The nice thing about taking the break, followed by taking Mouse to rides, was that I changed my attitude towards Provo. Previously, I had been very uptight about what he was allowed to do in terms of speed and gait. He is a very forward moving horse and also really rough to ride, physically. During the summer when we started our real conditioning, I became a lot more lenient - so long as he wasn't being really stupid, he was allowed to move out. I gave up on the (pointless) idea of trying to make him walk or drink at times when that sort of behaviour was obviously out of the question. I worked really hard on not clamping onto the reins and getting stuck in that position for hours. 

And it paid off. I was more relaxed, Provo was more relaxed, and instead of getting exhausted and sore from fighting with him, we had much more fun. He didn't even feel so rough (fancy that? <grin>)...

Getting There

Predictably I left home 30 mins late (which actually isn't bad for me... except that I planned to try and leave an hour before I had to, so I was actually 1.5 hours late). Picked Patrick up from work in Sacramento at 2 pm and carried on up I-5 to hw-20. By the time we got to Clear Lake, the temps were in the 100s and we pulled over to the side of the road in Lucerne to let Patrick run across the road and use the bathroom in a little park there beside the lake. I was so hot, driving, that I decided to pull into the park (mostly a boat ramp and car park) and just get out for a minute or so, and let Chili stand in the lake, and me paddle for 30 seconds.

As I walked back to the trailer, I was trying to figure out where the hissing water noise was coming from... er... that's not hissing water, Lucy, that's air coming out of the hole in the side of your trailer tyre where that chunk of glass is sticking in. I guess when we first pulled over, we rubbed the curb and went through some broken glass. <sigh>

So we spent 35 mins in the park, with Patrick lying on the oily ground changing the tyre (and it turns out we'd misplaced the crank for the jack, so he had to turn it 1/8th turn each time to get it jacked up), while I walked the pone around the car park.

But it was the perfect place to get a flat tyre. Shady trees, quiet, space to turn around easily, etc. Provo amazed and astonished the [non-horsie] spectators in the car park by being “magnificent”. They got to feed him carrots, and he walked around and managed not to stand on anyone.

As I commented to Patrick, non-horsie people always think Provo is “magnificent”, while horsie people always say “Why is his tail that orange color?”. Different eye for detail :)

Pulled into ride camp in Dunlap ~6 pm. Didn't get to use my spiffy new Spring Tie, as the camp was so crowded, we could barely squeeze in. It was a campground in the woods, so you had to slalom to get anywhere. Patrick ended up having to do a 64 point turn to back the trailer and squash it into a space - with the help of the Cynthia and Hillary from Lari Shea’s ranch, who were really experienced at backing cruise liners (that being what they do for a living - drive a 13 horse trailer around), and we only took out one campsite post in the process. But we ended up being so close to the horse next door that the Spring Tie wasn't going to work (so we used it for the dog).

Went to vet in and the vet says “why is his tail that color, did you dye it?”  :))))   SEE??

Ended up high-tying Provo between two trees, which worked fine, and actually gave him more space, as we put him on a slider. In the morning, he stood like an angel to be tacked up, half asleep, and once I got his HRM on, I checked him and he was at 28. Blinkin. I'd almost think he was mature. (and he didn't step on me once).

The Start and Loop 1

We got to the start and I'd just given my number and was standing right next to the start line when they said “The trail is open”  Huh?  The first five or so front runners went off, and I didn't see any point in just standing there, so set off after them along the dirt road.

Of course, immediately people started passing us, even though Provo was cantering. But this seems to be his style - all the horses are trotting along, and Provo's doing a nice easy canter (with me clinging on, on top trying to get him to trot). We rode next to a lady with a horse that must have won the coolest gait prize. It was a spanish warmblood/something/something cross and had a real spring to its trot. The lady said it was like riding a rabbit. Too cool.

Eventually, she proved too fast for us, so we dropped back with some other horses, Provo still cantering. Up and up we went, through the fog on a dirt road and pretty soon I was really hot and clammy. I've never worked a horse hard in thick fog and ~60 degree temps before, and they had warned us that the horses don't cool well, so I fretted a bit about that (I was baking, so the horse must be too). I was also worried about the footing being slimy, as I couldn't tell if it was clay or sand-based, but it seemed OK.

