Real "Endure"ance weekend

94 degrees and humidity. I don't know exactly how humid. The vet from eastern? Oklahoma said it was pleasant to him, but then they usually don't hold rides in July where its expected to be hot AND humid. Couple that with a course with lots of hills and being Shades first ride back after her virus, then my misdiagnosed allergies and it was extra tough. I knew I was not picking an easy ride going in and planned to just complete it, taking close to the full 12 hours allowed for official completion.

The ride manager had changed the course this year. I was all excited we would not go up and up on the last leg of the ride like last year. Joke was on me, the replacement loop had its own big old climb and then a good bit of the down from that was over slick rock. I'm not a geologist, but I suppose it was shale, it was flat, and very slippery to a shod hoof, so the horses had to pick their way down and it was neither fast, nor very restful for them. I was extremely lucky that Donna lost the trail on the first couple mile sub-loop to start the 2nd half of the ride and we wound up riding together when she caught up to me as she was doing it the 2nd time. She was on a fitter mare but hung with me and Shade and she did most of the navigation, and initated leading down the long rocky downhill stretch in the last sub-loop when Shade was tired and didn't want to move. I didn't remember it being that rocky, I don't know if thats just selective memory because Shade was happy to boogie down that hill last year, or if they had some road washouts and put down new gravel, using lots of very coarse stuff to not wash away easy.

We finished with only 10 minutes to spare, 9 horses and riders behind us finised with seconds rather than minutes to spare. Tough day to be riding a horse ready for completion only but all the horses finished in good health. Dr Self was sure a blessing. He is used to seeing horses being heat stressed and advised riders who needed to do extra cooling and how to get it done. I hope he and his friends have a wonderful vacation trail riding in the Big Horns now.

And I sure hope the next ride is just a ride, My steel magnolia came through this tempering in good form but I don't think we need more hardening for a while.