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Congratulations! He was a good looking horse. (You give my husband
incentive with his 15 yr old QH/TB. Mike was starting to say Major was
too old to continue competing.
The Arab Belgian cross (Crystal Mint) was an awesome horse - heavy hind
quarters & neck, but an Arab's head and stride. I could see her as a
child's field hunter. She still looked so fresh at the finish on the
second day!
They (along with 15 others) came into the 2nd vet check on day 2 with
less than 4 minutes to make it into the P&R box. I really didn't expect
the Arab-Belgian horse to be able to come down because of her size, but
she passed with flying colors.
That particular check was crazy. Crews were running to the trail to
call their riders in before the deadline, and almost literally throwing
water by the bucket loads to try to cool them out before P&R's. Horses
were galloping up the road into the check, riders flinging themselves
off their backs. P&R takers (me included) worked as fast as possible to
give accurate in times so nobody would be left out.
One gentleman came in with 2 minutes to spare at 16 bpm for 15 seconds
(cut off was 15 bpm). This meant a 2 minute penalty before being
allowed to present again meaning he had to pass on the next check. He
agonized as to stepping out of the box & crewing to cool the horse vs
standing & allowing the horse to calm down away from the crewing
excitement. He really knew his horse & they waited in the box, the
horse dropped to 14, and they went on to finish. I think we both almost
came to tears. He also finished with "more horse to go" and a final
pulse of 12!!
The little black Morgan had to P&R , failed, took the 2 minute penalty,
P&R'd again - failed - 10 minute penalty & found a shadyier spot in the
P&R box, and finally passed on the third attempt. We all cheered!
The parameters of 60 to get thru the checks was very stringent,
especially considering the unexpected heat that weekend, and the vets'
insistance that no iced or "cold" water be used to cool horses. (Their
intention seemed to be that they wanted to pick up any heat in the legs
as early as possible before severe damage was evident.) Again, good
crewing helped.
I was impressed that there was a crowd of folks to welcome EVERY rider
who crossed the finish line. They all deserved it!
Having come from a hot place (FL & Coastal VA), I learned to sponge &
scrape until the water comes away cool. Water left on the horse in
humid weather acts as insulation. Towels laid across the neck do as
well. I was surprised to see a few folks still using the towel on the
neck method! When I later checked the ROC gazette & talked to folks, I
found that many of them were from Northern climates & maybe didn't have
the extremes of temperature there.
Folks crewed as teams for their riders as opposed to crewing for
individuals. This seemed to work well & is in fact what the Blue Wolf
crew does at the Old Dominion each year. Two or three crew members can
cover 4 to 6 horse & rider pairs, especially if the checks are away from
camp. One guy must have been designated water carrier - I never saw so
many buckets of water go by in one man's hands before. I'll bet he's
feeling it today!
All in all, being a race official was a great experience.
Unfortunately, I know each horse's heart girth intimately, but I'd have
a hard time putting a rider, horse, & name together. (I was a little
preoccupied working my digital watch's timer after staying up the night
before learning how!) After all the rides I've attended, volunteering
is the least I can do to help support the sport.
Linda Flemmer
Blue Wolf Ranch
Bruceton Mills, WV
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