Ride story time. I finally got across the start at the OD 50. Not the finish though :( Still, my horse and I both ended the day in one piece, which is more than a lot of people got. Also, I'm not sure what it is about this ride that makes people think they have any say in what my crew does and does not do.
NOTE TO ALL ENDURANCE RIDERS: If you want someone to crew for you, BRING SOMEONE.
Sadly, this ride story is going to feature a bit of ranting too.
OD has been on my to-do for this year with Steel since she finished Big Loop Boogie last fall. I have been basically counting down the days to ride day. I was a little concerned because it was the 13th, and I'm superstitious like that. After rocking No Frills at the end of April, I felt confident that Steel and I were both fit enough, both mentally and physically, to tackle half of the Beast of the East. I was the perfect combination of nervous and excited. I was also looking forward to riding with Dodie again. She and I have the best time on trail, and I end up laughing the miles away, which is an excellent feeling.
A few days before the ride, I found out that Cindy would be joining us, both in camp and on the trail.
Cindy hails from the world of race cars and is a cut throat competitor. She is in it to win it, which is all well and good up to a certain degree.
It is Cindy's second season of distance riding, and her completion record is abysmal. She has a very nice little horse and has gotten away with a lot that wouldn't fly on a lesser animal. She rides him way too hard and if she keeps going the way she's going, she's going to injure or kill him. They have had a lot of pulls for lameness and metabolic issues.
She was picking my brain about his cramping and tying up last year. My advice was "slow the f**k down", which didn't seem to go over very well. Then again, Cindy asks a lot of advice without actually listening to what anyone has to say. I've stopped giving her advice. It's not worth it.
Cindy does ok at CTR because the speed of the ride is regulated, and her horse is fit enough to hold a 6mph pace for extended distances. When she rides endurance, though, she just blasts ahead until the horse can't do it any more. Cindy doesn't seem to realize that unlike a race car, you can't just take a horse into the shop and get parts replaced as they break. If he blows a tendon, he's done. That's my biggest issue with all of it. You can be competitive and unfriendly and cut throat all you want, but when you put the animal's welfare in danger, I can't be bothered with you.
I haven't had to ride with Cindy much because she always goes tearing past me on the first loop, and I don't see her again. In fact, I only met her at Big Loop because she got pulled after racing the first loop in the mud, and was in the hold area with Mike when I got back.
Cindy and I have been friendly in the past, when we've interacted in ride camp. She's a nice enough person with some good stories to tell. Plus, I try to be welcoming to people who are new to the sport (though Cindy seems to forget that she's still a newbie). After this weekend, though, I have no interest in having anything to do with her any more.
Apparently, Cindy asked to ride with us, mostly so we could help her set a more reasonable pace. Dodie told her up front that we were going to wait until everyone else went out to start. Neither one of us has any interest in Steel and Daizy getting race brain, and we make up a lot of distance when we go at Daizy speed.
Anyway, Mike and I got a late start to our day on Friday. We had both worked extra long hours to allow for a weekend away, and neither one of us had slept in weeks. We slept in a bit, packed the car (with its oil freshly changed), grabbed sandwiches at QC and hit the road. I had told Dodie we would arrive at camp around 4pm, and we were right on time as we hit the highway. Unfortunately, it rained cats and dogs most of the way down there, so we went slower than we usually do. Still, we arrived before dinner.
We pulled down the now-familiar Happy Valley Rd. and ride camp emerged around the bend. I got a thrill down my back. OD base camp is one of my favorites.
The red tent just right of center is us :)
I drove while Mike spotted Dodie's rig in the crowd. Delightfully, she had snagged an excellent spot, right next to both the water trough and the bathrooms, and located smack in the middle of camp, where we had a great view of the finish line, and a reasonable walk to dinner/vetting. Nice!
Less delightfully, there appeared to be no room for Mike and myself to park or camp. Parking at OD is tight, and we had arrived late, so I'm sure it was unintentional. Still, it was a bit of a bummer and started the weekend off on a bad note already. Deciding that we didn't want to smell the porta-potties all night long (the only open spot big enough for a tent was directly behind the johns), Mike and I drove up the hill and pitched our tent in the slightly boggy area in the long grass. It worked out ok.
