So after getting some more photos I put Desire in the padded Easyboot Epics in front and the taped Gloves in the hind, swapped the Specialized to her set-up, and went for a ride up the ridge. I was already sweaty and dirty and it was getting hotter by the minute but Desire was being a complete fool and I wanted to get her out and moving.

Right out of the cross ties she about trampled over top of me, stepping on my heels and then on herself and tripping with all the forward momentum she had going already. I had my husband hold her head so I could get in the saddle and then heading out from home up the ridge my horse who couldn’t stand still is suddenly walking like a farm plug and trying to turn for home if I took my attention off the reins for even a minute. She wanted to walk on the opposite side of the road that I wanted her on, and when we did trot she either did a ridiculous dog trot or flew into a spazzy 9 mph trot blowing and snorting and spooking at nothing.

In the end we made it the 3 miles to top of the ridge and then turned and I hand walked her the mile+ back down to flatter ground. The dirt road with round gravel on top can be really slippy and she was such a ditz today that I didn’t feel like riding the slip-slide down. On the last little stretch of dirt before we hit pavement again we were trotting and she suddenly jumped to the right and slammed on her brakes simultaneously. As quick a move as it was it was almost slow motion as I was *certain* I was going to eat dirt for the first time since I broke my leg 2 1/2 years ago. I went way forward on her neck and barely saved myself from falling, catching the full weight of my forward momentum on my palms on her neck which sent a fantastic pile driver of pain into my shoulders and all down my back as my weight was suddenly stopped hard. I kinked my back pretty good and it’s still sore, but at least I didn’t hit the ground.

She was spooky the rest of the way home, I was “eh ehing” her about once every few minutes. When she got all snorty and wouldn’t go forward past a friend’s van parked in the driveway I decided she needed to go down to the arena for some more work as she certainly hadn’t earned an easy pass back to her paddock. The arena footing is pretty deep and it was getting hotter still so we only worked about 15 minutes down there, just transitions, figure 8s, making her pay attention just a little. I can’t claim it did anything as she was a pill for her shower and snorted and wouldn’t step over the hose going back to her pasture.

Standing next to Joey while mounted on D, he was interested and alarmed to see me up so high on her

So I pretty much had the worst ride on Desire–I dunno, maybe ever? Sometimes it’s hard to believe she is turning 16 next week! Clearly she is ready and waiting for lot’s more work–and the occasional slap up side the head. We did more trotting this time and she was sound as a dollar the whole time, so that’s a plus.

First signs! Yahooo

Driving into Robie. I fear my big diesel truck fared better on the bumpy, DUSTY, road than the (no longer) cherry red Corvette that followed me in!  And yes many “did ya buy that orange truck just for the Renegade occasion?” jokes!  Hard to resist

Found team Chaton, flying the flags as usual 🙂

Quick trial trot out before vetting Bo in on Friday at Robie

Time to vet in! 

Bo and Karen vetting in at Robie on Friday pm

Trot out

 Bo gets his numbers! We’re in!

 I braided Bo’s mane for Tevis. I’ve never hyperventilated while braiding before…Really though crewing for an organized gal like Karen in such a big event, I felt like those braids had to be great!
They all lasted the ride and were still in Sunday morning, fear and awe is good for my braiding skills apparently

We were up at 4 am to get near the front of the line heading into the Robinson Flat vet check. 

Tevis morning

All set up at RF for Karen

Pulsing in at RF, 36 miles in

RF vet check

RF trot out

Booting back up to head out of RF

Now THAT is how a horse leaving a Tevis vet check should look!

Karen’s awesome husband, Dave, BBQing for us spoiled crew folk at Foresthill vet check

Dave and crew member L with Bo at Foresthill, 68 miles in

Clouds came in and the jacket, headlamp, and glow tack came out!

Trot out, Foresthill, 68 miles in

I thought I got a sweet tan but then I took my socks off..

McCann Stadium, Auburn: The Finish Line!

Karen came in at 2:32 a.m., ahead of her 2010 completion time with Bo. Bo’s pulse was 48, he trotted out great, and proceeded to eat 3 mashes in a row without pausing for breath. This, my friends, is an endurance horse!

Bo on Sunday morning, looking great!

This is 10th place rider Alyssa Stalley showing her gelding for the Haggins Cup on Sunday morning. Her gelding was bright and alert, moved loosely, in fact she had a hard time keeping up with him! Hard to believe this horse just did 100 hard miles, too!

