More Foal Photos!

I've been slacking in the photography department, sad to say.  But, yesterday, my friend Wendy came out to visit so I took a few cellphone photos of her and Rocket.  He's in the 'I'm so curious and fingers are great for getting spots I can't get" stage. 

He continues to grow (like a weed) and is such a nice boy!  Too bad he came out the wrong sex, but as he's a colt, he is for sale.

Photos from August 10, 2014, Rocket asking Wendy for 'scritches'.

 

Mt. Adams Endurance Ride, May 17, 2014

This was my 'come-back' ride after several years of surgeries and depression (at my slow recovery from said surgeries) .  I've been doing conditioning rides, although not nearly as many as usual and not nearly as long.

For newcomers to my blog, here it is in a nutshell:  breast cancer surgery in 2011 led to not much conditioning for the 2012 ride season. 4 rides (teeth gritting, pill popping after tearing a tendon in the first ride of the season) in 2012 with each ride being more and more painful on my ankle with the torn tendon.  I did top ten most of them though...figured faster was better.  At the last ride of the year that I did, where I had to walk my (very disgusted) horse the last 10 miles because my ankle hurt so badly, I decided to try surgery (and we still top tenned).  Surgery in August-September of 2012, VERY slow recovery.  I'm afraid I expected to have 6 weeks of PT and recovery and then be back to full power.  Ha.  Silly me.  I didn't compete at all in 2013 because I could only ride about an hour before the pain was pretty bad.  So, I volunteered. 

I have been upping my 'game' over the winter and had gotten up to almost a 3 hour ride without too much whining, so I decided that Mt. Adams was it!  My comeback ride!  Except, unless you are totally flying, you can't even do an LD in 3 hours...

So, I adjusted my attitude and decided that if I could mentor a newbie or two, I could justify (to myself, no one else cared) doing a, gasp, Trail Ride.  I'm afraid I've always been a little 'above' the trail ride, thinking there was no reason to do anything less than an LD.  I kept repeating (in a bit of a whiney voice)  "But I've done 50s!".  I'm pretty sure there was a bunch of self-pity there. Well, the old gray mare just ain't what she used to be.  So, I firmly tamped that down and hauled to Mt. Adams with my friend Monica.  She decided to come on the trail ride too, mostly to make sure I was ok. 

We drove down  and got talking so much we missed the first bridge over the Columbia and had to go over the one between Hood River and White Salmon.  I HATE this bridge.  I'm not much for heights anyway and have actually smashed my truck side mirror on an oncoming truck's mirror on this bridge a few years back, so I have reason.  I did make it over the bridge and no one actually honked at me...going 15 miles an hour is probably not the way to make friends.  I also halted in the middle of the bridge when a big truck came at us.  I think I did breathe somewhere along it...but I won't guarantee it.  One lady in an oncoming car did point vigorously at me to move over to the edge of the bridge - I think I was pretty close to the center line.

Anyway, we made it to the lovely camp with plenty of time to spare, vetted in, etc and met up with our friend Keiko, who was doing her first endurance ride ever with her mare Cady.  We went for a nice few mile ride on Friday and both Galen and Danny were great.  Cady was a bit jazzed, but settled by the end.

Next morning, the very civilized start time of 9 am.  Hmmm, this is definitely in the Trail Ride's favor.  We got Keiko and Cady and left after pretty much everyone was gone.  Cady and Keiko were a bit nervous, so we went back and forth a bit and then Keiko got off and walked for a while until a big hill convinced her to remount.  We sandwiched them between Galen (in front) and Danny behind, which seemed to help Cady.  We walked along, singing silly songs and getting relationship updates.  After a bit, we asked if we could trot 20 steps and then walk.  We did this for a while until it was boring and then started trotting the easier parts (no ducking low branches, no downhills, etc).  By now, Keiko was starting to enjoy herself, as she and Cady had both relaxed.  We made it clear that we wouldn't do anything more (ok, maybe just a touch more) than she was comfortable with, which I think really helped her.  We had the whole day to enjoy the beautiful Ghost loop and if it took the whole day, so be it. 

(I do have a ride photo, but for some reason, my computer refuses to load it, so you just need to imagine the lovely scenery and Galen's orange butt)

We did spend a little time going back to find a boot, but we found it quickly.  We finished around 12:30 or so, but that was fine.  This was a 13 mile loop, and my ankle still felt pretty good.  This was the longest mileage AND time I have done since June of 2012.   I have been working on changing the way I ride - much more sitting trot; thank goodness for the Teke glide, much more muscle instead of letting my ankles absorb so much.  It's very different from how I've ridden before, but Galen seems ok with it, so I'll call it good.

I ended with thinking that I could probably do more mileage, but I was kind of glad I didn't have to.  Once the horses were taken care of, I cracked a beer, took some more Advil and socialized.  Hmmm, another plus in the Trail Ride's favor...more time for beer.  Anyway, we are planning on heading to Klickitat, where I might ride a 2 day LD.  It could be a new thing - the weenie version of the 2 day 100.  If that goes well, maybe I'll be up to an LD before the end of the ride season. 