What most of Loop 1 looked like, except much foggier (this was Loop 2)

After going up and up, we had to come down and down. And naturally there was much more down-ness than there had been upness (why is that?). I ended up hooking behind Kathy Zellers and Jessica Tuteur and that seemed to work pretty well, except that they never stopped trotting. Each downhill we came to, I though “they'll walk now” - but no, down the hill, trot, trot, trot. Occasionally they walked for about 20' before setting off again. <gulp>

I knew there was no point trying to make Provo walk and let them leave (tried it one time and he ended up going super fast to catch up, so it back-fired), and we didn't pass anyone suitable to hook back with (the only lady I considered, ended up passing up 5 mins later, so I'm glad I didn't hook up with her - she must have been going fast - slow - fast - slow. At least Kathy and Jessica were going a nice even pace, even if it was a tad faster than I fancied going.

Jessica (who runs the Napa Wine Country ride) said that she had tried to do this ride once before, but the horse she was riding came up lame, and Kathy had ridden it before, but showed us the place where her horse spooked and dumped her, and then the section of trail she rode holding a water bottle to her face where she'd done a face plant falling off. :)

We ended up doing the first 15 miles loop in 1.5 hours (wheee!) and seemingly never stopped trotting <angst>.

Vet Check #1

Came into the first vet check and decided, OK, enough of that speed-trottin' business. Let the ladies PnR while I showed the water trough to Provo. He ignored the water trough, so after 5 mins or so we wandered back and pulsed in at 60 (Kathy and Jessica were just leaving the PnR area on the way to the vet check, so that created a momentary fret moment for Provo). 

They had set criteria at 60 for all the checks, because of the foggy conditions.

There was a 15 min hold here and he vetted through fine, but with a B in guts (no surprises there seeing as he hadn't drunk). When the time went for them to go out, Kathy called over “Are you ready?” and I told her that I still had 5 mins and that I wanted to slow down a bit so they should go ahead. She said “Maybe you'll catch us up later?” and I said “I hope not!” - which, looking back, didn't quite come out right - that wasn't what I meant at all, as I enjoyed riding with them, they were just going faster than I was comfortable with. 

Five minutes later, Jessica was back. Her mare had felt funny coming into the check, and although the vet couldn't really see anything, when she went back out on Loop 2 she could feel it more, so she came back to pull. :(

Seeing as I wanted Provo to eat and drink, I waited an extra 20 mins after our 15 mins were up, but all he wanted to do was nibble at other people's hay (which, turned out to be ride-management provided - <sigh> I only figured that out as we were leaving). He never really did much more than nibble, which wasn't so good, although he seemed pretty calm.

At one point he was going to pee on the edge of the "other people's hay” and someone told me to move him, so I did. But then of course he wouldn't pee again. Next time I'll just kick the hay out of the way.

The pee-lady hovered for a while. Nice lady by the name of Billie. She took all our details "just in case", but Provo never performed for her, so we didn't get drug tested afterall.

Note to self: remember to put a cooler in the crew bag. I'd packed a cordura hay bag with hay, beetpulp, carrots, my lunch, and 4 water bottles, but all he wanted were the carrots. Next time a cooler goes in too, as it was foggy at that check and he was shivering and a little stiff by the time we left after 35 mins or so, so I felt bad.

Loop 2

Snip and Forrest

Went out again on Loop 2 which was 21 miles. I thought Provo would be really settled, but he immediately wanted to trot - and I soon figured out why when I saw the back end of a horse disappear around the corner ahead of us. Caught up with the person and dropped to a walk and we introduced ourselves and it was Forrest Tancer, who I rode the Lake Sonoma ride with Mouse the previous year (the last 50 I did). How funny!

Forrest was on a new horse - Snip - who was an arab/saddlebred with a really fast trot (he said he'd clocked him at 18 mph!). Forrest was a bit dismayed by how hyper Snip'd been on the first loop and wanted to go slow, which suited me fine, so we hooked up and stayed together for the rest of the ride.

