Iron Mountain Jubilee

At RBTR, when Liz and I rode together, she told me that one ride I really needed to do was Iron Mountain Jubilee (formerly Virginia Highlands). She told me about the great ride camp and the gorgeous trails. I was sold immediately. As luck would have it, that was the next ride that Dr. Bob and his crew were planning to attend. When I expressed interest, Dr. Bob offered to have me ride Magic. YES!

It wasn't until we finalized our plans that I realized how much of a hassle it was for Dr. Bob (though he didn't seem to be complaining). Beth was going to ride Spirit in the LD, and Angela (who is quickly becoming one of my favorite people) was trying to qualify for the National Championships, which meant riding back to back 50's on Tess and Indy. That's three horses, and Dr. Bob has a three horse trailer.

So he simply went in and traded his three horse for a four horse and added Magic to the list.

I'm serious.

Iron Mountain Preview

At the last minute, we downgraded Magic to the LD at Iron Mountain in Virginia. He flat out tried to kill me at the star, and was still fighting me at 14 miles. He grew a brain at the hold and gave me the perfect second loop, only to get pulled at the finish for thumps (again). Despite the roller coaster of a ride, the weekend was incredible, and I was thrilled to spend it with some of my favorite people. It gets harder and harder to come back to reality every time. I need to find a way to ride endurance full time. Ride report to follow....

RBTR 2015

In which Liz is not a deserter, and Magic earns a new name.

There are many reasons that I do the different rides I do each year. With Ride Between The Rivers I am equally excited about the time spent in ride camp as I am am about the time spent on trail. It's our annual leave-our-lives-behind party, and this year especially, I needed the getaway.

RBTR Preview

Had an amazing weekend in West Virginia. I am totally spoiled when I ride for Dr. Bob. Magic was incredible for 50 miles, but got pulled at the finish for thumps. Still, it was a brilliant ride, and totally worth getting bolted with at the starting line. I also finally got to ride with Liz. My favorite ride photo isn't quite as epic as hers, but it deserves its own entry anyway. Details when I catch up on real life...

©Becky Pearman (posted with purchase)

Biltmore 2015

Those of you who were reading the blog last year know that the Biltmore Challenge in North Carolina is one of my favorite endurance rides in the east. It was near the top of my bucket list, and after riding an incredible 55 miles there with Clover last year, I said I'd do it again any chance I got.

This year, Biltmore turned out to be quite a tease. Originally, I had planned to do it with Wendy again, this time on one of her horses. With Fleuron out of commission, however, that plan went out the window. Sara from What Could Possibly Go Wrong? generously offered to work something out so I could ride her mare, Gem. I was eager to jump on the opportunity, but logistics were going to be a bit of a nightmare, and I didn't think it would be fair to Mike, the horse, or Sara to carry through with the plan. From an adult perspective (boo, hiss!) I really needed to pinch pennies for a few weeks rather than blowing more money on travel expenses.

With ten days to go before Biltmore, I had accepted that it just wasn't happening this year, and started to look ahead to my next set of ride plans. Then, I stepped out of the clinic one afternoon to find a missed call and a voicemail on my phone. I was surprised and thrilled when I listened to the message.

"Hey, Dom. It's Dr. Bob. I know it's been a while since we talked. I have a lot to fill you in on! Anyway, the reason I'm calling is because I'd like to have you ride Magic in the 50 at Biltmore, a week from Saturday. Let me know if you're interested. Talk to you soon. Buh bye."

I practically did a cartwheel. I'd just been telling a few people that I was hoping to get some rides in on Magic this year. I called Mike first to make sure a spur of the moment trip to North Carolina was going to be doable, then I called Dr. Bob to tell him, "Yes, yes, yes! Count me in!"

It turns out Magic had been going well in Florida all winter long and was coming into the season pretty fit. Unfortunately, Dr. Bob had pulled Magic at 45 miles for back soreness at FITS back in February. Dr. Bob made a lot of changes and got the issue resolved, but he really wanted to recruit me to take Magic for his first ride back post-recovery. I was flattered and excited. I barely slept over the next ten days.

I got through No Frills that weekend. Then, Mike and I had four days to regroup, repack, and get back on the road. The good news is that the dogs were still eager to get in the car, so I guess they're not too sick of this ride camp, sleeping in a tent, hours on the road thing yet.

Mike and I left early on Friday morning to make the eleven hour trip to North Carolina. The day started with a brilliant sunrise, and the weather promised to be glorious all weekend.

We only stopped for gas and snacks, taking the dogs out to stretch their legs at one of the stops. My plan was to arrive at 4pm. We nearly made it too. We were making good time and had managed to avoid all traffic. It was also the first time we've driven down 81 without getting rained on. Then, at the last minute, we took an uplanned detour.

Last year, on the way home with Wendy, we had missed a turn and wound up doing an extra hour of driving. The roads around Asheville are very confusing, and it's easy to get turned around. You have to take 240E to 40W through East Asheville. Knowing that it was a crazy part of the route, I had written down explicit directions to avoid this exact situation.

At the last minute, the GPS decided to finally chime in (thanks a lot GPS. You're going to get thrown out the window, just like Carlos promised!) I had picked the correct lane, but the GPS disagreed and Mike shouting over my directions got me flustered. As I drove past the exit, I knew we were screwed. I did manage to turn around pretty quickly, but by then we'd gotten jammed in the middle of rush hour in the city. Plus, the turn around dumped us out on the other side of what would have been our exit. We were now heading West on 40, like we were originally supposed to, but we ended up going several miles before we realized the numbers were going the wrong way.

By then, I was losing my mind. It wasn't pretty, and I wound up having to apologize profusely to Mike. Honestly, I'm not even sure why we bring the GPS at all. It always leads us astray, and I'm better off navigating the old fashioned way without it. Seriously, we traveled all the way to Illinois without having to use it!

I did call Dr. Bob to let him know that I was going to be later than I anticipated. I was really stressed by that point, but Dr. Bob took it all peacefully and cheerfully, as always. He is so laid back, and I appreciate that more than I can express.

We did eventually make it through the estate gates, and I smiled and breathed deeply as we rolled towards horse camp. Even though we'd been there before, the size of the grounds never stops impressing me. It's an 8,000 acre lot!

We rolled up to ride camp shortly after that, and found Dr. Bob and company parked right where we expected. Mike set to work setting up our tent while I walked the dogs and said hi to Magic.

Camp was jam packed full of rigs, horses, and camping areas. There were two days of competition with various distances on each day. Friday featured the FEI qualifier for the PanAm games. Saturday featured the 100 mile ride. As it turns out, there were over 300 people entered over the course of the weekend. The place was swarming, and it lifted my spirits to see such good turn out at a ride. I hear talk of the sport struggling for members, and it was refreshing to see so many faces, human and equine, in one place.

Not long after we arrived, the ride briefing started. As always, Stagg and Cheryl put on a great meeting. They discussed everything a rider or crew would possibly need to know, and we got a sprinkling of history thrown into the mix.

We also found out that Claire Godwin, a very well known rider with over 13,000 miles under her belt, had been badly injured during that day's ride. One of the trails ran past a sheep pasture with fresh baby lambs enclosed inside. Apparently, there was also a Great Pyrenees guarding the sheep. From what I understand, the dog ran up, barking, and jumped on the fence, badly startling a group of horses. Several people fell off, and Claire hit the pavement just the wrong way, ending up with several severe injuries, including a torn diaphragm, lacerated liver, and internal bleeding. She was taken to the hospital, treated, and eventually released. From what I've heard, she was back in camp the following afternoon because endurance riders are nuts.

On that bombshell, it was time for dinner. The estate catered, and the food was wonderful. I was delighted to see that the desert featured my beloved Chantilly cream again. Dinner also included mashed potatoes, which I totally go nuts for. (Though, Mike still makes the best mashed potatoes I've ever had.)

We spent what was left of the evening catching up with Dr. Bob and Beth. I also finally got to meet Stephanie, who would be crewing for us the following day. Mike and I sipped beer, walked the dogs some more, and took in the warmth of summer, which strikes early in North Carolina.