We arrived just as dinner was being served, so we walked up for food and ride meeting. Dodie had brought her friend and barn owner, Paula, along for the weekend. Paula had never been to an endurance ride before, and I guess she wanted to see what the madness was all about. I don't think she had a clue what she was getting herself into! She probably thought camping with the horses would be fun.
Paula turned out to be a total sweetheart, and I told her in advance, "Thank you for everything. In case you don't hear it in the chaos of ride day... thank you. I mean it."
Dinner was a good time. I caught up with many familiar faces. Dodie and I laughed and shared stories of rides past. Paula told us a bit about herself. Kevin came over to catch up for a bit. Melissa, preparing for her first 100 attempt, came over for a little while. Jen, who has been competing her stallion, Amir (who briefly appeared on the blog when she first got him), came over and stole Paula's seat for a while. I haven't seen her in a while and she was asking all sorts of questions about both Tookie and Booger.
The ride meeting started shortly after that. As always, it was a well run event. Unlike No Frills, we got all the information we needed. Questions were answered in detail. Mike was practically taking notes as ride management explained the loops, distances, and holds, all of which are away from camp at this ride.
After dinner and the meeting, we moseyed back down to the trailer. Mike and I pitched our tent, then joined everyone for a little while. We drank a few beers, told a few stories, and tried to get Mike naked in the water trough.
On a serious note, Mike had some concerns about crewing the next day. Last year, there was an issue with parking, and they wouldn't allow vehicles into the crew area. This meant lugging buckets of water for extreme distances to set up. On top of that, the last hold is only six miles from the finish, and Mike was worried about the time crunch at the end. It's basically a race to break down the hold area and get back to the finish line before your rider does. Crewing at OD is tough, and takes some serious planning. Mike and I kept asking if we should run over to Bird Haven on Friday night to set up while vehicles were being allowed in. I'm not sure why nobody seemed on board with the idea, but it caused both Mike and myself a ton of stress.
NOTE TO FUTURE OD CO-CONSPIRATORS: The next time I ride OD 50, my crew area will be set up the night before. No exceptions. I don't care if I have to bring my own hold supplies to make it happen. Anybody who wants Mike's help (or any other crew member I supply) will do the same.
Sorry, Mike.
In the midst of this conversation, Cindy finally decided to talk to me (she'd been giving me the cold shoulder up until that point, and didn't even eat dinner with us). "Here's a stupid question," she piped up. "Why doesn't Mike just leave for the hold before we start in the morning?"
Maybe the heat was making me unreasonably cranky already. I'm not sure. In any event, I basically barked back, "Because he's my crew and I want him here."
I stopped myself there, but what I wanted to say was, "Mike is not your crew. He is not here to help you. If you wanted crew, you should have brought crew. Is your husband here helping you? No? Shut up."
I shouldn't have to say this at this point, but Mike doesn't have to be doing this. He does it out of the goodness of his heart and because he enjoys spending time with the horses. He is basically there to keep me company on the drive and get pictures for me. Anything he does above and beyond that (and he does a lot) is gravy. Mike always ends up crewing for me because he's a good guy. He does a stand up job and I am totally spoiled. I don't know how I ever competed without him.
Mike is also kind enough to crew for whoever I am riding for/with. He does it with a smile on his face, and I think it's fair since people are kind enough to share their very nice horses with me. We joke about it, but I really think part of the reason that people have me ride for them is because I come with a stellar crew.
Being the good guy that he is, Mike told me he didn't mind crewing for Cindy too, even though we got very little warning that she would even be there. I told him not to count on crewing for Cindy. Chances were she wasn't going to be riding with us for very long. I told him that if she went blasting off and left us behind, then as far as I was concerned, she was on her own.
There was a minor glitch with my train of thought, and that is that Cindy had also talked Dodie into taking Cindy's truck to the hold. As Cindy handed Mike her keys, I basically threw a princess fit and told Mike that I wanted him to take our car over there as well. He needed to have the option to leave the crew area if he needed to, and I wasn't going to stand for Cindy dictating how the hold went.
Cindy pulled Mike aside to show him where everything was in her truck. Mike reported back that she was pouting and told him, "I was under the impression that there was going to be crew here for everyone."
