ENDURANCE in 1 week and 4 days!!!!

Yikes, time is closing in. New Glasgow LD 35 miles was interesting! The plan was that Troy/wind and Lynn/spirit would put in a solid 6mph training ride but as the date approached I was hoping to go a little faster. Then we got out on the trail. Lots of up HILLS. Big ones. And there seemed to be a lot more up than down (I am not crazy). Spirit loves going up hills. Wind, not so much. So, eventually Troy cut us loose and away we went! We started out on the last 15 mile loop on our own and it was amazing. Eventually though we caught up to another rider and Spirit decided there was no way this horse was going to beat us.....the next three miles (maybe even a little more) consisted of long spurts of canter/gallop with spirit dominating me totally. I had wet gloves...no grip. Back brace at camp because I didnt need it (wrong) and was fatigued to the point of being useless. At one point the horse in front of me stopped suddenly and I can't remember the last time I came so close to performing an "unscheduled dismount". With six miles to go there was a pit stop. Saddle was fixed ( very crooked from lurching sideways during the almost dismount) back brace put on, hands dried. Todd says to me. They are only a couple of minutes ahead and it's only them....they are in the lead. That may have sounded tempting but the truth is I knew my control on the previous few miles was not what it should have been and I wasn't sure if I'd regained enough or not, so did the smart thing and decided there would be another day. At that point Jim and his horse headed out at a lovely solid paced trot and spirit and I tucked in behind him. Near the end I took the lead so Jim could draft off of us for a while if he wanted to but I made sure to go slow enough for him to easily take back the lead if he wanted it.
At the end of the ride we pulsed in 4th! Then, found out there was a best condition award. I don't think I've ever been to a ride with a BC award. Guess what...we won it! I'm not kidding myself..the award could have easily gone to several others. We just happened to have an extra good day. Scores were very close. At any rate, I am "tickled pink" to be the recipient of a BC award. Our barn has dedicated a lot of time to learning and implementing practices to help our mounts stay healthy and happy. Like everyone, there have been success stories and there has been heartbreak. BC is a badge we have earned and will wear with pride....and to top it all off, this was our Fastest race ever at 8.75 mph!!!!!!! WOW......true endurance racing is getting so close I can almost feel it!

So what does all of this mean for the endurance ride coming up? Well first of all, I'm hoping spirit doesn't end up with some kind of hoof bruising. There was a lot of rock, we didn't have pads on and his feet are soft from al the rain. If he stays sound for another day or so I'll know we are ok on that one. Next, I need to find a pair of reins with some FREEKIN grip between now and oct 20th. Finally, Hopefully we didn't over train on Saturday. This is one area where I simply lack experience and only time will tell.

Betty/hooley came in first and they are the one to beat (in my opinion) Jim is also on my short list. There are also a few others that I don't know well enough to have any idea as to what their potential is (don't know Susan hovey 's horse at all but I know they chase freight trains....holy crap). Then there are the quiet silent type, just sitting back patiently waiting for their moment (ie Lucy/Caruso you know who you are!) Oh well, Regardless of who the competition is or what our chances really are, spirit and I will do our best to give the competitors a run for their money!!
To be honest, as much as i am having fun stirring the pot with all this "competitor" stuff what i am really looking forward to is being able to say that "I Lynn Beazley, have ridden an endurance ride." wow....big bucket list moment coming up....with a little luck.
Have fun everyone. Troy is going out next weekend to mark trail(rain is playing havoc with his original plan). And we will post info on the type of trail as soon as he has it figured out. Happy Trails, Lynn