Klickitat Trek, 2014

Monica and I headed down to Glenwood, WA for the Klickitat Trek endurance ride this past weekend, May 30- June 1.  We had originally planned on riding both days, but after the long ride the previous weekend (where I felt good afterwards) and then a very short ride the day after (where I didn't feel good afterwards), I decided not to push it.  Having catastrophic ankle failure 5 miles from anywhere wouldn't be pleasant.

So, we pulled into camp around 3:30 or so, found our spot that was saved for us (thank you Aarene and the Pirates!) and vetted in without incident.  We went for a short ride that evening and tucked ourselves into bed.  Thunder and lightning woke us up, but the little bit of rain just kept the dust down the next day.

Monica was going to ride the LD on Danny with the very early start time of 6:15.  My departure was at 8:30 for the Trail Ride.  Galen wasn't terribly happy that everyone left, but he dealt with it. 

Monica and Danny before heading out.  He wasn't quite as relaxed when he started!

Galen telling me that he should be tacked up and heading out!

 

Galen and I headed out around 8:30, after meandering around the camp, looking for the out timer.  Looks like the Trail ride is MUCH more relaxed than even an LD, as I didn't see anyone else heading out at the same time.  In fact, I saw several people heading out as I came in a few hours later.  We were on the Red and White loop, which was fine, as I've done most of those trails before.  I knew that neither Galen nor I was really all that conditioned, so I had a game plan.  Slow, steady, enjoy the scenery and have fun.  We headed out of camp at a walk on a loose rein (big improvement!) and started some cows along the way.  We did do some trotting and my deal with him has been that if I can sit it, he can do it.  Amazing how even the atmosphere of an endurance ride can bounce up a horse!  Usually, Galen's trot is so smooth I can sit all speeds.  Saturday, we had to slow it down a bit, as there was much more bounce to the ounce than usual.  That was ok, as it was already getting warm, and we really hadn't trained in heat very much. 

We came into the vet check and took a minute or two to pulse down, which made me realize I needed to slow down even more.  We took some extra time at the vet check, although I knew he wouldn't drink anything (he never does before around 20 miles).  We didn't need to pass the vet, just be pulsed down, so after 15 or 20 minutes, we headed back out.  We did some leapfrogging with the Ride and Tiers.  I did help a few of them find the trail.  Mostly, we were by ourselves, which was fine.  The trails were lovely, the weather was gorgeous, my horse and I were happy.  I did some singing, admired the gorgeous lupines and finished in about 3 hours.  Not our fastest by any means, but that was ok.  I went into this as a conditioning ride and to see how my ankle felt. 

By the end of my ride, I was very glad I hadn't done the LD - my ankle was swollen and I could feel the fluid squishing around in it (lovely image, isn't it?).  Galen was willing, but definitely not ready for much more.   We did get lots of nice trot on a loose rein, which was the goal. 

We got back to camp and Monica trotted him out.  Dr. Jen noted that he was travelling a little bit crooked, no doubt because of my bad leg.  Not enough to be lame, but certainly enough to be noted.  Sigh...  But, it's wonderful to have an experienced eye to tell you that you need to work on stuff.  We probably won't do any more rides for awhile (maybe Bare Bones later on), but will work on arena work, trail riding and I will see if I can get my ankle to behave better.  Summer is coming which means foaling, breeding, hay season, fix it up season, kids, etc.

All in all, it was a very satisfying weekend!

Broken Saddle!

As I reported in the last blog post, I broke my saddle last week.  I wasn't doing anything exciting, we just hopped over a log (we being Galen and me).  I heard a crack and realized what had happened back at the trailer.

Yesterday, I took everything off my saddle - stirrups, seat savers, shims, etc (boy, it's light without all that stuff!) to box it up and ship back to the manufacturer.  They are being great - the tree is guaranteed, so all I need to pay is shipping and labor.  Way cheaper than a new saddle.  Anyway, after I took everything off, I realized the tree was broken in 3 places, not just one!

