 mins before anyone else arrived.  Then in a mad frenzy 5 horses wide came flying in across the arrival line.  It was Kutt, Revielle, Monk, Reason and Pete.  It was a little frantic.  Our crew started cooling Pete and Kutt.  Then the other teams started using our water and we had to tell a few people to stop using it as we had hauled and iced it and they needed to get their own.

Pete and Kutt were down first.  As we headed over to the pulse area we heard some yelling and there was some heated action happening between some crews and some buckets went flying and people were getting shoved.  Pretty intense crewing...  Kutt and Pete recovered and looked good.

This was another 45 min hold and there was some fresh grass that Kutt was enjoying.  After this hold there would be a 20 mile loop back to this out hold and then 15 miles back to camp.  Kutt and Pete ate well and looked good.

The riders all got ready for their out times and were lined up at the out timer.  This 20 mile loop was very fast.  The speed had increased and it would range from 13.5- 16.5 mph depending on the terrain.  This was where Jeremy decided to make his move and push the pace.

It seemed like no time at all before the leaders came in off that 20 mile loop.  Somewhere around the 75 mile mark the group had caught and passed Doug.  When the leaders came in to the last vet gate it was Becky & Pete, Jeremy & Kutt, Lindsay & Monk and Meg & Revielle.

Revielle and Kutt recovered together and Pete was 3 min behind.   Monk took a while.

The hold was 30 mins.  Kutt had more fresh grass and then it was time to get the show on the road.  Meg and Jeremy left out of there in a hurry.  It was common trail all the way in and the horses knew where they were going.  After leaving the last vet check Meg and Jeremy talked about the finish and decided that they would move quickly so no one could catch them and then have a 1,2,3 go sprint off at the end. 

All of us crew drove fast back to camp to see what would happen.  As we waited at the finish I was hoping Kutt would pull it off.  The opposite side of the finish line road had a better view than where I was standing and I heard Brian Reeves yell "here they come... I see Jeremy!"  Then a half second later Kutt came exploding into sight.  He was going full tilt.  Meg was quite a few lengths behind.  Super exciting! 

After they crossed the line both horses went a ways before they could be stopped.  We now had a 10 min window to get Kutt's heart rate as low as we could for his CRI.  He was super amped up!

Kutt and Revielle both passed there final vetting and looked fine.  Becky came in 22 mins later and was third.  Lindsay was a ways behind that in fourth but was then pulled at the finish line.  Doug was fourth.

Nicole Smith was pulled at the finish line for a hind end cramp and Alex North finished.

The next day Kutt looked great for Best Condition.  I had trouble keeping up with him during the trot out.

Sun. there were closing ceremonies and awards.  Jeremy got his gold medal and took a victory lap on Kutt.  It was really cool.  Pete got BC, Becky was very excited.

Sunday early afternoon there was a good bye brunch. 

In all the trip went well.  You should all think abut doing an FEI ride if you haven't already.  It is the next step:)
 

This is my second time writing this blog.  The first one I wrote on Monday and I was all happy about it and right when I was done my computer went blank.  So time to write round two!

On Friday morning we got out to the barn really early and loaded up the 5 horses we would be taking to the Mendocino Magic ride.  The lucky 5 were: Bey and marvel for the 75 on Sat and Tiran, Envol and Dee for the 50 on Sun.  Rebecca loaded her horse Sid into her trailer to caravan up with us, they would do the LD on Sun.

The drive up was uneventful.  I rode up with Rebecca and our friend from South Africa, JP, rode up with Jeremy.  The drive was about 6:30 hours and is pretty for the most part.  We arrived at camp around noon.

Setting up went smoothly and then we hung out for a bit.  Our friend and exercise rider Lili would meet us at camp around 2 pm, this would be her first endurance ride, so we were waiting to go on our pre ride.

We were hanging out with Leigh Bacco and Roger Yohe when Leigh saw the cut on our dog, Roo's side.  It had happened a few days earlier.  We had tried to glue it shut and it kept opening.  She went and got Melissa Ribley and she and Melissa became Roo's surgical team and they stitched him up.  He was a good boy.  From that point on Roo wore a t-shirt to keep him from licking the stitches.