Eventually, Dr. Bob left to go pick Kally up from the airport. Kally may be crazier than I am! She's currently going to vet school in Missouri, and it was finals week for her. After taking her last exam, she hopped on a plan to fly to NC and ride 100 miles with Indy. Talk about dedication!

I also knew that Liz was in camp somewhere. She was crewing for an FEI rider, and Mike had spotted her already. (He won our bet on what color car she would be in.) I did reach out to her before bed, but she was in town at the time. I knew Liz would be leaving halfway through the day on Saturday, and I really wanted to catch up, so we waited for her to come back even though I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

Once we caught up with Liz and she wandered away to continue grazing her two charges, Mike and I crawled into the tent and went to bed. It was surprisingly chilly that night, and I was glad to have two dogs under the blankets to keep me warm. The memory foam has been working really well for us, and I slept really well that night.

I woke up to the sound of Herbie licking. Poor girl got pretty thirsty on our car ride down, and despite having a ton of water before bed, was still craving more of a drink. She's pretty smart, though, and was licking the condensation off the tent.

I threw on my riding clothes, gave the dogs more water, and got ready for the day.

Dr. Bob had spoiled us with real coffee (an endurance ride staple) and breakfast snacks.

Magic wasn't sure how he felt about being roused so early in the morning.

Kally and Indy were off at 6:15am, and Mike and I cheered them on as they went off. The 75 milers were off fifteen minutes after that, but the 50 didn't start until 7am, which gave us plenty of time to get Magic and Tess ready. Tess, the little  mare I met in Illinois, was being ridden by Dr. Bob's wife, Beth, and we were to start out together.

Magic has matured since I saw him last fall, and his ground manners have improved drastically. All the same, he was raring to go and had a lot of energy, which seemed to be bursting out his seams. Because of his prior back issues, I would be riding in Dr. Bob's saddle, a Boz. Dr. Bob has much longer legs than I do, and I shortened his stirrups significantly before climbing on board.

Beth and I waited for the rush to go out before heading across camp to the in timer. We checked in and trotted off towards the back of the pack. There were sixty riders in the 50, and it promised to be hectic. The first stretch of the trail was down the front of ride camp, and people were gathered, cheering, taking pictures, and just watching. I did take helmet cam video of the start. Originally, I was going to edit it into the ride video, but I'm sharing it separately so you can get a feeling for just how big ride camp really was.

It was a misty morning, and we came trotting out of the fog to start. Magic was acting like a star, and rolling right past the commotion. He listened well as I half halted, asking him to wait up for a much shorter Tess.

I swear he's gotten taller since I saw him last.

Magic spent the winter working with a trainer in Florida, and he obviously learned a lot. He has gotten softer, more balanced, and more rateable than when I last saw him. Good boy!

Trotting quietly down the starting line.

Don't let the quiet nature of this photo fool you...

The annual G.A.G. migration was right in front of us!

Mike called his good luck wishes and we disappeared over the iron rail bridge onto the first loop.

About two miles in, I had to throw in the towel and hop off of Magic. No, he wasn't doing anything wrong, but the Boz was killing me. I remembered reading nightmare stories about it on Liz's blog, and I knew she had talked about learning to post straight up and down to avoid problems. Despite the fact that I ride pretty upright in general, I was still getting bruised on my inner thighs from the pommel. I knew that changing the way I ride to cope with the saddle would leave me sore and probably have a negative impact on Magic's back, but I had to do something. In an attempt to resolve the issue before it cost both of us our completion, I tried shortening my stirrups by three full holes. That turned into a discussion with Magic about standing still. This is very difficult for a six year old horse to do when other horses are running past him and he's losing the race. 

Eventually, I climbed back on board my gargantuan horse (I guess I'm not completely unfit), and sighed a relieved sigh. Raising my stirrups did the trick, and I was able to ride comfortably in the Boz. Time would tell how my knee would react to the added strain. 

The first loop of this year's ride was the same loop as the last loop of last summer's 55, orange. I have to say that the loop went by much more quickly on a fresh horse. I was surprised at how  many landmarks I remembered, and how accurately I knew the course, despite only riding there once before. We even passed the lovely cottage at the top of the hill where I had let Clover tank up.

We did have one slightly scary moment on this loop. At one point, the trail dipped sharply down a grassy slope into the woods. As we were descending, Magic got started by a sign post and balked momentarily. His back legs slipped on the wet grass and he sat down with a thump. Beth says his butt actually hit the ground, and my eyes got really big.

"I'm impressed at how you handled that," she told me. "You sat so still and quiet, and except for your eyes, I don't think you did a thing."
"Well," I replied, "I was either still on the horse or I wasn't."

The first 15 miles flew by, and before I knew it, we were riding past the lagoon and back towards camp. The lagoon was peaceful that time of day, before the estate visitors had showed up in force. I tried to do the landscape justice, but couldn't ride and capture the scenery at the same time.

This photo by Ariel Bravy does a great job capturing the scene.

This was the scene through Magic's ears as we walked along the lagoon.

Shortly after that, Tess and Magic both decided that the manhole covers along the trail were going to kill us all. Both horses took turns spooking as we rode briskly back to camp. I'm sure it didn't help that other horses were going out on the black access loop as we came in. It was even less helpful that Indy was among those horses! Magic's girlfriend!!! I'm a homewrecker.

Thankfully, as we approached camp, we veered left off the dirt road and into the woods, riding through the shade and away from the outgoing horses as we came in. It wasn't long before Mike spotted us coming through the trees.

Even though Dr. Bob and Beth had both told me to ride my own ride and not worry about Tess, Beth and I came riding in to the hold together. We were both smiling and having a good time, and both horses still felt fresh.

The volunteers at the in timer tent were fabulous, and I was appreciative of the chit system that Stagg and Cheryl have put into place at Biltmore. No need to fumble for a ride card or wait to figure out in and out times. I honestly believe this should be the standard for all AERC rides.

I did have one unpleasant experience right then. Two riders were leaving for their next loop as we were dismounting. They came charging past us and shouted, "Move, you're in the way!"
I try to be a polite person in general, but I'm especially mindful of my manners when I catch ride for someone else. All the same, I felt like barking back, "This is the in timer. Try slowing down for half a second. I didn't realize your ride was so much more important than mine!" Seriously, if you two are such fantastic riders, why didn't I see you in the PanAm qualifier on Friday?

Tack off was required at all holds, so we stopped at our crewing tent to strip saddles and boots off the horses. Dr. Bob grabbed his stethoscope and checked the horses. Both of them were down already, so we moseyed over to the vetting area.

The vetting ran smoothly despite the extraordinary number of horses, and the ring at the equestrian center made for an ideal trot out area. Mike handed my chit and ride card to the scribe while I held Magic. He had already been vetted in when we arrived on Friday, so this was the first time I was holding him for his exam. I was pleasantly surprised at how much his behavior in the vetting has improved. He was still looking around a fair bit, but he wasn't pushing, dancing, and yanking like he did all last year.

We passed the vetting with flying colors, A's across the board, and no sign of back soreness. Woohoo!

From there, we went back to our crew area so I could relax and Magic could stuff his face.

Did I mention the crew area was insane?

Photo of the crew area taken by Becky Pearman.

I forgot how spoiled I get riding for Dr. Bob. My job is to ride the horse and take care of myself. I basically vetted, handed the reins to Stephanie, and sat down while Mike took care of me and Dr. Bob took care of the horse. It was downright luxurious! I ate and drank and behaved like a good little endurance rider, even taking a potty break. I also got to see Liz one last time before she left to go back to WV.

Magic was still sassy and feeling good. He was barely sweaty at this point in the day, and we didn't even have to sponge him.
"You're under riding my horse!" Dr. Bob poked fun at me. For a split second, I thought he was serious and I was mortified.
"I wasn't under the impression you wanted me to race this!" I told him.
"No. I don't want you to race. Ride for a completion and take care of his back."
"That's what I thought! You scared me..."