The underside of my saddle - you can see the dimples in the leather in the middle of the pommel.  Also, if you look below the stirrup leathers on both sides, you can see breaks at the narrowest point of the tree.

Close up of one of the breaks below the stirrup leather.

Close up of the pommel break. 

 

So, they will replace the tree and send it back asap, as of course, ride season has started!  It will be interesting to see what is different with the new tree.  I was told that this break (pommel, at least) has been known to happen on these models.  No idea about the other breaks.

 

I guess I would rather have my saddle break than my horse!

Klickitat Endurance Ride, June 2, 2012

This past weekend, Monica and I went down to Glenwood, WA for the Klickitat Endurance ride. This is one of my favorite rides (so far- who knows, in the future some ride I haven't done yet might become my favorite!), with great trails, some fun water crossings, lovely views, great volunteers and a reasonable drive. 

We arrived on Friday afternoon after picking up our friend Susan and her little mare Capri.  We found a spot way on the edge of camp, which turned out to be great- it was very quiet, except for the sheep across the road.  We vetted in, got supper ready, and went to the ride meeting.  Marilyn, the ride manager, did mention at the meeting that the distances weren't set in stone....

We had a late start the next morning, by design.  Ride management had straggered the distances by several hours each so the out vet check wouldn't be so congested.  I was just fine with that.  It did seem strange though, waiting until 9:30 am to start (all three of us were doing the LD).  We all had our ride strategies, with me waiting to see how my ankle felt to dictate my pace, Monica planning to enjoy the day and the scenery and coming in midpack or below and Susan just wanting to make sure her mare was ok.  My friend Shannon was there with her half-Teke gelding Octopelle, and she started a bit before me.  I really wanted that walk out on a long rein, so we went back to the camp a time or two.  I've been going pretty fast to save my ankle and Galen thought that should be the gameplan that day also.  But, we did end up walking out calmly and soon found a friend to ride with for a while.  We went at a pretty controlled pace until about mile 7 or so and then I realized that I had to speed things up or I wouldn't finish with the way my ankle was feeling.  Galen was ALL for that and we zoomed off.  There were a few water crossings before the out vet check, but none were all that exciting.   We got into the out vet check at around 12:15, vetted through and some lovely volunteers held Galen while I used the restroom and got a sandwich.  Also, a wonderful young lady trotted him out for me, for at that point the vet mentioned that I was 'pretty lame'.  I would say I was at least a grade 3 by then.  Good thing they don't vet the riders.

We went out of our hold expecting a 6 to 8 mile ride back to camp (the first loop was supposed to be 17-19 miles, so I figured 25-17 = 8).  We headed out with me thinking longing of the drugs I hadn't remembered to take that morning.  We were pretty much by ourselves at this point - we got passed by some 50s, but I don't think I saw any other 25s.  So, I figured I was middle of the pack or lower.  We came back to the largest water crossing and now it looked a bit more daunting than it had earlier in the day.  Quite a few horses had been through it and had made both banks steeper and slippery and I later heard that the irrigation water was turned up.  What had been an exciting but fine crossing was perhaps a bit more than that now.  But, Galen hopped right in and beat against the current to make it to the one spot to get up the bank.  He lunged up the bank and I think that his hoofboots must have slipped, for when we reached the top (thank goodness), he fell and I rolled off.  It was a very easy fall as he was so near the ground at the time.  We both popped up and he walked off, down the trail.  I followed him, whistling and laughing, as he'd turn around every 20 or 30 feet and look at me, letting me know that he knew I was there and that I was pretty dang slow.  We went on like that for about a half mile, with him continually stopping and looking at me.  He followed the trail and never got out of sight, but I did wonder if I'd be doing the whole rest of the loop on foot.  We came up to a turn in the trail and he went off the wrong way.  He stopped about 20 feet in; maybe he didn't recognize the ribbon colors anymore or maybe he got fed up with my slowness, but he turned around and came back and got me.  I swear I could hear him thinking quite loudly "she is SO slow".  So, I headed back to the correct trail and was laughing for a good half mile.  We then met a gentleman on a quad who was coming to look at the water crossing.  I told him our experience and we continued on.  I was expecting a 6 to 8 mile loop, so when the time came that I figured we'd be back and camp and it was nowhere near, I checked the ribbons and continued.  I did meet up with some 50s (who passed me) who said they had heard the loop was closer to 13 miles.  That was good to know, as now I wasn't worried that I'd somehow got off trail.  Unfortunately, my ankle was not being very helpful and we ended up walking quite a bit of this loop, much to Galen's disgust.  We got back to camp around 3:30 and vetted through, with John Parkey being kind enough to trot Galen out.  I didn't ask what place we'd come in, as I figured with all the walking I had to be way down in the pack.  I took Galen back to camp, took care of him and then went back to the vet check to wait for Susan, Monica and Shannon.

