Moab Canyons Endurance Ride

Friday, MJ and I trailered down to Moab, Utah, in her big 4-horse, living quarters trailer with her arab gelding, Beau, and new horse, Bhen, for the 2-day endurance ride.  Although 75 people had preregistered, and the ride manager (Sheri Griffith, who did a fantastic job handling all the logistics) had a BLM permit for 100 people, 150 riders showed up (which also meant she had to call BLM offices at the last minute and try to get her permit capacity bumped up - a huge headache for her, I'm sure).  When we arrived around 12:30, the parking area of the camp was already filling up quickly.

We got the boys out and built a temporary corral for them, and got them fed and watered so they could relax a bit.  Here's Bhen:

And Beau (hoping for a cookie):

We took the boys for a walk after we got everyone settled in so they could tour camp, and then got our rider numbers for the next day, and took the boys over to see the vet to be checked in and make sure they were sound to ride for the race. After a quick dinner (and the addition of a lot of warm clothes plus some blankets, because the temperature drops quickly in the desert when the sun goes down!), we attended the riders' meeting and got the trail maps for the next day, plus some information about places to watch footing on the trail, where the water stops were, and so on. 

There were a LOT of riders signed up to do the 25-mile race.  Like 73.  That's more than sometimes attend an entire race.  I'm not sure how many folks signed up for the 50-miler, but it was a similar number.  MJ, who graciously agreed to ride with me (even though she is normally kicking arse and taking names in the 50s), and I plotted a little strategy.  Since it was so dusty and there was such a large field, her suggestion was to get out of the pack early and stay out front so we weren't going to be eating dust all day.  Good plan.

The next morning, after a chilly start (we blanketed the boys overnight and it was good we did as there was ice on the water buckets), we got checked in with the officials, and trotted around a bit to warm the boys up and by 8:00 a.m., we were off just as the sun was peeking up over the mountains. There were about 6 riders that went out in front of us.  We let the boys trot quietly for just a few hundred feet, and then MJ yelled out "GO!", so I clucked to Bhen and asked him to pick up the pace.  We called out ahead to let the other riders know we wanted to pass so they were aware of us coming up. 

One cowboy-type (wearing jeans and no helmet) on a BIG black and white paint looked down at us as we zipped by and said "Is that thing even a horse?  It's too short to be a real horse."  Uh huh. (Bhen is the same size as Digger, a manly 14.2 hands high.)  I told MJ later I didn't care if we were 71st and 72nd out of the 73, but I was not gonna let that guy finish in front of us.

At any rate, we zipped past this group and I let Bhen go out in front for a while, sitting a brisk pace.  We took a quick break at the first water stop, but the boys were ready to keep going, so we settled them back into their trot and rode on.  The scenery was absolutely beautiful.  Red rock canyons, sandy washes, and miles and miles of sagebrush.  We trotted on, following our blue ribbons that marked the 25-mile trail, and came into the vet check (at about the half-way mark) second.  However, the guy riding in first place had been pushing his horse hard to stay ahead of us, and he couldn't get the horse's pulse down.  When we came in, the boys had a drink, and they were checked in under the 60 beats per minute pulse parameter to continue, so we went ahead and had the vet check them out, to be fit to continue - which they were.

After a 40-minute mandatory hold, with a break for more water, some nice mush and a bit of hay, we remounted and sent the boys out on the trail again.  By about mile 20, I was so very thankful I had MJ with me.  I fell last Monday (not horse-related, just on some wet stall boards), so I had been riding with a cracked tailbone, and by then, I gotta tell ya - it was a HUGE pain in the arse.  MJ put Beau out in front and set the pace for us, and we chit-chatted our way to about mile 24.  As we were coming towards camp, we could see a group of riders, who had passed us and one of the guys in that larger group had been thrown from his horse (inexperienced rider on a horse that wasn't his).  We all stopped and waited, and one of the other riders (who was riding with all her western tack and gear) went out and caught the loose horse, and brought it back to the rider.  We all agreed she got to go to the head of the line for "good samaritan" points, which she deserved.