Next thing I knew, I had climbed back and Magic and was ready for the second and longest loop of the day. Beth and I were lucky enough to have the same out time, so we left together.

The second loop was 20 miles on the green trail. All I remembered about that trail from last year was that it was the third loop of the day, and that I felt like it would never end, and was ready to quit about halfway through. *gulp* My experience this year was very different! It wasn't hot yet, the horses were fresh, and I really enjoyed the views this time around.

We rode out on the black access trail, then crossed over the French Broad on the big, concrete bridge before picking up a shady trail into the forest, over the vineyards, and through farmland on the other side.

As we crossed the river, I spotted Kally and Indy coming at us, heading in off their second loop. I was alarmed when I saw that Kally was ponying a riderless horse.
"That's not how you do endurance!" I exclaimed, wondering what had happened.
"Is everyone ok?" Beth asked.

It turns out the horse belonged to a young rider. He had been acting up, and she climbed down to play it safe. Just as she was hand walking her horse, some people came galloping past them in a hurry. I can't help wondering if it was the same women who were so rude to me at the in timer. The young rider's horse spooked, jumped sideways, and knocked her over. She happened to be standing next to a log, and the way her leg hit, she broke and/or sprained her ankle.

The girl was being taken to the hospital, and the horse was being a good sport for Kally, so we continued on our way. Mike wound up taking the horse when Kally got back to camp, and found its rightful owners. He later told me that the horse was quite jumpy and upset, and seemed to know he had been 'bad'. The whole tale broke my heart.

This loop featured a lot to look at, including a whole herd of cows, a donkey, and many sheep. We also passed an ambulance, a fire truck, and several deer. Magic didn't seem to mind any of it.

About halfway into this loop, we hit a long stretch of ups and downs. Magic is a powerful horse with long, long legs and he eats up that kind of terrain. We briefly lost sight of Beth and Tess as we came up a hill along the river. Eventually, they caught up to us again, but on the next down hill, we started to leave them behind again. Magic is a machine down hill, and there aren't too many horses I would ride at that speed on a descending grade.

At one point, Beth shouted up to me, "You go ahead. I'm going to hold Tess up and let you go. I think you guys need to go faster than I want to, and you should do it."
"Are you sure?" I asked, pouting.
"Yes. Ride your ride. I'll see you in camp."
"Ok, ride safe. I'll see you soon."

I was sad to part ways, but it is about riding your own ride. The horses called to each other for a mile or so, but then we put some distance between them and silence fell around me. Suddenly, Magic and I were alone.

This was also the loop that winds you across the mountain across from camp. First you see the trailer parking from above, and then again from water level. I texted Mike to tell him, "I see you!" as we passed silently through the woods above camp.

I did have to get off of Magic at one point on this loop too, but this time it wasn't for saddle related issues. We were riding along a single track trail along the river. To the left was the face of the mountain. On the right was a short, but steep drop to the water. Ahead was a rock that protruded onto the trail. The rock must have snarled at Magic because he would. not. go past it. In fact, he started to spin violently when I tried to sway his opinion, and I decided it was still a little early in the year to go swimming. I opted to dismount and lead him past this particular obstacle. Once we were past it, he settled right down and let me scale stiffly back into the saddle.

We finished the second loop in good time, averaging 8 or 9 mph. When I came back to the hold this time, Mike looked surprised to see I was alone.

"How far behind you is Beth?" Dr. Bob asked.
"I'm not sure. We parted ways about halfway through the loop, but they both looked good when I saw them. I think she just wanted to let Tess slow down."

Once again, Magic pulsed down right away and vetted quickly without any problems. I had Dr. Bob jog him for me, and he made it look so easy. I think it helps that he has long legs to match Magic's stride.

By this point, I was starving, and I let Mike stuff me full of all sorts of food. I don't think I stopped grazing for the duration of the hold.

Partway through the hold, Dr. Bob's phone rang, and I overheard him say, "Where are you? I can come get you. Do you think you got off trail?"

My stomach sank. What is it about riding this horse that makes me ditch people?!?! Beth had gotten tired and dehydrated and had dismounted after crossing the French Broad. She was up by the guest parking and she planned to rider option. I felt a wave of guilt despite the fact that Everyone kept reassuring me that this had nothing to do with me. Beth isn't used to riding a trotting horse (she's a Walker girl), and especially not for 50 miles. She was burned out and didn't want to continue. It was a smart choice, but a tough one to make nonetheless.

Dr. Bob went to retrieve Tess so Beth could come in at her own pace, while Stephanie and Mike continued to do a bang up job crewing for me and Magic.

Next thing I knew, I was back in the saddle and heading out on the third loop. Magic was still bursting with energy, and even popped his front feet off the ground in anticipation of going out again. Sassy boy, no!

Plenty of spring left in that trot.

The third loop was another 15 miles on the white river trail. This was a trail I'd never ridden before, and without looking at a map or carrying a GPS, I had no idea what landmarks meant we were getting close to done.

Ride management had to get a little creative with this loop to make the mileage add up correctly. The loops started off by circling around camp and going upstream a short distance before winding back behind the trailer parking and rejoining the regular white loop.

The good news about this detour was that we got a refreshing water stop in a gorgeous creek.

The bad news was that we joined up with the 100's as they were coming off the end of their third loop. Magic and Indy trumpeted to each other, then trotted side by side, nickering as they went. The downside was that Indy and her friends were going back in to camp, while poor Magic had to head away from the group to go back out on trail.

After that, Magic was convinced that he was the only horse in the entire world who had to keep going back out. After all, we kept passing horses that were heading back in, and it was so very, very unfair.

A tiny Magic, all alone in the world.

After some time, Magic did get some pep back in his step, and we trotted downstream along the river for many miles, eventually crossing under the highway to get to the most remote part of the estate.

Along the way, we passed what seemed like a fairly aggressive wild turkey, which came running towards  Magic while I recorded it on helmet cam and asked it to kindly not attack my horse. Eep!

We also passed a wagon full of tourist who were getting to see the farming end of Biltmore. The driver cut the engine, and the tourists sat super quietly, watching us go by. They had clearly been told not to bother the riders.

Then, quite timidly, one woman spoke up, "Good luck! You guys are looking good!" After that, Magic got a round of applause, and perked up as if he knew it was for him. That sort of thing puts a big smile on my face every time.

Just when I thought we couldn't get any further away from camp, the trail turned outwards again. I will admit the views were lovely, but I was starting to get tired.

Magic was drinking really well by this point in the ride, and I even took the time to sponge him at one of the water stops.

Some time later, we got to some fields that looked like they might vaguely be in the general vicinity of familiar ground. Once again, ride management was doing all they could to get the mileage right. We got to one field and rode all the way around it. That part was fine. At the far end of the field, though, the trail doubled back and did several switchbacks across the field, back the way we came.

I may have done some primal scream therapy and dropped some f-bombs.

Hey. We were alone out there.

By the time we got to the next section of trail, which featured significant and unexpected climbs, as well as long stretches of exposed trail that left us baking in the now-hot sun, I was getting fed up. I couldn't tell if Magic was feeding off the fact that I wasn't feeling it, or if he was just tired of being the only horse left in the world, but I had to ask him for more effort for the first time all day. I let him take frequent walk breaks, but I insisted we keep trotting where the footing was good. Neither one of us wanted to be out there for many more hours.

Eventually, we dipped back into the shady pine forest, and I gave Magic a loose rein, letting him amble slowly up hill in the shade. I have never been so happy to hear other riders come up behind me. Best of all, one of them was a familiar face.

"How's it going?" Steven asked me as he caught up to us.
"O, you know..." I grimaced. "It's going."

Thankfully, seeing that other horses were also being tortured was enough inspiration for Magic, and he tagged happily along with their group for the remainder of the loop. By the time we reached the trail beneath the main house, Magic had found his second wind and was happy to carry on of his own accord.

From there, I knew exactly where we were, and the last couple miles went quickly. We crossed the road one last time and rode past the lagoon, where people were now picnicking, bike riding, pushing strollers, and flying kites. I passed a woman seated on a bench with two children and she waved cheerfully to me, then said, "We saw this horse already! Looking good!" I must have looked puzzled because she explained, "We were on the wagon earlier!" I have to admit I was impressed. Three hundred horses, and she was able to pick out the one she'd already seen. Pretty good!

