• Saturday 10 January
• Sunday 11 January
• Tuesday 13 January
• Saturday 17 January
• Sunday 18 January
• Tuesday 20 January
• Sunday 25 January
• Thursday 29 January
• Saturday 31 January
• Sunday 1 February
• Friday 6 February
• Sunday 8 February
• Tuesday 10 February
• Friday 13 February
• Sunday 15 February
• Saturday 21 February
• Tuesday 2 March
• Fri-Sun 5-7 March
• Tuesday 9 March
• Wednesday 10 March
• Friday 12 March
• Sunday 14 March
• Saturday 20 March
• Sunday 28 March
  
• Friday 2 April
• Sunday 4 April
• Friday 16 April
• Sunday 18 April
• Saturday 24 April
• Sunday 2 May
• Saturday 8 May

Saturday 10 January
3 miles - local

Having not ridden since 18th November, we finally started our Tevis training. The pone is barefoot and grubby. We kicked off with a "nice, calm, short ride" along Andy Wolf which turns to dirt half a mile from my house, and then continues for another 2.5 miles along the hilly ridge.

Provo was positively dormant, giving me the softest, slowest trot ever along the paved part (shorten those barefoot toes). "Wow, I thought, I could ride *this* for 100 miles". 

(<snicker> lull that girl into a false sense of security).

We went as far as where the power lines cross the road. The trail down under the power lines is going to be my "canyon training hill". It's somewhat short - maybe a quarter mile - but really steep. Not wanting to overdo it, we started by going down the first 20' or so before turning for home.

So much for the "nice, calm ride". Provo immediately went into 'bounce mode' - he does a sort of canter in place combined with the faintest suggestion of going into a buck, while tossing his head around, just to keep it interesting.

So we bounced back along the road, me trying to keep it together into a semblance of trotting (no point even *trying* for a walk at that point).

When we finally got back into civilisation, I opted to go home via the short "Bear Trail". This is a short section of trail that goes up the BLM land next to and behind our house. It basically loops around and brings me into the rear of our property, instead of just going up the driveway from the road. It is named the "Bear Trail" because we once saw bear poop on it. Haven't seen the bear, though. Rumour has it, he might have been relocated after getting rather too pushy and invasive - he got into my neighbour's well house where she stores her dog food by ripping the door off. The well house is *inside* the dog enclosure and the dog is a great dane...).

The only catch with the Bear Trail is that it has a dead tree down across it right now, with sticky-uppy 6" long snags on it. So this was our "Cougar Rock training", trying to get him over that (he's gone over it numerous times, but apparently this time it was rather more than he could manage <hold hand to brow>).

When we finally got home, pft commented that I must have worked him hard as he was really sweaty. I explained that *I* was walking, not sure what *he* was doing. pft offered the old adage: "the rider picks the speed, while the horse picks the gait, right?".

Sunday 11 January
~10 miles - Cool Olmstead loop

Went to Cool for our "long ride". I don't want to overuse the trail from home and get really bored by it (although riding Provo back along it isn't exactly what I'd call dull).

Cool was absolutely packed but we managed to squeeze into a spot. It turned out to be right next to where Dana and her friend were parked. They were just coming in from the trail when I arrived. Spent 45 "valuable training minutes" <snort> yakking with her, before heading out. Had I known she was riding, we could have hooked up (didn't read her email about being there until Monday morning). But it's probably just as well, as it was her friend's first time out on her new TB, and Provo isn't exactly the most calming influence.

Opted to ride the whole of the 9 mile loop, with weavy singletrack additions where available, but do it slow. Provo had other ideas to start with, deciding to go into bounce mode, necessitating two handed-riding - one hand to grip the reins tightly bunched near his neck, the other to anchor the reins in place while keeping me in the saddle. Boy, am I sore today, and waddling around.

After about 2-3 miles, he finally settled down and was content to go on a loose rein at a nice walk. I didn't ask for a trot, unless he offered it - which, staggering along the back part of the loop, he wasn't inclined to do.

Because he was going so slowly, I spent some time fretting about his legs, his barefootedness, his lack of conditioning, until we got in a minor discussion at a right turn which led back to the trailhead. Save me from horses with a sense of direction. I assured him that we wouldn't be taking any shortcuts and that, yes, we were doing the entire loop. He continued to sulk along the trail, walking very slowly. Then I fretted about "perhaps it was my imagination that he has a good walk". I wanted to do the loop slowly, but not that slowly. I even let him stop and eat grass along the way, to try and cheer him up [sucker], and got off and led him down the long, red hill to give him a break and persuade my knees to uncreak.

(Note to self - figure out a good leading rope that can stay permanently attached to his halter, as faffing with the rein snaps and martingale isn't going to work. See what R&T people use?)

When we finally rounded the turn for home at Pointed Rocks, all my frets were obliterated by him miraculously recovering and trying to canter down the hill. I again suggested that we at least trot, so long as he didn't trip. He promptly tripped. No, not trip, trot. And he tripped again. Long toes R us. He's not due for farriering until 23rd in two weeks, but I may attack him with the rasp before then.

Made it back to the now-deserted staging area in a blistering 2.5+ hours. There were only two other trailers left, one containing the two fjord ponies I'd passed on the trail. Yay, fjord ponies. Wonder if you could ride them in endurance?

It was quite a balmy afternoon - I rode in just a t-shirt and fleece cardie. My hands were jolly cold, though, by the time we were done and I spent quite a lot of time experimenting with inserting them into various places to keep them warm. When I lean forward to put them under Provo's [very pathetic] mane, he thinks I'm asking to pick up the trot (as he does when I try and check the cinch or push down my rucked up leggins), so that wasn't great, and sticking them in my pockets didn't seem the safe thing to do (particularly when I started thinking about the mtn biker that just got eaten by a mountain lion in southern California last Thursday).

Provo wasn't really sweaty from his exertions, which was the idea, and was dry under his cooler by the time we got home.

Monday 12 January

Legs a little puffy from Sunday's ride - this seems to be pretty normal as he doesn't seem to walk around much when it's muddy and cool. Will keep an eye on them, though. Left front and left rear are the ones to watch.

Tuesday 13 January
3 miles - local

Along Andy Wolf again to the power lines and back.  Provo seems to have given up on bounce mode for a while (or is lulling me into a false sense of security). On our way back - because that was the only time he offered to trot off without being asked - we worked on real one-rein stops (not "kinda sorta one-rein stops") . But he was pretty half-hearted about it, so it wasn't much of a contest. He did some nice sidepassing (including sidling up to a bank and standing still while I got Chili Dog to come up to us and so I could lean down and turn on the light on her collar. He didn't try and bite Chili or stand on her. Good work, men) . He was dry when we got home (despite doing speed walk all the way home) and his legs were nice and tight again, so they just needed exercise, evidently.

After faffing so much with the reins when I got off to lead him on Sunday, we dropped by REI last night and I bought myself 15' of thin rope to use as a permanent lead on his halter - à la Ride & Tie style.

