Crewing Old Dominion

My saga as a person who seems to be at endurance rides all the time, but doesn't actually ride endurance any more continues. Seriously, my last endurance ride was when I did my surprise LD in Maine last August. My last 50 mile attempt was over a year ago at No Frills, when Dart and I got pulled at 45 miles. My last endurance-length completion was in 2016. I'm not sure I even count as an endurance rider any more, not that I'm doing a whole heck of a lot to actively combat that.

I had three horses offered to me for Muckleratz next weekend. I had decided to try one of them and was supposed to ride him yesterday for a conditioning ride. That fell through, and I consciously made the decision not to pursue the other options because I'm honestly sort of sick of putting in a ton of effort regarding horses. Skip and Angela keep offering to let me ride one of their horses, and I really need to just jump on the chance.

I think part of it is that I'm really ready to have another endurance horse of my own, but can't swing that financially right now. Not that I would have the time to condition a horse of my own right now anyway, but I can daydream, right?



ANYWAY!!!!

Last summer, when I crewed OD100 for Holly, Dawn asked me if anyone had called dibs on me for 2018 yet. I laughed and told her that I never plan that far in advance. Dawn asked if she could reserve me a year in advance because she was planning to make Old Dominion her first 100 with her young horse, Phin. I readily agreed. I adore Dawn and knew it would be a good time.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to be the only one having a run of rotten luck this season, and Dawn and Dean don't currently have any horses competing.

As soon as Jeff and Evelyn heard that I was free for OD, Evelyn messaged me to ask if we'd be willing to come crew for her and Jeff in the hundred. The four of us have such a great time together, and I quickly agreed. Mike took a half day for that Friday and I booked Marissa to watch the dogs so they wouldn't have to spend the day in the back of a horse trailer. Evelyn did offer me a horse for the LD on Friday, but that would have required extra time off and more planning on short notice, so I declined the offer.

The Friday of OD, I got up, cleaned the apartment, and started packing while Mike went in to work for the morning. When he got home, we took the dogs out one last time, piled our surprisingly small amount of stuff into the car, and stopped to let Wynn out before heading down to Virginia.

We made good time on the drive down, stopping only for gas, and arriving in ridecamp just in time for dinner and the ride meeting.

Jeff and Evelyn are heavily involved with the pre-planning for Old Dominion. They've been driving down to Virginia on a regular basis to help with camp set up, trail clearing, and ride planning. As a result, they get VIP treatment and had a parking spot reserved up by the main tent, complete with electric and water hook up for the LQ. This meant Mike and I didn't have to scramble and fight for a parking spot like we have in years past. It also meant we had a rare spot with shade. The downside was that we were sort of remote to the majority of riders, and there were several people at the ride who I missed completely even though we were there for almost 48 hours.

We said our hellos and everyone was particularly excited to see Mike.  While he did make a brief appearance at Mustang in the fall, he hasn't been to a ride since Vermont last July! His new job means he'll have more availability to come to rides now, but we've also been focusing more on doing non-horsey activities on the weekends, so it's sort of a mixed bag there.

This is when Evelyn told me her big news. We wouldn't be crewing for her after all. She had decided to ride cavalry (no crew allowed!) We would just be taking care of Jeff, and waiting to be back up in case Evelyn had to drop out of cavalry for any reason. I had heard a rumor along those lines, but now it was confirmed.

And on that bombshell, we went up to the tent for dinner and the ride meeting. I've been to this ride enough times now that I really didn't listen to the briefing. I wasn't riding and the holds haven't changed, so I knew what we were doing. Plus, with two crew members and only one rider, this would practically be a walk in the park!

After dinner, we spent a little bit of time going over what would need to be loaded into the truck in the morning. We decided not to go over to Bird Haven the night before, since Jeff and Evelyn are of the "keep it simple" mentality, and we wouldn't have to worry about a pop up tent. Besides, Evelyn would be completely on her own and not even allowed to use our crewing area. She would have to carry everything she would need all day on her person or on the horse. There were a few things we would keep in the truck just in case cavalry didn't work out, but really, we just had to worry about Jeff's end, and most of his stuff was already pre-packed into their awesome crew bags. I love crewing for Jeff and Evelyn because they have their system down to an art.

