Warner Springs Ride Canceled (long)

[Terry Woolley Howe <cancer@inetworld.net>]

The days preceding Friday were beautiful, but on Friday it began to
rain.  It rained on and off in the morning, and by nightfall it was a
steady downpour.  Throughout the night it was heavy.  I was awake most
of the night hoping that it would stop raining so that the riders would
not have to ride in the rain.  At 3:30 a.m. I said to my husband David 
“I’m going to cancel the race.”  I was not concerned about the riders
riding in the rain, but I realized that even if it stopped raining by
morning, so much rain had fallen that some of the uphill climbs in the
first loop would become so greasy with over 100 riders that it would be
dangerous to both rider and horse.   There were also a couple of areas
along the Pacific Crest Trail that were narrow and I was not sure
whether or not some of those trails would have become unstable, thereby
creating more dangers.  Another consideration was the damage that would
have been done to the trails themselves by riders running over
rain-soaked ground.  I got up at 3:30 and went to the lodge to call the
fifth vet that was coming out in the morning to tell him not to come.  I
went to the equestrian center at 4:00 a.m. to talk to the equestrian
manager (she was going to feed the endurance horses at 4:00 a.m.).  We
discussed the situation and she agreed with me that the trails would be
dangerous after so much rain.  

	While it was a disappointing decision to make, it was not a difficult
one.  When weighing the safety of the riders and the damage to the
environment, against the monetary loss, there was really no choice. 
Initially, some of the riders did not understand the necessity of
canceling the ride, but after many of the riders returned from riding
parts of the course on race day (the weather was nice), and relating
stories of slippery trials, stream crossings up to their horses'
bellies, mud bogs, etc., the riders realized the dire consequences that
could have happened had the race not been canceled.

	All the riders were given the option of receiving a full refund,
rolling over their entry money to a future ride, or participating in a
“fantasy ride.”  All of the completion awards had already been
purchased, as well as awards for the top five best conditioned 25
milers, and top ten as well as division winner awards for the 50
milers.  The majority of the riders participated in the “fantasy ride”
because I think they realized what a financial burden canceling a ride
puts on the ride manager and understood that if ride managers lose large
sums of their own money on rides, they can no longer afford to manage
them.  The vets even waived most of their fees.  Some people left in the
morning, but the majority stayed for the remainder of the weekend and
listened to a talk by Dr. Louie Enos, enjoyed the cocktail party at the
Olympic size hot pool in the afternoon, and had great buffet dinner
(even many of those receiving refunds or roll-overs stayed).  Amazingly,
12 hours after the ride was canceled, there were 160 for dinner at the
awards banquet for the fantasy ride.  

	The “fantasy ride” was a great success (there were no pulls, no riders
got hurt, no horses had to be treated).   There were lottery drawings
for the premium awards, and so a couple of the riders received top ten
awards on their first 50!  It was a very festive awards dinner and at
times there were shouts of “great ride,”  “nice job” when someone
receive their completion award.  Everyone got into the spirit of things
and had a great time.

	This weekend reaffirmed my faith and bond in the “great endurance
family.”

Terry Woolley Howe
San Diego