Had a great time at Goethe this weekend. It was our second ride and I am very happy with Mercedes' progress. This weekend was the first time she really seemed to "get it". She was strong and energetic throughout the whole ride.....very unusual for her. She's typically one of the horses that, barring monsters and such, is not in any particular hurry to get anywhere. Don't get me wrong, she has a wonderful flat and running walk......but when it comes to trotting for miles at a time....her attitude has been "Heh! What's the rush? We'll get there eventually."
Not this weekend, though. 'Course compared to most we were going pretty slow...but it's a start for us. I was also lucky enough to draft (Alright. Now I *know* I've been watching too much Nascar) behind a bunch of great people.
I learned a LOT from this ride.....at the mid-point check we did have a bit of a CRI problem, but since everything else about her was A-OK they let us go on.....we took it easy and luckily Mercedes drank like there was no tommorow at each water spot. (yeah!) We came in feeling great with excellent scores and a much better CRI of 56/42.
She had not drank anything at all on the first loop (15 miles) and I didn't plan on giving electrolytes again until the mid-point check....she's also a black horse with a longish coat...and did I mention the humidity was killer? Sooooo.....I plan on giving her a trace clip and from now on, electrolyting at 10 miles (instead of waiting for the vet check)......Becky Siler also taught me (unfortuantely by example) the importance of taking care of yourself as well. I feel bad she didn't feel well and couldn't go as fast as she intended, but I sure did enjoy getting to pick her brain for a good part of the ride.
I also realized when crewing for yourself that you need two each of water and sponge buckets......I came back from the last loop and said, "Duh!!" Luckily there was a hose availible for her and our camp (with another full water bucket) was very close to the vet-in area.
Food was wonderful both nights, fried chicken before the ride meeting was awesome! And the potluck dinner at the FERA meeting was delicious. Things got pretty festive Satuday night when Mercedes and I broke out our santa hats and we were graced by the one and only Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Check out the pictures at floridaendurance.com in a couple of days and you'll see what I mean.
Boy this is long......well if you're still with me a big thanks to Pat (?) and everyone responsible for putting on such a great ride. We had a blast and will be back again next year.
One more thing.....Anybody find a tom thumb bit and the bit attachments that go onto a biothane halter/bridle?? I lost it somewhere between the check-in timers (Lisa, you rule!) and my camp.
See ya'll at Jennings! We'll be the ones pulling up the rear and darn proud of it.
Patti & Mercedes