A short time later, we rounded the final turn to the finish. Ahead was a long, flat, open stretch of grassy trail. At the far end I could make out Mike and Dr. Bob's silhouettes. Suddenly feeling re-energized, I got up in my half seat and kissed to Magic, who stepped right out into a huge, rolling canter. His long legs made quick work of this last field, and we crossed the finish line to cheers and applause. It's a good feeling.

I dismounted immediately, loosened Magic's girth, and walked him over to the shade to graze and drink some water. It was still two miles back to camp, but he had carried me for 50, so the least I could do was walk the rest of the way. I was grateful for the fact that Dr. Bob led Magic in for me so I could go at my own sluggish pace.

We were allowed 50 minutes after crossing the finish line to pulse in, and we took advantage of the extra time to really get Magic cooled, sponged, and fed. When we walked over to the vetting area, he looked ready to go for another 25 miles. Once again, Dr. Bob trotted him for me. He looked amazing!

Just like that, we had our completion!

I got Magic cleaned up and put away in his pen next to Tess. Then, Mike and I went back to the crew area to wait for Kally and Indy. They had two loops to go and their second to last hold seemed to fly by.

Heading out on their last loop, looking strong.

In the mean time, we all wandered up to the tent to get food. Ride management had provided hot dogs and hamburgers, and I wolfed down one of each, with plenty of room for more.

Kally and Indy were still looking strong when they came in next, 80+ miles into their day. Kally, to my amazement, was still as perky as ever. Both she and the horse were famished, but otherwise you'd have no idea how far they'd already gone.

As they got ready to go back out on their last loop, the one they would be riding in the dark, Kally made a reference to her last attempt at a 100. She had rider optioned at 96 miles, when she and Indy were alone on trail and got surrounded by coyotes. Indy had panicked and refused to move another step. Kally, understandably, got totally freaked out by it and had called Dr. Bob to come get them both. We teased her, promising to come walk with them on foot if they had problems only four miles from the finish this time!

"Well, Dom, you were at my successful 100 last fall, but not the one with the coyotes. Let's see if you're my good luck charm!"
"If you complete this, you can just carry me like a key chain at future rides," I promised her. "It will help you with your weigh in for BC, too."

While Kally and Indy were out on their last loop, Dr. Bob, Mike, and Stephanie broke our crew area down to the bare necessities.

"You burned a lot of calories today," Dr. Bob commented. "It's going to take you days to catch up!"
"Actually," I retorted, "I'm hoping to not catch up and shed some of this winter weight!"

After that, it was a waiting game. I was exhausted, but wanted to stay up to cheer Kally on. In the end, Mike and I crawled into our tent for a nap, setting an alarm for 12:30am. I was out cold the second my head hit the pillow, or possibly a few minutes before.

At midnight, we woke up to Dr. Bob announcing that Kally was only four miles out and that we needed to get our butts up to the finish line if we wanted to cheer her on. I was up in the blink of an eye, and we all rode up in the truck to wait.

One by one or three by three, the 100's started to come in. Each time a head lamp appeared in the dark, we strained our eyes to see if it was Indy. Eventually, just shy of 1am, a single head lamp appeared at the far end end of the field. Slowly, but surely, the bobbing light approached, eventually reaching the end of the floodlights that marked the finish. A familiar white-splashed horse appeared, ears pricked, plenty of spring left in her step. Indy!

I got chills and my voice caught in my throat as we cheered her on. Hours earlier, I was debating my sanity at continuing to punish  myself in this sport, but watching Kally cross the line, a smile on her face, the cheers of the people around us drifting on the night air, made me itch to do a 100 myself. I want to be that long awaited rider, crossing a spotlit finish line in the dead of the night after spending nearly an entire day on a horse.

I am out of my mind.

We escorted Kally and Indy the rest of the way back to camp, where they passed their final vetting and earned their coveted completion. Not only did they ride a bold last loop alone in the dark, but they finished an awesome 12th place in the process! Kally claimed that she was numb all over. Indy seemed no worse for the wear.

We congratulated them both and made sure the horses were settled for the night. I vaguely remember crawling back into the tent, and then nothing until morning.

That's when I woke up to the sound of the tent zipper, followed by the dogs getting up. I sat bolt upright as my brain registered what was happening. I'm not sure how it happened exactly, but our tent had come open and the dogs were loose in camp! I had a minor heart attack, but the dogs came right back when I called them, and seemed confused about the fuss. Good kids! Eek!

After that, I was wide awake, which was probably for the best because it was after 8am and breakfast was being served up in the tent. Hardee's sausage, egg, and cheese on a biscuit and more coffee than 300 people can drink? Yes please!

We all gathered, bleary eyed and dressed in our comfortable clothes, to hear the awards ceremony. There were some beautiful speeches and great announcements.

There was also some hard news. Another rider had gotten badly injured the day before. Apparently she was crossing an open, flat field, prime cantering territory, when her horse took a bad step and fell. She was launched, head first into the ground, and despite her helmet, suffered a skull fracture and severe concussion. At the time, she was in a medically induced coma, but the prognosis was reportedly good. Some days after the ride, we all received an email update stating that she was being weaned off of sedation, and that most of her injury seemed to be confined to her skull, and that she was able to move her limbs. That's the sort of thing that makes me really nervous because there's not a damn thing you can do about it.

I'm really not allowed to talk at Mike about the dangers of buying a motorcycle, huh?

I proudly collected my completion award, a totally gorgeous Biltmore T-shirt, which actually came in my size! I was thrilled to hear that Magic and I had finished 38th out of 60 starters. Considering that I was literally only riding to complete, that's pretty darn good! Plus, I think he had a lot more left at the end of the day. Dr. Bob seemed thrilled with how I rode the horse, and it sounds like I may be taking him to RBTR later this summer!

Almost immediately after the awards, Mike and I bid a warm farewell to the crew and hit the road. It was a long, but uneventful drive home. This time, there were no complications and we made good time. The dogs rode quietly in the back. Julio has taught Herbie that it's ok to lay down and sleep while she's in the car, which seems to take the stress out of long road trips for her.

We got home shortly after dark, and checked our own horses, who hadn't seemed to miss us while we were gone.

On Monday, we went back to the daily grind like nothing had ever happened.

It was a wonderful weekend. I am so grateful for so many things about this. I am grateful for the opportunity to ride such a sweet, talented, and charming horse. I am thankful for the kind, generous people that come with him. I am thrilled about the views and experiences associated with being out on that endurance trail! (I found out Biltmore was rated the third best place in the world to go horseback riding by the Travel Channel.)

But more than anything, I am grateful for this guy, who accompanies me on these crazy trips and supports all my nutty dreams:

And, of course, here is helmet cam from the day. Please ignore my ridiculous commentary.

Biltmore Preview

Tough, but amazing 50 miles in NC this past weekend with Magic Man. Details to follow :)

Lincoln Trail 2014: Magic's First 50

After Ride Between the Rivers, there was a lot of talk about me riding Magic again. I had announced that I thought the horse was fit enough, physically, to do a fifty, though I still thought he needed some time to mature mentally, especially in the hold areas. Bob had mentioned doing some rides over the winter in Florida and the Carolinas. The footing there is sandy and forgiving, and the terrain is mostly flat. It's a good place for a horse to do a first fifty (or first 100). Six months would give Magic time to mature and get some more competitive miles under his belt. Bob asked me if I would be interested in riding Magic again, and I practically cheered, "Yes, yes, yes!" I adore the horse (and the people who come with him).

Then, shortly after I got home from West Virginia, Bob emailed me with an entirely different idea. He and a bunch of his horses would be heading to the September 6th Lincoln Trail AHA ride in Illinois. Kally would be attempting her first ever 100 on Indy (who was also in for her first 100). The terrain was reportedly relatively flat, and the competition wouldn't be very fierce. There was a month between RBTR and Lincoln Trail, which would give Magic some time to recover and condition up. Bob asked, "Do you think Magic is ready for a slow 50? If so, would you be willing to ride him?"

