ColliesHorsesArtLove

The Big Trip

My trip to Kentucky/Tennessee/Georgia then back thru Tennesse to Kentucky is still in progress. I love laptops because blogging is available to me practically anywhere...though I don't think I'd be doing it off of the back of a horse......except maybe one of these gaited horses that Lori has..........omg..............like I said way back when Tirzah & I went to Southland 4 years ago and I wanted to bring home "Lavenger"....now I want to bring home "Trusty"....I just want them to have Arabian heads.....the gaited horses truly are amazing rides!!!

First thing we did is get up early to ride. It was suppose to be incredibly hot the first day I was in Kentucky, but I waited and waited......I don't know what's wrong with me because not only did I like the heat, I liked the humidity. Weird, I suppose. I also had to tan because of the big wedding....

Here we trailed around the corner from Lori's house. Trusty has the pink & green tack. He has a pretty nice head for a Tennessee Walker. I think Lori gives me the prettier ones to ride so I am happy and want to come back.

Walking down to the fields to ride.

 

Trying to take a video while riding is hard. But I have to say it's easier sitting on a gaited horse. I was having a little trouble keeping Trusty in his gait, but he was VERY nice and easy to ride and once he was consistent he FLEW thru these fields. Lori has had him for about a year and when she got him the owner was terrified to take him out of the stall. He was an AWFUL animal. He bit, kicked, charged, & knocked people over. In fact Lori said he was probably the most dangerous and aggressive horse she's ever trained. The problem was that he thought he was the boss AND he was still a stallion, which adds even a stronger, more aggressive component to his way of being. Anyway, when she got the horse she decided to name him Trusty because she knew he would be once she was done beating the crap out of him. Ok, she really said...giving him an "attitude adjustment". I had absolutely no problems jumping on him and he was a great horse to ride. Lori is an excellent horse trainer AND she gets these horses to gait barefoot ~ something so many people told her was not possible (??).

Lori needed a dress as she's kinda like me, she just wears riding pants all the time, so we went off to Bowling Green to shop. After we found her a dress, it was off to Walmart.

I don't know what possessed me to think I would buy a bottle of wine.......it was Sunday!!!! There are some really strange laws in certain parts of the country but no alcohol buying on Sunday is R E T A R D E D ! ! ! ! ! ! !  I don't even know what kind of analogy is good to describe this. But, I survived. I drank a lot of sweet tea. Now that is a beautiful drink of the South!!

Later on after dinner we drove around her 50 acres looking for fly masks that the horses took off. This must be a national past time of horse owners with more than a few acres because Tony & I just did it last week. Except I did not find my one, and she found 3 or 4 underneath a grove of trees. So funny!

Her newest puppy is a great dane named Sparticus. He's not quite 4 months old and about as tall as Sage and equally destructive. Lori rescued a pregnant dane bitch from someone and was able to place everyone and Sparty stayed. Such a sweet puppy! Omgosh! About now, I'm really missing my collies! He's so cute with his lavendar bunny. After dinner I walked around her house and took iPhone photos of all my artwork she has.

Here is a portrait I painted of Lana's great-great-grandmother, Ikoa. She was such a pretty bitch in the face and head and Helga Kane gave her her class in CO CCA years ago, in the Open White bitch class. Anyway, Lori's husband Michael had me paint Ikoa for a Christmas present. Lori used to call all her art in her house "Early Diana". I love you Lori!

On Monday morning, we left early to drive to Georgia to go to Chantal's wedding.

It was about 5 1/2 hours away, but by the time we made 900 turns on 900 small country roads we got there just in time to be 7 minutes early for the wedding and then wait in the hot Georgia sun for another 1 1/2 hours...................tanning......getting a headache, feeling hungry.....

So I sent Chantal a text & picture.....I never heard from her. She must have been busy.

Waiting.......waiting.....waiting...........

Here is Pierre's brother Kirk......waiting, waiting, waiting.....he & Sherry were making fun of Lori & I wearing nylons....at least we didn't have to wear a tie. Nevertheless, he is very handsome. He looks a lot like his dad. A very handsome Bain.