Not sure what I'm going to do with the extra 11' of rope that will be attached to the saddle when we're going along, but I'll work on it. I was scrutinising last year's Tevis pics and found a pic of Jeff Herten and Tuggy using this sort of set-up. It looks like he has three small loops tied into the rope, with a carabiner clipped through the loops to make two big dangly loops along the front edge of his saddle. I think his rope is maybe 12' long?

I think R&T people use the carabiners for this - that way they just quickly clip the lead around a tree. I played with the carabiners in REI and the "real ones" are much nicer on the fingers than the snaps you get in feed stores - nice and smooth, so the rope doesn't snag. Plus you can hold onto the carabiner when you're tailing. That'll be useful. <snort>

I tied the line onto his halter for today's ride, made one loop and stuffed the rest into the pommel bag. Will have to work on this set up further, as the knots are too bulky.

Saturday 17 January
3 miles - local

We spent Friday cutting a new trail on the BLM land behind our house. It was a pre-existing but very overgrown dirt track. By Friday 7pm, I was fast asleep in bed with blistered fingers and aching back. Well worth the effort, though. Patrick went back and worked on it some more this morning and Provo and I rode it this evening. It by-passes a half mile section of the paved road along Andy Wolf Rd.

Apart from not wanting to push through the bushes at the very start (we've kind of disguised the entrance), once we were on the trail, Provo was pretty cheerful about it. I kept it the whole ride to a walk, except for trotting up once short hill. I coaxed him 30' down the section under the power lines (softly, softly, so he doesn't even notice we're doing it <grin>) before turning for home.

On the way home, he was once again quite relaxed, so we only had to practice a very few one-rein stops. We also did our sidling over to a bank to turn on the light on Chili's collar again. All in all, he's very mellow right now and being a good boy.

It was pretty dark by the time we were coming back along the road and normally I stay on the paved part, but this time I decided we ought to practice our night riding in the bushes, so we turned up the Bear Trail. That all went pretty well (Patrick and I had trimmed the stubs sticking out of the downed tree so Provo couldn't slice open his legs) until we got to the very last section which comes into the back of our property. The trees and bushes are very thick there and almost cover the trail in a tunnel, so I couldn't see a single thing at all and had to rely on Provo to get us home - which he did flawlessly. I only got slapped in the face once by a branch, and Provo only got tangled up in a bush in the last ten feet, but extracted himself without fuss. Good boy!

Legs still nice and tight, finished the ride cooled off. Fiddled with the permanently attached lead rope - it's a bit faffy, trying to untangle it from the reins and martingale when I first get on, so I'm still not sure about it, and pushing through the undergrowth it worried me a little, too, in case it got caught on something. Still thinking about it.

Sunday 18 January
7 miles - Cool Olmstead loop south

In a fit of disorganization, I got to Cool so late that the sun was hitting the horizon right as we left the trailhead for our "long ride". Despite this, we still managed to get in some nice trotting before it got too dark to see the footing. We ended up riding about 4 miles in the dark.

Provo's bare feet were evidently bothering him, as he kept veering up the side of the trail to walk on the soft stuff (not that I could actually see the trail half the time) , but then would trip from not picking up his long toes enough. Thank goodness he's due for shoeing next Friday.

It was pretty spooky out there on our own (Chili has a poorly foot, so couldn't join us) in the fog and dark (with thoughts of the recent mountain lion attack in Southern California looming in my mind... I sang loudly), and also damn cold, so I ended up cutting the loop short a few miles (probably much to Provo's relief).

We trotted maybe 2 miles in total? Worked on changing my diagonals and then changing them back again when Provo would canter, or bump me back onto his preferred left side.

Tuesday 20 January
4 miles - local

Along the new trail to Andy Wolf to the power lines and back with Patrick on the mountain bike.  Provo seemed to think that Patrick's sole purpose was to be raced and behaved accordingly <roll eyes>. So we trotted up two and half of the three hills, and upped the effort to a third of the way down the power lines and back again at a walk (well, at least that's what I was doing).

The fight over speed and gait (i.e. jigging to get home) makes me wonder about bits. Perhaps using a french snaffle for this local riding would be good (maybe set up Mouse's bridle for this, to save having to swap bits?), seeing as we seem to end up doing a fair few one-rein stops and the kimberwicke isn't the greatest tool for those. I also wonder about an S-hack - for when he settles down later in a ride, although I'm probably dreaming there.

Am getting better at managing the light-weight lead rope - although mounting can get confusing if I get on on a different side to the one expected. Still better than figuring out reins, snaps and martingales.

Thursday 29 January

The sign-ups list went up on the Tevis website and Provie n' me appear to be on it, which is very strange indeed.

I feel like there's something inherently "wrong" about us being listed... ("They aren't real 100 milers...They're just faking it... Infiltrators!"). I wonder if other people feel that way, or if turning up on the entry list is "no big deal" to them?

Training has slowed for a week because of lots of rain on the days I'm able to ride (of course it's sunny on the days I'm at work). In theory, riding in the rain isn't that bad, but when it rains here, right now that equates to being *in* the clouds, so it's rainy and foggy and I really can't summon the enthusiasm to go out in it. So instead I've contented myself with viewing the japanese Tevis video and noting how many people are wearing splint boots, etc.

Saturday 31 January
4 miles - local

To the powerlines and back with Patrick on the bicycle. Provo wanted to jig all the way home, which was a bit dull, so when we got back to the gate, I had him go on past and trot all the way to the Brumarba top barn - another half a mile or so, which was no great hardship for him. Right now he just wants to run like the wind as fast as he can. <sigh> Patrick says that when I try and hold him back with just my right hand, I tilt to the right. Hmmm. You think? Probably better to ride with two hands when he's getting strong.

Sunday 1 February
10 miles - Auburn Overlook to Lower Quarry n' back

Friends Dorothy and Dennis Miller (also Tevis hopefuls) came down from Quincy to be fitted for new saddles, so they came to stay the night. They haven't ridden any of the trail, but agree wholeheartedly with the idea that riding *back* to the Overlook and making the pones think that that is "home" is a good idea, so we started on that vein.

Neither of their horses were shod (timing problem) and they were riding in the aforementioned new saddles, so we took it pretty easy, much to Provo's disgust. The trail wasn't in bad shape, although a little sloppy and slippery in places. Provo pulled good and strong most of the way and although he jigged, he was kind of mellow about it... sort of... <grin>

We did manage to trot for a while on the railroad bed at the bottom of the Black Hole, until Elly started gimping, so we had to slow down again. At the Lower Quarry, we finally figured out it was a rock in her foot and she was a bit more comfortable after that, so we were able to make some good time on the way home - notably cantering a big chunk of the river road. It was all going swimmingly until I reached out to pat Provo's neck over his mane (as he was being such a good boy) and he didn't realise I was there and spooked sideways big time, nearly depositing me off the side.

Just after we crossed No Hands bridge, we came across a couple riders with their dog. Provo was so busy gawping at the dog (or at least that's the only thing I could think he was doing) that he tripped and nearly face planted *on* the dog. I was convinced I was going to go over his head, but managed to stay on, and Dennis (who was off, running at that point) said he didn't actually fall on his knees the way it felt it he. Idiot.