Once we went over the basics for the next day, we hid inside the nice air conditioned living quarters and went to bed. As always, I slept better at the ride than I do at home. I actually woke up feeling completely rested at 12:30am. Haha. Mike slept well too, for a change. I think not having the dogs with us helped a lot, though I missed them both terribly.

At 3:30am, our alarms went off and we were up and at 'em. The upside of the LQ is that I got a hot, fresh cup of coffee to start my day with. That's pretty much my only prerequisite as crew, so I was happy.

Evelyn was stressed because there had been some concerns about something in Rella's hind end at the vetting in the day before. While we hand grazed the horses, I took the mare around the corner and made her trot some circles so I could watch her move. I could see what the vets were noticing about her hind end. She didn't seem to be lame per se, but there was definitely a hitch in her hip every once in a while. Apparently she'd just had chiro done for the first time, and was quite out in her SI area, so I wonder if that had something to do with it...

Jeff and Evelyn got their horses tacked up while Mike and I checked and double checked the gear in the truck bed, and added our own supplies for the day.

When it came time to mount, Rella got upset at Dart moving away from her (barely) and double barreled the tailgate of the truck. I cringed, worried that she had just knocked herself out of the competition before it even started. Thankfully, she seemed no worse for the wear (and the truck was fine too).

At 5:30am, the trail opened and Jeff and Evelyn went out together at the back of the pack. There were 31 horses starting the hundred, and I believe eight of them were in the cavalry division.

Mike and I cheered them on, then walked back up to the tent to grab some breakfast items (mmmm, muffins!) We double checked our packing list one last time, slammed the tailgate closed, and drove around the corner to Bird Haven as the sun rose over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

We arrived at Bird Haven before the gates were even opened, and were close to the front of the line when crew was allowed in. We had already prioritized what gear we were bringing in with us, and were able to get everything set up in two trips. The rules at Bird Haven, which is a private residence with the hold area set up on the lawn, are getting stricter every year. This year, they were requiring that all hay be removed from the grounds. The logical thing to do was to only bring one flake in, since a horse isn't going to eat more than one flake of hay in 45 minutes.

Evelyn had told us to look for Bryn's tan pop up tent and set Jeff up near there. We found the tent and Bryn's crew pretty quickly, but I was concerned that they were set up really far away from the cavalry crewing area and not super conveniently located to the P&R box. Still, I followed instructions and we set everything up alongside Bryn's tent. Mike grabbed water buckets, and we sat down to relax and wait.

Jeff and Evelyn came in about midway through the pack, and Mike and I set to work. Dart was a little hot, but we stripped his tack and sponged him quickly. His pulse came down in no time and I took him to vet. He passed the vetting with flying colors, and wanted to eat everything in sight. He also made it very clear when he wanted a drink by dragging Mike over to the water trough.

Photo by Tom of Asgard Arabians.

As I suspected, separating the horses was not going to work very well, so Mike and I took turns holding Dart just outside the cavalry area while running back and forth for necessary supplies. We figured our system out pretty quickly, and each hold ran the same all day. Strip tack, sponge, take pulse. Vet horse, get out time. Clean Dart, get saddle pad drying and girth/bit/breast collar clean. Get Dart eating and drinking. Get Jeff eating, drinking, relaxing. Restock saddle bags. Slather girth with Desitin, powder back. Electrolyte, buffer, rinse. Tack up. Shout encouragement to Evelyn. Get Jeff out on trail. Clean and repack everything. Drive to next location, rinse repeat. We'd have wet/dry grain, hay, fresh cold water all done before the horse and rider came in. Everything else was done on the fly. As the day went on, things migrated from in the crew bag or neat bins to living in the bed of the truck in order of importance. It's the sort of organized chaos I thrive on.

Mike holding Dart on the right. Photo by Tom.

