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[RC] Wickenburg ride - 1/31/04 - Part I - ValloneleeWICKENBURG RIDE - JANUARY 31, 2004Okay, since I haven't seen any ride stories for this one - I will jump in and give you my account of the day. I will leave the ride results to someone else who would have better information then I can muster right now. This ride is a MUST DO. The new ride managers, Robin Ollendick and Nancy Halsey have done a wonderful job of making this a ride you will not soon forget. The trails are varied and fun. The volunteers are numerous and friendly. The Sheriff's Posse is everywhere helping the riders stay on track. Water is every 5 miles or so, clean and plentiful. The awards dinner was just down the road at the Elks Lodge and was simply delicious and plentiful. What more can a rider want ? I had planned on doing the 50. However, my boyfriend, Dave, had just recently started riding my ½ Arab and ½ Quarter horse mare, Kaci, and expressed interest in trying to do a LD ride. He had camped with me at the Manzanita Ride and was intrigued by this craziness we call endurance. So for Christmas I gave him a paid entry to the Wickenburg 25 AND a pair of Homeys Hey, Paddi - I will forward you a picture for the contest under separate e-mail :). Since I would be riding slow (Dave has only been riding for four months), I decided to mentor another newbie, Trudy and Rocky (her mustang partner that I am proud to say I started and sold to her) on their first ride. Pat, definitely not a newbie, but riding her 24 year old partner George, rounded out the group. Pat, Dave and I arrived in camp on Friday afternoon after an uneventful drive from Yuma and quickly set up camp in the spacious parking at the Rodeo grounds. Uh-oh, no Trudy. She had tire trouble and ended up arriving late. We settled the horses in and wandered about the vendors and camp, and visited with old friends. Instead of riding we opted to take the horses and let them loose in the round pen to kick up their heels. Kaci and Bravo were excited and animated but George had that "been here, done this and I cannot believe I am here again" attitude. The ride meeting was set for 5:30 and was complete with a wide variety of munchies, including wine and cheese ! Did I mention how wonderful the ride managers are? The weather promised to be cool and the pulse criteria was set for 60, by the head vet, Dr. Barney Fleming. The LD start time was 8:00, and knowing the temps would be about 30-35 overnight I was not unhappy about that ! We checked on the ponies and settled in for the night. to be continued............
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