Fort Valley Drag Riding

Getting ready to ride!

Sunny and I had a great time drag riding both Friday and Saturday for the Fort Valley Endurance ride. We arrived late Thursday afternoon, just in time to set up camp and vet-in before the ride dinner and meeting.  Sunny loaded on the trailer on the first try and was absolutely wonderful while I set up camp. He just stood patiently, calmly surveying his new digs, while I got the hi-tie, hay net, water, etc all set up.  I am so impressed with him! (he did not swing his head around madly, bang his eyes into the trailer doors, or anything else remotely silly!).  At the vet-in he acted like a pro, standing quietly and trotting out nicely by my side.  He makes it so easy there is nothing exciting to write about!

Friday morning we were signed up to ride the last loop of the 30 mile ride, a nice 14 mile loop through the rolling hills with beautiful views of Gold Medal Farms and their young endurance prospects www.facebook.com/GoldMedalFarms  It was a little confusing to find out when the last 30 mile riders were heading out on trail so my partner and friend, Patrice, and I were a few minutes behind schedule.  We had a beautiful, easy, ride together taking about 3 hrs to ride the 14 miles.  I learned that Sunny likes to go fast and he doesn't really have a 'slow-trot' speed or 'button' as of yet.  I also learned that while the Ultimate Bitless Bridle is fantastic for schooling and communication, it does not work as well for brakes; it seemed to tighten up causing the crown piece to slide down Sunny's neck and then stayed tight.  The left front Renegade boot came off once, but it was following silliness in the field where Sunny did lots of twisting/turning as we had a discussion about waiting for the other horses and not going fast and furious!  Rogan's saddle that I am using temporarily on Sunny is a little too wide and it did tend to slip back and then dip down into the 'shoulder-pocket' area. I had to readjust it several times.  At the end of the loop both horses vetted in just fine.  We later enjoyed an excellent ride dinner and I was very jealous of the completion awards -- very nice monogrammed Old Dominion bath/camp towels or a monogrammed winter beanie hat. I was wanting to enter the 30 mile ride just for that completion award.  I don't recall getting a completion award at No Frills, maybe I missed it?  After dinner I called home and check the overnight lows as it was feeling a bit chilly. The National Weather Service said 39 degrees without wind or rain, so I decided not to sheet Sunny.  He has never been routinely blanketed, but the horses tend to get chilled more easily when tied to the trailer where they can't move around or get out of the elements.  But at 39 degrees I thought he would be just fine.

Our Campsite

Unfortunately, when I woke Saturday morning there was ice on the windshield and the grass was iced as well. So much for 39, more like 32!  Sunny did seem a little chilled, but was not shivering so I guess he was fine, but in hindsight with the temperature reaching freezing I would have put a light sheet on at least.   It warmed up rapidly once the sun came over the mountain and I enjoyed some hot chocolate at the ride camp tent and Sunny and I took a walk around camp to stretch our legs.  I then adjusted Rogan's S-hackmore to fit Sunny, I did not want to have the bridle over tightening again, nor have only 1 speed option!  Enjoyed a relaxing day reading a little in the warm sun while Sunny ate, packing up camp so I could easily head home when finished, and then volunteering at the Pulse/Recovery station for a bit.  I found I am not entirely suited for the P/R station as I tend to get loud and excited about things, which then doesn't help the competitors horses pulse down (whoops!!).  I will know to do better next time!

Head down the trail

On Saturday it was much easier to find out when the last of the 50 mile riders arrived in camp and their out-times to head out on the last loop, so I knew when to tack up and be ready to follow them out on trail. This was the same loop I rode on Friday, but a little later in the day so I had my new headlamp ready to go just in case.  My friend, Patrice, unfortunately had become sick so my substitute partner for the last loop was Lacy on her well-conditioned hunt horse. This was Lacy's first endurance ride experience and we were thrilled to have her along!  The 'turtle rider' was happy to have riding buddies for her last loop so we all rode together.    The S-Hack worked much better for Sunny and we were able to keep about a 6 mph trot behind the last competitor.  He did have moments where he even thought about relaxation and head lowering at the trot!  At the walk Sunny definitely enjoyed stretching his head and neck down and then proceeding to power walk his gaited-horse 5 mph flat walk, which then required me to slow him down so we could stay behind the last competitor on her adorable appaloosa.   We finished the 14 miles slightly quicker than on Friday, in 2 hr 50 minutes, but we kept a pretty steady pace until the last 2 miles where we all mosied in walking and letting the horses nibble on the lush grass.

Sunny was still pretty sweaty and steaming after our final vet-check so I actually got to use my cooler (orginally Poptart's- an on-sale Rambo Newmarket cooler) for the first time.  It fits Sunny pretty well, just a bit short on the rump.  After he was walked out I set him up at camp and went to dinner (excellent taco salad!).  After dinner and ride awards I hurried back to the trailer to get everything loaded up to head home. The cooler actually worked, it was beaded up with moisture on the outside and Sunny was warm and dry underneath.  It took a few attempts to load him, he went in nicely but then decided to back on out the first 2-3 times. I was happy he stayed relaxed and never braced and then went in easily on the 4th attempt and we headed home.  I find it is always a little more intimidated for the horses to load at night using the loading lights, even Rogan will hesitate a little in that situation.  But I am going to make sure we keep consistently practicing loading at home to ensure it is never an issue!

So things I learned:  While Sunny needs more schooling with transitions between gaits and within the gait, as well as learning relaxation while moving out at the trot/canter, he is a very honest and steady horse. I had no qualms or fears for my safety even when he decided it would be fun to gallop up a hill or move into his power trot/rack (or something very fast I couldn't post to) at 10+ mph. We just enjoyed going fast together ;)  I think he will be able to rock these endurance rides and we are going to have loads of fun together.

Beautiful views of the fall mountains at dusk

My plan now is to take a step back and work on schooling and slowly bringing him back to endurance conditioning over the winter. I plan on developing his arena skills so we can easily walk/trot/gait/canter in the arena and even turn at the same time ;), as well as start our lateral work including shoulder-in, counter shoulder-in, opening gates, etc.  Concurrently, I am going to start him on the Perseverance Endurance conditioning schedule: https://perseveranceendurancehorses.wordpress.com/2012/10/17/endurance-training/, starting with 48 hours of walking only on the trail.
 My tentative goal is to try for the 50 mile ride at No Frills next April.