Jersey Devil 2024

After Hector, my ride season came to an abrupt halt. We missed Chautauqua. After that, I set my sights on Mustang. Originally, I was planning to take Lucy and do her first LD. I was going to ride with Sam on Puma. Then Mustang got cancelled. We regrouped and planned for Jersey Devil. The plan was to ride Lucy in the 25 with Sam. Then Sam mentioned that she wanted to do the two day 50. It would be her first multi day. I decided to enter Lucy in back to back 25's. This way, if she completed one day and not the second, the miles from day one would still count. It would be more expensive, but since I ride pass fail, I was all for it. 

After the Essex hunter pace, I had my doubts about Lucy being able to do both days. Booger, meanwhile, was still rip roaring fit. I had no doubt she could do 50 miles in two days. It would be our first multi-day as well. In the end, I decided to enter Booger in both 25's. My train of thought was to ride the first day and see how it went. If I wasn't having a good time, I didn't have to start the second day. I was interested to see if she'd be quieter on the second day. I keep telling myself "no more sand rides for Booger" because she treats them like really long race track. But I had such a good time riding with Sam last year. I figured it was worth a try.

It turns out, Booger wasn't the problem that weekend. 

I seriously love this mare so much.

The ride agenda revealed that things would be off to a leisurely start. Ride camp didn't open until noon. Lucha (the secretary) wouldn't arrive until 2pm. Vetting was from 3-5pm. Between that and the cold weather, I was in no hurry to get down there. I decided to aim for a 3pm arrival. 

I feel like I've written enough ride stories that I should probably start fast forwarding through all the usual stuff: packing, planning, driving, etc. It's all pretty standard at this point. 

There were several people going to Jersey Devil this year. Obviously, there was Sam. At the last minute, I found out Geneva was coming down too! I haven't seen her since Vermont in July so this was a nice surprise. Jen and Christine were also planning to be there. I was looking forward to catching up with everyone even more than I was looking forward to actually riding. 

While we were on our way down, Christine texted to let me know she had arrived and snagged the first spot. She asked if she should save us a spot, and I asked for a picture of where she was parked and what was available. It turns out our "usual" spot was free and directly behind Christine! 

Before long, we were pulling into a very familiar ride camp (this was my 14th start out of the BBB Gun Club!)  

A happy dog joy riding through the cranberry bogs.

Mike and I wound up with the perfect little bubble behind Jen and Christine, with plenty of space for Julio (and all my crap). Sam and Geneva ended up parking all the way at the back of camp to give Zoey and Stitch some privacy, but they were a straight shot back from us.

Booger unloaded happily and settled right down while we cruised through our set up process. 

I got signed in and headed up for vetting. I was delighted that Art was the head vet and that Mary Coleman was the lay judge. Booger vetted through like a pro. I was riding pass/fail, which made vetting a breeze. Mary chastised me for not competing and kept telling me how good Booger looked. I was pleased to see they gave her a 5 for body condition, though Mary mentioned she should be fatter going into winter (agreed). 

I have probably said this a hundred times, but I'll say it again. I am just so proud of how Booger has settled into the vetting process. She really hated to be poked and prodded by strangers in the beginning. Now she's a total professional. In fact, she was borderline falling asleep while waiting to vet this time around. 

We went back to our campsite and I plopped Booger in her pen, where she went right to eating hay and ignoring the world around her.

Jen was doing the 10 mile CDR with her friend, Leanne, a fellow California transplant. Leanne hasn't done a ride in 13 years! This would be her first ride with her five year old mare, Numa. We spent the afternoon hanging out and getting to know each other. Leanne was another person I took an instant liking to!

Leanne and Gracelyn schmoozing it up.

This sums up our endurance family nicely.

We headed up to dinner that night. As usual, we were well fed by ride management. 

After dinner we headed back down to our campsites. I gave Booger more food and electrolyted her. Then we all hung out around Jen's rig. By this point, we were in the peak of the drought and there was a state wide fire ban. This meant the traditional bonfire was foregone. Jen still had s'mores toasting in her propane oven (no open flame). Everybody came over to hang out. It was a splendid night of laughter, ride stories, and good company. It was almost 11pm by the time we went our separate ways. 