Finally, the minister came back and told us all to go back upstairs to get out of the boiling sun and they would feed us. What a good idea....I hope we can have some wine soon....

Chantal's oldest daughter Stephanie is on the right. She is a little clone of her mother. The girl on the left is her husband's daughter....one of 4 children. I don't know her name. Chantal's youngest daughter I saw from a far. All beautiful girls and their dresses were so pretty!

Chantal and Rick ~ she was so beautiful!!

Kristina & Stephanie. The bridesmaids were also gorgeous!!!

Some of her music ~

The minister who rescued us from waiting in the heat also was the cordinator of the music at the reception. The venue was very pretty, food was great and Lori & I danced to several songs. We had to dodge children & grandmothers (shoulda brought my helmet), but when in doubt, take a iPhone movie.

 

Surprisingly, Lori looks drunk (and she doesn't drink), I guess I look drunk too, but the weird Georgia wine I had wore off way too soon but we always have fun dancing together! Between her wedding & two of mine & several other events where we NEVER sat down, we've had our share of FUN!! I'm sure there was one or two people who thought Lori was my GIRLFRIEND, but somehow we both didn't care. We had a lot of fun getting there and getting back and one thing I love about Lori is she laughs at EVERYTHING I say. We have the same sense of humor and that's probably why she's my best friend AND she'd drive all the way to GA with me to go to a wedding where she doesn't know hardly anyone. You gotta love best friends Forever.

Drinking At The Airport

You know, everytime I see Tirzah do this.....

I think of one of these......I don't know why........

Wish me luck. I am riding horses without a helmet and going to my darling step-daughter's wedding. Part of this trip makes me want to have a full dentition of root canals but I know I will survive.......the other part.....I'm sure will be an interesting enough blog post.

Tevis Fun Ride

Ali'i and I did the Tevis Fun Ride on Saturday. For $45 you could pick two loops with the money going to the trails. One 12 mile loop was from the Foresthill Mill Site back thru the canyon to Michigan Bluff, or the 20 mile ride from Foresthill down the Cal Loop and then up to Driver's Flat. I chose the 20 mile ride. I rode with Kathie & friend Sam and we started out about 10 am.

Ali'i spooked at something (???) and I have to hold on for dear life while holding my iPhone and then we are in The Back. A l i ' i ! ! ! ! 

This is a fun trail. It's the part that most Tevis riders do at night. It's long, some 17 or 18 miles to the bottom and just when you think you've ridden 12 miles of switchbacks on narrow trails you see a sign that says you've only gone 3.3 miles. At night, for me, it was much more intense and at times, literally not being able to see ANYTHING. But it's still REALLY fun!!

Kathie on Cira and Sam on Malaia, Kathie's other horse. Both horses (& Kathie) have finished Tevis. 

Ali'i was in front for most of the ride, and the single track trail. This is his (and my) favorite place to be. He's got a fast walk if we're in front and I don't have to fight with him.

Once we got to the road, we were in back and the fighting started. Not bad, not good. Just annoying. Annoying Ali'i.

Nice water stop. This is near the bottom of the Cal Loop and a good place to cool the horses. Sam & Malaia.

Kathie pouring water on Cira. Her horses are in wonderful shape, but haven't been out as consistently as Ali'i has, so the heat was a little harder on them. It was warm, but not blistering hot. That will be coming up soon, I'm sure.

All was good here, then a group of horses passed us a ways down the trail. Ali'i was PISSED so I had to get off of him and get him settled down a little. I finally left Kathie & Sam to ride ahead on my own. We decided to do an extra 6 miles, which was to the River Crossing and back, then up to Driver's Flat where the trailer was. Good for the horses who are riding Tevis as it helps them when they are tired and it's so late at night. They remember the trail.

To the River Crossing!

Here's Muffin Head at the river. Last week on the blog, the photo of Aura in the river looking at the geese was just on the other side of this. Not sure it's passable yet without swimming......I'm not that brave.....