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.

Clipping time

Today I cleaned my clipper blades (long overdue), oiled the clippers and took them out to the barn. Galen has been working fairly hard and it's been warm enough that he's sweating quite a bit. I figured that a very small clip job on the bottom of his neck might help him with cooling out a bit faster. He's got a pretty good winter coat for a Teke, even though he does wear a rainsheet in the winter and sometimes a blanket if it's really nasty out.

I did forget that he's never seen clippers before - I don't worry about nose or ear whiskers and one of the great things about endurance is that no one expects you to have a 'show-ready' horse, polished and clipped. So, we spent some time just getting used to those noisy things. He was very good, all in all, although I wish I had a photo of how far back he was leaning, without moving his feet. I just went slowly, kept telling him what a good boy he was, gave him treats when he relaxed, and we got that neck shaved a bit without much trouble. So, tomorrow we'll see if that helps with the cooling, as we're hauling out to the Redmond Watershed, for a nice, long ride, as long as the weather cooperates.

Monica commented that it 'took pounds off him'. Hmmm, maybe that is an option for humans also..

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.

It's been busy!

Yes it has. Here it is, already July 2nd and I haven't posted since Reggie was born. Reggie is doing well, growing like a weed. We'll get some new photos of him soon. I think I have a 'real' name for him, haven't totally decided. I'm thinking Sazanda, which means 'musician' in Turkmen. Good name for a competition horse!

Me, Wendy, Monica and Julie went to the Renegade Rendezvous endurance ride last weekend.

We had several Tekes at the Renegade Rendevous over the weekend. This ride is known here in the Pacific NW as the ‘Little Tevis’ and I had never done it before. Now that I have, I understand the nickname! The ride itself is absolutely gorgeous, in the foothills (or higher) fairly near the WA-OR border. It was almost all up and down, through gorgeous stands of trees, through some pretty fast rivers, on logging roads and with some vistas that were made for photo ops. I rode Galen in the 25, along with our friend Julie, who borrowed a mustang mare from Shannon Mayfield, Wendy rode Allie (NP mare) in the 50 and we took Danny (Magdan) for the experience and Shannon brought Tommy (Asil Tumay) along for the same.

We all went out for a nice ride Friday evening, probably about 6 miles up and down and the two young er boys, Danny and Tommy, handled it just right. The rest of our horses had no problems and had vetted in fine.

We woke up Sat. morning to frost and Wendy headed out on her 50. Julie and I left at the very back of the pack around 8:15, as there was a pretty hairy water crossing right at the beginning and we waited until the crush was gone. Our first 11.5 miles was (it seemed) straight up. Both horses did it, but I know that was way more hills than they are used to. We came into the vet check with only 2 people behind us (as planned), vetted through fine and headed out. There were quite a few pulls at the vet check – they had a trailer running up and down the mountain with lame and tired horses. Happily, it was mostly downhill from then on. There were miles of hard packed road that neither horse liked, so we walked quite a bit. Both Julie and I got off and walked too and enjoyed the scenery. Our two followers passed us and the trails were ours. We did run into a whole bunch of people shooting guns (sounded like a whole army), but they did stop…for about 5 minutes as we went past them. Galen wasn’t so sure about that, but Julie’s mare, Nettie, couldn’t have cared less. We were glad to be out of there, as we were still on those hard roads and that bunch was a bit alarming. Even with the guns, the horses didn’t want to go faster. We figured by this time that we were going to be overtime, but that was ok. The horses were doing well, the trail was gorgeous, and my goal was both horses passing the final vet check. We came into camp and the final vet check around 3:15 and yes, we were overtime, but our horses got better vet scores than at the first check (after that 11.5 mile climb!), so it was all good. They both were pulsed down as we came i n, they trotted through sound and then we took them back to the camper and fussed over them. They both looked perky, although a bit tired. Wendy came in from her 50 not too long after us and Allie looked great. Tommy and Danny greeted them all with their in-camp tales and we humans settled down with well deserved beers. Monica was our fabulous camp and young horse sitter, as well as photographer, so I’m sure we’ll have some gorgeous shots soon.

All in all, a very satisfying weekend, an excellent first exposure for our youngsters and tons of fun. Our next ride isn’t until August, and if the weather cooperates, we’ll be able to get some real conditioning in. If we do Renegade next year, we’ll probably have to pad under shoes and I was even thinking about pads in our Easyboots. Those roads were murder!

Today, Monica and I are heading out for some more trail experience. Danny now has Easyboots all the way around, so we're going to Mann Road fairly early, before the heat of the day and before anyone is out with fireworks. She took some more photos of Mahri and Scooter in the last few days, so I'll post some on the sale horse blog. I will post some photos with this blog post that Monica took at Renegade. We should have some more coming from Julie after she gets everything unpacked (she's moving this weekend).