When I heard this, I just about exploded. (Again, maybe it was the heat. Maybe I'm just a b***h. Who knows?)
No, Cindy. Other people don't provide crew for you. If you want crew, find crew. Bring your husband or your son or a friend. You don't get to not say a word to me in the weeks leading up to the ride and then help yourself to my crew. Sorry. Not happening.
Eventually, we all went our separate ways for bed. Mike and I crawled in our tent with the dogs and tried to get some sleep. I think Herbie is the only one who actually got any sleep, though. I know Mike didn't sleep a wink. I managed to fall asleep pretty quickly, but then there a crash/ping followed by charging hooves, and I was up like a shot. After peeking out of the tent to make sure our horses were secure, I laid back down, but couldn't fall back asleep.
Julio did doze a bit before 3am, when Reveille blasted across camp, followed by ride time being announced over the loud speakers. A few minutes later, Hot Buttered Popcorn blared through the valley. From that point on, there was just commotion. Ride announcements came across the speakers every few minutes, and the hundred milers and their crews were up and about. Julio sat next to me, completely rigid. He didn't bark or move, but he was definitely on high alert. Poor guy had no idea what was going on. Good guard dog. *pat pat*
At 5am, we were up. I drank my Starbucks iced coffee drink and devoured a banana. I wasn't hungry yet, but it promised to be a long, hot day, and I knew I had to start off on a good note.
I brushed Steel off. She had rolled in her pen after the previous day's rains and was doing her very best pinto impression. I also took the time to braid her long, thick mane. It was going to be a sticky, humid day and I wanted to do what I could to help keep her cool. Plus she looks adorable in braids. I will give Cindy credit for the fact that she gave me yellow braiding bands to match my tack. That was nice.
I got on Steel sooner rather than later. She was being pretty calm and well behaved, but she settles much faster when I'm on her, rather than beside her. Steel and I sat quietly and waited. As planned, we let the 50's go out in a swarm of 60+ horses while we waited by our trailer.
The start was every bit as chaotic as Dodie and I knew it would be. Jen's stallion threw a bucking fit and was dropped and on full display for everyone to see. Kelsey got launched off her gelding, which Mike caught on camera.
One of the hundreds had also gotten dumped on the road a short way from camp. I was thankful to be sitting on my calm, relaxed horse a small distance from the insanity.
"Talk to me, Dodie," Cindy pleaded. "Because this is killing me right now." I bit my tongue.
Before we headed out, Dodie stopped for one more potty break, handing Daizy to Paula for a minute. Cindy was rolling her eyes so hard I could feel it. I really wanted to tell her, "There's the trail. Just go." Argh. I swear to god, if she rolled her eyes one more time, I was going to put them in a jar in my fridge.
A few moments later, we calmly walked up to the starting line, giving the horses a minute to warm up their muscles before trotting down the road to the trail head.
Steel felt great as we headed out on trail. Her tail and ears were up and she was swinging along like an old pro, not a former ring horse/broodmare. I breathed deep, taking in the gorgeous surroundings, and remembering riding the same trail on the LD last year. We went up a forest road, across a paved street, and back into the woods. Steel and I alternately trotted and cantered, and I smiled to myself thinking, "Never hurry, never tarry, take care of your horse."
We were catching and passing people already, and I cheerfully called out to everyone we saw, wishing them a fun ride and safe trails.
Before long, we came to the first water crossing of the day. Several people were stopping already to sponge and let their horses drink. It was the same place that there was a 'traffic jam' last year, and I was glad I was riding with Dodie, and not somebody who was going to make a scene about it.
O... that's right... Cindy was there. *sigh*
"Is this normal?" she asked, gesturing at the hold up and almost tapping her foot impatiently in the stirrup.
"Yes, Cindy. In endurance, it is standard etiquette to let the horses around you drink when they want to."
As we crossed the creek a moment later, I looked down and though I saw blood splattered on the rocks around us. I did a double take and was pretty sure that's what it was. I didn't say anything, but my stomach sank.
A few minutes later, a horse came at us down the trail, going the wrong way. It only took a moment for me to realize it was Meg Sleeper. She was holding her wrist in her hand, and her gray horse was streaked with an unbelievable amount of blood.
