Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Ramy, I don't think anybody is going to slam you, you've spoken honestly and bluntly.

 

My feed back to ridemanagement was

1. You need useful maps (I was unable to make any sense of the map either - only Kathy, the local, could figure it out)

2. You need drag riders. This is a big deal on a mountain wilderness course.

3. If you're going to introduce new trails, test them with a horse (not an ATV) first. GPS-measured miles are shorter than wheel or vehicle-measured miles, and the more turns and elevation changes a trail has, the more innacurate it is.

 

Regarding the horse fatalities. I was only aware of one, that was the 50 miler horse that died from a twisted gut. Tragic, but not necessarily due to poor vetting or over-riding. The other fatality I hadn't heard of.

 

I think this is a ride worth continuing, worth promoting, worth improving.

 

Steph

 

-----Original Message-----
From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Ramy Jisha
Sent: Sunday, July 23, 2006 2:08 PM
To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [RC] 2006 Big Horn 100

This is my first post ever to RC.  From what I've read on here regarding the Big Horn ride, I feel some things need to be pointed out, particularly for anyone who has never done the ride and would consider doing so.  Be sure you talk to many people about it before you do, and go prepared to take care of yourself and your horse.  Or, better yet, don't go, especially if you expect RM to provide a safe ride.

I want to tell you before you start slamming me that I was not a rider, but I was crew.  I am an AERC member and I am also a veterinarian, so I did have a knowledgable perspective from which to say the things I am going to say.

The general attitude of RM at the BH was, at best, cavalier.  I have to say I see the same attitude in some of the posts I've seen on RC.  The fact that a horse died was given no more than casual attention in the accountings I have seen.  In fact, not only one horse died, two were killed. 

This is tragic.

As someone pointed out, the vets really wanted riders to complete.  They pretty much left it up to riders to pull horses or decide to go on and you can see what happened as a result.  One of the vets told me he didn't see why a horse with colic couldn't go on if the rider wanted to, the walking might do it some good.  Does this sound like a responsible attitude towards our horses?

At the ride meeting, Tom Van Gelder announced a few things that were critical.  He made it clear that he felt the complaints regarding their straight holds the year before were silly.  But, that they would have gates into the holds this year because of the complaints.  RM at this ride is obviously of the "old-timer" attitude that everyone, including the horses, should just be tough and suck it up rather than expect things to be done as safely as possible.

Also at the ride meeting, Tom VG announced that if anyone was left out on the fourth section of trail, which included that infamous Shag Nasty and ended at Jack Creek, after dark, then glowsticks would be put out for them.  This DID NOT happen, as you have heard from some of the ride stories which have been told.  I drove into the Jack Creek vet check hours before dark and personally told Tom that I knew for a fact there would be at least one rider and most likely more who would not get to Jack Creek before dark.  His answer was, well, they already used all the glowsticks on the last section of trail.  Besides, he said, they'll be ok. 

He also announced that there would be drag riders, either on 4-wheeler or horseback.  Again, this DID NOT happen.  My rider was out on the trail near Adelaide at about 8pm when her horse colicked.  She was the last rider on the trail.  She did what she could for him while waiting for the drag rider who never appeared.  Fortunately, her horse came around and we had a live horse to bring home.

RM also seemed to delight in telling riders the trail was shorter and less difficult than it actually was.  The other rider who ended up on the trail overnight was told that the section including Shag Nasty coming into the Jack Creek vet check was 7 miles.  The same member of RM told me personally that the trail was about 14 miles.  According to most riders, it was longer than that.

I would like to know just where Steph got the map she supposedly consulted.  The one trail map I saw that was handed out to the riders in general was beyond useless.  It was one big smudge with nothing legible on it.

Yes, the Big Horn mountains are beautiful.  I would love to go back with my horses to camp and ride the back country.  The last thing I would do, though, is attend a ride managed by Tom Van Gelder without making sure I had my own support system in place including a crew with good maps and my own drag rider.

I spent the night at Jack Creek with Tom and I can tell you he is lucky he was my only link to the resources I thought I was going to need to go in and find those riders and horses.  Otherwise, he might not have made it out of there. 

Did anyone else notice that there were no liability realease forms to sign for this ride?

I haven't even covered all the areas of concern, but there's an appropriate place for that.

Now, you go right ahead and slam me, I really don't care.  The entire story of this ride needs to be told so more horses hopefully don't suffer.

Regards,
Ramy Jisha DVM
(that girl from Texas, for those who were there)

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