Ridecamp Advice

[Jackcrook@aol.com]

I have been reading Ridecamp for a couple of years now.  I don't post often 
but look forward to reading the mail every evening.

I just want to say that there is lots of good advice offered on Ridecamp.  I 
learned about beet pulp and started feeding it.  I learned how to get my new 
horse Jasmine Splash used to a crupper.  I learned to not feed as much 
alfalfa.  Some advice worked, some didn't.  I read all the posts about the 
french link snaffle and tried it.  Jasmine didn't like it at all, so I went 
back to her other bit and she was happy.  I have a small mobile endurance 
tack business (Cindy Crook Sewing), and read the posts Teddy made regarding 
trucks used to pull large trailers.  Her advice was right on regarding 
getting a business class semi to pull the larger trailers.  We ended up 
buying a semi and getting a six horse trailer to put my business in.  We haul 
up to two horses and have the business in the middle and LQ up front.  We put 
this rig together last year and are just starting using it and it's working 
great.  A lot of how we designed the trailer was from Ridecamp posts 
regarding features Ridecampers liked in trailers.  There is so much info out 
there and Ridecampers helped us get things rolling this year.

I posted a story around New Years - We're Ready Now.  It was a small story 
about getting a new horse ready for her endurance career and the things you 
go through to get ready, like working out tack problems, getting a horse used 
to a crupper and how we finally got it together and was ready for our first 
ride as a team.  I had several private posts requesting a follow up story.  
Here is the rest of the story.

Jasmine Splash is my new five year old mare.  She was purchased from Van 
Gilder Arabians in Oregon.  She is the daughter of Robbi Pruitt's stallion 
Galastra Splash.  She arrived in Lakeside (San Diego area) in mid-October.  I 
had only seen videos of Jasmine before she arrived and I loved her at first 
sight.  Warner Springs was our first ride together.  We were doing the LD.  
Jasmine had done four LD rides in Oregon.  We worked hard to get ready and I 
was excited to ride my new horse in this ride.  I rode with Theresa Bitondo, 
who was starting up her new horse Magnum.  The two horses were very energetic 
at the start, but were very controllable.  We both finished the ride with the 
horses looking great.  It was a very good ride.  If Jasmine did well at 
Warner Springs we were doing our first 50 at Fire Mountain.  Jasmine did 
great at Warner Springs and was in a three way tie for BC, so I felt that the 
50 at Fire Mountain was a go.

We trailered the five hours in our new rig (it's first long trip) to 
Ridgecrest.  Jasmine handled the trip well.  We got her settled in, vetted 
and spent the rest of Friday evening vending at the ride.  The weather was 
cold, but nice.  Sue and Mike Benson had a spot set up for vendors to park, 
so the only horses in the area around Jasmine was Tammy and Charlie 
Robinson's two.  Jasmine was happy to be able to see those two horses.  In 
the morning of the ride I saddled Jasmine and took her to the other end of 
camp to meet up with my riding buddy Deborah.  Jasmine screamed for Tammy and 
Charlie's horses, ten horses answered her, she screamed again, ten more 
horses answered.  Jasmine ended up being the camp wake up call.  She finally 
calmed down, met her new buddy for the day, Carnival, and was real calm at 
the start.  Jasmine and Carnival pulsed down right away at all the checks and 
ate and drank well all day.  I figured Jasmine would be sluggish leaving the 
lunch hold for the last 22 mile loop, but she wasn't.  We finished the ride 
at 3:04 and had lots of horse left.  I was so proud of her.  She was so easy 
to get through a ride and what impressed me the most was the way she 
communicated her needs to me.  She would let me know when she wanted to walk, 
when she was ready to trot again and when she wanted to eat, drink and pee.  
What a good girl she was.  One rider rode up to us and said it must have 
taken a long time to get all my tack and outfit so color coordinated, but I 
said no, I made the tack and Evelyn (Just for Horsin Round) made the pants.  
I am still grinning when I think of the ride and how fun it was on my new 
girl.  Thanks ride managers, Mike and Sue Benson.  It was a great ride, lots 
of great volunteers and all your hard work showed in everything about the 
ride.  Our new rig worked great.  I could not have been more pleased to get 
my new girl going on 50's.  Our next ride is Twenty Mule Team.  We will be 
doing the 35 miler instead of the 65 because Jasmine is only five.  Geo Bun 
Buster will be Jasmine's next 50.  Thanks to all the people who stopped by to 
see Jasmine.  I love showing her off.  I thank Ridecamp for all the good 
advice that got us through the ride and through the years.  Stop by our booth 
at the Convention and say HI.

Cindy Crook
Cindy Crook Sewing
Lakeside, CA