[RC] Cuyama XP 2005 - Sharlene Roberts-CaudleFirst, a sincere "thanks" to all of you who shared information and advice about the Cuyama ride--it helped to make our experience great! This was a wonderful ride and if you'd like to hear about my experiences at my first multi-day, and my second ride altogether, read on. The Lake Oroville Vista 50 was our first and, thanks to the generous advice of RideCampers, it was fun and successful for all of us (including husband, 10 year old, 2 year old, and puppy). My Polish Arab gelding is in his teens, raced a couple of years, stood at stud until 10, went to RMTC until I bought him in '99. I was really surprised at how much he must have learned at the LOVE ride. There, he wanted to shove his nose up the tail of the horse in front, but when he got in the lead he dragged along more slowly. So, we went along behind another horse which worked out just great. We finished fine and he was happy, well hydrated enough and with good gut sounds. He didn't drink as well as I would have liked and looked kind of gaunt for a week after. It was a different story at the Cuyama ride! He drank well the entire time, and ate really well. I was able to stay off of the next horse's tail, when we passed groups of horses he moved right along, knowing, I guess, that there were more up ahead? We rode Saturday and Monday, so rested on Sunday while the kids participated in a wonderful Easter Egg Hunt. I know I needed the rest more than Eagle. He ate and drank and enjoyed looking around. We took the 2-year old's pony so he had a buddy, and the 2 kids had something to do also. I was so, so sore on Sunday, hadn't been riding much, and waking up during the night hearing rain really made me wonder about how it would be riding Monday--but I never considered not riding. Surprisingly I was much less sore after the Monday ride. Also, I'd been having problems with my hip, my "periformus" muscle since late September, and the 100 miles on the horse helped more than all the doctor and accupuncturist visits!! All of the people I met were helpful and friendly. The ride was the greatest and ride management itself was absolutely fantastic--I can't emphasize that enough. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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