My dixie midnight pad once again worked it's way out of the back of the saddle. Stopped at Robie Point on the way out to get it back under the saddle and after that it stayed in position. I don't know if I just started out with it too far back and that causes it to walk out the back, or what. It's annoying, so I'll try to get it further forward from now on. If it keeps doing it, I'll have to tie it to the front of the saddle, as I do with the woolback pad, or abandon using it altogether (although it's jolly useful while he's so cruddy). He is shedding out big time right now, and everywhere he goes, a snow of white fluff follows. The DM pad is liberally coated.

They were all well sweated up at the end, so it was a good workout, but Provo could have used an extra ten miles to settle him down a little <sigh>. A good looooong ride is definitely in order right now.

Monday Afterthought: When I went out to swap Provo's cooler for a proper mud-barrier blankie around 10 pm, his right front lower leg, just above the fetlock, was noticeably warm and a little puffy. I pretended not to panic (in an adult-non-panicking-this-is-not-a-big-deal manner) and calmly put an ice boot on for half an hour. I iced him again for another 30 mins this morning, while brushing the crud off him, and the leg seemed fine - maybe a scutch puffy, but only just. I will keep an eye on it. Perhaps he tweaked it when he face-planted into the dog?

Also noticed that his right loin is starting to look a bit bare, as is the side of his face where the bit goes. I'm guessing he's in mid-shed right now, so any rubs will produce bald spots. You can scrape at his shoulders with your fingers and produce noticeably thin areas. Either way, for a month or so, until his summer coat grows in, I may have to:

• abandon the DM pad
• re-rig the saddle to just use the front cinch ring (right now it is rigged kind of center-fire style using the back ring also, which clamps the saddle down more over his loins)
• spray his loins with ShowSheen to stop the hair being grabbed by the pad.

Friday 6 February
5 miles - local

Patrick went out this morning and finished roughing-in some more of the trail out the back of our property, and pronounced it "rideable with care", so Provo and I took a spin on it.

The first mile goes steeply downhill, along the bottom, then steeply uphill again. That's a good workout hill, and Provo was puffing like a puffing thing when we got to the top. This hill made him sufficiently thirsty that he drank from the big clay-brown puddle over near the power lines. That's the first time he's drunk on the trail this year.

Of course, at the top of the hill when we turned away from home, he immediately went on strike and didn't want to go. 

It was lucky we had Chili with us, as I couldn't quite remember how the trail went after that, but we did OK.

By the time we got on to the dirt road it was getting dusky, so I had him trot all the way up the Bell hill to the very top and then walk down the other side, then trot most of the way to the power lines and on past a quarter mile or so... He wasn't really into it, so there was a lot of pedalling going on. I think he missed having either Patrick on the bike, or other horses to ride with.

When we turned around he was pretty quiet, although did jig off unasked a couple of times. Instead of trying the one-rein stop with the kimberwick/martingale setup, I used the lead rope attached to the halter which worked pretty well - kept me off his mouth, while making my point.

I tried to get him to trot as much as I could in the dark (except by then it was raining and a little slick, so we had to be careful). I did discover that I get motion sick on the horse in the dark when I'm hungry - the same way I do in the car - so have to make sure I eat. Someone told me the best way to avoid getting wobbly riding in the dark, is to hold your hands as if you have a dinner plate between them. That's all very well for ten minutes, but doing the whole of California Loop like that?? Hmmm.

To avoid further loin rub, I've stopped using the DM pad temporarily, and sprayed said loin with ShowSheen.

Sunday 8 February
22 miles - Overlook > Poverty Bar > Overlook

Judging by Provo's cheerful manner (aka "wants to run off with me at every available opportunity when out 'with company' "), it was high time to do a "long" ride to try and take some of the wind out of his sails, so I opted for the above ride as it had rained heavily earlier in the week and I figured this would be the least sloppy route to take.

[Click thumbnail for larger pic. View from just below Robie Point, looking back towards No-Hands Bridge (which is out of sight, around the bend in the river). Hw-49 is visible on the left hand side of the canyon. The trail follows the contours of the canyon below the road. The green Foresthill bridge is visible in the upper left of the picture.]

He started off jigging but was just starting to settle down when horses started coming back the other direction - at which point, he got more and more excited at each horse that passed us. At least three of the eight (endurance) horses that passed us going the opposite way were Tevis hopefuls... and strangely, they were all on their way home - as we were setting out (we started at 2 pm). Oh.

[Click thumbnail for larger pic. Further down the trail, closer to the river, 
about half-way between Robie Point and No-Hands Bridge. 
This is where the trail follows the old railroad bed.] 

We got down to hw-49 in one piece, with only one mishap when we met Dannan Yeagley coming the opposite way. We managed to squeeze past each other on a fairly narrow section (singletrack above No-Hands), but for some reason just after we passed Dannan's horse started scrambling and all but fell down, scaring the heck out of me, but Dannan was OK, thank goodness. I hope her horse din't hurt himself.

The first four miles took an hour. Why we can't do this quicker, is anyone's guess. I think the fastest I've ever managed it was 50 minutes. Have to think on that and figure out if/where it's possible to make better time.

 

[Click thumbnail for larger pic. left: No-Hands Bridge looking towards the Cool side. Big puddles in the middle of the bridge this time of year.  right: Looking over the side at the dogs playing in the river. It's a long drop.]

Once on the river road, we made up some time by trotting all the way to the Lower Quarry, although Provo was intent on cantering whenever I tried to switch onto his "bad" diagonal, and in any case, he had so much up-n-down motion going on, I could hardly post anyway. The longer we trotted, the more out of shape I felt, and the more I wondered what on earth was I thinking, wanting to do 100 miles on this horse??? I think I was having a low bio-rhythm day.   :(

After the quarry (~6 miles), he settled a little, although the trail was slick enough that I think I was tense the whole time, expecting him to slip in the mud and either face-plant me, or pull some tendon in a leg. We saw no-one on the trail after Browns Bar, and even the river got quiet. However Provo was still cheerfully wanting to run and canter and was requiring a lot of work to rate.

At Maine Bar (10 miles), a quick check on the time (4pm) showed me that we had time to nip the last mile to Poverty Bar on the singletrack. Except that trail was even slicker than what we'd done so far, and although we tried to trot a short part of it, he slipped so badly that I gave up and we walked to the end, before turning around to go home again.

[Click thumbnail for larger pic. Poverty Bar: left: Looking down the short steep section of trail that one has to climb to get out of the river bed middle: the trail you climb up onto from the river right: singletrack on the way to Maine Bar]

Unfortunately, at this point, Provo figured that "home" was in fact up the hill, three miles or so to Third Gate (our closest trail head to home), so he was very sad indeed when we headed back towards Maine Bar. Once we got there, I let him graze for ten minutes or so, to cheer him up, and then led him down to the creek, before hopping back on again using a handy big rock.