Lili arrived and we rode twice.  All of the horses were great.  After vetting in we headed to town for dinner. We found a local sushi place.  The best part was that there was a homemade ice cream shop directly across from it.  After sushi, we of course had to have ice cream.  There was one flavor that caught my eye.  It was "mushroom".  I had to ask.  Both servers quickly told me that it was their personal favorite.  I had to taste it.  It was made with Candy Cap Mushrooms, whatever that means.  I had some and it was incredible, it tasted like maple.  Too bad I already had my scoop in hand on my cone when I discovered it.  Next time for sure.  Now brace yourself... Jeremy had ice cream too!!!

We headed back to camp for the ride meeting then went to bed.

At 6 am the 75 was off.  Bey and Marvel were setting a nice pace.  I was on Marvel, Jeremy on Bey.  The fog was beautiful in the redwoods.  The course was extremely hilly.  We were probably averaging around 8 mph.  with the walking involved for the steep climbs and drops.

Just before vet check one there was a very deep river crossing.  The horses went well through it.  The vet check was literally just after it.  When we got in we saw that Bey had cut his leg.  He vetted through alright.  At this point we were 8 mins behind the leaders and we had gone 20 miles.  It was a 30 min hold.

When we left Bey seemed a little sore for the first few moments and then he was fine.  We decided we would put some cream on the cut at the next check.

The trail was absolutely beautiful, you would have stunning views, fun single track and foggy surreal silence in the forest.  Very awesome.

The next vet check Jeremy decided to pull Bey as he seemed sore after stopping.  Marvel was fine.  It was a 40 min hold and we were now 25+ mins behind the leaders.  Marvel ate well and the 40 mins passed by quickly. 

The next section of trail we did a lot by ourselves.  The good news was that there were a lot of places with common trail to the 50 milers so we did see some other horses.  I also rode with an LD rider for about 6 miles so that made it fun.

The third vet check was at 50 miles, and it was our only one hour hold.  I had a lot of help as Jeremy, JP, Lili and Rebecca all gave me a hand with crewing.   I had made up some time and was now 10 mins behind the leaders.  Marvel was looking really good and ate like a champ again.

I left this check and rode alone the majority of the loop.  This loop, the orange loop had a common spot to the prior loop, the blue loop.  Where the blue loop went back to camp the orange loop veered off and climbed THE hill... Death March hill.  This hill was very steep and went on a ways.  Marvel marched up it and when we were pretty much at the top we ran into the two leaders.  To my surprise Marvel didn't care he actually wanted to take off cantering and fly by them.  I wasn't complaining. 

When we got to the final vet check we were over 10 mins ahead.  Marvel pulsed right down and ate well.  This was only a 20 min hold.  My awesome crew was there again.

The last loop Marvel continued to do his thing and he won by an easy 30 mins.  He looked great.

The head vet had an unusual way to do BC.  He wanted to see the horses 30 mins after they finished for their CRI and BC judging.  I spent the first 10 mins of that walking down the mountain from the finish line.  I ended up showing with a very dirty horse, oh well.  Right when I got in I got my completion vetting done.  Former WEG team mate, Lindsay Graham did my vetting, pretty cool.  Then about 10 mins later I showed for BC.  Marvel looked really good.

I took him back to the trailer to poultice and wrap him.  JP took Dee with the other two horses to vet her in while I relaxed for a nano second.  Then I saddled up Dee to pre ride her for the next day.  Jeremy rode Envol, Lili rode Tiran, Rebecca on Sid and obviously I was on Dee.  The pre ride was fun, Dee felt great.

When we were done with the pre ride we re packed the out crew bag and headed to the awards dinner and ride briefing for the next day.  (By this time I was pretty tired from doing the 75 and everything else, my quads were also fried from running the downhills on foot to help Marvel out).  At the awards it was announced that Marvel had won BC and the high vet score.  Pretty cool.

That night I hit the pillow hard.  Around midnight, my chihuahua friend, Merlin had to go out so I went with him.  While we were outside I saw a quad driving around on the mountain top and thought it was pretty weird.  It looked odd through all of the dense fog. 

Sunday morning we started at 6:30 am.  Dee was feeling fresh.  I was going to ride her alone while Jeremy and Lili would ride together more slowly.

The start was simple and quiet.  Up the mountains we went.  The same first vet check through the river.  Dee crossed the water no problem and vetted in quickly and ate like a possessed demon.  She was sooo hungry after that 20 mile stretch.  It was a 30 min hold again.  We left in first with two other horses just behind us. 

There was a horse in the lead group that was super noteworthy, he was so cute.  He was lucky if he made 14 hands and he was super horse.  He was a small grey gelding named Guns, registered as Guns & Roses.  He could out walk most horses on an up hill and trot like crazy and his canter was great too.  Very nice little guy.