"O my god! Meg, are you guys ok???" Obviously something was very very wrong.
"We have an artery laceration, and I'm trying to get back to the road," Meg shouted over her shoulder. I didn't have time to ask if it was the horse or the rider who was injured, but it was obviously serious.
We rode in silence for a few minutes, taking in what we had just seen.
By this point, Steel was in the lead and was cruising right along on the single track. She was eating up the trail and making really good time. It's so obvious that this little gray mare is starting to love this sport, and Dodie commented on that just as I was thinking it. I thanked Dodie again for giving me the opportunity to ride this stellar little mare. I love them both to pieces.
As soon as the trail widened for the first big climb of the day, Cindy went tearing past me. I let her go, knowing just how long the climb was, and having zero desire to burn my horse up this early in the day. Minutes later, Cindy's sponge was dragging underneath her horse. I called to her to let her know she was having an issue, and she snapped something about 'this f'ing sponge'. She had already had one mishap with it that ended in her getting her sneakers wet first thing into the ride. Dodie did offer her a spare clip for the sponge, but Cindy didn't want to lose any time on it. *sigh* By this point, Bailey had a leg through the sponge leash, and I raised my voice, telling her she needed to get down before her horse got hurt.
She was furious.
I kept right on going. Steel had good momentum and I wasn't about to stop her in the middle of a tough climb. I knew Dodie would catch up, and I honestly didn't care if I saw Cindy again.
Eventually, Steel slowed to a walk and Cindy went charging past us. It was the last time we would ride with her and I was not-so-secretly relieved. Good riddance!
Soon after, the climb leveled out and we caught up to Lani and Dawn. All of our horses were keeping a similar pace and we rode together in a big, happy group all along the ridge. This was my favorite section of trail at the LD last year, and I just took it in, enjoying myself and Dodie's good company.
One woman asked if Dawn and I were sisters because we 'look so much alike'. I told her, "No, but we are Dom and Dawn." Haha. When I told Dawn about it later, she laughed and said, "Hey, that's not a bad thing!"
It wasn't long before we reached the water troughs at the top of the mountain. I asked Dodie if she wanted to pose against the nice background, and she cheerfully agreed. She also offered to return the favor for me, but my camera wouldn't cooperate. Dodie would have gladly tried again, but I told her I wasn't terribly concerned about it. I care more about the memories than the photos, and now that Cindy's rolling eyes were out of sight, I was back to having an absolute blast.
From there we hit the fire road down to the first hold. Daizy is a down hill machine and was tearing up that trail like her ass was on fire. Steel isn't quite at that level yet, but I was impressed at how well she was moving down that hill nonetheless.
This was also where we passed the photographer for the first time. Becky Pearman was at this ride, which always makes me super happy. She gets awesome photos, picks good locations, and has prints available right on site at the end of the day, which satisfies that need for instant gratification.
I was excited because I spend so much time cantering Steel, but there are never photos to prove it. Finally, we were going to get a shot of the two of us in action. Becky got several good ones, and I couldn't pick a favorite so I bought two :)
It was nice to know that the hold was right at the end of the service road, and we walked the horses in when we got close.
At this point, Dodie and I were all smiles. The horses felt great and we were still fresh. Plus, we were back to riding in true Dodie and Dom style, with many laughs and inside jokes along the way.
As Mike had feared, they weren't allowing vehicles into the hold area, and they had to boogey to get everything set up. Mike had asked Paula to set up buckets while he did some other things.
We came in to Bird Haven for the first time and I could tell things weren't quite right. The horse food looked swollen and over full. I couldn't find a sweat scraper at first. There was no sign of a heart monitor. Dodie was Not Happy, and when Mike asked me what he could do, I told him to focus on Dodie and Daizy. I would take care of myself.
I added water to food, pulled the sponge off my saddle, located a sweat scraper and took to sponging Steel, who was eating and drinking up a storm. Apparently, she was eating out of Bailey's pan, and Cindy came over and snatched it right out from under Steel's nose. "Ok, Bailey needs his food now." Gee, b***h, you can thank my boyfriend for setting it up for you.