Susan came in first and she'd had a good day on Capri, so she vetted through.  Monica's husband Bill had shown up by then and Shannon's husband Craig was there too.  We hung out and waited for Monica and Shannon.  People trickled in and we cheered them all, but by 6:30 we were rather wondering where our two were.  We'd heard they cleared the out vet check and finally some 50s came in and told us that they were right behind them.  They got in and we found that Shannon had had some hoof boot troubles, so ended up with Octopelle being barefoot for most of the second loop.  Monica stayed with them, as she figured she'd need help getting Danny through the water crossings.  It all worked out in the end with both horses passing their vet check with flying colors.  We got everyone bedded down after rehashing our ride stories.  We did hear (although not officially) that the LD ride was 37 miles, not 25, so we sure got our money's worth!

We went to the awards meeting and I was surprised to find that I had top-tenned!  Marilyn had some really neat awards for top-ten - nifty glass chalices with lids that screwed on (don't want to spill ANY of that ride camp libation) and little tags that said "Klickitat".  I love mine and had to use it right away.

The next morning Susan and Capri went out again and Monica and I stayed in camp and relaxed.  I now now why people like multiday rides.  It was so nice to socialize and chat while waiting for Susan.  We had quite a few people ask us about our horses and Tekes in general and Monica said that as she rode into camp she heard 'That is Danny', from a few people.  (Danny has been the star of her blog, Seattle PI Horsebytes) I almost felt like I could have ridden again, but until I get my ankle fixed, I'm not going to try that.  Susan came in after a lovely ride, she got Capri all squared away, we went to the awards meeting and then we had a party.  Usually, we leave Sunday morning after riding Saturday and we're so tired Saturday night that all we want to do is go to bed.  Well, having the whole day to recover made Monica and I into party animals.  Susan has the energy of 2 people, so she didn't need that extra day, but we ended up meeting some new friends and reconnecting with some old ones.  It was great!  We got up early Monday (it had been raining during the night and was still raining in the morning) so we packed up and headed out.  What a great weekend!

Mt. Adams Endurance Ride, May 19 2012

Monica and I went down to the Mt. Adams endurance ride this past weekend.  This is a great ride – about 6 hours away, nice camping, just about perfect trails and views to kill for.  We got there Friday night, got settled in and vetted and went for a short ride.  My ankles were not happy, so we didn’t go far.  We did some visiting around camp and then turned in for our early start the next day.  We met Lisa Preston, who was there with her young Teke-Arab filly for her first LD ride.  There was one other Teke cross there with Mona Thacker.  Her Shiraz has been competing for quite a few years and has been racking up the miles.