Ali'i drank, then we were off backwards to Driver's Flat. We passed Kathie & Sam a few minutes later, then flew back up the trail the 3 miles to the hill to Driver's Flat. It's about a 2 mile climb to the top and a great conditioning hill. At the top were water troughs (thank God!!) courtesy of Greg from Echo Valley Feed. I thought someone was rude and threw empty beer cans in the troughs but then realized they were for riders (and horses I suppose though I haven't figured out how you pour liquid into a horse's mouth, especially from a can). So, we had 1/2 a warm beer, chatted with Greg and waited for Kathie & Sam.

The Tevis Bar-B-Que. Yum!

I had one raffle ticket that came with my entry, but T bought 10 more and gave them to me to read. I'm not sure that was a good idea, because by then I had had 2 beers and missed one of the tickets. Luckily the next one they read was ours also and I was able to choose my prize.

Yeah! A green horsey bucket full o' stuff! Like WINE, brushes, hoof pick with a cute horse head on the end, LOTS of people snacks, horsey spray, lead rope....

Love this!! Just a little smaller than Ali'i!!

The other 3 raffle tickets I was VERY interested in were...your Tevis entry paid for (Renee Robinson won that!!! Yeah!!), a one day Fishing Trip & night's lodging in Alaska and a night's stay at Somewhere Over The Rainbow Lodge in Foresthill. Since I wasn't reading the numbers on the tickets very well, maybe I would have won one of those too! T can keep the tickets now! I sorta suck.

Fun, friends, food and we were off. I gave a thumbs up to the One Woman (I think?) Band and almost tossed myself over a green plastic chair. That made me laugh A LOT! I hope the One Woman Band laughed too because it was a moment. I'm glad I didn't go down.....Good job! Tevis Fun Ride it was!!!

Thrill's Sheep Adventures

O ohhhhh........that's not where the sheep goes!!!!

Trailer Loading ~ Today's The Day

What I love about my hoof trimmer???? He's always game to help me with my horses other than just trimming feet. He's an all purpose guy.

I used to be able to train a horse to go in a trailer, but have lost my confidence. And, I maintained that my new Featherlite was way too high for a baby to jump in for the first time. Little did I know my all purpose guy thought that was a bunch o' crap.

He said it would only take a short time but when we got started it seemed like the 25 minutes of baby making all the wrong choices was going to turn into 3 hours. All of a sudden she just jumped in and lo and behold....found HAY!!!

YUMMY!!!! Baby was so calm and relaxed and better yet, was very thoughful and quiet backing out. We did it several times on both sides and she was just so GOOD!!! I am really excited with our new trick and pretty soon she'll be going for rides!!! My all-purpose guy is AMAZING!!! Thanks Phil!!! AND my baby is very SMART!! ♥♥♥♥♥

Sage ~ Almost 8 Months

Sue came over this morning so I could help her take photographs of Jif. We got some great shots and I'm sure she will post some on FB soon. He is in gorgeous condition and was great to take photos of because he's........t r a i n e d . . . .  

Anyway, since she was here I quickly groomed Sage up for her almost 8 month old photos. Here they are! Maybe next week we'll do Tirzah & Soleil, both who look absolutely gorgeous right now. And....it's a gizillion degrees all of a sudden so our beautiful green pastures will not be so green by next week.....waaaaaaaaa!!!!

Good girl Sage Brush!!!!

Khemali'i Finishes The Saturday Washoe 50 Miler!!

Ali'i, T & I & a handful of dogs were off to one of my favorite rides, the land of Sage Brush & an excellent weekend of 50 Milers. If I could inhale the sage, the camp, the people, the ride management I would because it was absolutely a perfect weekend. And unshockingly, it always is.

Sage waiting for T to come back from In & Out Burger in Reno. She was one of the chosen few to go. It's called SOCIALIZATION and she got her fill of exciting things to run into....like Ridecamp dogs.....hahaha!! S c a r y . . .

