This past Saturday,the first 100 mile ride was held at
the Crooked Creek Horse Park, north of Pittsburgh, PA.
This is the site of the 1997 ROC and is an outstanding
facility that boasts a very challenging trail. A very
active local horse club seems dedicated to constant
improvement of the grounds and trails. Two large barns
have about 100 stalls. There's a large ring with stands
for spectators, a clubhouse for meetings, kitchen and
snack bar and plenty of parking for rigs. Ride manager
John Grey, Donna, Buck, the vets and radio crew were
well organized and extremely cordial.
The first 50 miles, while not exactly mountainous is far
from flat. The second loop (15mi.) took most horses
close to 3 hours to cover. The first part of the trail
included some narrow ledges that drop off sharply 30ft.
or so. They had been softened up by a torrential storm
that blew through on Friday. One horse and rider took
a slide off a ledge that gave way, but managed to get
back up and continue. The second 50 was on a recently
opened 25 mile loop that was repeated. This was flatter
and wound through farmland and a few small crossroad
towns. The rain created some boggy spots on the first
50 miles that kept the farrier working OT. Stoney lost
both hind shoes there, but Chrissie Unser and Nugget
went through four shoes before 50 miles. If anyone
finds them, we'll pay postage.
And now the weather report: hot and humid. So what else
is new in the East this Summer? Old Dominion deja vu with
slightly less heat but maybe more humidity. It's
encouraging that many riders took the conditions into
consideration and did what it takes to make it through.
21 out of 37 starters finished. Winning ride time was over
14 hours, with the majority finishing between 16 and 18
hours.
Debbie and Stoney haven't been seeing eye to eye of late,
so we coaxed a good friend, Debbie Sheets, out of a five
year endurance retirement to do the ride. Going from rider
to pit crew can be quite an adjustment in lifestyles,
but I'm pleased to say that our marriage will survive it.
At 65 miles, Stoney was running around 10th and the air was
thick enough to cut with a knife. Debbie S. held him out
for about 15min. as we cooled him out before going into the
check. After walking up a steep hill into the check, it took
another 20 min. to get down to 64. This is where Debi Gordon
and Red were eliminated as he hung at 68. After that, they
walked for three miles as darkness fell. Stoney then pepped
up as it cooled a little and rode most of the rest of the
way with a group of seven riders who all finished around
4:30 AM. CRI went from 17/18 at 65 to 15/15 at the finish.
Tough course and depending on the time of year, should make
for an interesting ROC in '97.
Up front, Danielle Kanavy was riding the incredible Cash.
She used excellent pacing, holding back some in the first
50 and pulling away on the flatter going. Also riding
her usual smart ride was Nina Warren on Desert Ballad.
They finished second, I think less than 30 minutes behind.
Here's the top ten with apologies for misspellings and
omissions:
1.) Danielle Kanavy Pieraz (Cash)
2.) Nina Warren Desert Ballad
3.) Debbie Zanot
4.) Lauretta Wazzel Brezarom
5.) Chrissie Unser Nugget
6.) Peggy Thompson Prarie Rascal
7.) Jim Rogan WJ Beezer
8.) Lois MacAfee Rhett Butler
9.) Patti Pizzo Savaq
10.)Nancy Senn Amyr Candyman
This was the final demonstration ride for the USA East team.
A decision will be reached shortly on whether or not the
NA Championships can be held next month in Flagstaff because
of the VS outbreak. The word quarantine is not one of my personal
favorites. A well attended USA East meeting was held at the
ride to discuss this and selection issues, but that's
another story.
Happy trails,
Pete LaBerge