Heather's crew

["Barbara B. Peck" <bpeck@together.net>]

Hi Liz:

Several of the people working the holds mentioned Heather's crew was faster and more efficient than any crews theyd' ever seen.

And I heard this at Hold 5 and 7 , not just after the ride.

 

I watched 2 holds  and the finish.

Actually all the crews were excellent... but her's were just like the pit crew you see at Daytona.. everyone had a specific job, and

they had it down to a science, and they were all professional about what they were doing and how they acted. (just like Red, who seemed to be able to enjoy eating no matter WHAT people were doing to him).  From the second she got her in-time, the horse was unsaddled, fed, sprayed & doused with water, HR taken, rubbed, and

they made sure he got in the shade if it was sunny, and blanketed when chilly. Everything was ready (and they had to haul water in on carts,  taken from their crew trucks, which were not parked in the holding areas.. One guy was pulling around what looked like over a case of gallon water jugs.) 

No one was just standing around just didlin' with the lead rope.

 

They genuinely were pumping her and Red up with encourage ment, and you could see how the controlled excitment in them was building toward the end.  They were truly a team with Heather & Red.

Is her crew family?  Cuz if they're not all blood related, then this girl has some people who are going the EXTRA mile for her and her horse.

I also think (by the way they acted on race day) that they must have had stragety meetings, because they acted like the'd done this course many times before.

 

This was noticed by quite a few people.

The crew was very calm around Heather and Red in the holds.. then just going a bazillion miles an hour going from gate to gate.

I bet THEY covered 50 miles running themselves.

You could just smell the passion, and competitiveness in this crew..ANd they were polite and gracious... and never seemed to even have to ask for directions.. kind of like they lived in the area! They were take charge kinda people.

 

They all just busted loose when she crossed the wire... and she and the horse were hugged to death for a few seconds before they went to work.

 

Not to take anything from the other crews though..

there were other crews that exuded this same professionalism

Melissa Crane and Rita Swifts crews were in may ways the same way... as were alot of the top 20 finishers crews...

The Canadian team had a very excellent crew.

 

I have to say though, that what separated the spectacular crews

from the others is that they looked skilled at what they were doing.

No one looking around for directions on what to do next and no wasted motions.

 

I was VERY impressed with the crewing all around.

(Course this is PAC... which means you DON'T see any slackers anywhere).

 

 

Regards,

Barb

 

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Referenced post:

Hi Barb,

Thank you for your posts on Ridecamp!

You said: "Red's crew was absolutely amazing also, and several mentioned

they were one of the fastest and most efficient crews anyone had
seen."

Could you describe some details?

Thanks, Liz