Cave Country Canter
Nov 2008
One more chance to get the last ride of the season in before the weather really turned. Southern Indiana didn’t seem to far away. Wait a minute, the ride was on a Friday and Saturday instead of a weekend. Time to scramble with my work schedule and get 2 cases continued.
Sandy agreed to go which is great but on reading the application carefully, I noticed the phrase “primitive camping”. I wonder what that means? Should I tell her or feign surprise?
I told her and she bailed on the trip.
Which horses to take? Blues can always use the work but I do not think he is ready for a very rocky 55 miler. I do not want to risk him being pulled, maybe the 30 mile ride would be a change of pace for him and provide some endurance work at the same time. The new mare Cheyenne is not ready yet, still working on Niki’s brain in high stress groups so I don’t want to take her. Rebel could absolutely blast the course and his record at this distance has been perfect and no less than 4rth place. But he does not really need the work and with some work he is ready to step up to 50 miles. Since he has been perfect, I hate to risk his streak without a good reason.
I could take either of Sandy’s mares. Wait a minute, if she does not want to go why would I take her mares for three days? That leaves my sweet heart 4 ½ year old twh mare Kate. I love that horse. She has the personality of a golden retriever. She comes when I call her and will follow me around with out a lead rope. She has had one race and she finished 2nd at the same 30 mile distance. However, Sandy had pulled her rear shoes 2 weeks ago to save a dollar and she was rough as a cob and I feared that 2 years of gait training had evaporated over saving $25. I had rear shoes put on her and worked her three days in a row. Her gait seemed to come back.
RideCamp
Too bad I have to work a day job, but unfortunately, this horse business does not pay the bills.
That means it is another race where I get to the ridecamp after dark and by myself except for the horses. By the time I find a campsite, get the rig set up, unpack the gear and the horses and set up the electric coral I am looking at just a few hours sleep before the alarm goes off for pre race feeding. It also means I have to vet in pre dawn and right before the race. I never look forward to vetting in our horses. It is not that they are a problem. It is just that they do not “trot out” for the “trot out”.
As I walked Kate over for the pre race vet check in the pre dawn, I see that it is a vet that has not been what I thought was encouraging of the fact that we are campaigning gaited horses in this sport. I felt my blood pressure raising. He recognized me. Not a good sign I thought. He was grim during the Kate’s vet check. I tried to make small talk. He was having none of it. Now comes the dreaded non trotting “trot out”. On a fairly loose lead rope off we went. Kate shuffled along in a running walk. As we came back to the vet, I heard the other vet, who was the head vet say loudly, “that is a perfect gait!” It seems the head vet was from Tenn and owned a walking horse! “A’s” on the trot out. O happy days!
The Trail is Open
Why do they use that phrase? Is there something wrong with “Go?” Off we went for a rocky and hilly 30 miles. I went to last place, as the last thing I wanted was to be pulled on my little Kate. The woman in front of me was named Beth Ann and she was on a beautiful black roan Arab/Andalusion cross. I complemented her on her horse and she told me she thought the horse was less than a beauty. I told her three times how good looking the boy was but we did not seem to agree on the subject. The two leaders rode off like wild Indians. I quickly lost all sight of them from the back of the pack. Our group of 6 riders were all woman riders on Arabians except for little Kate and yours truly. Would she find her gait, or was I for 30 miles of pacing. I hate pacing.
My gaited training buddy Rick had told me to pull her if she started pacing.
No pacing yet and the little 8-9 mph rack was just right. However the lady Arabian riders didn’t seem to stay at that speed. They would slow up hill and through rocks, slow down hill and then speed up on the flats. I watched Kate’s heart rate on my wrist monitor and she was barely at operating speed. I soon figured out that most of these riders did not live or train on this kind of terrain nor on these kind of hills. Kate trains in the Shawnee. It was time to go.
We got an opening and I whispered to Beth Ann, “Come with me, let’s go!” She whirled her black roan behind us and I asked Kate for her rack. She ablidged in that perfect 4 beat way of a gaited horse when all cylinders are firing.
Beth admitted it was her first race. Now I had a reason for being there and we quickly became friends. We spent the first 15 mile loop discussing heart rate , strategy and life. We brought the horses in the last 600 yards before camp in a walk and then dismounted and walked the last 250 yards beside them. Kate made the 64 heart rate in under a minute. Beth Ann and I were in 3rd and 4rth place.