So many great people. 

This good old man.

One last night check before bed. 

Our start time the following morning wasn't until 8:56am, which made for a nice bit of hurry up and wait. Sam and I had planned to start together all along. Christine was looking for someone to ride with as well. Booger has gone well with Gracelyn in the past, so Sam and I invited her to join us. We also got randomly assigned a fourth person. At first, I was a little worried about this, but she ended up zipping out of camp and quickly getting out of sight, which worked perfectly for all of us. 

I have not been getting on Booger until the trail is open at our last several endurance rides. This has worked well for us. However, I was hoping she'd bluetooth sync up to Puma if we warmed up together. No such luck. Booger didn't do anything bad, but she was completely indifferent to Puma and Gracelyn's existence. 

Nonetheless, we had a very low key start. Booger marched out of camp in front of the other two, but on a loose rein.

Look at my genuine grin in this one!

Mike also got some other lovely photos of friends and acquaintances at the start. I keep trying to convince him to be the official photographer for NJTRA events. 

Dodie and willow. This is on my bucket list.

Jen and Kiche. 

New friend, Leanne.

Jenny and her lovely horse. This was my favorite of Mike's photos this weekend.

This was definitely one of the best starts we've had. Booger was forward, but calm. I even got some photos in the first few miles, which almost never happens. We employed the same strategy Sam and I used last year. I would let Booger roll along, and when we started to get too far ahead, we'd take a walk break while we waited for our friends to catch up. Puma and Gracelyn were keeping a perfect 6mph pace so this worked well. Unlike last year, I didn't have to fight for my walk breaks. Booger was offering them pretty willingly. Nice!

Friends behind.

Open trail ahead.

Goofing off early in the ride.

Unfortunately, all was not well despite Booger's good behavior. About four miles into the ride, I started to have problems with my right leg (the one I broke). It started with numbness, which spread all the way up to my hip. I tried to take my foot out of the stirrup and shake it out, but something was very wrong. We all pulled up and I tried dropping my stirrups to see if that would help. That didn't really work because I was reaching for my stirrups and not balanced. I didn't want to be thumping on Booger's back for the rest of the day. Plus, when I got my feeling back, I found myself in excruciating pain. The pain was on the outside of my ankle and calf and it was intense. I have a very high pain tolerance and am very good at "sucking it up" through a lot of unpleasantries, but this was unbearable.

Because Booger was going so much faster than the others, I was able to take frequent walk breaks, kicking my right leg out of the stirrup and stretching it, but nothing seemed to give me much relief. Plus the pain was now affecting my lower back. Crap.

I don't remember much else about the first loop because all I could focus on was my leg. Sam and Christine were being very patient and making sure I was ok-ish. Despite the leg, we were making excellent time. I think Booger knew there was something wrong with me because she was being quiet and well-behaved. This was a real kick in the teeth, to have her so mellow and sweet and not be able to just relish it. 

She was being so perfect.

This was labeled "Piney Petting Zoo".

It was a beautiful day out there.

At Elsie's water stop (10 miles in), I got off of Booger. Something in my lower back released as soon as my feet hit the ground. While Booger drank and ate hay, I did some stretches. That helped and I felt better. I electrolyted and remounted Boo. As soon as we picked up the pace, the pain was back and worse than before. Still, we only had five miles to go. I could suck it up for that much. We did a lot of cantering, which alleviated the pain of posting. I texted ahead to Mike to let him know I was having trouble and would need Advil STAT. 

On the way in, we started to pass people we knew. 

I have never been so relieved to see these power lines.

Dodie and Willow again. 

When we got to the power lines, we all walked in. Booger walks faster than the others, and we agreed to meet back up at our out time.

A beautiful photo despite my inner agony.

 

Friends in the background.

At the trailer, I jumped down and immediately took a bunch of Advil. I got Booger's tack stripped and food in front of her face. Then I told Mike he would have to jog Booger. I was barely up for walking through the deep sand to the vetting. In retrospect, I suspect walking in the deep sand all weekend was a contributing factor to this issue. It definitely didn't help.

