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Re: [RC] Fireworks as a begginer ride - Barbara McCraryI tried to find the original question, but must have deleted it. Here's my take on Fireworks, which, by the way, I love to ride and have done so several times:There IS a single-track trail at the beginning and it is downhill for a short distance before starting to climb (and vary up and down after that.) There IS a small stream, often mostly just muddy, that freaks out some horses. There IS the San Lorenzo River, which is maybe 50' across and can be as much as belly deep. It has boulders that the horse cannot see in the early morning light. It is much more visible in the afternoon on the way back to the start-finish line. That said, work with your horse about dealing with wet, spongy situations, as last year when I took my horse on his first endurance ride, there were several horses ahead of me that just couldn't handle the thought of crossing mud. They were flouncing around and backing up, etc. Your horse needs to be able to stop on the single-track trail and wait for this, patiently. There isn't much of a way to get around several horses floundering around in a small area. The river is an interesting diversion and some horses will flip out over it, too. I've known riders to be dumped into the river by horses that just can't handle the width, depth and boulders. It was only belly deep on my 14.2 hand horse and he is always very careful about feeling his footfalls. None of this is dangerous. One simply needs to have horses prepared for 1) Patience, 2) Muddy spots, and 3) River crossings. All of these are normal encounters on trails anywhere and should be part of a good trail horse's capabilities. OK, I'll admit to being smug about Jess, since he is a great river horse, great boulder horse, and has considerable patience. He cannot understand what all the fuss is about. :-)) If in doubt about the predicted behavior of you horse, I recommend waiting about 15 minutes after the last horse has left the start. Barbara ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kitley, Carrie E Civ USAF AFSPC 30 MDSS/SGSLF" <carrie.kitley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: "Julienne" <jsrha@xxxxxxxxx>; "Ridecamp" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 7:57 AM Subject: RE: [RC] Fireworks as a begginer ride You might want to consider being a mentor to some newbies and help them out rather than criticize? Just a thought. My mare is usually ok (however, not exactly calm), but she does get real excited at the start because she loves endurance. We sometimes end up doing a few tight circles before the ride starts. :) I have been told that the Fireworks ride might be a good beginner's ride because the terrain is fairly easy to navigate. I don't know, I've never done that one, but I'm looking forward to it. :) Carrie Kitley 30th Medical Group, Vandenberg AFB DMLSS Database Sustainment Specialist (DSS) CACI International Inc www.caci.com dsn 276-1077, Comm (805) 606-1077 fax dsn 276-1179 <\_~ // \\ carrie.kitley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm not sure I would say it's great for a first ride. There are A LOT of newbies at this ride with out of control horses. If you decide to ride, make sure you have a nice calm buddy horse OR start waaaay in the back of the pack. I don't like this ride because of all the other horses and inexperienced riders. Julienne =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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