Evelyn had a bit of a misadventure during this hold. You see, riding cavalry means you can't even have someone hold your horse for you while you go potty. You can tie to a tree or other naturally occurring obstacle, but you can't tie to trees in Bird Haven. The obvious answer is to pop a squat on trail (hey, nobody is reading this blog because it's rated G). Poor Evelyn tried to use the porta potty while holding Rella's reins. Rella has had no practice doing this particular thing, and was itchy and hungry. She kept alternating between trying to graze and scratching her head on the potty. Evelyn was trying to correct her while using the bathroom. Well, Rella pulled back! Luckily, she didn't pull the whole porta potty over with her (I think I would flat out quit endurance riding if that ever happened to me). She did, however, yank Evelyn right out of the potty, pants down and the whole nine yards. As you can imagine, that was the story of the weekend!! Endurance will make you nothing if not humble. After that, Ev just used the bushes.

Rella and Evelyn in a more flattering moment. Photo by Tom.

(I did not take many photos this weekend.)

Soon, both horses were back out on trail. Mike and I stuck around Bird Haven for a few more minutes to socialize with a few people. Poor Liz was having a bad day and her friend, Sam, had been pulled on her horse, Sammy. (Yes, Sam rides Sammy.) A few other people had been knocked out already as well. Reports were that the trail was even rockier than usual due to all the heavy rain this year. I'm not sure I can imagine OD being any rockier, but apparently it's possible!

Mike and I packed everything back into the truck and decided to head back to camp for a little while. There is no crew allowed at Laurel Run the first time, so we wouldn't be seeing our riders again until Bucktail (woo-ooh!) Bucktail is another 30 miles past Bird Haven so it would be several hours before we needed to be out there.

Our original plan was to take a nap.

Instead, we ended up running into Diane, the Ride Manager. She was surprised to see us back in camp and I made some comment along the lines of, "Well, we can't crew at Laurel Run anyway, unless we 'volunteer' for the hold." *nudge nudge*

I was kidding, but Diane's face lit up. It turns out they were short handed at Laurel Run and she was delighted to have more hands on deck. She told us to go ahead and drive up to the hold and make ourselves useful. 

So that's just what we did. I already knew how to get to Laurel Run, but we grabbed a copy of the crew directions, complete with short cuts between the holds. A few minutes later, we were pulling up the fire service road into the national forest. Mike looked a little skeptical about parking the giant dually truck in the ditch on the side of the path, and I told him, "This is the part where I kept muttering, 'Don't roll the truck, don't roll the truck...' last year."

We helped set up some buckets and crew spots, then wandered up to the vetting area to catch up with Dr. Bob (who was delighted to finally get to spend some Bro Time with Mike. I can't even remember the last time the two of them saw each other... Maybe RBTR 2016?) Dr. Bob is having the same rotten luck all my endurance pals seem to be having this year. Out of all of his horses, Spirit is the only one currently doing any endurance riding (and he and Beth just do LD's.)

Before long, the front runners came in. As usual, I just happened to be in the "right" place at the right time.

Lauren and Getcha were up front with Bryn, and Getcha was looking pretty hot and miserable when he came in. This is the horse who has done Tevis and has several other tough hundreds under his belt. He's 16 this year, but he's an endurance riding powerhouse, and it's unusual for him to be out of breath or having a hanging pulse.

Mike and I set to work sponging immediately. We cooled and cooled and cooled, adding ice to the water buckets several times. Still, Getcha's pulse hovered in the 80's as the seconds ticked by.

Eventually, we got Getcha down to 64, and I walked him slowly up to the vetting area, making note of the fact that he was still puffing even though we were in the shade. I hoped he wouldn't be inverted.

Getcha met the pulse criteria and Lauren asked me if I would mind trotting him for her. No problem!

We jogged down the hill and Getcha shuffled sluggishly next to me. I had never jogged him before so I didn't know if this was his usual gait. When we turned around to come back up the hill, however, Getcha refused to trot. I clucked, told him to "t-rot!" and swung the end of the reins at him. Nothing. Embarrassed, I called up to Lauren, "Is there a trick to getting him to trot?"
"I just sort of cluck and tell him 'trot'."

By now, I think the vets were concerned and they told me not to chase him. His gut sounds were a little quiet and he was slightly dehydrated, but nothing terrible. His CRI wasn't great, but nothing to cause immediate concern if you didn't know the horse. The vets decided to hold Lauren's card and have Getcha re-present before heading out.

