Photographing No Frills

 As I alluded to in my April recap, Mike and I photographed the No Frills endurance ride in Virginia over Easter weekend. 

Ride camp as seen from the drone. 

Normally, Becky is the photographer for all of the Old Dominion rides. Unfortunately for her, but fortunately for us, there was another ride scheduled at Broxton that weekend. Technically, the ride is far enough away that it wasn't considered a scheduling conflict by AERC regulations, but it definitely threw  kink in Becky's plans. You see, she's heavily involved with Broxton, not just from a photography standpoint, but from a trail maintenance, marking, and management standpoint. To say that Mike and I were flattered when Becky named us as her first pick for filling in would be an understatement. It wasn't long before we got an official invitation from the OD board, one which we quickly accepted.

I'll admit, I was a little nervous about photographing one of the Triple Crown rides. It felt like a lot of pressure, especially with the big shoes we had to fill. I shouldn't have worried, the entire weekend went really well and we made a good chunk of money in the process.

These days, No Frills is a two day event with a thirty and a fifty-five mile distance each day. This year, they also had a ride and tie and an intro distance on Saturday. Because it was Easter weekend, we had Friday off already. I took my first ever PTO that Thursday to make the drive down. I thought that with spring time, I'd be missing horse training, but I have to admit that having a "real" job continues to have its perks, and I am hyper vigilant of them after years of not having the benefits so many people take for granted.

Luckily for me, Eryca was willing and available to take care of the horses and Anthony while we were away. Since Juli's horses had moved out and Gunner hadn't yet moved in, things were set up to run easily with minimum effort. I knew the critters would be fine.

Thursday morning, Mike and I slept in, then drank our coffee and took our time packing. We'd had the wiring re-done on Reginald ahead of our trip. It has been a very long time since we headed to Virginia. In fact, this was my first time leaving the state this year!

We rolled out around lunch time, stopping at Quick Chek for gas and food. We brought Julio with us, and he traveled perfectly as always.

Despite the fact that we haven't been doing much in the endurance world in almost three years, we made the drive down from memory. As we pulled into camp four hours later, it felt like we hadn't missed a day.

We checked in with Diane, the ride manager, said hello to some familiar faces, devoured a bowl of chili apiece, and then headed out to scout out trail locations. 

Becky had provided us with a trail map, which she marked with her favorite spots to shoot, along with notes about mileage and parking. 

First we drove up the gravel road out of camp. This was where the start would be and we would get everyone there first, before any pulls. At the top of the road, where the 55's go one way and the LD's go another, we parked the car and took Julio for a short walk. We scoped out lighting and backgrounds and came up with a tentative plan for the morning. 

Our next stop was the Tuscarora trail head on top of the mountain, which is only a short drive up the main road from camp, but which is several miles into both distances. This is where we always see Becky and I know the trail well from riding it several times over the years. It's also the last bit before things get really gnarly.

Julio was happy to get another walk while we tried to figure out how to set up for the next day. There wasn't much room to shoot and Mike did not have a wide angle lens. Plus we would be fighting the rising sun. This ride is usually rainy/foggy, but of course we picked the one year that called for clear, sunny skies. 

Finally, we drove down Paddy's Cove, the long gravel FS road that leads to the away hold. I had never actually driven this way, though of course I've ridden it. It was interesting to see where the hold was in relation to the rest of the ride. It was also a surprisingly long drive, and I wasn't sure the timing would work out to get everyone coming into the hold. Plus the road was gated off that night so we did not make it all the way to the hold. Still, we spotted several promising locations with nice backgrounds and good places to put the car. 

From there, it was back to camp, where we caught up with Jen and company, as well as a few other friendly faces. I feel like I've been away from the sport for so long that I don't know half the people in camp any more. Still, it was good to catch up with some people I haven't seen in way too long.

Long time readers may remember Gracie. She was just a tiny puppy (well, a rather large puppy, actually) when I met her in Maine in 2017. We spent a week together and I totally fell in love with her. Since then, I've seen her sporadically at rides, and I adore her. Despite the fact that she hasn't seen me that much, Gracie seems to remember me. She even woofed at another dog who tried to steal attention from me... something she usually only does with her owners!

