[RC] Tevis Riding Story...Out Of Control - campcaballos
In 1999 I rode Tevis on
my lovely gray Arab "Spider". It was to be his first one day 100 and
I had all the jitters that one has before attempting this magnificent
ride. Spider and I had done a few multi-days and I felt that he was
well prepared or at the least we had done our homework and were ready for
the challenge. The night before the ride started there was much
commotion, vetting in horses, people socializing and making there last minute
preparations and then there was the vendors with lots of neat horse items
being offered at their booths.
In all the excitement,
I got this crazy idea that Spider should be ridden bitless the next day so that
he could eat as much as possible without the interference of his bit. I
looked at various hackamores and then noticed a Vosal. For those of
you who are not familiar with a Vosal, it's a v-shaped bar that goes under
the horse's chin and when pressure is applied by the reins, it closes and
applies pressure to the horse. I bought a big black fuzzy to cover the
nose band so that he wouldn't have any rubbing issues along with new reins and
bridle to match. Now I was set and content knowing that Spider would
have the comforts of eating without a bit in
his mouth.
We gathered at the start
the following morning and it was pitch black, horses stepping on one another,
lots of energy in the air and the wait seemed to last forever.
Suddenly we were off and running... not the kind of start that I had
anticipated. Spider was full speed ahead, somewhat controlled but going
very fast and completely ignoring the Vosal. He got worse the further into
the ride and soon we were flying and I didn't know what to do. We hit some
bogs, rocky single track, technical trail passages, but nothing slowed this boy
down. We started the first major climb and there was patches of snow
with breathtaking beauty that surrounded us. I did a flying dismount and
was now determined to calm my boy down and get into sync, so that we could
enjoy our ride. I was sure at the rate we were going, we'd be lucky
if we made it to Robinson Flat. Spider would have nothing to do with me,
totally ignored me and pressed forward, dragging me. I cried, my arms were
like wet noodles, my legs were trembling, I was completely out of breath and
felt doomed. Someone passed us and said get on him and let him go....
he'll tire at the top! After chasing him in circles as I tried to
remount with my worthless body that had zero strength, I managed to get back in
the saddle and we shot off like a bullet. It was scary, exhausting
and just no fun. He never tired and we rode like maniacs until we
arrived at Robinson Flat. I desperately wanted to call it quits and my
boyfriend was there waiting with big smiles, all the goodies were set
out for both my horse and myself and I couldn't say a thing. I went
straight to the vet and figured that I'd let him be the one to pull us because
surely Spider's heart-rate was out of sight. We vetted through within
minutes and the next thing I know we're being filed out the exit area to
enjoy our rest stop and continue the adventure. Spider had bloody raw
spots from the Vosal and the vet suggested changing his
headgear!!!! I suggested we quit!!!
The moral of the story...
everyone knows..... NEVER change your gear the night before a ride. As for
tailgating, we were very fortunate with timing and there was always enough
space between horses. I certainly wasn't the only one struggling. I
think that year there was a terrible accident too. The trail can get
congested and had that been the case, I don't know what the outcome would
have been.
