LD Ride Story at Mt. Laguna

[Lauren Horn <fourhorn@fea.net>]

As promised, here is our (Allan and I) Mt. Laguna  adventure:

We left the rain and drizzle back home and in 2 hours reached the base
camp in beautiful Pine Valley. Puffy clouds were drifting overhead and
it looked like the summer storm was going to blow through. Kyla and Bugs
vetted through and settled in, eating and drinking well. It was cold and
we dug out their blankets from the trailer storage. I packed the crew
bag ( we used a plastic garbage bag) and told Allan that he was in
charge of it and it had to go to vet check #1. 

I awoke the next morning to my unexpected "monthly female friend" and
the realization that I left my riding boots in my garage back home. So
much for the packing list that I printed out and left on the kitchen
counter. My thin tennis shoes would have to make do. Since the LD ride
didn't start until 7:30 we had plenty of time to get ready, drink
coffee, and relax. Our game plan for the ride was to ride it LSD; Long
Slow Distance. I was in no hurry to get to the start, in fact I wanted
no part of  the commotion and intense energy that permeates the start.
It was both our horses first ride and we just wanted to see how they
would do and wanted them to finish sound.

We tacked up and got on our horses at 7:30 and walked over to the gal
checking the numbers. She called us by name, as we were the only ones
not crossed off on her list. We walked toward the controlled start area
(about ½ mile) and didn't see a soul. Obviously, everybody had already
left. Kyla was real hyper, sensing the residual energy left in the air
by 60 horses ahead of us. We passed the controlled start area and the
asphalt road (about ½ mile on this road) and it wasn't until the Forest
Service Trail marker that we picked up the pace a bit. 

The trail was real nice and easy with long stretches of cantering and
trotting although, we kept having to stop and do "things". First Allan
needed to fix his cinch (we have been having trouble with the western
cinch and knot) then a little while later I stopped to take off my wind
breaker and roll it up. Then Allan had to stop and take off his wind
breaker. Then we stopped again to fix his cinch. Oh well, no worry, we
are taking it nice and slow. (Too slow - as we later realized) The
horses were settling in real nice.

After a nice climb up Pine Mountain we were greeted to a welcome water
stop with wonderful volunteers who filled up our water bottles. Kyla
took her first big swallows of water. Only about 4-5 miles to vet check
#1. We were coming down a ridge and the single track trail got rocky
(Later, I realized what ROCKY really meant) so I got off to lead Kyla.
Ohoops! Can't hike in these thin tennis shoes. We go slow cause WE ARE
NOT IN A HURRY.  I got back on and we came to the road in the meadow
that leads to the vet check.

Getting to the vet check, we immediately let our horses drink and then
they got signed off on pulse criteria. I had no doubt that they would
meet criteria immediately as we were going easy. They both vetted
through fine with high scores. Then Allan set off to find our crew/gear
bag. (Remember, that this was the only thing that he was in-charge of)
He comes back and says he can't find the bag. What no bag!! I'm really
mad and go off hunting for it myself, "cause you know how men can NEVER
find anything. It has to be here. We spend 15 minutes looking in
trailers, under tables and asking people before I resign to the fact
that the BAG is not there. Both horses are hungry but it takes Kyla
about 15 minutes before she really relaxes and digs into the hay. She
did find the carrots right away (her favorite) but I didn't know how
carrots would benefit "gut sounds" so I really wanted her to eat the
hay. 

Allan looks at his watch and says that our 30 minutes are up and we got
to go. I remind him that WE ARE NOT IN A HURRY and I really want to let
Kyla eat a little more since it took her about 15 minutes to dig into
the hay. Since I spent so much time looking for the crew bag, I want to
get a bite too, and hey, I need the sunblock so could you please get
that out of your jacket. We get on our horses and Bugs looks at Allan
and says in his horsey way," No, I want to stay and eat hay and drink
water, I don't want to go". Bugs, very reluctantly, with some prodding
comes along with Kyla and myself. As we start the second loop back to
base camp we meet up with another first time rider on a first time
horse. Her name was Hobie and she said that she started with the crowd
and her horse just felt out of control the first 5 or 6 miles, and she
was just along for the ride.  Hobie hooked up with another rider who
said they were going to go slow, but didn't.  Her horse used up so much
energy at the start that he was really tired and she stayed at the vet
check a long time and just wanted to take it real easy on the way back.
I told her, we really are going slow and since we ARE NOT IN A HURRY,
her and her horse should fit in fine.

