PAC news

["Barbara B. Peck" <bpeck@together.net>]

Hi everyone:

 

Spent the day at GMHA in Woodstock Vt.

The teams all looked relaxed, and the horses, alot of them out

riding parts of the trail, are incredibly calm and very well mannered.

I saw numbers as high as 78,  so I expect, that's how many horses will be starting tomorrow at 5 a.m.

 

 

Each squad has their own barn (most of the horses were stabled)

and each rider and crew are wearing color coded (by region) wrist bands, and security is tight around the horses. Barns are roped off, and without the correct colored wrist band, you cannot access the horses or barns to within about 50 feet.

It's set up very nicely for horses, crew and riders.

 

The big news for the East is that Connie Walkers horse "Smoke"

came down with a snotty nose, and taken back home.

My friend Sue and I talked to her husband Scott, and he said Connie would ride the spare 5th horse Darolyn trailered up for the Brazilian team.  Steve Rojeck told us the 4 Eastern alternates are all riding (he was one of them) as 4 Eastern horses did not make the initial trot out.

 

There were other horses that did not make the initial trot out (alot were asked to trot twice), but I'm sorry I can't tell you who they are, as no one had a complete list of horses /riders numbers today.

 

I was able to find, meet and talk to Angie, her husband Bill and Kaboot,  Roger Rittenhouse, Linda Merims, and Liz Zilga. Liz is crewing for Angie and Linda is taking PRs. I also met

Jaye Perry, who's up from Atlanta shoeing.  He said most riders are worried most about the amount of hard ground.

 

This ride will mostly follow the Vermont 100 3 day CTR trail, which is sightly different (and more difficult) than the VT 1 day 100, which starts endurance horses and (human) endurance runners together.

 

Tomorrows weather WILL cooperate!! Low humidity and 80 for the high.  It'll be in the high 50's when they start off at 5 a.m.

 

The Vets there are:

Jim Bryant (B.C., Canada), Jeanner Waldron,  Jim Baldwin, Robt. Beecher, Nancy Elliot, Julia Flaminio (Brazil) Dane Frazier, Earl Gaughan, Tanja Hess (Brazil), Heather Hoyns, Arthur King (Canada), Nick Kohut, Doug Magnowski (Canada), Ray Randall, Gerson Viera (Brazil) and apprentic Vets: James Carmalt, Matt Frazier and Julia Siminson

 

and to inculde the treatment Vets:

Mike Foss, Brad Bentz, Bruce Hansen, Barbara LeClair, Kerry Ridgeway, Amy Worrell.

 

Theres about 4 hrs of total hold time, and the first horses' total ride time is expected to be around 12 hrs, so the first horse should be crossing the finish line around 9:30 pm. E.S.T.

 

If there's a group of front runners,

There quite possibly could be a race for the finish, as the last hold is just a 15 minute hold  and it's just 4 miles from the finish line.

 

I will post when I get home after the finish, but it's possible the

web site Steph has listed may have the info posted before I do...

I'll check before I post.

 

Later,

Barb