Snip, apparently, didn't like any of the potential "buddies" on offer on the first loop, but he liked Provo. And Forrest just wanted to go slow to develop the idea in Snip that you *could* do rides and hang out, you didn't have to race the entire way. So it worked perfectly - I more or less got to ride my own ride: trot where I wanted and walk where I wanted, and they kept us company.

Loop 2 started up a looooong steep hill which was mostly singletrack, so we walked most of the way, and then it went around  the mountain on a doubletrack, and we trotted some of that, and walked some. It was still foggy on the mountain, so we never got to see any of the spectacular views, which was a shame, as I bet they were great - the hillside we were on was really steep, and looked out over a canyon... allegedly. :)

It took me about 14 miles to realise that we were doing Loop 2 in an anti-clockwise direction - I'd thought we were going clockwise and was therefore *really* confused by the terrain, as we just didn't seem to be doing quite what I expected.

Because of the fog, it felt like most of what we did all day was trot along fire/logging roads in the trees, so it wasn't quite as interesting as some rides, but I had good company, so it was fine.

Came down off the second loop in good shape. Of course, having gone up, we had to come down again, so we walked most of the long downhill dirt road, but still managed to do the loop in ~3 hours (21 miles... 7 mph. Hmmm).

Vet Check #2

Provo had drunk a little on that loop, but still not great, but the weather was weird for him, so I wasn't too concerned, and also not surprised when he had a B- for guts at the "lunch check" at the end of Loop 2. The VC was the same spot as the previous check, so we had our crew bags again.
Snip had a slight problem at this check, so they wanted to keep his card and have Forrest take him back for a recheck at the end of the hour hold.  Provo vetted through fine, still with As for attitude and impulsion, so I was pretty happy. He was still pulling on me the whole time wanting to go fast, but starting to settle down a little (this was at 36 miles).

By now, he was hungry (finally) so ate everyone else's stuff. Luckily, the "stuff" (some sort of grain mixture he was slurping off the ground) belonged to someone who was just leaving (Bob Spoor), so it was OK. Bob also kindly lent me a cooler, which I was very grateful for - thanks Bob!

After an hour Snip got taken back to the vet and was much better, so he was allowed to continue.

Provo was standing in front of a bucket of water, so I elyted him with one applesauce + ~1 oz of Perform n' Win, plus another syringe of straight applesauce and he was OK with that. He didn't drink, mind, but at least he could if he wanted to. He ate carrots and apples and the "stuff" and a bit of hay, so that was OK.

Just before we left, the guy picking up crew bags came round and took mine with him. I thought about putting my yellow vest into the crew bag, as it was quite a lot warmer because the fog had burned off, but in the end stuffed it into my Camelbak instead. Good I did - as you'll hear later.

I'd actually eaten a good part of my lunch - some sliced turkey, some sliced cheese, a few goldfish crackers and some dried cranberries, and was eyeing the red vines, but decided against them. On the trail, I also ate two Gus and a munchy bar, so for once I did really good in the eating department.

And I drunk 90 oz of water! and it wasn't even that hot. My new Camelbak worked great. It's so much comfier than the old one. The only trouble was that the straps kept loosening themselves in the first loop from all the trotting, so I had to tighten them all the time, but I might be able to jam them better next time.

We took our time at this hold and ended up staying an hour and 35 mins, which was very good for the pones, as they needed to fuel up a bit better When we finally started to get ready to go again, I discovered that poor Provo was really sore in his armpits and as I was tacking up, I realised why.

Prior to this ride, I'd had the saddle rigged using the back cinch ring as well, so the cinch was being held further back, but after the 25 mile ride we did three weeks ago (Euer Valley Ride & Tie Championships), he'd gotten a loin rub. Rigging the saddle that way makes it very snug, so I'd put it back to "normal" rigging for the last couple of weeks - with the cinch just on the front cinch ring, which brings it further forwards.

