Old Dominion

Old Dominion was my dream ride for this year. Obviously, that didn't happen. As it stands, OD is on my bucket list. It is one of the toughest (maybe the toughest) ride on the East Coast. In fact, they call it the Beast of the East. It is also gorgeous. And rugged. And everything my little endurance heart dreams of. Some day...

Two weeks ago, Wendy emailed me, apologizing for the short notice and asking if I'd like to crew for her and Jimmy for the OD 55. I jumped at the chance. My heart ached for my lost endurance season and I was jealous of everyone who got to ride their fit, healthy, shiny horses over the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, but I had a grand old time. It was a rush just to be in ride camp again.

On Thursday night I wound up rushing back to the barn during a thunder storm because a random stranger called to tell me one of my horses was badly hurt and there was blood everywhere. Tiger had indeed gotten his butt kicked by his new herd, but it was nothing serious and definitely not worth the hassle. It was after midnight by the time I got to bed and I was up and at 'em at 3:30am.

I met Wendy at her barn and parked my car in the back corner of her front pasture. The barn was adorable and it was good to see Danza and meet Danny. We were loaded and on the road at 5am.

The drive down went smoothly and we arrived at base camp, nestled in the Shenandoah Valley, before noon. I set up the temp. pen while Wendy unpacked and got Jimmy settled. We vetted in at 2pm, checked out the hold site, and even got a nap in before dinner. Camp filled up quickly and there was a wide variety of trailers parked side by side.

The ride was very well run and dinner was great. The ride briefing was a riot and all the vets were wearing matching Hawaiian t-shirts. As usual I found myself surrounded by familiar faces. I caught up on the news and petted horses I know. Even Jenn who I boarded Ozzy with was there. We chatted and shared stories. She's basically out of endurance at this point. I'm moving Ozzy on Wednesday and may be riding with her again in the near future.

We went to bed early that night and I mostly slept like a rock. I did wake briefly when a bad thunderstorm hit camp in the early morning hours.

I woke up again when a blood curdling scream filled the air. It took me a second to remember I was at a ride, but that fact did little to quell my panic. The scream was unlike anything I'd heard. It turns out the mustang in the pen next to our trailer was going nuts, but his screams were not something that sounded remotely equine. He squealed over and over, attacking his pen and creating quite a stir while his owner tried to get him to settle.

Wendy and I got up early, giving Jimmy his electrolytes, guzzling coffee, and getting ready for a six thirty start.

The hundred milers had already gone off at 5:15am. Watching them start was something else. LD's are funny to watch because there are always horses bouncing left and right and bolting. Sometimes riders even come off. 50's typically go off in a pack, in one big, impressive rush. But the 100's? The horses all hit this rhythmic, steady trot stride and just disappeared into the wilderness with a 'go all day' attitude. You could tell they were all old pros.

As soon as Wendy was safely over the line, I jumped into the truck and drove up the street to the first vet check. All the holds for this ride were away, which was a new experience for me, and made for an interesting crewing day. Driving Wendy's truck (an F-250 Super Duty) made me really, really, really want one. Shortly after I parked the truck, the hundred milers started rolling in. The speed in which they covered the first 17 miles was mind boggling for an aspiring endurance rider like me. I  killed time by wandering around, taking pictures, and meeting awesome people until Wendy and Jimmy arrived.

Jimmy trotted in, looking confident and relaxed, but he had pulled a shoe on the first loop and he looked tender coming up the steep gravel drive to the p/r. Thankfully, the ride farrier was able to tack on a new pad and shoe and he trotted sound for his re-check. After 45 minutes of resting, eating, and drinking, Wendy and Jimmy were ready to hit the trail again.

As Jimmy and Wendy went out, Mike and Cherry arrived at the hold on Harley and Boston Kate. They were doing the 25 and didn't have a crew. I wasn't doing anything else so I offered to help. I took Harley up to the check and trotted him out then came back to hold Kate while Cherry took care of herself. I wished them luck on the last loop of their ride and went back up the hill to nap in the sun and watch the activity. The second hold on the 50 mile trail was a no-crew stop so I had six hours to kill.

As it turns out, Mike and Cherry finished Top 10 in the 25!!! I was so so proud of them... and especially Kate! For a 14 year old mare who only knew how to pop out babies until last year, she is doing incredibly well! I think the two of them will go far.