Saturday morning dawned and we got ready.  The weather was perfect – 60ish and sunny.  Our plan was that I’d start behind the leaders and go fast, to save my ankles, and Monica and Danny would meander out later.  As this is only his 3^rd ride, she’s being very conservative (and rightly so).  So, we waited until the majority of the 75 (yes, 75 riders in the 25 mile ride) went out.  We walked out of camp after a bit of excitement – someone’s horse decided to warm itself up just as we were walking to the start line.  They caught it after a few minutes and then we walked out on a loose rein.  As soon as we got to the woods (there was about a half mile of pavement to walk on) we started our trot and passed and passed and passed people.  Galen LOVES to pass other horses.  We finished our first loop of 13 miles in around 1 ½ hours and vetted through just fine.  We only had a short hold, so we went back to the camper and got resupplied and a bite to eat. 

We headed out on our second loop and met Monica and Danny coming in as we went out.  The horses felt that we should stand around and talk about it, but a small amount of ‘persuasion’ and Galen and I were off.  This next loop was 12 miles and we ended up leap-frogging with the same group of people most of the way.  We completed this loop in about the same as the first – my total ride time was around 3 hours and 40 minutes (not sure of the exact time) and my only real mistake was not getting off and walking him in the last half mile.  I was worried about my ankle – getting off and not being able to walk would have been a pain.  So, it took him a few minutes to pulse down to the ride pulse of 60 and we ended up in 11^th place.  If I’d have walked in (and he was pulsed down), we would have been 8^th.  To explain, on the LD ride, ride time stops when you cross the finish and are at a pulse of 60.  The 50s and above ride times stopped when they crossed the finish.  But, he vetted through just fine and we were done in plenty of time to go back and chat with friends and wait for Monica and Danny to come in. 

Monica had had a lovely ride and Danny was complemented on his ‘metronome’ trot on the trail.  He’s really blossoming this year. 

More and more people are recognizing the Tekes at rides – lots of “how do you pronounce that” and we handed out several breed info booklets.  I bet we see more and more at the rides in upcoming years!  I know that people riding behind us are often amazed at how smooth and spook free our horses are.  Love it!

All in all, a lovely weekend.

Cathy and Galen on the first loop.  Mt. Hood (I think) in the background.

                                                  Monica and Danny on the first loop.

                                          Cathy and Galen on the second loop.

Spring?

Probably not, but it sure has felt like it the last few days. We've had sunshine, which is always appreciated, and temps up into the 50's. I even saw a fly today! Of course, we're taking advantage of the nice weather and RIDING. Monica and I went out Friday to Lord Hill and then on Sunday, we took Monica's husband Bill along on their TB Willie up to the Pilchuck Tree Farm. As it was Superbowl Sunday, we thought the parking area would be empty. Wrong. It seems that everyone else had the same idea as us, or was getting a quick ride in before the game. But, we squeezed the rig in, saddled up and headed out. Surprisingly, we didn't see many other riders on the trail, which shows how many miles of trails there are up there. We went out from the parking lot a different way than usual and ended up going down a very steep bank into a semi-impressive river. Galen and Danny both did it with minimum fuss, but poor Willie just wasn't sure that the footing was a good idea. Bill ended up leading him across the river and was an excellent sport about wet feet. We did get to gallop up a big hill and let Willie set the pace (as an ex-racehorse he thought he should be first). Galen really, REALLY thought that he could beat that silly TB and I had to work to keep him from taking off and doing just that. We're going to head out again tomorrow, probably back to Lord Hill, as I have committements in the afternoon. I really do need to take my camera with me and quite depending on Monica to take all the photos.

Home from Tevis!

Jas and Patrick and Steve Hallmark and Tug (in front) finishing Tevis. Monica Bretherton photo.

This year's Tevis was historic for several reasons; first, it was run in October instead of July because of record snowfall. Second, it had to be rerouted 24 hours before start time because of more snow making the high country too dangerous for riding. And third, one purebred Teke and one partbred Teke finished! Yes, Jas and Patrick came through with flying colors, excellent vet scores and a great attitude.