We were able to leave by 12:30 pm on Friday and get to camp by 3 pm. It's always a little hard to relax for me because there is so much to do and then I ride and T stays back at the RV for hours. So, to get to Ridecamp a little earlier gives me time to sniff in all the sage and have a glass of wine. Donna & Fred couldn't go this year which was sadder than words and to add insult to injury the old tree that we've always set up next to (and reminds me of her mare Vinita) had fallen down. But I will not make any more of that than it really was an old tree. Waaaaaaaaaa.........

We got Ali'i vetted in, his boots on with Mueller Tape to assist in a better fit, then he was fed his mush with electrolytes, & lots of hay & water.

It was quite cold both nights we were there, getting down in the low 30's. Hard for horses that have already lost their winter coats and many (Ali'i), shaved. He was shivering the next morning when I tacked him up. Poor boy. I felt guilty for not bringing his heavier blanket. Isn't his butt cute?

Ray of Sunshine stayed at the house so we could leave Lana, Soleil & Ty home. I think Soleil was the only one who was really offended by not going, but she got over it once we got home. Like we never left. I love dogs. They don't hold grudges.

Steak dinner in Winnie, then off to the Ride Meeting.

Only at Ridecamp can you eat dinner with your helmet on and still have friends.

Yummy Raw ~ Tirzah's checking out some old dinner before going to beddie.

I slept really well and was up by 5:15 am. The ride started at 6:30, with the start going up a hill, which is another thing I love about the Saturday ride ~ harder for horses to run away with you, or buck you off, or doo doo horsey stuff like that. Though, last year he was a NERD when I got on him, and the year before when I rode with Janine he spent the first 2 hours giving me little bucks.

This start was probably the most perfect start Ali'i's ever done and the most perfect ride in general. Having done a 50 last weekend probably had a lot to do with it, but I also think horses do mature with experience. He was relaxed and didn't kick it into a higher gear til about 8-10 miles into the ride. 

I immediately met a rider named Leslie Spitzer (EasyBoot Team Member & a friend of Renee's from last weekend) and we rode the whole 50 miles together. We had a great time and the similaries between us was shockingly uncanny ~ or may I say, so many off the wall things that she and I had in common. Ali'i also didn't care, on this ride if she was in front or we were in front. It made for a very relaxed 50 miler.

Photo Opp!!! Smile!!! Like my shirt? Pajama top (Xmas present) from Donna. 

(This is my favorite photo of Ali'i from the photographers. He looks so B E A U T I F U L ! ! ! ......My scanner took a shit and unfortunately I had to take photos of them with my iPhone & NOT MY relatively new HP Photosmart Scanner/Printer/Copier. This says a lot about why you should spend money on an iPhone and not this expensive P.O.S.)

One of my favorite views coming around the mountain on the first loop. This is about as high as we went on the first 26 miles and the views of the High Sierras are stunning. 

Here is Leslie in Super Duper Color clutching onto her iPhone. 

And then the Super Duper Color of the Sierras.

Leslie was so funny talking about her horse Eagle who always takes advantage when she pulls her phone out, takes a drink or eats a snack. Ali'i does the same thing ~ they start trotting and it makes it hard to do what you wanted to do. Ali'i's not one of those horses you drop the reins on because he's so flingy and ready to go when he feels loose reins.

That's Washoe Lake in front of us & below and over the Sierras....Lake Tahoe. 

On this ride are the SOB's ~ 3 of them. Donna took a great photo of me & Ali'i last year sliding down one. They are very steep hills down, then back up. I don't ride them and I tell you the last hill was pretty brutal going up on foot. I could have cried. Leslie suggested I "tail" Ali'i up, so he could pull me up the hill, but I must have been doing it wrong because he kept stopping to eat. Another opportunity to take advantage!! Anyway, Ridecamp is in view for many miles and the horses know it too. They pick up speed. They are fun to ride because they have one goal in mind and that's to get back to the carrots!!!

And water, mush & hay. And sleep. This was the 1 hour hold. T again, was a stellar crew.

