In July Launi & I did his first Limited Distance 30 mile ride at Gold Country. It was my first AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference) ride in 5 years & it felt so good to be back on the trail competing. I had so much fun & Launi did so well that I immediately started looking for another AERC ride.
After a lot of thought I signed us up for the LD 30 miler at Camp Far West over Labor Day weekend. We were going to ride on Sat & I was looking forward to another good ride. But in the back of my mind was a niggling little thought that maybe, just maybe we could do a 50 mile endurance ride. I hadn't done a 50 miler in 7 years so that niggling little thought was a giant leap from our LD. When ride management emailed the list of entries, my heart quickened when I saw that only 10 people were signed up for Sun's LD. That meant IF I signed up for the 50 I'd only have to worry about controlling Launi for 10 riders to pass us. Controlling Launi can be a bit of a challenge so my ride decisions have to be based on my safety. Well after emailing with the ride secretary a few times, she told me that the LDs on Sun do a different trail so never pass the 50s. That information sealed our fate. I changed our entry to the 50 miler on Sunday. Launi was about to grow up.
On Friday a friend stopped by & helped me glue Easyboot Glue-Ons onto Launi's feet. I didn't want to risk any gaiter rubs from his Gloves since Sun was going to be a long riding day. We had a little trouble getting the glue to set up on one of his hooves, but at last he was bathed & booted, ready to begin our next big adventure.
The 44 mile drive to ridecamp was uneventful. I saw a lot of friends & had fun visiting. I was asked a number of times about what breed of horse Launi is & no one could believe he's a purebred arab. I suppose I better get use to this as it also happened at the Gold Country 30. I even had a bearded man ask if he was for sale. Uh NO! Launi vetted in fine & we were set to go the next morning. It was a beautiful morning on Sun with the remains of the blue moon still looking over the valley when I got up to feed. All through the hustle & bustle of tacking up Launi was calm. Could I really be so lucky as to have a quiet ride start? I got on & we rode around camp for a few minutes before he started to get excited. Up went his hind end while he violently shook his head. I was in for a wild ride if I didn't get him focused. Back to the trailer we in the hopes he'd eat & relax. About 12 minutes after the ride started, Launi & I hit the trail. With no other horses in sight he calmly did his dog-trot down the road. He was out for a Sunday ride & had no clue what we were really doing.
It wasn't long before we caught up with other horses but at least we had reached the hills. While Launi got strong & tried to keep up, or catch up, with other horses, he was very controllable & never offered to buck. Whew...I lucked out BIG TIME! We leap-frogged with a few riders and I was so proud that Launi never lost his cool. Somewhere around 12 miles we met another rider who joined us for the rest of the day. Her horse & Launi were well suited & we had a great day riding with our new friends.
Shara, our savior of the day, met us at mile 15 with water, wet hay, & mashes. While our horses replenished Shara gave me the sad news that Launi's sire, Rabu Farwa aka Pip, had died Friday night. He'd passed on the blue moon, a giant of a little horse who meant so much to his owner & me. I was so fortunate to have leased him because without Pip I'd never have had Launi or Launi's 2 daughters. It was with a heavy heart that Launi & I dedicated his first endurance ride in the memory of his sire. Not finishing was now NOT an option.
Shara met us half a dozen times along the trail, offering water & feed to our horses, & a diet pepsi to me. I know that without her we might have had a different day. It was the refreshing breaks that kept us perked up & going down the trail. There were times when I whispered to Launi about other rides I'd done on this trail. He was following in the footprints of an awesome horse, my dearly missed Farwraff. It was so emotional to be riding the same trails with a horse I'd not only raised, but a preemie that I'd bottle fed. A horse who so many thought wouldn't live through the first few days of foalhood. There were a number of times as I rode that tears filled my eyes. Tears of sadness, tears of joy, & tears of love for the horse Launi was becoming.
In the morning I'd had trouble with my stirrups & my left ankle was weakening & sore. Some adjustments were made at lunch that helped but the ankle remained sore. Not everything about the day went as planned. My netheryeah was chafing so I grabbed the baby powder. Only after sprinkling it liberally, I noticed that I'd grabbed Launi's FOOT powder. Oh shit!! After dancing around, shaking out powder, I hoped it wouldn't burn when I got back in the saddle. Actually though, the menthol proved to be cooling & it didn't burn. Whew! That was close! With about 6 miles left to ride, it popped twice, buckled, & I could hardly stand the pain. I don't know what happened but it sure felt bad. We walked the downhill & uphill while trying to trot a little on the flat. My thighs & calfs sure got a work out since I wasn't using my ankle or feet. I even rode with my left foot out of the stirrup as we trotted on down the trail. As we passed the firing range, complete with what sounded like cannons, for the 2nd time, I knew we were almost done. Just 3 more miles. Shara met us 1 1/2 miles from the finish for one more refreshment. While the horses ate & drank, my ankle rested & didn't feel as bad that last mile or so.
It was a good thing the smoke from the northern fires had started filling the air. Everyone's eyes were watering & stinging. I say it was good because when I crossed that finish line in tears, no one noticed. What a high!
Launi vetted out good, bright & alert, even trotting freely in hand, which is something he usually refuses to do. He sees no reason to trot when he can walk as fast as I run. But maybe because Shara trotted him for the vet he thought he'd be a good boy.
This morning when I went out to check on Launi it was hard to believe we'd ridden 50 miles just yesterday. He was bright, perky, & quite demanding in wanting breakfast. His legs look good & I don't think he even lost any weight. There was no signs that he'd just graduated to being an ENDURANCE HORSE.
ps: I on the other hand should probably stick with being an LD rider. My ankle's in a soft brace & a few body parts don't feel quite right. Maybe I'm too old to relive my youth?? Well, there's not much I can do about that because if Launi's an endurance horse, then I guess I have to get back to being an endurance rider. And NO, he's NOT for sale. LOL