Luckily, Booger was not feeling any ill effects and passed her vetting with flying colors. By the time we got back to the trailer, it was time to tack up and get back on. I was very grateful NJTRA extends their holds to 30 minutes instead of the standard ECTRA 20. 

I did manage to rest the leg a little during the hold, and even laid down and did some yoga to loosen my back in case that was a contributing factor. I felt ok when I got back on to walk out of camp.

My out time was a few minutes before Christine and Sam's, which gave me enough time to walk around for a moment and make sure I was ok to go out. 

We were all smiles when we headed out. 

It was beautiful out there, but I didn't take many photos.

My leg was hurting less on the second loop. It was still quite painful, but I was able to bear it. Unfortunately, my bad luck for the day wasn't over. As we trotted down the trail, I caught a telltale flicker in my vision. Uh oh. Migraine! 

Luckily, I had already popped a bunch of Advil, so I got my usual aura, but minimal headache pain. Still, I rode several miles essentially blind. In fact, we were making Helen Keller jokes as we went. (Possibly poor taste, but there it is.) The good news about the migraine was that it was a nice distraction from my throbbing leg. 

Needless to say, I don't remember much of the second loop either. It was ten miles of just surviving. We were keeping perfect pace, and Booger was being an absolute saint. She was still her strong, forward self, but she was definitely keeping an ear cocked in my direction more than usual. 

Again, I was very happy to see the power lines.

We came in at 1:30, right smack in the middle of our ideal time. Mike was waiting at the finish with his camera.

Mike got this absolutely stunning photo of Geneva and Hopper.

Grateful pats for my good girl.

Friends right behind us.

We have our CTR routine down to an art. I left Mike with the in timer, rode to the trailer, and pulled Booger's bridle. I put her on the Hi Tie to eat while I stripped her tack and got her cooler on. We had 20 minutes to wait before final vetting and it was cool enough that I didn't sponge. 

Booger was a pro for the finish too. She pulsed right in while Mary pouted that I was only riding pass fail. Mike jogged her again and I beamed at how good she looked. We got another 25 mile completion under our belts, and since I wasn't competing, I didn't have to go back for hands on. 

We went back to the trailer, where I got Booger put away and taken care of before getting off my feet.

This is actually Mike's horse. I just get to ride her. 

Once Christine was done with her vetting, she came over to assess me. She is a licensed physical therapist. That's what she does full time for a living. She did some palpating and some stretching and asked a lot of questions. The main concern was that this might be nerve pain. There was a spot on my ankle that she pressed that made it feel like flames were shooting up my leg, all the way to my hip. She noted that my foot was rotating onto its outside edge (supinating) and that I seem to have reduced mobility in both ankles. She had me do some exercises and evaluated my SI/pelvis. She recommended making an appointment with an orthopedist to rule out stress fractures and complications from my hardware. She also did some things that felt amazing and relieved the pain. I was very grateful to her for working on me. I have the best people in my circle. 

I took it easy until awards at 3pm. By this point, word was spreading that my leg was bothering me, and I was surprised at how many people seemed generally concerned. I assured everyone that it was far from my heart. 

We wandered up for awards. We got our completion prize and applauded as standings were announced in each distance.

Then they got to the horsemanship award for the 25. I did a double take when I heard my name called!! You could have knocked me over with a feather. 

I took a picture of the evaluation sheet because I've never won this award before and I didn't realize how involved it was:

We spent the afternoon relaxing at our trailer. Sam brought Zoey up to join us. Julio was on his best behavior, laying on his bed with Zoey right across the way. Zoey, of course, paid him absolutely no mind. Sam complimented me on how far Julio has come with his reactivity. 

I love these two so very much.

These two too. (Julio loves his warm dog parka, or, as we call it, barka.)

The only thing left that night was the dinner. Everything was absolutely delicious. (Seriously, you can't leave this ride hungry.) Geneva, Sam, Christine, Mike, and I sat with Lucha and Millie and couple others. The conversation was brilliant and hilarious and we were all crying with laughter by the end of it. Of course we enjoyed the annual costume contest (Mary as a nun had me in stitches). 