The next check was our hour I think.  Dee looked good.  She ate a lot again. Lucky timing we ended up getting in just as Sid did on his LD lunch stop so Dee and Sid had lunch together.  We left just ahead of second place.  We were climbing up the driveway mountain to head out on the loop when we saw Melissa Ribley and the ride manager leading Melissa's horse down towards camp.  (This is when I first learned that in the dark on the last loop of the 75 Melissa and her horse had gone over a cliff and had landed on a 10x10 ledge.  They had spent the entire, cold, foggy night on the ledge waiting for day break.  The ride management had brought food to them and lowered a bucket of water for the horse as well as bringing a blanket for the horse and warm stuff for Robert and Melissa.   During the night when I had noticed the quad, that is what was going on!  The photographer, Bill Gore hooked the horse's halter to his wench on his jeep to help prevent a misstep in the night.  When daylight came the fire dept. and Robert figured out a way to build a trail to get the horse up.  The helicopter that was en route was turned back and the horse and Melissa were both unharmed.  Thank God!!)  We rode together with Shannon, the rider who left in second, for a while and then I had Dee move on.  Shannon was trying to get her horses third FEI novice qualification out of the way so she had timing concerns that made her ride more slowly.  Dee was doing well.  The last loop was uneventful, but my quads were mad at me as I got off on a few more steep downhills and walked and jogged.

Dee won the ride.   I did my final vetting.  Then bathed Dee (this is when Sid finished the LD so we waited for him to get his final pulse and vet out) and headed back to the trailer to poultice and wrap again.  JP was there and he had taken care of the dogs and the two 75 mile horses all day in addition to crewing for all of us riding.

I sat down after I took care of Dee and took a few minutes to hang out.  Then JP and I unwrapped Bey and Marvel and went to bathe them.  They loved it and had a nice roll on the way back to the trailer. 

After some time Jeremy and Lili rode in on Envol and Tiran.  Both horses looked great, not bad for a 5 year old doing his second 50 and Tiran hadn't been to a ride in a while and it was Lili's first ride ever.  They both vetted fine and then got their baths and roll in as well. 

JP, Jeremy, Lili, Rebecca and I went on a drive after we were done taking care of the horses.  Jeremy and Lili had seen a really neat rock formation down by the ocean during the ride and we were going to go look for it.  After a bit of wandering around and Jeremy running through private property and JP joking saying "when the bullets start flying, zigzag" we gave up and went into a winery parking area.  From that spot we got to see some beautiful formations but not the particular one they had seen from the mountains above.

When we got back, camp had really cleared out with people heading home.  We stayed for the night.  We headed to the final dinner and awards.  At the awards it was announced that Guns had won BC!  Pretty cool.  He had also ended up in second place, Shannon was third. 

That evening camp turned into a dog park and all of the dogs had a blast.  We hung out outside for a while after dark.  It had been fun.  It was nice and quiet and it wasn't nearly as cold as the night before as the fog hadn't come in.

If you haven't experienced Forest and Cynthia's rides you need to, they are awesome rides, this was no exception.  Mark it down for next year, great footing, spectacular scenery, yummy food and very well marked trails.

See you at Camp Far West.





 

On Thursday, the day before we headed over the hill to the Fireworks ride, Jim Masterson and his massage students came and worked on 10 of our horses.  It was fun to see Jim.   He was our team massage therapist for our horses at the WEG.  In Jim's class was a man named JP who raises endrance horses in South Africa.  He was working on Envol.  After the class we got to talking and it was decided that he would come and watch the Fireworks 50 mile ride two days later.

Friday we ran errands, Jeremy put shoes on a horse and then we went for a 9 mile ride on Smitty and Dee.  Finally we loaded up and went to the ride.  Jeremy would ride Envol on his first endurance ride ever and do the 50 and I would ride Nixon.  Rebecca Silva (a girl who frequently helps us condition our horses) was riding her own horse Sid and Martin Vidal would be doing his first 50 on Hadeia and ride with us.

We got everything all set and vetted, prerode and headed to the meeting.  As we sat down JP found us.  Pretty cool.  After a very long explanation of the trail I decided to leave the meeting and pack the crew bag as the trail was different from in the past and there would be no crewing.  After all was ready we went into Santa Cruz for dinner.  Hillorie, Rebecca, Jeremy, JP and I.  It was fun, we went to a great pizza place.

