Biltmore/Mountin Hopes Fall Fling

[Lucie Hancock <lbhbhnck@ftc-i.net>]

This year's Biltmore fall ride was a very special one for me. I was
granted the honor of sponsoring my ten year old granddaughter, Jamie
Hancock on her first ever 25 mile ride. Not only that, but my family
made it a "Hancock family camping weekend", and all of my children and
grandchildren were there, including two exchange students, girls from
Kazakhstan and Slovakia.

Because I teach school, and could not get away before 2:30 pm and Nelli,
the girl who is living with us, had to be at USC Sumter until 3:30, my
very special husband, Harold, and my son, Dan, took the horses up early
and checked them in, vetted them through, and set up the campsite. They
got there at 5:00 pm, so did all of that before it got too dark to see.
I did not get there until 8:30, so Harold went to the ride breifing for
me, and filled me in later. As the different family members arrived, we
greeted each oothe and tried to keep the youngsters quiet enough so the
rest of the endurance campers could sleep. Once they were all there, and
tents and beds set up, we turned in. 

Jamie and I were entered in the 25 mile ride. We got up about six and
took care of the horses, ate breakfast of hot instant grits, hot
chocolate, and whatever else we could scrounge without taking up too
much time. My oldest granddaughter, Christi, and the next oldest,
Amanda, who have done endurance rides with me before, helped jamie and
me get the horses brushed and tacked up. Jamie had forgotten to put on
her tights under her riding pants, so at the last minute Christi helped
me warm up Jamie's horse while I warmed up mine.

Now, while on paper I was Jamie's sponsor, in actual fact she was
babysitting Granny on the green horse. She rode Bukkura, who is both a
well seasoned endurance horse and the "school horse" for my youngest
grandchildren. I rode Trinity, her six year old son. He has spent his
whole life around the few horses he knows really well, and gets very
nervous around horses he is not previously acquainted with. The first
few minutes of the ride were exciting, to say the least. Once the horses
in front of us got a good lead on us, and we crossed the first stream on
the white loop he settled down and went to work. I was proud of Jamie
because she stayed cool and calm and positioned Bukkura in just the
right places when Trinity needed that little security. In other words we
kept her between him and horses that wanted to pass us. He can handle
horses in front pretty well, but is getting used to horses coming from
behind. 

As the ride progressed, Jamie and I made a game out of watching for the
white trail markers. When we went under the highway, with two lanes of
traffic buzzing over his head, Trinity took his cue from both me and his
mother. He had one ear listining to me say what a good brave boy he is
while the other ear and one eye were watching his mom taking everything
for granted. The other three times we went under highway bridges he
acted like a pro. 

The only time Jamie had a problem was about five miles into the ride.
She said her legs hurt, so we walked for a while. When we picked up the
trot again her legs were fine for the rest of the ride, so whatever it
was worked itself out. She remarked about how pretty the trails were and
what fun she was having. 

When we came in to the vet check after fifteen miles, Bukkura vetted
through fine. The vet told us that Trinity was uneven in front, but not
enough to even tell which side. His pulse was down to 40, and all the
other scores were A's.It was his first mountain ride. The little hills
back home are nothing compared to the Biltmore trails, so I gave him
some deep massage during the break. We walked the last loop except for a
couple of 100 foot or so trots, just to use different muscles for a few
minutes. We came in with fresh horses, and vetted right through.Both
horses ate and drank well during the ride and after. Trinity went from
starting the ride almost "on eggshells" to moving on a loose rein and
turning from leg and seat aids on the last three miles. Jamie is ready
to try this again. Next week, Trinity will try the Liberty Run without
his mother along. We'll see how it goes. Right now I am very proud of
both of my beginners.

Something else that made the ride special was getting to watch the
demonstration by the children who ride with Mountin' Hopes special
program. They run the riding program for handicapped children from
donations, and what they do for children is a real blessing. 
I felt honored to be a part of it
Lucie Hancock