Sam's birthday was that weekend. She is like me (does not want singing or attention). When they announced that two people were having a special day, all the blood drained out of her face. Thankfully, it turned out they were mileage milestones for other people!

(We did do a low key birthday celebration at our trailer for Sam. It included cupcakes and birthday cards and absolutely no singing. Christine even stayed an extra night to partake.)

Between the leg, the ride, the migraine, and a long day, I was completely tuckered out and we crawled into bed early that night. I would decide if I was riding the second day in the morning. 

That night was the time change so everybody's start times were about an hour earlier than the day before. This meant a 5:30 alarm.

Julio was not amused.

It was quite cold that morning. Luckily, we have our buddy heater, which toasts the tack room in no time. 

Winter mode activated!

We headed up to the clubhouse to use the facilities, get our start times, and snag some breakfast. Geneva's dog, Stitch, was pretty chilly the previous day. I happened to have Herbie's old jacket in the trailer. It's a bit small for Julio and he has his new barka anyway. I gave the jacket to Geneva to keep. 

Stitch was very grateful.

That morning, we had some dog drama :( Mike was walking Julio (leashed) next to our trailer when Laura's off leash Doberman charged them. I heard shouting and scuffling, but didn't realize right away that it was Mike shouting. Julio got body slammed, knocked off his feet, and bitten! The bite wasn't severe, but it did puncture a spot on his flank. Julio, bless him, did not fight back. I was absolutely livid. Dogs are supposed to be contained in camp at all times. It was bad enough any dog was off leash, but this dog in particular had me seeing red. Laura's dog is extremely aggressive, both towards other dogs and people. What if he had attacked someone's child? Or a smaller dog than Julio? Or a horse? 

I stormed up to the clubhouse, shaking with rage. I pulled Hannah outside and told her what had happened. I apologized for being the person to complain, but this was really unacceptable. Right on cue, Laura walked in with the same dog, which proceeded to lunge at Stitch with its teeth bared. 

Sam and I were particularly mortified because her dog, Zoey, is also a Doberman. We had worked so hard to get Julio acclimated to her. (After the ride, Sam brought Zoey back over and Julio was fine with her, so that's a relief.)

Hannah handled the situation and the dog was not loose again after that. Hannah also said that she's going to change the ride meeting next year to really emphasize the seriousness of the leash rules in camp. She said anybody who is found to have a dog off leash will be immediately disqualified from the ride.

Guys, I love dogs more than anything. I think everyone should be able to bring their dogs to rides, even if the dogs are reactive or shy or whatever. But the dogs must be contained. It's not a dog park. Unless you're at a ride that specifically caters to off leash dogs (like RBTR used to), keep them leashed! 

/rant

Around 7:30, I got Booger tacked up and ready to go. Sam and I got warmed up together. Booger did not seem like she even noticed that we were doing a second day for the first time. She took it in stride.

Our frosty corner of camp.

Warming up.

Just before 8am, Sam and I started up the power lines again. 

It was a beautiful morning. I was stoked to ride with Sam. Booger was actually waiting up for Puma on her own.

The pain started almost immediately an it was debilitating. By the time we got to the first water stop, I wasn't sure I would make it through the day.

Photo by a volunteer. Me stretching the leg.

I made it less than four miles before the pain overcame me. We got passed by Andrea, which was fine. Unfortunately, she wasn't actually going faster than we were. We let her go only to catch up to her as soon as we started to trot. I tried to pass, but every time we approached, she took off again, only to stop around the next turn. Booger was being really good about this game of leap frog, but she was definitely starting to get strong. 

I finally came to a grinding halt with tears streaming down my face. 

"Sam, I don't think I can do this. Go on without me."

"Absolutely not."

Ride management just so happened to be driving up behind us as my day came crumbling down around me. By this point I was ugly crying and in absolute agony. Sam was telling me that we were walking back to camp. I was begging her to go on without me. I would be fine on my own. Sam refused to leave me, which only made me cry harder. Management offered to call for a trailer, but there was nothing wrong with Booger and I knew we could walk back without wasting resources. 