The ride started at 6:30 am on October 8th, in a huge, milling rush. From our vantage point (that of crew), it appeared quite civilized and orderly. We later heard that was a bit deceiving. Horses were very amped up, some riders made unplanned dismounts, and several people ended up riding a much different race than they had planned. After the start, Monica, Alice and I walked back up to the Auburn fairgrounds (and up and up and up) where we were camped. We then broke camp and headed to Forest Hill where the 2 out vet checks were located. We were in convoy with the crew of Linda Fisher's Kenlyn group, who had brought Jas and Patrick with them from Colorado. This was great for us too, as they were a lovely group that most importantly, knew what they were doing. We just helped out as we could and watched and learned.
We watched the front runners come into the ForestHill vet check (Dennis Summers, Rachel Shackelford and Jeremy Reynolds, but don't quote me on that) and watched what their crews did. We had a bit of a wait until our first riders came in. The group of 7 horses and riders had split into two, which made it a bit easier for us to take care of them. The horses all looked good and the riders were very happy (mostly, a few 'bobbles' in there). After they vetted through they had an hour hold. Then, it was onto the 20 mile loop that we later heard was down and up (or vice versa) a canyon. This loop took a toll on quite a few horses and riders. Inde and Monica Bennett were pulled at Forest Hill, although I don't remember if she did the loop or not. Inde wasn't recovering as he should, so they made the correct decision and pulled. He looked great later, so maybe next year!
Our horses and riders came back in, once again in two groups. This time we had it down - tack was pulled at the water troughs before the in-timer, any sponging necessary was done there and then they walked up the hill to the in-timers, pulsers and vet checks. Once again, all our horses vetted through. Another hour hold and horses and riders rested and ate. They left for the ride home in two groups, and Steve Hallmark, on his big arab Tug went out about a minute after the group Jas was with. Once they were gone, we broke camp and drove back to the fairgrounds. We missed the first finishers, but once we were set back up, we watched some happy riders come in. Then, we took a few hours to rest and were back at the finish for our riders to come in. The first group came in somewhere around 2:15 am (not sure exactly) and Jas and Steve came in right around 3 am. The last two came in a little bit later. All the horses vetted through and were fine at their hour check (they did a post-ride check at about an hour after the completion vetting to catch any problems). We then poulticed legs, wrapped those that needed it, made sure everyone had full hay bags and tubs of beet pulp and went to bed. When we got up a few hours later, the riders were tired but looked great and the horses were the same. Amazing after 100 miles!
We went to the awards banquet, watched each rider get their completion awards and heard a bit more about the amazing reroute that had to be done to make this year's Tevis happen. The organizers should be immensely proud that they could reroute a 100 mile ride and get all the vet checks and volunteers organized in such a short time. I heard that their were 4 volunteers for each rider; at 170 riders, that is 680 people to re-organize within 24 hours. That everything worked smoothly was a real testament to organization and hard work. Sunday afternoon, we all packed up and left the fairgrounds, Jas and her group towards Colorado, Monica, Alice and I to Steve Hallmark's driveway for the night. We arrived back in Seattle Tuesday and now have to catch up a weeks' worth of work.
This was a wonderful trip and really made me appreciate the time, dedication and hard work that goes into making a hundred mile horse. I won't say I'll never ride a hundred (never say never), but both Monica and I agreed that we'd like to ride the Tevis trail in much smaller chunks, preferably in good weather, at a leisurely pace. But, who knows what the future will bring?
We also need to thank everyone that donated money and items to Jas to make this trip possible. Without the support of the Teke community and her friends and family, she wouldn't have been able to go and be the first purebred Akhal-Teke to finish Tevis! Thank yous will go out soon.

TEVIS!

Yes, you read that correctly. I am going to Tevis! Excitement, oohs and aahhss...and then, you remember that I've been out of the saddle all summer. How can I do Tevis? How can my horse be fit? Very simply. I'm not riding it.

My good friend Jas Shearer-McMahon, of Livermore CO, has just recently thrown her hat into the ring to ride Tevis. She hadn't thought it would work, but a combination of lucky events (for her), including the date change of the ride to October, made it possible. She still wasn't sure, but I pushed her into it (ok, just a little bit of hyperbole there), telling her I'd work on fundraising and come down and personally cheer her and Patrick on.

