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[RC] My First Attempt at a 50 - Patti Pankiewicz-FuchsWell, I'll spare you the suspense. We got to 40 miles and she ran out of gas. However I could not be happier with her performance and I am very confident now, that with a little more conditioning she will have no problem completing a 50 at one of the FITS rides in March.
Some details for those who care to know: The weather at the Piney Pig, held in Indiantown, Fl was beautiful! Couldn't have asked for better, though it was a bit warmer than usual on ride day. The ride manager Megan Davis and her bevy of great volunteers did a great job all around. We arrived on Friday morning and set up camp. My best buddy Nancy was joining us and planned on doing the 15 mile Intro to Endurance ride that Megan offered. Nancy and I, along with a bunch of other crazy gals regularly trail ride and camp together. I had been trying to convince her for years to train with me and shoot for some LDs. She would have none of it until a few months ago when I got her to join me on some training rides and realized how much her Appendix mare enjoyed trotting on down the trail. So though she still wasn't that interested in doing an LD, when she heard about the 15 mile Intro ride she decided to give it a whirl.
Check in and vet in was uneventful, as was a leasurely 2 mile ride around camp just for fun. Though I have to admit I got a funny feeling in my tummy when I had to walk up to the check-in people and say "50 miler", instead of "LD".
This was the second time I have used a high-line between my trailer and a tree as our method of confinement while camping. Once again she was an angel on the line, so I guess I can't really think about making panels a priority on an already tight budget when she does so well with a $25 rope.
Starting the 50 at 7:00 am Saturday meant tacking up while it was still kinda dark, though by the time we started it was totally bright. She was raring to go as I hand-walked her to warm her up. I planned on letting everyone else go first once the trail was open in hopes of limiting the theatrics. Unbeknownst to me, my friend Debbie Parsons had decided that I would be her anchor for the day. She had a new mare that she knew she could easily end up going a wee bit faster than she wanted to if she wasn't careful...so she decided to babysit me for the day as she knew I planned on taking all the time it took to finish.
The first two loops were very pleasent. Once we were out of site of camp, Sera settled right down and went to work. We kept up a nice, even, slow to medium trot the whole time. During the end of the first loop (15 miles) Sera started offering to lope here and there, just to change gait which was fine with me as Debbie and Lyric were in front at that point just keeping up of our steady little trot. It was really....well...nice. We sang some silly songs: The horsies on the trail go trot, trot, trot...all through the woods. Good times.
We finish 25 miles and are in the 2nd hold. Sera is all As again, great recoveries. She's definitely mellowed, but only in a good way. She started drinking during the first hold and hasn't stopped sucking up all the water in her path. She's also eating her beet pulp mash and some hay. I'm starting to feel it a wee bit, but we're both ready to go out..looking forward though to having our buddies Debbie and Lyric inspire us as the miles increase, or decrease depending upon how you look at it. Then the bad news, Lyric has been pulled due a soundness-related issues.
Crap. Suddenly neither of us are looking forward to going out there alone, and wouldn't you know it there was no one close enough in front of us or in back of us for us too hook up with. So out we went. She started to get a little lazy, actually offering to walk (we usually don't walk at all on the LDs) but I could tell it was more just being uninspired than tiredness....but with just a little encouragement she kept up her little slow trot no problem. But I'd be lying to you if I said that 3rd loop wasn't kinda long. I don't mind being by myself when she is full of herself and zooming down the trail but as she mellows it's nice to have company.
Anyhoo, by the time we get into the 3rd check she feels good and she's still trotting when I ask (we were taking some walking breaks) but I can tell she's tired. We go through the vet check and she gets all As on everything, except for impulsion but the vet (and I) are both concerned that she just looks plain old tired. We decide to give her the 50 minute hold and see how she looks. By the end of our hold time, she's still eating and drinking well, everything is wonderful as far as gut sounds, gait, etc but she is tiiiiiiii-red! She still trots out for me in-hand for the re-check but you can tell she's only doing it because I asked, not cause she wants to. Vet and I have a heart to heart, and at first there is a wee bit of ego in me wondering if we should go out for the last 10. The devil on my shoulder is saying, "You have 3 hours to finish 10 miles you can get
off and walk her in hand the whole time and still get in on-time." Then the vet pretty much puts it like, "If you insist on going back out I won't stop you, but if it were my horse I wouldn't. All the parameters are fine now, but knowing how tired she is, by the time you get back they might not be." I take her words to heart, look at my mare who is standing like an angel, clearly wanting to just go back to the trailer and nap and tear up like a little girl. Honestly, I'm choking back tears, not so much that we got so close and have to stop, but that for just a second I actually considered pushing that envelope just to finish my first 50. There will be plenty of other rides. The water works really start flowing and I give Sera a big hug, while the vet, and my husband and friend look at the poor whimpering sap that I am. I thank the vet profusely for her words and hand her my card and head back to the trailer.
Then it starts to sink in....I rode 40 miles today! 40 miles!!! And aside from a need for more conditioning Sera has clearly proven that she has what it takes to be a 50 mile horse. That evening at the awards I realized that had we done the LD and finished in the amount of time we usualy did, we would have top tenned. (Probably 8th or 9th place, this is not a massive ride, so not tons of LD racers) My friend thought that was kinda funny......and I couldn't help but feel (and pleeeeease don't anyone take offense to this) but I really felt such a sense of pride over the fact that instead of doing and LD and "winning" (ie: top tenning), I finally tried a 50...even if I *only* got to 40 miles and retired for the day.
So onward and upward for us...we're going to step up the conditioning some, and try again for a 50 at one of the FITS rides in March. Incidently, the next morning I figured she'd be at least a little sore or stiff. Nope. Prancing around with a spring in her step wondering why some of the other horses were getting to go out again (The Piney Pig is a two-day ride) and I was packing up camp.
As far for my friend, she is a testament to offering 15 mile rides. I know there are some who don't believe in them, I certainly agree that they should not count for points...but by offering an Intro Ride at the Piney Pig I know for a fact that Megan created another potential endurance rider. My friend LOVED her experience. LOVED the people (even called one of our camping buddies to tell them how wonderfully helpful and friendly these endurance folk are), the ride, did I mention how awesome the Shepards Pie was at the ride meeting was? The whole kit and kaboodle. She even, and this is blasphemous if you knew the other girls in our camping group, bought a pair of riding tights! She rode in them on Saturday and loved them. And now, not surprisingly she is totally itching to do an LD...which, family and work allowing, she will do at one of the FITS rides.
Thanks again to Megan and all of her volunteers, the cookies at the Lake really hit the spot! We had a wonderful time on our first 50 attempt and can't wait to try again.
Patti & Miss Serendipity
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