Our First LD Ride

[Beverly540@aol.com]

Hi Ya'll
         My husband and I and our horses survived our first ld ride. We rode
the Rockbridge Hunt ride outside of Lexington, Virginia. I understand there
were over 100 riders there….I've never seen so many beautiful horses in one
place! Everything was so new to us, and exciting, and, well………stressful! It's
kinda' hard for newbies to figure everything out, even when you think you're
prepared  you find out how little you really know. But we rode, we survived,
we finished (6 minutes to spare) and we had a BLAST. I didn't know we had a
turtle award, but it's hanging on my wall now. Thank you, Betty DeMar.
                It was particularly fun to put faces to so many ridecampers
who had befriended us during our 6 months on the ridecamp list. Bonnie
Snodgrass, Sally Spangler, Linda Flemmer, Teddy Lancaster -thanks for your
encouragement and friendship.  It was great to meet you and I hope to see you
again someday.
             I ordered a heart monitor just as soon as I got back. It's been
said the race is won at the vet checks, how true!. I was so cautious with my
mare, overly so…I took the full 30 minutes at P&R only to discover that her
heart rate was 48. Ha! Can't wait to get the HR monitor, bet I can finish with
at least 36 minutes to spare next time!
             Flower and Ebony both  vetted in and out with all A's except a B
on impulsion.  Exactly how do the vets assess impulsion? Flower's  attitude is
usually very indifferent.....she really improved as the ride wore on. In the
beginning she was really upset with me because I held her back. I was worried
about getting trampled and she was worried about *them* getting away…she was
practically screaming at me, "LOOK, THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!! WE MUST RUN NOW!!!
"  It was scary, having never been in that situation before! My husband said
he heard me muttering to myself, "I can't BELIEVE I WANTED to do this."
However, I have no recollection of uttering these words. I do recall a few
other choice words not fit for public consumption.
           The day flew by so fast, before we knew it, it was over!
Unfortunately, I cannot tell you much about the trails-I was too busy trying
to hold my horse back, keep myself calm, cool my horse down. keep myself calm,
water my horse, keep myself calm-enuf, said? I do remember lots of open
rolling pasture, lots of single track trails, lots of turkeys, deer, a llama
(spooked me but not my horse), a really large coiled black snake (spooked us
both), a river crossing (x4) and our first jump!
         We met so many wonderful people. Everyone was very friendly and
helpful. The trails were so well marked that it was often repeated that a
blind person could have followed that trail!  Even so, we managed to make one
wrong turn, but figured out our mistake almost immediately.
          I don't know how much the vets are paid for their work at these
rides, but I'm sure it's not enough. Those guys worked their butts off all day
long. It was excruciatingly hot, no breeze, a hundred horses! I do not know
how they did it, there were only 4 vets and I think a couple horses got in
trouble, but I don't know for sure about that.
        We can't wait to do another ride…but I don't know when it will be. Our
busy season starts now until January.  Hubby plans to retire in January, and
he really wants to ride more then. And I bet we do! Until then, I'll just keep
soaking up information from you ridecampers! Keep it comin'!! And thank you
again for all your help.
Happy Trails,
Beverly and Flower
Blue Ridge Mts. Of SWVA