Off at around 11:50 am to do a 20 mile loop. There is this VERY sandy downhill grade that Leslie & I were sliding down and I was telling her how BAD Lily was last year, rolling over and over on Donna's saddle. Next thing I knew Ali'i was on the ground ready to roll over on my Albon dressage saddle. Boy did I yank him back up before he went over! I would NOT have been happy.

Our first water/snack/cookie stop on this loop. This is where Ali'i first dumped me for Toss #1 last year. No one was here, just a water trough and a cooler with cookies & water. 

This year it was high tech. Joe & Cindy Larkin from our club had been there a few minutes before us. We were leap-frogging with them for a while, but they finally got the better of us and finished in front of us. But, before that, Joe had to stretch his back.

But I thought he needed some of this....

He said no, that's not what he was doing. Had I done what he did I wouldn't be laying in bed blogging with a heating pad on my back. 

After making fun of him Leslie & I took photos of each other. And Cindy took photos of all of us which she said was going to be on FB. I will look later. Maybe.

 

I love my horse. I think he puts up with me. He just wants the food at the stops.

Leslie & Eagle. Her horse looks like he loves her.

Off we were to go up hill again, then do some very rocky trails. On the way back into camp is about 4 miles of a flat, curvy single track trail thru the sage brush & Jack Rabbits. It points right into Ridecamp and Ali'i was in high speed mode. Soooo much fun!! I wanted to wait til we got back for our next vet check & 15 minute hold before GUSHING about how much I love that trail, in case Ali'i dumped me. Then, I'd have to clarify it, but WHAT a bunch of FUN!!!

The final 4 miles is out of camp, around the East side of Washoe Lake in deep sand, then back into camp. More iPhone photos. 

I put my iPhone back in it's pouch but it was not done taking photos.

In fact it took quite a few......this I find amusing. It's like it was stalking Leslie & her iPhone.

We finally get onto the trail that you can make some time on and Ali'i and Eagle were ready to get back for dinner & a final vet check. We flew in, Ali'i in a huge trot and Leslie's pretty horse who she was holding back. 

We came in around 27-28th place or so, basically middle of the pack. I was really pleased with how strong my baby boy felt and also how incredible he's looking. We had zero problems with our boots, considering how rocky this ride is. His legs were wrapped, blankie put on and lots of mush, water, carrots & hay. Good boy Ali'i!! I LOVE YOU!!!!

Off to dinner and awards.

 

Endurance riders are easy to please.....

Another TASTY meal!! My wine is from my birthday party.

I was going to ride Ali'i again on Sunday but decided against it for a couple of reasons. One is my little friend who visits regularly every month wanted to ride with me and I said no way was I going to take her. She's gone on more back pack trips and dog shows than I can count and she's really obnoxious. (She's actually kinda a B i t c h ! ! ! ) So, we slept in and enjoyed the beautiful camp. I also didn't want to push Ali'i after doing a 50 last weekend and this weekend. 

I woke up early to let the punkies out to pee, then put Cardiff & Sage in the pen outside the RV with one toy.

The dogs are like flies. It gets a little light outside and they start to be annoying if you want to sleep in. I guess the toy got the brunt of it. And somehow I don't think Cardiff was the bad dog.....

It was so nice to sleep in and not be the one to tack up at zero-dark-thirty. I got up at 8 am just in time to see the 25 milers trot across the mountainside from my bed in the RV. 

Later on in the day we watched the front runners come in and go thru vet checks. Some of these riders ride FAST!!! And I don't know how they do it considering how rocky this ride is. Here is Aged Idol Woman who Donna and I leap-frogged with several times from last year's Hat Creek Hustle. Love, love, love seeing older people still getting on their horses for a long day of trotting. It's the ingredient to staying young, in my book. And there are not too many complainers in endurance. It's hard to whine when you choose to be out all day trotting on the back of a horse in beautiful country. And really, what's to whine about????

We had another great weekend and my riding company was again, a joy. Thanks Leslie!! Love this sport!! Love my little horsey!!!!

They're Out!!!

