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Big South Fork 100 Mile Endurance Ride

When I came to Big South Fork I really did not know what rides I was 
going to do. It was a three-day pioneer ride with a choice of distances 
each day. I had brought two horses and had pre-registered in a 30, a 50 
and the 100 on Saturday. I finally settled on a 30 for Thursday and the 
100 on Saturday with a rest day for me in the middle. I rode the 30 on 
my mare, Shady Rock Rose, who is returning to the trail from maternity 
leave after producing a beautiful filly last summer. This was her test 
to see if our spring and summer of conditioning was paying off. We had 
fun as I let her pick her pace and she finished easily in about 4:15. To 
my surprise she placed 8^th and had the high vet score in the BC 
judging. She passed the test with flying colors and our weekend was off 
to a good start.

The day off gave me a chance to organize my things for the long ride on 
Saturday. My husband and ace crew member, Bill, was laid up at home with 
a bad back so I was going this one alone. I packed some things that 
someone would take to the two remote vet checks. All the other vet 
checks were in camp and I had conveniently parked just across the road 
from the vet area so I formulated a plan to time in, go to my trailer to 
remove tack then go to the pulse timer and vet then back to the trailer 
to rest and refuel.

The morning of the ride was foggy with a light misty rain and fairly 
cool temperatures. The ride, which was to start at 6:30, was delayed 
until 7:00 because the visibility was so bad. There were 13 who started 
the 100 and I was hoping to stick with some riders so Blue would have 
company. I have ridden Big South Fork many times before in NATRC 
competitive trail rides so knew the trails fairly well so when the 
riders in front of me turned up the hill just past Charit Hostel I had a 
sudden feeling that we had taken a wrong turn. I called ahead to the 
people in front of me but everyone kept going. I got my map out and 
tried to read it while trotting and realized that we were supposed to 
change from orange and black to plain orange and go straight at that 
turn and we were still on orange and black. I called ahead “If we get to 
Hatfield Ridge we have definitely taken a wrong turn!” Sure enough after 
about a mile we came to Hatfield Ridge. The few folks who were within 
earshot of me looked at their maps and agreed that we had gone wrong. 
Darn! Just what we needed at the beginning of a hundred mile ride! We 
headed back down the mountain and put ourselves on the right trail. We 
had gone an extra 2-3 miles by making that mistake. Unfortunately there 
were 3 riders that did not figure out their mistake until they arrived 
at the vet check too early. They had to later make up the mileage but 
were eligible for completion only.

We were keeping a pretty good pace and came into the first remote vet 
check at 20 miles in 2½ hours even with our wrong turn. That was a bit 
faster than I had intended to ride at the beginning but I was still 
hoping to stay with the other riders. Blue vetted through just fine and 
settled in for some carrots and alfalfa.

The second loop went just as fast but at this time of the morning the 
temperatures were climbing into the 80s and the humidity was extremely 
high. I realized as soon as I came into the check that I had made a 
mistake by going too fast. Blue took a while to pulse down and looked a 
little stressed. He was having a hard time with high humidity. I finally 
got his pulse down which was work since the water available had been 
sitting in the sun and was not cool. This hold was back at camp and it 
was a busy part of the ride for everyone so I was on my own with no 
crew. Luckily a tank truck arrived to fill the troughs and the water was 
fresh and cool, some folks came over and helped me sponge and scrape 
him. His pulse steadied and I presented him to the vets but his CRI was 
high so they held my card for a re-check. Back at the trailer he ate and 
drank well and I sprayed him off with cool water and let him hang out in 
his pen with Rose while he ate. After about 30 minutes I took him back 
to the vets and he had completely recovered and vetted with all As. 
Whew! Disaster narrowly averted and a big lesson to ride my own ride. 
Since the re-check had taken some time away from Blue’s eating I decided 
to wait a little longer before leaving the vet check so he could tank 
up. I went over and told Angie Fura, whom I was riding with at that 
point, that I was staying for a while so that they could go on. We’d be 
bringing up the rear.

The third loop was the worse for us as now Blue and I were alone which 
he dislikes and we were repeating a portion of the morning trail, which 
he hates, not to mention it was the hottest part of the day and the 
humidity had not let up. Still concerned about his condition I kept a 
much slower but steady pace, more like what he was used to from his 
NATRC days. I spent extra time in the creeks and made sure that he did 
not get as hot as he had before. It took me about 3 hours and 15 minutes 
to do the 14 miles but Blue was looking good. By the time I passed the 
timers and stopped at my trailer to drop off the saddle his pulse was 
down. We went right to the pulse takers and through the vet check with 
all As again. I was confident that we would make it through as long as 
we took it easy.