I did consult with Mike before making the decision, but I was on board immediately. It did briefly occur to me that Illinois isn't really anywhere near NJ and that driving to IL, riding 50 miles, and driving back to NJ in three days was a little nuts, but I've gotten pretty accustomed to that little voice in my head that throws its hands up and declares, "That's it. You've lost it entirely."

Mike's boss has a hunting cabin in Illinois, and when we found out we were heading to 'his' state, he was extremely excited. I had to laugh because his boss is pretty mellow and reserved, but he was calling Mike and chatting his ear off like a school girl about to go on a first date. On a serious note, Mike's boss has been really awesome about all the traveling we're doing this year, and I was relieved that taking yet another three day weekend wasn't going to be a problem. THANK YOU, BOSS MAN!

I tried to do some pre-ride research, but there wasn't a lot to be found. I did gather that the ride would be at Stephen Forbes State Park in Kitmundy. The park website boasted a lake with fifteen miles of equestrian trail around the edge. I had a sinking feeling that I was going to become very familiar with that fifteen miles.

The ride was the same weekend as NEATO in Rhode Island, and everyone I knew would be there. I had a feeling that I wasn't likely to see many people I knew 900 miles away in Illinois.

Still, I was very excited. Before this trip, I had never been west of Columbus, Ohio. I had never been to the Midwest. I had never seen any of the flat states. Besides, we would be passing through Ohio and Indiana along the way, which meant passing several bloggers that I've either met or have been wanting to meet.

In preparation for the trip, Mike and I did some shopping. I have been an AERC member since 2008 and have been doing rides more and more frequently. I decided that it was high time to admit that I might be an endurance rider. Mike and I finally bought a tent (and replaced the air mattress that Julio ate last year). We also picked up our very own chairs, complete with booze cup holders. No more sleeping in the car. (Sorry, Poof!)

Bob kept me updated on Magic's training progress via email in the weeks leading up to Lincoln Trail. Two days before the horses were set to leave for the ride, he sent me one last confirmation email. And then he totally threw me for a loop.

"Would you be up for a rider change if Kally can't make it because of vet school? You could ride Indy in the hundred and I would ride Magic in the fifty."

I had already replied affirmative when the voice in my head finally managed to get my attention. WAIT. What had I just agreed to??? Kally and Indy had been conditioning for this ride all year long. I had no doubt that Indy was ready to do 100 miles. The mare didn't even look winded at the end of RBTR 50. And, yes, I am dying to do a hundred, hopefully sooner than later. But was I really ready to do a 100 mile ride on a horse I've never ridden on extremely short notice?!?! Physically, I think I would have been ready. I have been riding a lot this year, even without my own horse to condition on. I have also been finishing my 50's in good shape, in terms of fitness. Mentally, though? I'm not 100% sure I could have tackled it.

Thankfully, as the title of this post implies, I did not end up doing 100 with Indy. I'm glad, not just because it was a relief, but because Kally really worked her butt off to get there, and I would have been really sad to steal the ride from her. Kally and Indy deserved to do it together.

Still, I didn't know until Kally showed up in camp what distance I would be riding. Mike and I packed and prepared for the 100, and hoped for the 50.

The night before the trip, Mike and I went to bed early. The GPS, Google Maps, and Mike's boss all predicted a 15 hour drive, and I really wanted to be in ride camp by 6pm so I could catch the ride briefing. We were up at 3am and had hit the road by 4am. I hadn't realized that we would be changing time zones, essentially buying an extra hour of travel time.

I am thrilled to report that the drive out was completely uneventful. The trip took us 13.5 hours (and almost four tanks of gas), but it wasn't bad. We took the PA turnpike all the way out to 70W, then stayed on 70 all the way through the rest of PA, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, and most of Illinois. It was pretty much a straight shot out.

We were past Philly before the morning rush. We got out of Columbus right before the lunch rush. We hit Indy just before the afternoon commute. By the time rush hour hit, we were so far in the middle of nowhere that it didn't matter. We stopped for gas and Taco Bell and that was it.

Although Mike kept offering to take the wheel for a while, I drove the entire way. My hip would start to twinge pretty badly by about 250 miles in, but as long as I got out and stretched my legs at every gas stop, I did ok.

As I expected, things got pretty flat after Ohio. I will say that they weren't impressively flat, as I'd been told. There was a lot of endless soy and corn and round bales, but there were still lots of trees, and occasional curves in the highway. They did have rumble strips before the turns, which I got a kick out of, but I didn't find that the scenery lulled me to sleep. Maybe I need to see Kansas to be impressed.

Thanks to Bob's last minute texting directions, we found camp very easily. I'm glad he reached out because we would have been pretty lost after we passed the park entrance with no sign of camp to be found. I'm sure we could have stopped at the park office or something, but I was surprised that there were no signs or ribbons to mark the way. By that point, we were pretty much driving down country roads between rows of corn. (We had told the GPS to avoid unpaved roads when it asked. That was a new one.)

With the time change, we arrived in camp at 4:30pm, their time. Our phones had switched automatically and I flipped my watch over as soon as we piled out of the car.

Camp was at the park's equestrian camp ground, which was great because everyone could plug their rigs right into the electric at the campsites, and there were options for tying and picketing horses. It's probably a good thing there wasn't a bigger turn out than there was because I could see it getting very crowded very quickly, but it would be the perfect place for a weekend getaway with friends.

We found Bob's rig right away, but he was up at the vetting area. Beth was thrilled to see us and quickly asked how long the drive had taken us.

"Bob feels bad about asking you to come all this way. He didn't realize how far it is from you and he wouldn't have made you drive all this way if he knew."
"Then I'm glad he didn't know because I'm thrilled to be here and I wanted to come!"

It was hot and humid when we arrived, and Mike was pretty hot and unhappy by the time he pitched the tent and blew up the air mattress. Beth instructed him to go in the LQ and sit in the AC for a while, which did him a world of good. I was glad to hear that the forecast for ride day didn't feature the same kind of heat. I was drenched already.

Before long, it was time to vet the horses in, and Magic was feeling fresh. He was pushy and dancing and raring to go. I put him in the rope halter for a little extra leverage, and joked that I should have bitted him up for it. I apologized in advance to the vet who was next in line to examine us. He was a young guy with a big smile, and took Magic's antics in stride, for which I was very grateful. He's a young horse and he'll grow out of all this stuff, which stems mostly from excitement and partly from his playful nature, but I do get embarrassed when he's especially rude.

"Hopefully he'll be a little tired after the first 20 miles tomorrow and you won't see him like this again," I tried to joke. "I promise there's not a mean bone in his body. He won't kick or bite you, and you can feel free to smack him if you need to."

We did our trot out, down and back. It was a short distance on level, grassy ground, and I was glad to be done with it. As I expected, Magic practically dragged me to the cones and back.

"At least he gets an A for impulsion," I laughed.

And that's when the head vet, a woman who I'd never met, but whom I've heard some pretty wicked stories about since, jumped in. "Actually, he's not lifting his back or engaging his hind end at all. His impulsion's not that great."

At this point, my eyebrows disappeared into my hairline and I could feel the color drain out of Mike's face as I bit off the end of my tongue in an attempt to remain civil. My general rule is to not argue with vets. After all, they have medical training and I don't. I adore my ride vets as a whole. But in this case, I really wanted to shout, "Impulsion in dressage and impulsion in endurance are not the same thing!" In endurance, impulsion simply means that the horse is still willing to trot off. It's a measurement of the horse's remaining energy, judged on his pep, attitude, and the thrust left in his stride. It has nothing to do with the topline, engaging the hindquarters, or coming round.

The AERC endurance riding handbook defines impulsion as " “spring” left in the horse’s gait, as well as his willingness to trot in hand. A horse that drags back or needs outside urging to trot will be penalized."

Still, the vet in charge of my ride card had given us A's across the board and I wasn't about to make a scene.