Mike has asked her if she knew how far we were behind her when she came in, and she had snapped, "I have no idea." It was the last time we did anything for her that day. Alright, Miss Professional Competitor, crew for your damned self. Good grief.
We didn't have a heart monitor with us, thanks to the fact that we took Cindy's truck to the hold, but Steel looked like she was barely warmed up, and if Steel was good, Daizy was good, so we walked over to the vetting lane.
Steel was rocking that trail. Not only did she have all A's across the board (!!!), but she had a brilliant CRI of 48/44. Holy smokes!
Dodie and I trotted our horses in unison, and both passed the first check with flying colors. 17 miles down. 36 to go.
I ate and drank while Steel relaxed.
Dodie gave Paula and Mike instructions on what to do in the 5-6 hours before we came back to Bird Haven at the end of the day. Yes. 5-6 hours. It would be 30 miles before we saw our faithful crew again. The next hold was at Laurel Run in 17 miles, and there was no crew. We would be on our own for the hottest, toughest, longest part of the day.
I asked Mike if he'd heard anything about Meg Sleeper. It turns out it was the horse that had the injury. They had gotten him to a vet, and he was treated and doing just fine. Phew!
45 minutes flew by and we were heading back out on trail in no time. Mike gave me our traditional kiss good luck and told me, "Have fun, be safe, come back to me." I thanked him and Paula for their help and legged Steel into a trot.
Still rockin' it.
This time we rode up, up, up the service road, retracing our steps from the last loop until we split off into the forest again.
That was when I heard a voice behind me ask, "Are you Dominika Nawrot?" I whirled around in the saddle. Not many people in this sport know me by my full name. Behind me was a familiar blazed bay face with another familiar face on board.
It was Kent! I met Kent in 2009, during my first time at Foxcatcher. I was on Ozzy when we spotted a loose horse on the cross country horse. I had been video taping as people tried time and again to capture the gelding. In the end, I realized that Ozzy was the only horse out there fast enough to keep up with the loose horse, and I dropped my camera, but didn't stop recording to take off in pursuit. In the end, Ozzy and I caught the loose horse, but Ozzy was afraid of other horses, and I passed the reins off to Kent, who returned the horse to its rightful owner! It was moments later that we realized we had just done the two miles of the ride at a dead gallop. I can't believe he recognized me all these years later! It was great to catch up. It's such a small world out there.
This second loop was the toughest and most technical part of the ride. I am glad that I got to experience it. It's the one part of the trail that I've been dying to see, and I am proud to say I rode it, even if I never get an OD completion under my belt.
We rode along the mountainside in the shade for a while. The rays of sunlight were making beams through the leaves, but we still had a cool breeze that kept me feeling fresh. I breathed in, taking in the surroundings and just enjoying. We rode on single track for a long time. Then we passed through some fields and clearings where we were able to make good time.
Dodie was having some technical difficulties with her stirrups and her muddy shoes, and we stopped at a creek so she could rinse and adjust. I was glad for the break, and the new electrolytes that Dodie uses were really doing their job. Steel was drinking up a storm. I think it's safe to say that she's over her days of not eating or drinking on trail.
Then it was time for the longest climb of the day. Five miles, practically straight up. I saw a few people tailing their horses, and many more stopped along the side of the trail to catch their breaths. Steel blew me away with her willingness and ability to tackle this climb. We went up and up and up for what felt like years, and I let her pick her own pace. This is a horse who never asks for a break unless she really, truly needs one, and I was more than willing to let her have it when the time came. But she never asked for a break. She just chugged right on up that mountain like she'd been doing it her entire life. What a good, good mare. Sure, she was panting and sweating, but she never once acted like she wanted to quit. Here she is, 16 years old, in her second season of distance riding, tackling the toughest trail on the east coast like it's a walk in the park.
Eventually the trail sort of leveled off to what was a normal up hill climb.
I told Dodie, "I'm going to pay for a lot of therapy to wipe this hill from my memory."
The next stretch of trail was absolutely beautiful. The mountain laurel was in full bloom, and closed in on a foot path that was barely visible. I buried my nose in the flowers as we rode by, feeling lucky to be alive.
That up hill climb may have been the hardest part for the horses physically, but it was not the scariest part of the trail.
