[RC] Bonita Easy Come, Easy Go Turkey Trot - 11/26/05 - part 1 - Vallonelee
A great big thank you to the Ride Manager and all the volunteers for putting on this wonderful ride. The trail was challenging with beautiful views in many areas. There was plenty of help at the checks and holds. The criteria was a 56 which many people were concerned about. It worked out well for me and Bravo and I didn't hear anyone that really had a problem meeting criteria. I do not believe that there were any horse's treated which was great given the large field of 75 horses in the 50 and 50 in the 25 (approximately).
I will not give the placings as I didn't get to hear them all, as we were in the back of the crowd at the awards ceremony.
What I will do is bore you with a little bit about my ride..........
The day after Thanksgiving we packed the trailer and headed to the San Diego area to do another 50 miler. Bravo was ready and I was happy to be away from home and work :)
We arrived early on Friday at the Sweetwater Camp Ground (even got a campsite with electric and water) WOOHOO ! The weather was not the best, but surely it would clear for ride day......well, almost. It was damp and cooler then we were used to and I was glad that I put the extra blankets on the bed and in the trailer for the horses.
We set up camp and I even took Bravo for a quick ride to see the area. He was not happy to leave Kaci behind but moved out smartly enough. He was feeling way too good !
We vetted in without incident and received our ride number and packet. Now just had to go to the ride meeting. The Manager, Dave, was quite the character. The ride map was just a tad confusing but I figured I just had to make it from point A to point B, and it was all there on the map - A, B, C, D, E, 1, 2, 3 and 4 (yes literally).
We tucked in for the night as the ride start was 6:30 a.m. I woke, as always, at 1, 2, 3, 4 and then 5 o'clock. Made a quick cup of tea and oatmeal for breakfast and started to tack up. Bravo was still relaxed - hmmmmm is he sick ?? Nah, just saving his energy for the start.
Since Dave was not riding, he lead Kaci to the finish to make it easier on both her and Bravo to separate. Bravo didn't blink and headed down the trail at a smart trot after I gave my number to the check in. After that is was all blowing and pulling, boy was he in a hurry. Things were going along okay until we tried to pass a chestnut that was really giving his rider fits. I asked to pass and when I did this horse started pitching a fit, Bravo took one look at that and said "oh yea, I can do that too"! EEEEKKKKKKK- lucky for him it only took a stern word to get that out of his system, PHEW !
This ride is posted as moderate but I would say it was slightly more to the difficult side. There wasn't much flat trail to make time on - there was lots of rolling hills and some really tough climbs and technical trail. That being said, I made the 13 miles to the first vet check right as scheduled in 1.5 hours, only getting rained on twice. The pulse criteria was 56 and even with the very high humidity, Bravo pulsed down in about 3 minutes. Things were looking good. Bravo didn't really drink at this stop but that is not unusual for him, even at home. He did eat really well. It was a 20 minute hold that seemed like 5 and we were off on the next loop.
The second vet check would be in the same place and Dave was set up to wait out our arrival. The next loop was 25 miles (with two 10 minute holds after pulsing down out on the trail). At the first hold I had just called for P&R when someone turned on a hose that was in a large bucket of water directly behind Bravo. The hose shot up and squirted poor unsuspecting Bravo right in the behind. He was so shocked he almost went over top of me. Needless to say, it took us an extra few minutes to pulse down after that !
Out for a 7-8 mile loop and then back to the same hold spot. This time it was uneventful. Bravo was drinking but not as well as I would have hoped. The humidity was causing him to sweat a lot more then I am accustomed to seeing and in hindsight I should have upped his electrolytes. We left then and the trail back to the vet check was a lot of climbing. We arrived in good time and were at the 38 mile mark. Bravo drank like a camel and buried his head in his food. I hated to disturb him so I covered him with a cooler and let him eat (something I don't usually do - note to self, don't deviate from what you know works). I usually get right in the vet line and vet through just in case the horse stiffens up at the hold. I can then take them back out and loosen them up on the trail. Bravo was so hungry he stood absolutely still for the entire 45 minutes and then I vetted. The vet says she may see something in his left hind - UH OH. I am freaked. I take him back to the truck and massage his leg. He acts like it is bothering him but Bravo can be a priss about being touched. I am torn - do I go back out or do I pull ????????????