We got to the hold area and continued to sponge and cool Getcha while he ate and drank. His appetite seemed good, at least. After another 20 minutes, he was finally starting to feel cool to the touch when we stopped actively sponging, and the vets stopped hovering nearby.

And then, suddenly, Getcha's entire right side sort of seized up. It looked like a gigantic muscle spasm and his eyes grew wide as he grunted in discomfort. He suddenly looked tucked up, and I knew he was tying up.

I sprinted up the hill and shouted for Bob. "Getcha is tying up!! Come quickly!"

Then I ran back down the hill and took Getcha's reins. I tried to walk him up to the vets, who were making their way down to meet us halfway. At first, Getcha walked slowly forward, but then he couldn't do it any more. His head shot up in the air and he started to stumble backwards down the hill. I went with him, just trying to steer him enough to keep him from falling into the woods around Laurel Run.

Lauren was understandably panicked and tried to talk comfortingly to her horse as his entire body cramped up.

Getcha alternated between running backwards and pacing uncomfortably forward until Dr. Bob gave him a shot of Xylazine and another injection of Banamine. The drugs took hold immediately and Getcha settled as his body relaxed. The ambulance was brought up and Getcha was trailered back to camp, where bloodwork revealed that this was in fact a tie up. He was treated with fluids in camp and released later in the day, no worse for the wear. He had never tied up before and it was scary to watch, but he is just fine now.

While Mike comforted Lauren, I tried to figure out if I had enough time to trailer back to camp with her and then still make it to Bucktail on time. The answer was no. I did offer to run ahead to Bucktail to let Lauren's crew know that she had been pulled, but the radio guys said they would call ahead with the news.

With that fiasco behind us, Mike and I went back to volunteering and helping various riders with their horses as they came in.

Before long, Jeff and Evelyn arrived, still riding together. This time, we'd managed to set Jeff's crew bag near the cavalry area so the horses could see each other while we crewed. Dart's pulse came down quickly and he passed vetting with flying colors.

I think this was also the point at which Dart figured out his routine. From this hold on, Dart would tank up at the water trough, wait patiently while we pulled tack, grab a mouthful of hay "to go", pee on his way to vetting, trot politely, and tear right into his grain as soon as he got back to the crew area. I love it when horses figure out the hold game!

Unfortunately, not everything went smoothly. When it came time to mix up electrolytes, we figured out that Jeff had put a lot of his stuff in the wrong crew bag. The one that had gotten sent up to Laurel Run with ride management was missing several key items. Everything else was in the truck, parked a ways up the FS road.

I tossed Dart's reins to Mike and ran to the truck, and then all the way back, up hill in the June heat. It wasn't until someone shouted out, "Good for you, girl!" that I suddenly realized that my fitness must be really improved from years past. There is no way I could have run even halfway to the truck this time last year. Don't get me wrong, I still hate running, but it's nice to have the option if I need it.

Forty-five minutes later, Jeff, Evelyn, Dart, and Rella headed back down the trail, and Mike and I grabbed the away-hold bag and headed back to the truck.

We took the long, scenic drive to Bucktail, and had a funny moment when I pointed out the sketchy backyard zoo. Mike asked, "Are you sure I've been here?" He has. And then he said, "I feel like I would have remembered the zoo..."

We arrived at Bucktail, picked out a good parking spot as close to the cavalry area as possible, and set up Jeff's things nearby. We decided to wait on filling water buckets until the front runners started to come in, since we didn't want the water roasting in the midday sun. Then we sat down, ate our lunch (Quick Chek sandwiches), and drank some beer.

I spent some time socializing with Dawn, and meeting Sam's new Akita puppy, Kuma.

Both photos by Tom.

Bucktail is usually the place for all us crew people to catch up, hang out, and have our little mini OD party. Some of my favorite memories from last year took place right on that rock above. Sadly, as I was talking to Dawn, I realized that my vision was starting to vibrate around the edges, a surefire sign that I had a migraine coming on.

I trudged back to the truck and announced, "Betcha there's some rain coming..."

Then I gobbled down some Advil, chugged a soda, and threw my seat back to try to nap while the right side of my body went numb.

Thankfully, I was able to fall asleep, and I was unconscious through the worst of the migraine. I woke up to the sound of raindrops hitting the roof as the first riders came into camp.