[Click thumbnail for larger pic. Uh oh... Provo reads the trail sign 
and my evil plan becomes clear to him]

I've been practising using my permanent lead rope a lot - quickly clipping the reins to one dog collar, unclipping the lead rope from the other dog collar, and hopping off without interruption. So far, so good. Biggest problem, I discovered, is that my reins are too short for him to be able to grab a quick snack when they are clipped to the saddle. Hopefully, if I get new reins at the Convention, they'll be longer. I'm about due for new ones as these current ones are six years old and I'm convinced have shrunk from washing.

 

[Click thumbnail for larger pic.  Maine Bar left: Provo in his "action wear".  I deliberately dyed his hair  that colour, honest. right: What's that? Muscle definition starting to show on his rear end? or a trick of the light...]

At this point, Provo finally settled down for a bit and we made some good sensible time, trotting the flats, walking the hills (I hopped off for a couple of them), and generally behaving like an adult. He even drank in a creek (wooo!).

I led him down the steep hill into the Lower Quarry and borrowed the wall there to hop back on again and then used up another ten minutes or so chatting with some hikers who asked me where the trail went. "To Reno" I said and they looked at me with disbelief <grin>. Provo got to graze while we were chatting, so he was happy.

Off we went again, along the river road and Provo decided it was time to get on with this ride. He trotted that section at what felt like ~14 mph. I've clocked him at 12 mph on that road, but never consistently doing extended trot the way he was, which is why I think he was faster. I'm not sure trotting like that was a great idea... visions of pulled leg-things sit in the back of my mind. We stopped once on the road to walk past some hikers who asked if they could pat him. I said "You can do better than that, you can feed him carrots" - which made the little girl's day, apparently. <grin>

While trotting, I was trying to spend 10 paces posting on the "good" diagonal and 20 on the "bad" one, which was hard, considering Provo kept skipping to bounce me back onto his "good" side. When we got to hw-49 again, he walked very coolly up to the road, causing a lady to Oooh and Aaaah over him as we went past. He must have been looking his most handsome <grin>.

Once we crossed the road, the problems started. Provo evidently felt that we were supposed to go up to Cool, which is why he'd been trotting so fast. So when we turned right instead of left, all the cheeriness in him vanished. I had to pedal him from then on, four miles up the hill to the top. By then it was 5:40 pm and starting to get dark. I phoned and left a message with our answerphone to tell Patrick where we were ("we're not dead... just late") - except for reasons unknown, the answerphone didn't actually take my message. <grrrr>

I pedalled Provo into trotting the flat parts of the trail, but he really wasn't keen. Apparently, in the dusky light, rocks and tree stumps look just like eye pluckers. I explained to him that - for sure - they'd seen him go by on the way out and were awaiting his return to feast on his plumpness. I sang to him. I pedalled. I even had to thwack at him a little with my rommel on the steep downhill to the waterfall when he showed signs of thinking about turning around (towards the drop off side).

Once we got to the Black Hole, I let him pick the pace - which was very slow. That part is really sloppy right now and he wanted to stay on the edge where it was drier - closer to the drop off <gulp>.

At Robie Point, I got off again and led him down the hill, not wanting to listen to his back feet dragging along the ground. For some reason I thought there was a rock at the bottom of the hill. There isn't. So I ended up leading him a quarter mile or so, him really dragging behind, until a rock appeared out of the gloom. By then it was pitch black, with only the stars lighting the sky - a pretty night.

Under the trees it got really dark and I had to rely on him to pick his way along the trail which was all but invisible to me - which would be fine if he didn't try and go around puddles - sometimes on the drop off side. :(

We finally got back to the trailer at 7 pm... it had taken us 1 hr 20 mins to get to the top. Hmmm.

Provo looked pretty tired. He'd drunk from the creek and the spring half way up, which I was pleased about, but he had that wrinkly-nose thing going on and a tired look in his eye. I can't decide if he was just hungry, or if it was the hill that took it out of him, or travelling in the dark, or trotting that mile and half at 14 mph, or a combination of all of the above. Either way, I felt bad for him.

I was feeling a little spacey myself. NEED TO EAT BETTER. I got to feeling weebly again in the last mile or so in the dark, so started cramming carrots into me as fast as I could (I was carrying some baby carrots in a baggy for Provo), which helped.

His loin rub was not much worse, despite me not having the ShowSheen with me to apply another coat. It is now a big pale area, instead of a quarter-sized spot - but at least it's starting to look even on both sides.

I put him in splint boots on the front, with booties on the back. This is the first time he's worn splint boots in years, although he was unconcerned. My main worry was how to figure out how tight/loose to have them. They didn't trap any muck, surprisingly, but his legs looked weird at the end from where he'd sweated and the boots held the damp fur flat against his legs.

We drove home through the canyon very carefully and by the time I got him out at the other end, he was all sprightly again (the bag o' hay in the trailer no doubt helped) and trotted out without hesitation. His legs felt good and cool a couple of hours after the end of the ride.

Monday morning - the right front was a smidgin puffy near the fetlock. I'll ice it tonight. Otherwise, he looks in pretty good shape. Need to remember to check his back carefully. He was uncomfortable going down hills. Probably time to crupper train him, to keep the saddle off his withers on steep downhills.

Monday evening - upon prodding, his back seems fine. Both front legs are a smidgin puffy and there's a little heat in the left rear. Time to cut back a little. I guess he gets the rest of the week off (maybe take the time to play with that crupper?)

[Me in my purple clothes - all my own work, even the socks! <g> I am very proud of my purple flannel shirt (first shirt I ever made) which I finished on Friday. I needed something to go with the purple fleece legs I made a few years ago.]

Tuesday 10 February
1 mile - handwalking

In deference to Provo's legs, we took all three pones on an outing - an amble down the lane and back. No one got trampled (much) and we worked on things such as giving your handler space, not standing on your handler, not rushing ahead of your handler shouldering her out of the way as you go past, and not swinging your head around and clonking your handler in the face. On the way back up the driveway, I even tailed Provo, while leading Mouse, while Patrick walked with Zini (prancing and rearing) in the back. Tailing is good.

Friday 13 February
Crupper training

Put the crupper on Provo and apart from a bit of scooting at the very beginning (mostly tucking his butt and doing a little hop motion) a few times, he wasn't terribly concerned. Sally, my friend from England, was visiting so she got to lunge him while Patrick and I watched. 

After a bit, I got on and rode him loops around the drive a few times, going down the steepest parts (which are pretty steep). He didn't care. Talk about a non-event (boy was I relieved <g>).

Later, I worked on circles. When circling to the right (so I'm posting on his preferred side which is to the outside), he fell in and wasn't balanced, while, when we circled to the left (so I was posting on his undesired side, on the outside) he was a lot more balanced and Patrick said his tail, which is usually bent off to the right (?) straightened out. Interesting.

So we're going to work on circling to the right to try and get that better balanced.

Sunday 15 February
20 miles - Overlook > Maine Bar > Overlook

Dorothy and Dennis Miller, and Dana B joined us for a romp along the river road. D&D wanted to get back early (fat chance), so we met at the Overlook at 9:00 <awk>. It was Dorothy's first ride on her new stand-in, Bailey (after her mare Elly got the thumbs down from the chiro person) and he hadn't been out in months and months, so they both did really well. Dana was riding her son's arab, Fancy, who she bought from D&D, and it was the first time she'd really gone out and done a real ride at a real trotting pace on something that wasn't a paso fino - and they both did really well too.

I sucked it up and stuck the crupper on Provo again and he acted like he'd always worn one (causing me to think that it had to be too loose). We only had one minor incident where Bailey ran up his butt and caused him to kick out - although I quickly realised, after continuing to reprimand him for kicking, that he was actually tucking and hopping from fright at the crupper, not trying to kick at all. I felt a little badly about that. Poor Provo. And at the end of the ride, he had two sore raised spots either side of his tail, as well as a raw rub under his tail, so I'm wondering if that happened when he tucked so suddenly?  That, or the thing is too tight. I'm going to get Dana or Patrick to ride behind me and watch and see what they think, as it doesn't seem terribly tight. Sheila Larsen, who was at the Overlook, suggested using BodyGlide on his tail area to prevent rubs, so I'm going to add that to my list of "things to buy" at the convention.

The trail was in good shape compared to last weekend, so we got down to the river pretty quickly, and trotted briskly along the river road to the Lower Quarry. It had been chilly at the Overlook, but by the time we got to LQ, we were stripping off sweaters left, right and center. After a portapotty break, we carried along the road. Fancy was in EZ boots all round and lost her back two at the waterfall dip, but despite that, did very well with the footing, not acting gimpy or slowing at all - in fact she trotted along like a trooper - exhausting poor Dana who had never gone that pace before. We stopped at all the creeks to let the pones drink and finally made it to Maine Bar, trotting and walking the whole way. The pones were in definite competition mode, so were quite hard work to rate the whole way along.

Unfortunately Bailey lost a shoe a couple of miles before Maine Bar, so we stopped there to put on my spare 0 EZ boot. After that, we made a quick detour up the hill to the very first part of the singletrack trail to Poverty Bar, but lack of time meant that we turned around almost immediately and struck out back towards home.

Once again, lots of competition between the four horses, so we blitzed along faster than I had intended. I'm still aiming to work on a nice even pacing. Provo is definitely showing signs of settling, but not there yet. We found the lost shoe and I popped it in my pommel bag. A bit further along the trail, we came across a lady we'd passed earlier who was heading up towards the Overlook and was now coming back. She had found and retrieved one of Dana's lost EZ boots, so we sat and talked to her for 15 minutes.

Despite working well, I never did get to the stage where I could drop the reins on Provo, which was frustrating, as well as hard work on my body. I'll try and start earlier next ride and really make an effort to get off his mouth.

Dorothy and Bailey on No-Hands Bridge (me hand-walking, trying to unscrunch my knees in the distance behind her). This was Bailey's first ride in months and he did great... not even misbehaving that much <grin>

At the waterfall, we found Dana's second lost EZ boot, down the bank in the brambles off the side of the trail. Dana wasn't keen, but we made her scramble down to fetch it. On the way up the other side, Bailey and Dorothy took the steeper of the two trail options and Bailey slipped and did a quick bound to regain his footing - at which point, because the trail was so steep, Dorothy's stirrup on her new Reactor Panel saddle fell off the back of the stirrup bar. Oops. Luckily no harm done and we got her fixed up again. Meanwhile Dana's EZ boot had gone walkabout again, and then fell off her saddle a third time, at which point I took both the loose ones and stuffed them in next to the lost shoe. Fancy got reprimanded for trying to run Dana over in her haste to get with her beloved Bailey, whom she'd taken a shine to.

We finally popped back up to the Overlook in 5.5 hours... but looking back, we probably wasted coming up to an hour and three quarters standing talking and putting EZ boots on, etc, so our average speed (when we were actually moving) was probably over 6 mph. Thus it became apparent how you end up having to scramble and go fast if you dilly-dally instead of moving forwards.

Provo looked fine at the end - much perkier than last week when we did the trail on our own. One of his splint boots had rotated slightly, and he'd rubbed through his back bootie, but otherwise they worked well. As I say, the crupper had also rubbed. :(

Dorothy lent me her S-hack to try out, so that's the next torture implement to try on Provo.

Later that night, when I went out to take off his cooler and swap it for his blankie, he felt like he was having a second sweat in odd spots - particularly under his belly. Does this mean he was working the muscles under there? and therefore supporting his back?? I hope so!

His ears were also really cold and wet, so I attempted to rub them down. I say "attempted", as he really wasn't very keen and I had to wrestle with him somewhat. I don't know if cold wet ears is anything to fret about.

Next day - ears were still a bit cold and damp. His legs were a tiny bit filled, but good and clean and tight by the evening. Yay! Loin rub no worse. I found one small sore area down below his loin rub, where he flinched slightly when I poked it. After I worked on it a bit, he moved away from me, and then stuck the front leg on that side out, and stretched on it. Good boy. So I stretched it again for him and he licked. Hopefully that means it felt good. I'm guessing, because it was only on one side, that it was related to my crooked riding. Must keep an eye on it and work at keeping better balanced.

Doing our trot-out at the Overlook at the end of the ride - a grungy Provo studiously avoiding stepping in the big puddle (that's Dana's trailer with Fancy attached in the background).

See the pretty white anklets where his booties were <grin>

Saturday 21 February
15 miles - Driver's Flat > Ford's Bar > Driver's Flat

It rained about 3" of rain during the week only on the days I was able to ride, so not much chance to get out there and I was starting to really pine. Dana and I agreed to meet at noon, but Patrick and I got sidetracked feeding and mucking the neighbour's horses, so it ended in a scramble for me to get through the canyon and I was still 45 mins late. Poor Dana.

We decided to hand-walk down the first 2-3 miles to the bottom of the canyon (~1000' down). Since it was dirt road and this was something I was supposed to be practising, it wasn't exactly a hardship. The conclusion is that, yes, Provo can walk much faster than I can when I'm just walking "normally" - I'd have to really work at it if I wanted to not lose time hand-walking him.

At the first ford, we hopped on and rode the short stretch of singletrack (a bit sloppy) up to Francisco's. Chili thought the vernal pool at Francisco's was very fine and galloped about in it while we let the horses graze for a short while.

Then we set off along the river road going upstream. And it was so pretty! I've not ridden that stretch this time of year and I remember it as being hard, hot, and glaringly white (this from mid-summer rides). Instead, it was green and ferny, with pretty rocks set into the road. The river was running high and because you weren't sagging from the heat, you could take in the scenery and watch the river running past and really appreciate it.

The pones had one moment of complete horror - both of them stopping dead, pulses racing, nostrils flared. No way would either of them go forwards, so I hopped off and led Provo past the scary....  drainage pipe <roll eyes> that was spurting water out at irregular intervals on the bank below the track. On the way back, they bravely walked past this without me having to dismount, but they weren't happy about it.

Dana was riding in Patrick's Sportsaddle which has the stirrups set back, so she could see if it was any easier to post. Her Sportsaddle (Patrick's old one she bought from us) has the stirrups in the standard position and she was having a hard time getting up out of the seat. She reported that it was easier to trot in and she liked it. Unfortunately, Fancy was a little footsore from being barefoot and Dana hadn't wanted to put EZ boots on her as it looked like she was bruised from the heel-straps last weekend, so we weren't able to trot very far.

I had imagined that we'd only get to the end of the double-track, but once we worked out the timing (a "there n' back" ride, returning before it got dark), we still had plenty of time, so we set out along the singletrack part. It is nice and sandy along the bottom there, so that was the one place we were able to trot comfortably for a while.

And all of a sudden we were on the very narrow, high stretch which I hadn't intended to ride on at all (on a slightly sloppy trail? Non merci). But we still had time and now that we were on the trail we opted to continue along to see if we could get all the way to Ford's Bar. I've never ridden the trail in this direction, so it was a bit disorientating and I couldn't remember how far it was to Ford's Bar, so we just kept pushing on.

At one point, just before the singletrack, it had showered on us a little and I'd wanted to put my raincoat on (it was in my cantle bag), but it wasn't an opportune moment so I didn't... and then it stopped raining so it didn't seem worth the trouble. Bad decision.

On the worst possible stretch, when we are high above the river on this tiny ledge, with Provo spooking at every bird (no doubt picking up on my discomfort and translating it into something different), it began to POUR with rain. It poured so hard that Provo stopped under the first tree we came across and looked at me like "Get real... I don't do rain...". Luckily Dana was already wearing her raincoat, but I was still unwilling to try and pull mine out and put it on - not quite knowing how Provo would react to all the wriggling and rustling (he's been known to run in fright from me unfolding a piece of paper on his back) while we were on our precarious perch. I really didn't want to put his nerves to the test on that trail. Plus, I really didn't want to get off and let the sheepskin cover on my saddle get soaked and then have to ride in it. In any case, there wasn't really room to get off, so we skipped along and finally the end of the singletrack and Ford's Bar road came around the bend. Yay! <relief>

Once on the dirt road, we stopped under a tree and I got my raincoat out. Of course, apart from a few suspicious looks, Provo was totally unconcerned, even when I ended up having to take off my Camelbak and lay it on the pommel. He did kick out a few times - I'm guessing at the drips coming off his tail, back legs and belly.

We turned around to set off on the return journey (15 mins behind schedule - not bad) and I discovered that the hood on that coat is just big enough to go over the top of my helmet... not of course that I needed it by then as, predictably, it stopped raining a few minutes later. The sun even came out for a bit - which was a relief, as my legs were soaking. I had to sit very still in my saddle to prevent any more water trickling into the part of the sheepskin I was sitting on.

We didn't fall off the trail on the way home (although Provo was more cheerful heading in that direction) and we both agreed that, for some reason, having the drop-off to our left was more comfortable than having to our right... not sure why that is, but it might be a balance thing. Back on the sandy stretch, we trotted again (to catch up with our time), and although I tried to keep Provo as slow as possible, that wasn't very easy. The fastest he probably went was 9 mph, but he was pulling and pulling and wanting to canter. On the road, we putzed along, with Dana getting off periodically to relieve Fancy's feet.

At Francisco's we grazed again, Chili lay in the grass, and Fancy stood in the soft squishy mud, refusing to get on the drier stuff when Dana tried to move her. Provo and I practised our trot out - him flying along like a balloon on the end of a string - very cheerful.

At the turn off to Poverty Bar, I took Provo along the first 100 yrds or so, just to give him the idea.... next time we'll be sure to go all the way to the end. This confused Chili no end as she stayed with Dana and every time I looked up, I could see her little face peering anxiously through the bushes at us from the road above.

And then we plopped up the hill again. That's a looooonggg hill. Towards the top I was getting a bit chilly (from sitting in soaked clothes), so I tailed him the last half mile or so and he did perfectly - stopping when I asked, and continuing when poked in the bottom. I watched his footfalls and was really pleased to notice that, even going uphill, his back feet were overstepping his fronts by a whole hoofprint - and that was doing a nice mellow walk. Funny what really makes you happy.

Poor Fancy was pretty pooped at the end. She'd gotten up very early and done a 4-H halter class with Dana's son Ian in the morning, so she'd been on the go all day. No doubt she'll be very leery of riding with "that white horse" - since every time she does, she ends up working hard.

Notes: loin rub no worse (I put a dose of ShowSheen on it before we left), although the skin on it seems calloused. He's not sore on it at all though (this from extensive poking). I think I'm getting the hang of the splint boots, although may still be putting them on a little tight. Hopping on and off practice still not perfected - probably a carabiner would help to clip the reins/lead rope on/off quickly. Didn't get a chance to try out the borrowed S-hack :(  Maybe Tuesday. Provo really seems to be settling. He's still pulling hard when we are trotting, but overall he seems pretty mellow and happy, yet still maintaining his forward cheerfulness. This ride was exactly what I wanted to do - a nice mellow long distance with a good hill in it.

Tuesday 2 March
8 miles - local

Provo looking relatively clean, ready for our ride. He was shod this morning (he's currently on a 5 week schedule so that he doesn't end up with curly elf-toe syndrome).

Why does he look like a camel in this pic?

Since it rained and then I went to the AERC convention last weekend, I didn't get much chance to ride recently, so was eager to get out today. Quite why, once I was on the horse, cantering sideways, is anyone's guess. Patrick came with me on the mountain bike so he could tell me what speed we were trotting every ten seconds. I'm sure Patrick enjoys riding with me. Honest. Luckily I didn't choose this ride to see how Provo'd go in Dorothy's borrowed S-Hack (indeed, exactly when I'll ever get to try this piece of equipment escapes me). I did get to use the splint boots that Renee sent me and they worked very well. They have more coverage around the lower fetlock than the other ones I was using, and they are easier to put on without worrying about cutting the circulation off in his legs.

We went down the end of the road and all was well. Provo was unmotivated and content, cunningly lulling me into a false sense of security. He even drank from his favorite muddy puddle (note: is he missing something in his diet, since I caught him eating mud twice and this is the second time he's drunk from this puddle...? Hmmmm). We ended up going all the way to the end of the lane, onto the ranchland. At this point (he's never been there before) he started to get a little excited, and when Patrick and I split up (we left Patrick on the top of the ridge so he wouldn't have to slog back up the steep hill after going all the way to the bottom), Provo went into idiot-mode, cantering in place and generally leaping about like a stupid. Unfortunately, my cinch wasn't super tight, so I had to sit as balanced as I could and hope he didn't do anything really stupid. I was also losing my pad out the back of the saddle, having not tied it on properly (it was Patrick's Skito - I need to get some new inserts for my two older pads that are not nearly as cushy as they used to be). We took a wrong turning and ended up almost back where we started, but only after climbing a steep but short hill, which made Muggins puff like a train, but not slow down any.

About two thirds of the way home he did kind of settle, ish. He did some great walk-as-fast-as-I-possibly-can work going up one of the hills (get that back end working), and I got him to trot non-stop (aka "evenly" without either running off or stopping) for a mile and half by moonlight (which is about half-full right now) and he only nearly fell over once.

Loin rub virtually gone. Starting to rub on his shoulders from the blankie. Also covered in tick bites. Looking plump, almost.

Tuesday 9 March
6 miles - Third Gate > Little American Canyon > China Wall > Third Gate

Was supposed to ride with Patrick at Cool, but he couldn't make it, so we ended up going for a quick spin from Third Gate at the last minute.

Finally! A chance to try out the S-hack. To begin with it worked OK since he was nice and mellow going down the hill. I don't have as much feel in it as with the kimberwicke, so it was harder to steer. But this might also be trying to deal with reins that are about two foot longer than I'm used to. I got new reins at the convention and so far don't like them much <roll eyes>. They are <whine> too smooth and too long (typical whiner - complains the reins are too rough and too short, and now listen...).

Once we turned to go up the Dead Truck Trail, he went into zoom-mode, scrambled to the top (me requesting that he walked up the whole way), and then once we were at the top, I had real a hard time rating him. It was a little like going along without brakes which was a bit disconcerting on those narrow and eroded trails. If I tried to reel him in too hard, he'd flip his nose up and jump up and down (again, not fun on the eroded trails with drop offs).

All in all, a good work out. He was pretty warm and wet by the time we got back to the top in the dark.

Wednesday 10 March
6 miles - Cool, north Olmstead

Big fun with Patrick on the mountain bike.

Since I had to take Provo to the vet at Cool to get a health certificate and negative Coggins for the Rides of March ride in Nevada in two weeks, I figured I might as well ride afterwards.

We got to go zoom, since we were only going to be out there for a short while (sunset was approaching). Patrick took the main trail, and where possible I detoured onto the "horse only" singletrack and met him at the other end. And to make sure he didn't have to wait around for us, we ended up cantering most of those sections <grin>. I'm assuming that because Provo got to go out yesterday, he was a lot less pully, so it was a real pleasure to get to ride on a relatively loose rein (without having to ride 25 miles first to get him in that mood).

I am happy to report that he picks up both leads without any prompting, so I can cross that of my "worry list".

We also did a fair bit of trotting in a reasonably balanced manner, although not much success at staying on that right diagonal.

Provo ready to go with all his straps. Gah, it does look a bit like overkill. You can see his green reflective noseband and blue reflective bands on the shoulders of his breast collar.

Friday 12 March
7 miles - Third Gate > Little American Canyon > Maine Bar > High Trail

More fun in the canyon. Once again, we were out for a quick spin so we put speed work and climbs into this ride... plus it was time for me to start my own training, so I ran down the first mile and half. 

I'd initially intended just to "walk quickly", but once I started running, it didn't feel too bad, so I just carried on. Provo was a good boy and didn't run me over or breathe hot breath in my ear. At the Little American Creek, I hopped on, but had to get off and sort out the saddle when we got to the next creek crossing after the steep part, since my cinch was loose enough that I was in danger of going over his head, saddle-n-all. We saw a couple of salamanders wandering around on the trail next to the Waterfall, but luckily managed to avoid standing on them.

Trotted all the way to Maine Bar and then slogged up Ball Bearing Hill. And that is a slog. It's about 800' up but so badly eroded that some of it is a real scramble to get up. At the top, Provo wasn't interested in drinking from the creek, so it can't have been that much of a trek for him.

We returned via the High Trail and trotted/cantered continuously the two miles back to the bottom of the hill up to Third Gate. Trotting on that twisty narrow trail about did me in - talk about hard work, especially as Provo was heading for home and knew it. Poor Chili was pretty overheated when we were done and lay in the trickle of water crossing the trail by the blackberry bushes.

Made him walk up the long mile hill back to Third Gate. Ha! 

The whole ride took 1.5 hours, which I was more than satisfied with, considering what we did.

Legs felt good, despite speed work and the long slog. Am thinking he's getting skinny, though, if I'm having to cinch up to 7 holes (where he was easily on 6 a few weeks back) to stop the saddle slipping up his neck. I started him on corn oil this week - about half a cup in his beetpulp. He didn't mind it at all and gobbled it up.

Sunday 14 March
12 miles - Foresthill > Michigan Bluff > Foresthill

Patrick came with me on the mountain bike, but wasn't quite prepared for Volcano Canyon. It has been two years since I last rode it - and that was on poor Mouse on one of her first longer rides. Her lil' legs didn't appreciate this trail at all that day, and she was dripping sweat.

Ran/walked down the first 760 feet / 1½-2 miles to the creek, which I was proud of. I try to walk at not less than 4 mph (since Provo can walk that fast, if I'm going any slower, I might as well be on his back). At the creek, I got on - the creek was roaring - and poor Patrick took a while to figure out how to get himself and his mtn bike over safely. He still got wet feet.

Pausing on a switchback, looking back into Volcano Canyon, halfway up the Michigan Bluff side. 
The trail is lined with pine, oak, manzanita, toyon, and laurel.

On the other side, the hard 960' slog to the top starts. It's mostly short, steep switchbacks, but they are quite rubbly. Provo didn't have any problems with them, but Patrick didn't have much luck with the bike and ended up pushing it most of the way, since it was either too loose footing, or too steep, or both to actually ride.

At the top, the loose stuff turns into a thick, slippery carpet of pine needles - which was somewhat hazardous trying to trot down on our return. The trail widens out and eventually intersects a hard-packed dirt road. We followed the WST signs, but I was having a hard time matching up what I was seeing around me and what I was supposed to be seeing from the Auburn Rec. Area map. Hardly surprising, since the map is wrong. Ooops.

I got off and ran down the first mile or so of the hard-packed/loose gravel road, but when it turned uphill again, I hopped back on. After another mile or so of trotting, we suddenly came out right in the center of Michigan Bluff, which was a surprise (since I was following the map which located me nowhere near MB). I haven't been there in several years, so it was good to see the village again.

At MB, I left pft with his book by the old bell, and made a dash for El Dorado Canyon. However, since it was getting late, and I also spotted Gary Hall working on his garden and fancied a chat, I opted instead to just go down for five minutes before turning back again.

This trail is steeper, but with better footing. From high on the back of the horse, I could peer over the tops of the manzanita and look down to the eroded bluff where MB used to be located, which I'd not been able to see before.

Back in MB, we chatted with the Halls for a short while, taking advantage of the water trough they kindly put out, and then turned and set off back to FH again, hoping to get back before dark. Provo was pretty cheerful on the way home (no surprises there) and exhausted me as usual when we trotted. I had intended to get off and walk down the steepest part with him, but since he was making really good time (much better than I would off him), I stayed on. pft got to zip back down this section and was on the far side, putting his socks and shoes back on when we got down to the creek.

Once again, Provo powered back out, not caring how rough the footing was. I love this horse, he just keeps trucking along. At Bath Road, I tailed him up the hill, accompanied by a happy-trotting Chili. It was just like the real thing (not), coming into FH just as it was getting dark. I had Provo do a couple of practice trot-outs in the vet lines, just to give him the idea.

Thoughts:

His poop was a little too runny for my taste, so I've decided to discontinue the oil (after only ~3 days) at least for now, and instead, double the amount of BP I'm feeding up to 6 lbs. Since he likes it, this seems like the best option.

Make sure we do at least one ride straight through FH, so that the pone doesn't start thinking that's where any ride ends (it could be a bit of a shock to saddle up and go again if he gets in this mindset).

Get a carabiner - clipping the rope through the dog collar is too fiddly when things get busy.

Saturday 20 March
Rides of March 50, Lemmon Valley, Nevada
[Pics]

We had a blast at this ride - but so much for an "easy start to the season". Pah.

Sunday 28 March
25 miles - Overlook > No Hands > Upper Quarry > River Road > Browns Bar > High Trail > Cool > Coffer Dam > Overlook

Went for a "non-confrontational approach" with Provo this time around - let him more or less go however he wanted.

Of course, it ended up too fast and too hard and afterwards his legs were really filled :(

Self-portrait of me n' Provie at the water trough at Spreckles Quarry

What did I learn? That he needs more time off after doing 50 miles... just because he did the ride last weekend and was OK, doesn't mean that I can immediately up the ante for our conditioning program. So I'm going back to my normal regime and taking it easy from now on. I feel bad. He doesn't have heat, but his legs are way more filled than they have been for a while. Another slap around the head for the stupid girl.

I was aiming to do American River 70 for our next ride in a month's time. My reasoning for this was that it's on our home trails, so if anything will get him through 70 miles, that will. I also know the trails really well, so could pace us accordingly. If we can do 70 miles (and that ride might be our only opportunity to do so), it'll be a big mental boost to me that we managed that far, so what's another 30 miles for Tevis, right? <gulp>

Yesterday we rode 25 miles of the second half of the AR50/70 mile trail. We ranged between 4 and 4.75 mph for the first 18 miles - and had to canter fast a bunch to keep that average speed up.

The trail is almost all singletrack, most of it twisty and much of it with some drop off. In the total 25 miles, we descended ~2200' (670 m) and went up ~2200, since it was a big loop. The first four miles were the same as the last four miles of the Tevis trail.

Anyway, the fact that we had to work so hard to keep our average pace up was what sobered me somewhat. We both finished feeling pretty whupped, and pondering on the idea of having to produce another 45 miles on top of what we did was difficult to swallow (although there is only another ~1200' of climbing, with no descending, to do in that other 45 miles... hmmm).

That said, I also ate virtually nothing on Sunday except for a Hot Pocket and three Gus, so maybe that had something to do with my "bleah" feeling? :)

At one point towards the end (just about the time he was deflating) we were trudging up the long uphill dull dirt road on the Auburn side of the canyon (one of the three long climbs) and Tim Twietmeyer (who has won the WS100 a bunch of times) came running past, going down the canyon. 15 minutes later, as we continued to trudge along, he came back past again, going back up the hill, having already been to the bottom. That was sad. :)

We also finished the last 2-3 miles in the dark, on a trail I hadn't ridden in three years and Provo hasn't been on in 4-5, so that didn't help, either.

I was glad to have my headlight with me, as part of the trail was really overgrown and it got a bit scary. There were logs down, and it was so overgrown I couldn't actually see the trail, even with the headlight. I'm going to have to go back and ride it in the daylight :)

Gosh, we had *fun* though - for the first 16 miles when I basically let him do whatever he wanted, within reason. We cantered big gobs of the canyon, which was pretty wild and Provo was having a blast. The non-confrontational approach meant that he stayed in a really mellow mood, so would slow down (most of the time <g>) when requested.

He thought getting to canter was about the most fun he'd had in months and would bound off at every opportunity. This probably wasn't conducive to the well-being of his legs, but was damn good fun anyway.

He came into our "VC" at Cool all perky and happy. Then after 20 mins of munching grass, he left Cool perky and happy, went 2 miles all perky and happy (Patrick was at Cool, so he rode those two miles with us on the bicycle, clocking us continually trotting at between 9 and 12 mph) - and then we went down the Coffer Dam trail (crappy footing of pointy rocks) and Provo deflated on me. :(

So who knows. After Sunday, I'm not sure about AR70 - I think it might be biting off more than we can chew at this stage. That extra 20 miles on top of 50 (that I know he can do) seems to be a long distance right now.

My biggest worry is that because there are only a handful of horses doing the 70 (~20 starters the last few years), we'd end up being out there on our own with no horses to keep him cheerful, and I can see him pooping out on me because of that. If we could guarantee a buddy, he'd probably be fine.

OTOH, I can never understand how we manage to complete any ride on time, since we never seem to be able to go quick enough. I suspect I am unable to take into account the idea of a fresh horse averaging 8+ mph for the first 30 miles.

What I have to do is work out, if we do the first 30 miles (some of which is a lot easier trail than the second half) fast, how fast we have to average for the rest of the ride? I may discover that we can av. 2 mph for the rest of the ride, or something :)

We'll see. The entry is sitting on my desk and I'll probably sit on it until the last possible moment (April 19th?) and then decide.

Sunday 4 April
22 miles - Overlook > No Hands > Upper Quarry > ALT > Cool > Coffer Dam > Overlook

When I got him out at home, he boogied down to the paddock after hopping out of the trailer and not even looking vaguely stiff, went and rolled, drank a bunch and started munching on his fourth beet pulp meal in 24 hours. He wasn't even particularly tucked up looking. Too cool from a horse that got to run harder than I've ever let him run before.

Since I had my hands full during the ride, I didn't get any photos at all, but here's one of Provo the day after, sunning himself in the paddock.

Except for a bit of filling in his legs - which was gone after a couple of days - and a small amount of tenseness in his back - also gone by the next day - he came back from the ride looking pretty loose and comfortable. Which is more than you can say for his rider... :(

It turned out that I forgot to stretch his legs out after saddling him up at lunchtime and galled his armpits a tiny bit. Urk.

Afterwards - Me

• Set up crew area where you don't have to walk back and forth too much
• Put a small tarp in crewbox to dump saddle onto at Robinson
• Figure out a separate cooler for ice boots
• Rinse off splint boots/sponge crud off legs
• Sit Lucy in a chair opposite pone, so she can see him, but not get trodden on by him
• Put a chair next to her for someone sit on to be babbled at without thinking that person is going to get up and leave (sit still and rest, being the emphasis)
• Set food in cooler next to chair so it can be grabbed without standing up
• Make sure Lucy drinks Ensure, etc
• Take off martingale after Robinson? Foresthill?
• Put desitin on chin rub from curb chain?
• Stretch out legs after cinching up
• Get some smaller wrapping quilts
• Use ice water for post-ride wrapping
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