Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

We finally come out down into the neighborhood and I encourage Sarah to get back on so we can trot the flat sandy roads back to the fairgrounds.  She finds a rock and mounts and only goes about 10 feet before Sierra hunches her back and starts to drag her right hind leg.  Very concerned Sarah jumps off and we both are worried about Sierra.  Sarah continues to walk her and she doesn?t appear to be too sore while being led.  She is a little short strided behind but not overly bad.  We reach Fire Mt. Arabians and the horses are happy to discover Jackie has left a trough of water out.  Both drink thankfully and then we head off to camp.  It?s about 4 am and I tell Sarah that I really need to finish and get off, I don?t know how much longer I can walk along in the night.  She tells me it is okay to go, that she?s just going to walk in, I check with her again, feeling a little guilty but she assures me it?s alright.  Sinatra trots off willingly but slows when he realizes we?re leaving his new buddy behind.  I encourage him on.  Suddenly he?s not so brave by himself, pausing to study each glowbar suspiciously and eye the dark bushes with caution.  I hear Sarah call her husband and let him know where she is and what is going on.  For the last time we turn and head down the last road to camp, it having grown longer and longer throughout the day and into the night.  Sinatra walks out quickly and willingly but finds reason to spook and balk when I ask him to trot for any length of time.  I think he can hear Sarah and Sierra behind us (I think I can on occasion) and doesn?t want to leave them too far behind.  It wasn?t that he didn?t want to move out, but he didn?t want to keep going and I think was finding excuses to pause and hope they would catch up.

 

At 4:42 we came upon the finish line which was now vacant and just a soft white line glowing on the ground.  Sinatra took a quick sip of water and then walked the rest of the way into camp.  I remember from crewing Tevis seeing the horses come in with a strong forward walk and a determined and focused look in their eyes.  I was pleased and somewhat awed to see that same _expression_ on my horse?s face now.  I hopped off right before the paved road and led him into the quiet sleeping camp.  I found a volunteer who woke up Melissa and she emerged to vet us through.  Sinatra did very well and I received a complement on how well he looked.  I was appreciative and took him back to our trailer, Sinatra pausing to nibble any bits and pieces of hay that crossed his path.  He was ravenous, I?ve never seen him that hungry.  I fixed him a mash and he pounded that down while I pulled tack and rubbed his few sweaty areas with a towel and curried him a little.  While bending over to take off his Easyboots which he had on over shoes I started to retch and dry heave.  My body was done and letting me know it didn?t appreciate the further abuse of squatting down and hunching over.  I politiced his legs (without wraps), checked that he had plenty of hay and water and staggered into my mom?s RV.  It had been a very long day and night and I was grateful to fall into bed and eventually my mind allowed my body to sleep.