River's first endurance ride (Road to Tevis #106)

Last weekend, four months and two days after I brought her home, River completed her first 50-mile ride at Fire Mountain. It took longer to get to that first 50 than I had hoped when I first purchased her, but less time than I expected based on my initial assessment of her “in horse”. (Getting to know River.) She was not nearly as fit as Jazz was last year, when he won the 55 at Fire Mt. (Read about that crazy race through the floods.) But then, I had had Jazz twice as long! Nor was she as fit as Fantazia had been her first time at the Fire Mountain ride. (Read about Fantazia’s back-to-back 50/55 in 2022 here.)

Nonetheless, River’s first endurance ride was a complete success! Thanks to Heidi Helly and her veteran horse Optimus Prime (OP), River had a wonderful experience going exactly the speed she needed to go. We even won the turtle award for last place 😉

Read about River’s next ride here: River’s second endurance ride.

Planning for River’s first endurance ride

Part of the reason that River was not as fit as she could have been is that I work out of town, at Bakersfield College. During the semester, I can only ride Thursday-Sunday… and not all Thursdays! As I got to know River better, I realized that her brain needed more work than her body anyway. As an ex-racehorse, River already had a strong base. I just needed to adapt her to long slow distances and teach her how to navigate tricky terrain. For a horse used to groomed surfaces, just trotting along a cattle trail was challenging at first. River needed lots of trails, and lots of basic training in the arena.

I had to decide to wait to compete until she was as “ready” as I like to have my horses… or if I should treat competition as training. Given my time constraints, it was obviously going to be best to choose the second option. River would have to learn as much at rides as at home.

Was she fit enough then?

Of course! I wouldn’t take a horse to a 50-mile ride that could not safely complete it. Three and a half weeks before Fire Mountain, I did the equivalent of an LD at home. I rode 11.5 miles (~2000′ total elevation gain) out and had an hour-long “hold”. I took off the saddle and let River eat and roll while I had lunch. The we rode 12.5 miles (~2,500′ total elevation gain) back. River did well, and with that workout, I knew she could easily do a slow 50.

What about my schedule?

Since I have not yet won the lottery, I have to work, and this week is the first of spring semester. For those of you unfamiliar with academia, this means that last week was full of professional development and meetings. In fact, I had two meetings I couldn’t miss on Friday. (Last year I could ZOOM into my department meeting, so I rode Fantazia Friday. I timed the hold so I could attend the meeting… only with Fantazia could I do that!)

This year ZOOM was not an option, but fortunately Bakersfield is on my way to Ridgecrest. I stayed with a friend that was closer to Bakersfield, loaded up the mares, and drove to Bakersfield College. I left the mares eating hay in the trailer while I attended my meetings. After the meeting I grabbed some of the leftover fruit to eat at the ride.

Of course, this meant that instead of riding Friday and Saturday, I rode Saturday and Sunday. That worked out perfectly. I rode Fantazia first, to the Trona Pinnacles. (Read about Fantazia’s day here: My second ride to the Trona Pinnacles.) River’s first endurance ride would be Sunday. Fortunately, Heidi and OP took a break Saturday and were generous enough to let us tag along with them Sunday. Since Monday was Martin Luther King day, I didn’t have to be in a hurry to get home.

The Fire Mountain Ride

As mentioned above, this was my third time at this ride. It’s held at the Valley Rider’s Equestrian Center just outside of Ridgecrest, CA. This means we have water and an arena. The club provides food on some nights (there was a potluck a few years ago, as I recall). The ride is a great way to start the season, because the trails are good for the most part, and the elevation changes are not great. This year the sand was exceptionally nice (especially compared with the floods from last year!)

On the second day last year and this year, the trail lead out to the Trona Pinnacles. Last year I was completely and delightedly surprised by the view when I rode around the hill. This year it wasn’t a surprise, but it was still just as impressive. If you can only ride one day of that ride, choose Saturday just for the experience!

The first and third days follow the same trail, or at least they did this year. I suspect this was also the case in 2022, or I would have ridden Fantazia all three days.

It’s a great ride, with very well-marked trails. Management has also encouraged riders to use Ride with GPS, an ride that allows route planning and voice-assisted navigation. Because it’s designed for bike riders, it’s a bit off on the distances. You are given instructions to turn a long way before the turn! But it’s still useful.

Above: River and Fantazia at the trailer Friday night. River was anxious at first, but she settled in and started eating after I rode them.

River’s pre-ride & etc.

I had ridden both mares Friday afternoon. First I rode Fantazia and ponied River about 2.5 miles. As usual, I used one bridle; I generally have no trouble taking it off one mare and putting it on the other. On Friday River was so keyed up it was more difficult, but finally I had her bridled and mounted and was ponying Fantazia. We rode another 2.5 miles or so. I hopped off about half a mile from Ride Camp and led them in, as usual. Bad idea in this case, because River–who usually hangs back so much I have to drag her–was rushing forward and invading my bubble.