...but the onslaught wasn't over. The head vet started berating me and telling me that I really need to do more exercises to get Magic working over his back and to strengthen his topline. She warned me that if I kept riding him the way I'm riding him, I was going to cost him his hocks.

!!!

I tried to inform her that he's only 5, that he hasn't even been in work for a full year (the trailer accident cost him over three months), and that he's half saddlebred and travels a little differently than a full Arab. When all that fell on deaf ears, I also informed her that this was only the second time I would be riding the horse and that when I ride him, he has no problem coming into a contact and working over his back.

At this point, the voice in my head piped up again, and for once I heeded her advice, "Don't be the spoiled brat who talks back to the vet." I really didn't want to come off as the girl who exclaims, "Nuh uh, you don't know me!!"

Could Magic benefit from some ring work and some dressage? Absolutely! What horse wouldn't? Is there anything I can do about it since I live 500 miles away from the horse? Not really. Do I think Bob's program is screwing the horse up and setting him up for injury and failure? No way! If I thought so, I wouldn't ride for him. From what I've seen, Bob's program produces some really high quality endurance horses time and time again.

I think I was beet red by the time I walked away from that conversation, and I was grumbling to Mike when Bob and Beth informed me that this particular vet has a history of being abrasive and sort of 'missing the point' with endurance. I had to remind myself that I was in Illinois, not at Biltmore or OD or Tevis...

Lake Monster Breeding Grounds.

The rest of the night was spent eating and drinking and having a grand old time. We made friends with the ladies in the trailer next to us, one of whom happens to know a random friend of mine from NJ. In fact, she just sold my friend a horse! I seriously can't go anywhere without this small world thing following me around.

Before long, everybody from our group had arrived. We were definitely the biggest party there. Bob and Beth were there with their rig and three horses: Magic, Indy, and Beth's gelding, Spirit, who would be doing the LD with her. Their trainer, Jen, who puts on RBTR and who I know through Liz, was also there with her horse, Prince. Prince is the horse Liz rode at RBTR, and he would be doing his first 100. Jen also had another one of Bob's horses with her, a five year old Arabian mare named Tessa. Tess has been in training with Jen, and a girl named Aja would be riding her in her first fifty. If things went well, it would be a big weekend of firsts for everyone. Our group goal was to come through with five completions, five sound, healthy horses, and five happy, in tact riders.

There was food aplenty that night. Not only were Bob and Beth providing me with a great horse to ride; they were feeding us too! I am getting 100% spoiled riding with these people, and it's super tempting to hop in their trailer and just ride home to WV with them, never to be seen again.

Eventually, it was time for the ride meeting. It was sort of an informal event, and I had to ask questions to get any real information. Still, everyone seemed sweet and friendly, and we thanked them for hosting the ride so we could be there. As I suspected, there were only 15 miles of trail in the entire park. The LD's would do the loop twice. The fifties would do the loop plus a bit that doubled back to make 20 miles once, then repeat just the 15 mile section two more times. And the 100's? They would do the loop, plus the double-back five miles, five times. I was more relieved than ever that I wouldn't be doing my first 100 here. I think I would have mentally lost it about three loops in. Yikes.

Darkness fell shortly after the ride briefing. With nightfall came a massive storm. I had been doing my best to ignore the tornado cellars I had seen on the drive out, and I convinced myself not to panic about potentially being blown away while we slept in our tent for the first time.

Thankfully, the pouring rain and whipping wind that lasted for most of the night really brought the temperature down. Our tent earned its keep by being completely waterproof, and Mike slept safely inside, cool and dry. It definitely beat sleeping in the car (sorry again, Poof.)

It was crisp, cool, and dark when we woke up at 5am. This time, I'd remembered to bring my jacket, and I was grateful for the sleeves.

The start times were scheduled for 6am (100's), 6:15am (LD's), and 6:30am (50's). The idea was that the LD's would come in off the first loop well before the 100's, and be back out on trail by the time 50's came in. There would be half an hour between 100's and 50's, which would prevent crowding at the holds. The LD's would finish before any of us were done with the 2nd loop. It was a good plan, and meant that everyone got out on trail quickly without creating a pile up at camp later in the day.

Bob had coffee brewed for us first thing. Real coffee with real creamer. I'm telling you, I'm spoiled any more.

Indy, Prince, and Spirit were out on trail before we knew it, and Aja and I got Tess and Magic geared up and ready to go. Mike loaded my saddle bags up with Gatorade and I took my waterproof point and shoot and stowed it in my chaps so I wouldn't have to rummage in the cantle bags to take pictures. I left the helmet cam in the car since it probably wouldn't be properly daylight until the second loop. Since we were repeating the same trail three times, I wasn't worried about missing any shots.

Both babies were being level-headed and calm as we milled around camp, getting them warmed up for the start. At 6:30am, the trail opened. There wasn't a big crowd and nobody galloped off like mad so we started with the pack. Aja and I did let everyone pass us as we made our way down the first stretch of trail. It was good for the young horses to learn to start in a group without turning it into a race.

We talked briefly about our strategy for the day, which was basically to get the horses through their first fifty and make it as much of a positive experience as possible. We were both basically treating this as a training ride. We agreed to take turns leading so both horses would learn to both lead and follow, and it seemed we had similar ideas on how this ride should be ridden. I was looking forward to spending the day riding with a like-minded endurance rider. I did warn Aja that I basically don't shut up, ever, and that it's ok to just tune me out. I don't get offended.

The equestrian trail in the park was quite lovely. If you have to do the same loop multiple times, this is a good place to do it. The terrain was technical enough to be interesting (I had been concerned that we'd be circling the same two corn and soy fields for the duration of the competition, so this was a relief). There were a lot of flat spots with good footing where you could really move out, and there were enough inclines and down hills to prevent it from being a fifty mile flat race. The scenery was varied and featured fields, crops, fern-covered forest, pine groves, ponds, and a lake. No two parts of the loop were the same, and there were plenty of landmarks to watch for as the day wore on.

The first stretch of trail went past corn and soy fields before crossing over the park entrance, two miles from camp. There, we dipped back into the woods and past the fishing pond, before winding deeper into the forest. After passing some picnic areas and crossing some access roads, we reached a more remote part of the park.

I was surprised to see that there were no spotters on trail, and I remembered that ride management had mentioned that it's not a good idea to get hurt at this ride because they have no way of getting help out to the far side of the lake. Good to know, especially with the lack of cell phone reception in the area.

Shortly after that was what became my favorite stretch of the trail for the day. Hard packed dirt with few rocks, winding through a scenic forest with tall, lush trees, and a floor covered in ferns. We were able to power trot for a few blissful, uninterrupted miles here. The first time we went through, I breathed deeply and mentioned the beauty around us.

My favorite stretch.

"Yeah, it is gorgeous," Aja replied. "It's funny, I get so focused on riding sometimes that I forget to look up and take it in."
"Well, I'll be your reminder to look up for the day."

After the long stretch in the woods, we emerged by another pond, riding in eyeball-high on the horses grass, dotted with wildflowers. I was delighted when I found out that the extra five miles of trail doubled us back through that stretch of trail. If you're going to see the same stretch of trail ten times during a 100 mile ride, that's the stretch of trail I would pick. Wow.

After we repeated that section, we dropped off into the technical part of the ride. After some beautiful stream crossings that gave the horses great water access on trail, we hit the big hills in the forest. Because of the rain the night before, and the proximity to the lake, the trail got really muddy. There were sections where the mud was knee deep on the horses, and riders started to make go-arounds as the day wore on. We trotted where we could, but spent a lot of time walking to avoid pulling shoes and tendons.

Just as the mud and walking was getting old, the trail provided a break from the monotony. We rode close to the lake shore and could see across the water. The lake out there was different from the lakes we have in NJ somehow, but I really can't put it into words.

And after the lake was the hardest stretch of trail. After a particularly steep down hill, which Aja dismounted Tess to tackle, there was a huge mud pit with a stream flowing out of either side. Magic got pretty worked up at this section and his baby brain came on. I wouldn't let him leap all the way across the pit, and he was dancing and throwing his head as I held him back. I managed to scramble down from his sky-high back long enough to get us safely across, but I nearly lost my own boot in the process. Yikes. I was not looking forward to doing that part two more times.