What more is there to say? Well, it was an awesome learning experience! Karen is incredibly organized and had lists with her needs/wants for each check written out for us. It made life pretty easy! It was my first time crewing in this high pressure environment and I won’t deny I had a few moments where I wish I was more on top of things, but overall I think we helped out quite a bit and we did our best to make Karen’s day easier. I do hope to complete Tevis some day and it was great to see how things can be done efficiently for horse and rider to get through the holds smoothly. I appreciate the chance to gain this knowledge and aid Karen on her journey to her 4th Tevis completion.

Oh, and did I mention it was fun! I saw lots of friends, old and new, from various parts of the country. I glimpsed Funder lurking with her camera a few times and I met and hung out with Go Pony blog author and Renegade rep Ashley. We had some good times waiting deliriously at the finish line into the wee hours of the morning and again checking out the vendors after the Haggins Cup judging. Karen gave us some crew swag and I did some shopping so I ended the weekend with 3 Renegade shirts, a Renegade hat, and a Tevis 2012 shirt. I love getting t-shirts for stuff, it makes my bulging dresser sad when a ride doesn’t give completion t-shirts! Anyway, it just so happens that my Tevis shirt is a fine wine color that, when paired with my blue breeches, will take my matchy-matchy to yet another level. Yeah, I said it.

Glad to be home, exhausted, I missed my critters..am going into full gear getting Desire going in the Renegades tomorrow. After this weekend I actually have some clue on what a good Renegade fit really looks and feels like, so I’m going to cling to that confidence and see what I can figure out. There might be big riding plans in the near future….*redheadsscheming*

I’m sure Karen will write up her Tevis experience on her own blog and I’ll link it in here when she does. Congratulations to all the Tevis 2012 finishers and for those that didn’t finish, I have a sneaking suspicion you’ll be back to try again. I know I can’t wait to!

postscript:  for any contact lens wearers out there, keeping ’em in for 24 hours in the dusty, hairy madness that is crewing Tevis is not advisable. After Foresthill, take them out and put your glasses on. My dry, sore eyes beg it of you!

Today B, our trainer, made it out despite the fact that it was about 100 degrees in the shade. Luckily she comes in the evenings and by then the round pen is shady!


Just WHAT are you doing on my precious right side??

While I understand and appreciate everything B is doing with Joey, in my head I was wondering, “what’s the next breakthrough? or step?” I tend to think analytically and like lists and knowing what is to come. It’s not always the best approach with horse training, in fact one of the things I admire about B is her calm, go-with-the-flow, let the horse show you, approach. She put him in his tack and long lines, which he is good at and is now relaxing wonderfully into, and Joey answered my question of what’s next, what’s the next breakthrough.

Walking quietly off from B in the beginning, first Walk departure! So calm! Look at that head!

Joey’s go to move is, predictably, to flee. Of course horses are flight animals, but Joey has also been low man in the herd for much of his life until he came here 4 months ago, so he is very practiced at fleeing–he had to flee so he didn’t get his little behind whooped! When B started with him it was all trotting, much of it nervous, high headed, and if we got a step of walk we were beyond happy. Today was just so different! Joey was very in tune to B and when he did become uncomfortable, while he would squirt away into a brisk trot, he would stop himself in a matter of a few steps to look/tune in/ask what’s next. Even when B started shuffling her feet, akin to the bunny hop, a suspicious human activity which prompted a panic high speed trot, after about 10 circuits he was stopping to stare, trotting, stopping to stare, and then deciding he wasn’t maybe so scared or impressed by that anymore. He was much more into thinking, investigating. asking, and giving–than fleeing. Huzzah!

What’s next?

Love that trot

I feel pressure to my left..

I think this is what she wants..

Smart Boy

More nice walking

Look at the bend 🙂

 AND THEN! As usual, about 3/4 through the session, Joey got warm, tired, unimpressed, and decided to stop. He seemed quite content standing there, so B sidled over next to and slightly off his right hind. This usually cues a panicked trot departure, as he doesn’t like things behind him, especially on that precious right side. This time he just sort of eyeballed her but didn’t move, so she sidled behind him, still holding the lines. His head went up, nervously, but he stayed with his feet planted and turned his head slightly left to right to watch her on each side of him as she moved slightly.

Peeking right, Hello Joey, he says SHOOT, she’s on that side too, Just breathe man!

He did so wonderfully having her standing behind him a couple of times, so she decided to completely switch it up and take some pressure off. She un-tacked him and let him loose in the round pen to relax, but he was still glued to her, following her around, circling her. It was pretty cute.

Whatcha doing? 

She decided to get up out of the round pen to let him figure out he was on his own.

