Uh, that was a bit of an abrupt segue, picture-wise.

What actually happened is, we came into the last vet check and there was a sick horse there needing to be treated, so everyone was very busy. Combine that with the ever approaching thunder, they hustled us out there pretty sharpish.

We were probably there for the fifteen minute hold anyway, since Zini was eager to eat the alfalfa and carrots she'd discovered on the ground, and I just wanted to sit quietly with my knees bent to get the kinks out of them and my back. It was only another seven miles or so back to camp, so Nick set a healthy pace for us and we scuttled along, going faster than we had all day.

On the way back, we saw a bunch of white-tailed deer, and a strange kestrel type bird on the ground that was either having a problem or had a nest nearby that it was protecting - we never did quite figure out what it was doing. Don had to jump it when it suddenly appeared on the trail in front of him.

We finished at 5:15 and by figuring out who was behind us, I managed to wangle my fourth "Third From Last" finish, which I was quite pleased about (I failed dismally at the last ride by coming seventh from last... I mean, what use is that?).

The last section was actually really fun - travelling through yet more twisty sagebrush trail, and up and down. Had I been in better shape, I would have no doubt enjoyed it a lot more, but that was the only place I really felt like I paid for not riding much recently (it has been 102°F at my house for about a month, so riding hasn't been high on the list of "Ooh, yes, that's *just* what I want to do).

What I was most pleased about was that Zini got nearly all As all day - even for gut sounds and hydration, which she has suffered on in the past because she's not an early drinker. I think our slow pace in the morning really helped there - combined with the large amount of green grass to eat. That probably helped in the e-lyte department as well, although she did gobble up her e-lyted beetpulp mash at lunch.

She also got As for gait and impulsion, which was good because she's one of those 'trot beautifully at home, but either refuse to move or canter for the vet at rides' type of mares. This was her second 50 and fifth ride overall and I was really proud of her. She'd behaved well all day, been limitedly crabby (her trademark behaviour, normally), been quite good drinking from water troughs with other horses (OK, not brilliant - but good for her. She's improving), and was generally cheerful all day. The only place I worried about her was when the HRM was going bananas, and in retrospect, I suspect most of that was me worrying from me being tired, rather than her actually having any problem. All in all, a very successful ride - especially when you consider that the head vet, Susan McCartney, told us to take good care of our horses because this ride was a tough one and they'd had horses get very sick in the past.