Another vet check with the vet that is not what I would call “my greatest encourager”. He thinks he saw a problem with the rear end of Kate as she is not trotting during my trot out. Why couldn’t I have had the vet with the walking horse at home? He gives Kate a “C” for her “trot”.
I think, “go to my happy place”, and put food and electrolytes down my little Kate’s pie hole.
The hold was 50 minutes and I look up and see Beth Ann with her pretty black roan several minutes early. It seems he had grown attached to Kate already and wanted to be with her. Hey, everybody loves sweet Kate. Well, everybody but the one vet and my wife. It seems Sandy still holds a bit of a grudge about a little incident concerning Kate knocking Sandy to the ground during a shoeing incident. Why can’t we all just get along?
Our “trail is open” again. Boy, that phrase sure makes me feel funny. Somehow, it makes me feel out of place when I hear that.
Having a GPS wrist unit and a wireless heart rate monitor is so handy. I can watch the horse, the course and my speed. I just have to remember to watch the trail, other horses and limbs. As we wind along and I realize that we have 3rd and 4rth places sowed up as long as we don’t have a disaster, I sense Beth Ann start to get nervous. She is having the time of life but then she looses an easy boot. She is riding with easy boots on the front and no shoes on the back. She is also doing one heck of a lot of posting. The trot is smooth but it is still a trot. She decides to tie the easy boot to her saddle and finish with one front boot on and bare on three hoofs. This concerns me but all I can do is slow down a little and try and help her watch her horse. Her horse has not wanted to lead much on this loop and Kate is perky and ready so little Kate is pulling this train into finish line. I ride with one eye behind us looking for the pack of Arabians on our tails and one eye on my monitors. All systems are go and we walk in again as per the first loop. Kate comes down to 60 heart rate just behind the black roan and we are 4rth. I have the tenn vet for the finish line vet check and get all “A’s”. He did not even notice what ever the first vet thought was a problem with Kate’s way of going in the rear end during the previous vet check.
Beth Ann gets 3rd at her first event and has a permanent smile to show for it. She has a life changing kind of experience and the AERC gets a great member. I get a new friend and a hug. Life is good!
The Trail Is Open Again
The next day is Blues turn for a 30 mile event. It is his first Limited Distance ride as he has only done 50’s. Ten of us hear that the “trail is open” and off we go. I give Blues his head, watch his heart rate and the speed and go to the lead pack. No reason to stay towards the back with the Blues man. The trail is covered with leaves and rocky. I do not know the course. The steward has done a good job of marking turns with ribbons but some had been mischievously taken down from part of the course the day before. I slip in behind the lead horse which is a sorrel Arabian with a huge motor and ridden by a young man of about 30. He is flying at 13-14 mph . Blues and I can handle the speed but I became concerned for the way we are flying through some of the rocky sections. I decide that the risk to my beloved Blues is not worth the risk of hoof problems. We slow down and let the sorrel go.
I am unsure of the course and wait for the next rider. She is a lovely woman who is in her 18th year of AERC events by the name of Becky. We quickly become friends. Blues likes to lead and can do it at whatever speed I ask him for. Beck admits that she is now engaged in the fastest ride of her life. We cruise into camp 25 minutes ahead of our nearest competitors and Blues is below 64 as we hit the vet check. Did I mention how much I love this horse? We spent most of that hilly and rocky course averaging about 10 mph and he hits the line below 64 heart rate!
I know we just have to continue what we are doing. Becky is in hog heaven. She is singing. She is riding with no hands and holding her arms out as though she is flying. In fact, she is flying. She asks me not to go over 12 mph as it requires her Arabian to “hand gallop”. I said “sure but the heck is a hand gallop.” She says it is another word for canter.
Learn something new all the time at this sport.
With one eye behind for the riders behind us, I watch Blues for signs of trouble. He has none. This horse is magnificent. We walk into the finish line and his heart rate is 54 as we come though the line. Becky and I tie for 2nd and I am thrilled for it. She gives me a big hug and tells me it was the fastest and one of the best rides of her career. Way to go Blues!
Time to pack them up, give them treats and start planning for next season. Along the way, I will be extremely grateful for our blessings and this season.
The 2008 season was 14 starts for our horses, 12 completions, 9 top ten finishes and the sponsorship of a jr and a grandma. Rebel actually took a BC. Bu,t the best thing is all the new friends we made . Dare to dream and take someone with you!
Keith
Shawnee Sunrise Farm
Gaited Endurance and adventuring!
