WEC - France.

["Steph Teeter" <steph@endurance.net>]

Hi group - I have so much to say - it was an absolutely incredible
experience.
Here's the story I wrote flying home - I'll post more random thoughts on the
experience as I have time. (I'm headed out to manage our 2-day ride this
weekend, next week I should be able to achieve sanity :)

We didn't do the race I had hoped for and trained for,
but we had a tremendous ride - the USET support staff gave 100% and was
first
class. My crew - my friends and family - were unbelievable, I can never
thank
them enough, and we couldn't have done it without them. And Khruschev is a
one-in-a-million horse.

the story -

As I write this, I'm flying over the Pacific Ocean, headed home. Khruschev
is also in the air, on a different plane.  I wonder
if he's thinking about the past few weeks, replaying the events, re-riding
the course. Horse memories. Most likely he's just munching his hay,
exchanging occasional reassurances with his travelling buddies, Sam and
Ramsz, and thinking about his next meal. The 'here and now' of being a
horse.

We had our share of challenges during the past few weeks. None of the
challenges we
faced were what we had trained for, what we had anticipated. But Every one
of the challenges taught me some valuable lessons - stay flexible, stay
tough, trust your
horse (he will always give you everything he has), count on your family and
true friends (they will always be there for you) and never ever give up. It
ain't over 'till it's over!

Khruschev caught a nasty cold while being shipped to California and
developed a persistent
cough. With the help of Nancy Elliot (USET team vet) and the constant
support and concern of the
friends I made during our stay he got through it. He was back to normal and
the cough finally subsided in time for shipping. Hang in there.
Then the trail gave out from under us
during a training ride in the steep hills of coastal California. Khruschev
slid down
the ravine while I managed to bail off over his head. He waited for me at
the bottom, and beyond odds managed to scramble and lunge back up the wash
and onto the trail. His left hind and left front legs were bloody but there
was no serious
damage. The timing wasn't too good though - USET was doing a final soundness
evaluation the following day, only sound horses would be shipped over seas.
The next day his hind leg was bruised and hot to the touch where he had
scraped it.
He was trotted straight out of his pen without a warm up - perfectly sound,
out, back, circles
left, circles right. Hang in there  ... we're still in the game.

We arrived in France on Saturday and settled in at the stables north of
Compiegne. Beautiful
old barn tucked in the Compiegne Forest, full of gorgeous Celle Francais and
Spanish Warmblood horses, and friendly
and helpful folks. We spent the first few days hand walking the horses,
settling
into a routine, grazing them in the field out back. There were paddocks
available
for turn-out, but the ground was wet and soggy from the unseasonal rains and
we
were afraid of what it would do to their feet going from dry to wet in such
a short
time so we tried to limit  their time outside. The long days confined to
stalls were hard on
some of the horses. Khruschev is pretty much 'ok' wherever he is though -
just keeps
eating and drinking and being a horse. But there was trouble brewing with
his
feet. We had our first formal trot-out evaluation on Tuesday (Aug9). The
first few steps
he took were off. My heart sank, and you could hear a pin drop. Uh oh. (Hang
in there)The next 17
days were a constant emotional roller coaster. We pulled his shoes the next
day,
his feet had become extremely soft from time in the soggy pasture, the soles
had turned
crumbly, he had a deep corn in the left inside heel, a bruise near the toe.
Both feet
seemed sore, but he was most uncomfortable with the left front. Nancy pared
the
feet down and dug out the corn which was starting to abcess. She packed his
feet
and we gave him 24 hours with his feet packed and wrapped. Our farriers
weren't
due to arrive for another 10 days. Darolyn and Cowboy said the Brazilians
were somewhere in
Compiegne with their farrier so the search began. The following evening we
took
the packing off of his feet and the Brazilian farrier trimmed them (btw -
the
Brazilians were great!!)  - Cowboy had extra easyboots
and we were thinking these could get us by until the farriers arrived. This
plan
backfired big time. The easyboots were not quite large enough and we had to
really
crank to get them on - the result was that the next day Khruschev was lamer,
sorer than before. Now his heel bulbs were bruised and sore too! His feet
had become so
soft and sensitive that they bruised from the easyboot straps. I felt so bad
for
him - it was beginning to feel like the harder I tried, the worse it got.
(hang in there)

By now John and Destry had arrived, and Susie and Lari were coming soon so
I had plenty of moral support and also  help  keeping his feet iced, trying
to ease
the discomfort. everybody at the barn - riders, crew,support staff-
was incredibly supportive and helpful.)
The saga continued for the next two weeks, we tried three different
shoings (thanks Ernie, Jaye, Brazilians) - one day he seemed better, the
next day sore again.  (hang in there) It was a fairly consitent
pattern - the first few steps were the worst, but once he took more steps
and warmed up he was better. He felt good when I rode him, but after he
stood for a while, the first
few steps were uncomfortable - better again once he warmed into it.
 We tried to keep a minimum
level of fitness with longing and walking, but the best thing for him was
rest and
time (something that was running out).

Friday (Aug 25) arrived and all of the US horses
were evaluated that morning for soundness before the official vetting in.
Khruschev
wasn't perfect, but Rick gave me the ok to give it a try. So we  presented
to the officials - After the first trot-out
there was some mumbling and head shaking and we were sent to another lane
for further evaluation. Another trot -  still some inconsistency.
One more time .... about the same, but they gave us a thumbs up to start.
The official
smiled at me as we walked out - "maybe he'll warm out of it - good luck
Khruschev".
It was a wonderful, friendly gesture. Hang in there.