Every time I do an endurance ride, I reach a point in the trail where I wonder if I've completely lost my mind. Endurance is challenging and sometimes dangerous. I have to remind myself that I not only choose to do this... I pay a lot of money to do it!
Well, this trail put all my previous "I must be losing it" thoughts to shame. I am not a fearful person in general. I tend to be pretty brave. My philosophy is, "Sometimes you fall off and you're fine. Sometimes you fall off and you die. It's not a reason to stop riding." I am also not generally afraid of heights.
There were parts of this trail, though, where I couldn't even take pictures because I was too busy white knuckle gripping the reins. Steel is a very good little endurance horse, but there are times when her ring riding background shows, and she's just not as sure footed as some of the horses I've ridden, or her counterpart, Daizy the Sherman Tank.
There were places where we were scurrying from boulder to boulder like mountain goats, with a sheer drop to either side as we rode the very peak of the mountain. As Steel slipped on one rock in particular, I glanced to my right and saw certain death below. The color drained from my face, and Dodie claims I looked like I was about to cry. This part of the trail definitely took some focus!
The views were worth it, however. Nothing beats riding in the mountains like this. It's rugged. It's breath taking. It puts life into perspective.
At times, I did wonder if whoever was marking the trail had gotten lost and was just making it up.
As we navigated across rocks, rocks, and more rocks, I was reminded of the warnings I received from both Nicole and Liz about this ride last year.
I thought of you ladies frequently.
There was one section of trail where I dismounted. The path dropped straight off the side of the mountain, and the footing was torn up from a hundred horses going before us. It was mucky, slick, and dotted with huge rocks. Daizy went traipsing down, no problem, but two strides in, I decided I did not want a repeat of my X-Games debut at No Frills. I quietly got down and tailed Steel down the hill. I'm glad I did. There were some hairy moments even with me on the ground. Eek!
There were also stretches of trail that were simply breath taking. We rode through ferns that blew me away. We also rode across an unexpected grassy knoll at the very top of the mountain. The grass made for a nice treat for the horses, and the views were incredible as the field rolled off to either side. You see pointy mountains in cartoons, but you don't realize that they actually do come to a point in real life. It's surreal being up there!
After riding along some more heart stopping ledges, and past some buzzing bees (blocked that one out already, thanks), we finally came upon a service road. It wasn't until I looked at a map after the ride that I realized how far from anything we had been. They tell you at the ride meeting that there are parts of the trail where they can't get you or send you help, but seeing it laid out on a map really put that into perspective.
From there, we made a sharp right and started an endless descent to Laurel Run. What goes up, must come down after all. Here, the trail was much more reasonable, and we picked up speed again. We let the horses stop and graze in a clearing part way down, and I think Steel was ready for us to slap a trough in there and just let her live out her days.
A little while later, we hit the service road again. I knew it would only be a few more miles to the hold, and I was excited to move along in our journey.
The first stretch of road featured some really big gravel, and that was when I thought I felt Steel take a funny step. I changed diagonal, waited a second, and nothing. A few strides later, her head definitely bobbed and I got concerned. On the third fumble, I looked down at her front feet and my heart stopped.
"O my god, Steel, did you lose a shoe?" I jumped to the ground.
Sure enough, Steel's right front shoe was missing. Judging by the condition of her hoof, it had been gone for quite some time. Tough girl had been carrying on without it, no questions asked, and I felt terrible. I never felt her throw it.
I think I knew in my heart that we were done. Even on the gravel, Steel didn't look terrible, but looking at her hoof made my stomach twist in knots.
I loosened her girth and started the long march to the hold. I'm guessing we walked about three miles, and my boots are great for riding, but not walking. I have deep, deep blisters on my heels, and I could feel them bubbling as we walked.
Poor Steel. Poor Dodie!
"You don't have to wait for me," I told her. "You can ride on past and save time..."
But Dodie wasn't having it, and she just kept riding along behind me without a complaint. Dodie is a good, good friend. It was enough to make my eyes burn with hot tears, but I swallowed and told myself to buck up.
A little while later, Cindy came cantering up the road towards us. Bailey looked exhausted. He didn't even whinny to his friends. When Dodie asked Cindy how it was going, she made a face and said, "It's going ok...."