Baby Gracie up on Jockey Cap.

That night, we camped in Reginald, of course. We finally bought a real mattress for the tiny camper. That took some logistics and we ended up choosing Sleepy's Doze Mattress in a Box. It made a world of difference and I slept like a rock. It was so quiet with just Julio with us. Herbie's snoring was always a staple of our camping trips...

The next morning, we were up bright and early, waking to the sound of Reveille blasting over the loud speakers in the field. We shuffled up to the tent for some pretty terrible coffee, which is also an endurance riding staple. 

Dale's dog, Amelia, looked quite content in her chair by the fire.

After scarfing down some breakfast, we drove up the road from the starting line and spaced out to get the 55 mile start. It went really quickly, since everyone goes out mostly in one big group. We saw some familiar faces, and everyone seemed happy to see us out there.

Wendy ended up winning the ride with Sterling, who I rode back at his first ever LD.

This horse and rider ended up getting the turtle award. They both looked so happy all day. I loved them.

Once the drag riders went through, Mike and I hopped back into the car and headed up to the Tuscarora trail head. We left Julio in the camper with the windows open and his pile of blankets. Mike reinforced the screens with heavy duty metal ones from Home Depot so there was no chance of Julio escaping. He would be content to sleep while we were up the street. 

I'll admit I struggled a bit with the location on the first day. I hiked a long way to find a good spot where the light was behind me. The shadows from the trees were also problematic. Plus the zoom lens was a little too big for the space. I was loathe to use the wide angle and trade the image quality of the bigger lens. 

Still, we managed to get everyone coming through on both distances. Afterwards, we discussed the fact that Mike could go back for the start of the 30's on Saturday and probably still make it back in time to get everyone a second time.

There's something about a caravan of trucks kicking up dust on a country road that makes my heart happy.

Angela and Sparty.

This horse was super cute.

Dawn and a young horse she was catch riding for the first time.

Mike spotted this woodpecker.

Once the drag riders went through, Mike and I headed back to camp to pick Julio. Then we drove down Paddy's Cove to the hold. Unfortunately, it turned out the timing would not work to get candid photos in the hold. By the time we drove all the way in there, the front runners in the fifty had come and gone, and the thirties were trickling in. Instead of stressing about this, we just made a mental note not the rush the next day, and took this opportunity to take a short break. As the ride photographers, we were fed like volunteers... which is to say very well! We spent some time catching up with some familiar faces and even helped Dawn out when she came in. 

Looking at the white board at the out timer told us that the first 30's would be done with the lollipop loop and back in the hold around 1pm. We decided to head back out on the gravel road shortly before then so we could pick a spot and set up for an afternoon of watching everyone heading towards the finish.

There was a lovely little camping spot along the road, and it happened to be empty when we went through. Perfect! We pulled the Rav into the site, rolled the windows down, and scouted out locations. There was even a little stream nearby, which Julio thoroughly enjoyed.

The best dude hanging out in the car.

Mike perched in his spot of choice.

I had been worried that a gravel road would make for some boring photos, but I have to say Mike and I were both quite pleased with the shots we got that day. 

Diana's new Morgan is soooo lovely.

Sterling looks like a hunter here.

Alex and his very happy horse.

Some were chugging along steadily.

Others were racing.

Felisa and Lenny.

Ride manager and volunteers.

It was a long afternoon out in the sunshine, but it passed easily. We shared a few beers and dug into our stash of snacks, which Julio happily helped us with. It was quite relaxing and I found myself dozing a few times as the birds chirped and the brook gurgled around us. 

The first night, we stayed until the very last fifty went through, and it was dinner time by the time we made the long drive back out of Paddy's Cove to camp. 

We took a little detour along the way. I had finally remembered to charge and pack the drone with the memory card, and I was excited to send it up in the mountains. We drove back up to the trail head parking lot for a quick look around.

These are worth seeing on a big screen.

You can see ride camp if you follow the road on the right. The gravel road on the left is the fire service road. The trail runs down the ridge right smack in the middle. If you zoom in, you can see the fire tower that's at the top of the big climb.