We went back to the barn, I felt like we had been given a gift just being
able to start, and yet another
chance. And I knew that it wasn't time to give up yet. I started looking for
Jaye
Perry (one of the USET team farriers), somehow hoping there was still
something he could do to make Khruschev
comfortable. Jaye was not to be found, but I was told he had left earlier in
the
day, searching for a farrier supply store. We spent the afternoon getting
ready
for the ride - John, Destry, Suzie, Lari and Carol worked non-stop preparing
everything
we would need for the ride. They kept the spirits high and acted like
everything was going to
be fine. I was the most dejected I had felt during the past two weeks. My
wonderful
horse was not himself, we might get through the first loop, at least we
could start
the race, but this was the 11th hour and I was running out of optimisim.
Jaye showed
up at the barn around 7pm that evening. I asked him if there was anything
else
he could do - any more rabbits to pull out of his hat? He smiled and said
"where
do you think I've been all this time?" Over an hour later Khruschev had his
final
(4th) shoing since we had arrived. We walked him around. Jaye looked
satisfied
and said just put him in his stall, he'll be fine. Hang in there. I didn't
even trot him out, had no idea if he would trot sound then, or even in the
morning. But I couldn't bring
myself to find out at that point.

That night during dinner and into the next morning I felt incredibly calm -
almost numb. During all the excitement of getting ready in the dark, the
electricity and anticipation that others were feeling,
I was calm and quiet. I had already received one 'gift', just being able to
start and
at least do the first 20 mile loop. Nothing more could be done now in
preparation.
My crew was totally prepared and I knew they would take care of everything.
The only
thing I had left to do was ride our best ride - mile by mile. I knew this
was not the
race we had trained for - our challenge was not the sand, the speed, the
heat and
humidity. I had to keep him sound and comfortable. We joined the other 150
riders
in the warm up area - just climbing on his back I could feel the
transormation in
his attitude - he was ready for a race! But I still hadn't trotted him! We
walked for about 15 minutes and
I finally mustered the courage to trot - perfect!! He felt solid and
absolutely wonderful. As soon as the race started I
could feel Khruschev  go 'yes! finally! now let's go do our job!'. He flew
out into the
dark with the others, even threw in a few good bucks - it was exhillarating
and very
emotional.

My plan was to ride mile by mile constantly gauging our progress by his
comfort
level. Cruise when the footing was soft and take it easy on pavement and
cobbles.
I felt it was best to start cooling him down a mile from the vet check -
have him
pulsed down and ready to present as soon as we got there - no standing
around,
just keep him moving. We got to the first hold just as the other US riders
were leaving.
I had walked him in the last mile - trotting intermittently - he seemed
great. He
was down as soon as we got in, went right to the vet. John and Suzie took
him
and I lost them in the crowd - we had started, we had gone 20 miles, more
than
I had expected during the last 2 weeks. Would we do another loop??? Yes! He
passed - CRI was 52/48 and he got an A on gait! Whoop and holler... and then
down to business. Next task - loop 2. Let's see if we can squeeze in 14 more
miles.

And so it went.... all day long. Each loop was a gift. Each hold was a
joyous occasion.
Khruschev's crew (John & Destry (my son) , Suzie Hayes, Lari Shea, Carol
Andrews & Linda Voigt) was excellent - fast, efficient, encouraging, and
Fun! They worked non-stop, feeding, icing Khruschev's feet,
preparing electrolytes,  making sure I was eating and drinking and laughing.
And
Khruschev was the model horse to crew for - was pulsed down when he arrived,
never stopped eating, drank well, allowed himself to be fussed over and was
just plain
ol' happy.

We rode steady all day. Fast trot and canter in the woods and soft trails,
easy
easy on the rocky stuff. It got incredibly humid during the afternoon - hot
and stifling. We rode alone all day (after the first wild loop) and he never
asked to
quit. I slowed somewhat during the worst of the heat, but he handled it
well.
There were zillions of US volunteers out on the trail at the crew points.
Friendly,
willing, ready to do whatever we needed - pour water, give electrolytes,
mash,
whatever. It was a great boost to our spirits to have them out there.

The final hold was at Pierrefonds, with the castle looming in the
background. It was
magical for us. By then the only other US rider left was Connie, and she and
Smoke
were doing great.  We only had a 30 minute hold (at 88 miles) and they had
all the horses do an exit CRI. I was pretty anxious ... 12 miles to go, is
he
still ok? I was too anxious to eat much during the hold - but we still
managed
to spend the time laughing and having fun. Final CRI and trot out - 60/52
and A for gait - unbelievable!! We left the last hold with everybody hooting
and hollering - a real boost for our spirits. The sun was setting as we
rode through the Pierrefonde Castle - .
, the stones and turrets  were glowing orange from the sun, the windows
reflecting the sunset. I imagined Khruschev in armor, and horses of another
era..

One more loop - Khruschev felt incredibly strong and I was tempted to let
him pick up the pace and to move
up in our placing - many tired horses had left before us. But I played it
safe -
with only one other US completion, I felt that it was too great a risk to
change our mode of caution. We rode the last 6 miles in the dark - trotting
when we could, being extra cautious in the rocks, and steadily moving on.
We reached the final pit crew area, one mile before the finish, and the
enthusiasm and hollering as we left were more than we could resist. We flew
in the last mile - and came to the finish in a huge extended trot - the
stand
was full of cheering spectators and as far as Khruschev knew, we had won!
(I never told him otherwise.)

The human spirit is indomitable. After the Fort Howes ride in Montana this
year, we were
having breakfast, sharing the table with the joyful, dancing Canadians. One
of them
had just finished his first 100 miler, he finished last, just before cut-off
time but
from the look on his face that morning you knew for certain that he was a
winner,
his excitement and enthusiam were radiant and infectious. We were laughing
about
the trials of the trail, being out all night with the coyotes and he
grinned - "well you know, AERC's motto is 'To finish is to Win' - I'm a
winner, eh?- go motto!"