I was sitting in the trailer, reading a book when the wind suddenly picked up and the sky got dark and cloudy. I had enough time to sprint to the truck before the skies opened up and the downpour began. Of course, I'd left the top off the hold tub and everything was about to get soaked. I drove over to the hold in record time and got drenched in the time it took me to run to the tub and back. The storm didn't last long, but there was some impressive thunder and lightning. I worried for the riders on course and hoped Wendy and Jimmy were doing well. In fact, the rain had come at the perfect time, cooling Jimmy as he waited at the second hold. Wendy was dripping wet, but 28 year old Jimmy was feeling refreshed.

Since I had driven back to the hold, but had a lot of time left to kill, I wandered down to the in-timer and made friends with the volunteers. There had already been a lot of pulls for the day and the difficulty of the ride was clear. One girl had fallen off her horse repeatedly. Another had been attacked by a swarm of bees. There were numerous pulled shoes and an alarming number of tie ups. A lot of the pulls were riders optioning out for the sakes of their horses. The horse ambulance was certainly keeping busy.

Some time before 5pm, just as I was beginning to worry, Jimmy and Wendy appeared on the path in the woods. This time everything was going smoothly and Jimmy passed his vetting with flying colors. This final hold, only six miles from the finish, was only 20 minutes. The time flew by and I had just enough time to pack the truck and drive back to base camp before Wendy crossed the finish line.

The amazing thing about Jimmy (aside from the fact that he's a 28 year old horse who is still competing in tough 50's) is that he's the same at the end of the ride as he is at the start. Steady eddy. Nothing phases him. After he got his completion (woohoo!) Jimmy rolled and gazed at us over the temp fence as if to say, "Dinner?"

The rest of the afternoon was spent organizing things for the trip home, getting Jimmy settled for the evening, eating, and hanging out with acquaintances. Jenn and I took her dog, Frodo, down to Lake Laura for a walk.

After a long day, Wendy was ready to go to bed early, but I stayed up to watch the first few hundred milers cross the line. The vets and volunteers were taking $1 bets on what time the first rider would arrive. I set my camera up under the lights and waited with bated breath. I had never seen a 100 mile finish and there is something about night riding that gets me excited. In the mean time, I met even more fascinating people and dogs. We even had enough time to figure out what the mystery noise in the brush was (tree frogs!)

Some time before 10:30pm, we spotted a glow stick down the road. We all sprang to our feet and waited to cheer on the leading rider, but the glow stick was swinging oddly close to the ground. We were all trying to figure out where it was attached to the horse. Then we saw that it was just a little girl going for a walk with her dad. The disappointment was audible, but not for long.

Moments later, Ann Crandell crossed the line on her horse... the gelding didn't even look tired!!! I took pictures in the dark and stuck around while Lynn Gilbert and Stagg Newman crossed second and third respectively.

After I was done drooling over the incredible horse and rider pairs, I stumbled off to bed. I didn't wake up until  after Wendy was already up the next morning. We stuck around long enough to have some donuts for breakfast and collect Wendy's completion buckle, but the award brunch wasn't until 11:30am and we had traffic to beat.Thankfully, we made good time on the way home and I was back home by 4:30pm.

Before we left, I helped loaded the neighbor's horse onto the trailer. My weekend wouldn't be complete otherwise ;)

Over all, I had a brilliant weekend. It was great to be outside, surrounded by some of the best horses on the east coast. I missed the competition and the sense of ride camp. I'm excited to get Ozzy back in work this week, but I'm also excited to take Rayzer to Maine in two weeks. I've been down about the pause in my endurance career, but spending the weekend at OD definitely reminded me how much I love this sport.

More photos under the cut.

Jimmy


The horse next to us, Darby, had really cool leg markings.








Ride camp











This mustang reminded me of Ozzy in both looks and personality.


























The start was kinda nuts.























Mmmm... electrolytes.








Marking trails.


















Frodo!





My toy for the weekend.
































Kate :)








My colors!


Harley



























Waiting out the rain storm.














Finish!





This little girl took a kitten home at the end of the day.









Final trot out :)


I love ride camp at night.











Tiny frogs.


Glow sticks and head lamps <3