Where ya going???

 He stood around, kinda confused, then not too concerned. He checked out his tack hanging on the round pen, gave the pad a bite for good measure. As soon as B got back in the pend he was interested:

You’re back, what’re we doing??

To finish up, B worked on running the stick down his right hind leg while he was loose in the round pen. Again, the key to Joey is giving him an escape, an out, and if you do that, he will try his hardest to do well. If you trap him, he goes quickly to panic and could so easily turn to dangerous just in his need to GET AWAY. It’s very rewarding though, because with him, even when he is scared, he returns to try again.

He tries to block her coming to his right side with his head, she blocks him from doing that with the stick as a bar. He can move away forward, but cannot be allowed to move *her* or into her space for his own reasons. 

 His “try” was exhibited in the stick exercise; he would get nervous about the stick running down The Precious (seriously he obsesses over it so much it deserves that title!), trot away forward (never toward or into B), then stop himself and circle right back to B. He did this a number of times and she ended on a quiet, calm stick circuit up and down The Precious, at liberty.  She just turned and walked away without an other word, and that really got Joey’s attention.

You didn’t take/murder/eat The Precious? Where ya going??

 Joey got a bite or two of green grass on his way back up to the cross ties and it was *comical* watching him trying to chew with a bit in for the first time. He was very intent on it, and the bit came out of his mouth later without a blade of grass on it! Impressive

Chompchomp, what’sthat?!, chompchomp

After a bath, a little walk just to change up his routine . See the finger pointing at him? Joey got a little rushy and B said Hey, watch yourself Son. Pretty funny, didn’t see it until I uploaded the photos but it totally captured the discipline moment.

Hallelujah

 “So then they strapped this crap on me, and I had to let them touch The Precious, man, Blaze, it was rough!”

I’ve been spending lots of time talking, emailing, printing, and reading about Tevis in the last few weeks and then realized I haven’t actually said a thing about it on my blog. Suddenly here it is coming up on Tevis weekend in just a few days!

I am honored and excited to be crewing for Karen Chaton and her gelding Bo, who completed Tevis 2 years ago together. Karen is incredibly organized and Bo is fit and ready– I can’t wait to be involved in helping them towards another buckle! So here’s the plan:

Heading to Robie on Friday afternoon pm to collect my rider’s gear, crew passes, etc, and returning to Auburn to spend the night and meet up with a carpool to Robinson Flat in the morning. Crewing RF and Foresthill and plan on being at the Finish line in the wee hours! I’ll head home Sunday whenever Karen is done with me.

Hope to see many Facebook/blog/web friends from across the country throughout the weekend and best of luck to all riders, horses, crews and volunteers involved in this exciting event!

I put her in thickly padded Easyboot Epics in the front and her usual Easyboot Gloves in the hind. The theory is that the slim line Gloves weren’t giving her nearly-flat, thin soled front hooves enough protection and since her lameness was inconsistent and confusing, my trimmer and I figured eliminating one potential problem (being footsore vs. muscle/tendon etc sore) might be useful.

Did I mention 6 weeks off meant she was very, erm, “natural,” read filthy..yeah those legs are supposed to white/grey not brown/red but oh well…

Desire was very happy to see Willow, when I brought her over to say hello they snuffled each other and Desire gave a very breathy, tender little nicker/grunt. We decided to take a mellow ride around the 6 mile horse camp loop and along the way encountered D, another endurance friend out for a ride on her Arab mare with her granddaughter riding her Foxtrotter mare:

Grey Girls hearing things

Desire charged along at her brisk walk in the lead for pretty much the whole loop, we barely trotted more than a few steps and she was sound and quite talkative. She kept giving little squeal/grunts when Willow would come alongside/as if to pass her, something she usually does aggressively at horses she doesn’t like but sounded pretty gentle directed at Willow. She did have her ear and eye trained on Willow’s every move when she was potentially going to take the lead. *eyeroll*

We passed the horse camp near the end of the loop and there were some campers and horses in corrals. Desire wanted to stop and say hello and hang out and in fact was not very happy to walk off and leave the camp. Maybe she thought it was a ride camp and we should be sticking around in case there was a ride starting in the morning 😉


 Sheza put on a big show when we got home and I led Desire back to the shared gate of their paddock/pastures. There was a big dust cloud rising and I could just see a red streak fly past once in a while as we walked that way.

“Mommymommymommymommmy”

Ohhh mommymommymommy you came back!

Then Mommy dearest shared some of her hay and Sheza lost all interest in mommy dearest. As it should be.