I didn't say a word, but I thought, "If it's only going ok, why are you still flying down the trail?"
I found out later that Bailey wasn't eating or drinking by that point in the day.
Ages and ages later, we finally walked into the hold. I stripped tack and marched right up to the vets. I knew Steel would trot lame. I knew they would hold my card. And that's exactly what happened. There was nowhere to trot that didn't have gravel, and I felt terrible for poor Steel, gimping along even though I already knew she'd be lame.
I went down to the farrier to wait in line. This trail was devouring shoes left and right. Dodie had gone up to take care of Daizy and Steel was losing her mind. I finally shouted to Dodie that Steel wasn't going to stand without her friend. There I was again... shouting and carrying on and being a poor sport.
I did thank the farrier profusely for tacking on a new shoe and patching what was left of Steel's foot. He asked if I wanted a pad, and I let Dodie make the call. My thinking was that if she needed a pad to continue, I didn't want to push her any more.
With a heavy heart, I went back up to the vet for my recheck. By then, I had let Dr. Bob know what was going on, and there were a slew of vets waiting to watch Steel trot. We went down and back, and Steel was hesitant to trot out. This is the horse who is so good at her trot outs that I smile while I'm running.
I probably looked pretty grim by the time we got up to the vets. Sure enough, she had taken a few iffy steps along the way. The vets convened, and Dr. Bob put in a good word for me, which touched me.
"Dom is a very careful and conservative rider," he told the other vets.
The consensus was that I could go on if I took it slow.
I looked at Dr. Bob and asked, "If this was Magic, what would you want me to do?"
"If it was the last ride of the season, I might let you go on."
"I want to do Vermont in a month..." I told him, my lip quivering.
He shook his head.
I took a deep breath. "I'm... I'm going to pull her. We're... done." I announced.
Dr. Bob went the extra mile again, making sure it got written down as a rider option, not a pull.
Just like that everything caught up to me. The heat. The stress. The anger at Cindy. The emotion of being so blessed with so many wonderful people in my life. The unfairness of being knocked out by sheer dumb luck. The fact that this horse was still vetting with A's across the board. The horse. OMG this horse. Nothing but try. So much heart. Such a good girl.
I burst into tears.
Dodie rushed to comfort me, wrapping me in a big hug. "No, no, no... don't cry!"
"I don't want to hurt her. I don't want to hurt this horse...." I took a deep breath, swallowing the wall of tears. "Good girl, Steel. You are such a good girl. The best horse. The very best horse." I patted her, and rubbed her, and told her she was a good girl.
I turned to Dr. Bob and asked him, "Is there a way to get word back to Mike? To tell him I pulled but I'm ok? I don't want him to have a heart attack when Dodie comes in without me."
There's no cell phone reception up in those parts, but Dr. Bob has his ways. It just so happened that Stephanie and Beth were right with Mike when Dr. Bob reached out to them.
At that point, Dodie had decided to rider option with me, which just piled guilt on top of guilt. It would reportedly be a few hours before they got a trailer up for me and Steel.
As we discussed logistics, Dodie half heartedly said, "I think we could have finished this, too."
I couldn't take it any more. "Dodie. Get back on your horse. Go."
"I can't.... you're pulled..."
"Go!"
"She's going to be a nightmare if I go without you."
"Who is going to be a nightmare?"
"Steel."
"I can handle Steel. Don't you DARE forfeit this ride because I lost a damned shoe!"
"But..."
"GO!"
"Are you sure...?"
"GO!!!!!!"
Poor Mike. They told him Dodie and I pulled together. He got the entire hold broken down when they called him back and told him Dodie was going to continue. Sorry again, Mike!
Dodie found more people to ride with and I wished her the best of luck. I put tack back on Steel and let her eat and drink while I waited in the shade for a trailer. One of the many wonderful volunteers held her for me while I made sure I had all my stuff together. Another one brought me a water bottle. Another grabbed me a turkey sandwich. These people were amazing and I was very, very grateful.
To my surprise, Steel was minding her manners even though Daizy was gone. She whinnied a little bit, but then accepted her fate and just stood with me while we waited and waited.