River spent all of Saturday tied to the horse trailer while Fantazia and I rode out to the Trona Pinnacles and back. I always tied them with two rope halters and leads… River had broken the leather loop on one, and someone had tied a knot in the lead to a blocker tie. So she might have been a touch naughty when I wasn’t looking! But she was eating and drinking and standing quietly when Fantazia and I got back. I untacked Fantazia and decided to take both mares up. No one else was in the vetting area at the time, and I knew that both mares would be calmer with the other near.

Vetting River in… and the kick

After Fantazia vetted for her completion, it was River’s turn. She was very good. (It had taken some work at home!) Her heart rate was 36; she trotted out well, she stood relatively quietly. All As!

I then took Fantazia and walked towards the exit. By then there was a line of horses, and I stupidly stopped to talk. Both mares were calm, and I kept their heads close to me. Unfortunately, calm River is not the same as gentle peaceful River. Some people and horses walked in back of us, and before I knew what was happening, River squealed and kicked. In an earlier version of this blogpost, I claimed that River had hit a person, Michele Roush Rowe. That is what I had been led to believe. But it turns out that River kicked Michele’s horse, not Michele. Her mare then ran into Michele. Presumably that’s why Michele was crouched down apparently in pain.

Fortunately Michele was all right, and her horse went on to win BC. So I feel a tiny bit better… But River is still going to be wearing a read ribbon in her tail! (Read about ribbons and safety here: Trail Etiquette.)

Above: River will be wearing the Red Ribbon of Shame for the foreseeable future. Kicking people is NOT acceptable… Kicking horses is not good either! This will warn people not to crowd us on the trail or in the vetting area.

Working the naughty out of River

I hated to upset Fantazia, but I knew River needed riding. She is not one to submit without protest to any novelty, and I wanted to work through her inevitable resistance before Sunday. So I saddled up and hopped on.

I started by walking around the parking area. I wanted to find the Helly’s rig. River was good, right up until I asked her to stand so I could talk with Patrick (Heidi’s husband). Then she started acting up. Their rig was close enough to mine that she didn’t think we needed to delay our return. She started tossing her head and ended up trying to buck and rear. We did small turns.

I then trotted her around my truck and trailer for a while. I thought it would be easier on Fantazia, but no… Every time we were out of sight, Fantazia went nuts. She kicked the truck twice (not hard enough to leave a mark, but hard enough to piss me off). I moved her and tied her up short. (Note to self: make sure to park such that the truck and trailer are bent to right if not straight.) River was not improving either, so I decided to ride her in the arena, at the end where I wouldn’t bother the people vetting in.

It took many clover leaf patterns at the trot, and even more circles at the lope, to get River’s brain turned on. When she was willing to lope on a long rein with her head down, stop, back, and stand quietly, I headed back to the trailer. After untacking, I went to Valerie Jaques, who had offered me red ribbon. River’s tail would henceforth be decorated at rides.

River’s first endurance ride!

First and foremost, I need to thank Heidi Helly for allowing me to ride with her. I asked her if I could because I knew she was going to complete the ride at a slow and consistent pace. She and her horse OP had completed 6,000 miles and achieved their decade award just two days earlier. No I didn’t know that would be happening when I asked her if I could tag along! But I had attended enough rides with Heidi to know she was an expert. I knew she would be starting slow and continuing slow, but that she would finish on time. (I also knew I liked her enough to ride 50 miles in her company!) Luckily Heidi did decide to ride on Sunday!

Riding with Heidi exceeded my expectations. Not only was the pace perfect, but OP was the ideal equine mentor for River. He has the most amazing steady slow trot I’ve ever seen. It’s really a collected jog of the type that is really physically demanding to sustain. OP is one fit gelding! River is not nearly as fit, so we did a lot of walking and then trotting to catch up. OP would pin his ears and flick his tail if River got too close or too worked up… before we had finished the first loop, River was obeying his orders before I had time to react.

Heidi and OP showed River lots of good habits, such as moving off the trail and calmly waiting for faster horses to pass. River saw OP remain calm (just a bit rambunctious a few miles from the finish of a loop, but Heidi controls that admirably). She watched him eat, drink, slow down, speed up, vet, etc. What an ideal learning experience for a new horse! Details by loop below.

Loop 1

The 50s started at 6:30. It was still dark. Heidi and I waited until everyone else had left (we thought), then we led our horses out. According to Ride with GPS, the route was 16.8 miles. I forgot to start my Garmin watch until 6:45, so it recorded 15.4 miles. Because we led our horses for a mile or so, the stats I am about to report are a bit off! Total elevation gain: 1,791′ (Ride with GPS had it at 1,974′). Average speed: 4.8 mph (5.1 mph average moving speed). 3 hours, 12 minutes elapsed time, 3 hours moving time, per my watch. OP and River pulsed down at the same time, and as I recall our out-time was 10:28, so that first loop took us just under 3.5 hours.

At first, River was very worked up. She was not fun to lead, and if it hadn’t been for Heidi, I’d probably have given up and climbed into the saddle. Thank goodness for mentors though! It did River good to be led. I ended up grabbing a small stick and holding it so that she’d poke herself before she ran her shoulder into me. She learned.

Over the course of that first loop, River got much much better. Although she stood still for mounting, at first she did a lot of head shaking and tossing. By the end she was trotting or walking quietly behind OP.

