GAME ON!! Super BIG pat on the back for this boy!!!
Sandman and I finished 2nd at the Jingle Bell 50-mile event. This was the last ride of our season and our best placing ever, and I think we also finished in 1st place in our region for our weight class for the 2024 ride season. Our last three events of the season were a 5th place finish a month ago, a 4th place finish a few weeks ago and this past weekend a 2nd place finish.
On a very very rocky hot ride with a deceiving amount of elevation change, Sandman had energy to spare at the finish and for this reason, he was also awarded the coveted Veterinarian Choice Award with the highest Vet score of the Top 10 finishers. With all of this in mind, this was an all-around big big weekend for us and a really great season of accomplishments for Sandman.
This photo is of our boy the morning after while still in camp and is significant for a number of reasons. First and foremost, you can see, he is alone at that trailer and why is that important? This is significant because other teams who rode on Saturday and who were camped around us and on both sides of us, decided to leave at the end of the day, so he had no horse friends in close proximity and unlike in the past, he calmly ate and drank and slept all night long while in the past, he would have been pacing and nickering constantly for his friends. His calmer and more “chill” demeanor now in camp and out on the trail is a clear sign that he is more comfortable at these events.
He is all business in camp now and out on the trail as well and for example, when we make the turn for camp, be it 1 mile or 20 miles away, he is very insistent that he knows where home is and he wants to be the horse that takes us all home (back to camp) no matter how far out we are he wants to lead us all home.
Most importantly, he understands that he needs to take care of himself at these events and so he eats and drinks ravenously both in camp and out on the trail without a care in the world or any agitation. These are significant changes from just even a year ago and bode well for our future in endurance racing.
Secondly, you can see in this photo that he is bright eyed, cheery, and alert and super fit (albeit a little dirty) and probably could have done another 50 miles on Sunday. These are all signs that he is mentally all there the day after and in great physical condition with hooves of steel (thanks to important feedback from Ida Hammer) even after a tough ride. He is really getting to know the game now and his job and how all this works and our partnership is stronger now as well.
Finally, he led our group often in the second and third loop and into the finish, with energy and enthusiasm and sometimes with little or no prompting from me, which is a big step forward. When he leads, you really need to take a deep breath and be on your “game”, because he really “puts the pedal to the floor” and his speed and seemingly effortless and comfortable 12 mph trot can go on forever and it’ll literally take your breath away.
We still have a few things to accomplish and improve upon on our training list, like swinging bridges, deep water crossing, his reactivity while in tight places, etc., but the list is much shorter now than a year ago. He will now look twice (versus just react with a spin) and think thru challenges, a good sign that he is much more comfortable and confident and that we are making progress.
We rode with Tracy, Mary Jane and Denise and we had so much fun, playing name recognition games and the time flew by as we rode this very tough trail yelling out the remaining mileage while sometimes complaining that this “must be the last ridge” we need to climb only to find we were left always with just one more ridge on the horizon 🙂. These three ride partners are the best and you couldn’t ask for better team players who always put their horses and partners first.
Along the way, we took care of the horses and each other, and we shared various responsibilities like “lost boot watch”, switching leading to give our horses breaks, monitoring the GPS routes and flags on the trail, checking and rechecking with one another that we were on course. It was a real team effort, never a better crew to ride with, and fun always.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Debi and Andrea and congratulate them and all of their volunteers for putting on another great event. The trails were well marked, and the ride was well managed, fun, and safe, and all up all in very comfortable and professional. I want to also thank our Vet crew led by Mark Anderson who was on it always and managed both the Vet In but mentoring and training the Vet Techs who were helping and also any horses who might need care in camp. They all do an amazing job, and the rides are without exception, fun, safe, and staffed with the best smiling helpful volunteers everywhere you turn.
All up in all, a really great event and so much fun for the riders and horses. All of us riders, I can say without exception, really appreciate the hard work of the ride management team, Vet’s, and volunteers. Lori and I are so proud of Sandman and the ride partner he is becoming. Just a really nice weekend, enjoy the ride, this was a great one.