Biltmore hot hot hot

["Steph Teeter" <steph@endurance.net>]

Just a quick note - it was hot! Upper 80's during the day,
sunny and very humid. Khruschev did pretty well. We had
an outstanding ride for the first 60 miles - he was eating
and drinking better than he ever has, very eager to go,
and travelling beautifully (thanks Jaye) - coming in off
the 4th loop we hit a long 6 mile flat stretch of road
along the river and a group of 7 of us (all front runners
at that point) galloped in the entire stretch. Khruschev's
working pulse was fine, and he felt ok - though I think
he would have been happy to fall back at that point. 

It was just about the hottest part of the day - around
3:30, no clouds, no breeze, very humid. It took much
longer for him to pulse down, and I could tell he was
hot and tired. We vetted through ok - actually got mostly
A's, but his pulse was staing high, and I knew he 
wasn't going to be able to keep up the pace we had been
doing. And it wasn't looking like it
would cool down for quite a while.  So I decided to
hang out at the trailer - he was eating and drinking
really well - so we spent an extra 45 minutes beyond
our hold time. His pulse was  hanging around 60
during most of the time we spent there - I finally put
some ice in the water and got more serious about
cooling him down. Made a big difference - should have
done it sooner. I kept him there another 15 minutes
after his pulsed dropped down. 

We did the next 12.5 mile loop - it was still really really
 hot - and he wasn't too thrilled about going out. Didn't see any 
other horses, just kept plugging along (got chased by a few ganders
guarding their fuzzy little babies). I was pretty discouraged
after this loop - he was willing, but not 'having fun'. 
He vetted through fine, and after the hold it started
cooling down and he seemed to be perking up. I switched
saddles (not sure why, just thought it might feel good
for him to have something different). The last loop
was wonderful! He was happy, willing, trotting out
nice and steady. We were still alone, but enjoyed the
dusk as we rode through the Estate grounds - it was
lovely, and it felt so good to have my horse back! It was
very dark by the time we got back in the woods above
camp, so we got to do some trotting in the dark (one of
my favorite things to do) - plenty of glowsticks, and
Khruschev knew the trails very well - so I just let him 
go and enjoyed the feel. We finished 9th - 1 1/2 hours
off the winning time - I was dissapointed that we didn't
do it any faster, but glad to have a decent strong finish.
This was the first time I've ever felt him tired after 
a ride (or during a ride). Tough tough trail. Not obviously
tough - so you can really move out, but the heat
and constant climbs and ripping downhills are a wicked 
combination.

My crew was wonderful!! It was probably as much work
for them as it was for me. John had arrival and pulse-down
perfectly engineered - water jugs strategically placed
until we got to the P&R area - he is very good, and very
patient with me. Karen Zelinsky was a big help too - 
great sense of timing, kept a close eye on Khruschev
and made sure he had everything he needed during the
holds. She got heat stroke pretty bad in the afternoon
though and had to take some time off. 

This is truly a first class ride - in every way. Anne Ayala
has incredible energy and good cheer (even at 7 AM for
breakfast/awards after the last 100's finished at 4 AM). 
Beautiful awards. I really can't say enough nice things
about the ride. 

Here are the top 100 finishers - it was also an IAHA
regional ride, so there were quite a few riders there
racing for Sweepstakes. 

Wendy Mattingly - Brown R Timothy (10:26)
Nina Gibson - Goat
Nicki Young - MC Breathless - BC
Lois McAffee - 
Sandy Skinner - JR
Darolyn Butler - Albanet (Long-listed)
Rita Swift - Cass (Long-listed)
Shelly Hatfield  - ?
Steph and Khruschev (Long-listed)
Carol Steiner(?sp) - ?
11th?
Mellisa Crain - Charbiel (Long-listed)
Jan Worthington - Mastermind (Long-listed)

Can't remember the rest. There were a few that had
some bad luck. Jerry Fruth had heat stroke and
pulled out, Julie Bullock's horse banged his foot
on a rock and cracked the wall - she pulled him
herself, Connie Walker's horse developed a hind
quarter cramp at 45 miles - was fine later. Melissa
Crain's horse spun out on a muddy corner and banged 
himself up but she went on to finish fine.

Quite a few pulls - 58 started the 100, 33 finished. In the
50 105 started, 86 finished. Winning time was a little
over 5 hours. 

Very intense day. Great vets - Mike Foss (from the NW)
was head vet - there were 8 altogether I think and they
were hopping all day. No lines though - very well organized. 

I was just going to write a short note - but can't seem to
stop! I'm sure you'll hear more. Nina - you and Goat did
very well - let's hear your version. 

later - 

Steph