We went up to compete in the Man Against Horse Endurance Race this
weekend. It is one of only a few races I am aware of in which the equine and
human races are held consecutively. Interestingly, there is no Ride And Tie
component. The first Man Against Horse race took place in 1983 and was
conceived by Prescott, AZ residents Gheral Brownlow and Steve Rafters. Gheral
was a runner and owned a store in town. Steve was a cowboy who worked for the
Prescott Police Department and enjoyed riding horses. Rumor has it that they
decided to put on the race while at one of the taverns on Whiskey Row in Prescott.
Ron Barrett, a local runner and endurance rider, became ride manager in
1988 and moved the ride from its original location at Whitehorse Lake to its current location at the base of Mingus Mountain in Prescott Valley, AZ. All proceeds and donations from the event go to support food banks in the area. Over
the years, more than $100,000 has been given to feed the hungry.
Rusty and I had a catastrophic wardrobe malfunction: victims of our own
equipment experiment gone awry. In the week prior, Rusty has tested using
silicone mixed with a little water applied to the sole of Rocky’s feet.
He then put on Gloves over top and rode in a variety of terrains at a variety
of speeds. The silicone set up nicely that weekend: it stayed in place and
Rusty simply put on the Gloves when he rode, and removed them when he was
finished.
There is really no need for additional protection under the Gloves, but
we were intrigued by the idea of adding some additional cushion for an
infamously rocky competition.
Once we were installed at base camp, we mixed the silicone with a
little water and applied it to the base of the front feet using a spatula. We
covered the foot base of the foot in saran wrap to keep the silicone from attaching
itself to anything, and left the horses overnight in an old discarded set of
Glue-On shells to let the silicone set up.
When we pulled the saran wrap off the feet to apply the Gloves the next
morning, the silicone had not set up. With only a few minutes before the start
of the race, we decided to just put on the Gloves anyway and set off.
It is a beautiful sight to see runners and riders leaving in the early
morning light. The long line of competitors stretched out across the open
country like a like a string of worker ants leaving the nest. Those first few
miles are very exciting while the order evolves and the runners and horses find
their place. Runners yield to horses and horses yield to runners with a
satisfying display of mutual respect.
My first Glove oozed off at about four miles as soon as we hit the
first rock. To my horror, I discovered the silicone was smeared all around the
sole, hoof and heel bulb and had taken on the properties of Vaseline. I wiped
the boots and hooves as best I could, but everything was now well lubricated
– shiny and smooth and slick. The boots would work their way off countless
times all the way to the first vet check at 16 miles. I managed to borrow some
denatured alcohol from a friend and attempted to restore the feet and boots to
their natural state, but alas, it was too late. The ride is one big 50 mile
loop, so there was no opportunity to get back to the trailer and change our
strategy.
We would inch our way to the 38 mile mark, but time was most definitely
against us and after 10.5 hours on the trail, Rusty and I got pulled for being
Over Time. There was just no way we could finish the last 12 miles in 90
minutes with an average speed of 3.8 mph.
It was a good lesson to learn: the Gloves work just fine without any
additional sole packing. It turned out to be a day full of humor and an
opportunity for me to practice my Zen master side.