The trail was beautiful. Going down a canyon, following the stream, with
lots of water crossings and some big old oak trees. We trotted parts of
the single track trail and walked the downhill areas. Great trail. It
wasn't until a 50 mile rider came up behind us and asked to pass that I
realized how slow we were going and that we might not make a completion
time. Well, the trail was good with good footing, so maybe we could make
up some time. Right then, the trail lead out of the tress and canyon
into rocky areas that never let up until the end. Now, this was ROCKS.
All down hill and all rocks and miles to go. I WANTED to go slow. I
didn't want Kyla to get a stone bruise and have to be laid up for a
month. Several front runner 50 milers passed us and I could not believe
how fast they went down this difficult trail. All were very nice about
passing.

At one point, two 50 milers came behind us yelling, "Are you JUST 25
milers? WE'RE 50 and we need to pass!" I couldn't believe the attitude!
We were on part of the trail that they could not pass. They actually
asked(?) us to turn around and back track to an area that they could get
ahead. Evidently they knew that this part of the trail was unpassable
for a while. I didn't and I kept going forward Loose rocky steep cliff
below and high rocky mountain above. I sped up and kept looking for a
place that we could pull our horses over. I found a small area that
looked semi-passable and the man was able to pass but Hobie's horse
slipped on the loose hill and moved forward and the women was unable to
pass. We kept moving forward with her yelling at her companion that she
couldn't pass  etc, etc… Her  tone was not very nice. We came to another
area that she would be able to pass and she kept yelling for us to move
so she could pass. Now, Allan's horse has a red ribbon on his tail that
this lady followed for at least a ¼ mile. And when we got to this new
area to pass, Hobie's and Allan's horse stopped at this small water
crossing and this lady and her horse ran right into Bugs butt. Well,
Bugs, kicked her horse and she starts yelling at Allan and yelling at
her friend, who is ahead of me. Allan yells back that it is her own
fault 'cause he has a red ribbon in his tail and she should have stayed
back. She finally passes and away they left. The whole scene was very
nerve racking and Hobie and Allan got a very bad taste with this
particular couple. I just remember RideCamp saying don't be intimidated
by rude, competitive people.

We continued down the trail, and I kept thinking that the trail would
get less rocky but it didn't. We resigned to the fact that since WE WERE
NOT IN A HURRY that we had missed the cut-off time. Oh well, live and
learn!!. We come out of the rocks to the home stretch toward base camp.
Our horses are tired but not overly and we canter to the finish line.
Just then, something, (I have no idea) caused my horse to bolt forward
and her rear end goes down, like she slipped. I roll off back over her
rear end and fall to the ground only to have Kyla turn and jump over me.
I remember lightly feeling a hoof rub on me. 

After the scare with my mom and her broken pelvis I was very relived
that I didn't hurt my self at all. My necks a little tight today and I'm
thankful I wear my helmet.  Allan grabbed Kyla's reins and we let the
horses drink. Both our horses met criteria right away while Hobie's
horse took a few minutes. We went to the final vet exam just to get a
score even though it didn't count. Both horses vetted through great with
very high marks. 

We ended up coming in 45 minutes after the cut off time. I figure that
without the late start, the getting on and off for various reasons, and
the leisurely rest at the vet check, we could of come in on time. It
never occurred to me until later in the ride that I might ride TOO SLOW.
But now, I know it can happen. I wanted to be very careful with my
horse, especially as she has been a "project" horse. We picked up the
pace where I was comfortable and slowed down where I was concerned about
the rocky areas, and there were plenty of rocky areas.

Overall it was a great ride for us and it proved to us that our horses
could in fact do it. Now I just need to train a little more in rocks and
downhill. Our next stop is Eastern High Sierra Classic and this time I
plan to start on time and watch the clock. Thanks Terry for putting on a
great ride. Oh, by the way, remember that crew bag? We never found it.
It was last tracked to vet check #3 and has not been seen since. I had
at least $300 worth of stuff in that bag. Terry is trying to get a kid
to look in the trash dumpsters to see if it was thrown away. Next time,
I won't put crew stuff in a plastic garbage bag.

Lauren