Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Lari, I remember that.  I always tell my kids as Bill Bentham told me, never use anything new at a ride.  I still think that when I busted up my knee so bad it was because my new half chaps caught the edge of my Stubben saddle flap.  I remember feeling everything rip and tear before I hit the ground.........mb

On 11/24/07, Lari Shea <larishea@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

I hope I'll be forgiven for telling this tale...  But I remember Bill Bentham telling this story around the campfire one night~~~

He'd been a 3 Day Event rider, and wanted to get into endurance.  Figured he might as well skip the 25 and 50 mile part of the learning curve, since he was both a veterinarian and an extremely experienced equestrian.  He decided to start out with a 100 miler.  He also figured he didn't want to look like a wuss, wearing the elasticized riding britches in which he was accustomed to competing.   So, he showed up for his first endurance race ready to ride in a brand new pair of denim jeans, so as to look like a regular dude.  He thought perhaps his butt might get sore riding for 100 miles, so he glued a piece of foam rubber to the top of his Stubben Siegfried forward seat hunt saddle.   Of course, he always posted the trot.

I guess this story just doesn't have the same impact unless I relay the information that he told us... he's a guy who doesn't usually wear underwear. 

After about 20 or so miles on the trail, he realized that when one posts the trot, one doesn't actually rise up and down in the saddle.  One actually slides forward and back.  And with slick skin tight riding britches against smooth saddle leather, all is well with the world.   But when rough denim meets porous foam rubber, the slick is gone... and all that's left is the stick.  But something has to give in order for the forward and back to happen.  That would be the inside of the denim against the skin of his butt.

He said that by the time he arrived at the first vet check at about 25 miles, he must have looked not unlike a female baboon in full heat.

Luckily, he had a pound of Vaseline in his vet rig, which his crew had driven to the vet check.  He ripped the foam off the Stubben, hobbled into the porta potty, applied two heaping handfuls of Vaseline, and tried to ignore the fact that for the rest of the race, it looked like he actually hadn't made it to the porta potty in time.

Bill persevered, learned, and went on to become the President of the AERC....   and never lost his sense of humor.

Lari

"What unites us all is a love of the out-of-doors, a spirit of adventure, and a passion for horses!"

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