3 rides in 1997

 

Hi everyone- I'm writing this mostly to brag about the California winter

riding season. Here it is early April- we have had three perfect rides

in terms of the weather so far this year. Becky Hart puts on a series

of four 50 and 25 mile events called the Shine and Shine Only rides.

She schedules one for the third week in January, Feb, March, and April

in the Almaden Quicksilver Park down in San Jose. The rides are only

canceled if there is too much rain before the ride, so you have to watch

the weather carefully. This year we have had two SASO rides so far-

the third is scheduled for April 19th. The rides are just perfect for

keeping your horse going throughout the brutal Northern California

winters, where we have to actually put on a jacket to go out and ride in

December. Hey- someone has to live here! These rides are easy to

medium in difficulty, which makes them even better for winter riding,

and they make a perfect first ride for newcomers. The entire route is

on two lane fire roads which offer great footing- no rocks, but the

roads can get a little hard in places.

 

These rides were just what I was looking for since my young horse Shatta

is back from his suspensory injury fourteen months ago. (seems like a

lifetime now) We went back to work last October, making plans for the

first SASO ride to be his comeback ride. We started out at the very

back, wanting only to get through with a completion and a sound right

front leg. The day was perfect weather wise- sunny and cool. We went

out and had a fantastic time, mostly trotting, some nice slow cantering,

with me running down some of the long hills off his back. Vet checks?

We walked right in at criteria every time. We finished 29th out of 45

or so riders on the fifty in perfect shape. The horse was still totally

fresh, but most importantly the leg looked perfect! Not to mention we

made it through the fifty miles without a single spook, and for my

horse, that's saying a lot. He's getting better with every ride.

Confidence, understanding, and calmness have done the trick- getting mad

at spooking just made it worse. Ride and learn is my new motto. My

wife Judy Long rode her infamous Appaloosa Warpaint (one of the great

spotted ones) in the 25 mile ride just to satisfy her concern that his

hocks are all better after his slip down fall at Tevis last July. She

finished with a very fresh horse- it takes Warpaint 20 miles to warm up!

This was Judy's first ever 25 mile ride in her career. Her comments?

"Nice to stop, but way to short."

 

We waited three whole weeks, then went back and did the next Shine and

Shine on March 22nd. Once again, another perfect day greeted the ride-

no rain! Judy and I both rode the 50 this time. I started out near

the back again and rode along at a nice moderate pace. I hooked up with

Kathy Ruiz (another ridecamper) and a friend of hers after a while.

Kathy rides Al Marah Tamirand (spelling?), although technically he's her

husband's horse. We rode together off and on all day, enjoying the

perfect ride conditions. I had one wild experience when my saddle

slipped down to the left on Shatta's back as we were cantering around a

turn just before the first loop ended. My left foot was down near the

ground, my right foot up near his back- I grabbed his neck to keep from

falling off. I asked him to "whoa", which he did. He stopped from a

canter with me clinging to his neck. What a good boy. After lunch we

did the same loop again, spending some riding time with Dennis Souza on

his big gray gelding. His wife Joyce was riding Jim-Bob, but they

stopped at lunch due to what she thought might be an abscess. Jim-Bob

was an alternate on the US team for Kansas- he's a great horse. Kathy

and I cantered up the road to the finish with two very strong horses.

I almost fell off the saddle again when they told us we were in 11th and

12th place. I couldn't believe it- we were just out riding nice and

steady, relaxing the entire way. What a blast! Judy got her money's

worth from her entry fee, finishing way at the end of the pack with

another very bored Warpaint. No sign of injury from either of our

horses! So far so good. So good, in fact, that Judy is nominating

Warpaint for the North American Championships again this year. She had

to drop out with hoof problems 2 years ago, but the Spotted Speedster is

back!

 

Our third ride was Saturday April 5th, but wasn't quite an endurance

ride. I rode in my first IAHA 30 mile Competitive Trail Ride. I have

worked a bunch of these in the past as a favor, and rode in a 15 mile

one a while back, but this was my first attempt at the longer distance

in the "slower" ride. I was actually dreading the "5 Miles an Hour"

pace before the ride, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun it

was. We were able to move along throughout the day at a decent clip,

although still very slow compared to an endurance ride. But what the

heck- I wanted to give it a try. The weather was perfect again during

the day, if you don't count the frozen water buckets the night before

the ride. There were a lot of cold campers out there. (Poor me- I had

to get up at midnight to switch the propane tanks on my camper when the

heater went off. I hate it when that happens!) Judy worked the ride

for ride manager Rita Schlim- These rides are not Wapaint's cup of tea.

Like Judy says- his resting pulse is about 40, so trying to get him to

stand still and recover to 40 is like trying to ice fish in July. But

as for Shatta, well, we had a good day. We won the thing. He scored 99

out of 100 total points. I couldn't believe it when they called my name

at the awards ceremony. I knew he was doing well throughout the ride,

but he must have really impressed the judges. Funny- I wasn't sure if

I even wanted to ride the event, but now I'm glad I did. It was a lot

of fun! I'm not about to turn in my AERC card, but I did learn a lot

about how much fun other types of rides can be. I can recommend these

rides to any endurance rider, especially one who is doing conditioning,

or bringing a horse back. My barn buddy and conditioning partner Sally

Abe took a well deserved fifth place on her spunky Arabian gelding

Ahkiba, riding her third competitive event. Judy went out and rode

drag, then did a twenty mile loop at speed, picking up ribbons as she

sailed down the trails. She says Warpaint stops under the ribbons, but

I don't believe her.

 

The good news is both Warpaint and Shatta are back from the injured

reserve, and hopefully we will have a good year.

 

Nick Warhol & Shatta (Who is now 1 for 1 on the

competitive trail circuit.)

Rowan (Who is still old, but knows he can whoop

Shatta's tail if he really wanted to)

 

Hayward, California (Where the weather is really

good. Sorry about that, East Coast!)