Natchez Trace Ride - story - long

["Tina Hicks" <hickst@nichols.com>]

This story actually begins a few years ago when I jumped off
the hunter/dressage/eventing bandwagon and got on the
Ay-rab/endurance train - my girlfriend Lyn stayed on the
first wagon and just shook her head as I went farther and
farther down the other fork in the road :). Each step only
brought stares - first an Arab, then plastic tack, then
tights, then...well, you all know how it goes....She was so
glad when I found this list - at least I was with some of my
own kind.

Try as I might I couldn't get her to convert totally - I
even let her crew for me a few times so she could see how
riding in the woods and being hot and sweaty for hours (or
cold and wet <g>) and then getting to sleep that way could
be much more fun than riding in white breeches on a clean
braided horse for 30 minutes only to get to return to a
hotel room at nite to take a shower.

At long last, she started started seeing the light, started
riding a friend's Arab (still doing dray-ssage but at least
she was getting close to the breed I needed her to have
<g>), then leasing one, then <GASP> purchasing one - a gray
mare named Savannah.

I immediately started scheming - I mean hoping - to get her
to an honest to goodness endurance ride - isn't that a
requirement of owning a gray Ay-rab?? Little by little I
started making progress - first she started riding with a
camelbak, then she went to plastic stirrups with cages and
tennis shoes....Finally, I saw the entry form for Natchez
Trace and knew what I had to do - I owed it to her to get
her to this ride - it's close, not to difficult, nice
trail....

So...after a little prodding and much planning we take off
Friday afternoon and head north - Lyn to do the 25 and me to
do the 50 cuz I don't have the good sense to stop at 25 :)

At the riders meeting I begin to get a little alarmed - the
first loop for 25s and 50s was 17 miles, the temp was gonna
be over 90 and the humidity was unbelievable, the first loop
for the 25s (my second loop) had this 5 mile thing called
the pipeline, and they're talking about wooden bridges that
will hold your horse fine if you stay on each side of the
middle - oh dear, what I have gotten Lyn into?

Ride morning comes and I do the mother hen thing - which is
really quite amuzing since Lyn, like myself, has ridden
forever and is perfectly capable of getting herself together
and down the trail - anyway I head out on my way at 7 am. At
7:30 I think Lyn's on the trail....at 8:30 I wonder if
everything's okay....

The trail is great - marked well, stretches of flat, sandy
roads mixed in with pretty good climbs - trail was a little
short on water so mgmt augmented which was much appreciated.
The miles ticked away and I was back at camp way too fast
for this heat (bad me for not pacing better in this kind of
heat) - I can tell Lyn had not gotten back to camp yet - but
it was not quite 9 yet. I had a 45 minute hold and then I
went out on her first loop - hoping that all was well with
her.

(Side note: I knew she would be riding slow - Savannah is
not in shape, Lyn was there for no other reason than to
expose her to the whole endurance experience and have fun -
if she only made it halfway that was fine with her so I was
not too concerned)

I go back out - Tony is passing up most water much to my
chagrin :( and we come to the pipe line - 5 miles of up -
but in order to do it you go up and down roller-coaster
fashion while going up the whole time if that makes sense -
at each peak you can see about 50 more in front of you -
it's the kind of thing that makes you question your
sanity...It's out in the open, hot, not a soul in sight but
me and the horse - this, I think, is what this sport is
*really* about - just you and the horse and the trail - no
spectators or family to cheer you on - the motivation to do
this must come from yourself - sometimes it's more slugging
it out than anything....I wonder if I'm having fun yet:)

I ride some, get off and walk some, we come to water and
Tony passes - this is not good I hink....Aaaahhh....a road -
we must be done with this &^&*^ pipeline - take a right then
a left and there's MORE - I say a few things not fit for the
forum <g> and on we go...Finally...done - another water stop
- by now it seems to be a contest of wills between me and
Tony - and he wins - no drinking....

Back in camp, vet thru and we're not looking good in my mind
- skin is tacky and no gut sounds - get a C on those :(,
gums/jugular okay, he's eating/pooping, gait/attitude are
good so vet is not too worried but says he really need to
drink/eat to get that gut going - I know I say with a heavy
sigh....Why/how on earth do horses do this I wonder - he's
got to be thirsty....

I take him to the trailer to rest for our hold - and see Lyn
is in - 4 hours for 17 miles, she's grinning from ear to
ear, the mare did great but she opted to pull as she would
have run out of time to do the last 9 miles. Savannah
doesn't even look like she's been out of the pen and I'm
thrilled they had a good time. Lyn's going a mile a minute
about all of Savannah's firsts - first time away from home,
in a pen, with a group, over a bridge, up real hills....the
list goes on - nice little mare all the way around.

I comment that Savannah is the only horse I've ever seen go
to a ride and _gain_ weight :-) She did nothing but eat and
drink the whole weekend. I have to find something to rib Lyn
about, right?

My hold is up and I go in no hurry to tack up and leave
about 10 minutes late - Tony feels better but still hasn't
had much to drink - he's eating tho. As we stared our last
loop I wonder if I should pull - the conditions are perfect
for a horse to get  into trouble but decide to go...just
slowly...We truck along - walk and trot with me off to walk
the hills...We come to a stream and he goes in and almost
drinks it dry - Hallelujah I think to myself - I sponge him
and come out of there with a different horse almost
immediately it seems....next puddle slurp, slurp - okay,
we're in business now!!

Another rider catches up and we go along together for the
rest of the way - his horse needs a little motivation as
well - I'm happy to have someone to talk to <g> - I've been
alone almost all day....One more drink and I now seem to
have as much horse as I did this morning....How wonderful as
we trot and canter all the way in with me having ask Tony to
slow down. We trot over the finish line in a photo finish -
well not really <g> but I can pretend....

Turns out I was 13th (out of 31) - tho at that point I don't
care - I  just hope Tony looks as good to the vet as he
feels to me....Lyn is there still grinning and helps me
untack/dump water on Tony. He literally drains 2 buckets of
water - drink baby drink I say :)

Take him thru for our completion - hold my breath when the
vet gets to guts - a little quiet but definitely some noise
in there - B+ - yeah!!!! Trots out great and looks good - no
question he's fit to continue the vet says - good job...Now
I'm grinning too :)

(BTW, we both used e-boots with foam - in my case the trail
didn't demand it but I was paranoid after BSF <g> and
Savannah is barefoot - the vets around here aren't used to
seeing eboots in the SE so got to give my eboot speil
several times - yes the really do stay on I kept having to
say <g>)

Bob I-can't-remember-his-last-name who is 82 came in 3rd -
completed BSF on the same horse last weekend - we could all
wish to be doing so well at his age - he received much
clapping and cheering when his name was called. Well known
SE rider Melissa Crain came in 1st and BC.

Very few pulls - about 5 in each distance (27 I think
started the 25) - and most rider option - mgmt is great,
camp has showers - nice ride all the way around.

Dunno if the conversion is complete but I finally got Lyn to
a ride, she had a good time and wants to go to another one
so if you see a blond haired lady and a rotund <g> gray mare
with me be sure to tell her you're glad she came to her
senses and is doing the right sport :-))

Tina- first my mom, then Lyn...who's next? :)
hickst@nichols.com