Saturday morning we had a 6 am start.  All 4 horses started nicely.  When we got to the river Envol went after Sid who was the seasoned "uncle Sid" for the day.  (We had spent time at home earlier in the week going into deep water and Envol had tripped and submarined!)  Envol was a bit anxious at first and looked like he might blow it and jump into the boulders but then he got control of himself and did great.  Nixon was now anxious because the way you enter the water you have to go around a large rock outcropping and he could not see Envol any more, he could only hear a lot of splashing.  He went in and rounded the bend and was then fine.  Hadeia did well also.

After that we headed up the climb to the road crossing.  This is where the worlds greatest crew had timed everything perfectly!  Hillorie, JP and Pablo (A Chilean vet that was visiting Hillorie and Martin) had coffee in hand waiting for us, made to order and did the hand off to us as we rode by!  Can your crew beat that??

We walked along laughing about how wonderful our crew was and drinking our mochas, Chias and lattes.  Oh and Martin even had a muffin.  Too fun.

Miles later Martin pulled the muffin out and it had gone from a muffin to a pound cake.  It was funny watching him eat the crushed, crumbley thing as we trotted along.

When we got to lunch the horses were happy.  By this time we had gone the furthest Envol had ever been before by quite a bit.  He looked great.

The trail this year was even prettier.  There were many changes including a long stretch on private property.  Very pretty. 

When we came into the last vet check all the horses looked good.  That is until Sid trotted out, all of the sudden he was lame in the hind end.  Damn.  He looked like he cramped up.  After the hold we continued on without him.

On the way back we had an uneventful river crossing as we go back the same way we had come in the morning, no coffee though in the afternoon!  Maybe we can work on that;)

Envol, Nixon and Hadeia were all full of themselves coming back in on the common trail that we had done that morning.  Nixon even jumped up and kicked up his heels a couple of times!  Very fresh, happy horses.
In all it was a great ride.

See you all at Mendicino Magic.

On Friday we headed up to the Lake Almanor FEI Rides.  Jeremy was going to ride Kutt on the 100 and I was riding Turbo on the FEI 75 with Dominique Freeman who would ride Razin.

Our drive was uneventful.  Once we got there we set up and spent our day getting prepared.  Skip and Shar arrived later in the afternoon as well as Lili Wren, one of our exercise riders.

All three horses vetted in great.  We pre rode and then went to the meeting.  At the meeting it seemed like the crew points might be tricky so after the meeting Skip, Jeremy and Lili went to go find them.  almost 2 hours later they came back.  It was vague but they thought they had found them. 

On Saturday morning Jeremy and Kutt headed out at 5:30.  There was a pretty mist hanging low over the high meadows, very scenic.

On the first loop there was a large front group of about 10 horses.  Kutt and the other 9 covered the first 25 miles in a very short time.  (The entire course had various amounts of rock involved.)  Kutt was the first to recover.

Loop two there were now 4 in the lead group, it was 12.5 miles and again the speed was great.  All 4 arrived together and Kutt recovered first again.

Loop three was 20 miles and the group was still 4 strong.  The pace was blazing. 

By the last loop it was down to three horses.  Monk arrived ahead of Pete and Kutt by 6 mins.  Kutt would end up leaving the vet check one and a half minutes behind him because he recovered so quickly. 

Monk left the last vet gate in a hurry and a min and a half later so did Kutt.  Jeremy tried to catch Lindsay and Monk and could only close the gap to :45 seconds by the finish line.  Both horses went well over 16 MPH for the whole last 12.5 miles. 

Monk finished in 6:53 and Kutt in 6:54 only :45 seconds later.  Very exciting for team USA!!  Two wonderful horses that ran a spectacular race.  Hats off to both horse and rider teams.

Turbo and Razin had a much less exciting day.  They went around the course steady.  They both completed their first 2*.  Their time was 9:09.

We are looking forward to the North American Team Challenge.

On Saturday, the day before the race, Jeremy Becky and I went to Juma's barn again and all three of us went out for a nice ride with Maria and Juma.  It was very nice and fun. 

After we were done there Emmett, Dwight, Becky Jeremy and I headed over to the venue.  We had a bite to eat at the venue from Jack's Snack Shack.  Pretty good. 