Good snake ~ the tail is pointed like a pencil. This snake also seems to move rather "benignly"......

Bad snake.....and I only say this because they really aren't bad if you leave them alone....at the end of his tail is a little rattle.....they move different from the above snake. I also pushed this one off of the road into the brush and it did turn around and hiss at me.

Both snakes, Aura didn't care about, but I do think she's smart enough if the rattler had turned around and snarled at her, she'd back off. I hope.

Aura did care about two other mares I rode with briefly. Janine and her beautiful Khemi daughter (slated for Tevis this year), ponying an Akele Teke gelding, and a client & her mare. Both those mares thought Aura was very handsome...um they were confused and thought she was a stallion. Here is Aura waiting for them to come by. She stood like this for 10 minutes......waiting, waiting, waiting. Both mares were calling and squating when they got near Aura. Omg. But, Aura is a very dominant mare. Horse behavior. Gotta love it.

I did check underneath the trailer and our surrounding area when we got back from our ride. Just to make sure there were no snakes.......

Khemali'i Finishes The AR50!!!

The Oldest Sanctioned 50 Mile Endurance Ride In The World, The American River Classic!

What is great about this ride is it's practically in my backyard, Ridecamp being some 30 minutes from our house and the 1 hr old and finish at Auburn Overlook, the end of the Tevis trail. It's also on trails (at least the last 25) that Ali'i knows very well.

Besides adding another 50 miles to Ali'i's ride record, he also added Toss #4 to my record. This is becoming a habit. I think I've had enough. But, more on that later.

Our day started around 10:00 on Friday where I went into the pasture to retrieve my darling boy. He was standing with the two other geldings and a passed out Khaliq.

I walked all the way across the pasture and she did not wake up. In fact I thought I heard her snoring.

After making some noise she woke up and looked like this.

Grass still in her mouth. I guess I could have done the same thing last night after riding. Eating my steak and just passing out and finding I still had some dinner hanging out of my mouth to eat when I woke up this am. I was pretty exhausted.

I grabbed Ali'i, bathed and trimmed his hooves then took him to Ridecamp to vet in. After the ride meeting there, I went back home and didn't sleep at all. Sue was called beforehand as I needed a favor and was kinda desperate ~ could she get up at 3 am and meet me at the Overlook, leave her vehicle there, drive with me to the start, then after I left, drive my rig to the 1 hour hold & finish, pick up her car and be home by 6 am??? I felt bad asking anyone to get up at zero-dark-thirty, but she didn't care about that, she just was terrified to drive my van and new horse trailer. I told her it was no big deal, just watch corners with the hind trailer wheels. She'd be driving it at 5:30 and there wouldn't be much traffic. I let her drive it with Ali'i into Ridecamp and told her after he was out, she could go 110 miles an hour and fling around corners if she wanted. My horse trailer is insured and worse things could happen. I needed her help. Thank you Sue!!!!!!

At the start I fed Ali'i his mush, gave Sue a fluffy horse blanket to wear and saddled the baby boy up. At 5:25 I got on my horse with my stomach in knots and we walked around til the ride started. I started very shortly after the main riders left and Ali'i and I were in a perfect pace ~ nice slow, controlled start and he wasn't bucking or rearing, so I was very happy. 1/2 a mile down this levee there was a left turn over a road, then onto single track. This is where Ali'i got view of a horse in front of him and I could feel him turn it up a notch. 100 more feet down the trail there was a huge mud puddle and the little dick that he was, decided to dart right into a tree, then fling violently to the left. This is his classic move and I'm sick of it. Off I went yet AGAIN, fell on the same knee to re-bruise and cut and he stood like a tropper waiting for me to get back on. I really didn't hurt myself otherwise, but my knee stung for several miles. Luckily the falls have not trashed the actual knee, but more the skin. At the finish some woman in shorts had some sort of injury to her upper leg ~  she had a grapefruit sized bruise (??) sticking out on the back of her thigh and it wasn't pretty. So, I'm really not complaining....

