Ridecamp: [RC] Ready for 55? (long)

April,

I'll be the voice of caution and say just go for the 30 unless you've got
all of your hoof protection issues worked out (it sounds like you don't),
you have subjected your horse to camping at a ridecamp and have some miles
in with a group of like-minded riders. Competition is terribly exciting and
can blow the mind of the most sedate horse.

If I remember correctly, you've only done a couple of 25 mile LD's on two
different horses? Was Tanna one of them? Have you AND your horse learned all
you can by doing LD's?

I didn't look at the ride schedule, but if this ride offers back-to-back
LD's, why don't you consider doing that rather than throwing a 55 miler at
the horse? (And you!)

I also wonder in that 4.4 mph speed you figured if you took into account the
time you stopped to chat. You say you were motoring along for the most part,
trotting and cantering and walking only when your horse hit a wall; are you
sure you didn't figure wrong?

And I'll be the one to disagree with Pat Super about the speed. I personally
cannot stand the idea of taking the whole 12 hours to do a 50, therefore, I
have been working my mare in increments, increasing distance (like going
from 15 to 25 miles), then increasing speed, then increasing the distance
again (doing two-day rides), then increasing speed (doing 25 in 3 1/2+
hours). By the time we attempt a 50, I want to be able to come in at about
4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon, with a ride time of 8 to 9 hours. That extra
2 or 3 hours out on trail will just kill me, I know it.

Understand that I'm just as much a newbie as you are. I've done just under
500 miles of CTR, 300 on this horse, and only one completed LD. I attempted
a difficult LD last fall and was overtime despite often completing 25 miles
in less than 5 hours. And yes, I had done lots of hillwork. Not all rides
are created the same and not all horses are created the same.

I think once a person can start counting their miles in the 1000's, they've
lost their perspective and have forgotten more than you and I know! They
take a lot of things for granted that newbies still need to learn. Everytime
I've increased distance or speed, I've had to make adjustments in tack and
how I manage me and my horse. Those with 1000's of miles have already
experienced this learning curve and think nothing of it.

So my advice is to keep plugging along, keep resetting your goals higher and
higher and plan on doing the 30 or back-to-back LD's if you want to increase
the mileage. There's always another ride.

Deanna  




April wrote:
About 3 or 4 miles out Tanna threw his right easy boot...

Tanna was feeling great. Trotting up and down the hills, throwing a canter
in at will....

At one point along the trail, I met two endurance riders... It was nice
chatting with them.

I reached a good turnaround spot 13 miles out and then we started back
toward the trailer. Around mile 16 or 17, Tanna was tired and said enough.
So we walked for a good ways.... He didn't drink as well as I would have
liked, but he did drink some. I think he's too used to our shorter 12 mile
rides. He needs these longer rides to let him know he's not quitting, so he
might as well drink.

I was disappointed with our average speed. Only 4.4 mph. Not fast enough for
endurance speed. However, we are still in training and we hadn't done a ride
this long before. So I need to concentrate on getting his training more
consistent. I was working on a training schedule for the next 2 months to
get us to do a 55 in mid-January. I think doing a 30 is too low a goal, but
if we don't make the 55 miler goal, there is a 30 miler the next day and we
could do that one if I felt we weren't ready for a 55. Anybody think I'm
shooting too high to get to do a 55 at a 5 mph speed in 2.5 months with an 8
year old (HORSE, not KID) with a good base? Or should I just forget doing a
55 and do the 30 the next day? The 55 I'm looking at doing is the Gator Run
I at Osceola National Forest on January 16 in Florida.


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