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[RC] BSF 2004, Part 3 of 3 - April

Saddle back on and headed down the trail again for the final loop. I fiddled 
with my stirrups, trying to take some pressure off sore parts of my anatomy. 
Finally, I got them somewhat right and headed down the trail. This part of the 
trail had a bit of sand that I slowed down in. I was passed by 3 riders and 
eventually passed them again. I only had 5 miles to go. Tanna cantered along 
happily for awhile. We slowed to pass another rider, then picked up a good trot 
down a road with small gravel. Up ahead, I saw 2 spotters and slowed to a walk. 
Card please. Is this the finish. Yep. Talk about anti-climatic! LOL. I thought 
I had a couple more miles to go. Ride time of 8:40. Pretty close to my 9 hour 
target. If I hadn't rushed Tanna at the start of the second loop, anticipating 
a slow down that never came, I would have come very close to my 9 hour target.

Back at the trailer to remove tack, then on to the vet for our completion exam. 
Mostly As with a B for back. :-( Tanna was a bit sore on the back. Hmmm. Guess 
trying different saddles these past weeks has jinxed us. Have to figure out the 
cause for that. Could be saddle (even though I used the same saddle I've used 
for 2 years), could be his hips are out of alignment again.

Weight ended at 756. He only lost 2 pounds on the last 10 mile loop.

Back at camp, I settled Tanna in for a bit of a rest, changed my clothes and 
readied the rig for travel. We were heading out immediately after the awards. 
Normally, I like to stay overnight, but we only had a 3.5 hour drive home and 
Daniel had an appointment the next morning.

The ride dinner was excellent. Chicken (which we passed on), mashed potatoes, 
green beans, biscuits and cobbler for dessert. Yummy. There seemed to be plenty 
of food.

The awards were nice. T-shirts and cooler bandanas. 39 riders started the LD 
ride. 35 finished. 40 riders started the 50 miler. 34 finished. I came in 28th 
or so. Not dead last, as a friend pointed out to me. :-) I'm not concerned 
about where I place right now. I figure a target ride time and ride towards 
that. If I come in 7th place or 37th, I don't really care at this point. I have 
no idea who won the 50. I do know that the 30 BC was earned by a first time 
rider!

Tanna is coming along nicely. He looked great after this ride. Just have to 
figure out the slight sore back and the drinking. I think it's time to change 
his electrolytes. This brand just isn't working for him. He drinks well after 
he drinks, but waiting so long to drink is not a good thing. If he would drink 
prior to the ride, I still wouldn't be happy that he didn't drink until 25 
miles, but I wouldn't be so concerned. He ate well, so the probiotics are a 
hit. I might try a different brand to try to get the maximum effect, but I will 
be using probiotics on him from now on. He was lively and alert the entire 
ride. He even willingly left on the 3rd loop. Otis says he SHOULD look good 
going so slow. But being our 4th 50, we are still working out all the kinks and 
we're not ready to try to go fast. :-)

Great ride. I enjoyed it a lot. Eric and Nelia put on a great ride. Everything 
went wonderfully from my perspective. I know there were some mix-ups with some 
of the 50 milers getting 30 miler maps. Hopefully, that didn't turn out to be a 
big problem. I was able to follow the trail markers well (thanks to the trail 
markers, Susan K. and Bill Wilson) and Joe Schoech stood out at a confusing 
intersection for most of the day making sure we took the right turn at the 
right time. There was one section that I was unsure of, but another rider 
pointed me in the right direction and after she told me, I realized the hoof 
prints were all going that direction. Pay attention, April. :-)

Thanks to the Rueters for keeping this ride alive. Thanks to the vets and all 
the volunteers for allowing me to ride in and complete my 4th 50! :-)

April
Nashville, TN



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