Immediately after getting back on my horse several riders passed me and this one woman asked what kind of 50 I was going to do, slow or fast. I said slow so she asked if she could ride with me. Her name was Maryanne and she was absolutely wonderful to ride with. I must of had "Super Slow & Kinda Scared" on the back of my windbreaker. But I'm ok with that. We ride, we finish, we have fun.

Maryanne was riding a very sensible desert bred Arabian named "Alsab" (I think that's how you spell it), who was only 9 and gelded at 5. He was handsome, quiet and non-spooky and she didn't mind riding behind me for 50 miles. She liked my pace and never complained. Perfect riding buddy!!

This trail along Folsom Lake (The Pioneer Trail) is single-track, bushy, cliffy, narrow, rocky, and frankly I don't know how anyone can go very fast on it. At one point I was leading about 10 riders and kept asking if anyone "wanted trail" and no one was complaining to get in front. Parts of the trail had worn down so low below the ground (at least 18", if not more) that I had to pick both legs up to keep from getting smashed by granite rock outcroppings or trees or just the plain dirt. And the trail itself was only about 18" in width in many spots. Several times we ran into tree limbs on the side of the trail that looked benign but after you ran into them and they bit you, and the person behind you and the person behind them, you'd realize it's not a bad idea to be convervative, unless you want to look like the woman with the grapefruit on the back of her thigh. Running into something at a walk hurts. Running into something at a fast trot REALLY is awful!!

Here is the first vet check at around 17 miles. I thought we had only gone around 10 because it was so fast and I was riding the Little Engine That Could. Ali'i was so hard to hold back, but I was able to keep him in a controlled trot and he was doing a beautiful job keeping his head down, which means he was keeping his back rounded. That was a good thing. And he looked pretty doing it! My arms were tired though.

Rattlesnake Bar Vet Check. My favorite vet Dr. Larry Goss & friend Kathie Forde (who was his "scribe") was there. Always great to see them!

Maryanne and I got to the 1 hour hold in Auburn around 10:20 am. We made good time and Sue had parked my trailer in literally, exactly the spot I wanted it, if I could have told her. I used to park on the other side of the parking lot, but I love the sound of the water. I would of had her move it 1 foot to the left, but beggers can't be choosers!! It was dark when she got there and it actually wasn't as bad as it looks. Cameras do weird things with perspective.

Maryanne & I were off for the second 25 miles at 11:20. Renee, an EasyBoot Team Member, who rode with us on the first 25 caught up with us and she mostly rode the last 25 with us. She has a cute little bay Arab, smaller than Ali'i but chargy like him. She also liked riding behind us, as her horse is better behind. Al'i is AWFUL behind other horses, especially the first 25 miles, so this was a good ride to be in front. There's a 10 mile loop that we've ridden so much and it's not my favorite because it's so rocky and lots of stop and go and he had started to get tired there. We got passed up by a few people, but took our time, had another vet check at 43 miles in Cool, then it was on to Auburn with 7 more to the finish. At that point Ali'i kicked back into high gear (as did Maryanne & Renee's horses) and we were in by 4:20 pm. Renee was fun to talk to also about being the EasyBoot Team Member as I had almost signed up to do that. I still might next year....but only if they print cute tank top t-shirts in pink!!!! She really liked doing it, so good to know! And you get a  d i s c o u n t   on boots.....

God is shining down on my bestest riding buddies & their horses. I LOVE endurance people!!!!!

Lots of water on this ride. Northern California doesn't get any better for endurance!!

Finish in Auburn. This is creative rig parking at it's best!!

Ali'i vets out and and T had his mush waiting!! He happily slurps it down then falls asleep at the trailer.

T & I then eat our food and drink a beer. I am not a beer drinker, but do love them after a warm ride. YUMMMMMY!!!!!!!!

I was really not that tired, my knee really doesn't hurt that bad, but I was ready to go home, feed the dogs, take a shower and go to bed ~ but before that we wait for our awards!!

To Finish Is To Win!!

Good boy Ali'i!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

Where's Ali'i Going This Weekend??