Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Karen Nelson knelson@xxxxxxxxxx
My turn to rant and vent:
Cindy- You are probably stating it all the best for those of us who have 
ridden a few miles in the past 18 + years.
It is up to the rider to be prepared for the event.  Go to the back of the 
pack and watch-listen-look- and LEARN from the happenings around you.  If 
you attended your first darts tournament and expected to win the sucker, I 
would say that you have UNREALISTIC expectations.  Running in the top ten 
or twenty against experienced riders is nuts,when you are new-and I 
consider "NEW" as any rider with under 1000 miles in 50 MILE events. When I 
started with endurance, 25-30-35 milers were considered "training  rides" 
which had the added advantage of ribbons and vets and a dinner at the 
finish.  NONE of those miles counted for my lifetime mileage, and I still 
think they SHOULDN'T. JMO.
As for riding horses we know or don't- My only horse was pregnant with a 
Fadwah baby in 1987.  I rode 7 different horses-1005 miles-all 50's or 55, 
and and 5 of those rides, I got on the horse AT THE STARTING LINE. The 
other 2 were horses I leased for a longer term, but one I had only ridden 3 
short rides before riding a few 50's on her. I only jockeyed or borrowed 
horses from people I knew and trusted who would tell me the condition of 
the horse and I would ask what time they wanted the horse to finish in.  If 
they said 8 hours NET-NET-NET of all holds, then I would target 8 1/2 
hours. I finished EVERY ride I started in that time period, NO PULLS, and 
had a great time. I learned alot, getting on horses with different gaits 
and habits, but I was very careful who I rode for or borrowed a horse from. 
I now have over 4400 miles, which is nothing in the big scheme of AERC riders.
One hour holds for rides:  I don't recall very many events that had 
anything less than a full hour for the mid-day hold (lunch).  I do remember 
a VERY COLD event at Las Vegas which was so darn cold, the VET made the 
decision to tell riders- go potty-get some hot chocolate in the kitchen- WE 
are giving your horse hot mash IF YOU WANT it to have it while under a 
blanket (they had a pile of blankets at the vet spot), and you are getting 
back onto your horse and continuing. We had about a 15 min hold.  They were 
very concerned the horses would cramp up their muscles from the wind and 
cold.  We were all riding slow and reasonable, as the high mileage riders 
were looking for miles, not first place.  No riders or horses got into 
trouble with the riders who listened to the vet.  He arranged for the 
delicious generous hot chocolate for everyone, and I wish I could remember 
his name.  I suffer from CRS some days and today is the lucky day....:).
Other than that, I also remember "one hour holds" that ran into longer than 
one hour, due to an overage of riders at the last minute and extra vets 
being unavailable, or due to vets being very busy trying to treat a 
horse(s).  One ride I was at the lunch stop for almost 1hr 45 min.  I still 
finished the ride in time. Both me and my horse ate lunch in the vet line.
The AERC rules call for an OVERALL ride time of 12 hours including ALL 
HOLDS  for 50 miles, and all proportionate calculations for other 
distances.  If you and your horse are not ready to compete at that level, 
then get a mentor to ride with you and help you out before you attempt to 
compete in any distance AERC event.  WE are out there- We will mentor 
you.  Ask Mike Tomlinson.  I wrote to him about this topic almost a year ago.
I will mentor anyone who wants to ride with me.  I have started over 7 new 
riders in endurance.  Some still ride, some have slowed down as their 
horses got older and have "retired", but they didn't get  into 
trouble.  One of the riders I "mentored" was the 1991 Junior National 
Junior, Jeff Brown.(Tinkerbell)
I have paid my dues.  I have pulled when I felt something just wasn't quite 
right, even when the vet cleared me.  I have ridden in wind, snow, below 15 
degrees, on ice-(Hunter Mountain on the 5 day Death Valley), done a few 
miles of the Pony Express-riding and crewing, and trained for Tevis in 105 
degree heat dressed all in black in the canyons. I will mentor anyone who asks.
I have a reputation as being a bitcher at a ride- but mostly when the ride 
IS NOT as represented by the ride management.  Don't tell me the ride isn't 
rocky and have me drive for 5 hours  one way to find it is quite 
rocky.  That is BS.  Don't tell me  you don't need pads for the rocks when 
the ride manager uses EASY BOOTS on all 4 feet.  That pissed me off.  Don't 
tell me there is PLENTY of water at base camp for rigs to fill up for a 5 
day ride across dry desert when it takes 18 minutes for a 5 gallon bucket 
to fill up with the available well system.  That pissed me off.  22 rigs 
took a long time to get filled up that Sunday night. Don't tell me that you 
don't cash the checks until the 5 day ride is over when you are taking them 
to the bank on Sunday night before the ride starts. That pissed me off.  I 
didn't like to wait for my refund when all our horses were lame in 2 days. 
If you are the ride manager- you should know the condition of the 
trail.  You should know how prolific the water pump system is at base camp.
Did I ever get "lost"? Yes, but not to the point of requiring Search and 
rescue. Most other riders help keep us on the trail when we drift off.  Are 
all trails marked the same?  NO- NO- Hell, NO.  But being at the ride 
meeting on Friday night is your responsibility so that you can ask 
questions then about the distances between various waypoints of the trails 
and the ribbon color sequence.  You have to be prepared. Ask for a mentor.
Having said all that rant, this is a wonderful sport.  It has a multitude 
of enjoyments.  My drawer full of t-shirts has the same shirts the winners 
got.  I finished last a number of times.  Riding with Trilby is alot of 
fun. Enjoy  Karen Nelson


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