On Tuesday, I'd ridden him with a different cinch, as the one I used on Saturday was in the wash. The other cinch doesn't have a breast collar ring on it, so I'd used a biothane BC loop/ring thingy. Which sticks forwards an extra ~2-3". Which means you have to shorten the BC strap that goes between his legs. Which means you have to remember to lengthen it again when you go back to the other cinch (which has a built-in BC ring). And guess who forgot, so the BC was really tight? Couple that with having the martingale clipped to it, and him pulling cheerfully for the first 30 miles, keeping the martingale tight, so that kept the BC strap tight between his legs... ACK.

Anyway. I got out my Desitin, which thankfully hadn't exploded in the cantle bag for the four years I've been carrying it around, and slathered it on. Next time, I'm going to get the creamy version, as the "ointment type" is quite hard to smear on, without dragging across the already sore skin - so Provo was about ready to take a chunk out of me by the time I was finished and I felt so bad.

Got the saddle on, the armpits completely slathered and stretched forward, left the cinch nice and loose, loosened up the BC ~5" so it would only pull in an emergency, and dragged him to the start line. He was taking tiny steps and not at all keen to move, and once again, I felt so bad. However, he'd also been standing for an hour and half at that point, and within five minutes he'd loosened up nicely and after that showed no real signs of discomfort, even when I trotted him out for the next vet check and the final one - although he did get a B on gait, so it must have been showing a little.

My HRM stopped working after this check, but then I discovered that I'd forgotten to put the electrode on the cinch <g>. And when I did try and put it in there, the cinch was so coated in Desitin that it just slithered out, esp. as the cinch was so loose, it wasn't really connecting anyway. Provo's built in such a way that, so long as you're not doing really twisty singletrack, you can ride with a really loose cinch and not have any problems - it's just hard to get on and off the horse without skewing the saddle as you get on.

Forrest commented, as he held Provo, that the smell reminded him of fatherhood. :)

Loop 3

Up the long hill we went, walking, to a water stop at ~3 miles - both pones drank well. Then another couple of miles up, up, up, to a vet check, where his pulse was at 184... until I realised the electrode had fallen out again (at which point, I gave up on it). Then we had another ~10 miles to putz back again. The fog had cleared and we were able to look at the pretty views. At one point we could even see the fog over on the coast.

This section was part of an old mountain railway, and there were places where they had cut the sharp corners for the railway by building huge railway trestles (like short bridges) by the side of the trail out of massive sections of wood, so it was pretty interesting, trotting along. As I say, we putzed most of this whole loop, taking our time. I was a little worried about Snip, although he seemed fine, and I was much more interested in finishing sound and completing than I was in coming in fast, and getting pulled at the finish.

My knees/legs were a bit sore from the downhill trotting, and the fronts of my thighs/pubis were sore from being banged into the pommel (the main trouble with a high pommel - you stay in the saddle, but on Provo, it can get a little rough as his downward transitions aren't the smoothest). So we walked any significant downhills and only trotted short distances. Provo thought that sucked and kept asking "Can we trot now?... what about now?... now?...how 'bout...?", so he was a bit jiggy, but I was thrilled that he was so perky.   :)

We finally came down the hill and to the finish. Yay!! Provo was ravenous and wanted to eat anything he could see, but there wasn't much on hand. We still had another 1/4 to 1/2 mile of singletrack alongside the road, to get back to the ride camp, and the final vet check. This singletrack was in loamy soil, under the trees, and, predictably, having done a whole 50 miles with only one slip, Provo fell down and cut up his knee. <roll eyes>

Patrick and our dog Chili were out on this trail to greet us, which was really nice. They'd gone out in the morning and ridden ~10 vertical uphill miles in the woods with her, and Chili had totally ruined Patrick's self-esteem by not being remotely tired. I think the cool, foggy weather agrees with her. Patrick was pooped, though :)

At the final check, Provie vetted through fine - just a B on his gait, which didn't surprise me. He had so many As throughout the day, I was super-proud of him. <beaming proud mother>.

They started 51 riders in the 50 and 48 finished. Forrest and I were 42nd and 43rd. In the 30, they had ~29 starters and only a couple of pulls. Not one horse was treated, so the 60 pulse did its job. The horse that won the 50 also got BC (and is barefoot and competing in EZ boots, interestingly).