Since we were only about a mile in from camp, we basically all stayed in line and came into camp in a group of about 10.  A couple of the folks up at the front who had been pushing their horses hard took longer to pulse down to the 60 beats per minute criteria, so we wound up coming in ahead of them by AERC rules.  (Your completion of a 25-mile race is when your horse has met pulse/respiratory rate parameters, not necessarily in the order you come in, so sometimes it's better to be slower than faster at the end of the race, to give the horse time to catch its breath.)

Bhen and I came in 7th, and MJ was kind enough to let us go ahead of her in the standings.  (Honestly, she has like 19,000 competitive miles and a gajillion Best Condition awards, and she coulda totally waxed everyone's fanny, but she is a kind, dear soul that way - very very generous). Our "prize" for completion was a great photo taken out on the trail just before the vet check.

How fun is that?

The boys both did great and were bonded pretty tightly by the end of the weekend together.  We trailered back on Sunday (with me and my arse sitting on a heating pad most of the trip) and got the boys home.  The ride was a total blast and I'm looking forward to next season already!

PS - The cowboy on the big black and white paint?  Didn't even finish the race.  He got pulled for Lameness at the vet check.  In this case, it sure isn't size that matters, dude.

All for now...

Comments

[margene]

Oh dear...riding with a broken fanny doesn't sound fun. Butt, oops...but you are very brave and determined! Good for you and Bhen!

[Chris]

Whoot! For you and Bhen - he's gotta have one nice trot to sit on it for 25 miles with a busted butt. So how many felted scarves do ya think I need to sell in order to buy a horse trailer? Oh, yeah, and a pick up to haul it with. This goes beyond evil enabler, you know.

[Norma]

Way to GO!!!! I hope the tailbone is doing better. XO

[Mary Lou]

I have been looking forward to this report! So glad to hear that it went well and most important was FUN. MJ sounds like an amazing friend. Did you sit the trot that whole time? Yeow! Nice tale of the finish, too. Very sporting.

[minnie]

does this mean you were riding on broke butt mountain? (ducks)

[Judy]

It looks pretty wonderful. Sorry it was so painful, next year, no butts.

[Sheepish Annie]

Heh-heh...love hearing that the cowboy didn't make it. Although I feel rather badly for his horse!

Meanwhile, great job! You and Bhen look amazing together. Hope the tailbone is ok!

[Katie]

What a great picture of you two on the trail in Moab - one of my favorite places on this earth! Congratulations!

[Birdsong]

Yay, you did it! And I am SOOO glad you beat that arrogant b------ too:) Extra cookies for you both.

[Dan]

What an exciting Adventure!!!!! I'm glad you had a good time.. Next time I'm going to be that arrogant guy on the paint!!!! PS I love Mary Lou's comment!!!!

[Mary in VA]

Oh my goodness. I cracked a tailbone once and just sitting for extended periods was painful. I can't imagine riding a horse for 25 miles! Congrats to you both! Hope the tailbone feels better soon.

[Cathy]

LOL re:Dan's comment.

Well. Are you addicted now?

[Beth S.]

I am SO glad you came in ahead of that jerk. Ahem. ;-)

But ow, your poor tailbone! I can't believe you were able to ride so far on an injury like that. Wow.

[Laurie]

Ouch on the coccyx. That's one of the bones that evolution, someday, will edit out of our bodies.

Loved reading about this. The picture made it.

Hope you heal quickly.

[kathy b]

Oh, these are such wonderful posts. I LOVED the whole thing. What a great event.
I saw a beautiful horse while I was walkng my dog in Chicago's Harmswoods the other day. The rider told me it's color and I cannot remember it now. THe color was this incredible minklike brown. I thought she said something that started with BR, but it was two syllables. Do you know a horse color like this????

[AmyP]

Many congratulation.
And you have no idea just how funny "waxed everyone's fanny" is in British English. I'm not giggling, honest!
Amy (riding horses vicariously through you!).

[Diane]

Yea! Loved readng about your ride! Soon, you'll be reading about mine as I've set up a trail ride with my friend (where my daughter rides.)Not quite that far though :)

[Lark]

Great post and photo! Congrats and blue skies!

[Teri S.]

That sounds like an awesome ride. You and Bhen did great! And it's rather fitting that the cowboy was pulled for Lameness, although I feel bad for his horse. I hope your bone heals quickly, now that the ride is over.