Oh, and just to make this a bit more personal, the horse she is riding, Patrickhan, is a son of my dear boy, Astrachan. She bred Patrick when she had Khano on lease quite a few years back and Patrick has proven to be a wonderful mount. He's been brought along slowly and this year the pair has several top tens and at least one BC in the very tough mountain rides they do in the Colorado area. Now, together they've never done a 100, but Jas has and she says it's a go. I believe her. I just hope that I can be that brave in a few years.

So, me and my friends Monica and Wendy (both Teke fans), are going to drive the truck and camper down to Auburn, CA in about a month and do whatever needs doing. We've had a generous offer of a place to park the camper (thank you Steve!) and I've started fundraising for Jas. If you'd like more info on THAT project, you can go to The Breeder's Co-op website, at: http://akhaltekebreeders.com/default.aspx or you can look us up on Facebook at either The Akhal-Teke Breeder's Co-op page or on the Cascade Gold Akhal-Teke page. All monies go to Jas (we're paying our own way) to help defray costs, and anything left over the target amount will be put into a competition/scholarship fund for future high-level Teke endeavors.

I do have one photo that I will post with this - a really great photo of Jas and Patrick at the Happy Jack ride this year. The photo is by Pascal Karl and I think it says it all.

Klickitat Trek, 2010

It's hard to believe it's already been over a week since Klickitat! As usual, we had a fabulous time, although there were a few little blips in the general bliss.

We got there on Thursday, as on Friday we had a date to go see two youngsters that were bred here at Cascade Gold. Suyji was now 2 and Mazaly now 3. We drove down to Glenwood through pouring rain, hoping the weather was going to cooperate for our weekend. We've had so much rain in Western Washington this spring, I think I'm developing webs between my toes. We arrived at camp around 8 pm (had to wait until Wendy was off from work to leave home) and were all set up and in the camper by 9. It was still pouring and we were very, very grateful for the camper. I think tent camping would have been pretty miserable! All night long we listened to drumming rain and the heater coming on. Our horses were out under trees, all with their blankets on. (This is June 3rd!). The next morning, the skies were starting to clear and we got ourselves all ready for our trip to Catrina's place. She and her mother, Mary, came and picked us up, as my truck as pretty tied down with the camper and trailer. We got a tour of gorgeous canyons, rolling plains and windmills on our way to their place. They're in Centerville, WA, which is around 40 minutes from Glenwood. Probably not that far milewise, but the twisty roads make it take a bit longer than you'd think. We admired Suyji, now a strapping young lad and Mazaly, who was telling him where to go and how to get there. All their horses looked as if they were enjoying the huge pastures and after some photo taking, we met a bunch of their goats and learned all sorts of neat things about CSAs and windmills. I expect to see Catrina and her horses out eventing within a few years - they just need to grow up a bit first. We then headed back to the camp, where we vetted in and went for a nice, late afternoon ride.

Saturday morning dawned...sunny! Although we had our rain gear along, I'll take sunshine anyday. I get enough rain at home! Wendy went off for the 50 with our camp neighbor David LeBlanc, and I headed out two hours later for the 30. Until I figure out my problems, I'm going to stick with the shorter distances. We made it about 200 ft and I heard, clink, clink, clink. So, back to camp to change out an Easyboot - the cable had broken. We left again and started our ride. Klickitat is mainly on nice, sandy trails, with some logging roads, very scenic. Quite quickly, I linked up with a lovely lady named Chloe (never did get her last name) and her horse, Monty. We were chatting so much, that we missed a pie plate and probably did an extra 6 miles or so...woops. We weren't the only ones though. No matter how well those trails are marked, I seem to get lost there! At least I didn't do a whole extra loop this time. So, we backtracked and had a very lovely ride, with Monty and Galen moving out very well. We came into the first vet check at 17 miles in a bit less than 2 1/2 hours, so if we did an extra 6 miles or so, we were flying. We pulsed down right away and did our hold. I didn't see my bag there, so Chloe shared her stash and Galen just helped himself to everyone's food. We headed out of the hold and worked on rating Monty a bit, which he accepted. He and Chloe are still pretty new to endurance, so are still learning lots. I had fun being the 'mentor' this ride. We ended up back at camp around 1ish and unfortunately, Galen must have stepped on a rock in the last little bit of trail, as he was just the tiniest bit off. The vet gave us the chance to do the trot out again in an hour, but he had rubs from his Easyboots on both fronts, even with my wrapping and was still just the smallest bit off, so I didn't go back. I felt very badly, as he had done a fantastic job - we found out later that we were about 17th out of 55 or so, so if we hadn't made that detour, (and vetted through!) we might have top tenned.