Dr. Bob checked on me about a million more times.
It wasn't long before Dean came up the hill with the horse ambulance. I had joined up with another rider, a gentleman who had also rider optioned at this hold. We would be sharing a ride back.
He was the one who told me about the various injuries that day. A lot of people were being pulled for the heat. Holly had come off her horse and landed on a sharp rock that pierced right through her knee. There was blood and joint fluid and gore. Another horse had fallen on trail and skinned his entire face. Many people had wiped out on the newly paved road crossing.
"They really didn't warn us enough about that," Cindy later complained.
I couldn't help myself. "It's fresh pavement and they mentioned it at the ride briefing. How much more warning do you need?"
Neither of our horses was particularly eager to get on a strange ramp load trailer, but both got on with minimal fuss.
It was a long ride back to camp. With many rides on the east coast, you're never more than a few miles away from the starting line, but at OD, they really have you go out, out, out. We were on the road for many miles.
When we got back to camp, I went right up to the treatment vet to get signed out. I recapped everything that had happened and trotted Steel down and back. It turns out that it's a very good thing that I pulled her when I did. She was gimping every step of the way, and she had a good bit of swelling in her good leg. The way things played out, she was sound the next day when she got home. Had I kept riding her, we would have done another miserable 13 miles only to get pulled for lameness at Bird Haven. Then, Steel really would have been broken! There is no shame in a rider option.
Mike found me shortly after I vetted, and he made sure I didn't need anything before running back to Bird Haven for Dodie's final hold.
I pulled the dogs out of Dodie's trailer where they'd been happily camping all day. Thank you Dodie for letting us stick them in there! It took one stress factor out of the day! Then I sat in a chair and watched Steel while she frantically paced her pen and screamed for Daizy. Thankfully, she respected the fence and eventually settled down. I think she wore herself out more in her time in the pen than she did in 30+ miles of mountain trail. Hey, at least she didn't knock herself out this time!
Sad Steel alone in her pen.
Soon, I moved to the finish line to cheer people on as they came in. A friend of mine crossed the line just before Cindy, and I tagged along with her asking, "Do you need help with anything?"
"No, I think I have it under control, thank you!"
"Let me rephrase that. I am crewing for you now! What do you need?"
Catching the tone in my voice, she asked what was up. I told her I was being a twelve year old and hiding from a certain someone.
"If she says one word to me, I'm going to punch her and get kicked out of AERC."
And that's when my friend asked, "Wait? Was that the b**** in orange?"
"Yes!!"
"OMG... I almost had it out with her myself!" Turns out my friend's horse was drinking from a trough when Cindy came riding up and threw her sponge right in his face, startling him out of drinking!! Woooooow... that takes some nerve.
I was waiting for her to complain to me about not helping her out, and I was going to have a major melt down.
Instead, I walked away and hung out with Stephanie and Kally, who had also rider optioned with Indy.
I kept checking our camp site every five minutes or so to make sure I didn't miss Mike coming back. I didn't see any sign of Cindy or Bailey.
Eventually, Poof appeared with Mike behind the wheel. He and Paula informed me that Dodie was having a hard time at the last hold. She was having some pretty serious heat exhaustion and was shaky and sick to her stomach. Daizy still looked good though.
We went back up to the finish line, where Mike set up water buckets, and I grabbed the camera.
A short while later, Dodie crossed the line on a lively looking Miss Daizy, and we cheered ourselves stupid.
Then, with my blistered feet, I sprinted down to the pen to get Steel. Steel was delighted to be reunited with Daizy, and I think Daizy was ok with seeing her too. We all pitched in to get Dodie safely on the ground and get Daizy's pulse down.
Mike and I took Daizy and Steel down to the vetting area and Mike vetted Daizy through for her completion. Dodie completed OD 50! I was thrilled for her. I wanted to squeeze the life out of her, but I think she would have puked if I did! It was worth all the drama and the heat and the tears to see Dodie's smile at the finish. Hooray!
As for Cindy... it turns out she got pulled at the finish. Metabolic. Bailey was, not surprisingly, done. Once again, she ran her horse too hard. I really wanted to shout, "How did racing your horse into the ground work out for you, asshole?"
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