Of course, once we neared Ride Camp again she could hear Fantazia’s neighing. I had dismounted as usual, and once again she was a bear to lead. (You can watch this accidentally recorded video of me leading her in.) But she still pulsed down quickly, and we headed back to the trailer for a 30-minute hold.

Above: I had my GoPro on and recording without knowing it! Captured this video of River’s first mid-ride vet check. She’s a bit naughty!

River drinks during holds… a lot!

She had only taken a few sips out on the trail. I had not given her any electrolytes, and it was cool, so I wasn’t worried. As soon as I tied her to the trailer, River started drinking. Besides hay, I offered her beet pulp and alflafa/oat cube mash, her usual Purina Equine Senior Active, rice bran, and Triple Crown Senior. She only ate hay (alfalfa and grass) and drank water. And more water. She emptied a 5-gallon bucket and drank their big water tub down several inches.

During the next hour-long hold, River continued the same pattern. She barely touched her pelleted feed, slurped up a tiny bit of mash, and ate lots of hay and drank lots of water. And that was after drinking out on the trail.

Loop 2

The second loop was shorter (my watch had it at 14.5 miles) and steeper (1801′ total elevation gain). Our pace was almost identical to Loop 1 (Heidi is a pacing expert): 4.8 mph overall, 5.2 mph average moving speed. This time we played leapfrog so River could get some time leading, and to encourage both horses to keep up the pace. By this time River was calm, though not at all tired. She went up and down hills easily, and did not get upset when we saw other horses. We had three in the 50-mile ride behind us still, and some of the faster LD riders were passing us. It was warm–60 degrees–and mostly sunny. A beautiful day in the desert!

When we go back to Ride Camp, River tried to climb into the water trough. She’d drunk some out on the trail, but she was still thirsty. (And River tends to try to climb into troughs after working!) Her heart rate was below 50 by the time we got to the trough, but we didn’t get her pulse taken till 1:22, a few minutes behind OP. She then vetted through well, if a bit impatiently, with As on everything but upper right guts (B).

River was worse for the vet this time, but I believe it was mainly due to being itchy. She kept trying to scratch her head and neck on me. Heidi had clipped OP’s neck, and I think River would benefit from that also.

Loop 3

The smoothest part of River’s first endurance ride was the third loop. It was around 17 miles (once again I forgot to turn on my watch juntil we’d gone nearly a mile), with about 1,600′ total elevation gain. We went a tad faster (5.0 mph average speed, 5.2 mph moving speed), and stopped less frequently. This time we did a lot of leapfrogging, especially at the beginning. This really helped both horses keep up an animated trot even though we were moving away from camp.

At one point, River hit a mental block–physically, she was fine. Her pulse at the time was 72, at the trot. But she thought she was dying. It took OP passing us and pulling ahead to make her trot on. A little later, after resting at a water trough while OP drank, she perked up and decided she wasn’t dead afterall.

We had brought headlamps, but amazingly enough, we didn’t need them. By the time it was getting truly dark, we were on the main road within a mile from Ride Camp. The last two riders were coming up behind us, so when I got off, I led River slowly till they had passed. I really wanted that turtle award!

We finished around 5:45, and River’s heart rate was below 60 by the time we crossed the finish line. I mistakenly believed the last vetting was saddles off, so I took River back to the trailer and switched saddle for blanket. This allowed her to recharge batteries enough to be fairly naughty for the vet, despite Heidi waiting for us so OP would be a calming influence. Still, she vetted through with mostly As (B on upper right again, I believe, and maybe skin tenting). River had 50 miles completed!

Aftermath

River’s first endurance ride was a success. I had worried that she would get to around 30 miles and stop dead. She’s the type of horse to tell me “You’ll have to get off and drag me!” It may be that Heidi and OP saved me from that fate. The important thing is that River has seen that she can do it without undue stress.

River ate and drank well that night. I’d guess she drank at least 15 gallons over night. Together the mares drank about 20 gallons, and Fantazia never drinks more 5-6 gallons. In the morning, River’s legs were tight and she moved easily. When we got home, she rolled, drank, and ate two quarts of feed. Both mares trotted off soundly when I turned them out in the pasture.

Lessons learned

River can go the distance. Yes, we went slowly, but that’s okay the first race. River is far from peak condition. Still, she showed she could do it. Her heart rate was low the entire time (even when she thought she was dying of exhaustion).
River will take care of herself. She drank very well. She’ll need to drink more on the trail, but she guzzled down water at ride camp. She ate fairly well, mostly hay, but that’s okay.
River wags her head at the trot when she is relaxed. You can see it in this video if you look closely!
River kicks when crowded and/or excited. We will be wearing red ribbons.
River has the potential to be a calm, consistent endurance mount. She got excited at first, but that’s normal. I think she will be a mid-pack horse, but I won’t know until she’s got a few hundred miles under her girth.
River gets very itchy. I’m probably going to clip her neck before our next race.
It will probably be a lot better without Fantazia. She kicks up a huge ruckus that is not conducive to relaxation.

River’s first endurance ride (Road to Tevis #106)

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