Our luck held as far as the weather was concerned. It rained just enough to drop the temperatures for our riders on trail, but the rain stopped before Jeff and Evelyn came into the hold. When they did arrive, we set right to work, stripping tack and getting Dart through the vetting process.Jeff mentioned that he was worried about keeping pace with Evelyn, but Dart still looked really good. This was the last 45 minute hold of the day, and I told Mike that we should prepare to meet and/or send our riders out of Big 92 in the dark.

Above photos by Tom.

I think this is about where Dart realized he was being ridden further than he's ever been ridden before.

The smorgasbord we had laid out for Dart. 

Cars lining the road at Bucktail.

Steven's truck and crew. He was riding Daryl's mare, Maserati. 

Evelyn crewing for herself on the left.

Dart getting ready to go back out.

From Bucktail, we went the long way around to Big 92. I know the short cut, but didn't want to interfere with the trail. Plus, we had someone following us, and there was plenty of time before we would see our riders again. Of course, this meant missing the turn off, which sneaks up on me every time, and having to turn the gigantic truck around.

In case you're wondering what the paved roads look like in this part of the country.

At Big 92, we met back up with Bryn's crew and Libby's son, who made my day by splitting a giant block of sharp cheddar with me. I am always up for meeting fellow cheese lovers!

This was the hold where the weather finally caught up to us. As we were all sitting around, chatting and waiting for the front runners to come in, the skies darkened ominously and the wind kicked up. Some people tried to stick it out under the pop up tents, but Mike and I quickly threw anything that wasn't water proof in the cab of the truck, and then hid inside ourselves.

The storms that came through were wicked and at one point, it started hailing. There was a fair share of thunder and lightning as well.

In the midst of all this, I glanced out the rear window and spotted Rella's pink and purple mane coming up the trail. I waited for Jeff to appear but there was no sign of him.

I rolled the truck window down, "Evelyn, where's Jeff?"
"We split up, he's probably at least an hour behind me..." They had split up at Waites Run because Jeff (wisely) decided that Dart needed to slow down.
"Ok... are you still riding cavalry?"
"Yup!"
"Ok, good luck out there! Shout if you need anything..." And I rolled the window back up. Staying dry was going to be an important part of continuing to crew well, as we all learned the hard way at Biltmore last year.

Ev in the pouring rain.

Evelyn taking cover under the trees on the right. Mike and me in the truck on the left.

The rain did let up eventually, and we emerged to shout encouragement at Evelyn.

I was really impressed at how peppy and cheerful Evelyn seemed at this point in the ride (about 70 miles in). She seemed to have her system down to an art, and I guess she was used to being soaked by this point and it wasn't bothering her. She is one tough cookie and I love her!

Once Evelyn was back out on trail, Mike and I went in search of dinner. Ride management sends chicken up to Big 92 every year. By this point in the day, it gets a little hard to crew. Everyone sort of starts sundowning and the lack of sleep and long hours start to catch up to you. The chicken, which is crispy on the outside, and warm and delicious on the inside, is basically an endurance ride oasis eveyr year. 

This year, the cooler holding the individually tin-foiled chickens got drenched and filled with water. By the time anyone realized it, we basically had a huge box of chicken soup. The chicken was soggy and luke warm.

And it was still the most delicious thing I've ever eaten.

Dawn and I laughed really hard as we gobbled down our portions. It's amazing the things that seem heavenly during a 100 mile day.

The evening wore on and darkness fell as we all waited for our riders to come in. I caught up with Sonja, chatted with Daryl and Alayna, and reintroduced myself to Pam (I-Spy's grandma). The pace for this year's ride seemed to be much slower than years past. The tough weather and extra rocks were definitely not helping, and a third of the starters had already dropped out. Several of the cavalry riders had either gotten pulled or had dropped out of the cavalry division. It was a tough ride for sure. 

One by one and two by two, the riders started to trickle in. Some had planned ahead and had head lamps. Others were picking their way along in the dark. 

Jeff had had his headlamp strapped to his helmet from the start, and we spotted him from a way down the FS road. 

"Jeff, is that you?"

"Yes!"