From there, we rode alongside a pasture surrounded by barbed wire fence, and I wondered out loud if anything lived there.

By this point, Magic was famished, and he started grabbing leaves off all the surrounding trees to eat. He was so focused on getting food that he completely stopped focusing on his feet, and I had to yell at him at one point because we were both about to topple to our deaths while he did his best giraffe impression and grabbed leaves that were over my head. *sigh*

Just as Magic thought he would surely perish, we reached a field full of thick, long, green grass. We let the horses drop their heads and eat their fill. Magic tore clumps of grass greedily from the earth, and probably would have happily retired on the spot.

At this point, the GPS said we were 13 miles into the 20 mile loop. With seven miles to go, I figured we had another hour of riding before we reached camp. We weren't making great time, but since we were using the training ride mentality, I wasn't too worried. I texted Mike to tell him we were about an hour out.

A short while later, we passed a big STEPHEN A. FORBES STATE PARK sign. Magic was not a fan and balked badly, running backwards and threatening to fall in the ditch behind us. Tess cautiously led the way and we got through it alive, but I was glad for the company.

We trotted on a flat, grassy trail along the road for a while. Traffic zipped by without slowing down a bit, but neither horse was bothered. We crossed over what looked like someone's private property, and emerged next to the horse-eating bridge of death.

Bridge of Death.

O boy.

Neither horse wanted to have anything to do with this bridge, which was wide enough to fit a truck and featured wooden boards between terrifying metal rails, high over a deep river. Tess stepped forward to take a cautious glance, and Magic took the opportunity to make her go first. He literally pushed her across the bridge with his chest on her rump. She was bracing and trying to stop, but Magic was bigger than she was. He wasn't brave enough to go first, but he was brave enough to feed Tess to the bridge. Aja and I were laughing too hard to do much about the horses' antics.

But the spooky part of the trail was just beginning. We rode through some sort of strange water-farming plot. Maybe some of you midwest people will know what these were, but the closest thing I can think of is cranberry bogs here at home. Rows and rows of artificial, rectangular ponds. The ones to our right were full, which was fine by the horses, but the ones on our left were drained and featured wooden structures that were definitely the horse-eating bridge of death's offspring, judging by how far out of his skin Magic jumped.

Eventually, we were safely back in the woods. The footing was good again and the trail was wide enough to move out. We picked up the pace. It had been less than half an hour since I texted Mike.

And then we rounded a corner and came upon a campground, and I said, "Wait... is that...?"

We had reached camp. The GPS only read 15 miles (GPS can be wildly inaccurate in the wilderness, especially when there are a lot of switchbacks involved) and we were coming in hot. I saw Mike sprinting for the camera, but we were already on the ground, loosening girths and letting the horses graze and catch their breaths.

Coming into the first hold.

Thankfully, our crewing area (at the trailer) was between the trail head and the in-timer, so we stripped tack and cooled the horses before we checked in. The pulse monitor showed that Magic came in at 72bpm, but was already down at 60 by the time I got his saddle back on the rack. Tess was down too, so we walked to the in-timer to retrieve our ride cards.

That's right. The ride management held onto our cards when we weren't actively vetting. It was SUCH a good idea, and I think it should be the new AERC standard. No keeping track of my card. No getting it soaking wet, covered in electrolyte and blood, and illegible. Come in, they write in-time, I* take card to vet, vet fills out card, I* hand the card back, they write my out-time and keep it.

*And by 'I', I mean Mike.

Magic pulsed in at 52bpm, trotted sound, and got all A's across the board again. His guts were rumbling up a storm, and he was still peppy and well-hydrated. He had also settled a bit and I only had to restrain him a little bit before he actually held still to be examined.

I had told Bob that Magic had some serious baby brain on the first loop, and he seemed concerned. I assured him that I was still really enjoying my ride, and that he wasn't doing anything I wouldn't expect a young horse to do. In fact, he was still performing above and beyond what I'd expect any five year old to do.

We moseyed back up to our camp site and let the horses eat. Magic never stopped chewing. Talk about an appetite! I was thrilled.

I wasn't hungry yet, but I humored Mike by eating some yogurt and pudding and granola bars before sitting down to just relax.

Forty minutes later, we were saddled and ready to ride out again. I had traded my head lamp for my helmet cam and had a pretty good idea of what parts of the trail I wanted to record.

Aja and I trotted and cantered past the corn and bean fields, then slowed to a walk where there had been reports of a nest of bees. In fact, both of our hundred mile riders and horses had been stung repeatedly. No thank you. Played that game in Maryland. Don't want to play it again.

We rode past the park entrance and towards the fishing pond. There, a group of people had gathered for the afternoon. They had just caught a fish when we rode up. It wasn't a big fish, but seeing it flapping around was enough for me! Magic didn't seem too concerned, but I was having a pretty good spook myself.

In the pretty section of trail, we nearly got run over by a buck who was tearing through the forest at mach 10.

Mike's boss had told us how big the deer in Illinois are, but this one (and all the others I saw that weekend) were smaller than the ones in our yard. I wonder if he's ever actually been to Illinois. Maybe he just buys the trophy heads from his local taxidermist.  Mike and I were joking that we should call his boss and say, "I don't know why you like this state. It's ugly, smells funny, and the animals are dirty."

As we rode past the lake for the second time, we heard a strange shrieking in the trees. I think it must have been some strange kind of bird, but the cry it made was very eerie. Aja and I were trying to figure out what on earth it might be, and decided that it was probably just a lake monster. Once again, I was glad I wasn't riding solo.

This time around, I dismounted long before we got to the massive mud pit at the bottom of the hill. Aja rode through it, but Tess sank all the way up to her belly in it, and I gasped as I watched her struggle to get free. The level headed little mare (she's an old soul, I swear) came out the other side unscathed, but I was definitely not taking Magic the same way.

Instead, we walked into the woods a bit, where the ground was still solid, and tried to cross that way, parallel to the main trail. There was a small ravine with water in the bottom, and after sizing it up, I decided I could probably jump it if I made a good effort and didn't psych myself out. I counted to three and leaped. Magic faithfully jumped with me, and we landed safely on the other side while Aja cheered us on.

It was only afterwards that I realized I should have turned my helmet cam on. It was probably the most epic part of the day.

A short while later, we got the answer to what lives in the pasture with the barbed wire fence. Cows! There was a whole herd of black angus lying in the shade by the forest. Magic seemed surprised to see them, but bravely marched right past.

Once again, we stopped to let the horses graze in the field. This time, I gave Mike a more accurate estimate on our arrival time. Apparently, I had really scared him when I texted 'one hour out' on the previous loop. They'd seen the hundreds and the LD do the loop, and Mike was saying, "I don't think she'd go that slow unless there was a problem." Oops!

I made Magic lead the way across the scary bridge this time. He was tense, but went ahead. Tess followed cautiously behind us. She went willingly enough, but she still looked so very worried with every step. Magic gave me this look over his shoulder after the bridge, and I swear he was saying, "I'll show you 'baby brain'!"

And that's when I figured out what the strange rectangular ponds were. "This is where they breed the lake monsters, obviously."

This time, we knew camp was coming up, and we took our sweet time coming in. We walked from the lake monster breeding grounds, all the way back to camp, and the horses were cool and ready to go to pulse right away. We dropped tack, retrieved our ride cards, and vetted immediately. Magic was at a low 42bpm, and was actually on his best behavior for the vet. He was far from tired, but the miles had put his brain into gear. Good boy.

At the second hold, I ate better than I've ever eaten at any ride. Aja's grandmother, Brenda, had made beef stew and brought it for riders and crew alike. It was absolutely delicious and I kept scarfing it down until I had to cut myself off so I wouldn't over eat and be uncomfortable on the last loop.

