Just back from Biltmore (yes, early). Can you all say SLOPPY, SLIMEY FETLOCK DEEP MUD? UG!!!!! It rained all week, and they thought it would clear off. I got up at 3:30 yesterday to load up and go. Outside it was pouring down rain, thundering and lightning. Checked the internet weather. They were calling for 70% chance of rain 1/2" Fri. and 90% chance Sat. with falling temperatures in 50's...up to 1" rain. Talk about having the urge to crawl back in bed! Took me longer than usual to drive up since it was lightning a lot and the more I thought about riding a 100 in it the more I had to stop at bathrooms along the way. I was starting to worry about making weight! :-P
When you get to Biltmore the French Broad river is on the right of the dirt drive, and the fields we park in stretch out for 1/2 mile on the left. They had already blocked off one drive that was impassable with mud. The river looked pretty high and I remembered the first time I came here when all these fields were under water. One CT person told me about a time that they woke them all up during the night to get their rigs out because the river had jumped its banks. I decided to make sure I went to bed with the trailer hitched. To make a longer story long, it rained ALL night. I think we all just lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. I was pulling the 2 horse and sleeping in the cab so I turned on the radio to catch a weather report. Did you know almost nobody has discjockies at 2 AM? Finally heard someone say AM showers and then clearing. I decided I would stay in the 100 if it would just clear off eventually. Last time I did a 100 there it rained all night and I almost backed out. The next day the trail was great. I figured it just sounded like it was raining hard on the truck roof but probably was just drizzle. HA! Got up to feed and the field was saturated in water, ankle deep in places. There was a truck stuck blocking the drive out that had been deserted. By time to saddle they drove around with a loudspeaker announcing they were delaying the start 30 min. It just started raining harder. Kaboot was looking miserable. He had on a Weatherbeta winter blanket but not waterproof. When I started saddling he humped his back so much from the cold that his crupper lacked 5" being long enough. Had to go without it. Had noticed Fri. that lots of people had clipped really close since Biltmore is always so hot. Lets just say there were LOTS of horses standing with very humped backs in that cold rain. When we got to the starter they were announcing that the 100 was being changed to an 80 miler. The trail was treacherous and they were dropping the worst loop. They told those using it as a demonstration ride for the WEC that they would be given credit for a 100 mi. demo. Couldn't do anything for the ones who were planning to use it to qualify for the AERC championships. First loop wasn't too bad, and about 1/2 way though the rain tapered off and I had that feeling that it was going to be a good day. Kaboot was traveling GREAT. There were 50 horses in the 100, from all over...Maine, Colorado, Texas, Ohio, you name it. I was riding along by one admiring what an incredible trot it had when suddenly Kaboot just hit overdrive and trotted off and left it. >BG< The vet check at Biltmore is often called "tent city" because everyone sets them up to avoid the heat. This time they were rain shelters. It had rained so much during the night that one of those big crank out deals had collapsed and bent from the weight. I was very lucky to have a crew waiting for me since Bill had to stay home with my daughters. Josie was mad she had a Softball tournament that knocked her out of riding but she ended up LUCKY to have missed this one. Bonnie had prom so I left Bill to make sure she got her hair and nails done properly. >g< Beth Bennett is a REAL trooper to have driven all the way up through storms to stand in the rain and help an idiot who leaves home with that sort of forecast. If there's anybody more insane than a 100 miler it's someone who voluntarily crews for them. She even sat in the rain and figured out how to erect the tent I'd brought that I hadn't had time to put up. The vet check was rough on the horses because it was so cold. The horses were covered with splattered mud that had to come off in order to resaddle, but the water was too cold to put on them. There was enough wind to make it miserable for everyone. The horses were trying to tighten up. 2nd loop we did was the one 150 50-milers had done first. It was a MESS. Trouble is, the way Biltmore trails run lots of times one loop will be part of another loop run the other direction. By the end of the day some of these tracts could have had 400-600 horses pass over them. There were places where a horse sunk in and left a perfect hole about a foot deep when they yanked it back out of the clay. At first you could watch for those and avoid them but then it started raining hard again and they were filling in like the rest of the slop. Bad to fall in. I came into the 2nd vet check at 35 miles with a ton of horse and feeling pretty pleased, but during the check the bottom fell out of the sky. He passed his check with all "A's" ( I knew he would, he only goes lame on gorgeous days) and I was resigned to continue. Then I talked to some of the nominated horses and found out that they'd pretty much been told to take rider option and save their horses. The selection committee really didn't want to see them risk all those horses on that trail with the team at stake. I got to thinking about it and thought, "Hmm, I think my plans for the year, sponsoring my kid, etc. are pretty important to me too. Then I got to thinking that my main goal was to end up with 10 100-milers on Kaboot's record and this was an 80. Then I looked at poor Beth...out here miserable just because she told me she would come up and was too nice not to stand me up...and I had this GREAT idea..... I could QUIT! >lightbulb over the head< The more I thought about it... 50 miles of slop to go...sound horse now.... it seemed like a REALLY great idea. If I'd been in the 50 I'd have definately gone back out and gone slow, but couldn't see doing 50 more miles of the stuff with no sign of the rain stopping and the trail going downhill fast. So, I'm home. Broke my own rule and hauled home, but he'd only been 35 miles and I waited a couple of hours before leaving. Figured he'd rather be standing in a trailer than standing in the rain. He was a real pill. Full of himself and dragging me everywhere. Got him home and he went tearing around the field with his tail up. For those of you who are wondering about results...when I left I think Mary Kornwolf and Doug Sandlin were in the lead of the 80. Steve Rojek was still going... not sure who else. Lots of lameness pulls and tightening up. It's a darned shame the weather was so bad because Ann had a great ride planned. I was very impressed with how her mileage and hold times reflected what ride stats have proven to be wise but FEI seems to ignore. She had us doing (this is from memory so may be off a little) about 14.5 miles, then a 40 min. hold (sounds weird but remember how much weight horses have been losing 1st loop on these rides down here) Then we did 18.5 and another 40 min. hold. Then 20 miles and I believe a 50 min. hold with a recheck before leaving. After that holds got shorter, 20 and 30 I think. I believe there were 7 checks. Would have been perfect on a hot day. I was also impressed that she lowered the mileage to 80 miles. She knew her trail and it's good to let the manager make decisions like that. I'm home in time to see Bonnie get home from her first prom, and I'm loving the idea of sleeping in a DRY bed knowing I've got a sound horse with a ride right down the road coming up in 2 weeks. :-)) If anybody is wondering about anybody in particular I *might* have an idea whether they pulled. You can e-mail me. Angie ________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