Wendy came in a bit after 2 pm and while Allie was fine, she was hurting. Monica and Taz had a wonderful time on the trail ride, but we decided that with Galen's soreness and Wendy's knee, we'd forget riding Sunday. We didn't feel too badly though, as the rain started up again.

All in all, a very good weekend, although I wish we hadn't met that rock, but that is endurance! Our next planned ride is Renegade, over the 4th of July weekend.

Mt. Adams ride, May 15, 2010

Here is the 'official' Mt. Adams ride photo. I think this was after the second loop and I'm still bouncy and smiling. Photo is by Jessica Anderson.

Milwaukee Railroad Ride, April 25th 2009

Monica Bretherton and I loaded up ‘the boys’, Galen and Arzuw, on Friday morning, for our trip over the pass to Kittitas, WA for the Milwaukee Railroad Ride. This ride is run on the John Wayne Trail, an old railroad grade for the Milwaukee Railroad (for more info, see Monica’s blog at http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/archives/166278.asp for a detailed history). This isn’t necessarily a very interesting ride, as it’s pretty much out and back on the same trail, although ride manager Gail Williams did add a nice lower part to the 3rd loop (our second loop), along a stream and through some fields. There was even a patch of mud to make us Seattleites feel at home. It is a fairly easy trail and makes a nice introduction to endurance. This past weekend though, what made it really an ‘endurance’ ride was the wind. We had gusts up to 100 mph in places and were riding into 60-80 mph gusts with a pretty steady wind when those were quiet. We made jokes about being blown off the trail, and as I felt Galen being blown sideways during some canter strides, I made very sure we weren’t too close to the edge. I don’t think anyone was blown off, but we did notice a few bandannas and other implements that probably flew out of people’s hands.

