Tonight I am sitting here on the Tuesday before Big
Horn, reading Hardrock 100 reports. Earlier in the evening I was looking
out at our pasture. There are four horses in the pasture plus one in the
hospital. Of the horses in the pasture, my wife may ride the best one --
right now Max has the fitness and physical shape to run a fine 100 -- but she
cannot decide whether to go for a 100 or not. My choice is between Frank
and Mozart. Frank has the record and he has the fitness, but he was
lame on Memorial Day and he?s getting older. Some of the best vets in the
sport looked at Frank last month and we all decided to give him some time
off. Still, the Big Horn is his run and it is his home course. It
may sound silly, but sometimes I think that he lives for the Big Horn 100 each
summer and I can tell that he knows the Big Horn trail by heart.
Mozart is a borrowed horse with a borrowed
saddle. I?ve been riding him over the past month or so. Mozart is
another Wyoming horse. Mozart certainly has the stuff, but tonight he is
unproven. On Saturday he?ll have his chance. We are planning a long
100. It will be 22 or 24 hours; a fast time for a run, but very close to
the wire for endurance 100.
The Big Horn 100 is a mystical ride. If
you?ve never run it you cannot understand the attraction. It is 100 miles
through some of the toughest and most scenic trails in the west. The run
is hosted by some of the nicest folks you?ll ever meet in endurance. When
you ride you?ll be riding on the trail of the Race of Champions, and more than
likely, you?ll be riding with some real endurance role models. The vets
will meet you at four points throughout the ride, and if you are careful,
they?ll help your horse and you get back to the camp at the Trapper Creek
Ranch.
Sometime before three in the morning on Saturday
Tom Van Gelder will drive through the camp saying ?let?s get with it, we?re
burning daylight.? At four in the morning it will be a small group at the
start, the stars will be out and Tom will speak those unforgettable few words;
?The trail is open? and you?ll be off on your own epic adventure with some rough
riders and tough horses. If you?ve never been there in early morning
darkness with those riders and horses, well?