Finally, Sam pointed out that our time was completely blown regardless of what we did. She did not feel like galloping to try to get back in her window. She was throwing in the towel. We were going back.

It took about five minutes after we turned back for me to admit it was the right call. My pain was a solid seven despite Christine wrapping my ankle for me that morning and having meds on board.  

Despite all that, Sam and I had a lovely ride back to camp. We even noticed a lake we hadn't seen before because we were going too fast. As long as I was walking or had my foot out of the stirrup, my leg was ok (achy, but not painful). It was trotting that was specifically causing a problem. 

As far as Booger was concerned, we had just done a perfectly lovely eight mile pleasure ride. She was relaxed and happy all the way back to camp. This was our first non-completion, though it was ECTRA, not AERC, so it doesn't really matter. It was also the first time I've rider optioned because of myself. That was not a good feeling, but as many people pointed out, it wasn't worth pushing through and possibly causing permanent damage. 

"We knew it was bad when we saw you crying," Hannah said. "You're one tough lady."

When I got to the finish, Dr. Art asked what had happened. Then he told me, "Someone said you had a cramp and I thought that wasn't right. No way Dom pulls because of a cramp."

So that felt nice. 

Of course, we had to take the horses up for a safety check. Booger looked like a million bucks. So did Puma. I was so very sad that Sam didn't get her completion because of me. She had entered the two day 50, not the back to back 25 like I had. As a result, her mileage for the first day didn't count. You can imagine the crushing guilt I felt about that. Sam had my crying again when she said, "I am lucky to have friends worth quitting for."

I don't know what I did to deserve friends like this, but I do not take it for granted. Ugh.

After vetting, the girls had a rolling party in the sandiest part of camp.

The rest of the day passed at a slow pace. We ate some more delicious food at the clubhouse and spent some time chilling with the dogs while we waited for Geneva to get back. (She was also having a rough day.) 

Eventually things wrapped up like they always do and we made our way back home and into civilization.

I did the responsible adult thing and called to make a doctor's appointment that week. They got me in right away which was a surprise. It ended up being a total waste of time. I was seen by a PA who looked like he was 12 years old. He asked me if I had tried diet and exercise. I told him I did a 50 six weeks prior and hadn't had any leg pain. (Look, dude, being fat is not a new development, ok? I could definitely use some healthier habits, but my leg still shouldn't feel like it's on fire at the trot.) He basically told me to stop riding and come back to see him in two weeks.

"Ok, doc, if it only hurts when I ride and I don't ride for two weeks, what is the point of coming back to see you?"

Needless to say, I did not make that appointment.

I asked if it could be nerve pain. Yes. What diagnostics could be done to confirm that? Electrode study. Great, how do I make an appointment for that? I can't. My symptoms haven't been persistent enough.

Next time, I'm going to go in, cry, tell them I can't feel half of my leg and that the other half is on fire. Maybe then they'll take me seriously.

I won't get into a whole thing about healthcare in this country, but this is literally why I don't go to doctors.

UGH!

The good news is that it has been over a month since this ride. I was my usual level of sore after, and recovered well. I did have some extra pain on the outside of the leg/ankle for a few days, but it went away with rest. Since then, I have done a ton of riding (two NACMO rides, some hunter paces, and my usual long trail rides on both mares). I have not experience a recurrence of the pain that sidelined me at the Devil. I probably won't know for sure until I do another distance ride with Booger in race mode, but so far all signs point to good.

I suspect it was an overuse injury and that walking around in deep sand all weekend aggravated it. I plan to do more yoga to keep the area loose. I have also started pedaling on the stationary bike a few times a week to try to strengthen my legs in general (and to help with cardio). It's a slow start, but it's better than nothing.

Hopefully this is just a minor blip on my endurance journey. I have a lot I still want to accomplish. 

And I have to say, this weekend really melted my heart in terms of Booger. She was so sweet and good and conscious of the fact that I was struggling. She turned out ok in the end. 

Bonus dog photo to wrap up on a good note.