So, Monica and I did the 25, as this was Monica’s first ride and Ari’s also. Ari did do a trail ride a few years back with my daughter, but that hardly means he was a veteran. We have been conditioning, but my work schedule has made it a weekday thing, after I recover from my very busy weekend (I work swing shift over the weekend). Galen has several years of conditioning and rides under his girth, but we didn’t want to overface either Ari or Monica. We arrived in camp around 1ish on Friday and got camp set up, checked in, vetted the horses in and went for a ride. The wind wasn’t so bad on Friday, and we had a nice 5 or 6 mile warm-up. That night, the wind picked up and we both kept waking up every time the camper started rocking. Monica said it was like being at sea. It didn’t seem to bother the boys much, but they were on the protected side of the trailer. Saturday morning dawned, cold and windy. Our start time was 8 am (yeah, limited distance!) and we went out at the end of the pack. Galen walked out of camp on a loose rein, which I found extremely satisfying, as I’ve spent several years trying to achieve this. In the past, he thought we should roar out of camp, pass everyone and show them all his fine Teke behind. Saturday, he walked like a gentleman, allowed gigging horses a wide berth as we passed those less fortunate. We started trotting probably a half mile outside of camp and then passed bunches of people. I do admit we both were probably more than a bit smug on our well-behaved, smooth ATs, passing gigging, sweating, bouncy arabs and arab crosses. There were also a lot of gaited horses at the ride and some did quite well. We played tag with one mule for quite a while. We came to the tunnel at 4.5 miles and all eastbound traffic went up and over this year. There was another 4.3 miles after this that we trotted and cantered. We made pretty good time on the trip out, averaging 8.8 miles (it took us exactly an hour for the entire outward trip). We made our turnaround and found out why everyone coming towards us was hunched over and looking windblown. Galen thought we should just keep going WITH the wind, forget about heading back. But, we turned into the wind and started our trek back. It was amazing! Over in Western Washington, we’re just not used to wind like this – this would have been a huge storm, with trees coming down, schools closed and barns locked up tight. In Eastern Washington, it was just…spring. Give us Seattle people rain and mud and we’re pretty much ok, but wind! We trotted and did some cantering, but the suspension phase of the canter was a little hairy, as I could feel Galen being pushed over in the air. We also slowed down considerably, averaging about 4.5 miles an hour coming back. Then we came to the tunnel. The tunnel is maybe 300 feet long (I’m guessing) and has some light going Westward. There is about 20 feet that is almost pitch black, so the horses must trust the rider. (Or, maybe they can see way better than us and it’s not pitch black to them). Galen had done the tunnel twice before, so I got off and led. Ari was a bit nervous, but he and Monica came through ok. I know some people ride through it, but when I tried last year, I got so dizzy I almost fell off. Definitely better to walk! We mounted up and headed back to camp, where we were pulsed down when we arrived and vetted through fine. Back to the camper for a hold and lunch for all of us.

Our second loop was the opposite direction and Gail had changed the loop so it was more interesting, with part of it going along the river and through some fields. This made for a nice change and refreshed us all. We came back on the John Wayne trail and had one moment when Galen stepped in a length of wire that stuck around his leg for a stride or two. The actual wire wasn’t the problem, but the weird noise it made dragging along was a bit daunting. But, he listened to me and stopped nicely, and we threw the wire of the trail so some less lucky person didn’t get tangled in it. We did more walking this loop, as both boys weren’t quite as eager to move out anymore. We made it back to camp about 1 pm and were pulsed down coming in. We were amazed to find that we were in the top ten finishers for the 25 and both elected to stand for Best Condition. While I didn’t really think we’d win, it’s an excellent training tool and gives you another vet to look at your horse and comment. So, we did our initial vetting and went back to the trailer to clean them up for the final vetting. I was horrified to see that Galen had rubs on both front pasterns from his Easyboot gaiters, so spent some time getting those looking good. Definitely something to work on for our next rides – no rubs! We went back for our final vetting and the boys were pretty good. The vet did ask if I thought Galen was a bit skinny, so I had to tell him a bit about Akhal-Tekes. Next to an arab or a gaited horse, yes, he’s skinny. But for a fit Teke, not so bad. We finished our vetting and headed back to bed the boys down and have a well-deserved libation. We did think that doing more than the 25 would have been too much definitely for Ari and possibly for Galen at this point. Unfortunately, my working has really cut into our conditioning rides. But, they finished with some reserves and we’ll stick to LDs for at least a while. Probably the entire season for Ari, as he doesn’t have the years of conditioning that Galen does. As for Galen and I, well, we’ll see. A lot depends on if I can get more conditioning in. If not, well, LDs finish nice and early, so we can hang out, drink beer (or wine) and watch the longer distances come and go. More time then to visit and tell people about Tekes!

We came in 9th and 10th (although at the final vetting they said 8th and 9th) and were 7th and 8th (or 6th and 7th?) in the Best Condition. There were about 30 odd people in the 25 and I think there were several pulls. I have to say I was busy looking at my vet card and BC card at that point and didn’t really pay attention.

Now the boys get a few days off to eat. Ari is all for that, but Galen was running laps an hour after we got home.

Cathy

For more blogging from Monica and photos, go to :http://blog.seattlepi.com/horsebytes/archives/167411.asp