Wild West
As well as riding in the Wild West ride on Saturday, June 20, the second day of the three-day event, I spent the week before and during the event helping to put on the ride. In that week, I learned more than I think I ever have in a single week before, beginning with the fact that putting on a ride, especially a multi-day ride, is a LOT more work than I thought. As well as marking miles and miles (155 in this case) of trail, ride managers also have to make sure that there is enough space for everyone to safely set up their horses and trailers in the ride camp, enough food for people in the evenings, enough water on the trail for horses and people (especially difficult because of the drought this year), provide maps for everyone, clear the trail beforehand, manage the mayhem once the ride is in full swing… and that’s not even the end of the list. After witnessing how many people got together to make the ride happen, I have a new respect for ride managers and volunteers.
This photo contradicts everything I've been saying in this whole post, but I didn't get many pictures of the actual work we were doing, so here is one of me (and a couple buddies) relaxing for a minute
Though it was a lot of work, helping with the ride was also very rewarding and lots of fun. I spent the week working pretty much all day every day, dirty, tired, hot, but so happy. I love doing the kind of work I did to help a really nice group of people. People who do endurance are generally such an open and welcoming group, and I met a ton of new people, got to see some really amazing horses, beautiful trails…what could be better?
I also have a new list of first time experiences:
-I drove stick shift (sort of…almost)
-I drove a trailer (sort of…one with no horses in it)
-I drove a couple trucks
-I hauled more manure than ever before
-I rode on a motorcycle
-I got pulled from a 50 mile ride
-I set my own pace on a 50 mile ride
I’ll explain that last one. In the few previous 50s I’ve done, I’ve been following the pace of those I was riding with, the Ribleys, whose horses I was riding. Those rides, as well as being lots of fun, taught me basically everything I know up to this point (which is not much) about endurance riding. This time, I was riding Sakajawea again, but I wasn’t riding with the Ribleys. I was, in a sense, riding my own ride, making my own decisions about pacing, when to get off, when to stay on, how long to linger at the hay pile by the water troughs…based on what I learned at the other rides. I was riding with one other woman, the owner of Anisa, the horse I rode at Cooley Ranch, but Sakajawea was leading for most of our ride and I had to set her pace. I got pulled at 30 miles because Sakajawea went lame, probably from tripping on a root (she’s fine now, no lasting injury) but it was still a great ride for the reasons mentioned above, and, of course, because I got to see some really beautiful country. The terrain on this ride was easier than on previous rides I’ve done in California – fewer hills and generally nice footing (except for the pesky roots), and it was through the foothills near Auburn. Tall, tall trees, scrub, flowers…endless blue sky once you get out of the tree cover. I can’t do it justice with words, but trust me when I tell you it’s a beautiful place. The second vet check on Saturday is maybe one of the most beautiful parts of the ride. I didn’t actually get to that point in the ride, but luckily I helped bring water troughs out there so I still got to see it. It’s called Bear Valley, I think, and is a huge meadow of knee-to- waist high grass interspersed with a couple trees and wildflowers. As the name suggests, it’s a valley bordered by great green mountains, but it’s big enough that the mountains don’t feel looming or ominous, but instead provide a distant majesty, almost like they’re guarding the valley or something. Again, my words can’t truly convey what I saw. The only way for you to know what it’s really like is to go there yourself, a course of action I strongly encourage.
The dirt somehow got through my socks and tennis shoes...
My mom came to pick me up after the week at the ride, and she said that, when she first saw me, underneath my fine coating of dust, dirt, and other miscellaneous grime, I was glowing. Normally when she says that kind of thing, I don’t truly believe her, but this time she might have been right. I had been doing something I really love, and I guess it showed.