The next segment followed the White Oak Loop trail to the Cumberland 
Valley Trailhead where there was another remote vet check. This was the 
most fun section of trail as the footing is firm sand and the trail is 
fairly level, winding through white oak forests. Blue remembered this 
section from the past and we boogied right along as the sun went down. 
The air became cooler and our energy picked up. I had packed my Ipod for 
this loop just for fun and it seemed to be playing just the right music 
for trotting. Bob Marley, Bonnie Raitt and old time mountain waltzes all 
had the proper beat. I felt like we were doing musical dressage down the 
trail in the light of the half moon. The bats started dancing with us, 
swooping around us and past us and sometimes flying down the trail in 
front of us. I was a bit nervous about that at first but they seemed 
passive and I started enjoying their presence.

The trail continued for quite a while, as it was 15.4 to the vet check. 
We were deep into our trotting rhythms when all of a sudden I saw lights 
through the woods. I gave a “hootie hoo!” and was greeted by cheers from 
those waiting. It was 9:15 and they had expected us around 10:00. Blue 
and I had made up 45 minutes with our fun. Blue was hungry, I mean 
really hungry! He started devouring everything in sight. Apples, 
carrots, alfalfa, oats, he just couldn’t get enough. He drank lots of 
water too. This is where the magic crew fairies really helped me. When I 
arrived a group of folks surrounded us, put me in my chair and gave me 
yogurt, took off Blue’s saddle, gave him water, sponged him and took him 
to the pulse taker (I did insist on trotting him out myself since he 
always does better for me) and hung out with me in the dark. Thanks 
Lori, Angie, Robbie and whoever else was there. The riders before me had 
just left moments before I arrived so I didn’t feel quite so alone anymore.

It was only 12.4 miles back to camp and our second to last hold but in 
between was a bear of a mountain to climb. We left the vet check and 
made our way along a level, sandy trail for a few miles before 
descending to a bold creek. We followed the creek for several miles 
alternating trotting and walking the rocky sections. I was proud of the 
steady pace Blue was keeping, as he tends to lose motivation when riding 
alone. When we hit the big mountain Blue slowed to a walk as he 
negotiated the steep 2.5mile climb. He put one foot in front of the 
other and marched up the mountain without stopping. A mile or 2 after we 
reached the top we came to a road crossing. Blue remembered this as the 
2 mile marker from his NATRC experiences here and got quite excited and 
really picked up the pace towards home. Little did he know that he still 
had 20 miles to go after he got back to the camp.

Once again through the vet check and his condition was getting even 
better, he really was doing well. He was still ravenously hungry and I 
was starting to wonder if I was going to run out of feed. Becky Siler 
was there waiting up for me ready to lend a hand and it was much 
appreciated. She took care of the horse, which allowed me to take care 
of myself. We headed out for a ten-mile loop that we would then repeat 
before finishing. Blue really didn’t think this was a good idea, after 
all, his mare and all his feed was back at camp and the bats were out 
there on the trail. He crawled out of camp like a slow motion movie and 
it wasn’t until the horse trailers were completely out of sight that he 
started listening to my leg cues. Once we got going he got into the 
spirit and we hit another good rhythm with the music playing in my 
earphones. Once again the bats were following us and they were fun to 
watch. At one point something sailed by us and clung to a tree and when 
I shone my light I realized it was a flying squirrel. In my head I 
remembered this as a fast flat loop but after the first 5 or 6 miles of 
good footing and level terrain we hit a gravel road that had some pretty 
steady climbs. Blue used this as a good excuse to slow down. His 
motivation was really waning and I was having to sweet talk him for a 
good trot. He still looked great so I know it was a mental thing.

The last hold was a short one and we headed out one more time. Remember, 
I said that Blue really does not care for repeat loops and this was 
certainly the case at 3:30 in the morning and we had been riding alone 
for nearly 60 miles. If he thought the last loop was a bad joke he 
thought this one was a nightmare. He felt strong under me, though, so I 
kept urging him on. We made a compromise, if he would trot 10 steps he 
could walk 10 steps and we kept chugging along. He just really didn’t 
see the point in this last loop. After all, the 2-mile marker was almost 
20 miles ago. It wasn’t until the last turn for home that he got his 
spark back and then he almost didn’t believe me that it was almost over. 
When camp came into sight his ears came forward and he pranced a little 
as he neared the timers. The fire had died and folks were bleary-eyed 
but everyone was glad we had made it and they could now go to bed. His 
final vet check was the best of the whole night, I had taken good care 
of him and that earned me a “Good job!” from head vet, Otis Schmitt. I 
got Blue comfortable and spent some time rubbing his legs and just 
making sure everything was ok. He was glad to see Rose and there was 
plenty of food waiting there for him that Becky had been so nice to set 
out. He munched and I marveled at our accomplishment and how this 
big-hearted horse went so far alone just because I asked him to. When it 
was all said and done we finished top 10 and turtle in our second 
100-mile ride. What a night!

Thanks to all who helped us to make it! Thanks also to ride Eric and 
Nelia Rueter and all the crew who made it look easy (but we know different!)

Happy Trails, Nancy Sluys and Indigo Blue (100 mile horse!)


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