In the mid afternoon we were getting our ride packets from the race secretary when a phone call came in from the barn that I was borrowing Ox from (ultimately Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum).  Apparently Sheikh Mohammed reviewed the group of his horses racing in the race with the riders who were riding them and he saw that I was on Ox doing the 50 mile/ 80k and said "no", she must do the 75/120k.  So the phone call was to offer me a horse for the 120k.  Of course I accepted.  I would now be riding a horse that I would meet on Sunday morning right before the start.  I was told that he is very big and that he is a grey Anglo Arab.  His name is Opium Lord!!  Too funny. 

The rest of the horses that the USA would ride were vetted in on Saturday.  Darren, Cheryl and Becky's horses all vetted in.

After hanging out, watching the vetting and hearing the ride meeting there was a big party with dinner and live music.  It was really nice and there was ice cream:) 

We headed back to the hotel to hear the party going on from the wedding that was happening in our hotel.  I fell asleep regardless and was deeply sleeping when the fire alarm went off.  After the third time that it went off Jeremy called the front desk to make sure there wasn't a real problem.  The person who answered told him there was no problem, the DJ had set off a smoke machine or something on the dance floor.  Great. 

This morning was race day, Sunday morning.  We piled into the cars at 6 am.  The races began at 7 for the 100 mile/160k and 7:30 for the 75/120k.  Becky was doing the 160k and the rest of us were doing the 120. 

When we got there I went to weigh in as my saddle arrived with my horse that morning, new saddle, new horse.  Then I got to meet my horse.  Very cool horse.  He was probably around 16 hands with a lean racy body.

Becky started the race without an issue.  Then it was our turn to get going.  I mounted Opium and started warming him up.  He was excited and I think he was worried that I was going to not let him do his job because he crow hopped a few times when I didn't let him canter right away.  After a 20 min warm up with me riding him we were off.  My instructions were to go with the lead group...cool.

The day flew by, literally. Opium was so professional.  He is 9 years old and is totally focused.  Along the trail there were pig farms with HUGE pigs in pastures right beside the trail.  Opium didn't care but almost all of the horses we rode with did.  It looked like pinball alley with horses bouncing from side to side going by the pigs.

Each loop I would receive more instructions from the trainer of the horse.  It was funny because after the first loop he told me to go the same speed.  I thought he meant same speed as in mph.  later in the day when he said same speed again I asked just to clarify if he meant same literal speed or??  He meant same speed as the next fastest person, in other words go the same speed as the leader.

On the last two loops we sped up some more and Opium led most of the time.  Opium was awesome.  At one river crossing he galloped to the edge, walked through the water and while he was walking he put his head down and took a drink and never stopped walking.  When he reached the opposite bank he hit solid ground and was galloping again. 

At my third vet check I saw Sheikh Mohammed and thanked him for letting me ride such a wonderful horse.  He told me to just enjoy myself and have a good time.

When I was leaving on my last loop Sheikh Mohammed was also leaving on a loop and I smiled at him and told him "to have fun" and he smiled and said "you too".  Such a nice man.

The lead group was averaging around 13.5 mph for the first 3 loops.  Then on loop 4 we went 14mph.  Loop 5 I averaged 16.5.  Now you have to remember these were average speeds which adjust every time you have to slow for a road crossing, river crossing, etc so actual speed while riding was usually at least a mile an hour faster. 

When I came in to my second to the last vet gate there were still 5 horses in the lead group.  By the last vet check there were 4.  When I left the last vet check there was really only one that would be able to be near me as my horse recovered so fast.  (Opium was the first to recover at every vet check).  I had a 3.5 min lead.  It was a 12 mile loop.  Around mile 6 the other rider caught me.  When he did I sped up a bit more.  His horse had to work so much harder than mine to make up the 3.5 min and now had no time to rest but had to accelerate.  When we were in the last 1/2 mile we started to pick up the pace to about 20mph and by a little more than a 1/4 mile left we gunned it.  My Anglo was much faster and I was able to pull him up a bit and still cross the line an easy 15 lengths ahead. 

Opium and I had a wonderful day and won the 75/120 in a ride time of 5:26.  After Opium passed his final vetting the whole crew of guys that worked on Opium at all of the vet checks, about 15 guys, picked me up and carried me against my will (This is very lighthearted) and just before throwing me in a water trough I managed to get Deborah's cell phone off myself!  I was thrown in and entirely soaked, the winning tradition for these guys!

Devon also had a great day and won the young riders 75/120.  Cheryl finished the 120 also.  Becky finished the 100/160.  That is 100% completion rate for the USA!!  Yay!

Sheikh Mohammed won the 100/160k race.

In all it was a very awesome trip for team USA.

