Goethe Challenge

We were moving fast, winding around the corners and splashing through knee deep puddles as we trotted our way through the trees. We had set out a few hours earlier, crossed a long dirt/scrub road, and were now in what appeared to be a forest of saplings. The trunks surrounding us were many and towering, but the widest one was only a few inches across. At the base of the trees sprung bright green, expansive ferns, some so tall they were eye level with me on horseback. There was not a hill in sight, and the flat terrain continued as far as the eye could see into either side of the horizon. (I later discovered that Florida is ranked flattest of the 50 states. The terrain is so flat because the state is in the middle of a tectonic plate rather than being on the edge - the edges of the plates meet/collide to form hills and mountains, and as there are no edges in Florida, there are hardly any hills.) As I floated ten feet above the ground, I grinned. This was Florida.

ride camp

Me on Sakajawea next to one of the giant fern-like plants.

I was once again riding Sakajawea, Robert Ribley's horse, mentioned in the post “Gold Country 50”.  I was in Florida after a long, long flight (see the post “Christmas Thoughts”). This was on Thursday, December 11 and we were doing a warm up ride prior to the competition Friday and Saturday - on each of those two days, we would ride 50 miles through the Goethe Forest in the Goethe Challenge AERC ride. After the warm up on Thursday, we packed up the trailer, loaded the horses, and drove about 20 minutes to the ride camp. After settling the horses, checking in, vetting in, greeting people around the camp, and attending the potluck dinner and ride meeting, we retreated to the warmth of the trailers for the night. Although this was Forida, which I had heard was warm even in winter, the night time temperatures were approximately 30F. It was so cold that, as I walked from the building we had dinner in to the trailer I was sleeping in, my hands shook and my teeth chattered.

Friday we woke up early. The ride started at 7am, and we saddled up and took off. The sun was only just starting to peek over the tree tops, and the sky was still dark with the reminder of night. We trotted out with the other 20 or so riders. As is usual at the start of the race, the horses were excited, dancing and jostling each other, raring to go. The start of the ride took us through thigh high scrub, then into the forest of scarecrow thin trees. The trails in Florida are interspersed with deep puddles of water, whether from rain or the swampy environment I'm not sure - probably a mixture of both. It is a landscape unlike any I have ever seen, and, to me, it could have been a different planet. The aspect the most surprising to me was the flatness of the land. We hardly went up one hill during the whole ride, and the few we did walk up were incomparable with the rocky monstrosities we have to scale here in northern California. (I love our CA hills, but they can be tough!)

The borders of the sapling forest.

The terrain switched between three types: hard pack, soft dirt, and deep sand. The soft dirt was the best footing for the horses, and when we came to that type of ground we flew over it, covering miles fast. The deep sand, however, is laborious to slog through. We walked a lot when we came to this type of ground to spare the horses' legs. The ride was split into three loops: a 20 mile loop to start with, then a vet check and a 50 minute break, followed by a 15 mile loop, then another vet check and 50 minute hold, then another, final 15 mile loop. The first loop sped by. The second loop was kind of a blur, and the last 15 miles were the most memorable. The beginning of that loop took us deep into the forest and onto a dirt path which wound through the trees. We ran that section at a brisk trot, slowing down when we came to boggy puddles and speeding up when we passed onto more solid ground.

Following that section came a long haul in the deep sand. This we walked, seemingly for hours. The farther we went, the more sure I was that this loop was in fact longer than 15 miles, and we had been tricked. My legs were sore, my toes were numb, and I asked myself, why am I doing this? Why would I even think that I could ride 50 miles after nearly 4 months off of a horse?

But eventually, inevitably, we reached the finish line, and I knew exactly why I had chosen to do this. I love riding, I love horses, and, despite everything, I loved the ache in my legs. It was a sign of my accomplishment, proof that I had completed my second 50 mile ride (the first being the Desert Gold). The adrenaline rush following the realization of my accomplishment was sweet, and I knew that I would do it all again if I could.

Riding out on Hallie for the final 15 mile loop on day 2

Well, I could, and I did the very next day.

The Goethe Challenge is a 2 day event, and riders can choose to ride either 30 or 50 miles on Friday, Saturday, or both days. I had signed up to do 50 miles both days, and I am so glad I did. The second day, Robert and I set off at 7 am to do the same course on different horses. The deep sand had been a little tough for the horses we rode day one, and although they both looked great, we didn't want to ride them again through the same terrain – it was a hard ride. The second day, I rode a grey mare called Hallie. She is a great horse. She settles into a pace and keeps it up. For the whole 50 miles, she never stopped. The second day we rode a lot faster, hardly walking. We kept up a steady trot or canter for nearly the entire 50 miles. The second day was a repeat of the first, the same 20, then 15, then 15 mile loops. This time, they all went by in a flash. It seemed that we had hardly begun when we were at the finish line. This time, my sense of accomplishment was doubled when I found out that we had come in top ten: 8th and 9th place! “Top Ten” is a title I had heard from the time I was eight or nine years old and my dad came home with a ribbon. Even now, ten years later, it seems as big to me as it did back then, a sign of greatness, and we achieved it.

Hallie