Gravel road.

Looking down route 55 into West Virginia.

I also couldn't resist sending the drone up near camp to get the aerial view. We were across the street so the horses wouldn't be bothered by the sound of the drone, but we still got a great view of all the horse trailers nestled in the valley.

You can see Bryn jogging down the road on the left.

When we rolled back into camp, Jen and company had arrived, so of course we popped over to say hello. We were just in time to get fed again (chicken stew) and catch the ride meeting, where Diane handed me the mic so I could let everyone know how to get their photos after the ride. 

After all the formalities were done, we pulled up some chairs and caught up with our friends while the world grew dark and chilly.

Sophie hanging out in Shane and Michelle's camper.

We were in bed early that night so we could be up with the sun again to rinse and repeat the second day. Saturday went much more smoothly because we knew what timing we would need and there was very little planning involved. Now that we've done it once, this is definitely a ride I would photograph again, given the opportunity.

Saturday dawned overcast, which was actually perfect for early morning shooting conditions. We had some coffee and breakfast, then rolled up the gravel road to shoot the start of the 55.

Jen and Lunar at the start.

The start went really quickly and we were back in the car heading to the trail head about fifteen minutes later. This time, I remembered the wide angle lens and was able to get a much better spot to shoot at. 

The riders came along shortly. Mike and I did things a little differently the second day. We both shot the front running fifties. Ten minutes before the LD start, Mike drove back down to camp to get the start while I stayed on the mountain shooting the rest of the fifties. Then Mike hustled back up the mountain to catch the 30's with me. He only missed the last few fifty five milers and the first few LD's on the ridge, but I got them all so it didn't matter. I probably would have been a little nervous about staying up on the mountain alone without a car, but Dawn and Dean were manning the road crossing and were shouting distance from me.

Dawn at the road crossing, on the Virginia/West Virginia border.

A mustang.

Truuthful, one of the OD raffle horses.

Roberta and her Paso!

A standardbred!

Since we knew we would not be going to the hold for photos on the second day, the morning was quite leisurely. We went back to camp, ate some snacks, and did some more catching up with our friends. Then we photographed both the intro distance and the ride and tie starts.

One-eyed horse in the intro.

From there we moseyed back down to the hold, mostly so we could get fed again. I spent a while chatting with Tom and Lynetta before snagging some absolutely delicious chicken salad from a cooler by the vet lanes.

Our original camping spot had turkey hunters in it, and we were pretty bummed to lose our prime location. Then one of the ride volunteers informed me that the hunters have to be out of the forest by noon so we parked down the gravel road a bit and waited until we saw the hunter's truck drive away. Then we pounced on our original spot so fast it was funny.

We had a longer wait on the second day, but that was fine by us. By this point, the temperatures had risen and we were feeling lazy. I walked Julio for a while. Then we set up our chairs and just relaxed. I actually read an entire book that weekend! I can't remember the last time I did that...

Eventually the riders came through... first the 30's, then the 55's. We got a ton of great photos again.

Kestrel comforting riders that have been pulled.

Dale's girl.

Bryn and Maddy flying down the trail.

With Jordyn and Allie following closely behind.

A Virtual Tevis t-shirt! I have one of those.

So many beautiful horses.

And happy, too!

Because there seemed to be a smaller group on the second day, the last riders went through earlier than they had on Friday. This worked to our advantage because it gave us enough time to head home that night instead of staying until Sunday. It's only a four and a half hour drive home, and we wanted to sleep in our own bed and have Sunday free to unwind (or, in my case, edit and post all the ride photos on SmugMug!) It was a mostly uneventful drive home, though it did pour rain on us for about half the drive. We pulled into our driveway right around 11pm and soon crawled into bed.

I have to say, this ride was quite lucrative for us, which was a nice bonus. Plus we're sort of hemorrhaging money right now so it was nice to make a little extra change right now. Judging by how many photos we sold, I'd say we did an ok job filling in for Becky, which was the part I was most worried about. I may not be riding endurance right now, but it's still nice to be involved in the sport this way. Plus it helps us justify all this expensive photography gear....