Jeremy and I went to the SFO airport on Wednesday with Becky Hart, however we weren't on the same flight as her even though we were all headed to the same destination.

After the first leg of the flight we landed in Atlanta.  Jeremy and I had a short lay over so we were looking for our gate when all of the sudden a stewardess that was walking towards us fell down in front of us.  Jeremy and I reached down to help her up and a man behind her bent down to help her up as well.  When we looked up it was Emmett Ross, our new Chef for team USA!  How funny.  He was headed to England as well and he was on yet another flight.  His flight left Atlanta 30 mins ahead of ours.

The second flight was long and I slept a lot and then watched a movie.  We landed a little after noon on Thursday.  Jeremy and I headed to the rental car location where we would meet up with all the USA team that was on this trip.

When we got there Emmett Ross, Becky Hart, Vonita Bowers, Dwight Hooten, Sue Hedgecock & Devon Horn were there.  (Later in the afternoon we would see Darolyn Butler and Cheryl Van Dueson, as they were already in the UK.)  We got our cars and started the 2 hour drive to the hotel.  It was colorful as we were on the wrong side of the road on the wrong side of the car.  Emmett drove our car and Dwight drove the other.  We were all a bit tired and navigating was really fun!  On one of the round-abouts we made a bonus round and noticed a Starbucks half way around and pulled in.  We were all due for some caffeine and a sandwich. 

After about another hour we arrived at the hotel.  It is really beautiful.  We are at the Grange Hotel.  It is about a 20 min drive from here to the race venue.  When we walked into the lobby we saw Valerie Kanavy, John Crandell, Deborah Reich, Frank Murphey and Melody Blittersdorf.  All of them looked like sleep should happen soon! 

When we got checked in we all got back into the cars and went to the race venue to check things out.  It was still being set up but was looking nice.  The terrain is very flat and grassy.  The weather is cloudy and in the mid 60's.  Everything is green and beautiful.

We all headed back to the Grange and had dinner and fell asleep immediately. 

This morning Jeremy woke up at 5 am and decided to get ready for his day.  I fell back asleep, too uncivilized for a non race day.  About 6 am the hotel's collection of roosters went to work, damn birds!

At 7:40 I got up and got ready for an 8 am breakfast.  Eggs benedict, yum.   After breakfast Jeremy, Becky, Dwight, Melody and I went to Juma's barn in Newmarket.  While we waited for him to meet us to escort us to his barn we pulled over at a gas station.  Across the street was a huge grass track area with paths that crossed over each other.  There were about 30+ thoroughbreds out doing morning workouts.  They were all out walking with their riders in very large groups, what a cool way to train your young racehorse!  They looked very cool mentally.

Juma met us and we followed him to his barn.  Becky was going to ride one of his horses in the race and she was to pick one out of the two choices today.  She watched both horses trot out, picked one and then went out for a ride with Juma's Team.  We watched for a bit.  While we watched Juma's vet was telling us the story of 106 (Sam) winning the Qatar Cup.  While he told the story of the race he told us he was getting goosebumps just remembering this race.  He told me that he had it on video and tomorrow he will download it to my computer. 

While Becky was out riding we went over to the barn where 106 is.  We were just in time to see him trotting out in hand.  He looked great, chipper, happy and sound.  I met Uma who is a woman who works there and she rides him sometimes.  She took me into the barn to see him.  When I called Sam's name he looked at me and neighed.  It was really great to see him.  He is happy and at a great body weight.  He does have more flea bitten spots than the last time I saw him, but he is almost a year older too.

After that we headed back to the race venue and met up with the rest of the team.  It was decided that lunch was needed.  We went to a nearby town and had pizza. 

Emmett, Becky, Sue, Jeremy and I had to hustle as I needed to meet up with the horse that I am riding on the 50/80k, thanks to Emmett for helping me find this horse.  The horse is a gray mare.  She is German and her name is Ox!  I arrived and the riders were already out on the track.  Her rider got off and I got on.  We started cantering right away as the ride was already half way over.  We cantered for about 6 miles and then walked back to the barn.  It should be a fun ride.  When we were at this barn we met up with Hillorie Bachmann.  She has been here since the 4th of July.

Tonight we had a team meeting with some new ideas of how selection could go for this next World Championship.  It was an interesting new plan.  It is still being approved so nothing official yet.

Dinner was great all of the food has been fabulous, desert was some sort of coconut like pudding.  Now it is time for bed.