Long Leaf 50 Story
Samm C Bartee (bartesc@mail.auburn.edu)
Mon, 11 Nov 1996 14:37:37 -0600 (CST)
I love the Long Leaf trail. I have been going to this ride 2 times per
year since my first year in this sport--1991. The trails are always
great, management is laid back and wonderful to deal with, and the people
in MS are some of the friendliest in the country!!
I have been riding to complete this year. With Revel being 16 and having
some arthritis problems, I have been trying to play it safe and just get
the miles on him. I have ridden some very tough rides, but have been
overly paranoid and pessimistic--my general attitude anyway:-), but this
weekend, I went to Long Leaf knowing I was going to race.
I used to race Revel in 1993, but after the problems started, he got
nearly 2 years off and then brought back slowly. I have not raced
since. I started Embers--now Tina's moms horse:-), and I purposely did
that nice and slow. Now, I felt was the time to see if I could still do
it.
The day was cold but nice and very clear. Revel felt TOO good at the
start and wanted to play rodeo horse. We started out at a very fast
pace, and the first 16 miles went by in a quick 1:17!! The vet check is
not my best place on a herd bound idiot that has two herd mates out on
the trail, so 10 minutes later we were finally down and cleared by the
vets. He looked good on all counts--on to loop two.
It was 10 miles of fun, Revel was galloping and trotting like a fool. I
kept thinking to myself that he was feeling good now, but would it last?
I had to try. we finished that loop, and only took 3 minutes to vet
through then. His metabolics were good for him, and his gaits were good.
I was breathing a bit easier. Now the 3rd loop, mentally, my hardest. I
was one minute behind another rider, and determined to catch her so I
would have a trail companion. I caught her and passed, and Revel and I
led the way. We caught 4 other riders, and the good old Spotted Ass--no
offense to donkeys anywhere--led the way in. Still trying to canter and
trot like crazy. Vetted through and feeling great. He did not trot out
in hand very easily--this was great, when he gets his APPITUDE, I know he
is feeling great. If he trots good at the 3rd check, I worry:-) Vets
said he looked good!! The last 10 miles are up.
I was two minutes behind 2 riders, and 1 minute behind one rider. I
could do this!! I had no idea how far ahead the first 3 riders were, but
that was ok. I was where I wanted to be--looking at a top ten if I did
not blow it here. Cool!! We left the vet check at a canter--I had to,
or Revel would have left me in the dirt while he headed back to the trailer
looking for his pasture mates!! We picked up the one rider, caught the
other two, and we were all OFF!! We blazed the last ten miles in under 1
hour, and one rider and I raced in about the last 1-1/2 miles. We are
really good friends, and it was a blast!! It was my fault that he passed
me the last 100 yards, my leg cramped really badly and I almost came
off. Joe told me later that he saw me bobble in the saddle and then sit
up--that was when he made his move. I think he would have passed me
anyway, but he doesn't know. It was really cool, and brought back many
memories of several years ago!!!
We vetted through with good vet scores, but I was tying up!! Horse was
great. I did not stand for BC., and caught hell for it--I am a
heavyweight afterall!! But we were 22 minutes behind the leader. If I
had known we were only 2 minutes behind the 2 in front of us, I might
have changed my mind--one of them won BC, but I saw her horse, and he was
AWESOME!!
There were a couple of incidents that marred the day and one was the
trail sabbotage that Tina mentioned. Luckily, it was fixed and no one
was hurt by it.
The second was a disturbing thing I witnessed while out on the trail. I
got behind a couple of riders--ON THE FIRST LOOP--and they were really
giving this horse a hard time. They were using a crop to keep him
cantering and kicking and yelling at him to move. Now, I don't know
about a lot of you, but I think that if you have to beat a horse in the
first 5 miles to get him going, he is not a good candidate for the upper
distances, or any distance at all!! Just my opinion.
The final was it seems that 2 hundred miles cut some trail on the last
loop. It happened later in the ride, but they cut about a third off the
final 16 miles. Management was really upset and let everyone know about
the transgression. No names were mentioned and no fingers were pointed.
I think it's a shame that someone would go that far--over 90 miles and
then try to cut some time off the trail. What is the point, and does
that make someone feel the same sense of accomplishment? Just a
thought. sigh.
If you get a chance to come ride the Long Leaf ride in Laurel MS, I
highly recommend it. Next year, it will be the SE regional Championship
ride for AERC and it will be in NOV. Mark your calender now, and don't
miss it. You will not be sorry!!!
I am very happy with my spotted pony this year. It has become a fairy
tale year for me. I set out to complete a 50 or 2, and try to get his
1000 mile medallion. We have completed 580 miles for the year so far,
and have a couple of more in our sights. I have heard high praise from
some of the vets that knew Revel before and are seeing him again. He is
a wonderful horse and a great trail companion. I hope to ride him in
many more.
APPY TRAILS
SAMM C. BARTEE
Auburn, Al. SE Region
with
SIR REVEL--1305 miles and........!!!
B JETS WAR EAGLE--endurance wannabe