He was walking on foot alongside Dart.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes, but he's getting really tired."

But when Dart emerged into the light, he looked fine. He was gobbling everything in sight, and his pulse was down to 52 before I even stripped his tack. Jeff looked worried as we headed up to the vetting, but Dart got A's across the board, and drank a ton of water and peed along the way.

Evelyn had instructed us not to let Jeff quit, but Jeff showed no signs of thinking of dropping out of the ride. He did question his own sanity a bit, but I think that's a regular part of endurance.

Forty short minutes later, we sent Jeff and Dart back out into the night, and Dart looked somewhat baffled as they made their way out of the hold yet again. Neither one of them has a ton of night riding experience, and I think Dart thought his human had lost his mind.

After a brief discussion, Mike and I decided to take the long way around to Laurel Run. The short cut would have saved us having to turn the truck around on the narrow dirt road, but it would have meant coming up behind the horses on trail, which would have slowed us down and inconvenienced the riders. We found a parking spot and turned the truck around before parking so that we wouldn't have to deal with the crowds later.

Then we walked back down towards the hold in the dark. I had grabbed all the essentials and put them in a bucket for easy carrying. Plus we had grabbed a rump rug just in case. We checked in with the ride volunteers when we arrived, and learned that Evelyn had come and gone safely already. She would probably be at the finish long before we were back at Bird Haven, and I felt bad that she wouldn't have hay, water, and a blanket waiting when she got there. Still, our job was to crew for Jeff, and Evelyn was not allowed any help. I just hoped she wouldn't change her mind about cavalry now.

As we waited for Jeff to come into Laurel Run, only seven miles by horseback from Big 92, the generator at the hold went out, and an eerie, deep darkness fell over the horses, riders, crew, and vets gathered on the mountainside. You know how when the lights go out in public, everyone sort of gives  a collective gasp? Not at Old Dominion. Nobody made a sound as the motor shut off and silence fell. All you heard was the chewing of horses eating hay, and the soft clicking of headlamps flicking on in the night. I got chills.

When Jeff arrived, he was hand walking Dart again. He said that Dart had laid down and tried to nap on trail, and he seemed very concerned. I know of a few hundred mile horses who take power naps during a ride, and I decided not to worry unless the vets gave me a reason to. I think Jeff was fully expecting Dart to get pulled. Instead, he passed with flying colors again, and dragged me to a nearby water trough to tank up.

I'm not sure the vets could actually see the trot outs at all. They were being performed by head lamp light, and I think they were just watching the glow sticks on everyone's breast plates, and listening to hoof falls on the gravel in the dark.

"Jeff, I have bad news," I laughed.
"What?"
"You're going back out!" Jeff laughed back.

This hold was only 30 minutes and we hadn't had to remove tack so it went quickly, and mostly consisted of Jeff and Dart resting their weary bodies.

Partway through Jeff's hold, the generator reluctantly agreed to start back up and there were some faint cheers and clapping as the lights flickered, then finally came on.

Dart took this opportunity to pee right on Jeff's helmet. He very deliberately walked over to where the helmet lay on the ground, parked out, and (I swear) aimed his stream right at it before anyone could grab it out of the way. I guess that's what he thinks of 100 mile rides.

After half an hour, we got Jeff back on his horse, gave him some words of encouragement, and watched him plod off into the dark before heading back to Bird Haven one more time. On the way out of Laurel Run, I grabbed a flake of alfalfa that had been left behind by another horse. Dart had been chowing down on it, choosing the alfalfa over all of his grain and goodies. Whatever a hundred mile horse wants, I try to provide.

We parked at Bird Haven and set our alarm for half an hour. I knew Jeff wouldn't be in for a while yet, and it was looking to be a long night. We snagged a quick power nap before grabbing the bare necessities out of the truck, and taking the alfalfa along with us.

Bird Haven was rather subdued this year, and Mike and I sat quietly in our chairs by the trail head, dozing in and out between cries of, "Rider incoming!"

Near the back of the pack, Jeff came walking in again. I was relieved to learn that he'd found other riders and Dart had found his second wind, trotting happily along with them until that last field, where Jeff dismounted to let his horse graze. By this point, Jeff was pretty visibly worn out. Dart was still doing well, but was also clearly tired. It was only seven miles to the finish, and I wanted so badly for them to do it.