We won a flat-sided bucket (which is perfect, as I just bought a couple of bucket holders for the trailer that use flat-sided buckets), and we won a really good vet card :)))))

Afterwards

After the ride, I put Provo on the high-line and iced his front legs for ~25 mins, then slapped poultice on all four legs, wrapped them in wet paper towels, and wrapped his front legs with pillows and bandages - but not super tight.

That was ~6pm. When I finally got to bed at ~10 pm, I suddenly remembered that I'd promised not to leave his legs wrapped overnight - after last time when they were so warm the following morning. So I dragged me back out of bed and unwrapped him. He had an insignificant amount of filling in his fetlocks, but nothing really to speak of. Back legs were fine. In the morning I picked the dried poultice off and he was fine, so I quite like that poultice stuff. I think the cool weather must have helped though, because we did so much trotting on those dirt roads. They weren't super-hard, but they weren't exactly soft footing, either.

His armpits really don't look too bad the next day and most of the swelling is gone, so I think they'll mend fast. He has a small rub mark on his chest from the tight BC.

And curiously he has raised areas about 2" in diameter on either side of his neck. These seem to be from where my rope reins rubbed all day - with me holding him too tightly (another thing I have to work on. I forgot my resolution to keep trying to drop my reins, then check him, then drop them, then check him, then drop them, etc). Too weird. I'm guessing they need a good wash, as they must be encrusted in sweat and dirt, even though they don't look too bad.

 The loin rub was no worse (phew), although I'll be glad when his winter coat comes in properly - it's just starting to show signs.

Very sadly, when I went to get my crewbag back at camp, it had vanished. I know it was brought back, so can only assume someone thought it was theirs <sigh>. So I'll put a note out on Ridecamp to see if someone realises it's not theirs when they get home (they'll know as soon as they unpack it and find the remains of my lunch, red vine supply, and the four water bottles that I didn't even use in there <grrrr>)> Hope I get it back, but it's a lesson in clearly marking *everything* with my name in the future. Thank goodness I didn't put my yellow vest in there!

I might even go for a "crew box". Dori Johnson (who I'd been emailing with prior to the ride, but never met until I saw her at the first vet check) had a big Rubbermaid tub with her name on. Hard to "accidentally" pick up. And you can sit at it at a check (as I said, you can sit on the ground, but you might not be able to get up again <g>). Or you could put your saddle on it, as a saddle tree? Worth a thought next time around.

What else? I saw a tiny striped snake on the last loop. That was about it for wildlife - but considering how foggy it was, we didn't get to see much of anything most of the time.

Chili was a good dog. Grizzle was a good parrot and only screamed when I came back at the finish (and then all the next morning whenever I went out of sight <g>).

On the way home, we drove 20 miles inland and it was 100 degrees again (from the 65°F at Dunlap). Phew. 

That's the first time Patrick has used the "new housie" in the trailer. It's easier to refine the insides when you're actually using it and know what's needed. I actually finished most of the insulation on Friday morning - I had four panels I needed to cut for the ceiling. I'm glad I did as it got rid of the condensation problem and kept us snug. I still have to insulate the nose, but that's a bit fiddly, as it curves around. I asked Patrick if he could think of anything he wanted built in the nose, next to his side of the bed, but he said so far, all he'd done was sleep as soon as he hit the bed, so he didn't really think so. :)     (I still have to panel over the insulation, as it's ugly foam board with writing on it).

Provo scratchy face from wearing a fly mask in the trailer

Poor Patrick. He drove us all the way back to Sacramento where we picked up our car from his work, so I only had to drive the last hour. 

When we got to his work, we unloaded Provo for five minutes to let him stretch his legs and clear his passageways. Patrick was worried he'd poop in the car park (his work people just wouldn't understand, we decided), but miraculously Provo waited until I loaded him back up again. :)

Strangely, I was in a lot better shape than I thought I was going to be (especially when I was so sore after the Euer Valley ride, which was half the distance). When I got home, I sat in the hot tub for half an hour or so, and we were both out cold by 9:15 on Sunday night.