Letaba Ride report - S.A.(very long)

["Budler, Cindy" <natcon@afrox.boc.com>]

Hi all,

Well I finally finished this ride!!!! Two years ago I enterd this ride
on my Anglo Arab gelding - his first 50 miler ever , and only got to the
15 km mark before he dumped me and disappeared into a 63000 hectare game
reserve. It took us 6 hours to catch him again , and needless to say I
lived in Letaba halls of fame for ever.
 This year I decided to brave the ride once more - this time on my Arab
mare Shaliekah. 
Letaba ride is held in the Northern Province of SA - a good 600 km away
from home- at a holiday resort and game reserve . We left on Thursday
morning at 8h00 with the whole family(2 kids , hubby , me and horse) and
a whole mess of stuff. The weather in Gauteng has been unseasonally warm
and the weather bureau predicted more heat in the north so I clipped my
horse on the Wednesday evening in preperation.
 After 7 hours in the trailer( me and the horse - as we couldn't fit all
of us in the car ) over mountain passes of hair raising proportions we
reached the resort. What luxury!! Hot water unlimited , fantastic
ablution blocks , hot water pools and spa's and unbeleivable heat
.After settling in the horse we put up camp and went for a quick swim.
 We entered the ride , which is a two day - 80 km - per day ride(
although it can also be entered a day at a time) . I decided to do the
Friday 80 km ride , and probably not enter the Sat ride as this is our
first season , and only Shaliekah 3rd official 80km. At the ride
briefing we were told that the ground is extremely rocky and hard and
the temp would play a very important role. They have not had any rain in
months and everything was burnt white. The landscape is very "bushveld"
with thick low thorn bushes and shrubs and lots of stoney ground,
interpsersed with tall bluegums etc. We were told that there would be
water every 5 kms , and not to go near the occassional dams as
Crocodiles abound in them!!!!!.
 The times were drawn and we drew the first off at 6h15.  This days ride
was only reserved for 80 km rides - no 30 or 60's and as a result only
25 riders started. We fed the horses at 4h00 and were off at 6h15 to a
magnificent African bushveld sunrise. The day was already extremely hot
, and I couldn't wait to get away from the comments of "hope you don't
lose your horse" and "make sure you stay on this time" etc.
 I was riding with my mentors Johanni and Herbey and they set a nice
steady pace. Being the first out we saw plenty of game - buck , monkeys,
rabbits and fox etc. Shaliekah was going really well - taking the lead ,
drinking well and cantering strongly. Every 5 kms we stopped to offer
water and sponge the horses off and all went well. 
The first vet check was back at the venue after 30 kms and we passed
with a pulse of 42 . The heat was already killing and we discovered the
midday temp was going to be 41 degrees!!!. Our average speed was 18 kms
an hour, and the horses were feeling great. After the compulsory stop we
left on the next 30 km section. Still going well until at the 55 km mark
I got kicked on the leg by a fellow riders horse - I was dismounted at
the time. However after putting my knee back in place( dislocated) we
carried on and finished with a pulse of 44 and a speed of 17 km/h. Still
going well  - but the riders were suffering - after spongeing them down
we had the grooms/crews sponge us down too!!!. We were using iced water
at the vet checks and it definately was helping to cool them down. 
 The final leg of 20 km was in the heat of the day , and there was not a
hint of a breeze between the trees to cool us down. At the 70 km mark I
felt Shaliekah was uneven on the right fore and decided to walk her in.
She performed so about being left behind that I had to dismount and lead
her for 5 km. I have never been so hot and depressed. No clouds, no
water, no wind and the sun reflecting off the sand roads into your face,
and a SORE knee is not fun!!!! I could not walk another step and mounted
to walk her in for the last 5 kms.
 After completeing I trotted her out for Johanni and we decided she was
definately lame - but we would present her at the vet anyway, so the vet
could look at her and see if she cpuld pick up the cause. There was no
heat or swelling and we suspected a stone bruise but could see nothing.
We presented immediately with a pulse of 36 and a lame horse. The vet
checked her, but said that she could hardly see any lameness , and after
a thorough check pronounced it not to be tendons or legs - maybe foot ,
but just a grade 2 lameness.  Anyway we had finished, even tho we
thought we were disqualified.
 The following day Johanni and Herbey did the next 80km with a large
field of 30 and 60's too. They did exactly the same speed and finished
magnificently. The winner and BC finished both days in 3hrs 15 mins each
day in first place and qualified for Springbok colours. I recieved the
suprise of my life when at the awards dinner I was given a certificate
for coming 3rd in Lightweight division!!!!!. The vet had looked at
Shaliekah on the Sat and pronounced her fit to continue and had just
given us penalties!!!!!. We spent Sun just lounging at the pool and
relaxing , and on Mon morning braved the 7 hour trip back to arrive to
winter and temps of 2 degrees overnight!!!!
. We found out what was causing the lameness - the shoulder muscle.
Shaliekah has been absolutely impossible to get to lead on the right leg
, and it has taken a year of schooling to get it right. On the ride I
insisted she lead equally. Most of our previous rides have been spent
trotting a large majority of the time due to this problem, but this time
we had cantered the whole way with minimum trotting( only when ground
was too bad). She had overstressed this muscle as it is not as developed
as the left one. I was soooo relieved to find out it wasn't legs...
So we live and learn each time we enter a ride.I thoroughly enjoyed the
ride and came back loaded with oranges and avos(they grow them up there)
and lo and behold hubby and the kids had a great time too!!!!
Regards
Cindy Budler
National Contracts Department
Fabrication Division
Afrox
South Africa
Tel :27 011 871-1000
e-mail: natcon@afrox.boc.com