I put Jeff in a chair, grabbed his ride card, and quietly walked Dart to the vetting. He trotted willingly and I let him munch a handful of the stolen alfalfa while he got through the rest of his vetting.

I arrived back to the chair to find Jeff slumped, looking delirious.

"You're going back out!" I chirped extra cheerfully.
This time Jeff didn't laugh. "You have got to be f**king kidding me! REALLY, DART?!?!!?" (Don't worry, he laughed about it later. I promise.)

Twenty minutes flew by, and Mike told Jeff, "Get 'er done!" as we sent them back out one last time.

When we arrived back at camp, the lights to Jeff and Evelyn's trailer were lit up, and I realized that we'd locked the LQ up and then taken the keys with us! Turns out Evelyn had climbed in through the window to get in! She had completed, and I guess she was riding the adrenaline high because I expected to find her passed out, but instead came to see her bustling around getting things done!!

We wandered up to the finish line and waited, cheering each finisher as they crossed the line, taking their crew members with them into the night.

The cut off time for the 100 was 5:30am. Right around 5 o'clock, a familiar headlamp and pair of glow sticks emerged from the dark... trotting, and from the sounds of it, sound.

Photo by Evelyn.

Jeff crossed the line with half an hour to spare. Mike took his card and helped me strip tack. I offered Dart his alfalfa with one hand, and took his pulse with the other. He was a little high, and I sent Mike for a sponge, but by the time we got down to the troughs where Dart peed and drank, he was down. There was a bit of a kerfuffle with the ride card, and I kept Dart moving until we were ready to go to P&R.

"52, down and back please."
"One last time, buddy," I said, patting Dart. I didn't have to ask twice. Dart stepped into a peppy trot, making quick work of the vetting lane, and looking for food.
"He looks great!" the vet praised the little black horse, and we erupted into congratulatory cheers. Jeff was a hundred mile rider and Dart was a hundred mile horse!!!

As we headed back to the trailer to put Dart away and drink some celebratory shots, the sun came up again, and I marveled at that unique feeling that I get only at the end of a long hundred mile day. This is my happy place every time.

At 6am, I fell into a deep sleep, and Mike was still out. When I woke up at 7:30 to Evelyn calling for a lead rope, Mike was the one who got up and answered the call. He never came back, and I woke up around 9am feeling very confused. Apparently, Mike ended up getting right back to work, helping Evelyn get Dart set up for BC (she had finished 4th over all).

Photo by Tom.

By the time I got up and got some much-needed coffee in my system, it was time for awards. What a beautiful award ceremony it was!!

As it turns out, only 18 riders had finished the 100, and Evelyn was the only one who did it cavalry. Rella also got High Vet Score. Basically, she just won everything and there were a lot of tears.

As usual, the OD award ceremony left me weepy. You just can't do this stuff to me when I have had six hours of sleep in 48 hours.

They inducted Tom into the OD Hall of Fame, and he wept as he accepted the completely unexpected award. He told the story of how endurance riding saved his business and his family, and laughed, saying, "I'm not even a member of this club!"
"Yes you sure as hell are," Diane retorted.

Then they gave Henry the HERO (Helping Endurance Riders Often) award, and explained how he got involved with this ride through a late friend of his from his church. (Oh yeah, and they spelled his name wrong on the award and the mug! Whoops!)

And then Terri and company burst into tears as she collected her buckle. You see, people sometimes donate their old buckles back so future riders can win them at a later date. Terri had just gotten her dad's buckle... and he just recently passed away.

There were a lot of emotions that morning.

When your friend wins all the things and you couldn't be happier. Photo by Maria Phillips.

As you can see, Evelyn had a lot of trophies to bring home this year.

We basically cut out of camp as soon as the awards were over. We had a long drive home, and the dogs would need attending to before long. All in all, it was a very successful outing for our entire group, and it reminded me of all the things I love about this sport. I'm not as heavily involved this season as I would like to be, and my priorities have shifted a lot in the last six months, but I hope to keep my foot in the door with AERC until a time when riding the endurance trail regularly becomes an option again...