Forty minutes later, we were out on our third and final loop. I was anticipating some resistance from the horses when they realized we were getting on them yet again, but both youngsters were fit and ready for more. We trotted out of camp and passed Mike, who had jogged out to the first field on trail to get some ride photos for the whole group of us, in lieu of the non-existent ride photographer. The man is superhuman, I swear. I suspect people only let me ride their horses so they can borrow Mike for the day.

By this point, the sun had come out. I wasn't thrilled about the rising temperatures, but I was glad the predicted rain had missed us.

We made it past the bees without getting stung, and were glad to have that part of the ride behind us. The fishermen had gone home for the afternoon and the picnic areas were deserted. Aja announced that the fern-filled section of forest was her favorite stretch of trail from the day, and I agreed. By this point, we had the mucky spots memorized and knew how to best avoid them. We cut a lot of time off the technical stretch of trail. The lake monster was silent as we trotted past, and we suspect he was shot by the hunters we could hear firing from across the water. I remembered to turn my helmet cam on for the boggy stretch, only to finally find a good way around it that didn't involve dismounting and leaping and belly deep mud. It was a very anti-climactic video. The cows were still lazing in the shade. Just as we were wondering why there were all black cows and one chestnut colored calf, a chestnut bull appeared over the top of the hill, and I declared, "I guess we found Baby Daddy."

And then the miles dragged a bit. The upside of riding the same loop over and over is that you can perfect your technique and know how far from camp you are. The downside is that the anticipation of the next landmark can really make time slow down. The stretch from the cows to the field where we let the horses graze seemed to last forever, and we both said, "I don't remember it taking this long."

Losing it at about 45 miles.

I think the horses could sense that this was the final loop, and they weren't interested in stopping in the field to graze. They grabbed a few mouthfuls each, then wanted to move right along.

Neither one batted an eye at the big park sign and they boldly walked right across the horse-eating bridge and past the lake monster breeding facility.

We did trot a little bit after that to make up for lost time, but we both had completions and clean ride cards at the front of our minds. One of the vets had told Aja that Tess looked a little crampy in her left hind, and she wanted to really play it safe. We dismounted about a mile from the finish line, loosened our girths, and hand-walked in nice and slow.

We arrived with fresh-looking horses to cheers from our slew of crew. Magic didn't even look tired. I thanked Aja for riding with me. We had found that we had a lot in common as we chatted amicably over the miles. Riding with someone for eight hours makes for a fast friendship, and I sincerely hope we'll get to ride together again.

"It's nice to ride with someone with similar goals and strategies," Aja told me. I couldn't agree more.

Finish line photo.

I do think Magic was a little worn out by this point. He pulsed in right away, as did Tess, and we declared that we had ridden together all day and wanted to tie. He still trotted with plenty of oomph, but he was no longer dragging me down the line. He got a B on gait, and this time the vet said he looked slightly off in his left hind.I had felt a little bit of unevenness up the last few hills, and I suspect it was muscle fatigue more than anything else.

We got our completions, amid a lot of cheering and hugging, and went back up to the trailer to get the horses put away.

Aja and I had turtled, which was just fine by us. We had also, as it turned out, top ten'd (after the pulls and our tie, we reportedly came in 5th). Despite the fact that we were a good distance behind the riders before us, and despite the fact that both horses weren't BC contenders, we decided to stand them. It would be a great learning experience for the horses. Magic humored me by doing one last trot out, and was even tired enough to make our circles look presentable. Dr. Nick would have been proud.

Once that was done, we went back to the campsite to wait for the 100's to come in to their final hold. It was getting dark as they emerged from the fourth loop, but both Prince and Indy looked awake and happy. They were starving, but their riders were in good spirits. I jumped in to help crew and we got them pulsed, vetted, and eating mash. Neither horse seemed to complain, even as we saddled them up to go yet again. Mike and I duct taped glow sticks to saddles and breast collars while Kally and Jen ate and used the potty.

All you see of the 100's in the dark.

Forty short minutes later, we sent them back into the dark forest and the waiting began. I'll admit it was a little nerve wracking to be on the waiting end of the game, especially at this ride. As I said, there were no spotters on trail. There were also no glow sticks. We were basically sitting there hoping our 100 mile horses and riders were still alive out there for three hours.

While they were out on the last loop, Aja and I went up for the award ceremony, and were delighted to find that they had plenty of t-shirts in all sizes. We both tend to get our shirts after all the smalls are gone, and wind up swimming in XXL shirts from all our rides. We were thrilled that we wouldn't have to add these shirts to the 'make a quilt some day' pile. Haha.

As for BC standings... BC went to a heavyweight rider (man) who came in way faster than us. Magic didn't score very well on his vet score because the head vet rated him a 4/10 on gait. I told Bob afterwards, "I'm sorry I crippled your horse... apparently."

Dinner was a potluck, but we decided to opt out. We were all tired and had plenty of food back at our own campsite. We wanted to eat, grab some beer, and wait for Kally, Indy, Jen, and Prince.

Our riders were not disappointed when they came in. We had stayed up and were cheering ourselves hoarse as their glow sticks and headlamps appeared, bobbing their way steadily towards the finish line. By then the horses looked pretty tired (and hungry), but Kally had her spirits up enough to keep everyone going. We pulled tack and let the horses eat and cool down before bringing them for final vetting.

I stayed up long enough to watch them get their completions before crawling into the tent and passing out. I was exhausted, but content.

I vaguely remember hearing coyotes howling throughout the night.

I woke up to a rooster crowing, and realized with a sinking feeling that the sun was already up.

Mike and I had planned to leave camp at 6am for the long drive home, but his phone had died during the night and we didn't wake up until 6:30. It was 7am by the time we packed up and left. That made it 8am our time.

We made quick work of Illinois and were back in Indiana before we knew it. We made it through Indianapolis before the Sunday crowds were up, but our adventures weren't over.

We took a quick detour just outside of Indy to see windy-withers. I have been dying to meet her since pretty much the beginning of blogging time, but we're never anywhere near each other. I couldn't pass right through her home town without stopping.

I have to thank Jenn for her flexibility that weekend. She offered to open her home to us on either night if we needed a place to stay, and then drove out to meet us for breakfast so we wouldn't have to go far out of our way. Breakfast was at Bob Evans. It's pretty sad because we don't have a Bob Evans in NJ, but I still have regular items on the menu.

This is also when we found out just how worn down I was. Jenn and I had no shortage of things to chat about, and I was babbling away and opening my sugar to put it in my coffee. Only... I didn't put it in my coffee. Mike didn't even have enough time to intercept before I dumped all four packets right in my potato soup. At least I didn't put crackers in my coffee?

The plan was to meet for breakfast, then get back on the road, but it was such a gorgeous, gorgeous day, and Jenn was planning to take Sol out for a drive, and I just couldn't resist. I begged Mike to go on an extended detour, but I really didn't have to. He just goes along with whatever crazy idea I happen to have.

So we drove through the countryside and followed Jenn to her adorable little red farm. I finally felt like I got to see the flatness everyone talks about, and I was already glad we'd followed them home. The minis were charming, the Arabians were gorgeous in their pasture, and Solomon was as handsome and sweet as I expected. Jenn quickly rigged up his fancy harness and had Mike hold him while she hooked up his beautiful carriage.

Mike needs a draft horse.

Then we climbed in and went for a jaunt around the 'block'. And by block I mean... wow. There really is nothing out there. Jenn even handed me the lines and I got to drive for a bit. Except that Sol totally knows his job (including all his voice commands) so I was just a decorative line-holder.

I wish we could have stayed for a few days. I think Jenn and I would have gotten into worlds of trouble, in the best way possible.

Eventually we had to say goodbye and hit the road again. The ride home really wasn't any worse than the ride out, but it did seem to take much longer. I think that last stretch through PA was the worst part. The state just seemed to drag forever, and by the time we reached the tunnels through the mountains, I was ready to teleport the rest of the way.

But, we arrived safely sometime around 1am, without much traffic, without getting any speeding tickets, and without getting hit by any drunk drivers, so I'd call that a success.

The next day, I went back to work like nothing ever happened.

And of course, here's the helmet cam video: