Road to the Tevis Cup Post #24: First time training with a buddy

Tuesday I trailered Fantazia to Lake Success to meet Katie de Jong and her Mustang gelding Tonka. It was our first time training with a buddy. We’d ridden with my friend Laurie in Paso Robles (see my post about conditioning in deep sand there). That was fun, but Laurie is not an endurance rider. She wanted to walk and talk… and that’s lots of fun! But it’s good for horse and rider to train with someone who also wants to trot trot trot, sometimes canter, and take notice of speed, distance, heart rate, and so forth. So I was really happy when Katie contacted me about riding together.

Katie boards her horse about half an hour’s drive from Lake Success. I’m lucky-it takes me only about 15 minutes to drive there, and that’s only because I’ve got to open and shut gates. I rode there years ago. I was 21 the last time, when I trailered a couple of horses there with my then boyfriend. I remembered nothing about it.

There were many long stretches of nice soft dirt road.

Riding at Lake Success

The trails at Lake Success are great. Plenty of flat or slightly sloping dirt roads to trot and canter along. Katie and I did 8.68 miles in two hours (1:46 moving time). We did a lot of walking and some stopping. When we trotted, we moved at 7.5-8 mph, which is Fantazia’s easy cruising speed. Tonka kept up with no problem, sometimes opting for a slow lope rather than a trot.

Mostly, we kept to roads. At one point, though, we followed some trails through cockleburs and trees. We wanted to get to the lake shore. Yes, there is an easier way. Katie spoke with the Ranger before I arrived, and he gave her directions that would have followed roads. Later, we realized where he had meant.

There is also a hill that we wanted to climb (next time), and plenty of open country. There were restrooms at various points along our way.

There is a campground with horse corrals. I had no idea it existed, and it certainly does not show up on google searches. It has restrooms, picnic tables, and a covered area. I didn’t pay attention to things like hook-ups, but I did notice (Katie told me!) that is has a great trail course. Sadly, its teeter-totter was off its base, but the bridge was safe. A little upkeep and it would be great. (Pictures below)

Our route (mapped by my Garmin Fenix 5s). No, we didn’t go through water, the satellite image is not current. If the lake were full, we wouldn’t be able to do most of this ride.

It was great to train with someone again!

I’ve been missing my rides with my friend Melissa, in Oklahoma. Katie and I had a great time, with only a few contretemps (Tonka lost his Easy Boots). Lake Success is close enough for both of us that we should be able to ride there even when we have to work in the morning. Eventually, we will probably go to different places, but for now, we’ve found a good training area.

Tonka kept losing his boots… the footing was nice, but very muddy. It took me several minutes to pick the mud out of Fantazia’s hooves!

Tonka and Katie were perfect. Katie has ridden LDs in the past, and volunteered at Tevis (I am impressed!). Tonka is a laid back gelding who knows how to take care of himself. He eats every chance he gets! And he never worries about other horses (unlike Fantazia!) He should be a great endurance partner for Katie. He was also great for Fantazia, unflappable and calm. She took her cue from him and started to eat grass.

Fantazia was a bit excited, but she behaved herself. The 8.68 miles of easy terrain were nothing for her, after our hills. (See my post about riding the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.) That said, she needs to do long trots and some cantering, so Lake Success is perfect for us.

One of the best things about riding with a buddy is that they can take pictures of you! Normally, Fantazia and I look down at Lake Success from at least 1800 feet. From here we could look up at our hills (in back and to the right of us in this picture).

Tonka was so relaxed that he rolled in the parking lot after our ride!

Pictures of the campground and trail course at Lake Success

Below, the trail course at Lake Success. You can see the hits of various obstacles through Fantazia’s ears in the top right picture. Tonka was great about the mail box (Fantazia spooked when I opened it, even though we get the mail at home all the time.)